Cinda Williams Chima - Shadowcaster

Lysss feathered fly sparkled in the sunlight before it dropped lightly onto the thrashing surface of Weeping Creek. Planting her feet, Lyss pulled back on the rod.

Dont yank on it, her brother Adrian whispered. Let it come to you on the current. Mayflies dont swim.

Maybe mine do, Lyss retorted.

If you want to pull it along, you should use a streamer fly, Adrian said. He reached for his carry bag. I have one that you might

Would you stop bossing me around? Adrian was thirteenonly two years older than Lyssso he didnt have to act like an expert on everything. Even if he was.

You stop yelling, or youll scare the fish, Adrian said, reaching for her rod.

Trying to avoid his questing hand, she stepped back from the waters edge. Her foot slipped on a loose rock and she landed, hard, on her backside. Blood and bones! she swore, rubbing her tailbone.

Adrian collapsed beside her on the riverbank, helpless with laughter. Lyss would have punched him, but then she realized that it was the first time shed heard him laugh since their sister Hana died.

Still. She needed something to laugh about, too. So she pushed him into the creek.

He surfaced, sputtering, but still laughing, his head sleek as an otters. He reached the shore with a few quick strokes (he was an expert on swimming, too) and hauled himself up on the bank.

Well, he gasped, we may as well quit fishing. By now theres no trout within miles of here.

Does that mean we have to eat dried venison again?

Im not the one who scared the fish.

Lyss struggled to control her temper. That came hard. Her mother the queen always told her to think before she spoke, but thinking always seemed to happen after.

Her older brother was different. It was nearly impossible to start an argument with him. Their father always said that Adrian had a long fuse. Once lit, though, it smoldered on forever. There was no putting it out. Never ever.

They lay on their backs, side by side, squinting against the late summer sun that filtered through the shivering aspen leaves overhead. Adrian was shivering, too, and Lyss felt a flicker of guilt. It wasnt his fault their sister Hana was dead and her life was in shambles.

I dont want to go back, Lyss said.

Adrian grunted in reply.

Im serious. We could stay up here and live off the land.

Guess itd have to be the land. Wed better not rely on fishing.

Im good with a bow, Lyss said. Da says so. And you know all the plants and where to find them. We could build our own lodge before the snows fall. Or move into the ruins down there. She waved toward Queen Court Vale below. We could call it Lodge of the Exiles.

Adrian closed his eyes and breathed out a long, shuddery breath. She could see the lines of pain in his face. They both needed to get awayshe just had to convince him of it.

Sitting up, Lyss pulled her journal from her own carry bag and wrote the name down. Lodge of the Exiles. Then sketched ita crude rendering of the broken summer palace, smoke curling from the twin chimneys, with the two of them looking out of the windows.

Nudging her brother, she thrust the journal toward him. He usually admired her stories and drawings, but this time he shook his head. How long do you think it would take for the clans to find us?

Until they do, somebody else will have to be queen.

Somebody else is queen. Our mother isnt going anywhere. You wont even be named princess heir until your sixteenth name day. Thats five years away.

But once I start walking that path, therell be no turning back, or to either side. She paused, eyeing him. Why cant we have a king once in a while?

If youre thinking of me, the answer is no, Adrian said, giving up on ignoring her. He scooted into a sitting position and rested his back against an aspen tree.

What about Finn?

Finn? Adrian rolled his eyes. I know youre sweet on him, but

I am not sweet on him! Lyss said hotly.

Look, nobody wants a king, let alone a wizard king. The clans would go to war over it, and Arden would walk in and take over. He slid a look at Lyss. Speaking of Arden, King Gerardhed love to step in.

I didnt mean him, Lyss said, her voice trembling with rage. He will never, ever get his hands on the Gray Wolf throne. Somehow, someday, Ill make him pay for murdering Hana. Their sister Hana had died in a skirmish with southern soldiers in the borderlands. Though the king of Arden hadnt swung the blade himself, it was his soldiers, his orders, his fault.

Dont you think that might be easier to do if you were queen? Adrian said. He had a habit of telling her things she knew, deep down, but didnt want to dredge up.

Lyss closed her eyes, but it was too late. A tear escaped from under her eyelids and trickled down her cheek. It isnt fair, she whispered, a sob shuddering through her. I was never supposed to be queen.

Adrian reached out and took her hand.

Feeling magic trickling through his fingers, she yanked her hand back. Stop that! she snapped. Stop soothing me.

Adrian frowned. Arent you wearing your talisman? Didnt Fire Dancer tell you that you should never take it off?

I didnt think Id have to protect myself against my own brother.

It doesnt matter who youre with, you wear your talisman, he said, going straight back to bossy. When she didnt respond, he continued, in a softer voice. Whats wrong, Lyss? What are you really afraid of?

Everybody loved Hana, Lyss said miserably. She wouldve been a great queen. Im just not cut out for it.

Thats not true. Just because youre not Hana doesnt mean you wont be a great queen, Adrian said. Youre strong in your own way.

Such as?

It took him a minute to come up with anything. You tell the truth.

Maybe I do, Lyss said, but it only seems to get me in trouble.

You dont put up with scummer.

Thats what queens have to do all day long. Plus shovel some of their own.

He laughed. See? You know a lot about being queen already.

Lyss just grunted. She saw no humor in her situationnone at all.

After a moment, Adrian started in again. Youre a rum observeryou notice everything. Youre great at tracking game, good on horseback, and a deadeye with a bow. And youre really good at writing and drawing and playing the basilka. The songs you write go straight to the heart.

It was true. When she put things in writing, it gave her time to think and edit. Unlike when she opened her mouth.

Maybe Ill write King Gerard a nasty note, Lyss said, rolling her eyes. That should send him packing. They can put that on my tomb: Better on the Page.

Is that what youre afraid of? What people will say about you?

Thats part of it, Lyss said. The queendom has been here for more than a thousand years. I dont want people to remember me as the queen that ruined it.

If the queendom is ruined, it wont be you that does it, Adrian said, his jaw tightening.

Ill get the blame. I need to be queen during a boring timenot when were in the middle of a war.

Theres no boring times around here. Things were a mess twenty-five years ago, when our mother took over. Theyre a mess now. He waited, and when she didnt say anything back, went on. The war cant last forever. Anyway, you have to do it, theres nobody else.