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.He closed his eyes and sought in the silence of theroom to achieve ~ome measure of calm.An owl appeared before him with a suddenness that made him gasp.He knew thisto beo ordinary bird, though he had contemplatedwls in his prayers before.Here was an Owlowls, huge impossibly huge and glowingfrom within with a pure radiance that outshone anything he had seen before.And in one of the Owl's feet there was a dagger.Irdun flinched backward, his eyes snapping open.But instead of seeing thesmall familiar statue of Savanya, he knelt face to face with a huge Owl, whiteas the light of stars.an Owl that sat where the statue usually rested.Irdun's heart pounded in his chest as he stared at the bird and at what thebird carried.Follow your heart, a voice whispered in his mind.Trust in me.I will not failyou.As if he were someone else, Irdun watched his hand reach out and take thedagger from the Owl's talons.The sun was sinking low in the sky, and the feast had entered a new phase ofexcited merriment.Prince Gonten sat at the head of the table, his eyes neverstill, weighing and assessing the words and actions of the nobles who hadgathered to honor the upcoming marriage of the High Priest of Keti and theHigh Priestess of Savanya.He had been accused of many things in his life, butno one had ever so much as hinted he was stupid.He had learned well at hisfather's knee, how to listen without seeming to listen, how to make smallconversation without those he spoke to knowing he was keeping track of everyword they uttered.Now was no different.He was well aware, even without Hvandi's prompting, ofthe situa-tion facing the legions of Asketi to the north and the west.And, sensing ahidden current of discontent swirling through the room, he listened to the humof conversation with more than what to others might appear bored ears.The two nobles who sat several places away had lately come from those regionsof unrest and he heard, in their seemingly innocent conversation, hints ofuncertainty as to the strength of his father's hand in leading the legions.Click.He made a mental note of that, prepared to repeat nearly word for wordall they said to his father.Another noble spoke casually of the recentacquisition by one of his friends of lands to the far west, an odd move forsomeone who had gained fame for being wildly in love with the comforts of theEmpire's capital city.Click.Another mental note taken and stored."Ah, Prince Gonten," said a slightly nasal voice in his ear.He cringedinwardly, but assumed his most gracious smile as he gestured the man to a seatat his side.The governor's timing could not have been worse, having ended forall practical purposes Gonten's eaves-ropping."Do you think Lord Hvandi can stand mother hour of waiting? Look athim.He's nearly beside himself with anticipation."Gonten looked.The governor was accurate in his observation.The Prince couldnot rememberaving seen the priest in such a state before.omething nudged at the back of his mind. laybe there was more to this priestess than heknew.Maybe Hvandi was correct in thinking much power could be won from thiswoman and her goddess.Maybe."She's an extraordinarily beautiful woman," the governor continued, "and I'msure that fact alone would kindle anyone.""Oh?" Gonten kept his voice pitched to polite boredom."I was unaware thatLord Hvandi had ever met the priestess."The governor waved a languid hand."He hasn't, Prince, but he has ears.I'vemet her many times myself, when I've been obliged by my position to visit herisland.She is beautiful, in a very un-Asketian way.Those gold eyes of hers,though, are unsettling.There are times when I swear she's looking straightinto my heart."For an instant, the Prince remembered the young King's eyes, golden as werethose of his countrymen.Beast eyes, bird eyes.Eyes hardly human.Hisgrandfather's legions had brought home tale after tale of the silent, gentlepeople they had conquered a people with eyes of gold.Servants lit torches in the feast hall, as well as hanging lamps, and theshadows that had begun to creep into the room were pushed back by the warmlight.The Prince looked around casually, but did not see the King.That initself was not odd.The boy was known to come late and leave early from thefeasts held in the governor's palace.At any other time, Gonten wouldhave dismissed the lateness of the King's arrival, but on this night inparticular.Lord Hvandi approached the Prince's place and bowed slightly.Gonten returnedthe nod, glanced out the windows and noted it was nearly the hour of sunset,the time the priest had chosen for his trip to the island to claim his prize."Walk with me to the barge," Lord Hvandi said."I'll be leaving momentarily."Though Gonten sensed the order behind the invitation, he nodded and shovedback his chair.At that moment, there was a stir at the wide doorway to thefeast hall, and the young King entered.Dressed simply as usual, he stillseemed more subdued than the norm.He walked slowly toward the Prince as if insome dream, his cloak drawn close though the air was warm.The Prince heard his guards shift positions behind his chair.He sensedsomething strange here something he could not put a finger on.His guards hadnoted it also, though no one else in the room, including the priest, appearedaware of anything odd."Prince," the young King said, nodding po-aly."A fair banquet you havetonight." "It is," Gonten allowed.His gut tightened ightly and he glancedsidelong at the priest, at Hvandi's attention was focused out the windowtoward the island in the middle of the arkening lake."And for such an occasion," the King said in a curiously uninflected tone,stepping closer, "I have brought you a gift."What happened next took place nearly too quickly for the eye to follow.Beforethe Prince could set himself, the boy-king drew a dagger from beneath hiscloak and sprang at Gonten, his youthful face untouched by any emotion at all.The hall erupted into chaos.Tripping over his chair, the Prince fellbackward, and felt cold fire burn along his arm as the dagger barely missedhis chest.Lord Hvandi cursed, lifted a hand, and a streak of red fire lancedtoward the King.From his vantage point on the floor, his guards standingabove him with drawn swords, the Prince watched the young King falter, dropthe dagger, and slump slowly to the ground without uttering so much as agroan.Silence fell like a leaden weight on the room, then exploded into a hubbub ofvoices.Prince Gonten, helped to his feet by his guards, stared down at theboy-king, still too startled by what had happened to think.As the shock woreoff, he snatched up a napkin from the table and dabbed at the wound in hisarm
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