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Gemma slowly reached out and took the char froh her body "Is this an example of a chare nodded "My cloak has the saeic They are o for the saood bloodlines and excellent confire shrugged "It’s why royals can afford such charms for themselves and but cannot afford to outfit their armies Which is just as well"

"Is it really that hard to find good quality cloth goods?" Geave Gemma a quirk of a ses--there’s an old spell I found that will h carpet yet for a price I can pay," the ed her ht he had to a century old--even if his lips and chin were fine and young-looking Magic preserved its wielders longer than the hue talked, Geestures of a younger man Was he, perhaps, possibly half a century old?

"What’s wrong?" the ," Ge back at the sky She cupped her hands around the heat char as its warmth worked its way all the way down to her toes

"I was going to ask you this earlier, but I hope you have soe asked

I will need to thank Lady Linnea I had forgotten about the payht "Yes, but I’m afraid it will hardly be any better than the previous payment," she said She clenched the ruby in one hand and slipped the gold ring out from under her hair-band--which had held it strapped to her head

Gee took it

"What do youa ," Gee said

Geed and held the heat char her head on a decorative snowflake carving

"In a fewwheel to go for hours, but I don’t know about this one the palace is lending us," the e said

Ge e said, his voice soft with sincerity

The sky was pink with the promise of the sun as Gemma sat at the table and ate the last baked apple It was cold, but still tasty with the zing of cinna up the last length of gold thread

"I iine you must be very popular with royalty thanks to this trick?" Gemma asked

"No--not ic community, and they hardly care Gold is used like a cheap spice by those in positions of power," theGeht of dawn hit the fibers and they glowed, Geh they hadn’t been spun into thread, the fibers were gold "No," Gee s the wad of fibers on her lap