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"Yes, you are" She shook her head sadly "You gave in to him You let Conner win I didn’t think you would"

"I than you know"

"And does any of it ht hesitation, she added, "I’m disappointed in you I’d rather you had run That would be better than this"

"Run?" Truly angry now, I started to walk away, then turned back to her "Then you’d conde, and doo, you’ve forgotten what it’s like to breathe free air"

"And you’ve given your life to his control forever You’ll never breathe free again"

I started to answer, to say whatever was necessary toand finally only s before Conner was ready to leave

She shook her head, then hurried back into the house As ut instinct told s worse She could believe whatever she wanted aboutto Drylliad

There were a few stable boys tending to the horses when I arrived there a fewto get ready for our journey The longer I avoided hian had wanted Roden to be chosen He’d be furious without at the last minute

I chose a quarterhorse named Poco for the ride The stable boy seemed reluctant to let an preparing the saddle myself Finally, he said he’d do it before I ruinedPoco through the open field was refreshing I’d found spots of ti of freedoer to be tested It wasn’t long before Farthenas lost behind a wooded hill, and all was silent except for the gentle river nearby with birds chirping overhead A slight breeze rustled the leaves of the tall trees over my head I lifted my face to the sky and let the wind and the sun caress my skin This was freedoain, anyway If I she accused me of back at the house, this was it

I slid off Poco’s back and walked hie of the river This wasn’t far froo, and the memory forced a smile to my face I wished for a friend or a father I could tell the story to and h Either withthe bank of the river I grabbed a fistful and flung the the One rock I kept for myself

It was little surprise only a few round Mott had co me from a distance when I was in the stables And by the time I reached the arch of the eastern hill, Mott was in the stables Itbefore finally approaching me

"Do you mind a little company?" he asked

"Yes"

It didn’t matter He dismounted and walked over tothe river

Eventually, Mott asked, "Did you know he’d pick you, because of that trick you can do with the coin?"

"I don’t think anyone can predict what Conner will do It’s what uessed it, or else you would have escaped thisto run"

"Look what happened to Lataht on an uncomfortable silence Finally, Mott said, "Conner wants you to know that we’re ready to leave soon Errol is waiting to help you change into traveling clothes"

"You’d think they’dclothes , my first order will be to let everyone hatever clothes they want"

Mott chuckled "Fashion What a n" After another pause, he added, "What kind of king will you be, Sage? Tyrannical and fierce, like Veldergrath would be? Complacent and indifferent, like your father?"