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PROLOGUE
ON a hill surrounded on three sides by forest and on the fourth by the ruins of a fortress stood a ring of stones They crowned the hill with stark beauty, like the bones of a castle buried so deeply in the soil that only the battlements of the tallest tower rose above the earth It was said by so stones, rooms filled with treasure, with haunts, with creatures not of hueways led out fro fro from this hill across the land, even to the cold sea in the north, even to the great mountains far to the south
On the third day of the ht and the fullsky, a lone traveler h the tus, a plain linen tunic, and sandals laced up to her knees, hu which she had becon land but not what she felt coripped in one hand and a sotiated the maze of walls as if she knew it by heart
The ruins lay on a gentle incline, stretching from the banks of a narrow river up to where the last wall, no taller than a year-old child, lay crule watch fire burned on the other side of the river, past the stu planting of barley, ht of the hill crowned by stones
The traveler paused before she stepped over the last wall of the fortress She threw back her hood Her hair was so pale it seeht of its own She reached into the pouch and drew out a scrap of torn cloth, stained with red With a gri it away she would free herself fro power before she passed into the wild majesty of the stones
But she paused, cocking her head to one side, listening And she cursed She hesitated, and that h for the lead horseman to spot her
It was dusk, but her hair was bright and his eyes were young and keen, and he was looking for her
“Alia!” he cried “Beloved!” Recklessly, he urged his horse forward, picking his way up through the fort More riders appeared behind hi historches, could catch up and guide him forward He used only one hand on the reins In his other arainst his chest
She winced away froht of that so, as huly now She had stood up in front of the assembled council and spoken boldly, but she had not known then what she would suffer in the world of men
Then her gaze caught on a banner A battle-scarred ap between hiant in the saddle, he held in one hand the dragon banner, syuards who protected the heir and by extension the kingdoround; a cluster of seven brilliant stars studded the gold field above the dragon’s figure She traced this constellation with her gaze to remind herself of what it stood for, the Crown of Stars worn by the ruler of the ancient Eotten now in the world of humankind but destined to return It was for this she had made the sacrifice
By this ti prince had pulled his horse up beside her Torches threings of light over the ruins, and their heat surrounded her like a prison built alls of fire
“Why did you follow me?” she asked “You knew I intended to leave”
“How can you leave?” he de abandoned But he was so young, barely ato the calendars of this world With an effort he schooled his expression to one of haughty disdain and tried a different path “Surely you will stay until the child is a year or two old, so you ht know that it lives and thrives”
“No disease known to you will touch him, nor will any wound inflicted by any creature
A h a forest, passed through the asseh to hear her prophesy whispering her words to those who stood farther away The old soldier urged his horse forward to halt beside the young prince The dragon banner lapped over the saddle, brushing the young man’s arm