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CHAPTER 1

TERREILLE

Ranon stepped out on the terrace behind the Grayhaven mansion, closed his dark eyes, and raised the wood flute to his lips Then he hesitated while a lifetime of caution warred with the hope he felt because of Lady Cassidy, the Queen who now ruled the Territory of Dena Nehele

Because there was hope, and fledgling trust, Ranon took a breath and began to play a greeting to the sun—a song that had not been heard outside of the Shalador reserves for many, many years Even there, it had not been played openly

His grandfather had taught hi the Tradition Keepers had held on to since the Shalador people fled the ruins of their own Territory generations ago and settled in the southern part of Dena Nehele The people had thrived there and put down roots, respecting the traditions of Dena Nehele but never forgetting their own—and hoping, always hoping, that soain

It had been good land once, and a good place to live when it had been ruled by the Gray-Jeweled Queens Then Lia died, and Dena Nehele’s decline began Queens ere backed by Dorothea SaDiablo, Hayll’s High Priestess, gained control within a couple of generations Dorothea hated the people of Dena Nehele for holding out against her for so long, but she hated the Shalador people even more because of Jared, the Red-Jeweled Shalador Warlord who had been husband and Consort to Lia Grayhaven, the last Gray Lady to rule Dena Nehele

Because Dorothea hated Jared’s people, her pet Queens ground away a little eneration The boundaries of the reserves where the Shaladorans had settled hittled away until now they struggled to grow enough crops to feed themselves The Shalador traditions were forbidden The dances, the reat risk

His paternal grandfather was a Tradition Keeper of , quiet man, Yairen had been—and still was—a respected leader in Eyota, the village where Ranon had grown up He was also a giftedhow to play the songs that had shaped the Shalador heart

The Province Queen who controlled that reserve broke Yairen’s hands as punish the forbidden—and then broke them twice more When they healed the last time, Yairen could barely hold a flute, randson, and he taught him well, despite the crippled hands

So this music had been a secret forthe flute, he never played within the hearing of anyone he couldn’t trust—and even then, he rarely played the songs of Shalador

Did the Queen he now served understand how much trust was required for him to stand here and play the nized his reluctance to play, but not even Shira, the Black Widow Healer as his lover, understood how deeply fear and hope had twined in his heart these past few days as the flute’s notes floated on the air and became a part of the world Yes, he was afraid, but the hope of so new and better was the reason he stood here, in a place that had been a stronghold for the twisted Queens, and played music that had been forbidden

As one song followed another, Ranon let his heart soar with the notes and fill with a joyful peace

“How long do you have to spend serenading the little green things before you can have breakfast?”

He opened his eyes and lowered the flute The peace he’d felt a moment before vanished as Theran Grayhaven stepped out on the terrace