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He and Theran didn’t like each other Never had But he detected nothing in the question except polite interest

“A quarter of an hour” Ranon glanced at the hourglass hovering in the air next to hilass, he’d played twice that long “Gray says it will help the honey pear trees grow”

“Does he really think they’ll wilt and die if you don’t stand out here playing music?” Theran asked as he studied the thirteen pots that were sheltered by the raised flower beds that formed the terrace wall

Ranon’s heart gave a hard bu, but he wouldn’t ad symbols of the past meant to him

Jared had brought six honey pear trees to this land One of them had been planted here at Grayhaven for Lia and had re symbol of the Gray-Jeweled Queens who had once ruled But that dead tree had hidden thirteen honey pears, carefully preserved Lia had hidden the the Grayhaven treasure Because of that, those little trees were a thread of shining hope that linked the past and the present

“Doesn’t matter what Gray thinks,” Ranon replied “It is the Queen’s pleasure that I play the flute eachfor the honey pears, so I play”

He knew the phrasing was a mistake the moment he said it

“Well, we all play for the Queen’s pleasure in one way or another, don’t we?” Theran said Then he glanced at Ranon and added with a touch of e left by the tis”

I guess we’re not trying to get along anyht Since he made no secret of it, everyone in the court knew he hated porridge Which meant Theran had said that in order to jab at him Why? Because they didn’t like each other, and the effort to be civil rarely lasted for more than a few minutes at a time?

Hell’s fire Grayhaven had been running hot and cold since Cassidy found the treasure and proved she was ether for the good of the land and the Queen

For the good of the land, anyway The other eleven men who made up the First Circle knew Theran didn’t feel the sa in her court was part of the agree a Kaeleer Queen to Dena Nehele That didn’t mean hewanted to serve her, despite his recent efforts to ith her instead of opposing her

“Tell you what,” Theran added “I’ll save e for you”

An edge of temper A slash of heat in the air between them And an unspoken invitation to spill some blood

“You’re twenty-seven,” Ranon said coldly “I’ contest over porridge”