Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce

Author:Tamora Pierce
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2018-02-06T05:00:00+00:00

The day Arram returned to classes, he requested permission from Master Cosmas to go back to the typhoid workrooms. Cosmas firmly refused to let him do so much as chop wood for the fires. Preet agreed loudly.

“Hush,” the master told the bird. She quieted slowly. “There will be other plagues, as I told Varice and Ozorne,” he informed Arram.

Arram grimaced. “If that is the way to improve my education, I’d as soon not have any more plagues.”

Cosmas chuckled. “Our care effort at such times is large, and it was time to try the three of you out in the field,” he explained. “Everyone is impressed with all of you. Cheer up. We will not allow you to burn yourselves out. You are to rest and study. Let your Gift rebuild.”

—

The next day Ozorne found Arram by the river. He was knee-deep in the water, feeding fishes near the landing for the palace. The hippos who had also come to visit scrambled into the water when they saw the prince and his escort or, more likely, smelled them.

Arram had been wondering about the imperial barge that waited at the land’s end. He climbed from the water and approached his friend. “Where are you off to?”

“Mother is unwell,” Ozorne replied with a frown. “Keep notes for the classes I’m in, will you?”

Arram would have agreed, but the imperial soldier in charge of Ozorne’s entourage ushered the prince along to the waiting craft. Slaves hurried to send it speeding eastward as soon as Ozorne was seated.

Preet uttered a questioning trill.

“I agree,” Arram replied absently. “If she keeps calling him away, he’ll begin to fall behind.”

—

Ozorne rejoined his friends at the dining hall after a three-day absence. Preet was the first to see him. She screeched and flew to him at the food tables, where she perched on his shoulder.

When they reached the table, Preet was grooming his hair and dislodging his beaded braids. “Preet, three whole days is not an eternity!” Ozorne cried, laughing. “Yes, I missed you, too!” He glanced at Arram. “Arram, save me from your bird—she’s ruining my hair. You’d think I’d vanished from the earth!”

Tristan sighed impatiently. “So is anything exciting going on at the palace, Your Highness?”

Ozorne sat while Varice poured tea for him.

“Next week the emperor holds games to honor my cousin Stiloit when he takes the fleet out to sea. Mother was to make the arrangements, but she hasn’t been well. She asked me to help—and she had conditions. Arram and Varice—and Preet, His Imperial Majesty wants to meet her—are to be the family’s guests on the imperial stand. I couldn’t get seats there for more of my friends,” he said apologetically to Tristan and Gissa, “or the great nobles who already fill up the seats will have fits. I did secure tickets for the two of you in the section for the second-ranking nobles.” With an artistic wave of his arm, he produced two gilded papers for Tristan and Gissa, setting them down before Tristan. For a moment the older student looked chagrined, but the expression vanished.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.