Wren (The Romany Epistles) Read Online Free

around horses. Give me a task and I will work at it until I do it
well.”
    Judging from her confident stance and the weathered
appearance of her gear, I was inclined to believe her. Her face showed no signs
of hunger; signs I knew well from last winter. Kat’s face still remained leaner
than when father was alive.
    “And what do you ask for in return?” I asked. “As you can
see, we have little to exchange.” My gesture included the obviously ruined
keep, the crumbling outer wall, and the weed-clogged courtyard.
    “A roof over my head, a warm fire, feed and stabling for
Brone, and a share in the kill,” she replied. The horse, recognizing its name,
blew in her ear and then eyed me placidly.
    She asked a small price for her services should they prove
to be as good as she said. I willingly agreed. Extending my hand, I offered my
name.
    “Tourth Mynth of Iselyn, at least what is left of it.”
    “Wren Romany of Braedoch.” Her grip was firm. The rough
calluses on her fingers reassured me that I had made the right decision.
    “Come, I will show you where to stable your horse.” I led
the way past the keep to the far side of the courtyard. The stable survived the
fire by a miracle, and I was daily thankful that it had.
    The cool musty darkness greeted us at the door. By the
flecked sunlight filtering in through the open windows, I led her to the
farthest stall. “I would offer one closer to the door, but Trader, my stallion,
has a tendency toward orneriness. Your mount will be safer here.”
    “And warmer,” she observed with a nod.
    “When you have finished, I will show you the rest of our
little kingdom. I will be in the smokehouse.”
    She inclined her head and I left her to her work.
    The moment I stepped out into the sunlight, Svhen rode into
the courtyard in a deafening clatter of horse hooves. “Ridgeback lygras…in the
northern meadow. We can’t hold them off.”
    My chest constricted. Kat was with them. She accompanied
Arthus and Dardon to bring in the sheep.
    “Where?” Wren demanded from behind me.
    I turned to find her already leading her horse back out into
the courtyard. I knew I would lose valuable time running for my bow and quiver.
When Svhen opened his mouth to question her presence, I didn’t wait for him to
start.
    “Tell her, Svhen, and then wait for me,” I ordered, already
ducking into the stable for my weapons. Thankfully, Svhen obeyed.
    “Out the back gate and straight up the mountain,” he
informed her, in a brusque tone. “You can’t miss the trail.”
    A cacophony of metal on stone signaled her departure as my
hand closed on the smooth wood of my bow. Whipping the quiver from the wall, I
ran back out into the sunshine.
    “Who was that?” Svhen brought his mount close and offered me
a hand up.
    “A new friend.” I grasped his wrist and jumped on behind
him. We leapt forward before I could settle into place.
    My thoughts filled with my sister. Dardon and Arthus could
handle themselves when defending the herd from most of the predators that ventured
this far down the mountain. Kat, on the other hand, became a liability, another
precious thing to defend. I shouldn’t have let her go.
    We cleared the back gate to find Wren nowhere in sight. “I
hope she took the right trail,” I muttered. Svhen heeled the mare into a
gallop.
    “I wanted to send Kat for help, but she was nowhere near a
mount and then the horses bolted. I only just caught Jayden before she spooked.
I am sorry, Tourth. If something happened to her, I–”
    Fear gripped my chest. “I understand, Svhen. Just pray that
we are not too late.”
    Jayden pounded along the trail. Both of us held our breath
in fear of what we would find as we crested the last rise.
    Riding down into the field, I searched the area for Kat’s
golden hair. When my eyes finally fell on her slender form bent over something
on the ground, the tension in my chest relaxed marginally. She lived.
    The sheep huddled in a small group under a