Read The Towers Of the Sunset for Free Online

is it this time?” Creslin does not mean to bark at his sister, and he softens his voice. “About the time alone, or-”
    “No. If you want to be alone, that doesn’t bother her. She makes allowances for men being moody.”
    “Then it must be the riding.”
    Llyse shakes her head, grinning.
    “All right. What is it?”
    “She doesn’t think your hair is becoming when you cut it that short.”
    Creslin groans. “She doesn’t like what I wear, what I do, and now…”
    They pause at the top of the sweeping circular staircase, comprised of solid granite blocks that would carry the weight of all of the Marshall’s shock troops. Then they begin the descent to the great hall.
    “Really,” begins Llyse, and her voice hardens into an imitation of the Marshall’s voice, “you must learn the proper manners of a consort, Creslin. You may simper over that guitar if you must, but riding with the guards is not suitable. Not at all. I am not pleased.”
    Creslin shivers, not at the words but at the unconscious tone of command that already pervades his sister’s voice, beyond and beneath the imitation of their mother.
    “She’s never pleased. She wasn’t pleased when I sneaked out and went on the first winter field trials with the junior guards. But I did better than most of them. At least she let me go on the later trials.”
    “That’s not what Aemris told her.”
    “Aemris wouldn’t cross her if the Roof of the World fell.”
    They both laugh, but furtively, as their feet carry them into the main entry way of the castle.
    “How is the blade-work going with Heldra?” Llyse asks as they reach the bottom of the stairs.
    “I get pretty sore. She doesn’t care how much she hurts either my pride or my body.”
    Llyse whistles softly. “You must be getting good. That’s what all the senior guards say.”
    Creslin shakes his head. “I’ve improved, but probably not a lot.”
    A pair of guards flanks the archway to the main hallway. The one on the left Creslin recognizes and nods to briefly, but she does not move a muscle.
    “Creslin…” reproaches Llyse. “That’s not fair. Fiera’s on duty.”
    Creslin knows his informal greeting was not fair. He shifts his glance to the far end of the great hall. The table upon the dais is vacant, except for Aemris, unlike the tables flanking the granite paving stones upon which the Marshalle and consort walk. At the lower-level tables have gathered most of the castle personnel, the guards, and their consorts. The children are seated to the rear with their guardians, near the doorway through which Creslin and Llyse have approached.
    Creslin concentrates on walking toward the dais, knowing he will hear too much as he nears the forward tables of the guards, the tables frequented by those yet unattached. “My, we are grim today,” prods Llyse. “You aren’t the one they examine like a prized stud,” he murmurs between barely moving lips.
    “You might as well enjoy it,” comes back her calm reply. “You don’t have much choice. Besides, it’s honest admiration.”
    In the beginning,it might have been, when he insisted on joining the sub-guard exercise groups and on learning blades, and when he stole rides on the battle ponies. He knew, because he could not spend as much time at it, with all the demands for writing and logic placed on him by the Marshall, while he had the strength and basic skills, most of the guards he once held his own against could probably outride him in the field. Only with the blade could he continue to hold his own. Even Llyse, now, was receiving that concentrated field training he envied.
    He almost shrugged. Then again, that was the point of it. The guards of Westwind could outride, outendure and outfight virtually anyone. They were why his mother the Marshall ruled the Roof of the World and controlled the trade routes connecting the east and west of Candar. “… still a handsome boy.”
    “… sharp like a blade. Cut your heart and leave it