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to her if she failed to
make them more attractive? Callion was said to have an even temper, but she had
also placed more than one charlatan in the stocks for daring to try his arts on
her sisters.
    She stuck her head back out, interrupting Uric and Roland’s conversation. “I
want you to witness that I never claimed to be able to help the princesses,” she
said forcefully. “I’ve never made any claims at all.” When they stared at her
with twin expressions of incredulity, she added, “It might keep me out of the
stocks if you would remind the queen of this if I fail.”
    Uric looked nonplused. “She’ll hardly send you to the stocks, Ceylon.”
    She swallowed hard. “Just in case, pray remember.”
    Roland squinted and scratched the side of his head when she ducked away
again. “Do you think she’s been sipping away at one too many of her own
potions?”
    Uric only shook his head, equally mystified. Who knew what went on in the
mind of a woman?
    They stopped to rest the horses at noon. Ceylon had been dozing in the
carriage, but was quick to take advantage of the stop for a jaunt into the
woods. On her way back she noticed Raven returning from a similar errand and
decided that she may as well use the time to begin breaking in her new
“servant”. It only took a moment to retrieve her crossbow from the coach.
    She selected a tree and moved a little away from the others. “Raven, come
here!” She handed him a woven coil target the size of saucer. “Hang this on that
tree, would you?”
    Raven frowned at the huge oak just on the edge of their clearing. “All
right.”
    When he returned she handed him the crossbow. “You once said you wanted to
learn how to use these. Now’s a good time to teach you.”
    Faint color came into his cheeks as he darted a glance at their escort, who
were watching them with idle interest. “I know how to use one,” he informed her
a touch scornfully.
    Her brow rose at his tone. The boy had better watch it or she’d let him walk
to Queenstown. “Show me.” As expected, her frosty stare took some of the starch
out of him.
    Lips compressed, he fired at the target. And had to jog out to retrieve the
red-flagged quarrel. He returned it sheepishly.
    Ceylon accepted it and the weapon sent a quarrel into the target’s heart. She
raised her brows in cool expectation. “Now will you pay attention?”
    Raven scowled and darted a glance toward men. “I can’t let a woman teach me
such things.”
    That annoyed her. She’d just about had enough of fragile male pride for the
morning. “Then don’t tell anyone,” she retorted. “Besides, no one will care as
long as you can shoot the eye out of a lizard. Get on with it.” She handed him
the bow and gestured for him to walk closer to the target.
    “Who taught you to shoot?” Uric handed her a mug of hot soup and sipped his
own as they watched Raven run after his quarrel.
    She accepted the mug with a nod of thanks and curled her chilly fingers
around it, inhaling the savory steam. “My father felt a woman of my size would
be hopeless with a heavy sword, so he trained me to use a crossbow and hunt. He
didn’t want me to starve if anything ever happened to him.” She was silent a
moment. “He knew I would never marry.”
    “Why not?”
    Ceylon frowned at him from the corner of her eye. “My face, of course.”
    “It looks well enough to me.”
    “Now. Get your arm up, Raven. Use the sights—don’t just guess at your
target.”
    Uric fingered his ragged ear. The tip had been sheared off in battle. “I know
how you feel. I often think that this is the reason I have such a hard time
finding a bride.”
    “Don’t be silly, “ she snapped. What a stupid comparison. “Who would notice
it?”
    His lips turned into a sly smile.
    Her eyes narrowed. “I know what you’re doing. But my face was ten times more
marked than yours will ever be. They called me--” her mouth snapped shut as she