Luck in the Shadows

make out the scales on its sides, the graceful curve of the fins. The capital on the right appeared to be a stylized flame.
    "Why are they different?" he asked Sedrish, shading his eyes.
    "Those are the pillars of Astellus and Sakor, of course," the cook replied as if amazed at his ignorance. "Illior and Dalna are at the other end. They say those old builders figured if they were going to muck up the natural lay of the land so, they'd better tip their caps to the gods when they got all done."
    Talrien stood at the top of the gangplank with one of the sailors, calling out cargo numbers for the man to record in the log. On the dock below, the various merchants to whom the cargo belonged kept similar track.
    Alec studied them with interest. Instead of tunics, they wore long belted coats that reached below the knee and leather breeches like those that Seregil favored.
    Many wore broad-brimmed hats with a long colorful feather or two stuck at an angle in the band.
    Another vessel was unloading at a neighboring wharf; a single glimpse of their cargo was enough to draw Alec down for a closer look. Ducking through a throng of sailors and dock hands, he joined the crowd gathering around a makeshift corral that had been roped off for the horses that were being led ashore.
    He'd seen plenty of horses in his life, but never the match of these.
    These creatures were as tall as the black mare he'd left behind in Wolde, but not so heavily made. Their legs were long, tapering from rounded haunches to dainty hooves, and they bore their proud heads on well-arched necks. Their coats and manes had none of the rough shagginess Alec was accustomed to, but shone in the morning sun as if they'd been polished.
    Despite the commotion around them, the animals showed no skittishness as they milled about. Most were bays, with a few chestnuts and blacks mixed in. The one that immediately caught Alec's fancy, however, was a glossy black stallion with a white mane and tail.
    "They're something, ain't they?" Biny remarked, appearing at his elbow.
    "They are that," Alec agreed. "I've never seen anything like them!"
    "I shouldn't think so. Them's Aurлnen horses, just come up from the south."
    "Aurлnen!" Alec grabbed Biny's arm and pointed toward the ship. "Are there any Aurлnfaie there? Do you know what they look like?"
    "Nah, that's a Skalan ship. The Aurлnfaie don't come up here. Ships like that one trade in Viresse and bring the cargo-horses, jewelry, glass, and the like-back to the Three Lands to sell for theirselves."
    Viresse. Seregil had once mentioned that only one port in Aurлnen was open to foreigners.
    "Horses like them are only for the nobles and the rich," Biny went on. "I heard once that the Queen herself wouldn't never ride no other kind in battle, nor the Princess Royal, neither. And her the head of all the cavalry in Skala."
    The stallion Alec had admired came near and he couldn't resist reaching out to it. To his delight, the beast pushed its slim head against his hand and nickered contentedly as he stroked its velvety nose and forelock. Lost as he was in admiration of the horse, it wasn't until a gloved hand reached out to stroke the stallion's neck that he noticed Biny and the rest of the crowd had melted back. Turning, he found himself face-to-face with a young woman as exotic as the horse itself.
    Dark chestnut hair, drawn back from a sharp widow's peak, hung in a thick braid down the back of her mud-spattered green cloak. A few strands of it had escaped to frame her heart-shaped face in soft, curling wisps. As she turned to Alec, frozen in awe beside her, he saw the startling blue of her eyes, the flush of healthy color in her cheeks. For a moment his only thought was that here stood the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. And an extraordinary one at that, for instead of a gown she wore close-fitting doeskin breeches beneath a green tabard edged in white. The front of the tabard was richly embroidered with the emblem of a pair of crossed sabers supporting a crown.
    A heavy silver gorget at her throat flashed in the sunlight, and a long sword hung from a military baldric slung across her chest.
    "He's a beauty, isn't he?" she remarked.
    "Uh, yes." Alec hastily turned his gaze back to the horse.
    "Were you thinking of buying him?" she asked as the horse leaned over the rope to rub his chin on Alec's shoulder. "He's certainly taken to you."
    "No! Oh, no-no, I was just looking." Alec stepped back acutely aware of how filthy