Warcry

of clothing and two pitchers of kavage in her arms. Amyu went to take the kavage from her.
    “What’s this?” Anna looked about the room. “The feast is about ready, and you stand about like ninnys. Where’s Lara? Othur, you haven’t dressed yet? Heath, you need to comb your hair.” She stopped in the middle of the room and glared at them all. “Where is Lara? Still abed?”
    Marcus had taken the kavage from Amyu. “You made this?” he asked of Anna.
    Anna nodded. “I ground the beans and drew the water. No one would dare try to poison food in my kitchen,” Anna said. “There’s no need to taste everything.”
    “Mayhap,” Marcus said. “But if I am seen tasting, there will also be no temptation to try. We take no chances, as we agreed.”
    “Come sit with me, ladywife.” Othur patted the bench next to him. “Lara and Keir are talking to Iain.”
    Anna’s eyes went wide. “Really? About—”
    “Yes, yes,” Othur said. “Come sit and wait with us.”
    Anna sighed and sat next to him. “Not for long, I trust. I’d not have that chicken overcooked.”
    Yveni nudged Ander with a grin. “What’s this I hear, Amyu? About you and those cackling women?”
    Amyu flushed but lifted her chin. “They waylaid me in the hall, taunting me about my hair. They seemed to think it was not suitable, for reasons I could not understand. I tried to take no offense, but they were . . . annoying.”
    “I heard you put them to flight.” Yveni laughed.
    “I pulled out a dagger and offered to trim their hair like mine. They scattered like gurtles, screaming, in all directions.” Amyu darted a glance at Anna. “I might have done wrong in this, but I do not apologize.”
    Anna shook her head. “No need to explain it to me, girl. Those flighty feathers have never been my favorites. All flounce and giggles when their hearts are as hard as diamonds. They hunt in their own way, trust me, and they use clothing and hair as weapons.”
    “Really?” Atira asked.
    “No, no,” Heath laughed. “Not really.”
    “Hunting for what?” Amyu asked.
    “Husbands,” Othur said.
    “Othur,” Anna scolded, but then she turned to Amyu. “They do little more each day than needlework and sewing, so their lives are measured in how they look and present themselves. And yes, their goal is a marriage. They mock you out of fear, and maybe out of jealousy.” She shook her head, setting her chins shaking. “It will cause a problem for the Queen, with the lords, that a Firelander threatened their daughters.”
    “We’ll manage,” Othur took up Anna’s hand and kissed it. “You’ll sit with me in the hall, ladywife? Protect me from the likes of lords and ladies wishing to talk my ear off? The staff can see to the serving, just this once?”
    “Pah, I’ll be needed in the kitchens,” Anna said. Then she laughed at the pleading expression on his face. “Maybe once the meal starts. Now, off with you to wash and dress. You need to be within the hall soon enough, and there’s no time for this nonsense.”
    The door to the sleeping chambers opened. Lara stepped into the room, her face radiant. She walked over to Othur and Anna and extended her hands to each of them. “Othur, Anna, you have been as parents to me. Would you stand in their place? Keir has a question he wishes to put to you.”
    Anna stood, starting to cry as she hugged Lara.
    “You are more than capable of giving yourself away, Lara,” Othur said as he stood. “But we would be proud and pleased to stand in their stead.”
    Iain cleared his throat. “I can perform the ceremony here and now if you wish. It would take but a moment to—
    “Oh no.” Anna scowled at the young man, her hands on her hips. “Over my dead body.”

CHAPTER 19
     
    OTHUR CHUCKLED UNDER HIS BREATH AS HIS ladywife faced them all down.
    “Lara is a Daughter of Xy and Queen, not some milkmaid brought to ruin by her lover. We’ll have a proper ceremony, tomorrow night in the throne room, conducted by the Archbishop himself. I’ll not have those nobles whispering that the deed was done in secrecy, with naught but friends as witnesses.”
    “We’ll have Durst sign the certificate as witness,” Heath suggested, a malicious look on his face. “Lanfer as well.”
    “We’ve time enough for dresses and flowers and true honor done to the bride,” Anna said with satisfaction.
    “But the Justice . . . the babe . . .” Lara said.
    “The Justice in the morning, bright and early,”