
billowing from scarlet caves.
It began with a confrontation with Galanna, as so much of Aerin’s worst trouble did. Galanna was the
youngest of the royal cousins, but for Aerin, and she had been about to turn seven when Aerin was born.
Galanna had become quite accustomed to being the baby of the family, petted and indulged; and she was
a very pretty child, and learned readily how best to play up to those likeliest to spoil her. Tor was nearest
her in age, only four years her elder, but he was always trying to pretend that he was just as grown up as
the next lot of cousins, Perlith and Thurny and Greeth, who were six, seven, and ten years older than he
was. Tor was no threat. The next-youngest girl cousin was fifteen years older than Galanna, and she,
poor Katah, was plain. (She was also, very shortly after Aerin’s birth, married off to one of the provincial
barons, where, much to Galanna’s disgust, she thrived and became famous for settling a land dispute in
her husband’s family that had been the cause of a blood feud for generations.)
Galanna was not at all pleased by Aerin’s birth; not only was Aerin a first sol, which Galanna would
never be unless she managed to marry Tor, but her mother died bearing her, which made Aerin
altogether too interesting a figure within the same household that Galanna wished to continue to revolve
around herself.
Aerin was by nature the son of child who got into trouble first and thought about it later if at all, and
Galanna, in her way, was quite clever. Galanna it was who dared her to eat a leaf of the surka; she dared
her by saying that Aerin would be afraid to touch the royal plant, because she was not really of royal
blood: she was a throwback to her mother’s witch breed, and Arlbeth was her father in name only. If she
touched the surka, she would die.
At fifteen Aerin should already have shown signs of her royal blood’s Gift; usually the Gift began to
make its presence known—most often in poltergeist fits—years younger. Galanna had contrived to
disguise her loathing for her littlest cousin for several years after her temper tantrums upon Aerin’s birth
had not been a complete success; but lately had occurred to an older Galanna that if Aerin really was a
throw-back, a sport, as she began to appear truly to be, Galanna had excellent reason to scorn and
dislike her: her existence was a disgrace to the royal honor.
They made a pair, facing off, standing alone in the royal garden, glaring at each other. Galanna had
come to her full growth and beauty by that time: her blue-black hair hung past her hips in heavy waves,
and was artfully held in place by a golden webwork of fine thread strung with pearls; her cheeks were
flushed becomingly with rage till they were as red as her lips, and her huge black eyes were opened their
widest. Her long eyelashes had almost grown back since the night Aerin had drugged her supper wine
and crept into her bedroom later and cut them off. Everyone had known at once who had done it, and
Aerin, who in general held lying in contempt, had not bothered to deny it. She had said before the
gathered court—for Galanna, as usual, had insisted on a public prosecution—that Galanna should have
been grateful she hadn’t shaved her head for her; she’d been snoring like a pig and wouldn’t have
wakened if she’d been thrown out her bedroom window. Whereupon Galanna had gone off in a fit of
strong hysterics and had to be carried from the hall (she’d been wearing a half-veil that covered her face
to her lips, that no one might see her ravaged features), and Aerin had been banished to her private
rooms for a fortnight.
Aerin was as tall as Galanna already, for Galanna was small and round and compact, and Aerin was
gangly and awkward; and Aerin’s pale skin came out in splotches when she was angry, and her fiercely
curly hair—which when wet from the bath was actually longer than Galanna’s—curled all the more
fiercely in the heat of her temper, and for all the pins that attempted to keep it under control. They were
alone in the garden; and whatever happened Galanna had no fear that Aerin would ever tale-bear (which
was another excellent reason for Galanna to despise her), so when Aerin spun around, pulled half a
branch off the surka, and stuffed most of it into her mouth, Galanna only smiled. Her full lips curved most
charmingly when she smiled, and it brought her high cheekbones into delicate prominence.
Aerin gagged, gasped, turned a series of peculiar colors which ended with grey, and fell heavily to the
ground. Cabana noticed that she was still breathing, and therefore waited a few minutes while Aerin
twitched and shook, and then went composedly to find help. Her story was that she had gone for a walk
in the garden and found Aerin there. This, so far as it went, was true; but she had been planning to find