Fallen Grace (The Death Dealer Book 1) Read Free

He looked jovial as always.
    “ A pity it has to be for the tournament. The same boring tournament where Sir Benjamin always wins. Then my sister always throws herself at him, as do all the young women. And we loser knights are left to wallow in defeat with not even a pretty young girl to comfort us,” Drake said; walking Tristan and his horse toward the stables. “This year is going to be different, though.”
    “ Why do you say that?”
    “ Because this year a knight has come from the Barony of Arganis. The hermit Duke sent his nephew.”
    A silence fell between the two friends. “Arganis?” Arganis's former lord had been a great knight. People at tournaments still spoke of him in reverent tones, and any knights who had lived to see him compete gladly tipped their hats in his honor. Tristan was unaware of any man in the Arganis house who was of an age to win his shield.
    “Lord Daniel had two brothers, if you remember. George and Leon,” Drake explained. “The older brother George took over the governance of Arganis when Daniel died, but his younger brother Leon has a son who trained and became a fine knight. He just entered knighthood and is ready to compete.”
    Tristan had a few fleeting memories of this boy from Arganis, if Drake was speaking of Calvin Hilren, at least. He remembered him serving as a squire while Tristan was preparing to take his trials and become a knight. They were two, maybe three years apart, but Tristan never mingled with him. He was a squire when Calvin was a page, and it always seemed beneath him to mingle with pages.
    “Well then,” he said, “why should that change the tournament this year? Newly knighted men compete every year, and it is never of any interest. Don’t you remember our first year? Beaten in our first rounds of the joust.”
    “ This knight is said to be of – shall we say – a higher quality than others. Rumors have been buzzing about for days that his father is one of the finest swordsmen in Cesernan, as well as a fine weapons trainer. Certainly that sort of gift passes from father to son.”
    “ Perhaps it was worth coming out to the tournament this year. We shall have to see if this Arganis knight can live up to the rumors that surround him.” If nothing else, this new knight would provide some new blood to the tournament.
    ~*~*~
    Grace Hilren had only been to Ursana once in her life, at the age of seven; her father’s last tournament. That was nearly ten years ago, but things were much as she remembered. She even suspected she was in the same room as before. There were two beds in the room: one great, queen-sized one and a small cot pushed into the corner. As a child, she shared the room with Cassandra. Now at seventeen, she still shared the room with her loyal handmaiden.
    The young woman opened the shutters to let the room air out a bit. It was warmer in Ursana, where the king kept his palace, than it was in Arganis. Grace was unused to such sweltering heat this early in spring. At her home it was probably a calm, windy day, perfect for walking about the grounds of Arganis castle.
    Arganis was not as rich as some of the other provinces, but it was the most beautiful. Its vast forests and large pine trees were renowned as the best for ship building. Then there was the snow. Snow rarely fell more than to provide a soft blanket on the ground. But when snow did cover the land, the pine trees were at their most beautiful. No other area in Cesernan could boast such beauty.
    Right now in her home, the weather was pleasant; certainly not too cold and far from hot. Ursana was different. Spring had only just begun, and Grace already felt as though the blistering heat of summer hit her. This place was loud and too much of a change from the peaceful forests of Arganis.
    “A change will do you good,” Uncle Leon said. He always insisted he knew what would do her good without asking her first. “You’ll see the palace again, and you may be able to take a few days