The Salamander Spell Read Free Page B

only the most experienced tracker could have found it. The path led to the northern side, where the swamp bordered the enchanted forest. She had seen creatures of all kinds drinking from a tree-shaded lake there. Although it wasn’t the safest place in the swamp, it was the only spot where the more unusual plant life grew.
    As she grew older, Grassina had developed an interest in the flora of the swamp. She had studied with an old woman from a nearby village, an herbalist who was delighted to have a princess as a pupil since it meant that she ate well on lesson days and was paid in real coin. During her years of study with the old woman, Grassina’s interest in plants had become a passion, but the old woman had died the year before, leaving Grassina to study on her own. In her mind, that meant spending even more time in the swamp looking for specimens.
    Although Grassina loved the swamp, she wasn’t blind to its dangers and was particularly careful when visiting the lake that bordered the enchanted forest. Once, while picking leaves from a variety of marsh mallow that grew at the edge of the lake, she had heard a shrill cry coming from the tall reeds between her and the forest. Looking up, she had seen a flock of crows descending on the reeds and whatever creature they hid. Armed only with a few stones she’d found on the ground, Grassina had gone to investigate. A doe, mauled by something in the forest, had wandered into the swamp to die. Although she was hidden from most eyes, the crows had found her and were impatient to begin feeding. The doe was close to death when Grassina saw her, but alive enough to turn her head. Their eyes met; one look was enough. As the doe lay her head on the ground again, Grassina threw her first stone into the flock of crows, being careful not to hit the deer. The birds squawked and flew off as one stone after another hurtled into their midst, missing most, but hitting enough to frighten them. Grassina had stayed to chase away birds even after the doe was no longer moving. She would have stayed all day if a bear attracted by the scent of blood hadn’t shuffled out of the forest.
    Knowing that her poorly aimed stones would do little more than irritate a bear, Grassina retreated farther into the swamp. The very next day she collected stones again. Instead of skipping them across a pond, she threw them at the gnarled knot in a tree trunk, hitting the tree but only rarely the knot. The next day she was back again, staying until her arm was sore and her aim was better. Within a month she could hit whatever target she chose. Within two months she could do it while running. Although she rarely needed to use the stones, it made her feel better to know that she could.
    Fortunately, on this particular day she saw no sign of anything larger than a deer in the vicinity, so she continued on, searching for certain plants. Finding a specimen with blue-flowered spikes that had opened its blooms since her last visit, she picked one stem, leaving the rest to grow and spread. She was tucking her new find into the leather sack she’d brought when she caught the faintest whiff of smoke.
    “There must be a dragon nearby,” Grassina murmured. It was time to head for home.
    Tilting practice was ending when she passed the field, so she sought out her father and joined him as he passed his horse’s reins to his squire.
    “Hello, sweetling,” he said when Grassina appeared at his side. “I thought I saw you coming. What have you been up to today?”
    As they started toward the castle, Grassina told him about her morning, including her conversation with Chartreuse. “It isn’t fair,” she said, kicking a pebble with the toe of her shoe. “Chartreuse is going to be the queen and the Green Witch just because she’s older than me. All I’m going to do is marry some old, boring suitor that Chartreuse doesn’t want.”
    King Aldrid tugged on his daughter’s braid. “Chartreuse may think that fortune favors