The Exiled Queen
The second book in an epic fantasy series from Cinda Williams Chima. Adventure, magic, war and ambition conspire to throw together an unlikely group of companions in a struggle to save their world.You can’t always run from danger…Haunted by the loss of his mother and sister, Han Alister journeys south to begin his schooling at Mystwerk House in Oden’s Ford. But leaving the Fells doesn’t mean danger isn’t far behind. Han is hunted every step of the way by the Bayars, a powerful wizarding family set on reclaiming the amulet Han stole from them. And Mystwerk House has dangers of its own. There, Han meets Crow, a mysterious wizard who agrees to tutor Han in the darker parts of sorcery – but the bargain they make is one Han may soon regret.Meanwhile, Princess Raisa ana’Marianna runs from a forced marriage in the Fells, accompanied by her friend Amon and his triple of cadets. Now, the safest place for Raisa is Wein House, the military academy at Oden's Ford. If Raisa can pass as a regular student, Wein House will offer both sanctuary and the education Raisa needs to succeed as the next Gray Wolf queen.The Exiled Queen is an epic tale of uncertain friendships, cut-throat politics, and the irresistible power of attraction.
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THE
EXILED QUEEN
CINDA WILLIAMS CHIMA
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authorâs imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
HarperVoyager An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
Copyright © Cinda Williams Chima 2010
Cinda Williams Chima asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks
HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication
Source ISBN: 9780007384228
Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2011 ISBN: 9780007384211 Version: 2017-01-12
For Linda and Mikeâwho shared a world
of make-believe and kick-butt Barbies. Thanks for putting up with all the talking animals.
Contents
Copyright
Chapter One - The West Wall
Chapter Two - In The Borderlands
Chapter Three - In The Autumn Damps
Chapter Four - Delphi
Chapter Five - Into The Fens
Chapter Six - Flatland Demons
Chapter Seven - On The Road Again
Chapter Eight - Odenâs Ford
Chapter Nine - The Road West
Chapter Ten - Cadet
Chapter Eleven - Mystwerk House
Chapter Twelve - Raised from the Dead
Chapter Thirteen - Charmcasting for Beginners
Chapter Fourteen - Deanâs Dinner
Chapter Fifteen - Friends And Enemies
Chapter Sixteen - A Meeting With The Dean
Chapter Seventeen - In Mystwerk Tower
Chapter Eighteen - Abelardâs Crew
Chapter Nineteen - Caught In The Act
Chapter Twenty - Star-Crossed
Chapter Twenty-One - A Vermin Problem
Chapter Twenty-Two - The Waking Dream
Chapter Twenty-Three - A Meeting Of Exiles
Chapter Twenty-Four - News From Home
Chapter Twenty-Five - Blueblood Ways
Chapter Twenty-Six - Dangerous Dancing
Chapter Twenty-Seven - When Dreams Turn to Nightmares
Chapter Twenty-Eight - Word from Home
Chapter Twenty-Nine - A Babe in the Woods
Chapter Thirty - This Rough Magic
Chapter Thirty-One - Betrayal
Chapter Thirty-Two - Shifting Alliances
Chapter Thirty-Three - Matrimony or Murder
Chapter Thirty-Four - Shoulder Taps
Chapter Thirty-Five - Old Friends
Chapter Thirty-Six - Detours
Chapter Thirty-Seven - A Parting of the Ways
By Cinda Williams Chima
About the Publisher
Lieutenant Mac Gillen of the Queenâs Guard of the Fells hunched his shoulders against the witch wind that howled out of the frozen wastelands to the north and west. Looping his reins around the pommel of his saddle, he let his horse, Marauder, navigate the final half mile descent to the Westgate garrison house on his own.
Gillen deserved better than this miserable post in this miserable corner of the queendom of the Fells. Patroling the border was a job for the regular armyâthe foreign mercenaries, called stripers, or the Highlander home guard. Not for a member of the elite Queenâs Guard.
Heâd been away from the city only a month, but he missed the gritty neighborhood of Southbridge. In Southbridge there was plenty to distract him on his nightly roundsâtaverns and gambling halls and fancy girls. In the capital heâd had high- up connections with deep pocketsâmeaning plenty of chances to do private work on the side.
Then it had all gone wrong. Thereâd been a prisoner riot at Southbridge Guardhouse, and a Ragger street rat named Rebecca had jammed a burning torch into his face, leaving one eye blind, his skin red and shiny and puckered with scar tissue.
In late summer heâd taken Magot and Sloat and some others to retrieve a stolen amulet over in Ragmarket. Heâd done the job on the quiet under orders from Lord Bayar, High Wizard and counselor to the queen. Theyâd searched that tumbledown stable top to bottom, had even dug up the stable yard, but they didnât find the jinxpiece nor Cuffs Alister, the street thief whoâd stolen it.
When theyâd put the question to the rag- taggers who lived there, the woman and her brat had claimed theyâd never heard of Cuffs Alister, and knew nothing about any amulet. In the end, Gillen had burned the place to the ground with the rag- taggers inside. A warning to thieves and liars everywhere.
Sensing Gillenâs inattention, Marauder seized the bit in his teeth and broke into a shambling run. Gillen wrenched back on the reins, regaining control after a bit of showy crow hopping. Gillen glared at his men, sending the grins sliding from their faces.
