Glasswrights' Test Read Online Free Page B

Berylina continued.
    â€œI am summoned, you know. The Thousand have ordered me to journey to the homeland of First Pilgrim Jair. I am to undertake the complete pilgrimage, that I might hear the gods’ voices uninterrupted.”
    Rani’s mind reeled. Hal had not spoken to her, had not found the time to issue his orders to her directly, and yet he had shared them with the princess . He had listened to the Liantine woman’s mysteries and her secret plots, to the truths that the gods whispered to her when she knelt in prayer. Hal was ordering Rani to act, to do something she was not prepared to do, all on the basis of the princess’s visions.
    Even as Rani’s anger rose bitter at the back of her throat, she registered the rest of Berylina’s message. The girl was going to undertake a complete pilgrimage. Every Morenian desired to make such a journey in his lifetime, such a grand declaration of faith. Rani’s brother, Bardo, had planned to travel to Brianta. The family had saved for his pilgrimage, setting aside silver coins from their shop. But those coins had been traded to the Glasswright Guild instead, buying Rani’s advancement.
    Rani’s entrance to the guild had cut off all of Bardo’s hopes. He had rebelled in his own way, seeking out dark counsel, finding sinister allies in the city of his birth. If Bardo had been able to travel to Brianta, he might never have fallen in with the evil Brotherhood. He might have continued to live and work in the Merchants’ Quarter. He might have commandeered the family business, led the Traders to wealth and glory within their caste. He might have lived.
    And now Berylina proposed taking the trip that had been denied to Bardo, traveling to Brianta with all the wealth and pomp of a princess. …
    â€œI wish you a safe journey, Your Highness,” Rani choked out, raising an angry hand to dash away the tears that had somehow appeared on her cheeks.
    Berylina looked at her and glanced away, her eyes as quick as swallows at sunset. She clutched at her simple green robe, the caloya costume that marked her as a devotee of the gods. “I—” she started to say, but she lost herself in her former shyness, unable to bring herself to form coherent words.
    Hal stepped closer, coming between Rani and Berylina. The movement brought him too near for comfort; Rani fought the impulse to step back. “Princess Berylina has envisioned herself on the road to Brianta, where she will serve the Thousand Gods with pride. She has also seen you, Rani, honoring Lor and Clain and First Pilgrim Jair himself.”
    â€œSire—”
    â€œWe are honored by your accepting this duty, Ranita Glasswright.” The royal command was unmistakable—Hal used the traditional plural. He called her by her guild name. He spoke to her here, in the silk hall, where she could not express her misgivings. Where she could not refuse.
    â€œThe gods have spoken,” Berylina announced with a child’s simple confidence, rising out of her shy whirlpool for long enough to flash a trusting smile at Rani.
    â€œYour Highness,” Rani said, barely managing to keep her tone even, her words patient. “You do not understand. I have other work here.”
    â€œAlas, my lady,” the princess said, and her soft voice conveyed a true sorrow that was older than her years. “I fear that you do not understand. Clain has spoken to me. If you do not travel to Brianta now, you will never achieve mastery in your guild. You will never bring your glasswrights back to Morenia.”
    Rani turned to Hal, pinning him with a heated gaze. Surely, he could have made time in his busy schedule to tell her of his command. He must have known that Rani would rebel against the princess’s vision. If he had wanted to, he could have spared her this unsettling public display. “Sire?”
    â€œRani.” He closed the distance between them once again, coming