Orlind (53 page)

‘
Why?
Were you hoping for “no”?’

‘
Well,
no, but... everyone knows that Lady Glostrum disapproves of
matrimony.’

‘
I do
not!’

He shrugged.
‘You’ve never done it, which amounts to the same thing in the
public mind. But aren’t you going to object on
any
grounds?
What about all those impediments you mentioned a moment
ago?’

‘
Why
don’t you do the objecting for me,’ she suggested, the sudden
release of tension making her feel drowsy. ‘I’m really far too
tired.’ She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her
eyes.

‘
All
right,’ he agreed. ‘There’s an age gap, you’ll recall. A large one.
Aren’t you concerned about that?’

‘
Not
if you aren’t.’

‘
Okay... what about the gap - nay,
gulf
- in status?
It’s not at all the thing for an aristocrat to marry a
nobody.’

‘
You
aren’t nobody.’

He was silent for
a moment.

‘
I
can’t think of any more.’

‘
That
wasn’t a very determined effort, Tren,’ she said with mock
disapproval. ‘Only two objections?’

‘
Hey,’
he protested. ‘They’re pretty
big
and, some would say,
insurmountable objections.’

‘
Well,’ she said sleepily, ‘I just surmounted them.’

Tren stroked her
hair. ‘Surely it can’t be that easy. Nothing about you is
ever
that simple.’

‘
A
lot’s happened to change me,’ she murmured. ‘I made complicated a
lot of things that ought to have been simple. The plain fact is
that I don’t wish to be without you ever again, and therefore the
only reasonable thing to do is to bind you to my side by any means
available.’

Tren was beaming;
she could hear it in his voice. ‘I really did expect you to say
no.’

‘
Sorry
for the disappointment.’

‘
Well,’ he said with a sigh. ‘I think I can live with
it.’

She smiled. ‘Then
we’re agreed?’

‘
Yes,’
he said and kissed her. ‘Agreed.’

***

End
Notes

Thank you for
reading
Orlind
! Want more? The next Seven Realms book,
Seven Dreams
, is now available for pre-order. Set soon after
the events of
Orlind, Seven Dreams
features a new cast of
characters plus the return of some old friends.

Seven mortal
Realms I saw and seven keys had I...

Serena
Carterett leads a team of masqueraders, shapeshifters and reformed
thieves. Their task? To oppose the criminal Yllandu at every turn.
It's a straightforward job -- until the Yllandu get their hands on
a mysterious stone artefact, and at the behest of a powerful Lokant
employer. When a strange riddle appears in the sky, the hunt for
the Seven Dreams begins.

Who will find
the seven keys, and what do they open? Nobody knows, but Serena is
determined to deny the Yllandu the prize. Her team must battle
Lokants and sorcerers, scholars and thieves to solve the puzzle
first. The hunt will take them all the way across the Seven Realms
-- and far into the darkness of their own past.

Seven
Dreams
is out now!

If you’d like to
be the first to hear about my new book releases, giveaways and
deals, sign up to my email newsletter at
http://www.charlotteenglish.com/newsletter
.

Find me
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Website:
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Also by
Charlotte E. English:

The Draykon
Series:
Epic fantasy

Draykon

Lokant

Orlind

The Malykant
Mysteries:
Dark fantasy murder mysteries

The Rostikov
Legacy

The Ivanov
Diamond

Myrrolen's Ghost
Circus

Ghostspeaker

The Drifting
Isle Chronicles:
Steampunk fantasy

Black
Mercury

Tales of
Aylfenhame:
Regency fairytale fantasy

Miss Landon and
Aubranael

Miss Ellerby and
the Ferryman

Glossary of Terms

Arvale:
An
ancient draykoni name for the realm now known as
Glinnery.

Ayrien:
An
ancient draykoni name for the Lower Realms.

Ayverty
:
Meat-eating beasts, as tall at the shoulder as a typical human with
powerful jaws and strong teeth. They are covered in thick fur,
usually white with a blue sheen. They are intelligent and can be
fiercely loyal.

Cayluch
: A
hearty beverage made from milk, cream, cocoa beans and coffee.
Typically enjoyed steaming hot.

Daefly
:
Insects with small, thin bodies and enormous coloured wings.
Feeding on flower nectar, daeflies are instrumental in the
pollination process.

Darklands:
It is always night in the Darklands provinces of the Seven Realms.
During the day, sorcerers use a powerful enchantment called the
Night Cloak to block out the light and keep the sun from damaging
the eyes of its residents, or the plants brought from the
permanently dark Lower Realms.

Day Cloak
:
A magical enchantment wrought by sorcerers which keeps the Daylands
permanently in sunlight (or something like it). This ensures that
sun-loving plants and animals native to the Upper Realms may thrive
across the Daylands, too.

Daylands
:
In the Daylands provinces, night never falls. When the sun goes
down, sorcerers create an artificial daylight effect called the Day
Cloak, less powerful than full sunlight but sufficient to keep
light-loving plants and animals content. Daylands realms include
Glinnery and Irbel.

Desente
bird
: A large, dark bird with purple feathers and keen
eyesight. Desentes have such enormous wings they can stay aloft for
up to eighteen hours without landing.

Drauk:
These reptiles are adaptable and can live in most Daylands
environments. They are usually black-scaled, with wickedly sharp
claws and long, thin necks and tails.

Draykon:
The largest and most fearsome species known to the Seven Realms.
Draykons are reptilian, with scaled hide of various colours as well
as long tails, claws and vast webbed wings. They are as intelligent
as humans and can shape-shift.

Evenglow
:
Glinnery term for the Day Cloaked hours, when the strong natural
sunlight gives way to the more muted light of the
enchantment.

Everum
: An
ancient draykon name for Glour.

Glissenwol:
Native to the realm of Glinnery, the
glissenwol tree is taller than most other species, with a broad,
sturdy trunk and a wide cap instead of branches and
leaves.

Glostrel
trees
: Graceful, slender-branched trees with silvery bark and
wide, white leaves. These grow in abundance across Glour, and in
some parts of Orstwych and Ullarn.

Irignol
trees
: Leafless trees with black, frondy bark and very dark
brown wood. These form symbiotic relationships with a species of
pale silvery-green lichen. They can grow to great heights, and
their trunks and branches become ever more contorted with
age.

Irilapter:
These tiny winged creatures have long, thin bodies covered with fur
and comparatively large wings similar to those of a daefly. A
typical irilapter will have a long, curled tail and a similarly
long, curled proboscis, plus far more riotous colour in its small
form than ought to belong to a single creature.

Irtand
:
Draykon name for the "Middles" or the Seven Realms.

Iskyr:
An
ancient draykoni word for the place now more commonly called The
Upper Realms.

Istore
:
Named by Llandry Sanfaer, istore is an indigo-coloured gemstone
with a silver shine.

Kreeay
:
Small Glinnery birds, swift on the wing, typically with white
plumage.

Lokant:
A
word meaning "Librarian" in an ancient tongue.

Lower
Realms:
Existing as an adjacent plane to the Seven Realms, the
Uppers are so-called because they are believed to be situated
somewhere beyond the ground. There is no sun in the Lowers, and as
such it is always dark - though there are multiple moons which
sometimes change colour. This place is notoriously unstable and
difficult to navigate, as the geographical layout and scenery are
in a state of constant flux. The Lower Realms may be reached by
opening a gate between the two worlds.

Night
Cloak:
A magical enchantment wrought by sorcerers which cloaks
the Darklands in shadow, keeping the sunlight away from the
delicate and night-loving plants and animals cultivated by its
citizens.

Nivven:
The most popular mount across the Seven Realms, the nivven is a
tall beast with four long, powerful legs and a graceful stride.
Their scaled hides range in colour from pearly grey to dark brown.
Nivvens are herbivorous and pacifistic in nature, making them ideal
beasts of burden.

Meerel:
Tiny woodland beasts with brown fur and long whiskers, noses and
tails. They eat fruit and nuts and typically live in nests built of
woven grass.

Muumuk:
A
huge, heavy, slow-moving creature, omnivorous, its hide the colour
of polished bronze. Muumuks have poor eyesight but much keener
hearing with their enormous ears.

Nara-fruit:
A juicy fruit with pink skin and flesh,
grown in Glinnery.

Off-Worlds:
A term used to refer to all those worlds
(the Upper and Lower Realms) which are not part of the mainland and
can only be reached via magical travel.

Orboe
: A
large beast more than six feet long from nose to tail. Orboes are
shaggy-furred, ranging in colour from cream to grey to black, with
tiny ears and massive jaws. They walk on all fours and can run at
amazing speeds given their size and weight.

Orting
: A
small mammal with pale grey fur, short ears and a short tail. The
orting is a friendly, herbivorous species native to the Upper
Realms.

PsiMap:
A
magical construct useable by Lokants to locate, and subsequently
travel to, any part of the world(s).

PsiTravel:
A Lokant technology allowing their kind to cross large distances
almost instantaneously.

Shortig
hound:
A small but energetic dog celebrated for its tracking
abilities. Shortigs are black-furred, with long ears and large
noses. They can be difficult to befriend, but are capable of great
loyalty.

Tayn wood:
A pale wood from the tayn trees of Irbel. Tayn is the hardest and
strongest wood known to the Seven Realms, and as such is popularly
used for buildings and machinery.

Upper
Realms
: Existing as an adjacent plane to the Seven Realms, the
Uppers are so-called because they are believed to be situated
somewhere behind the sky. Multiple suns shine down on the Upper
Realms, ensuring that it is always light. This place is notoriously
unstable and difficult to navigate, as the geographical layout and
scenery are in a state of constant flux. The Upper Realms may be
reached by opening a gate between the two worlds.

Whistworm
:
A fat worm, native to the Lowers, that climbs the stems of tall
plants and feeds off tiny insects. They are an unwholesome yellow
in colour and lightly furred.

Whurthag
:
A fearsome beast from the Lower Realms, long since banned as
summoner companions. Whurthags are large, muscular and very
aggressive, with night-black hide and vicious claws and teeth. They
are adept at stalking prey, their black hide all but invisible in
Darklands provinces.

Wole:
Tiny
rodents native to Iskyr. Their short fur can come in just about any
imaginable colour. They have big eyes and are prone to making a lot
of noise. None of this should lead a person to conclude that they
are stupid - in fact woles are surprisingly intelligent.

Worvillo:
Aggressive pack animals with long legs, shaggy grey or black fur
and a sensitive sense of smell. They hunt their prey over long
distances, shrieking chilling hunting-calls when in the fever of
the chase.

Yaven:
Birds native to Glinnery, intelligent creatures with brilliant blue
feathers.

Excerpt from
The Rostikov Legacy
(Malykant Mysteries
1)