Read Online Many Roads Home by Ann Somerville - Free Book Online Page A

ride them in Tuelwetin. They have them in Karvis too. They came from the old home.”
    “Old home?”
    “The place where the people on this world came from. A thousand years ago or more, they say. They don’t teach you this at school?”
    “No. Only reading and writing, the ways of plants and animals, the doings of the gods and the workings of the seasons. It’s all you need in a place like this. I want to leave, see more of Uemire. I’d love to see Tuelwetin. I don’t fit here at all.” She suddenly glared. “And you’re only idling here to avoid work.”
    “I’m not! I’m being polite.”
    “Well, get on with your chores. My mother will bring lunch for us in a little while, but you won’t earn a bite unless you finish the sweeping out. Understand?”
    “Yes, miss.”
    She made a face and he grinned as he took off. At least he’d managed to winkle some conversation out of her.
    Something to ponder though, that she could be so unhappy at being forced to marry and live where she’d grown up, and yet Yveni had accepted that such would be his fate from the time he was old enough to understand the idea. Even now, he only made the journey to Horches to further the goal of returning to his home and fulfilling the plans his father had laid out for him. Would Raina be so unhappy about her father’s plans if she was forced to leave this village and abandon all who loved her?
    Maybe she’d like it. Yveni couldn’t tell. He didn’t like it at all because Konsatin could easily be wrecking all that Yveni’s father had put in place. Besides, he missed everyone.
    He leaned on his shovel and stared at the pile of manure in front of him. Already a high price had been paid to save his life. Gerd had died, and who could say that Yveni’s life was worth more than his? And what of Serina, betrothed to a man she knew capable of murder? Or Gil, the only protection his sisters had? Even the ministers loyal to his family—how did they fare without the heir to the ducal throne there to rally behind?
    He clenched his fists. He should have stayed and stood up to Konsatin, exposed his lies and his plots, and had him arrested. Would it really have been as impossible as Gil said? As Lord Timur had warned? Konsatin was just a man, after all, and not even part of the ducal family. His rise to prominence had been based on very little.
    Perhaps he should abandon this plan and return to Sardelsa, take his chances. But if he failed, then Serina would have nothing to hold up against her marriage to Konsatin, and nothing would stop him seizing the throne as her consort.
    “Boy, you’re daydreaming.”
    He turned. “Sorry. I was thinking of my family.”
    Raina didn’t snap at him as he half-expected her to. “Wash up, then come and eat. I can’t leave the youngsters, so it’ll have to be in here.”
    The food turned out to be pasties, rich and flavoursome, even better than the ones Sofia used to make. To Yveni, after days of fish and raw beach fruits, it tasted better than the finest court food. He licked his fingers appreciatively. “Your mother’s a wonderful cook.”
    “Yes, she is. So am I but I hate doing it for all these men.”
    Yveni grinned. “Why do you hate us so much?”
    “I said men , not little boys.”
    “I’m seventeen. Nearly eighteen!”
    “Really? You don’t look it. You’re small for your age.”
    He hadn’t thought himself particularly short, but Uemiriens were all so tall, he looked like a child beside them. “How old are you then?”
    “Eighteen. And a half. Are you really seventeen?” He nodded, trying not to look as offended as he felt. “You’re not so bad, I guess, even if you do have a prick.”
    Yveni flushed. He’d never heard a woman use that word. Raina didn’t notice his embarrassment. “Men only want two things from a woman—sex and cooking. And babies, I suppose. They don’t care if we’re smart and prefer it if we’re not, and all they want is for us to shut up and do what