Destiny by Sharon Green

also needs to be passed on to most of the others," Naran murmured, her face showing a smile that suggested she spoke of personal if not intimate things. "When I agreed with Lorand a few minutes ago, I lied. I was aware of the inner conversation when we were Blended, but just like Vallant I kept silent because I didn't have what to say."
    "Which means that Lorand is the only one of us who hasn't reached this new point," Rion murmured back, fighting to keep from frowning. "Are you able to see anything of significance surrounding the lack?"
    "Only one thing," Naran answered, a hint of fear now showing in her lovely eyes. "If we don't figure out what's wrong and fix it, that possibility covering our winning disappears completely."
    Marvelous , Rion thought with an inner groan. They didn't even know what was wrong, but unless they fixed it they would lose the coming battle. That day might have started out being fairly nice, but it was rapidly going very much downhill…

Chapter Seven
     
    Deslen Voyt walked into the tavern he was beginning to know rather well. He and Brange had taken to meeting in the tavern every night, just as friends often did. Deslen and Brange were friends, but the matter wasn't as simple for them as it seemed to be for everyone else. Or at least it still wasn't that simple for Deslen. Brange sat at their usual table looking completely unbothered, and when Deslen walked up to him Brange smiled.
    "How's it going, Voyt?" Brange asked as Deslen sat down and signaled the serving girl for an ale. "You still enjoying the classes as much as I am?"
    "Actually, I can't remember enjoying anything more in my life," Deslen answered, the question distracting him from the usual unease. "I'm still a Low in Water magic, but I'm beginning to have real control of my talent. And no one has even looked as if they consider me a waste of good living space."
    "And I'm doing better in Earth magic," Brange agreed, giving the serving girl a smile as she set a flagon of ale in front of Deslen and then hurried off. "If you want the truth, I've been looking for people who might consider me a waste of good living space. I expected to find some, just the way I always have since I became a man, but these people are different somehow. They really want to help me become the best I can be, and they aren't surprised that we have jobs with the city guard waiting when we finish our classes. Walking away from that fool noble was the smartest thing we ever did."
    Deslen glanced around when Brange mentioned the noble, but no one seemed to have overheard the low-spoken comment. He and Brange - and a large number of others - had been brought into the city by the noble to help the noble take over control from the new government. When Deslen and Brange had found an opportunity to walk away from the noble and make something decent of their lives they'd jumped at the opportunity, but they hadn't left alone. They'd managed to get almost half of the rest of the men to go with them, and the noble had been too busy with reorganizing the men he had left to find it possible to hunt those who had escaped.
    "I've been talking to some of the others, and they're also glad we all walked away," Brange said, still speaking softly after sipping at his own ale. "Three of the ones who left with us are gone from the city, but the rest are either already in a training class or have signed up for one. And only a handful or so plan to join the city guard with us. The rest have plans of their own that they've never before had the chance to try. Can you see some of those fools as shopkeepers?"
    "If that's what they really want, sure I can," Deslen said with a faint smile. "The only thing I keep worrying about is what's going to happen if someone finds out that we came here in the first place to make trouble. They'll never believe that we changed our minds, and if they do find out it will mean the end of all our dreams."
    Brange frowned and was about to answer Deslen, but the