If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as âunsold and destroyedâ to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this âstripped book.â
For all the daydreamers â¦
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as âunsold and destroyedâ to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this âstripped book.â
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authorâs imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
True Heart
Kathleen Duey
ALADDIN PAPERBACKS
New York London Toronto Sydney Singapore
First Aladdin Paperbacks edition April 2003
Text copyright © 2003 by Kathleen Duey
Illustrations copyright © 2003 by Omar Rayyan
ALADDIN PAPERBACKS
An imprint of Simon & Schuster
Childrenâs Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Also available in an Aladdin Library edition.
Designed by Debra Sfetsios
The text of this book was set in Golden Cockerel ITC.
Manufactured in the United States of America
6Â Â 8Â Â 10Â Â 9Â Â 7Â Â 5
ISBN-13: 978-0-689-85370-8
ISBN-10: 0-689-85370-X
eISBN 978-1-439-10884-0
The Library of Congress Control Number for the Library Edition is 2002113022
J
oseph Lequire has finished Moonsilverâs armor. The silvery metal hides his horn. Heart is delightedâbut she is worried, too. It has taken Tibbs and the metalsmith three days to make the armor. Where are the Gypsies? Have Lord Irmaedithâs guards taken them to Bidenfast? Why? Are they safe?
CHAPTER ONE
H eart stood in the stone doorway.
The early chill was sharp.
Her breath made clouds of soft mist.
Kip sat beside her, his furry shoulder warm against her leg.
Heart stared at the yellow-orange glow in the valley below. The river of fire looked even stranger in the dark.
Heart knew that the sun would rise soon.
When it did, she would have to leave.
âI wish you could stay,â Tibbs said from behind her.
Heart turned.
Tibbs looked tired.
He and Joseph had worked hard to finishMoonsilverâs armor quickly.
âI donât want to leave,â Heart admitted. She felt the silver bracelet tighten on her wrist for an instant.
As always, it startled her.
As always, she wasnât sure what it meant.
âBut you have to go,â Tibbs said.
Heart nodded. The forge felt safe, but it wasnât, not for herâand not for the unicorns. Too many nobles came here.
Heart bit her lip, wishing she could be sure where the unicorns
would
be safe.
Maybe her family would help one day.
Or maybe she would never find them.
For now, all she could do was find the Gypsies.
She thought about Binney and smiled. It would be so good to know they were all safe, to be back with her friends.
âKeep learning to read, keep practicing,â Tibbs said softly.
Heart met his eyes. âI will.â
Tibbs frowned. âMy master in Derrytown wasnervous about teaching me. Itâs usually just for the nobility, you know.â
Heart looked at him. âA woman in Yolenâs Crossing offered to teach me.â
âWas she dressed fancy?â Tibbs asked.
Heart nodded.
Tibbs was silent for a moment. He shrugged. âThe lords all forbid books for common folk. Dunraven is the strictest, my master said.â
Heart nodded. She had lived her whole life in Ash Grove and had never even known what a book
was
.
âCan Ruth Oakes read?â she asked Tibbs.
He
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