Excerpt: Windfire: Journey's End

Arin sighed and sprawled out in the chair. “At the very least, I think he will send a selection of dresses with the Lady Arisa tomorrow. With any luck, one of them will fit.”
Gwen’s cheeks flushed. “Is the entire court privy to issues involving my wardrobe?”
Arin chuckled. “The Prince was astute enough to ask about your injury – and it seemed safest to ply one of your tricks and turn the conversation to clothing. My other option was to discuss Lefyre and his unruly riding beast.”
“I find I rather prefer blue dresses,” Gwen blurted, her eyes sparkling.
Arin arched an eyebrow. “By which, I take it, you’d rather not discuss Lefyre,” he said, his lips twitching into a wry smile. He shrugged. “Aside from my conversation with Prince Naev, the rest of the evening was quite uneventful – save that Father Sideo stopped by the table and invited the both of us to join him for a picnic on the morrow. It appears that he feels Fenriod and Naev have had an unfair opportunity to spend candlemarks in your company – an imbalance which he means to rectify.”
Gwen drummed her fingers on the cover of the book. “On the surface, it all sounds reasonable,” she said, “but don’t you find it odd that all three candidates seem to be seeking out my company? Don’t you think they should be more interested in you, as the official representative of the crown?”
Arin started. “So much for a good night’s sleep,” he grumbled.