Excerpt: The Mage King

Allyn picked up his wet cloth again, ran it over his face as he sat on the stool by his bench. "Lina left some gold chain she's been saving. She wants you to make a bracelet. Not chain, she said. A vine with leaves. Like the one you made for Chaerie."

Lyall prayed that he was close enough to the coals that Allyn couldn't see his blush. "I'll talk to her about it, return the chains."

"Lyall, I don't mind if you make a few pieces on the side. You're certainly good enough, almost ready to go on your own. I just hadn't realized that you were working gold."

"It's only the one piece. And it was a gift." He was certain that Allyn saw the blush, now.

"It's a good piece. I saw Chaerie wearing it this afternoon when I went into town for lunch. It's not easy to shape gold; it's too soft."

"It was mostly a mold. I only worked it to fit the vine to her wrist." He dared to glance over, only to see Allyn's grin.

"Work out a good price, Lyall and put it away. It'll come in handy when you set up your own forge and want to start a family."

He meant it kindly, but Lyall's face was flaming by now. Still, what he said made sense. Or it would if his father wasn't a king. "I'll… I'll talk to Lina. But the vine bracelet - that's just for Chaerie. For her birthday."