From the book jacket When Keladry of Mindelan is chosen by the legendary Lord Raoul to be his squire, the conservatives of the realm hardly think she's up to the job. Kel quickly proves her ability as a jouster, warrior, and a guardian of a fiery griffin, ultimately earning respect and admiration among the men, as well as the affection of a fellow squire. In addition to coping with the challenges of a new romance and a life in the royal guard, Kel must also prepare for the infamous "Ordeal," the last challenge that stands between her and her dream of knighthood...

"Commanders are as rare as heroes...You've shown flashes of being
a commander, Keladry. It's my job to see if you will do more than just flash..."
                            - Lord Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak This is the novel out of the quartet, which everyone has been waiting for. Kel is almost a knight...and she's still proving to skeptics that she has the ability to become one. I especially enjoyed this book because it was chocked full of extra romance for Kel as well as her achievements in jousting.

Neal lowered his book, raising arched brows over green eyes. "I'm about to commence four years obeying the call of a bruiser on a horse," he pointed out in his dry voice. A friend had commented once that Neal had a gfit for making someone want to punch for just saying hello. "I refuse to put down what might be last book I see for months."
chapter 1, page 8

"Domitan of Masbolle at your service, Squire Keladry. Your page-sponsor was a certain mad cousin of mine."
She squinted to get a better look at him. His eyes - impossible to tell their color at the moment - were framed by wide, arched brows and set over a long nose slightly wide at the tip. It was Neal's nose, on someone else's face. Kel smiled. "You're related to Neal?"
"Sadly, yes. I call him Meathead."
chapter 2, page 40

"We do try to eat," Raoul called back to her. "I go all faint if I don't get fed regularly. Only think of the disgrace to the King's Own if I fell from the saddle."
"But there was that time in Fanwood," a voice behind them said.
"That wedding in Tameran," added the blond Sergeant Osbern, riding a horse-length behind Kel.
"Don't forget when what's-his-name, with the army, retired," yelled a third.
"Silence, insubordinate curs!" cried Raoul. "Do not sully my new squire's ears with your profane tales!"
"Even if they're true?" That was Dom. It seemed Neal wasn't the only family member versed in irony.
chapter 2, page 43

"Meet anyone worth having a conversation with?" Neal asked wickedly.
"You mean relatives of yours?" Kel asked, all innocence. "You know, Neal, I think your branch was cheated when they handed out brains, because Dom-" She ducked the roll Neal threw at her.
chapter 7, page 124

"Let us go outside, if you please, Lady Yukimi," Kel suggested in Yamani. "My friends' supper will go cold because their attention is on you." She bowed to the lady, who bowed in return.
"They stare so," the Yamani remarked. Turning, she bowed to the room. There was a sudden clatter as every page and squire tried to stand and bow.
"Now you've done it," Kel said in Yamani. "They won't be able to talk sense for weeks."
chapter 7, page 126

"Tilt with Lord Raoul? Why don't I just lie down in front of an elephant and let him step on me? I bet if feels the same."
- Nealen of Queenscove chapter 7, page 129

"She earned her right to stay, as much as - more than - you lads. Against odds that might have broken one of you."
- Lord Wyldon of Cavall chapter 8, page 150

"I hate to say it, my dear, but I think our prince is a fathead."
- Cleon of Kennan chapter 9, page 170

"I am a man, I'll have you know," Neal said loftily, putting a hand on his chest. "Five years older -" Kel elbowed him, ruining his dignity. Yuki covered a giggle with her fan.
chapter 9, page 173

Cleon leaned down and pressed his lips gently to hers. "Midwinter luck, Kel," he whispered. He turned crimson, and strode down the hall.
chapter 9, page 175

"Not too fast," called Raoul. "Let's not scare anyone."
"His majesty said with all deliberate speed!" chriped the courier. He flinched under Lerant's glare.
"That's how we're doing it," Raoul told him. "Deliberately."
chapter 10, page 188

Kel dropped the bowl, splattering Lady Alanna's indigo skirts and Lord Raoul's spruce green hose. "I'm sorry," Raoul said wickedly as Kel mopped up the spill. "Should I have warned you?"
Kneeling on the ground, Kel saw Alanna kick Raoul in the shin. "Don't tease," the Champion ordered. "Yes, you should have warned her."
chapter 11, page 206

Kel stepped into the open. "You speak against our knight-master. You must be shown the error of your ways," she said. "And Joren's no highwayman, just a kidnapper." She offered Lerant a hand without taking her eyes from his tormentor. "If it's the list you want, you shall have them. I am a squire, and I want satisfaction from you." The time-honored phrases of the challenge came from her lips with a sense of strength that grew with each word.
chapter 11, page 121

"Please look at me, Kel," Cleon asked.
She was ready to refuse, but he'd said "please." It would be churlish not to look up, so she did, meeting his gray eyes with her hazel ones. He was smiling. That was a dirty trick. It was impossible to remind him she was a fellow squire, sexless, when he smiled with so much liking that her insides melted. He lowered his head just a few inches to press his mouth to hers.
chapter 11, page 215

He gawped at her. "Is something wrong?" Kel asked, wondering if she had missed anything.
He shook his head and smiled oddly. "This is your first challenge, my lady?"
Kel nodded.
"Your first, and you won," the monitor told her. "Well rode, Lady Kel, well rode indeed."
chapter 12, page 231

He slapped Kel lightly with a riding glove.
Cleon lunged for the knight with a snarl. Neal grabbed the big redhead. Jump seized Merric of Hollyrose's tunic before Merric could attack, while Owen hung on to Cleon with one hand and Merric with the other. Kel looked at Voelden, feeling cold inside. "I accept," she said quietly.
chapter 12, page 233

All around her she heard a chant, and raised her head. Groups of people in the stands were on their feet, crying, "Mindelan! Mindelan! Mindelan!"
chapter 12, page 238

"Lord Raoul asked me to tell you that if you get yourself killed, he will never speak to you again."
- herald chapter 12, page 247

Raoul grinned. "The day you can best Wyldon is the day they put up a statue to you in front of the palace. He's strong, he's fast, he's got powerful horses, and he always knows exactly where to hit," he said. "The last fall I got from any man was from him, ten years ago."
"You've beaten him since?" Kel asked, thinking he might share his secret.
"Mithros, no - I just don't joust with him anymore. I have my pride," Raoul said.
chapter 12, page 249

"It's a very great honor," Cleon told her, cupping her cheek in one large hand. "Lord Raoul."
Kel shook her head. "He didn't say a word."
"You know those big fellows - sneaky." He kissed her softly one more time. "Midwinter luck, Kel," he told her with a smile.
She kissed him. "Midwinter luck, Cleon."
chapter 13, page 254

"Poor lad! A big man creature like him, needing protection! Oh, I can't turn my back on him. Tell him I'll do it. A sacrifice for friendship - what's more appropriate at Midwinter?"
Buri, Commander of the Queen's Riders chapter 14, page 269

Kel throttled the urge to pick the man up and throw him at a tree. "I'm sick of this," she snapped. "Call me what you like, say I'm without honor, I don't care. I'm not getting on any more horses to whack you people with a stick."
chapter 14, page 283

"It's the only bad thing about animals," she told Cleon. "Most don't live as long as we do."
"I know, sweet," Cleon said, kissing first one of her eyelids, then the other. "But think how bleak life would be without them."
chapter 14, page 283

"The glory of knighthood is lovely, isn't it?" Raoul asked as they urged the indignant Peachblossom and the calm Drum to pull. "The brilliance and fury of battle, the sound of trumpets in the air, the flowers, and the pretty girls - or pretty boys, in your case - climbing all over us."
Kel, every bit has muddy and weary as her knightmaster, grinned. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again, my lord. You are a bad man."
chapter 15, page 289

"Worse. He said if I take more time away from his bootheels for my own pleasure, he'll seat me with the greediest matchmaking mother in each district."
Lord Raoul of Goldenlake and Majorie's Peak, Commander of the King's Own
chapter 15, page 295

"Enough. We lived and you're depressing me," Buri said, nudging his foot with hers. "Tell her about the giantess who fell in love with you that year."
"Aw, Buri!" he protested.
"Giantess?" Kel asked, wide-eyed. "Come on, tell!"
chapter 16, page 309

When the door closed behind Myles, Raoul rested his face in his hands. "That fathead Glaisdan," he said, his voice muffled. "He kept telling me that one Tortallan horseman was the equal of ten northern savages."
"Maybe they are," said Flyndan dourly. "It's the eleventh savage that gets you."
chapter 16, page 318

Duty was what was owed, good parts and bad, to keep the realm growing, to keep it as fair as life could be kept. Duty was an old man, snug in his fur-lined robe, snoring lightly somewhere behind her.
- Keladry of Mindelan chapter 18, page 369

"But you, bless you, you are real. Those girls watched you, and talked about your style in the saddle, and the things you did. They swore they'd take up archery, or riding, or Shang combat, because you had shown them it was all right. I was so proud."
- The Lioness Lady Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau, King's Champion chapter 18, page 379

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