Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal, #1)

by Zen Cho

Zacharias observed to his relief that there seemed to be limitations to the concern a man could feel at the burdens loaded upon him. His organ of anxiety was already so exercised that this new complication only provoked irritation.

Are you going? What shall you wear?” “I shall go in what I am standing in,” said Mak Genggang. “A witch is always appropriate whatever her attire. It is quite another matter for a young girl, however. We will ask the sky what is suitable for the occasion.”

“Magic hates a whisper,” he had said. “The forces of the supernatural respond best to a good strong bellow.”