A shepherd’s crown, not a royal one. A crown for someone who knew where she had come from. A crown for the lone light zigzagging through the night sky, hunting for a single lost lamb. A crown for the shepherd who was there to herd away the predators. A crown for the shepherd who could work with the best sheepdogs any shepherd could possibly have. A shepherd’s crown. And she heard again that voice: Tiffany Aching is the first among shepherds, for she puts others before herself. . . . A king of shepherds. No . . . a queen.
