[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

possibly could, until the coronation. Only after he d reluctantly accepted the job of King of the
Lightworld would he let his guard slip.
He rose from his knees, muscles protesting after being immobile for so long. All afternoon, after the
healers had discovered their songs would do nothing to bring the Queene back, after her maids had
tearfully robed the withered black husk of her one last time, Garret had knelt beside his sister s bier,
forehead resting on his clasped hands, back shaking with dry sobs every now and again to display his
grief to the courtiers and commoners who streamed through the great hall to pay their respects.
Their respects. If they had known Mabb, they would not have respected her. Her moods that could
change like the wind, her refusal to believe logic and rational truths when presented to her, her vain
insistence that she would someday bring the Fae to the surface when all of her efforts were directed only
to fancy gowns and lavish parties, these were not things that commanded respect.
Once, she might have been worthy of their adulation. But that time was long ago.
The throne room was another of the cavernous spaces hollowed out by the Humans above in a time
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
when the Earth belonged to them, but Mabb had taken special care to bring some dignity to it. One of
the few things in her reign that could be called  dignified, in Garret s opinion. In the early days, when it
had seemed they might mend their ties with the world above and their tradesmen were still allowed to
travel freely between the worlds, Mabb had chosen to outfit this room with walls of polished amethyst
tiles and a slick, polished quartz floor. She d loved those two stones most of all, for their gentle energy
and the image of status they projected. She d believed that to surround herself with amethyst was to
proclaim an affinity with the mineral s psychic energy.  No one will lie to me if they believe I shall see
directly through it, she d crowed to him once, and he d wanted to divulge right then exactly how many
lies he d gotten past her. But maybe that had been the trick of it.
The throne was also quartz, a huge, raw chunk of it, chipped and fashioned and polished enough to be
comfortable, but with clusters jabbing from the sides and arms like warning spines to any that would
approach closely. It had crossed from the Astral with them, and Mabb had not cast it off when she d
created her underground Palace. There was a crack in the back, where it had been damaged by the
Human leader who d called himself Madaku Jah during the Human uprising. That a Human had infiltrated
their Upworld Palace and nearly taken the Queene s life had been the decisive blow in that fight.
Garret posed himself on the throne, his posture strong, but his expression that of a weary and broken
man.  How sad the Royal Consort looks, they were bound to say.  Yet how determined and powerful.
He quashed a smile that came to his lips a second before the doors opened.
Two guards led Ayla, each holding the end of a rope that looped around her body. Garret would not
have known it was her unless he d been told, as she wore a strange Human garment that obscured her
wings and a hood over her head. Behind them followed a jeering throng made up of courtiers and
commoners. One of the guards tugged his end of the rope, and Ayla stumbled to her knees. The crowd
hurrahed, and Garret felt an unexpected stab of sympathy for her.
 Guard! Stand down! He stood and pointed at the other soldier.  Untie her. Remove that ridiculous
hood!
A murmur went through the assembly. They would either revile him or pity him. He believed it would be
the latter.
The soldier untied Ayla, leaving the hood for last. When he removed it, she was still almost
unrecognizable. Her nose was smashed and bloody, her eyes swollen to purple mounds. Dried blood
stained her mouth, and her head lolled from side to side on her neck as she tried to keep her footing.
The gasp that came from the crowd confirmed Garret s guess. They pitied him, that his mate would have
fallen so low, and that he was subjected to the horror.
Mabb s his council stood in expectation at the side of the room, distancing themselves from this
spectacle. One of them, a short, round little Pixie whose name Garret always forgot, cleared his throat
and stepped forward.  As acting monarch, it is your job to sentence her as you see fit. If what you have
said is true, if she allowed a Darkworlder to infiltrate our borders and coupled with him willingly, if she
killed your sister the Queene, you must accuse her of these things and punish her.
 Kill the  Ayla gasped and coughed, clutching at her bruised neck before righting herself and stating,
in a much quieter tone, one that every ear in the throne room strained to hear,  I did not kill the Queene.
 Lies! a shrill voice rang out over the collection of similar denouncements. But Ayla stood in her place,
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
resolved. She could play the game, perhaps as well as he could.
 Ayla. He let his voice break a little on her name, struggled to keep himself together for the crowd.
What a play this had turned out to be!  Ayla, you have been charged with assassinating the Queene of
the Faery Quarter. You have also been charged with helping a creature of the Darkworld enter our
borders, and with&  He walked slowly off the dais, toward her, his expression fixed and sad.  And with
lying with a creature from the Darkworld willingly.
Another outraged burst from the crowd. Garret could not force himself to listen to it, too intent was he
on Ayla and the hatred in her eyes. Hatred! After what he d offered her, what she d thrown stubbornly
aside!
He held up a hand to silence the hall.  These accusations are grave. And they are, indeed, too much for
me to contemplate now in the wake of my of all of our loss. And I cannot pass a judgment upon you
without serious consideration. Therefore, it is my decision that you should be held prisoner until such a
time as this matter can be fully investigated and your sentence can be delivered in as unbiased a manner
as I may be able to accomplish, under the circumstances. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

zanotowane.pl

doc.pisz.pl

pdf.pisz.pl

razem.keep.pl