A Caress Of Twilight   ::   Гамильтон Лорел

He sat down on the far endof the bed as if his knees were weak.

"No, we cannot," Doyle said.

We all looked at him. "Don't you see, Rhys? Merry will rule Taranis's rival kingdom. She must set the rules now, or he will forever treat her as less. For the sake of all of us, she must not appear weak."

"What will the king do?" Frost asked.

Doyle looked at him, and they had one of those long looks. "In absolute truth, I do not know."

"Has anyone ever defied him like this?" Frost asked.

"I don't know," Doyle said.

"No," I said.

They looked at me.

"Just as you walk around Andais like she's a snake about to strike, you tiptoe around Taranis the same way."

"He does not seem as frightening as the queen," Frost said.

I shrugged, and it hurt, so I stopped. "He's like a big spoiled child who's had his own way for far too long. If he doesn't get what he wants, he throws tantrums. The servants and lackeys live in fear of those tantrums. He's been known to accidentally kill in one of his rages. Sometimes he's sorry, sometimes he's not."

"And you just threw a steel gauntlet into his face," Rhys said, staring at me from the end of the bed.

"One thing I always noticed about Taranis's temper was that it never struck out at anyone powerful. If he was in this uncontrollable rage, then why was it always directed at people who were powerless to fight back? Always, his victims were either magically inferior, or politically inferior, or people with no strong allies among the sidhe." I shook my head. "No, Rhys, he always knows who he's lashing out at. It's not mindless. He won't hurt me, because I stood my ground. He'll respect me, and maybe begin to worry about me."

"Worry about you?" Rhys asked.

"He fears Andais — and even Cel, because Cel's crazy and Taranis isn't sure what he'll do once he's got the throne. Taranis was probably thinking he could control me. Now he'll begin to wonder."

"It is interesting that this invitation comes after we have spoken to Maeve Reed," Doyle said.

I nodded. "Yes, isn't it."

The three of them exchanged glances. Kitto just stayed wound around me, quieter now. "I do not think it would be wise for Meredith to attend this ball," Frost said.

"I agree," Doyle said.

"Unanimous," Rhys said.

I looked at them. "I don't intend to go. But why are you all looking so serious?"

Doyle sat down on the far side of me, forcing Kitto to scoot back a little. "Is Taranis as good a political thinker as you are?"

I frowned. "I don't know.