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A Caress Of Twilight :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 146 из 236Why?"
"Will he think you refused for the true reasons, or will he wonder if you refused because of something Maeve said to you?"
I still hadn't told them Maeve's secret, and they had not asked. They probably assumed that she had made me give my word not to tell them, which she hadn't. The reason I hadn't shared it was because it was the kind of knowledge that could get you killed. And now, suddenly, out of the blue, was the invitation to court. Shit.
I looked at Doyle and the others. Frost had moved over to lean against the dresser, arms crossed. Rhys was still on the bed. Kitto curled against me. I looked at each in turn.
"I wasn't going to tell you what Maeve told me, because it's dangerous information. I thought we'd just avoid the Seelie Court altogether, and it wouldn't matter. Taranis hasn't sent me an invitation to anything for years. But if we are going to have to deal with him, then you need to know."
I told them why Maeve had been exiled. Rhys just put his head in his hands and said nothing. Frost stared. Even Doyle was speechless. It was Kitto who said it. "Taranis has condemned his people."
"If he is truly infertile, then, yes, he has doomed them all to death as a people," Doyle said.
"Their magic dies because their king is sterile, dead soil," Frost said.
"It is what I believe Andais fears for the Unseelie. But she has borne one child, and Taranis has always been childless."
"So that's why she's so interested in Cel or me breeding," I said.
Doyle nodded. "I believe so, though she has kept her own counsel on her exact motives in pitting you and Cel against each other."
"Taranis will kill us all." Rhys's voice was quiet, but very certain.
We all looked at him. It was beginning to feel like a very confused tennis match, looking from person to person.
He raised his face from his hands. "He has to kill everyone who knows he's sterile. If the other Seelie find out that he's condemned them, they will demand he make the great sacrifice and his blood will be spread to recover their fertility."
Looking into Rhys's bleak face, it was hard to argue, especially since I'd thought the same thing.
"Then why is Maeve Reed alive and well?" Frost asked. "Julian has told us there have been no attempts on her life, none whatsoever."
"I can't explain it," Rhys said. "Maybe it's because she has no way to tell anyone else in faerie. We've met with her, but she can't talk to anyone else who isn't already in exile. Meredith is not in exile, and she can talk to people who would matter.
"Will he think you refused for the true reasons, or will he wonder if you refused because of something Maeve said to you?"
I still hadn't told them Maeve's secret, and they had not asked. They probably assumed that she had made me give my word not to tell them, which she hadn't. The reason I hadn't shared it was because it was the kind of knowledge that could get you killed. And now, suddenly, out of the blue, was the invitation to court. Shit.
I looked at Doyle and the others. Frost had moved over to lean against the dresser, arms crossed. Rhys was still on the bed. Kitto curled against me. I looked at each in turn.
"I wasn't going to tell you what Maeve told me, because it's dangerous information. I thought we'd just avoid the Seelie Court altogether, and it wouldn't matter. Taranis hasn't sent me an invitation to anything for years. But if we are going to have to deal with him, then you need to know."
I told them why Maeve had been exiled. Rhys just put his head in his hands and said nothing. Frost stared. Even Doyle was speechless. It was Kitto who said it. "Taranis has condemned his people."
"If he is truly infertile, then, yes, he has doomed them all to death as a people," Doyle said.
"Their magic dies because their king is sterile, dead soil," Frost said.
"It is what I believe Andais fears for the Unseelie. But she has borne one child, and Taranis has always been childless."
"So that's why she's so interested in Cel or me breeding," I said.
Doyle nodded. "I believe so, though she has kept her own counsel on her exact motives in pitting you and Cel against each other."
"Taranis will kill us all." Rhys's voice was quiet, but very certain.
We all looked at him. It was beginning to feel like a very confused tennis match, looking from person to person.
He raised his face from his hands. "He has to kill everyone who knows he's sterile. If the other Seelie find out that he's condemned them, they will demand he make the great sacrifice and his blood will be spread to recover their fertility."
Looking into Rhys's bleak face, it was hard to argue, especially since I'd thought the same thing.
"Then why is Maeve Reed alive and well?" Frost asked. "Julian has told us there have been no attempts on her life, none whatsoever."
"I can't explain it," Rhys said. "Maybe it's because she has no way to tell anyone else in faerie. We've met with her, but she can't talk to anyone else who isn't already in exile. Meredith is not in exile, and she can talk to people who would matter.