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A Lick Of Frost :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 60 из 184Inside we are still dead and dying, but our spiestell us that your faerie mound grows, lives. Even the mound of the sluagh is alive once more. King Sholto brags of your magic, Princess."
"King Sholto of the sluagh is a kind man."
Hugh laughed, an abrupt, surprised sound. "Kind. The king of the sluagh? The nightmares of all faerie, and you call him kind."
"I find him so," I said.
Hugh nodded. "Kindness. It is not an emotion we have had in this court in years. I, for one, would like more of it."
"I understand that," Rhys said.
Hugh looked off to one side of the mirror, where we could not see. "I must go. Talk to your queen, but when the rest of the nobles know what Taranis did to Lady Caitrin, and that other nobles helped him, the vote will go against him."
"Did he get the lady to lie, or did he bespell her, too?" Rhys asked.
"He used his illusions to make three of our nobles appear as the three of you. But he made them monstrous, with projections and spines and…" Hugh shivered. "Her body was quite broken. She is even now still confined to her bed, even with our healers." He looked at me. "If you have need of healers for your men, but ask and it will be yours."
"We will ask if we need them," I said, and I fought the urge to say thank you because Hugh was old enough to be offended by it.
"What did the king hope to gain by such evil?" Frost asked.
"We aren't certain," Hugh said, "but we can prove that he did it, and lied about it, and that the nobles involved lied as well. It is an abuse of magic that has almost no precedent among us."
"And you can prove it?" Rhys asked.
"We can." He looked off to the side again. He turned back to us, but there was a look of concern on his face. "I must go. Talk to your queen. Be ready." He gestured, and we were looking at our own reflections.
"This smacks of court intrigue," Frost said.
I watched Rhys and myself both nod solemnly in the mirror. Neither of us looked very happy.
Veducci came up behind us. "You have been given amazing news, Princess Meredith. Why don't you look happier?"
I answered his reflection rather than turning around. "It has been my experience that court intrigue usually ends badly. The Seelie Court has treated me worse than the Unseelie Court all of my life. I do not believe that a few new magics will make me queen of a people who despise me. If by some miracle it happens as Sir Hugh has stated, then I will have two sets of assassins to deal with instead of one." As soon as I said it, I knew I shouldn't have.
"King Sholto of the sluagh is a kind man."
Hugh laughed, an abrupt, surprised sound. "Kind. The king of the sluagh? The nightmares of all faerie, and you call him kind."
"I find him so," I said.
Hugh nodded. "Kindness. It is not an emotion we have had in this court in years. I, for one, would like more of it."
"I understand that," Rhys said.
Hugh looked off to one side of the mirror, where we could not see. "I must go. Talk to your queen, but when the rest of the nobles know what Taranis did to Lady Caitrin, and that other nobles helped him, the vote will go against him."
"Did he get the lady to lie, or did he bespell her, too?" Rhys asked.
"He used his illusions to make three of our nobles appear as the three of you. But he made them monstrous, with projections and spines and…" Hugh shivered. "Her body was quite broken. She is even now still confined to her bed, even with our healers." He looked at me. "If you have need of healers for your men, but ask and it will be yours."
"We will ask if we need them," I said, and I fought the urge to say thank you because Hugh was old enough to be offended by it.
"What did the king hope to gain by such evil?" Frost asked.
"We aren't certain," Hugh said, "but we can prove that he did it, and lied about it, and that the nobles involved lied as well. It is an abuse of magic that has almost no precedent among us."
"And you can prove it?" Rhys asked.
"We can." He looked off to the side again. He turned back to us, but there was a look of concern on his face. "I must go. Talk to your queen. Be ready." He gestured, and we were looking at our own reflections.
"This smacks of court intrigue," Frost said.
I watched Rhys and myself both nod solemnly in the mirror. Neither of us looked very happy.
Veducci came up behind us. "You have been given amazing news, Princess Meredith. Why don't you look happier?"
I answered his reflection rather than turning around. "It has been my experience that court intrigue usually ends badly. The Seelie Court has treated me worse than the Unseelie Court all of my life. I do not believe that a few new magics will make me queen of a people who despise me. If by some miracle it happens as Sir Hugh has stated, then I will have two sets of assassins to deal with instead of one." As soon as I said it, I knew I shouldn't have.