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A Stroke Of Midnight :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 214 из 293You could not sit on the throne of a specific sithen unless the sithen itself accepted your right to rule.”
“I haven’t heard that story,” I said.
“It is a forbidden story,” Frost said, looking at Doyle.
“Why would it be forbidden?” Galen asked.
I made the logic leap this time. “Andais wasn’t chosen by the sithen,” I said.
“She was in Europe,” Doyle said, “but when we arrived in America, the new faerie mound did not.”
“What do you mean ‘new’?” I asked.
“Faerie is not just a physical location. The moment Andais stepped into the new mound here, it should have been the same, but it wasn’t.”
“We all assumed it was because of the third weirding, the one that the American government forced on us before they would allow us to move here,” Rhys said. “So many of us lost so much power that we—” he shrugged—“sort of looked the other way about the sithen not cuddling up to Andais.”
“She did allow the nobles to enter the sithen and have us watch them one by one,” Frost said. “If the sithen had reacted to any of them more than to her, she had agreed to step aside.”
“My aunt agreed to let the throne go to any noble the sithen chose?” I said.
“Hard to believe, I know,” Rhys said, “but she did. We all assumed that the last weirding had taken too much of her power for her to rule us. Then the worst happened.”
“The sithen knew none of them,” Doyle said.
“Okay, I understand how that would be bad, but why is it forbidden to talk about it?” I asked.
“Did Prince Essus ever explain to you how the various faerie courts came into being?” Doyle asked.
I started to say yes, of course he had, but he hadn’t. “I know that once the sidhe were not simply two courts, Seelie and Unseelie, but dozens, with different kings and queens, like the goblin court and the sluagh, but more independent.”
“So independent that we fought among ourselves, until we all agreed that we needed a high king,” Rhys said. “Once there was only one sidhe high ruler, not two.”
“I know this one,” I said. “The first Unseelie sidhe ruler was cast out of the Seelie Court, but he refused to leave faerie. He went from court to court and asked for entrance, but they feared the sidhe, and so finally the only fey court left was the sluagh. The most frightening and least human of all the fey. They took him in, and from that time on any sidhe who was cast out of other courts could petition to join the sluagh.
“I haven’t heard that story,” I said.
“It is a forbidden story,” Frost said, looking at Doyle.
“Why would it be forbidden?” Galen asked.
I made the logic leap this time. “Andais wasn’t chosen by the sithen,” I said.
“She was in Europe,” Doyle said, “but when we arrived in America, the new faerie mound did not.”
“What do you mean ‘new’?” I asked.
“Faerie is not just a physical location. The moment Andais stepped into the new mound here, it should have been the same, but it wasn’t.”
“We all assumed it was because of the third weirding, the one that the American government forced on us before they would allow us to move here,” Rhys said. “So many of us lost so much power that we—” he shrugged—“sort of looked the other way about the sithen not cuddling up to Andais.”
“She did allow the nobles to enter the sithen and have us watch them one by one,” Frost said. “If the sithen had reacted to any of them more than to her, she had agreed to step aside.”
“My aunt agreed to let the throne go to any noble the sithen chose?” I said.
“Hard to believe, I know,” Rhys said, “but she did. We all assumed that the last weirding had taken too much of her power for her to rule us. Then the worst happened.”
“The sithen knew none of them,” Doyle said.
“Okay, I understand how that would be bad, but why is it forbidden to talk about it?” I asked.
“Did Prince Essus ever explain to you how the various faerie courts came into being?” Doyle asked.
I started to say yes, of course he had, but he hadn’t. “I know that once the sidhe were not simply two courts, Seelie and Unseelie, but dozens, with different kings and queens, like the goblin court and the sluagh, but more independent.”
“So independent that we fought among ourselves, until we all agreed that we needed a high king,” Rhys said. “Once there was only one sidhe high ruler, not two.”
“I know this one,” I said. “The first Unseelie sidhe ruler was cast out of the Seelie Court, but he refused to leave faerie. He went from court to court and asked for entrance, but they feared the sidhe, and so finally the only fey court left was the sluagh. The most frightening and least human of all the fey. They took him in, and from that time on any sidhe who was cast out of other courts could petition to join the sluagh.