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A Stroke Of Midnight :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 70 из 293I realized that Mistral, too, was seeing whatever I was seeing, because he had started down the hall ahead of my gaze, as if he saw things, too. I wore the ring, but he had been part of the magic that had brought this to life.
He paused by Doyle and Frost, and looked back at me, as if to make certain I saw them. I wasn’t certain why it was important to him, but he nodded as if satisfied when he saw me see them.
Rhys stood at the end of the hallway. His face was sad but not enthralled. I looked at each of the men in turn with that same hyper-focus that I had seen in Biddy earlier. The magic was looking for something.
Kitto crouched at Rhys’s feet as if he had been struck down by the magic, but his face held the same wonderment that the other men’s did. I thought I was looking for someone who wasn’t affected, but it was Mistral who showed me that I was looking for the man who was most affected, not least.
Mistral stopped before the colored glow of Nicca’s wings. He held his hand out to the still-kneeling man. Nicca took his hand, but his face, now that I could see it, looked blind to Mistral, to anything but what he saw in Biddy.
His face had never looked more beautiful than it did in that moment, a delicate, almost feminine beauty that was usually disguised behind broad shoulders and a six-foot warrior’s frame. In his sleep he could be soft and as gentle as he truly was, but awake he always had to be more.
Mistral drew him to his feet, and Nicca was suddenly himself, awake and moving with the smooth strength of his bare chest, and the huge wings like a shining colored frame for all that gentle beauty.
I admit that, for a moment or two, I felt regret. Regret that I would lose him, that he would never again grace my bed. But that selfish impulse was drowned in a feeling of such warmth, such peace, that I couldn’t regret it, not truly. What I saw on his face as Mistral led him toward us was what I’d felt in the bed with him. He was too gentle for my tastes, and far too gentle for the queen’s. The only thing he would ever have done as king was die.
I looked at Biddy’s face, and saw in her eyes what I saw in Nicca’s. Each of them saw the whole world in the eyes of the other, and it was a nice, safe, beautiful world.
The four of us stood at the end of the hallway, women on one side, men on the other. I expected Biddy or Nicca to reach out to the other, but they were immobile. Mistral and I clasped their hands together. That shadow child that I had seen at first was back, but it wasn’t a phantom now. I saw a smiling face with Nicca’s warm brown eyes and Biddy’s black curls. I saw their child laughing and real, as if I could have touched the round baby curve of his face.
He paused by Doyle and Frost, and looked back at me, as if to make certain I saw them. I wasn’t certain why it was important to him, but he nodded as if satisfied when he saw me see them.
Rhys stood at the end of the hallway. His face was sad but not enthralled. I looked at each of the men in turn with that same hyper-focus that I had seen in Biddy earlier. The magic was looking for something.
Kitto crouched at Rhys’s feet as if he had been struck down by the magic, but his face held the same wonderment that the other men’s did. I thought I was looking for someone who wasn’t affected, but it was Mistral who showed me that I was looking for the man who was most affected, not least.
Mistral stopped before the colored glow of Nicca’s wings. He held his hand out to the still-kneeling man. Nicca took his hand, but his face, now that I could see it, looked blind to Mistral, to anything but what he saw in Biddy.
His face had never looked more beautiful than it did in that moment, a delicate, almost feminine beauty that was usually disguised behind broad shoulders and a six-foot warrior’s frame. In his sleep he could be soft and as gentle as he truly was, but awake he always had to be more.
Mistral drew him to his feet, and Nicca was suddenly himself, awake and moving with the smooth strength of his bare chest, and the huge wings like a shining colored frame for all that gentle beauty.
I admit that, for a moment or two, I felt regret. Regret that I would lose him, that he would never again grace my bed. But that selfish impulse was drowned in a feeling of such warmth, such peace, that I couldn’t regret it, not truly. What I saw on his face as Mistral led him toward us was what I’d felt in the bed with him. He was too gentle for my tastes, and far too gentle for the queen’s. The only thing he would ever have done as king was die.
I looked at Biddy’s face, and saw in her eyes what I saw in Nicca’s. Each of them saw the whole world in the eyes of the other, and it was a nice, safe, beautiful world.
The four of us stood at the end of the hallway, women on one side, men on the other. I expected Biddy or Nicca to reach out to the other, but they were immobile. Mistral and I clasped their hands together. That shadow child that I had seen at first was back, but it wasn’t a phantom now. I saw a smiling face with Nicca’s warm brown eyes and Biddy’s black curls. I saw their child laughing and real, as if I could have touched the round baby curve of his face.