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Mistrals Kiss :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 85 из 148He moved close enough to whisper to me, “If you do not help make this kill, Agnes will spread the rumor that you are not a warrior.”
“And that would mean what?” I whispered back.
“It could mean that when you sit on the throne of the Unseelie Court, the sluagh will not come to your call, for they are a warrior people. They will not be led by someone who is unbloodied in battle.”
“I’ve been bloodied,” I said. The numbness was sliding away, and now the pain was sharp and tearing. The wound was bleeding freely. What I needed was to get medical attention, not to wade around in slimy water. “I’ll need a dose of antibiotics after this.”
“What?” Doyle and Sholto both asked.
“I’m mortal. Unlike the rest of you, I can get an infection, blood poisoning. So after we crawl around in that water, I’ll need antibiotics.”
“You can truly catch all that?” Sholto asked.
“I’ve had the flu, and my father made sure I had all my childhood immunizations — he wasn’t sure how much I could withstand or heal.”
Sholto gazed at me, studying my face. “You are fragile.”
I nodded. “Yes, I am, by the standards of faerie.” I looked up at Doyle. “You know, there are times when I’m not sure I want to be in charge here.”
“Do you mean that?”
“If there was a better alternative than my cousin, yes, I mean it. I’m tired, Doyle, tired. As much as I wanted to come back home to faerie, I’m beginning to miss L.A. almost as much. To put some distance between me and all this killing.”
“I told you once, Meredith, that if I could bear to give the court to Cel, I would leave with you.”
“Darkness,” Mistral said, “you cannot mean that.”
“You have not been outside faerie except for small trips. You have not seen that there are wonders outside our hills.” He touched my face. “There are some wonders that will not fade when we leave here.”
He had told me that he would give up everything and follow me into exile. Frost and he, both. When they first thought that the queen’s ring, a relic of power, had chosen Mistral as my king Doyle had broken down and said he could not bear it, to watch me with another. He had pulled himself together and remembered his duty, as I’d remembered mine. Would-be queens and kings did not run away and hide, and give their countries over to insane tyrants like my cousin Cel. He was crazier than his mother, Andais.
I stared up into Doyle’s face and I wanted him. Wanted to run away with him. Frost came up beside us. I gazed at my two men. I wanted to wrap them around me like a blanket.
“And that would mean what?” I whispered back.
“It could mean that when you sit on the throne of the Unseelie Court, the sluagh will not come to your call, for they are a warrior people. They will not be led by someone who is unbloodied in battle.”
“I’ve been bloodied,” I said. The numbness was sliding away, and now the pain was sharp and tearing. The wound was bleeding freely. What I needed was to get medical attention, not to wade around in slimy water. “I’ll need a dose of antibiotics after this.”
“What?” Doyle and Sholto both asked.
“I’m mortal. Unlike the rest of you, I can get an infection, blood poisoning. So after we crawl around in that water, I’ll need antibiotics.”
“You can truly catch all that?” Sholto asked.
“I’ve had the flu, and my father made sure I had all my childhood immunizations — he wasn’t sure how much I could withstand or heal.”
Sholto gazed at me, studying my face. “You are fragile.”
I nodded. “Yes, I am, by the standards of faerie.” I looked up at Doyle. “You know, there are times when I’m not sure I want to be in charge here.”
“Do you mean that?”
“If there was a better alternative than my cousin, yes, I mean it. I’m tired, Doyle, tired. As much as I wanted to come back home to faerie, I’m beginning to miss L.A. almost as much. To put some distance between me and all this killing.”
“I told you once, Meredith, that if I could bear to give the court to Cel, I would leave with you.”
“Darkness,” Mistral said, “you cannot mean that.”
“You have not been outside faerie except for small trips. You have not seen that there are wonders outside our hills.” He touched my face. “There are some wonders that will not fade when we leave here.”
He had told me that he would give up everything and follow me into exile. Frost and he, both. When they first thought that the queen’s ring, a relic of power, had chosen Mistral as my king Doyle had broken down and said he could not bear it, to watch me with another. He had pulled himself together and remembered his duty, as I’d remembered mine. Would-be queens and kings did not run away and hide, and give their countries over to insane tyrants like my cousin Cel. He was crazier than his mother, Andais.
I stared up into Doyle’s face and I wanted him. Wanted to run away with him. Frost came up beside us. I gazed at my two men. I wanted to wrap them around me like a blanket.