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A Kiss Of Shadows :: Гамильтон Лорел
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"A powerful sidhe prince who has the ear of the queen, his mother," Doyle said, and the tone in his voice wasa warning to match the words.
"He has only one hand of power, and his other abilities are not that great."
"He is the Prince of Old Blood, and I for one would not want him using that ability on me on the dueling ground. He could bring every bleeding wound I have had in over a thousand years of battles on me at once."
"I didn't say it wasn't a frightening ability, Doyle. But there are others with more powerful magic, sidhe that can bring true death with a touch. I've seen your flame eat over a sidhe, seen it eat them alive."
"And you killed the last two sidhe that challenged you to a duel, Princess Meredith."
"I cheated," I said.
"No, you did not. You merely used tactics that they were not prepared for. It is the mark of a good soldier to use the weapons available to him or her."
We looked at each other. "Does anyone but the queen know that I have the hand of flesh now?"
"Sholto knows, and his sluagh. It will not be a secret by the time we land."
"It may frighten any would-be challengers," I said.
"To be trapped forever as a shapeless ball of flesh, never to die, never to age, merely to continue; oh, yes, Princess, I think they will be afraid. After Griffin… left you, many became your enemy, because they thought you powerless. They will all be remembering the insults they heaped upon you. They'll be wondering if you have come back holding a grudge."
"I'm invoking virgin rights—that means that I have a clean slate, and so do they. If I acknowledge an old vendetta, then I lose my status as a virgin, and I'll be sucked right back into the middle of all this crap." I shook my head. "No, I'll leave them alone if they leave me alone."
"You are wise beyond your years, Princess."
"I'm thirty-three, Doyle, that's not a child by human years."
He laughed, a small dark chuckle that made me think of what he'd looked like last night with half his clothes gone. I tried to keep the thought out of my face, and I must have succeeded, because his own expression didn't change. "I remember when Rome was merely a wide spot in the road, Princess. Thirty-three years is a child to me."
I let what I was thinking into my eyes. "I don't remember you treating me like a child last night."
He looked away, not meeting my eyes. "That was a mistake."
"If you say so." I looked out the window, watching the clouds. Doyle was determined to pretend that last night never happened. I was tired of trying to talk about it, when he so obviously didn't want to discuss it.
"A powerful sidhe prince who has the ear of the queen, his mother," Doyle said, and the tone in his voice wasa warning to match the words.
"He has only one hand of power, and his other abilities are not that great."
"He is the Prince of Old Blood, and I for one would not want him using that ability on me on the dueling ground. He could bring every bleeding wound I have had in over a thousand years of battles on me at once."
"I didn't say it wasn't a frightening ability, Doyle. But there are others with more powerful magic, sidhe that can bring true death with a touch. I've seen your flame eat over a sidhe, seen it eat them alive."
"And you killed the last two sidhe that challenged you to a duel, Princess Meredith."
"I cheated," I said.
"No, you did not. You merely used tactics that they were not prepared for. It is the mark of a good soldier to use the weapons available to him or her."
We looked at each other. "Does anyone but the queen know that I have the hand of flesh now?"
"Sholto knows, and his sluagh. It will not be a secret by the time we land."
"It may frighten any would-be challengers," I said.
"To be trapped forever as a shapeless ball of flesh, never to die, never to age, merely to continue; oh, yes, Princess, I think they will be afraid. After Griffin… left you, many became your enemy, because they thought you powerless. They will all be remembering the insults they heaped upon you. They'll be wondering if you have come back holding a grudge."
"I'm invoking virgin rights—that means that I have a clean slate, and so do they. If I acknowledge an old vendetta, then I lose my status as a virgin, and I'll be sucked right back into the middle of all this crap." I shook my head. "No, I'll leave them alone if they leave me alone."
"You are wise beyond your years, Princess."
"I'm thirty-three, Doyle, that's not a child by human years."
He laughed, a small dark chuckle that made me think of what he'd looked like last night with half his clothes gone. I tried to keep the thought out of my face, and I must have succeeded, because his own expression didn't change. "I remember when Rome was merely a wide spot in the road, Princess. Thirty-three years is a child to me."
I let what I was thinking into my eyes. "I don't remember you treating me like a child last night."
He looked away, not meeting my eyes. "That was a mistake."
"If you say so." I looked out the window, watching the clouds. Doyle was determined to pretend that last night never happened. I was tired of trying to talk about it, when he so obviously didn't want to discuss it.