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A Kiss Of Shadows :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 172 из 338And that your aunt offered it to you with me as your driver is a great honor that should not easilybe dismissed."
I stepped in close to him and lowered my voice as if the waiting reporters could hear us. I couldn't keep calling magic to hide our words because, though I couldn't sense it, I couldn't be sure we weren't observed. "It's too great an honor, Barinthus. What's going on? I don't usually get the royal treatment from my relatives."
He looked down at me, silent so long I thought he wouldn't answer. "I do not know, Meredith," he said finally.
"We'll talk in the car," Galen said, smiling and waving for the reporters. He shepherded us out to the automatic doors. The limo was waiting like a sleek black shark. Even the windows were tinted black so that you could see nothing of what lay inside.
I stopped on the sidewalk. The two men walked past me, then stopped, looking back at me. "What's wrong?" Galen asked.
"Just wondering what might have crawled into the car while we were inside the airport."
They glanced at each other, then back to me. "The car was empty when we left it here," Galen said.
Barinthus was more practical. "I give my most solemn word that to my knowledge the car is empty."
I smiled at him, but it wasn't a happy smile. "You always were cautious."
"Let us say that I do not give my word on things that I cannot control."
"Like my aunt's whims," I said.
He gave a small bow that swirled his hair like a multihued curtain. "Indeed."
My aunt had chosen well. There were three times three times three royal bodyguards. Twenty-seven warriors dedicated to my aunt's every wish. Of those, the two I would have trusted most were standing beside me. Andais wanted me to feel secure. Why? My security or lack thereof had never interested her before. Barinthus's words came back to me. The queen wanted something from me, something only I could give her, or do for her, or for the court. The question was what was that one thing that only I could do? Off the top of my head, I couldn't think of a single thing that only I could give her.
"In the car, children," Galen said through smiling, gritted teeth. There was a television news van in the distance, caught in traffic but coming closer. If they pulled in and blocked our escape, which had happened in the past, we'd have other troubles than just my paranoia. No matter how well justified that paranoia happened to be.
Barinthus took keys out of his pocket and hit a button on the key chain. The trunk popped open with a hiss of escaping air like it was hermetically sealed. Galen put my suitcase in it and held his hand out for my carry-on bag.
I stepped in close to him and lowered my voice as if the waiting reporters could hear us. I couldn't keep calling magic to hide our words because, though I couldn't sense it, I couldn't be sure we weren't observed. "It's too great an honor, Barinthus. What's going on? I don't usually get the royal treatment from my relatives."
He looked down at me, silent so long I thought he wouldn't answer. "I do not know, Meredith," he said finally.
"We'll talk in the car," Galen said, smiling and waving for the reporters. He shepherded us out to the automatic doors. The limo was waiting like a sleek black shark. Even the windows were tinted black so that you could see nothing of what lay inside.
I stopped on the sidewalk. The two men walked past me, then stopped, looking back at me. "What's wrong?" Galen asked.
"Just wondering what might have crawled into the car while we were inside the airport."
They glanced at each other, then back to me. "The car was empty when we left it here," Galen said.
Barinthus was more practical. "I give my most solemn word that to my knowledge the car is empty."
I smiled at him, but it wasn't a happy smile. "You always were cautious."
"Let us say that I do not give my word on things that I cannot control."
"Like my aunt's whims," I said.
He gave a small bow that swirled his hair like a multihued curtain. "Indeed."
My aunt had chosen well. There were three times three times three royal bodyguards. Twenty-seven warriors dedicated to my aunt's every wish. Of those, the two I would have trusted most were standing beside me. Andais wanted me to feel secure. Why? My security or lack thereof had never interested her before. Barinthus's words came back to me. The queen wanted something from me, something only I could give her, or do for her, or for the court. The question was what was that one thing that only I could do? Off the top of my head, I couldn't think of a single thing that only I could give her.
"In the car, children," Galen said through smiling, gritted teeth. There was a television news van in the distance, caught in traffic but coming closer. If they pulled in and blocked our escape, which had happened in the past, we'd have other troubles than just my paranoia. No matter how well justified that paranoia happened to be.
Barinthus took keys out of his pocket and hit a button on the key chain. The trunk popped open with a hiss of escaping air like it was hermetically sealed. Galen put my suitcase in it and held his hand out for my carry-on bag.