Cast in Flame. Michelle Sagara

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СКАЧАТЬ I’m not sure the doors open without their permission for anyone but Nightshade.”

      “Prior to this, I could say many things of Calarnenne—but one of them was not that he was a fool.”

      “They’ve never hurt him,” Kaylin pointed out.

      “And how, exactly, do you know about them?”

      Kaylin swallowed. This was not the direction she wanted the conversation to take. “I met them.”

      “And he told you they were...vampires?”

      “Not exactly.”

      “I fear that exactly will have to wait. Although it occurs to me that any attempts to kill him have their best chance of success now.”

      She had her best chance of success in the West March, after the ceremony.

      “They were sleeping,” Kaylin said. “I mean, Barrani sleep. They weren’t moving, and they appeared to notice nothing.”

      “Except you.”

      Kaylin failed to answer the question.

      “And you were bleeding.”

      “Look—are they dangerous now?”

      “I don’t know. Do you think they can sleep through the changes that are now occurring in the Castle?”

      “I don’t see why they wouldn’t.”

      Teela muttered something about mortals under her breath. “Annarion has not—yet—encountered the ancestors. He is now aware that they are present. And Kaylin, they were a danger, even in our time.”

      “By ours you mean yours and theirs.”

      “Yes. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to have engendered a higher degree of caution in Annarion. It has, on the other hand, increased his disgust.”

      “What are the others doing?”

      “They are speaking with Annarion. They are more effective, at the moment, than I can be.”

      “That’s good.” Kaylin was looking at her arms. Without another word, she rolled up her sleeve and pressed the gems on her bracer; the gems were already flashing.

      “You wore the bracer when you knew we were coming to the Castle?” Teela asked, the words imbued with disbelief verging on outrage.

      “I’m living in the Palace. You were the one who told me to observe correct form while there—and by Imperial dictate, I wear the bracer. Diarmat would probably reduce me to ash if he noticed it was missing; he’d be grateful for the excuse.”

      “Less talk about the Dragon Court while we’re here,” Teela replied, in a quieter voice. “Your arms are glowing.”

      “I’d noticed.”

      “Do they hurt?”

      “No. Not yet. You know I was looking forward to a few weeks of boring report writing and whining about Margot, right? And finding a quiet place of my own again?”

      “And that’s working out well for you?”

      “Very funny. On the bright side, it’s not my fault this time.”

      “If you even suggest that this is my fault....”

      “Yes?”

      “You’ll have a chance to personally compare my temper to Annarion’s.”

      “I’ll pass, if it’s all the same to you.”

      “I thought you might. Roll up your sleeves,” she added. As Kaylin was more or less already doing that, she considered this unnecessary nagging. She tossed the bracer over her shoulder, but Severn bent to pick it up. She didn’t know why he bothered. The bracer was magical; no matter where she dropped it, it made its way back to Severn.

      “You don’t need to cart it around. It’ll show up on your table, regardless,” she reminded him.

      “While you’re living in the Palace, a certain amount of caution is probably wise. I’d be willing to bet a large sum of my personal money that it’ll return. I’m not willing to bet your life.”

      The marks on her skin were a luminescent gold. They were warm, but not uncomfortably so. She wasn’t terribly surprised when they started to swim in her vision. This didn’t, on the other hand, mean there was anything wrong with her eyes.

      The small dragon warbled and glanced at the marks. He flapped a bit, but not in an angry way. He was possibly the only non-mortal who wasn’t nursing anger this evening.

      “Don’t eat them,” Kaylin told him.

      He snorted. She was surprised when he snapped at her arm and came away with a single word between his translucent jaws.

      “Hey! I mean it!”

      The small dragon flew to the Leontine who seemed to be standing in a quiet daze. Kaylin sucked in air and ran after him. A docile Leontine, while a bit surprising, wasn’t going to be a difficulty. An awake, aware, and possibly angry Leontine was more than she could handle.

      Teela joined Kaylin. Kaylin wanted free of Severn’s chain, because it was bloody awkward to move at any speed while it was attached to his weapons.

      “Do you have any idea what your small creature is doing?”

      “About as much as I ever have. At least this time he’s not insulting a water Dragon.” Kaylin had never seen the small creature take an injury. She didn’t want to start now, but he was well ahead of Teela, and as Teela approached the Leontine, she slowed. Barrani against Leontine wasn’t a sure thing.

      Without a lot of preparation, human against Leontine was, and not in the favor of the human.

      “Can you stop him?” Teela asked.

      “Probably not. Why?”

      “I’m uncertain that this is likely to have a calming effect on Annarion.”

      “What would?”

      “At this point? Very little. If Calarnenne was a more accomplished liar, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

      “Liar?”

      “Annarion is disappointed in his brother. Disappointment—even betrayal—is something we all encounter as we gain experience; we learn that our hopes and our beliefs are not always based in fact. Usually, we’re changing at the same time; we encounter ways in which our beliefs in ourselves are tested and found wanting. Annarion’s and Mandoran’s weren’t tested, in their youth.” She frowned. “Mandoran doesn’t approve of his place in this discussion.”

      “Why?”

      “He considers Annarion fecklessly idealistic; he feels a set down has been a long time coming, СКАЧАТЬ