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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
"I am . . . not afraid. Is Silveran . . . well?"
She lifted her tear-streaked face. "Yes, yes! He has lost his magic, but he is himself
again. The madness has left him!"
"I want to see . . . him."
Verhanna ordered a guard to fetch Silveran. He was gone several long minutes, so
she dispatched two more. When they hadn't returned after quite a long wait, and
Kith-Kanan's eyelids had begun to flutter closed, she got to her feet and stormed out of
the room. Down the corridor at Silveran's door, she found the three guards she'd
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dispatched and the three watching the chained prince. Half of the warriors were howling
for Ulvian's blood, the other half were protecting him.
"Get out of the way!" Verhanna said, shoving guards left and right. "The Speaker
wants his son!"
"I'll go to him,"Ulvian said quickly.
"Not you! Silveran!"
"But he's a murderer!"
Thrusting a finger at her brother, Verhanna cried, "We know the truth! You
conspired to destroy Silveran so you could reclaim the throne. Did you also plot the death
of our father?"
She whipped out her sword, and the guards stood back, leaving sister and brother
facing each other. "I want to kill you so much I could " She stopped herself. "But Father
has forbidden it! Now get out of my way before I forget my promise to him!"
She sheathed her sword and unlocked the door. After hustling Silveran out, she and
her half-brother ran down the polished wood floor. They were trailed more slowly by
Ulvian and the guards.
Verhanna flew through the open doorway of Kith-Kanan's room. The four warriors
who had remained behind were all kneeling around the Speaker's bed. His eyes were
closed. Verhanna didn't need to ask; Kith-Kanan was dead.
Tamanier Ambrodel, his hair standing up on his head and his mantle askew, wept
openly at the foot of the Speaker's bed. "I was too late," he sobbed.
The sergeant of the guard looked up at her. "He called to you, lady," he said
chokingly. "And to someone named Anaya."
She had to swallow her grief, at least briefly. It was vitally important that her father's
wishes were carried out. "Did you all hear what he told me before he died?" she said
frantically.
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"Yes, lady," said the sergeant. The other guards swore oaths that they had heard the
Speaker's words as well. Tersely Verhanna informed Tamanier of Ulvian's plot against
Silveran. Then she pulled Silveran into the room, and the guards rose to their feet.
"The Speaker of the Sun is dead," the captain said, her voice cracking. "Long live
Speaker Silveran!"
"Long live Speaker Silveran!" echoed the warriors.
Silveran's face was bright as he tried to fathom it all.
"Your Majesty," Tamanier added, bowing to the new young monarch.
"Where's Ulvian?" Verhanna asked suddenly. He wasn't in the Speaker's rooms or
the hallway nearby.
"Shall we search for him, lady?" asked the sergeant of the guard.
"It's for the Speaker to decide," Verhanna said softly, putting a hand to Silveran's
shoulder. The warriors looked expectantly at him. The elf's eyes were calm.
The new Speaker gazed upon his father. "Let Ulvian go," he said.
Now that she had fulfilled her duty to Kith-Kanan, Verhanna allowed her wobbly
legs to give way, and she knelt by her father's body, weeping uncontrollably. She had
loved him and respected him with an intensity that approached worship. She couldn't bear
the thought that he was gone, that she would never again see his face, never again hear
his voice, teasing her for her seriousness. Her brother moved to stand behind her and
placed his hands on her shaking shoulders.
"I need you, Hanna," Silveran whispered, for her ears only. "I need your help to rule
Qualinesti."
Verhanna pulled her gaze away from the still face of her father and looked up into
the solemn visage of the new Speaker of the Sun. Kith-Kanan had been right. Silveran,
once known as Greenhands, would make a fine leader. He was good and kind and
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incorruptible.
Her voice shook, but the words carried to all those in the room as she responded with
the same ancient oath she had once sworn to her father. "You are my Speaker. You are
my liege lord, and I shall obey you even unto death."
With Silveran's hands still on her shoulders, Verhanna rose slowly to her feet. The
guards surrounded Kith-Kanan's bed and came forward to raise him up. By ancient rite, a
dead Speaker was carried to the Temple of Astra for prayers and purification.
"Stop," Silveran ordered, and Verhanna looked startled. For just that instant, his
commanding voice had sounded exactly like their father's. Silveran held out a restraining
hand. A hand no longer green. "This is my duty," he stated.
With great tenderness, he lifted Kith-Kanan in his arms and carried him down the
central stair to the reception hall. Verhanna walked behind him and to his right, and the
warriors fell into step behind her.
At the bottom of the cherrywood stair stood the entire household, down to the
humblest sweepers. All cried openly, and their heads bowed as the body of Kith-Kanan,
founder and first Speaker of Qualinesti, was borne past them. Poor Tamanier Ambrodel
was supported by the strong arm of his son Kemian. The aged castellan was so
grief-stricken he could barely remain upright. He had one last duty to perform for his old
friend and sovereign, though. When Silveran, with his sad burden, reached the bottom of
the grand stair, Tamanier lifted his right hand and signaled the group of heralds waiting
by the front doors.
The heralds flew out the double doors and ran like lightning across the square and
into every part of the city. As the second Speaker of the Sun stepped into the morning
sunshine, their high voices could be heard crying the dreadful news.
Speaker Silveran paused, blinking in the bright light. Verhanna felt her own step
falter as, one by one, the great bells throughout the city of Qualinost fell silent. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
