Cobweb Bride by Vera Nazarian

Author:Vera Nazarian
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: undead, cobweb bride, death, magic, epic, bride, dead, Fiction, Romance, renaissance, Fantasy, Historical, love, historical 1700s, starcrossed lovers, History
ISBN: 9781607621126
Publisher: Leda
Published: 2013-07-15T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Claere Liguon, the Infanta and Grand Princess of the Realm, was impervious to the rolling movement of the splendid Imperial carriage. Despite its handsome padding and brocade pillows and other interior comforts, the carriage had been jostling along the icy roads for over two hours, moving at a speed entirely too wild for two of the other three passengers occupying the seats.

The first was a man seated directly across from her. Vlau Fiomarre had stilled in a state of apathy, his once-handsome bruised face turned to stare impassively through the slit in the window curtains at the rushing whiteness of the winter countryside. He wore a plain borrowed jacket and winter coat that had been given to him in the Palace guest quarters—not shabby but obviously the hand-me-downs of a ranking servant. As such, it was still a resounding insult.

The other two passengers of the carriage were a different matter. In the seat of rather dubious honor next to the Infanta sat Lady Milagra Rinon, First Lady-in-Attendance, clutching a handkerchief to her lips, bundled in an ermine cape-coat with a voluminous hood, both the coat and its wearer as pale as the snowscape outside. And across from her, next to the motionless Fiomarre, was Lady Selene Jenevais, also in Attendance upon Her Imperial Highness, equally pale and shaky from the road sickness, wearing a fox-fur coat.

Or maybe it was not merely the road sickness. The two Ladies had to attend an Imperial animated corpse and spend several hours confined in her presence and that of her murderer; queasiness and terror came with their duty.

The Emperor had insisted upon this escort. The Infanta wanted nothing and no one to slow down her journey, but in this the Emperor would not budge. In addition to the two Ladies of her Court, and a spare team of four horses that was driven by a second groom following immediately behind, there were four distinguished and valiant knights assigned to guard the carriage. Initially the Emperor had wanted to send along a whole cadre of soldiers, but relented, and the four knights were a compromise.

The Infanta herself wore unusually plain travel clothes for someone of her rank—a basic coat of deep sienna red wool, untrimmed, and hooded—and underneath she had changed out of her bloodied court dress into a plain grey gown which resembled a convent habit in severity and probably belonged to a maid. She looked nothing more than a mousy servant herself, and her Ladies in Attendance would have thrown shocked looks at her attire had they not studiously avoided looking at all in her direction, if possible.

On the third hour of such breakneck speed, just past noon, they had arrived in Letheburg. The Infanta herself required no stop, but the driver had paused in order to exchange the teams of horses and give the rest of the passengers a brief respite. While the horses were tended to, the two Ladies-in-Attendance stretched their stiff limbs outside and used the facilities of the

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