Doom's Break: The Third Book of Arna by Christopher Rowley

Author:Christopher Rowley [Rowley, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Fiction, Fantasy, Suspense
ISBN: 9780451459039
Publisher: Roc
Published: 2002-12-03T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The message had been sealed with that imperial A, and she had hesitated before replying, consumed with doubt. They had seen each other a few times since Aeswiren had brought his army to Dronned, but never in private.

All her time had been taken up by the task of setting up the hospital, organizing a staff of nurses, while at the same time attending the classes given by Filek Biswas, with Simona as translator, concerning medical science. At times Nuza had thought her brain would simply burst with all the knowledge she was trying to cram into it.

She had given little thought to the man she owed her life to, who was sitting outside the walls of Dronned in that camp with ten thousand armed men.

She was uncomfortable sometimes when she remembered the closeness that had existed between them. Had she let him come too close? Certainly, she had never told Thru all that had gone on between herself and the Emperor. But, then, what else should she have done, alone in that far-off land with no friends except one, and he the mightiest man in the entire country?

In the end she swallowed her doubts and made her way into the Shasht camp on the old battlefield. The warrant with the imperial seal was enough to get her past the guards, and her ability to speak Shashti took care of the one guard who was inclined to question it.

She found him waiting for her, barefoot on a lovely rug, a lush version of "Mots at Prayer" in the style of the great Misho.

"I have missed you," he said, typically blunt and to the point.

"And I you, Lord, Great King of Shasht."

But he knew she hadn't, not really, and he understood. He was man, she was mor, and they were of different kind under the sun.

"Now, don't lie to me. Remember, I know you well."

She recalled how penetrating those eyes of his could be. "No, Lord, I will not deceive you. I owe you too much for that."

"And I owe you everything, Nuza of Tamf."

She blinked. He had never called her that before.

"Tamf was burned to the ground by your soldiers."

"Yes, and we are helping to rebuild it. We will do what we can to make amends."

Again their eyes met, and neither wavered.

"I would have killed myself that day but for your intervention," he said at length.

"I am very glad that you did not, Lord."

Impelled by some unknown emotion, Nuza stepped forward and kissed Aeswiren on the cheek. It was not so strange. She had done it many times before when they had been together on the ship. She felt affection for this man, despite the chasm that separated them.

He put his hand to the spot, then kissed his fingers. "Thank you, Nuza of Tamf."

She felt uncomfortable once again. "What do you want from me, Lord?"

"Other than just to see you once more and talk like we did in the old days?" He smiled, seeing her unease. "No, fear not, I have no heavy demands to make of you, dear Nuza.

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