Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Author:Amelia Atwater-Rhodes [Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 0385734921
Amazon: B001NB1TVY
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Published: 2008-12-23T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

I WAS GOING TO FAINT. I HAD NEVER FAINTED in my life; it was not a common avian dilemma. But at the moment, it was less terrifying than the thought of walking in front of a large group of serpiente when the only people present who might consider protecting me were Zane Cobriana and his personal guards—guards I trusted to defend me in a crowd as much as I would trust them to knife me at the earliest opportunity.

Finally I heard my cue and stepped from the antechamber and onto the dais at the north side of the synkal. Instantly I heard reaction from the crowd: shouts and questions, which were muted to dumb shock when I moved to Zane's side.

Zane's words were white noise in my ears as I stood beside him. I caught my hands trembling. I remembered Charis's assurance that touching was common and even expected in serpiente society, and I wrapped an arm around his waist in an attempt to halt my own shaking. Zane seemed startled for a moment, then continued to speak, finishing with, “Allow me to introduce my Naga, Danica Shardae.”

The palace guards were visible in the crowd; though they were not in uniform for the ceremony, I had been introduced to the majority of them by Irene that afternoon and assured multiple times that at least one of them would always be at my side. They had been prepared, and even though most of them had expressed doubts earlier, they did not allow that hesitation to show now as they knelt.

Like ripples in a pond, each guard who knelt was surrounded by other serpents who followed their lead. Within a few moments of the first guard's movement, all but four figures had recovered from their shock and knelt.

“Kendrick?” Zane's voice carried over the hall, an ounce of threat mixed with light inquiry.

“I don't know what…” Kendrick looked around himself and seemed to notice that he was one of very few who were making a spectacle of refusing Zane's chosen Naga. As he sputtered, one of the remaining four went down on his knee. “She's a hawk….”

Zane appeared amused. “Really?”

“But, sir, she's Danica Shardae!” the poor man protested.

“I just said that,” Zane responded, refusing to be ruffled.

“Zane.” In contrast to his easily projected voice, mine was soft, intended only for Zane's ears. He turned to face me, ignoring for the moment the serpiente he had been in the process of turning into a fool. “You can't expect everyone to just accept this.”

“Of course not,” he responded softly, lowering his head so his lips were just a short distance above mine. He had wrapped his arms around my waist, and it suddenly occurred to me what our pair must look like to the court. “But I can expect everyone to pretend to.”

Another of the four knelt while he was speaking. Kendrick and the woman who was still standing exchanged a glance across the room.

Zane brushed a kiss across my lips, so briefly that I had no time to respond, and then he straightened to speak to the court again.

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