Reader and Raelynx by Sharon Shinn

Author:Sharon Shinn [Shinn, Sharon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adventure, Young Adult
ISBN: 9780441014699
Publisher: Ace
Published: 2007-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

23

OVERNIGHT the city was transformed. Soldiers who had been in training in the more rural districts outside of Ghosenhall were brought in and deployed in a ring all around the city. Reserve soldiers, housed for months on property in Merrenstow and Storian, were sent for, and accommodations for them were hastily built on the outskirts of town. Shopkeepers and tavern owners suddenly had to truncate their hours of operation; residents were ordered to adhere to an early curfew. The number of night watchmen tripled, but they roamed streets that were practically empty.

“I can’t go to Danalustrous,” Senneth said to the king. “My brother will just have to get married without me. I got married without him, after all.”

“Go,” Baryn said. He looked oddly relaxed for a man who believed his home could be attacked at any minute. “When our customs and civilities are most under siege is the time we most need to observe them.”

“Sire, I’m not sure I can persuade Tayse to stay behind. He knows his first duty is to you, but he—”

“I am the one who commanded him to protect you, and he obeys me very well,” the king said, his eyes crinkling up with laughter. “I require you to defend the realm, and therefore I require him to keep you safe. There is no conflict here.”

“I am not comfortable leaving you behind without either of us in your arsenal.”

“I believe that my safety can be reasonably assured by forty-nine Riders, several thousand soldiers, and this highly unusual troop of mystics you have assembled for my protection.”

That made her groan. “Oh, those mystics from Carrebos! Two of the shape-shifters have proved to be quite talented, and they prowl around the palace grounds all day, sniffing for trouble, but the rest of them are a very mixed blessing. Jerril and Areel have rented another house and turned it into a dormitory of sorts, and I believe Jerril is actually enjoying himself, but training a mystic is like trying to train a raelynx. It pretty much does what it wants to, no matter what you tell it—and it’s dangerous even when you think it’s tame.”

“I quite like having them here. Amalie tells me she has met them all. She has become most interested in magic, you know.”

He looked at her over the tops of his spectacles, and she was forced to laugh. “You know I have learned Amalie’s secret.”

“And you are very shocked.”

“Yes.”

He picked up a quill pen in his right hand and lightly brushed the feathers across the back of his left hand. “Pella’s magic was a true gift to her,” he said quietly. “It enabled her to analyze any situation, fit into any group, put anyone at ease. It was as if she could almost instantly become anyone else for just as long as she needed to. It made her very popular—everyone loved her.”

“I think Amalie’s gift is a little different. But since I’m not sure even she knows the extent of it yet, it is hard to gauge.

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