Shadow Over Kiriath by Karen Hancock

Author:Karen Hancock
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2010-07-28T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

21

As one of the highest-ranking nobles in the land and Katahn’s friend—as well as being one of the few who spoke the Tahg—Duke Eltrap was assigned to escort him to the informal reception held for him that evening in the Crimson Reception Hall. They met at the Esurhite’s palace rooms and walked down together.

Katahn was suitably appreciative, remarking at various architectural details and saying over and over how glad he was to get off that galley. “I thought we would row around in the fog forever,” he exclaimed.

And when they reached the reception hall, he stopped and looked around in astonishment, then turned to Trap and said in the Tahg, “Now, this is especially nice.”

Trap grinned at him. “I thought it would appeal to your southlander tastes.”

The Crimson Reception Hall was one of Abramm’s mother’s redecorating projects, taken up shortly after Trap had come into Raynen’s service. Her choice of vivid scarlet wallpaper had initially shocked the court. “Eyesearing!” one elderly countess had branded it—behind the queen’s back, of course. Other descriptors included garish, hideous, and nauseating. Time and familiarity had made it more appealing, especially at the end of Kiriath’s long dreary winters. White-lacquered wainscoting, marble fireplaces, and tall windows curtained in gold modulated the red walls, as did the expanse of ivory carpeting with its delicate tendrils of gold and green. Three huge chandeliers set with hundreds of kelistars illumined the room, where already quite a few courtiers and uniformed officers stood in knots of conversation. As a string quartet played in the next room, servants circulated freely among the guests with trays of food and drink.

“This is quite a crowd,” Katahn said beside him. “I thought you Kiriathans were at war.”

“Preparing for war. Though to most of these people that means packing their things and fleeing upriver. But you’re right, this is quite a crowd. I’d guess many of them didn’t finish packing before they learned no attack was coming, after all.”

And even then they were disgruntled at the inconvenience. Those who had managed to get out of Springerlan quickly were even more upset. They had begun to trickle in this afternoon—fatigued, frazzled, and furious. “All that trouble and it’s a false alarm?” he’d heard one woman say. “How could he have done this to us so close to the wedding!”

As if it were just some heedless bungle the king had made as he went about his day. As if the need for someone’s gown to fit properly could in any way be called a problem when compared with the possibility of being invaded. The worst of it was, Abramm had not even told anyone to leave. If they’d panicked and rushed off before they even knew for sure there was a hostile fleet out there, was that not their own doing?

Fortunately, as Maddie had suggested, Katahn’s presence had taken the edge off their displeasure. What a novelty to have real Esurhite galleys moored in the harbor! And an honest-to-goodness Esurhite Gamer visiting the palace! Moments after

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