Tales of the High Court: Collected Short Stories by Megan Derr

Author:Megan Derr
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Megan Derr

Past and Present

Sarrica rarely had time for anything as relaxing as visiting one of the countless gardens around the palace. Theoretically they were there for him to enjoy—they were the imperial gardens, in the imperial palace, after all—but like so much of what was technically his palace, the effort and splendor was wasted on him. He spent his days in his office, various meetings rooms, the throne rooms, and sometimes even his own bedroom.

But there was only one garden he made a point to avoid. The formal name was the Garden of Eternal Peace. In Ancient Harken, it was called the Mourning Garden. Realistically, it was where all the imperial ashes were dumped.

For all he preferred to avoid it, there were a handful of days each year where he always paid a visit. The days his parents had died, the Day of Remembrance to honor fallen heroes—though his family had precious few of those, they'd always excelled best at telling other people what to do, not doing things themselves, Sarrica included—and, of course, the day Nyle had died.

That was always the hardest one. His mother had died when he was young, and by the time his father had died, mostly they had both felt some sort of horrible, bittersweet relief.

But Nyle, the man he'd loved almost from the moment they'd met, when Nyle hadn't even recognized him despite a hundred tells… Nyle's death had been a blow. He could concede now that their marriage had been collapsing, but he'd still loved Nyle with all his heart. Amongst the hurt and turmoil, he'd been overjoyed to see Nyle happy again.

And that happiness had been what ultimately killed him, by way of a sword thrust meant for someone else. That the man who'd done the deed had later died in the same battle had been of no comfort. Sarrica had destroyed his private office in helpless rage and grief.

A grief that had nearly led him to ruin one of the best things to ever happen to him.

Sometimes, he wondered what would have happened if Nyle had lived, and they'd ended the marriage. Would he have still married Allen eventually? What would Nyle have thought of him?

He had the terrifying suspicion that, after a rocky start, they would have gotten along too well. If Allen had encountered Nyle, rather than Rene, after storming off that long ago day…

Sarrica shuddered to think about the two most reckless fools he knew cooperating in such a dangerous scheme.

But it also made him smile faintly, and it was a smile he sorely needed as he slipped out of the secret passage, unlocked the sitting room that secreted the door, and threaded through quiet halls to the garden just off the northwest wing.

Unlike most gardens, it wasn't an open pavilion joined seamlessly with the palace, like someone had simply forgotten to put up a wall. This one was walled, the only entrance a beautiful archway of carved stone depicting the various flora and fauna that represented Shammari, Goddess of Death, High Queen of the Penance Realms.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.