The Palace of Impossible Dreams by Jennifer Fallon

Author:Jennifer Fallon
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
ISBN: 9781429950947
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

Chapter 37

Declan lay awake until dawn watching Arkady sleep, holding her, wondering if, in the cold light of day—once gratitude for saving her life and healing her wounds had lost its veneer—she would ever willingly spend another night in his arms. Although she seemed to have taken the news about his immortality in her stride, a lot had happened yesterday. He was half-expecting Arkady to wake up and have a reaction similar to Tiji’s.

So he savoured this night, and held her close. In sleep, her face was peaceful—the alertness, the coiled-spring awareness of her relaxed, for once. Her long dark hair drifted down her back. The pre-dawn light revealed only a little of the pale perfection of her skin; the rest of her body was hidden by the sheet he’d thrown over them for protection from the insects of the wetlands.

The fabric had draped itself around the mounds and hollows of her body, only one long, perfect leg poking out from underneath the sheet where she had kicked it aside in her sleep. Her head lay on his shoulder, her face toward him.

He couldn’t remember ever loving her more.

Eternity is not going to be a pleasant prospect, he thought, once Arkady is gone.

It was the first time he’d allowed himself to consider the reality of his situation—the bitter flipside of living forever.

“Tides, Declan,” she murmured sleepily, “you look so miserable, anybody would think your grandfather just died.”

He hadn’t realised she was awake. “He did die, actually, only I wasn’t thinking about him.”

She lifted her head to stare at him. “Shalimar is dead?”

He wished he’d broken the news a little less bluntly, but it was too late now. “A couple of months ago.”

“I’m so sorry, Declan.”

He shrugged, not sure what else to tell her, lamenting the fact he wasn’t better at delivering bad news. “He’s not suffering anymore. That’s something, I suppose.”

Arkady fell silent, and lay her head on his shoulder again, but made no attempt to move out of his arms, which was remarkable because he was expecting her to leap across the room in fright the moment she realised where she was. But she stayed put and when she finally spoke again, it wasn’t to ask after his grandfather.

“Are you really immortal now, Declan?” she asked softly.

Tides, how do I tell her about this? “I’m afraid so.”

She seemed much less concerned about it than he was. “I thought I’d dreamed that bit. Actually, I was kind of hoping I’d dreamed most of the past few months.”

He let out a short, bitter laugh. “I know that feeling well.”

“Are you angry with me, Declan?”

That question took him completely by surprise. “Me? Angry with you? Tides, Arkady, what have I got to be angry at you about?”

She sighed forlornly. “Where do I start? I got caught up with Kinta and Brynden. I ran into Cayal again and because of that, I got myself sold into slavery, and you don’t want to even think about how I survived that. And then you had

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