The Sleeping King by Cindy Dees

Author:Cindy Dees
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781466821286
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

CHAPTER

18

Selea slipped down the darkened servants’ passage quickly. The tunnel, constructed of common brick, was low and rough, barely clearing his head for all that he was tall for an elf. Anton did not waste the fine materials in his Blood Palace on servants. Neither did the governor waste resources on security in this part of his residence. Which was handy for Selea’s purposes this night.

He slipped out of the crude brick tunnel and into a larger hallway, this one constructed of rough-hewn stone. The door he sought was made of thick oak planks and sturdy iron hinges, but neither slowed him down much. He quickly picked the lock and slipped into the dark chamber.

A woman’s voice came out of the darkness, not from the bed, but rather from the high-backed armchair by the fire. “Is that you, Uncle?”

“It is. And how do you fare, Lady Nightshade? It has been a while since we’ve spoken.” Selea sank into the chair facing hers before the hearth.

Ceridwyn Nightshade, Anton Constantine’s first advisor and as red-haired as he, answered dryly, “I am well. At least as well as can be in this viper’s nest.”

Selea smiled slightly at the reference to Anton’s nickname, The Viper. It was well-earned, and not just for the snake mark on his forehead or on his crest. “Have you any news for me?”

“Why are you in such a hurry, Uncle? Shall we not trade a few pleasantries, perhaps share a hot drink before we get down to business?”

“You would chide me?” he teased gently, allowing the merest hint of reference to his age beyond hers to creep into his voice. She might outrank him significantly, for he was a mere master of his trade while she was second-in-command of an enormous, if largely untamed, land. However, he was still her elder by decades, and they were kin.

She, of course, caught the the true source of his remark instantly. “What has happened?” she asked quickly.

“I merely recall the first rule of the Hidden Province,” he answered obliquely.

“As do I.” She recited,

“Honor is spirit, together as one.

Honor is fabric, invisibly spun.

Honor is victory, silently won.

Honor is all, the rest forever shun.”

The were both silent for a moment, contemplating the quidng rule by which all their kind lived and died.

The she added wryly, “And I recall the second rule as well: never forget rule number one.”

He smiled at the joke every nulvari child knew. Ahh, how he missed home, sometimes. But he had chosen to come live among the humans and their endless, frantic struggles for wealth and power and fame.

Ceridwyn fiddled with her signet ring bearing the distinctive blazon of House Night, and finally turned the conversation to his purpose in being here, commenting, “The Emperor receives the same reports you do, Uncle. I withhold nothing from you.”

“You report directly to Maximillian, now?” Selea asked in surprise.

“A lowly first advisor in a distant colony? Hardly. My reports go through channels.”

He nodded in understanding. It was the way of his race to prefer being the people behind the people behind the throne.

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