The Tainted Shrine by E. S. Furlán

Author:E. S. Furlán
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: 2019-08-16T04:00:00+00:00

“We must strip her of power, my lady.” Morgaine poured Elsephere tea. “She is not popular among the nobles, but she may succeed if left unchecked. And, with respect, your father is in no position to check anything.”

“He is not my father.” Elsephere’s mind reeled from the revelation. It might be a lie, but there was no reason Ithrien and Elanene would speak untruthfully when keeping their own company. Morgaine sighed and filled Elsephere's pipe.

“Perhaps not in blood, but in spirit the connection is doubled.” She clasped Elsephere's hand and slipped the pipe between her fingers and thumb. “It seems the High King was always aware his children were not of his seed, and yet his love for you never wavered. The gods made him your mother's husband, and thus chose you as his child.”

Elsephere took a shaky breath. Morgaine was right. Regardless of her true parentage, she was still the same woman, her father still the same man who had raised her and anointed her with oil at her baptism. The idea of a man who shared her blood somewhere in the world was disturbing and intriguing in equal measure. Elsephere sighed, she needed to put the idea aside and stay focused.

“Any word on Uledi?” She brought her pipe to her lips and drew deeply on it as Morgaine held a lit wooden taper to it.

“None, my lady,” Morgaine replied. “The guards wounded him but he evaded capture. We have heard nothing of him since, though I instructed your watchers to keep looking for him.”

“He will not elude us forever.” Elsephere felt her mind inching towards the conversation they had overheard. “And I agree that my mother must be thwarted. Her status as a foreign queen is a mark against her, as is her reputation for being careless with contraceptives.”

“Your father never prosecuted Ithrien for failing to use contraceptives with Meto's father,” Morgaine mused aloud. “But if she were under investigation, she would be at your mercy.”

Elsephere felt a smile twist across her face as she realised the cunning in Morgaine's words. She glanced at her from the corner of her eye. Morgaine stared back with a placid smile on her pale face.

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