Kingdomturn by Matthew Williams

Author:Matthew Williams [Williams, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781735048918
Published: 2020-06-12T22:00:00+00:00

26

Ryna stared at the reflection of the torchlight as it shimmered and rippled across the surface of her cup of Melsca. Though the day had been warm, an unexpected coldness had flowed down from the mountains at dusk and now lingered throughout Cynmere. One more sip, Ryna told herself, enticed by the warm wisps of steam and the pleasant aroma that accompanied them.

“To your health, sister!” Halwen declared before Ryna could lift the cup to her lips.

Ryna smiled as her friend approached. “To your health, Halwen,” she replied, extending the cup forward in acknowledgement. They drank in unison, though where Ryna enjoyed the Melsca in a few small sips, Halwen gulped down nearly half of her cup at once. Ryna frowned incredulously but said nothing. In the days since the festival and their first taste of Melsca, Halwen had sought out any excuse she could find to either dance or drink with the Handsisters. A part of Ryna envied her; in different circumstances where she wasn’t Unwoven, Ryna could see herself behaving in much the same way as Halwen did after a day of hard work.

Halwen at last lowered what remained of her cup of Melsca with a satisfied sigh. “Come on, it looks like they’re about to begin,” she urged, taking Ryna’s free hand and leading her towards the steady flow of people entering the Wargarden. Inside, droves of Cynmeren clung to the walls, leaving the center of the floor open for whatever events would soon take place as part of Wyand’s acceptance ceremony. Most wore the armor that marked them as part of the Order of Blood, but many curious spectators from other Orders stood among them as well. The familiar murmur of hundreds of conversations filled the enormous structure just as it had in the Council House the night of the festival. This time, however, there was a sense of heightened anticipation instead of simple celebration—these people knew something interesting was about to happen even if Ryna had no idea what to expect.

Halwen pulled Ryna farther through the excited crowd until she found a group from the Order of Hands. She quickly released Ryna’s hand and rushed over to the Handsisters amid shouted greetings and laughter. They were elated to see Halwen and eager to share a drink with her; Ryna received a few polite smiles of recognition, but nothing more. Let her enjoy it, Ryna told herself. In a few days’ time, she and Halwen would never see these people again. Ryna sipped the Melsca, savoring its bittersweet taste while she still could.

A surge of shouts spread from the entrance of the Wargarden a few moments later. Though Ryna couldn’t see through the mass of people, she knew Wyand’s arrival had to be the source of the commotion. As expected, he emerged from the crowd an instant later, accompanied by the woman from the Elder Council who Ryna had heard the Cynmeren refer to as the “Voice of War.” As the two of them walked to the center of the floor, the sound of the crowd reached its most frenzied level yet.

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.