The Edge of the Blade by Jeffe Kennedy

Author:Jeffe Kennedy [Kennedy, Jeffe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-10-25T16:00:00+00:00

14

I expected something like the throne room at Ordnung. Uorsin hadn’t lacked for ego or grandiose aspirations himself, so the hall that housed his high throne was the grandest I’d encountered in any of my travels. When I’d first seen it, as the Hawks rotated duty being available to then Princess Ursula when she attended court, I’d been hard-pressed not to stare about like a Brynling taken to market for the first time.

That feeling rushed straight back into me, the old echoes of being that kid overwhelmed by the sight of houses, livestock, people, and goods, all piled on top of each other—overlaid with newer memories of High King Uorsin, center figure in a line of thrones, the golden marble, the fantastically patterned rose window of Glorianna.

Like that market had been in comparison, the hall at Ordnung seemed dim, dusty, even provincial, compared to the Emperor’s throne at the Imperial Palace in Dasnaria. We moved through several antechambers filled with petitioners, their apparent rank, grandness of costume—and décor of the room—increasing with proximity to the throne room. We waited only a few moments in the final one, empty but for us, as a man in a uniform similar to Baerr Lars’s took my name in advance.

“He’ll have it whispered to His Imperial Majesty first,” Kral told me in a low undertone, though we were perfectly alone. “The worst that can happen is he won’t see you right away. In that case, I’ll use my influence to get you an audience. So don’t be disappointed if—”

“Quit worrying. I’m fine.”

He stiffened. “I don’t worry. Just remember to behave properly and keep your mouth shut. Keep in mind that I can’t help you in there.”

“Got it. You don’t have to keep telling me.” A solo scouting mission. Something I’d done hundreds of times before.

The man returned before Kral could admonish me further. He opened the double doors—each inlaid with the Konyngrr fist—and stepped aside to reveal the near-blinding grandeur of the throne room. I was glad I hadn’t yet blown it with Kral, because I might have stood in stunned shock if he hadn’t stepped forward, bringing me with him. We paused there, on a high platform with no railing, while the entire assembly arrayed below turned to scrutinize us at the announcement of first Kral’s many names and titles, then my brief ones. The herald fell silent, as did the entire room. Unsettling that so many people could be so utterly quiet. If the platform was intended to instill a sense of peril, of the possibility of falling at the slightest misstep, it worked admirably.

Despite knowing I’d always land on my feet. Bryn never look back.

Directly across the sea of faces, Emperor Hestar sat on an ornate throne elevated so high that he looked down on our raised platform. Made of white and silver metals, embedded with crystals like more of those light fixtures that crowded the high ceiling above, the throne’s back cupped Hestar in a replica of the Konyngrr fist, as if holding him in the palm, while giant fingers stretched out to curl around him.

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