[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]Hesitating, Talon cast another look at Shasta, who was beginning to stir against the pillows. Your
Majesty, I& I may have frightened her. I lost control there, for a minute, and&
The King chuckled and clapped Talon on the shoulder. You d be surprised how much it takes to
frighten my daughter, Corporal.
*
Later that night Talon could barely suppress a groan as she lay down on her cot by the Princess s bed.
Every muscle in her body ached. The healer had corrected her shoulder, which had been dislocated
when she connected with the privy chamber wall. He d also stitched the cut at her throat, which was not
dangerously deep but would probably leave a scar. True to the King s prediction, her eye was already
beginning to swell shut, and now that the rush of adrenaline had left her veins there was nothing to prevent
her from feeling the full impact of the day s damage to her body. Even the healer s special pain-reducing
tea could not do much more than dull the sharper pains into a permeating haze.
Talon berated herself for the hundredth time that day as her head hit the pillow. How could she have
been so careless? After all the stress of the afternoon in Ardrenn, she d allowed the Princess to walk
right into an assassin s trap. Talon wished she could be in the King s study right now; he and Vaughn
would be trying to determine how exactly the assassin had managed to conceal himself in the Princess s
privy without anyone noticing. Erinda and the other chambermaids, who had gone in and out repeatedly
as they filled the bathing tub, faced particular suspicion. All of them claimed they had not seen any sign of
the villain lying in wait behind the dressing screen.
Talon wondered if they d identified him; that was surely another assignment that the King and Captain
Vaughn would be working on tonight. It was impossibly frustrating that she couldn t be a part of the
investigation, and even worse that she could barely perform her primary duty, that of ensuring Shasta s
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continued safety.
Talon? Shasta s head suddenly appeared over the edge of her bed.
Talon gave a start. She d thought Shasta was asleep. Princess?
Are you all right? she asked shakily. I heard they gave you stitches.
Talon propped herself up on one elbow and pulled the collar of her shirt open. They re not bad, see? It
wasn t a very long cut.
Shasta slid from her bed onto the cot and nudged Talon s legs aside so she would have room to sit.
Very gently, she placed cool fingertips to Talon s swelling eye. Does it hurt?
Everything hurts. But better me than you.
You killed that man, didn t you?
Talon closed her collar again. Yes.
Have you ever killed anyone before?
Talon was taken aback for a moment, debating her answer. Once.
Shasta nodded thoughtfully. Was it like this?
In some ways, yes. To avoid further questions she quickly changed the subject. Princess, I m so
sorry. I never should have let you set foot in that chamber.
It wasn t your fault. You ve checked the privy for me hundreds of times, and no one was ever hiding
there before.
The thought was far from comforting. Talon was horrified to realize that it had never occurred to her to
inspect behind the dressing screen as part of their daily ritual. She d put the Princess in danger not just on
this one night, but hundreds of times without even thinking. Oh, Goddess, she whispered.
Shasta made an impatient sound. Now stop that. You saved my life today. I really didn t know what to
do when I saw him crouching there. I just threw everything I could at him and ran.
You did exactly the right thing. Talon pulled herself into a sitting position, trying to ignore the throbbing
complaint from her shoulder.
But I didn t. As soon as you came in I just& I ran off into the corner like a frightened child. I didn t
even try to help you.
Talon stared. You re not supposed to help me, Princess. You re supposed to stay alive. The fighting is
my job.
Daric would have helped. He wouldn t have been afraid.
Talon could hear the catch in her charge s voice, and she covered Shasta s hand with her own. Then
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your brother would have been foolish. Fear is nothing to be ashamed of, Princess. It can keep you alive.
You weren t afraid.
Talon choked back a laugh. I was terrified.
You were? Shasta turned luminous eyes on her guardian, the moonlight turning them a pale golden
color.
Talon looked away, feeling strangely, deliciously chilled under the Princess s gaze and suddenly
forgetting what she was going to say.
Shasta didn t seem to notice, and gave a sad sigh. He was perfect, you know. Daric was the perfect
Crown Prince for Ithyria. He was strong and brave and so very wise, and me& I m scarcely even a
shadow of what he was. I get winded going up the stairs, a mouse scurrying across the floor is enough to
send me shrieking from the room, and I can t even save a poor serving girl from being beaten to death in
the street.
Princess, you can t blame yourself for that. You did everything you could for her. It couldn t be
helped.
You re wrong. There must have been a way to save her, I just wasn t able to find it. Shasta covered
her face with her hands. What good is being a princess if you can t help your people?
Talon didn t know what to say, and she did the only thing she could think of: pulled the Princess into her
arms like she would one of her sisters and held her for several minutes. You know, you re much more
courageous than you think. You stayed in the privy and handed me the knife. In fact& you savedmy life.
Shasta slowly dropped her hands. I did, didn t I? A smile spread across her face as she blinked up at
Talon.
Yes, you did. Talon allowed a few seconds for that to sink in. And you have to promise me you will
never do anything so foolish again. When I tell you to run, you run. Don t stop, don t look back, don t
think about me or anything else.
I don t know if I can make that promise, Talon. How could I just run away and leave you to be hurt,
maybe even killed?
Because I m asking you to. Talon held the Princess s eyes intently with her own. If that man had
killed me, he would have gone after you next. Talon didn t want to imagine the possibility. You re the
Crown Princess of Ithyria. No one s life is more important than yours. So if I tell you to get away,
promise me you ll go.
Shasta cringed, and Talon realized she was gripping her charge s shoulders rather fiercely. Immediately
she released her, and the Princess drew a deep breath.
All right. If that s what you want, I promise.
Thank you.
Shasta stood up and returned to her own bed, climbing under the bedcovers. She was silent for a while,
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then rolled over on her side and said, Good night, Talon.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]zanotowane.pldoc.pisz.plpdf.pisz.plkajaszek.htw.pl
