Tracy Falbe The Rys Chronicles 02 The Goddess Queen

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is no place for humans, Faychan said.
You are not interesting enough to talk to in the rain, Dreibrand complained
and urged his horse onward.
Faychan moved alongside Dreibrand but signaled for his men to hang back and
give them privacy.
You are not very friendly considering the favor I did you, he observed.
If you have come to collect your favor, then state it, Dreibrand said.
You misunderstand me, Dreibrand. My purpose is not so formal. I only wanted
to know what your plans are. I can see for myself that you did not choose to
go back with your countrymen, Faychan said.
Dreibrand looked forward to making his home in Nufal, far away from Kezanada
plots. He hesitated to even mention to Faychan where he was going, but it was
no secret.
Dreibrand, just tell me, Faychan urged with friendly exasperation.
I have acquired land from Shan in the Wilderness and I will establish a human
settlement there,
Dreibrand finally answered.
Really? So Shan is granting land in the Wilderness? Faychan said with
interest.
To me, Dreibrand snapped. For my loyal service in the war.
You sound defensive, Faychan commented.
Wouldn t you? Dreibrand countered.
With an agreeable grin, the Kezanada asked, May I visit?
I suppose I cannot keep you away, Dreibrand admitted.
Oh, you make me feel so welcome, Faychan laughed.
During the ride back to the city, Dreibrand answered some questions about the
Wilderness and
Faychan discussed his ambition to overthrow Benladu. It was pleasant small
talk mostly, but
Dreibrand remained wary of the Kezanada. When they neared Jingten, Faychan
pulled his horse to a stop and a serious expression settled on his face.
Dreibrand stopped but looked toward the city impatiently.
You were there when Onja died, weren t you? Faychan whispered a little
reverently.
Dreibrand avoided his intense gaze and said nothing.
Undaunted, Faychan asked urgently, What was in the tower?
After a moment of reflection, Dreibrand looked guardedly at the Kezanada. He
believed that
Faychan could read on his face that he knew something remarkable, but the
secret had to be kept.
I am bound by another friendship not to discuss that, Dreibrand explained.
Faychan deduced that Dreibrand was referring to Shan, and he knew that he
could not goad the man into betraying an oath to the rys at least not in a
day. However, Faychan had confirmed that
Shan definitely wanted something kept secret.
It must have been a privilege to see the old Queen fall, Faychan said.
She was hard to kill, Dreibrand recalled. He looked at the city again and a
rider was approaching them.
It was Miranda and a damp hood drooped over her face because she had been
waiting in the rain the whole time.
When she arrived, Dreibrand whispered in her language, See, I came back.
Her lips curved in a brief indication of pleasure, but then she looked at
Faychan with an austere expression.
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The Kezanada greeted her and she acknowledged him with a perfunctory nod.
Dreibrand said, You will have to excuse me, Faychan, but your company cannot
compete with
Miranda.
I suppose I cannot argue with that, Faychan admitted.
After a moment of hesitation, Dreibrand said, Good luck becoming Overlord.
Faychan pushed his visor down and chuckled. Good luck in the Wilderness.
The Kezanada watched them ride into the city. Although Dreibrand s choice to
ask for land in the
Wilderness now seemed obvious, Faychan had not thought of that option before.
He was a little disappointed because he had been sure that he could convince
Dreibrand to ride to Do Jempur with him this time. With a sigh, Faychan
resigned himself to actually having to earn the favor of Jingten s new King.
~
The rain cleared the next day and fluffy clouds cruised across the tips of the
Rysamand. Dreibrand and Miranda decided to take a ride east for the day. They
wanted to gaze upon the Wilderness once by themselves before they started
coordinating their colonization efforts.
The wind was cold in the pass but the sun was hot on their faces. Dreibrand
saw some tracks from the passing of the Atrophane the day before and he was
visited by the wistful thoughts of an expatriate, but he did not say anything.
As they descended the ridge, Jingten disappeared behind them and the pine and
birch forest of the eastern slopes spread out before them. From their vantage
point, they could see the plains of the Wilderness. Even farther, they could
see the line of dark mountains that had once cradled the civilization of
Nufal. They paused at the tree line where their view was unobstructed.
I cannot believe we came across all of that, Miranda said.
It does look daunting from up here, but such distances can be crossed.
Atrophane is as far from
Droxy as Droxy is from here, he said.
Miranda contemplated the distances. Crossing the Wilderness had given her a
much better grasp of the size of the world and she tried to imagine twice that
distance.
Taking his eyes from the vista, Dreibrand asked, Why did you think I wouldn t
come back
yesterday?
Miranda reflected on her sudden fear that he would leave with the Atrophane
and replied, Mostly because you are good to me and it is hard to believe that
something good can happen to me. And when you were talking to Lord Kwan, I saw
that you wanted to go with him.
The temptation to return home was fleeting, Dreibrand explained. Kwan only
wanted to bring me back in line with Atrophane society. Like always, he wanted
me to keep my place. He seeks to take advantage of my friendship with Shan, as
any good Lord General would do.
But there are things you miss from your home, Miranda surmised.
With objective honesty, Dreibrand agreed that he sometimes missed his culture
but he insisted it was only the natural longings of the heart. But a little
homesickness does not compare to you, he added warmly.
His words were kind and Miranda was glad that he was with her. Looking across
the landscape, she wanted to go live in the empty land with Dreibrand. Then,
her guilt over Elendra s death returned with a sharp emotional pain and she
tried to summon the strength to live with it. As much as she missed her
daughter, she could not regret her decision to flee into the Wilderness a year
ago. As much as she hated to think it, almost any price was worth living free
of Barlow and not having to dread every day.
I think I can feel that the Deamedron are gone, Miranda observed.
Dreibrand nodded. And this land will rejoice to have life in it instead of
death, he predicted.
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I wish we could go now, Miranda said.
Be patient. We will be there soon enough and then you will miss the comforts
of Jingten,
Dreibrand said.
Jingten gives me little comfort, she growled.
Then let us spend the day here and leave Jingten in the Rysamand, he
proposed.
They entered the woodland and wandered at a leisurely pace, enjoying the sight
of the occasional animal and remembering how such things had once been their
only food. The forest was idyllic, and it soothed both of their hearts to know
that Shan ruled the slopes now and not his evil predecessor.
From Jingten, Shan observed his human friends on the eastern slopes of his
realm. He remembered watching them approach the Rysamand the summer before and
fearing for them. Shan lamented briefly that he did not act then to protect
them from Onja, and perhaps spare them so much pain, but maybe if he had taken
that course, then Onja would still be Queen. After all, he had not been able
to defeat Onja on his own. He pondered the fact that Onja had compelled the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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