[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.There was no trace of doubt in his voice–but then, his marriage would have been arranged for political reasons too.He saw nothing wrong in the practice, even though he could have ignored his wife and Alassa would have found it hard to ignore her husband.“Give them great honor, as they deserve.”Twenty-two? Emily glanced back and saw that the princes had been joined by a handful of others, princes who hadn’t come with the procession.But they hadn’t had time to visit all of the prospective princes in their natural environment.Emily wondered absently if that meant that those princes had a poor chance of winning Alassa’s hand–or the exact opposite.Alassa had already declared that there was absolutely no hope of spending the rest of her life with Prince Slark, even if she had to kill him herself.And Prince Hedrick just didn’t seem to care.The herald stepped forward as trumpets blared.“Your Majesty, Your Excellencies, Your Lordships…Prince Hedrick of Alluvia, son of King Jorlem!”Prince Hedrick ambled up to the throne as if he were an actress on a catwalk.Emily had to conceal her own amusement and noticed that several of the lords were doing the same, although others were looking calculating.If Prince Hedrick was touched in the head, it would ensure that he wouldn’t be able to supply Alassa with a backbone–although if they thought she didn’t have one, they didn’t know her very well.Given time and experience–and magic–she was likely to be formidable.King Randor’s face showed no trace of his true feelings as he accepted a bow from Prince Hedrick.Emily watched as the prince stepped to one side and waited as the herald announced Prince Slark, who swaggered forward and bowed grandly to King Randor.Some of the younger members of the court looked interested, but the older ones still looked calculating.A slimy prince might be easy to manipulate too.He wouldn’t force her to marry him, would he? Emily asked herself.But who knew what Slark would bring to the match, apart from his own personality? What sort of calculations might cross the King’s mind? And yet Alassa was determined to refuse him.One by one, the princes bowed to King Randor and joined the line beside the throne.Emily realized that the whole purpose of the ceremony was to introduce them formally, ensuring that everyone would know who they were.But there were so many princes that she felt her head beginning to hurt just trying to keep track of them.Maybe Alassa could do it–she’d been memorising aristocratic genealogies since she had been old enough to read–but Emily couldn’t.It was hard enough remembering the spells she’d memorized since coming to Whitehall.The line of princes finally came to an end.It was difficult to read King Randor’s feelings–he was far more skillful than his daughter at concealing his innermost thoughts–but Alassa looked both relieved and worried.Emily realized, as heads turned back towards the doors expectantly, that she was next.She wanted to run and hide–this was going to be worse than any of the other kingdoms–but somehow she held herself in place.And then the herald read her out.“Your Majesty, Your Excellencies, Your Lordships…Lady Emily, Necromancer’s Bane.”Emily had to force herself to walk forward, feeling all eyes on her.She had no real title–Lady was a courtesy title offered to a sorceress–but she had killed a necromancer.And if she’d tricked Shadye, no one would have kept it a secret.The mystery only added to the potency of her growing reputation, as well as suggesting that no one should mess with her.In hindsight, she wondered about King Rupert’s veiled threats.Should she have been snarkier to ensure that he knew she was powerful?But even the most powerful of necromancers could still be poisoned.The back of her neck felt hot as she approached King Randor.Alassa hadn’t been entirely sure of the correct protocol for Emily; officially, she was common-born, but she was a close friend of the princess and that effectively conferred aristocratic status.And then she might have been the daughter of an immensely powerful sorcerer, powerful enough to cause huge amounts of devastation if he felt that his daughter had been insulted, and she had killed a necromancer.All of the factors, added together, could only cause confusion.Who knew what the correct protocol should have been?She curtseyed, very carefully, and then went down on one knee
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]