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That conversation had been yesterdayAfterwards she had turned to watch the sun go down into the seaThe night had been bright and glorious, with Vidomni waxing and Ilarion at her full, blue and mysterious, a moon of fantasy, of magicShe had wondered if they would have time to be alone that night, but in fact Brandin had been down on the plain among the tents of his army through most of the dark hours, and speaking with his captains after thatD'Eymon, she knew was going to remain up here with him tomorrow, and Rhamanus, more a sailor than a military commander, would be on the hill as well to lead the men of the King's Guard in defense, if matters came to thatIf matters came to that they were probably dead, she knew
Both moons had set by the time Brandin came back to their tent on that hill above the seaAwake in bed, waiting, fake louis vuitton handbag she could see his wearinessHe had maps with him, sketches of terrain to study one last time, but she made him put them down
He came over to the bed still fully clothed and lay downAfter a moment he rested his head in her lapNeither of them spoke for a long timeThen Brandin shifted a little and looked up at her
"I hate that man down there," he said quietly"I hate everything he stands forThere is no passion in him, no love, no prideNothing matters but thatNothing in the world can move him to pity or grief but his own fateEverything is a tool, an instrumentHe wants the Emperor's Tiara, everyone knows it, but he doesn't want it for anythingI doubt anything in his life has ever moved him to feel anything for anyone else He was repeating himself in his exhaustionShe pressed her fingers against his temples, looking down at his face as replica prada he turned again and his eyes closed and his brow gradually grew smooth under her touchEventually his breathing steadied and she knew he was asleepShe stayed awake, her hands moving like a blind woman's over him, knowing from the light outside that the moons were down, knowing the morning was war and that she loved this man more than the world
She must have slept, because the sky was grey with the coming of dawn when she opened her eyes again, and Brandin was goneThere was a red anemone on the pillow beside herShe looked at it without moving for a moment, then picked it up and crushed it to her face inhaling the fragile scentShe wondered if he knew the legend of that flower hereAlmost certainly not, she thought
She rose, and a few moments later Scelto came in with a mug of khav in his handHe was wearing the stiff leather vest rolex oyster of a messenger; lightweight inadequate armor against arrowsHe had volunteered to be one of the score of such men running orders and messages up and down the hillHe had come to her first though, as he had every morning in the saishan for a dozen yearsDianora was afraid that thinking about that would make her cry: a brutal omen on such a dayShe managed a smile and told him to go back to the King, who needed him more this morning
After he left, she slowly drank her khav, listening to the growing noises outsideThen she washed and dressed herself and went out of the tent into the rising sun
Two men of the King's Guard were waiting for herThey went wherever she did, a discreet step or two behind, but not more than thatShe would be guarded today, she knewShe looked for Brandin and saw Rhun firstThey were both near the front of the miu miu nappa flattened ridge, both bare-headed, without armor, though with identical swords belted at their sidesBrandin had chosen to dress today in the simple brown of an ordinary soldierNone of them were, or could be
Not long after that they saw him step alone toward the edge of his hill and raise one hand above his head for all the men in both armies to seeWithout a word spoken, any warning at all, a dazzling blood-crimson flare of light sprang from that upthrust hand like a flame into the deep blue of the skyFrom below they heard a roar of sound, as, crying their King's name aloud, Brandin's outnumbered army moved forward across the valley to meet the soldiers of Alberico in a battle that had been coming for almost twenty years
"Not yet," Alessan said steadily, for the fifth time, at least"We have waited years, we must not be too soon watches omega no |
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