| He looked, more than a little embarrassed, towards the door of the privyAnd almost jumped with shock when a voice spoke from the shadows by the fire, where the light from the windows did not fall
"Who are these strangers?"
Alessan himself had turned unerringly toward the fire the moment he entered the room, guided by what sense, Devin never knew, and so he appeared controlled and unsurprised when that cold voice spokeOr when a woman moved forward from the shadows to stand by one of the armchairs, and then sit down upon it, her back very straight, her head held high looking at him
Pasithea di Tigana bren Serazi, wife to Valentin the PrinceShe must have been a woman of unsurpassed beauty in her youth, for that beauty still showed, even here, even now, at the threshold of the last portal of MorianShe was tall and very thin, though part of that, clearly, was due to the illness wasting her from withinIt showed in her face, which was pale almost to gucci bags leather translucence, the cheekbones thrust into too sharp reliefHer robe had a high, stiff collar which covered her throat; the robe itself was crimson, accentuating her unnatural, other-worldly pallor, it was as if, Devin thought, she had already crossed to Morian and was looking back at them from a farther shore
But there were golden rings, very much of this world, on her long fingers, and one dazzling blue gem gleamed from a necklace that hung down over her robeHer hair was gathered and bound up in a black net, a style long out of fashion in the PalmDevin knew with absolute certainty that current fashion would mean nothing, less than nothing, to this womanHer eyes looked at him just then with swift, unsettling appraisal, before moving on to Erlein, and then resting, finally, upon her son
The son she had not seen since he was fourteen years old
Her eyes were grey like Alessan's, but they were harder than his, glittering and cold, hiding their depths, as if some chanel mens watches semi-precious stone had been caught and set just below the surfaceThey glinted, fierce and challenging, in the light of the room, and just before she spoke again, not even waiting for an answer to her first question, Devin realized that what they were seeing in those eyes was rage
It was in the arrogant face, in the high carriage and the fingers that held hard to the arms of her chairAn inner fire of anger that had passed, long ago, beyond the realm of words or any other form of expressionShe was dying, and in hiding, while the man who had killed her husband ruled her landIt was there, it was all there, for anyone who knew but half the tale
Devin swallowed and fought an urge to draw back toward the door, out of rangeA moment later he realized that he needn't bother; as far as the woman in the chair was concerned he was a cipher, a nothingHe wasn't even thereHer question had not been meant to be answered; she didn't really care who they wereShe had orange prada bag someone else to deal with
For a long time, a sequence of moments that seemed to hang forever in the silence, she looked Alessan up and down without speaking, her white, imperious features quite unreadableAt last, slowly shaking her head, she said: "Your father was such a handsome man
Devin flinched at the words and the tone, but Alessan seemed scarcely to react at allHe nodded in calm agreementAnd so were my brothers He smiled, a small, ironic smile"The strain must have run out just before it got to me
His voice was mild, but when he finished he glanced sharply at Danoleon, and the High Priest read a message thereHe, in turn, murmured something to Torre who quickly left the room
To stand guard in front, Devin realized, feeling a chill despite the fireWords had just been spoken here that could kill them allHe looked over at Erlein and saw that the wizard had slipped his harp out of its caseHis expression grim, the Senzian took a position near the dolce and gabbana handbags replica eastern window and quietly began tuning his instrument
Of course, Devin thought: Erlein knew what he was doingThey had come in here ostensibly to play for a dying womanIt would be odd if no music emerged from this roomOn the other hand, he didn't much feel like singing just now
"Musicians," the woman in the chair said with contempt to her sonHave you come to play a jingle for me now? To show me how skillful you are in such an important thing? To ease a mother's soul before I die?" There was something almost unbearable in her tone
Alessan did not move, though he too had gone pale nowIn no other way did he betray his tension though, save perhaps in the almost too casual stance, the exaggerated simulation of ease
"If it would please you, my lady mother, I will play for you," he said quietly"There was a time I can remember when the prospect of music would indeed have brought you pleasure
The eyes of the woman in the chair glittered coldly"There was a time for discount louis vuitton handbags m |
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