"Anne Bishop - Black Jewels 00 - The Invisible Ring" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bishop Anne)

distress. It took Krelis a moment to get past the blatant, if involuntary,
invitation to mount, and recognize her. He couldn't remember her name, just
that he'd seen her a couple of times several years ago when a maternal
second cousin of his had been courting her. That courtship had ended
swiftly, and the only thing the cousin had said afterward publicly was that
they weren't as well suited as he had thought. But one night, over a couple
of bottles of brandy, his cousin had muttered some other things about her.
Since she no longer had anything to do with him or his family, Krelis had
paid no attention. Now he wished he had, just as he wished he could remember
what it was about her that had made him keep his distance during his
cousin's brief courtship.
"You know her?" Dorothea asked, a dangerous edge in her voice. Sweat
trickled down Krelis's sides. "I've seen her before, Priestess, but we were
never formally introduced." That, thank the Darkness, was true. Dorothea
nodded as if satisfied. "She's a minor Queen from one of the Hundred
Families. Her tendency to voice questionable opinions has caused great
embarrassment and distress for her family. The latest unfortunate incident
forced them to conclude that having her Virgin Night is the only thing that
will settle her down."
Krelis's hands curled into fists. Now he remembered. A mouthy little bitch
who was always criticizing the High Priestess and talking about how a
Territory shouldn't be ruled by a witch who was less than a Queen. Always
talking as if she, who only wore a Rose Jewel, could gather enough Jeweled
strength among the Hundred Families and the rest of Hayll to oppose
Dorothea. Not even the Hundred Families were invulnerable if Hayll's High
Priestess decided to punish disloyalty. And since the Families had gained
the most from Dorothea's rule, why would they oppose her anyway?
"I want you to take care of her Virgin Night," Dorothea said. Panic knotted
Krelis's guts. "Me?" His voice cracked. "But-"
"Yes, Lord Krelis?" Dorothea said with quiet malevolence. Krelis licked his
dry lips. "Priestess, I've never . . ."
Her amusement deepened his panic. "You regularly make use of the whores at
one of the better Red Moon houses in Draega, so I doubt that you've never .
. ." She let the words hang. He could almost see them becoming a noose
around his neck. He should have realized Dorothea would make it her business
to know about that, especially where it concerned the males who were the
closest to her- and whose loyalty had to be watched the most carefully.
"Wouldn't a consort be better?" Krelis stammered. "They're trained for this
kind of thing."
"I want you to do this, Krelis. As a favor to me." She studied him for a
moment. "You needn't be concerned about filling her belly. This isn't her
fertile time, so she'll still have that asset when her family contracts a
marriage for her." When he didn't say anything, she turned to leave. "I
think an hour should be more than sufficient, don't you?"
Krelis found his voice just as she was closing the door. "But . . .
Priestess . . . what if I break her?"
Dorothea gave him a queer look before saying with deadly softness, "Lord
Krelis, I think the question you should be asking is what will happen if you
don't?" She closed the door. Krelis heard the click of the physical lock.
Then the Red lock snapped back into place, trapping him in the room. Using