"Jennifer Fallon - Demon Child 01 - Medalon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Fallon Jennifer)

The night dragged on in silence until the first tentative rays of daylight announced the next and most
anxiously awaited part of the ceremony.

As a faint luminescence softened the darkness, Francil raised her head. “Let us remember our Sister!”

“Let us remember our Sister,” the gathered Sisters, Probates, Novices and Defenders echoed in a
monotone. Every one of them was tired. They were beyond being reverent and wished only that the
ceremony were over.

“Let us move forward toward a new future,” Francil called.

“Let us move forward toward a new future,” R’shiel repeated, this time with slightly more interest.
Finally, the time had come to announce Trayla’s successor, a decision that affected every citizen in
Medalon.

“Hail the First Sister, Mahina Cortanen!”

“Hail the First Sister, Mahina Cortanen!” the crowd chanted.

R’shiel gasped with astonishment as Mahina stood forward to accept the dutiful, if rather tired, cheers of
the gathering. She could not believe it.What political scheming and double-dealing had the others
indulged in? How, with all their intrigues and plotting had the Quorum actually elected someone capable
of doing the job well? R’shiel had to stop herself from laughing out loud.

As the cheers subsided, Mahina turned to Jenga. “My Lord Defender, will you swear the allegiance of
the Defenders to me?”

“Gladly, your Grace,” Jenga replied.

He unsheathed his sword and stepped forward, laying the polished blade on the sandy ground at the feet
of the new First Sister. He bent one knee and waited for the senior officers down on the arena floor to
follow suit. The Defenders up in the stands placed clenched fists over their hearts as Jenga’s voice rang
out in the silent arena.

“By the blood in my veins and the soil of Medalon, I swear that the Defenders are yours to command,
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First Sister, until my death or yours.”

A loud, deep-throated cheer went up from the Defenders. Jenga rose to his feet and met Mahina’s eyes.
R’shiel watched her accept the accolade. Never had a woman looked less like a First Sister.

Mahina nodded to Jenga, thanking him silently, then turned to the gathering and opened her arms wide.

“I declare a day of rest,” she announced, her first proclamation as First Sister. Her voice sounded
rasping and dry after the warm night standing before a blazing bonfire. “A day to contemplate the life of
our beloved Trayla. A day to witness the execution of her murderer. Tomorrow, we will begin the next