"Darkest Mercy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Marr Melissa)Chapter 3Donia exhaled a gust of frigid air as she watched Aislinn approach. The Summer Queen’s guards had stopped at a safe distance, and the queen herself came forward cautiously. She had her hands tucked into the pockets of a heavy woolen coat, and her almost-black hair was hidden under her hood. “Shall we walk?” Donia asked. Aislinn gestured to a path that led away from the same fountain where they’d once sat and talked. Back then, Aislinn was a mortal hiding her Sight. Back then, Donia was weaker. Those things had changed in such a short time. What hadn’t changed was that the actions of one faery, Keenan, both drew them together and kept them at odds. “I’d hoped he would . . .” Aislinn’s words faded, but she glanced at Donia. “No. He’s not contacted me. Nor you, I see. If he were “But if he were hurt—” “He’s not,” Donia snapped. “He’d let us know. He’s either sulking or staying where it’s warmer or . . . who can know with him.” “ Donia chose not to address that particular truth. She For several moments, they said nothing more as they walked. Icicles formed on the trees they passed. The ground whitened with a thin sheen of frost. It wasn’t anywhere near what the Winter Queen could do, but the earth had been frozen for too long during her predecessor’s reign. Summer was to be happy, but neither the Summer King nor the Summer Queen was happy. It weakened their court. “My court isn’t what it ought to be,” Aislinn admitted. “I know.” Donia sighed. A plume of freezing air rolled out from her lips. “I cannot weaken my court overmuch, but I can try for a truer balance.” The Summer Queen shivered. “And when he returns?” “That changes nothing, Ash.” Donia kept her face expressionless. “He made his choice.” “He loves you.” “Please. Don’t.” Donia turned her back to the faery Keenan had chosen over her. Even standing on the still snow-covered ground, the Summer Queen had her court’s impulsivity. She persisted, “He Donia paused, but didn’t turn around. “Donia?” The Winter Queen glanced over her shoulder. “You make it difficult to hate you, Ash.” Aislinn smiled. “Good . . . but that’s not why I said that. I mean it. He—” “I know,” Donia interrupted before the Summer Queen could begin another passionate outburst. “I need to travel tonight. The slight snow I scatter here will determine what happens elsewhere. If there is nothing else?” “There is, actually,” Aislinn started. “No more talk of him.” “No, not him.” Aislinn bit her lip, looking like the nervous mortal she had once been. Donia looked at her expectantly. “Well?” “I don’t know if your court has . . . lost anyone, but some of my faeries have Despite everything she felt toward Aislinn over the situation they were in, Donia softened at the worry obvious in the Summer Queen’s voice. She knew as well as Aislinn did that none of their issues were by their own choice. “Good. Well, “They are yours.” Donia narrowed her gaze at the doubt in Aislinn’s voice. “You are the Summer Queen—with or without a king, this is As Donia spoke, slivers of ice extended into small daggers in both of her hands. It was instinctual, but it proved her point all the more. “Right.” Aislinn’s expression shifted into something more regal. “It gets easier sooner or later, doesn’t it?” Donia snorted. “Not yet, but it had better . . . or maybe we just get used to it.” “How did he do it without the strength we have?” Aislinn asked tentatively, bringing And to that, the Winter Queen had no answer. She shook her head. It was a question she’d been asking for most of her life. She couldn’t imagine dealing with her court with her powers bound. “Advisors. Friends. Stubbornness.” “People who believed in him,” Aislinn added with a bold stare. “You believed in him enough to die for him, Donia. Don’t think either of us will forget that. If not for you, I wouldn’t be their queen, and he wouldn’t be unbound.” At that, Donia paused and asked the question she’d wondered in silence: “Do you regret it?” “Some days,” Aislinn said. “When I think about fighting the embodiment of war? Yeah, I regret it a little. Life was a lot easier when I thought all faeries were ‘evil.’ Now I worry about keeping them from dying, ruling them, trying to be a queen, and dealing with the impulses that aren’t “I do.” Donia nodded as the ice in her hands retracted. “I thought the ice was going to kill me when I was the Winter Girl, so becoming a queen was a They stood silently for a moment, and then Aislinn nodded. “I can do this. Donia smiled. “Indeed. I will talk to Niall and Sorcha. Niall has a bit of sympathy for mortals—and for your court, however much he may try to deny it—so he’s been plagued by the same sort of unrest that Bananach has provoked in our courts. We can do this, Ash, without Keenan, without failing our courts or breaking under our natures.” And in that minute, Donia believed it. |
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