A Forest of Stars - Kevin J. Anderson [147]
She glanced at him, surprised but cautious. “It hasn’t been so very long. I can handle it.”
“The WhisperPalace has a marvelous arboretum, gardens as well manicured and as exotic as you can imagine, along with several worldtrees. I think you’d enjoy seeing our tiny slice of well-tamed wilderness.”
“I suppose that would be better than walking through rooms full of relics that belong in a museum.” She sniffed indignantly at the stony-faced guards. “Especially since when I wander on my own, certain people get upset.” She made a rude noise. “As if I haven’t ever been on a walk by myself! On Theroc, I used to run for hours, climbing the worldtrees to get to the canopy where I could look out at the whole world.”
“Didn’t you worry about getting lost out there?”
Estarra shrugged. “It’s hard to get lost in your own home.”
Peter raised his eyes to the high-vaulted ceiling and the magnificent chandeliers. “The WhisperPalace has been my home for a long time, and sometimes I still get lost here.”
Estarra gave a light laugh. “Good thing there are plenty of guards breathing down your neck, then.”
“If the two of us go see the gardens, maybe I can convince the guards to stay at least twenty steps behind us. As long as you promise not to climb any trees.”
Basil stood and signaled for attention. It was a mark of the power and respect he commanded that everyone instantly fell silent. The servers melted out of sight.
“Estarra, daughter of Theroc, we are here to welcome you and to show you our appreciation. Soon, the Hansa will officially announce your engagement to our beloved monarch.” He turned to the Teacher compy. “OX will continue to help you get acquainted with how things work here. He will instruct you in etiquette and behavior and manners, much as he did with the Prince when he was young.”
Peter smiled at her. Estarra seemed to shy away from all the attention suddenly showered upon her. “Thank you,” she said.
There was polite applause, and Basil sat down. The servers launched the main course, carrying in steaming cutlets of succulent beef smothered in sauces. Peter realized that on Theroc Estarra was unaccustomed to eating any kind of meat that didn’t come from gigantic insects. This fare must still be new to her.
He smiled at her again, feeling a strange warmth in his heart. Perhaps they could eventually learn to like each other…if they were given the chance.
75
PRIME DESIGNATE JORA’H
Jora’h discovered the mysterious documents waiting for him in his sealed private chambers. Someone had placed the records where no one but the Prime Designate could see them. He felt cold dread just looking at the stacked, obviously ancient diamondfilm sheets.
Of late, Jora’h no longer found any sort of surprise to be pleasant.
Young Thor’h had already departed for the Horizon Cluster with relief supplies, engineers, rescue workers, builders, and architects. The injured Designate Rusa’h still lay in a deep sub-thism coma, unchanged and unmoving for months. The Mage-Imperator said he could no longer sense his wounded son through the thism, but he had not passed through into the realm of the Lightsource. Only the medical kithmen could prove that the Hyrillka Designate was still alive at all…
Frowning, his gold-chain hair twitching with agitation, Jora’h picked up the thin sparkling sheets that bore letters like runes engraved with diamond liquid. The characters and language seemed archaic, the scrolled border too ornate for current styles. It took him a moment to recognize the rhythm and meter of words, the stanzas broken into the same pattern and format. Every Ildiran would have found it familiar.
This was a portion of the Saga of Seven Suns. A section he had never seen before.
More stories? Ancient history? Why should anyone bother the Prime Designate with such things at a time like this? Hydrogues were on the prowl, attacking human and Ildiran settlements. Hyrillka had been devastated and numerous other splinter colonies