Naamah's Kiss - Jacqueline Carey [213]
"I'm sorry, my lady."
She shook her head. "Do not be. It is better this way. Better to know it is a being of such beauty and majesty that dwells within me, and not a demon. It is only that he is so very powerful, and he does not know his strength."
I am trying. Insofar as a dragon's voice could sound small, his did. He says—
The princess smiled. "I heard. We are learning, I think, he and I. Will you call your magic, please?"
I did.
While the dragon drifted and dreamed in the mirror, we waited. As was our wont, I released the twilight and Snow Tiger donned her blindfold when a servant came with the midday meal, placing it fearfully on the table and hurrying out, the iron bars clanging shut behind her, a key turning in the lock. I breathed slow and deep and called the twilight back. A musician sat in the courtyard, playing a haunting, plangent melody with a bow on a two-stringed instrument that was unfamiliar to me, notes shimmering in the gloaming light. The Emperor had sought many ways to ensure that his daughter's life was not without pleasure.
Snow Tiger listened, not touching her food. "I hate that I am doing this."
My heart ached for her; and yet I did not think this was the time for kindness and comfort. "You needn't do it. But if it is your will to choose otherwise, tell me now. If it is not, my lady, I suggest you eat. We cannot afford weakness."
She inclined her head and picked up her chopsticks. "As you say."
After we had dispatched our meal of steamed fish in a ginger sauce with rice and crisp slices of lotus root, the servant returned to take away our dishes. Snow Tiger tied her blindfold in place and I banished the twilight. The musician bowed and took her leave.
"Now?" The princess' voice was fierce.
The dragon cavorted in joy. Now?
"Now," I agreed, summoning my magic.
It came in a rush, dusk descending for the third time that day. I would need to hold it for a very, very long time. Mindful of the fact, I breathed the Breath of Earth's Pulse, grounding myself.
"Come." Driven by the dragon's excitement, Snow Tiger surged to her feet and extended one hand. "Moirin, now!"
"I am here," I said softly, letting her tug me upright.
In the courtyard, the iron bars of her cage bent and screeched beneath the pressure she exerted on them. I winced, knowing the sound was audible in the physical world. Still, no one came. We slipped through the bars, and then the princess straightened them with no visible effort.
"Your letter—" I began.
"It will be found." She caught my hand once more. "Come! We seek the Armory of Distinguished Blades."
Those are not hours I would wish to relive. The Maghuin Dhonn are a solitary folk. So we have been time out of mind; and my gifts were meant to serve a solitary existence in the wild woods and hills of Alba.
Not this.
Not this cloistered labyrinth of humanity, filled with people hurrying to and fro. Servants, attendants, councilors. Time and time again, I was forced to flatten my back against the crimson walls and let the world surge past us. For the first time in many months, I found myself breathing hard at being confined in a man-made space. Only the discipline of Master Lo's teaching let me keep a grip on the twilight.
"Here!" Snow Tiger darted past a pair of guards into the chamber beyond.
I hurried after her. "My lady, please! Go slowly and do not leave me behind."
She nodded briefly, scanning the room. There were swords in elaborate scabbards displayed on a multitude of tables, each one with an etched stone tablet beside it. One sword was more slender, more delicately wrought than the others, with gilded filigree on the small round guard and a tassel on the hilt.
That was the one the princess seized. She withdrew it a few inches from the scabbard of lacquered wood, gazing at the blade. Shimmering coils were reflected in the steel.
My anxiety was rising. "My lady, we must go."
"Yes." Snow Tiger shoved the blade home. "Follow me."
It felt as though it took hours longer to navigate a path out of the