Daughter of Regals Read Online Free PDF

the monarch of Lodan no opportunity for riposte. He made
an obscure, small gesture which the servants of the manor knew how to read;
and at once a clear chime rang across the hush of the ballroom.
    “My
lords and ladies,” he said casually, as though he were unaware of the
conflicting currents around him, “friends and comrades, the feast is prepared.
Will you accept the hospitality of the Phoenix-Regal’s daughter at table?”
    With an
unruffled demeanour, he offered me his arm to lead me to the banquet hall. I
gripped it harder than I intended while I continued to smile somewhat fixedly
at the people who parted before us. Entering the passage which connected the
ballroom and the banquet hall, he whispered softly to me, “Thus far, it is well
enough. I will wager that even that proud Queen has been somewhat unsettled in
her mind. Do not falter now.”
    Perhaps
I could not trust him. But he was still my friend; and while his friendship
lasted, I clung to it. In reply, I breathed, “Ryzel, do not leave me to dine
alone with these predators.”
    “It is
the custom,” he said without turning his head. “I will regale the Mages while
their masters feast. Do not fail of appetite. You must show no fear.” A moment
later, he added, “Perchance I will glean some hint of what has wedded Cashon to
King Thone’s side.”
    With
that I had to be content.
    At the
doors of the hall, he dropped his arm. I walked without him ahead of the guests
into the feasting-place of the Regals.
    It was
resplendent with light and warmth and music and savoury aromas. In the great
hearths fires blazed, not because they were needed, but because they were
lovely and comforting. Long ranks of candelabra made the damask tablecloths
and the rich plate gleam. Playing quietly in one corner, musicians embellished
a sprightly air. The scent of the incensed candles gave each breath a tang. But
this night such things provided me neither pleasure nor solace. As it was
custom that Mage Ryzel would not attend me here, so also was it custom that I
must take my feast uncompanioned—at a table set only for me and placed in full
view of all the guests. The long tables had been arranged in a rough
semicircle; but my seat rested on a low platform within the arms of the
formation, solitary and exposed, so that all in the hall might study me as we
ate.
    A
barbarous custom I thought sourly. Yet I understood it. Always better—so my
father had often told me— to rule by confidence of personality than by display
of strength. And how better to show my enemies that I did not fear them, than
by taking a calm meal alone in front of them?
    Gripping
what courage I had, I moved to my place and stood there while the three kings
and their followers,the chief families and minor nobility of the
realm all my principal friends and foes found their proper seals. For a moment
as I watched them, I fervidly wished myself a Gorgon as my great-grandfather
had been, capable of turning to stone those who sought my ill. But then I shook
the thought away; it did not become one who aspired to Ascension. The
Gorgon-Regal had been a grim and fatal monarch—and yet there was no record that
he had ever used his Magic to harm any of his subjects.
    When
all the guests were in their places, I made the short, formal speech expected
of me, inviting the company to feast and happiness in the manor of the Regals.
I was steadier now, and my voice betrayed no tremor. According to custom, I
stood until the people around me had seated themselves. Then the steward
clapped his hands for the servants, and I lowered myself gratefully to my
chair.
    At
once, the feast appeared. Again according to custom, the steaming trays and
chafing dishes, platters of meats and flagons of mulled wine and tureens of
rich soup were brought first to me. And with them came a servant to act as my
tester. He would taste for me; and I would taste for the guests; and so both
caution and courtesy were satisfied.
    But
there I was