Harvest of Dreams (The Gods' Dream Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF Page B

our land.”
    “We will do our best to help,” Boerk said.
    “Captain.” Priest Taton took over the conversation. “If you and your men will follow me?”
    The soldiers’ march faded away.
    A hand touched Thaddis’s brow as if taking his temperature, the first gentle touch he’d experienced in a long time.
    “Ontarem’s Spawn!” Wenda’s words were edged with bitterness. “How can you touch him that way, Devore? I can’t even bear to look at him. I think I’ve made progress toward peace…toward healing. Then Thaddis comes here, and I feel as if I’ve lost it all.”
    “Rather say, Ontarem’s Pawn.” Devore said in a dispassionate voice. He lifted his hand from Thaddis’s forehead. “He was as much a victim as those whose lives he took or ruined.”
    I feel more spawn than pawn.
    “At heart, he was a good man,” Devore continued. “A little spoiled, with an air of entitlement, as most kings’ sons have.”
    “Not our princes!” Wenda said hotly. “High-spirited, perhaps. But good men. They were friends with this murderer, and he betrayed them.”
    Thaddis wanted to weep at what he’d done to his foster brothers, but his body wouldn’t cooperate.
    “Thaddis would have grown up to be a good ruler,” Devore said, his voice losing the dispassionate tone. “Even under the auspices of that frivolous Goddess of Ocean’s Glory. With the guidance of a Deity like yours or mine, he would have become a great king.”
    “At least, he had to pay somewhat for his crimes.” Wenda’s voice sounded closer. “I’d not recognize him now if I passed him on the street. The arrogant, charismatic king with the glowing auburn hair is gone. In his place is this white-haired, wrinkled, withered creature. A fitting punishment. But what do we do with him?”
    “Now we see,” was the Archpriest’s cryptic answer.
    What’s undone may be done up, and what’s done may be undone.
    The voice echoed in his mind. Guinheld . Without being told, Thaddis knew the Zacatlan Goddess was present, and fear weighed heavy in his belly.
    “Goddess,” Devore intoned. “Will you accept this man to be healed?”
    I will heal his body. It is up to him to heal his heart and mind.
    For a moment, Thaddis felt the faintest glimpse of hope, but he banished it almost immediately. There’s no healing for me.

 
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
    In the bow of the Comali , Jasmine leaned against the shoulder of her husband, Indaran, King of Seagem, as they talked to his sister, Daria. She couldn’t get over her amazement at the beautiful lavender sky arching overhead and blue-green water of the ocean, so different from the gray shades of Ontarem’s land or the blue sky on Earth.
    The wind whipped Jasmine’s gray chador to flap against her body. She took surreptitious glances at her new sister-in-law. Daria seemed like a feminine version of Indaran. She noted how similar the siblings looked—their blond coloring, with the dark brows and lashes, vivid green eyes, the way they carried themselves. Even some of their gestures were the same, which gave Jasmine a feeling of kinship to the princess.
    Next to Princess Daria stood Jasmine’s friend and Daria’s new husband, Khan, his arm touching his wife’s. He was bareheaded, and his black hair had grown from the short cut he’d had before and was pulled back in a stubby tail. He’d donned the green uniform worn by Daria and her soldiers. Like with hers, the sun burnished the gold braid around his sleeves and collar. She liked Khan’s new look—different, fitting for this world. The couple stood firm on the deck, comfortable with the rocking of the ship after days at sea.
    Jasmine wished she could relax and enjoy the beautiful day, sailing on an old-fashioned wooden ship over a turquoise ocean under a lavender sky. She wanted to bask in the happiness she felt about finding Khan and seeing his joy in his marriage. Most of all, she longed to savor a honeymoon with her new husband. Thinking about their