Naamah's Blessing Read Online Free PDF Page B

that we might seek him out there on the morrow.
    That night, I lay restless in bed. The chamber that Noémie had given us was small, but pleasant. It had a window that overlooked an inner courtyard, so I would be less inclined to the stifling sensation that sometimes overcame me in man-made spaces, and the bed-linens were soft and scented with lavender. It should have been a peaceful place for repose, but my mind was too full for sleep.
    “What is it?” Bao asked drowsily. “Are you fretting over meeting the King? I thought you liked him.”
    “I do,” I said. “I don’t know if I can bear to face his grief.”
    Bao propped himself on one elbow. “His or yours?”
    “Both,” I admitted.
    He stroked my cheek with his free hand. “Moirin, it is part of the price of being alive. Of loving.”
    “I know,” I murmured. “It hurts, that’s all.”
    “I know,” he echoed, tugging me into the curve of his body and breathing the Breath of Ocean’s Rolling Waves until I began to relax. “So tell me,” he whispered against the back of my neck. “Who is Aislinn mac Tiernan if not one of your many royal ladies?”
    It made me smile in the darkness, although there was sorrow in it. “Cillian’s sister.”
    Bao went still. “He was your first love?”
    Unseen, I nodded. “Aislinn was kind to me. She was the only one in her family who didn’t blame me for Cillian’s death.”
    He released his breath. “I had forgotten. No wonder it grieves you so to think to be blamed for Jehanne’s.”
    “That, and being accused of having seduced and ensorceled her,” I said. “Or you, or anyone. Stone and sea! The only time I
tried
to seduce someone, I failed miserably.”
    Bao stifled a yawn. “Your spineless Yeshuite boy?”
    I rolled over in his arms. “Aleksei wasn’t spineless.”
    His eyes glinted. “Oh, he was! But he ended up in your bed anyway, didn’t he? So I suppose you succeeded after all.”
    “That was Naamah’s blessing, and an altogether different matter,” I informed him.
    “If you say so.”
    “I do.” It was a familiar argument between us. I realized that Bao had succeeded in breaking the endless chain of thought I’d been chasing, which had likely been his intention all along. For that, I kissed him. “Good night and thank you, my Tatar prince.”
    He gave me a sleepy smile. “You’re welcome.”
    In the morning, aided by a night’s sleep, I was calmer than I would have reckoned. My apprehension had settled into a deep place inside of me. This was going to be painful, but it was necessary.
    Bao and I rode to the Palace, where the royal steward greeted us both with a sincere bow.
    “Lady Moirin mac Fainche,” he said in a respectful tone. “Messire… Bao, is it? Welcome. Brother Phanuel indicated that you would visit today.”
    “Is his majesty King Daniel receiving?” I inquired.
    The steward hesitated. “His majesty is enjoying a concerto.” He lowered his voice. “Music is one of the only things in which he yet takes pleasure. But I think, my lady, that he would wish to be interrupted by you.”
    My stomach tightened. “You’re sure?”
    He nodded. “I do believe so. Come, permit me to escort you and your… husband.”
    It felt strange, so strange, to walk the marbled halls of the Palace with its gilded columns and ornate frescos. We passed the Hall of Games, where Prince Thierry had taught me to play games of chance. I remembered Jehanne carelessly wagering a love-token that Raphael had given her as an apology for some offense, a choker of pale blue topaz that matched her eyes. She’d demonstrated her annoyance with him by putting it around her silken-haired lap-dog’s neck as a collar, and then tossing it upon the gaming table as though it meant less than nothing to her.
    She’d won her wager, though.
    I remembered the cool touch of her fingertips on my face, her complicated expression, and her barbed warning.
You oughtn’t play games you’re bound to lose
.
    I had;