Shadow's End (Light & Shadow) Read Online Free PDF Page A

words, but my voice continued without a pause. “I had heard of the rebellion, but I thought it was foolish. I thought that anyone who sympathized signed his own death warrant.” They stirred, and I flinched. Still I heard my voice go on. “Then I saw what the Court was doing to me, and to my…sister. We had started to go dark. We were surrounded by lies and…” I shook my head. “Everyone wanted to use us. She was the one who turned me to the rebellion with her own belief. A month ago, we decided to run away. We just took our clothes and went. We didn’t have a plan, we just came here, looking for the rebellion. We didn’t know where to go or what to do, but having a roof over our head and fine clothes…it wasn’t worth it anymore. We were being…twisted.”
    They watched me, silent and unforgiving, and I saw that they doubted me. It was not the story they had expected, but how could the y believe it? I had been able to hold back only one thing, our identities, but like a wild animal close to danger, they could sense it. I closed my eyes and tried to think of anything that might stave off the attack, and then I heard a rustle behind me and a collective indrawn breath. I knew without looking that Miriel stood behind me, in all her beauty. I looked at her, and she smiled at me.
    “Catw in is telling the truth,” she said simply. She stood on the stairs above me, her head held high, her chin tilted proudly. Her beauty shone like a jewel, she was stunning. The men at the tables gaped, and Miriel smiled out at them. But her gaze did not waver from Jeram. Under her bright scrutiny, he cleared his throat and made an admirable attempt to remain focused.
    “And who are you?” He was trying to be brusque.
    “My name,” Miriel said, “is Miriel DeVere. I am the niece of the Duke of Voltur. Before the death of King Garad, the Gods protect his soul, I was to be Queen.” The rising tide of murmurs was cut off in a moment when she held up her hand for silence. “Gods willing, in time I would have turned Garad from your enemy into your friend. I believed that such was my calling in life.”
    “Yer really th’Duke’s niece, then?” one of the men called, and I shot him a veiled look, marking his face. Behind him sat another man, in finer clothes, his eyes narrowed at Miriel. I resolved to ask the Innkeeper about that one, if Miriel and I survived the night.
    “Yes.” A faint smile touched Miriel’s lips. “But you should know that my uncle is no ally to me. It was I who argued against his plan to send soldiers here. He would let me die without a moment of regret, if it would serve his cause—and if I die here, he will use it to persuade the council to use force against the rebellion.”
    “Is that a threat?” Jeram demanded, and Miriel smiled at him as if it were a great joke; despite himself, the man smiled back.
    “Not a threat,” Miriel said, the gurgle of a laugh in her voice. “Call it a concise summation of the reasons no one should kidnap or kill me.” Jeram could not help himself, he chuckled. He was serious again in a moment.
    “So what do you suggest we do?” he asked, and I saw that he was still alert for signs of betrayal. She was the one who could be the most convincing city spy sent so far, dazzling his men and turning their heads. I smiled despite myself; Jeram was so worried about Miriel that he had forgotten entirely about me, the one he had come here to interrogate. Standing at the base of the stairs, in full view of a dozen men, I marveled at the fact that I had become completely invisible; not a single man remembered that I was present.
    I stole a glance at Miriel and saw the same mix of emotions I was feeling, reflected in her demeanor. Miriel had been made to be bright and shining, just as I had been made to be quiet and unseen. She reveled in drawing a crowd like a beacon, and I preferred to melt into the shadows. But for one of us to become wholly Light, and the other Shadow, had