The Bloodsworn Read Online Free PDF Page B

Erik and Highmount were done, their banner was all the Greys had left—and they were lucky to keep that.
    Sirin Grey, Liam decided, had no reason to love him.
    Which meant he had two, at most three, firm allies on a council of eight. Bad news.
    â€œThank you for coming, my lords,” Highmount said when they had taken their seats. “Before we begin, are there any other items to be added to the agenda?”
    Sirin Grey arched a delicate eyebrow. “You mean besides the absence of the king?”
    â€œHis Majesty sends his regrets,” Highmount said. “Unfortunately, he has a touch of fever left over from his voyage to Harram.” He might have been reporting the weather, so banal was his tone.
    â€œA touch of fever?” Sirin’s eyebrow climbed to perilous heights. “Is that why you have the corridor to the royal apartments sealed off?”
    Cocked heads and bemused frowns rippled round the table. Lady Sirin was obviously better informed than most. Bad news, volume two.
    Raibert Green glanced about as if noticing something for the first time. “And where is Lady Alix?”
    â€œSick,” Liam said—maybe a touch too quickly.
    â€œHardly surprising,” Highmount said, “given how much time she spends with His Majesty. Difficult to say which of them infected the other, but the illness is unmistakably contagious, which is why we have sealed off the royal apartments.” He flashed a bland smile. “A precaution, at His Majesty’s own insistence.”
    Norvin Gold harrumphed, as if personally inconvenienced. “Who has the Blacks’ proxy?”
    â€œI do,” said Highmount, “as before. Now, if there are no more questions, perhaps we can begin—”
    â€œI’m sorry, Chancellor, but I’m afraid I do still have questions, if you will indulge me.”
    Sirin Grey again. Liam forced himself not to react. Highmount, for his part, adopted a mildly annoyed expression, and Rona Brown looked just plain bored.
Professionals, these two
, Liam thought.
    â€œSealing off the royal apartments seems a bit drastic for a
touch of fever
, don’t you think? In fact, I’m surprised His Majesty would forgo the first council meeting since his return for such a trifle. King Erik is not known for being delicate with his health. If anything, he tends to push himself too hard.”
    Liam cursed inwardly. Sirin Grey had been engaged to Erik for years; she knew him better than just about anyone in the room.
She’s dangerous, this one.
Fatal, even, were she to expose them. He and Highmount had locked the king in his chambers and usurped his crown. How would they ever explain that to the council? They couldn’t possibly, not before Erik had their heads off. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d executed a brother for treason.
    The image came back to Liam, as vivid as if it were yesterday: the Raven’s blood on the flagstones, Erik’s bloodblade buried deep in the wood block that had cradled his brother’s head . . .
    A sheen of sweat broke out along Liam’s scalp.
    â€œHe does tend to push himself too hard,” Highmount said smoothly, “which is how he fell ill in the first place. To be frank, had Her Highness Lady Alix not also succumbed, I suspect we would not have been able to convince him to remain abed. In the event, however, I was able to appeal to his reason, by pointing out how very irresponsible it would be to risk infecting the entire council.”
    â€œThat,” said Rona Brown, “would certainly have been a disaster at a time like this.”
    â€œIndeed,” said Lady Stonegate. “I have only just recovered from my own illness of last week. I thank you, Chancellor, for sparing me a repetition of that.”
    Sirin Grey started to say something, but Liam decided at that moment he’d had enough of being a spectator. “My lords,” he said, cutting her off,