The King's Sons (The Herezoth Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF Page B

in God’s name…? Kansten, go to the library. You can find your way back
there?”
    Kansten’s
voice was weak. “I imagine I can.”
    The duke said,
“Go there, if you’d please. I’ll meet you as soon as I can.”
    Kora’s
daughter left the room without taking leave, and Vane shut her out with a soft
incantation. The corridor was clear, so Kansten pressed her ear against the
door’s edge, praying Vane would cast no spell to prevent her listening. He did
not: at least, not right away.
    The king’s
voice asked, “What’s happened, Gratton?”
    “There’s a
damned group of magicked malcontents up north planning a siege near Partsvale,
that’s what happened. The leader’s amassed followers over the last decade. He’s
got two hundred or so supporting him, all empowered. He, of course, would be a
sorcerer. Claims his sorcerer father died to put you on the throne.”
    “Petroc?”
said the king. “Petroc had a son?”
    “ Contenay Ruid, ”spoke Vane, and Kansten cursed beneath her breath before heading
back to the library. That was the only thing to do, now a sound barrier was up.
She would hear nothing more. Her uncle had cast that spell before, and she knew
how well it functioned.

 

 
    CHAPTER
TWO
    The
King’s Sons

 
    Kansten
found the Palace library empty, which calmed her. Her shock from the beginning
of that guardsman’s exposé couldn’t prevent her from examining the
awe-inspiring room in which she found herself.
    A white
marble floor with burgundy-tinted rugs. Shelves against every inch of every
wall that wasn’t taken by the door, the hearth, or one of several arched
windows. The room rose three stories, and Kansten could appreciate the
nondescript nature of the chestnut wood that composed the library’s staircase
and two platforms. Those platforms extended around the shelves’ perimeter;
their design drew the eye to the tomes in the royal family’s collection.
    The woman
climbed to the top-most level and studied manuscript after manuscript as she
walked along. She was afraid to touch any of them; the highest placed, at
least, looked ancient, and she would not have been surprised if some of them
crumbled to dust at the brush of her hand. After her circuit she descended to
the floor and grabbed a more recent volume, some legend about Herezoth’s first
warlords.
    The syntax
was complex, and trying to decipher it diverted Kansten’s mind from the soldier
in the king’s antechamber. She had no idea how long Vane would be, and no
concept of how much time she had spent on a settee, engrossed in her tale,
before a young man walked in.
    The man was
younger than Vane, around Kansten’s age, with thick brown waves in the hair
tied at his neck, a moustache that suited the curves of his face, and a beagle
in tow. The dog had some gray around its muzzle, but its fur was white with
various spots of brown. Its master wore a servant’s clothing.
    Kansten
judged him a gardener, for his tanned skin and his build implied an active
life. He had a thin, chiseled nose she found attractive, and he stood taller
than she did, though she could say that of few men: at least, few men from
Traigland.
    “Hello,” he
said. He stared at Kansten with an awkward expression, and she felt her cheeks
grow hot. “Wasn’t expecting anyone in here.”
    “The Duke of
Ingleton brought me. He asked me to wait while he speaks with His Majesty. I’ll
be staying at Oakdowns for a while, and….”
    The young
man appeared more perplexed than ever. “With the duke and his wife? Do you know
him, then?”
      “I’ve known him almost my whole life.”
    “What’s your
name?”
    “Kansten
Cason.”
    The beagle,
which had been sniffing at the young man’s feet, started off toward Kansten,
but its owner stooped to grab it by the collar. He looked up at the library’s
other human occupant with his mouth hanging open.
    “Kora
Porteg’s daughter?” Kansten nodded, and the man said, “We’ve met before. I’ve
met your