The Snow Queen Read Online Free PDF Page A

ships
acquired in transit to and from the Gates. But she was a loyal supporter of the
Hegemony, because without it the Winter clans would not have access to the off
world technology that gave them dignity and purpose and pleasure, that raised
them above the level of the Summers, superstitious fish-farmers reeking of
seaweed and tradition.
    In return
Tiamat offered off world voyagers a stopover and a haven, a resting place or
meeting place to ameliorate the long passages between other Hegemony worlds. It
was unique as a kind of crossroads, because it alone orbited its Gate: Even
though its orbit was long, it was still closer and more accessible by
light-years than any other world.
    Arienrhod
turned her back on the stars and moved silently across the sensuous synthetic
pile of the pastel carpet to the mirror again. She confronted her own
reflection with the same porcelain lack of expression that she used on the off
world trade representatives or delegations of the nobility, assessing the
elaborate piling of the milk white hair behind the snow-starred diadem, the
flawless translucency of her skin. She ran a hand along her cheek, down her jewel
stranded throat and over the glittering silk of her shirt in what was almost a
caress; feeling the firm youthfulness of her body, as perfect now as it had
been almost one hundred and fifty years ago, on the day of her investiture. Or
was it—? She frowned faintly, leaning closer to her own face. Yes ...
Satisfaction, in the eyes that were the colors of mist and moss agate.
    There was
another reason why the off worlders came to Tiamat bearing gifts: She held the
key to growing old without aging. The seas of this world were a fountain of
youth, from which the richest and most powerful paid to drink, and she
personally controlled the source—the slaughter of mers. Hers were the
calculated judgments that determined which off world merchant or official would
serve Winter’s interests best in return for this unique commodity ... hers were
the not-quite-casual whims that gave her favored nobility rights of
exploitation in the ranges of the sea, or the right to a precious vial of
silvery fluid. It was said that the closeness of a given noble to the Queen’s
favor could be estimated by the noble’s apparent youth.
    But nothing
lasts forever. Not even eternal youth. Arienrhod frowned again; the gilded
atomizer twitched as her hand tightened. She lifted it, opened her mouth, and
inhaled the heavy silver spray. It turned the back of her throat to ice, making
her eyes water. She sighed with relief, a release from anticipation. The ideal
state of preservation was maintained by a daily renewal of the “water of life,”
as the off worlders euphemistically named it. She found the term amusing, if
only for its hypocrisy: It was not water, but an extract from the blood of an
indigenous sea creature, the mer; and it had as much to do with death—the death
of the mer—as it did with the long life of a human being. Every user was as
aware of that fact as she was, on one level or another. But what was the life
of an animal, compared to the chance for eternal youth?
    So far
technology had failed to reproduce the extract, a benign virus that enhanced
the body’s ability to renew itself without genetic error. The virus died after
a short time outside the body of its original host, no matter how carefully it
was maintained. Its half-life in any other mammaloid creature was just as
limited, so a constant supply was needed, for a constant demand. And that meant
prosperity for as long as Winter reigned.
    But the
Summer Star was already visible in the daytime sky; spring was official, the
Change was coming, even the Summers would be aware of that by now. This world
was moving into its high summer at last, the time when the unnatural stresses
created by their approach to the black hole caused a flare-up of the Twins’ own
energy, and Tiamat became insufferably hot. The Summers would be forced to move
north from