Land of Night Read Free

there was room enough in his spirit for someone like Liall: a man who had so much presence that people moved out of his way even when they believed him a pauper. When Liall spoke, lesser men went silent. When he entered a room, he took it over.
    Scarlet feared what that meant for him. He valued his freedom. Could he share so much of himself with anyone? Would Liall feel confined in the space Scarlet could allow him, or, like the conqueror the man was born to be, would Liall forever be taking more of Scarlet than he knew how to give? As close as they had become, Scarlet was not one of Liall's people. He was not royal like Liall's family, nor clever like the silken ladies and men of the court, nor educated, nor even very big.
    Will I be enough for him?
    Nenos would not leave Scarlet alone to dress after the che, but laid out a set of clothing on the silken bed. Scarlet balked at the colors, blue and gold velvet, with so many rows of shiny buttons that they dazzled the eye.
    "Where do you expect me to wear this, a bhoros house?” Of course, the old man couldn't have understood the words. Perhaps there weren't even bhoros houses here! But Scarlet reasoned that Nenos could read the disgust on his face, at least.
    Nenos sighed and urged Scarlet in low, incomprehensible tones to accept the clothing, but Scarlet continued to refuse. Eventually Nenos handed Scarlet a robe and called Chos in. Chos's round, placid face reflected concern and his voice rose, but Nenos silenced the servant with a look and gave curt orders that Scarlet did not understand.
    Chos vanished and soon returned with a sulky expression and a gray, knee-length woolen jacket that Nenos indicated was called a hapcoat. Scarlet had glimpsed other men in the palace and in the city wear these, and it did not disturb him as it might have if they had brought him a version of the virca—a sort of tunic joined with a full skirt—which Liall had worn on their first night in this palace. He may be a stranger to Rshan, but he'd be damned if they were going to dress him up like a girl!
    As far as Scarlet could tell, only men wore the hapcoat. They were long, somewhat slender coats with tailored sleeves that came past the wrist almost to the knuckles. This coat, somber gray with silver stitches, was held closed by discreet ties down the side that ran from under the arm to the gathered waist, and from there the coat fell in folds and pleats to the knee and was left halfway open in front and in back. For ease of movement, Scarlet presumed. They also brought him breeches of some kind of soft, ash-colored material. There were new boots, too, brushed leather, surely to be worn only inside. The hapcoat was made of wool that was soft as velvet, but there was little embroidery on it and none of the rows of glittery buttons Scarlet was beginning to dislike. He signaled to Nenos his acceptance of the garment, but he could not manage the laces up the sides, so he had to submit to more of their attentions. The shirt they wanted him to wear beneath the coat was dark gray silk which felt oddly cool on his skin, but at least he felt comfortably clothed when they were finished.
    Properly plumed and trussed, Scarlet stood in front of the tall mirror and made a face.
    "Well, I don't look as bad as I feared,” he said to Nenos, who did not speak Bizye and would not understand, “and nowhere near as frilly and primped as some of the men I've seen in this palace, but I don't look like myself either.” He flexed his left hand. At home, he usually hid the mark with a special glove, but here, where everyone had already seen his too-slender hand with its missing fifth finger, there was no need.
    Uncomprehending, Nenos stood a little behind him with Chos, smiling and nodding, and Scarlet could not help but make comparisons between his reflection and theirs. Nenos was as tall as Liall, if not taller, with wide shoulders and long legs. The top of Scarlet's head barely reached Nenos's chin, and Scarlet