Poison Read Free Page A

Ailill. Everyone can feel how different it is when all twelve Beasts are present."
    Ailill made a face. "Yes, so different that I have broken up no less than seven fights in the streets since I have been in the city. I am astonished that there was no fight over your appointm—" He broke off when Noire flinched. "There was a problem."
    Noire shrugged, smiled crookedly, and tried to keep his tone light when he said, "Of course there was trouble. Everyone says that the Royal Voice should be as pure of faerie blood as the Queen herself. But there is not much anyone can do when the Triad and the Beasts support me." He took a swallow of wine and licked the traces from his lips. "But it will be nice to have a truly friendly face. I was crushed when I arrived here and learned that you were abroad indefinitely. But I heard you returned with all of the missing crown jewels. You must be pleased with yourself."
    "I am glad that I was able to fulfill the duty appointed me," Ailill said. He took a sip of brandy. "It's good to be home, if strange. I admit I'm still not quite certain what to do with myself. It took me a long time to heal from the injuries I took in Pozhar, and it's only the past couple of months or so that I have been up and about and not tired after just a few hours. I have not been in the city very long; my country estate was reluctant to let me go. What does it say that I am more accustomed to foreign lands than my home? I could sail through Kundou or ride through Piedre or traipse through Pozhar with ease, but here, I do not even know how to manage my staff. I do not know what is required to staff my house."
    He should not have been rambling so at Noire, but something about Noire made it easy—but that was a quality about him that Ailill remembered. "Well, you certainly look the part, and I have learned that is more than half the fight," Noire said with another one of his crooked smiles. "As to the rest, you'll figure it out. If some of the idiots I've encountered can manage it, so can you."
    The cynicism in his words made Ailill sad; someone who had been so sweet should not have that sweetness taken away. "Indeed," he said. "But no more of my whining. How are you? Has someone seduced the boy who used to have dreams—" He broke off laughing when Noire's cheeks darkened. "Did you think I would forget?"
    "No, merely hoped," Noire said sourly. "No lover for me. What of you? Bring someone home with you? What were these injuries you suffered? I never heard about them in detail, only that you were badly poisoned. His highness worked hard to heal you, I know that much."
    Ailill shook his head. "I have brought no one with me. I was attacked by a man in Pozhar who was using magic illegally. He broke my arm and left me pretty battered. Did something that drained me, left me … soul sick, was how Prince Gael explained it. Recovering from that took a long time. At times, I feared I wouldn't. By the time I was healthy, I had lost all my strength by being bedridden. As I said before, I am only just on my feet without tiring these past two months."
    "I'm sorry," Noire said, gently squeezing his arm. "It sounds like you've had quite the rough time of it."
    "There were good points, too. I made it home, I accomplished my mission; that is all that matters. Speaking of my mission, I have to deliver the jewels in a few more days."
    "Are they as beautiful as legend says?" Noire asked. "I've seen what few images remain of them, but they vary so widely it's impossible to say exactly how they look. Do they have power?"
    "They definitely have power, and they're beautiful." Ailill finished his brandy, set a couple more coins on the table, and then rose. "Come on, we can better talk in the comfort of my home, unless you've somewhere to be?"
    Sadness flitted across Noire's face, but before Ailill could ask after it, Noire said, "No, I am quite free tonight, your grace. I am expected at the palace first thing tomorrow morning, but I have no