From a low table on small thick legs, a bluish tart smoke spread around the room. There was a smell of dry wormwood, mint, honey and medicine. The doctor skillfully mixed the ingredients in white clay bowls, and Deya tried to remember in what proportions and what to mix, what to pour and how much to infuse. Atara seemed to be deliberately trying to confuse the princess, either out of harm, or for some other reason. But, fortunately, Deamara never complained about her memory and grasped everything on the fly.-Two spoons of mustard, four spoons of avran, half a cup of honey and this ... - Deja pointed to a bowl of powder that looked like blue salt. - Correctly?- That's right, - Atara involuntarily smiled and looked at the princess with respect. Throughout her life, she had many students, and they all came out well, but no one had ever listened to her with such zeal and stubbornness. - You insist for a day, put it on bruises, and the pain takes off like a hand.Deja wiped her forehead
Bery went into the office and saw his brother at his desk. A wrinkle appeared on Aznar's forehead, and shadows lay under his eyes. The table was littered with papers, some kind of stones, ores, amulets, broken feathers and blocks of colored wax. There were also several empty mugs.-Have you been on vacation for a long time? - Beria involuntarily escaped, although he wanted to ask something completely different. For example, to quip something about the mess. After all, my brother is always so scrupulous and accurate, but here they obviously haven’t been cleaned for several days.Aznar looked up from his papers and smiled wryly. He nodded to the chair. Bery immediately sat down in it on a grand scale, making the furniture creak plaintively, and threw his legs up on the table. The older brother grimaced, but said nothing. Instead, he pulled one amulet out of a pile of amulets with a gray stone in the center: reddish-brown rusty streaks ran along it.-Look, - Markat threw the amulet into
Only late in the evening Deya left a strange indifference, and was replaced by a sickening fear of realizing that the misfortune had not happened. She and her husbands were in the bedroom, Bery did not let go of his Lanaren from his embrace, sorted through her blond soft hair, endlessly straightened the fur blanket on her shoulders and cursed softly under his breath. Deja sat on his lap, resting her head on the man's shoulder and listening to the rapid beating of his heart. The sound calmed her down. Aznar walked around the room with his arms crossed, and the features of his handsome face were constantly changing: either sharpening, becoming predatory, or returning to their original state. Noticing the look of his wife, Aznar turned away sharply, afraid to frighten her, and went to the window, frowning at the dark night that covered the city.-Aznar, - growling notes cut through Beria's voice. “You see, we can’t even trust our own people!"Next week," his brother replied flatly.-What
Soon, all six advisers approached the dais one by one, each of them brought some kind of gift: expensive fabric, jewelry, precious stones, heavy silver bracelets. Behind them came a young Markat, tall and slender. With long hair gathered in a lush ponytail, slightly predatory eyebrows and a thin, slightly sly smile. However, his eyes radiated warmth.“Amtar,” whispered Bery quietly to the girl. Our new adviser.The man came closer, bowed, putting his right hand to his chest on his heart, and held out a small box in which there were several glass bottles with some liquids.“I learned that the lady is studying the science of herbalism and healing,” Markat said. His voice was pleasant, deep and strong. Let me give you a modest gift. These are tinctures of rare herbs that you will not find in our harsh lands.Deja nodded her thanks, feeling her interest sparking. The man made a very good impression. I found out what she was interested in and chose the appropriate gift. Serve before rulers
The brazier blazed unevenly, but brightly. A bunch of some herbs fell there, the fire greedily licked them off for a moment, turning green. Next to the brazier lay a small open book, the pages covered in small handwriting, some complex symbols drawn in strange reddish-brown paint.“Amar ta si riam…” Larana said softly but clearly, coming up to the fire and quickly running her dagger over her open palm. - Ani ta ri!Her hands are trembling with excitement, making the cut deeper than she expected. The councilor's daughter winces in pain.Drops of blood fell on the coals, hissing at once. The flame roared, howled. The girl fell on her knees in front of him, listening to the indistinct rumble until she began to distinguish some words.-Who are you? asked an old creaky voice.Thrown into the heat. Larana did not fully believe that it would work, but it did! A pulse throbbed in his temples, and his hands went cold.“The one who needs revenge,” the girl replied, hoping that she would be hear
“How glad I am,” Deya laughed happily, exposing her face to the rays of the sun. They hardly warmed, but it was still nice. The days were quite warm, sometimes during the day the snow even became sticky, and the children built entire snowy cities out of it, sculpted outlandish animals and monsters.The brothers walked side by side, Aznar supported his wife by the elbow: Deya was so wrapped in silver furs that she was afraid to fall. And yet she was immensely happy that she persuaded her husbands to go for a walk. The weather was wonderful.The city lived its own life, people scurried around, paying little attention to them: not everyone knew the rulers by sight. Deya kept her eyes on the man next to the loaded wagon, who picked up his five-year-old son in his arms and threw him up, immediately catching: the boy squealed, laughed out loud. The princess smiled. Bery looked at his wife, and also smiled, as if enchanted. Aznar looked at both of them and felt how light and joyful it was in
Taaldor. Royal PalaceThere was a polite knock on the door. Marisa instantly opened her eyes, waking up. The witch carefully got out of bed, trying not to wake the king. Ulgar slept on his stomach, his arms outstretched and taking up most of the huge bed.Marisa put on a light brocade robe and stepped into the adjacent room, gently closing the bedroom door.There a servant was waiting for her, holding an envelope of brown thick paper on a silver tray.-What happened? The witch wrapped her dressing gown tighter around her chest, hiding her nightgown.- A message for the king.-Let me. The king is still sleeping.The witch took the letter and looked at the servant. His face seemed familiar to her.- Endy? - the woman suddenly realized. - Didn't recognize you."No wonder," the man raised his head, looking at the witch back. “I didn’t think I would see the poor witch I found in Sharaam, very close to the throne of Taaldor.- Are you sorry? Marisa asked as she opened the message.Endy sigh
Lana slowly put on her dress, pulled off the lacing on her chest. She straightened her heavy hair, throwing it over her back.Amtar watched her, stroking his chin. The man lay on the bed, free, relaxed. He was completely naked and did not even try to cover himself. But his gaze was strange, Lara still could not understand him. All the time it seemed that she was treading on very thin ice. One wrong move - and the icy water will absorb, drag you into a deadly whirlpool.Larana walked over to the table on which the mirror stood, adjusted her high collar so that the fresh bruise on her neck could not be seen. She reached for a glass of sweet wine.Suddenly, the floor trembled perceptibly, the dishes on the table tinkled alarmingly, and the chandelier with magical lamps swayed. The glass swayed dangerously and tipped over, spilling its contents. Larana snatched her hand back to save her sleeve and turned around.Amtar abruptly jumped to his feet, all gathered, listening. Somewhere in the
Three more months later...- Deya ... - male fingers, lightly tickling, ran along the bare back. - Deya-ya-ya ... - Beria whispered in the ear of his wife, who was sleeping sweetly, hugging the pillow touchingly. Pillow, not his, legal spouse.- Mmm… what? the girl sighed, eyes closed as her hot breath touched her neck.- It's time to feed the children, - said Beria, carefully brushing aside his silky hair and kissing the soft skin on his neck.-Yeah...His fingers traced wavy patterns between his shoulder blades, moving down and up his spine.Dea, are you sleeping? the man asked ingratiatingly.- Get away from her, - Aznar's displeased voice was heard. Bery tried to get it in the dark with his foot so as not to interfere, but instead he heard a dull sound of a blow and a quiet hiss.-For what? Beria groaned. - Deya!“Your children, you feed…” the princess muttered unintelligibly.“Yes, I would love to,” Bery quipped, rubbing his cheekbone.- Shh, - Aznar hissed at him, - let him slee
Finding a much-needed vampire was not so easy. His office, with its shiny brass sign, was locked. And where does he hide on weekends?I hope the professor didn't leave the academy and head into town to have a couple of drinks with friends, or, well, dine with an unfortunate townswoman.Thinking, I walked over to the silent armor in the corner. These were very old, the feather was faded, thick cobwebs twined around the helmet. Perhaps no one has asked for directions here for a very long time."Honorable sir," I said slowly, imitating Fiona. “Can you tell me where I can find Professor Valentine?”The armor was silent for a while, either surprised by the question, or trying to find what they were looking for. With a terrible clang, the rusted spear hit the stone floor, and a thin, shining line snaked into the corridor.- Thanks! - I threw on the run, following the prompt.She led me lower and lower, first to the first floor, and then past the utility rooms and the kitchen straight to the
In the morning, Borch woke up everyone who managed to tame animals, as soon as the red disk of the sun appeared above the horizon. The rest, less fortunate, had another day of hunting ahead of them.Sleepy and yawning freshmen climbed out of the tents. Then they brought their companions out of the stalls.Smoke hopefully sniffed my pockets, snorting and hot breathing, but found no food and out of spite tried to bite me on the shoulder.“We’ll have to be patient,” I patted the horse’s withers. - I'm hungry too.August failed his griffin. He stubbornly glared angrily at the hunter with orange eyes. The front bird's paws plowed the ground with their claws. The lion's tail twitched nervously from side to side. I looked at the griffin in fascination. And she shuddered when Thunder snapped his powerful beak right next to August's face.With persuasion, and even shouting, we, along with other students, pulled our companions into the luminous circle of the portal. The animals were stubborn, r
August helped me lead Smoky to the makeshift stalls that had been hastily put together from thin logs. Then the games began: the horse did not want to go into the corral, and completely dodged the rope with amazing dexterity. In three hands, we barely coped with it. Looking into the eyes burning with resentment, I felt guilty.- Do not worry - I stroked the freedom-loving animal on the neck. - It's not for long. Now I'll bring you water and apples if I can find them.There were no problems with water: in a day, freshmen dragged a whole bucket to the stalls. But with apples it turned out to be more difficult. But Eitin unexpectedly came to our aid. The magician left for a short time, agreed with someone, and soon brought three large red apples.You have no idea how you saved me! I said gratefully.-Nonsense. You owe me.- Hey, wait a second! We didn't agree on that.“Okay, okay, I was joking,” the half-elf snorted when he saw my surprised face. - Come on, we're on the same team.It too
Alas, the euphoria from a successful landing quickly evaporated. The sun was slowly going down, and the air was getting colder. Having examined the area, I concluded that we were on a small green plateau, next to the rocks.Fortunately, the elemental was not going to fly away and leave me cuckooing alone. But he didn’t let me approach him either, as soon as I approached, the horse briskly ran off to a safe distance and continued to pluck the grass.- No, I understand everything, such stress: they woke me up, led me by the nose, and also rode without permission, - I could not stand it. “But what am I supposed to do now, huh?”The horse twitched its ears and turned its back to me. The bushy black tail twitched contemptuously.I crossed my arms over my chest and thought as the only chance to get out of here continued to ignore me. If I do not agree with him soon, I will have a hard time. Who knows when they'll find me here? The backpack was left somewhere in the forest, the flask of wate
Immersed in my thoughts, I did not notice at all that I was lagging behind. When I woke up, I realized that the Kertar was not around. All around was only a bright forest, and the chirping of invisible birds.I thoughtfully looked at the squirrel, which enthusiastically gnawed a bump, tightly clasping it with small paws. Yes, it is unlikely that she will be able to suggest the way.Well, at least I'm not in danger of dying from thirst now. The flask is here, full.-August? – just in case, I shouted.Silence was my answer.Okay, don't stand here alone. I'll go ahead - I'll go out somewhere. Maybe I'll find our footprints, which we generously left on the way to the lake.Walking through the forest without a hunter turned out to be not so easy: driftwood constantly fell under his feet, low branches whipped his face, a lone mosquito rang disgustingly above his ear. Soon I wandered into such dense deadwood that I almost got stuck there.Somehow getting out and tearing my hands to blood, I
He got close. Too close for me to be indifferent.Forgetting herself for a moment, she slowly and carefully ran her finger over her parted lips, wiping away the drops of pure water. The hunter froze, almost ceasing to breathe, and his hands gripped my waist tighter.Abyss, why are you so attractive!It was foolish to deceive myself - I was drawn to Augustus from the very beginning. His good-natured smile and a little obsessive concern sunk into my heart from the very first day. And now, biting my lip, I shamelessly admired the bronze skin of the southerner, his clearly defined rough cheekbones and hard jawline, allowing myself not to think about anything else for at least a few agonizing minutes.August reached out to me first. Male lips were unexpectedly hot, greedy. I didn't resist. Nobody had ever kissed me like that before: the kiss was powerful, crushing, disturbing the darkest hidden desires.The partner released me almost immediately, catching my exhalation-groan with his lips,
Waking up before dawn was not the most pleasant: the morning cold insidiously penetrated into the tents and chilled to the bone, so that Fiona and I had a tooth on the tooth. Trembling and wrapping yourself in raincoats, you climbed out, hoping that it would be warmer in the morning sun.The sky on the horizon gradually brightened and filled with a blush, dew glittered on the grass with millions of diamond drops, even if you dive in face and wash yourself.- Are you ready for the second round? - Asked a sleepy August, getting out of his tent, and not even trying to suppress a yawn. - Today I propose to walk through the forest to the lake. In the fields with prey is not dense.-Look forward to!The Larnian and I looked at each other, jumping up and down to keep warm.We set off as soon as it was finally light. Instead of breakfast, we were given a loaf of rye bread with a decent piece of soft cheese. The food was divided equally and had a bite to eat on the way, so as not to waste time
I coughed, trying to unstick my face from something prickly and realize where the top is, and where the bottom is. Fiona moaned softly nearby.Finally, I realized that I was lying on the ground with my face in the grass. But as soon as I raised my head, trying to look around, I was again unceremoniously pressed to the ground. I thrashed about, trying to throw off my heavy body.From above, they cursed in Eitin's voice. I listened with interest - I did not even suspect that one could swear in Elvish.“I'm lucky it wasn't me,” said the cheerful voice of Augustus.Almost immediately they gave me freedom: the hunter helped Eitin up.“Hannah, didn’t you get squashed a lot?”I choked. Here is the concern!- That is, if a little, then it's not scary? I still grabbed the outstretched hand. Don't neglect help.It was necessary to quickly get out of the portal, until someone else arrived heavier.Fiona dusted herself off beside her, all green, as if she was about to vomit.“You know, it’s still