The colony always took its cue in these matters...
The colony always took its cue in these matters from Ygrath
Isolla walked confidently, not hurrying, down the aisle formed by the courtiersBrandin was already smiling a welcomeHe was always immensely pleased when one or another of Ygrath's artists made the long, often dangerous, sea voyage to his second court
Several steps behind Isolla, and carrying her lute in its case as if it were an artifact of immeasurable worth, Dianora saw, with genuine surprise, the poet Camena di Chiara, clad in his ubiquitous triple-layered cloakThere were murmurs from the assembly: she wasn't the only one caught off guard by this
Instinctively she threw a glance across the aisle to where Doarde stood with his wife and daughterShe was in time to see the spasm of hate and fear that flickered omega replica watches across his face as his younger rival approachedAn instant later the revealing expression was gone, replaced by a polished mask of sneering disdain at Camena's vulgar lowering of himself to serve as porter for an Ygrathen
Still, Dianora considered, this was an Ygrathen courtCamena, she guessed in a flash of intuition, had probably had one of his verses set to musicIf Isolla was about to sing a song of his it would be a dazzling coup for the Chiaran poetMore than sufficient to explain why he would offer to further exalt Isolla, and Ygrathen artists, by serving as a bearer for her
The politics of art, Dianora decided, was at least as complex as that of provinces and nations
Isolla had stopped, as was proper, about fifteen steps from the dais of the Island Throne, very close to omega geneve automatic where Dianora and Neso stood
Neatly she proceeded to perform the triple obeisanceVery graciously, a mark of high honor, Brandin rose to his feet to bid her welcomeSo was Rhun, behind him and to his left
For no reason she would ever afterwards be able to name or explain Dianora turned from monarch and musician back to the poet bearing the luteCamena had stopped a further half a dozen paces behind Isolla and had knelt on the marble floor
What detracted from the grace of the tableau was the dilation of his eyesNilth leaves, Dianora concluded instantlyHe's drugged himselfShe saw beads of perspiration on the poet's browIt was not warm in the Audience Chamber
"You are most welcome, Isolla," Brandin was saying with genuine pleasure"It has been far too long since we have seen you, or dolce gabbana handbags heard you play
Dianora saw Camena make a small adjustment in the way he held the luteShe thought he was preparing to open the caseIt did not look like an ordinary lute thoughIn fact,
Afterwards she was able to know one thing only with certainty: it had been the story of the riselka that made her so sharp to seeThe story, and the fact that Brandin wasn't certain if the second man, his guard, had seen her or not
One man meant a fork in the pathTwo men meant a death
Either way, something was to happen
All eyes but hers were on Brandin and IsollaOnly Dianora saw Camena slip the velvet cover off the luteOnly Dianora saw that it was not, in fact, a luteAnd only she had heard Brandin's tale of the riselka
"Die, Isolla of Ygathl" Camena screamed hoarsely; his eyes bulged as he white chanel watch ceramic hurled the velvet away and leveled the crossbow he carried
With the lightning reaction of a man half his years Brandin reflexively threw out his hand to cast a sorcerer's shield around the threatened singer
Exactly as he was expected to, Dianora realized
"Brandin, no!" she screamed"It's you!"
And seizing the gape-mouthed Neso of Ygrath by the near shoulder she propelled herself and him both into the aisle
The crossbow bolt, aimed meticulously to the left of Isolla on a line for Brandin's heart, buried itself instead in the shoulder of a stupefied NesoHe shrieked in pain and shock
Her momentum drove Dianora stumbling to her knees beside IsollaAnd for the rest of her days never forgot the look she met in the singer's eyes
She turned away from itThe emotion, the hatred was too miu miu clutch