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THE PATH OF RENUNCIATION 55
The dawn was truly magical. The air, saturated with the smell of rotten grasses and damp earth, swirled over the withered grass in a thick fog. The high towers of clouds drifted slowly from north to south, and the golden rays of dawn scattered around them in a wide fan. The horses snorted softly, impatiently moving their hooves, and the warriors tried to warm themselves by stretching their legs that had become stiff during the night. In the morning, Liramel still managed to fall asleep, although his nerves were so tense that he almost did not feel tired.Having had a quick bite, Hyde ordered to build up and, having waited for a messenger from the fortress, asked Liramel for permission to order the handbrakes to advance their detachments. Soon the border was left behind, and under the hooves of the horses, between the grasses crushed by the winds, a foreign land turned black. The reconnaissance, which returned an hour after they left the place, reported that some kind of movement had
THE PATH OF RENUNCIATION 56
Wide crimson rays chaotically drew bloody reflections on the clouds and fell on the feather grass frozen in the calm. Mountains in a dark blue uneven ridge with white-red snow caps rose above the steppe, as if outlining the border of the world. Pulling her hood down, Darita stole a glance at the captive. She also watched Karl, although the latter behaved as usual and practically did not pay attention to his sister. The decision of the prince came as a surprise to everyone, and the princess still did not understand what exactly Miel was up to. However, she had never seen him so pleased. The Vallor Queen was remarkably calm. Not once did she say a word all day, only sometimes she looked back at her brother, as if checking whether he was near or not. When dark was not more than half an hour away, the low roar of the bugle announced a halt. Tired riders stopped in the same place where they found their long-awaited signal, and settled down for the night. Bonfires were not lit, t
THE PATH OF RENUNCIATION 57
The white road, running in withered autumn forbs, broke off before reaching the border. Then the ground trampled down by hundreds of hooves began. Having reined in his horse, Yakir unfolded the map and peered into the half-erased outlines. The western borders of the Principality, according to ancient scrolls, were almost uninhabited, but this did not mean that they still remained so. Miel certainly knew about the weak points of his lands and had to take measures to protect them.- Let's go a little to the left of the Hills. Holding out the map to Tory, he waved from a distance to the sentinels who came out to meet them. “Before the month of thunderstorms has begun, it is better to move at night - it will be more difficult to see us. “The mountains are three or four days' journey, my lord,” the officer objected. We don't have time to afford that luxury... Yakir smiled indulgently.Christian will follow the previously planned route. There is no need to rush to the mountains, we wil
THE PATH OF RENUNCIATION 58
– The world has changed. Miel wiped the smile off his face and looked around the room for a long time. – The clan of Armateus really multiplied so that to fulfill the curse, more than a fifth of the Kingdom would have to be destroyed. My thirst is not so strong. And if the one who inherits the true blood of the accursed king who rebelled against the Great Dragon agrees to become his priestess, I will have mercy on her people. This is my will.Involuntarily recoiling, Liramel took a shuddering breath and clenched her fists. She remembered the fear in Tarham's eyes and Tori's words... “Does he really think that I am so naive and will not correlate Morlot’s prediction with his proposal?” she thought and, shaking off her stupor, looked at her brother again.Karl was imperturbable: not a single muscle trembled on his stern face. “Everyone has to choose,” he seemed to say. Alas, her choice was indeed not what her brother had probably hoped for.Squinting, Liramel looked into Miel's black e
THE PATH OF RENUNCIATION 59
Opening her eyes, Lyramel blinked in surprise and furrowed her brows in concentration, trying to remember when and how she had ended up in a small stuffy room with a low semicircular ceiling. The last memory was very vague - it seemed to her that someone was calling her, but the voice was alien and unfamiliar, so she did not want to wake up. How much time has passed since then, it was difficult to understand.Gathering her strength, Lyramel resolutely threw back the thick woolen blanket, then stood up, twisted her matted hair into a bun, and, going to the window, climbed onto the wide window sill. From the dizzying heights, the steppe looked like a huge motley carpet."Is it possible to escape from here?" Liramel thought with sincere bewilderment, looking at the thick rods with rust spots. Reaching through the grate, she pushed open the unlocked shutter, raised her palm to the wind, and took a deep breath of the cool, dry air.Above the fortress, cutting huge circles, a hawk yelled dr
THE PATH OF RENUNCIATION 60
White, absolutely smooth and clean to the pain in the eyes of the ceiling hung like a stretched sheet. For some time she lay, listening to someone's hoarse breathing, then she tried to raise her head, but she could not even move: her body did not obey, as if something had broken and broken between him and her soul. Nausea rose up from this unpleasant sensation. She didn't know where she was or what was happening. The sea was the last thing that kept the memory, and perhaps the most beautiful.- Lie down, I'll call the doctor! came a raspy voice from the left.A minute or two later, a smooth-shaven male face appeared above her. The doctor was as immaculate as the white ceiling above his head."You're in the hospital," he explained, as if she could still doubt it. - You were hit by a car. Remember?- What happened with me? Of all the things that could be said to her, that was the only thing that interested her.The doctor hesitated.“Very serious injuries,” he finally answered evasively
THE PATH OF RENUNCIATION 61
By the evening of the second day, having climbed a stone embankment to a gentle slope, Darita raised a curved bugle to her lips and blew three times. The sound trembled in the air, clung to the rocks, and died away, leaving a strange, dreary aftertaste in the ensuing silence. Vallor, who had been silent almost all the way, stopped his tarpan and narrowed his gray eyes slightly.– Mirrors? he asked, literally moments before the overhanging rock cracked in two, revealing a paved white road and houses lit by the setting sun. Curling her lips in annoyance, Darita slightly touched the reins and slowly sent her horse forward. “A very wise decision and rather sophisticated technology,” the stranger praised, looking back at the high narrow gates. How long have you been using this method? Having greeted the unfamiliar guards cordially, Darita reluctantly turned around and shrugged her shoulders:“Shanfar is our capital. The first city reborn from the ashes after the great Blight. The g
THE PATH OF RENUNCIATION 62
The world closed behind them, leaving only bare rocks and a blue sky. Shanfar saw them off with quiet trumpeting and an even quieter parting whisper of the old princess. Although, according to the laws of the Allotars, Darita's marriage has not yet entered into force, both her people and she herself were forced to pacify their hostility. Now Karl was considered one of them. Ignoring the angry glances that the princess threw at him, he looked thoughtfully at the steppe spread below. The temporary respite, which the prince gave him in the fortress, made it possible to restore his strength a little. Apparently, Miel decided that this rest was enough, and now he followed him with a vengeance, passing almost every thought and feeling through his mind. Sometimes it seemed to Karl that he was beginning to lose his mind, and then the prince again briefly retreated. Miel knew about the deceit perpetrated by Darima for a long time. At first, the woman managed to trick him by replacing one twi