"Bishop, Anne - Black Jewels 03 - Queen of the Darkness 1.0" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bishop Anne)

"No!"
Tears stung Daemon's eyes as he stared at the boy. He swallowed hard to get his heart out of his throat.
Lucivar took another step forward and slowly spread his dark, membranous wings. "If you don't come down, I'll come up and get you."
Daemonar spread his little wings. "No!"
Lucivar shot into the air. As he passed the chandelier, he made a grab for Daemonar, who ducked and dove. The boy flew like a drunken bumblebee trying to elude a hawk, but he managed to stay out of reach.
"Boy's got some good moves," Hallevar said approvingly, moving to the front of the crowd.
Surreal glanced at the older Eyrien Warlord. "He seems to be getting the better of Yaslana."
Hallevar snorted as Lucivar swept past Daemonar and tickled his foot, making the boy squeal and dodge. "He could have caught him on the first pass. The young one will have to concede the battle, but it'll stay in his mind that he put up a good fight. No, Lucivar understands how to train an Eyrien warrior."
Daemon barely heard them. Hell's fire! Couldn't Lucivar see the boy was getting tired? Was he going to push until the baby fell to the floor?
As the toddler headed toward him, he stepped forward, reached up, and grabbed one chubby leg.
Daemonar shrieked and furiously flapped his little wings.
Pulling down gently, Daemon wrapped his other arm around Daemonar, drawing the boy against his chest.
A small fist smacked his chin. The other small hand grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked, making his eyes water. An indignant shriek lanced his ear and made his head vibrate.
Lucivar landed and rubbed the back of his hand against his mouth. It didn't quite erase the smile. Hooking his left arm around the boy's middle, he carefully pried open the small hand. "Let go of your Uncle Daemon. We want him to like you." He stepped back quickly, then he tethered the boy's feet with one hand and growled, "That's not a good place to kick your father."
Daemonar made a rude noise and grinned.
Lucivar looked at the squirming boy and said ruefully, "At the time, you seemed like a good idea."
"Yeah!" Then Daemonar noticed the woman holding the little girl. "Baby!" he shouted, squirming to get loose. "Mine!"
"Mother Night," Lucivar muttered, turning to block Daemonar's view.
Two wet, disheveled women entered the hall. One of them held up a large towel. "We'll take him, Prince Yaslana."
"Thank the Darkness." With a little effort, Lucivar and the two women got Daemonar bundled up in the towel and out of the great hall.
Watching them, Daemon's heart ached. The boy looked like Lucivar. He wasn't sure if he felt regretful or relieved that there was no hint of sapphire in the child's gold eyes, no lightening of the black hair and brown skin, no trace of the mother's exotic beauty.
Lucivar returned quickly.
"Once the guests are settled in their rooms, dinner will be served in the formal dining room," Beale said.
"Thank you, Beale," Lucivar replied a bit meekly.
"Are there any arrangements the household should be aware of?"
Lucivar made a "come-here" gesture to the young Warlord who had remained protectively close to the woman with the two young children. "This is Lord Endar, Lady Dorian's husband."
Endar stiffened under Beale's scrutiny.
Prince Aaron wrapped a hand around Surreal's arm and pulled her forward. "I'll escort Lady SaDiablo and Lady Benedict to their rooms."
"Lady SaDiablo?" Beale said, startled.
Aaron grinned.
Surreal hissed.
"I'm sure the High Lord will be pleased to welcome the Lady," Beale said, a suspicious twinkle in his eyes.
Before Surreal could stop him, Aaron brushed her hair back, revealing a delicately pointed ear. "So will Prince Chaosti."
Beale's lips twitched. Then he resumed his stoic demeanor and turned to the immigrants. "Those of you who are here as servants will follow Holt," he said, indicating the waiting footman. "The rest of you will follow me."
As soon as all the Eyriens except Prince Falonar had left the great hall, along with Manny, Jazen, and Andrew, Surreal turned to Lucivar. "Shouldn't you have told him to let the children stay with their parents? I doubt they're going to feel easy, being in a strange place."
Prince Aaron vigorously cleared his throat.
Lord Khardeen tipped his head back and studied the ceiling.
Lucivar just stared at her for a moment before saying slowly, "If you want to tell Beale or Helene how to run this place, you go right ahead and try. Just let me get out of the line of fire before you do."
"Come on, Lady Surreal," Aaron said. "Let's get you settled in before you start bringing the place down around us."
Lucivar waited until Aaron and Khardeen had escorted Surreal and Wilhelmina out of the hall before turning to Falonar. "What?"
Falonar squared his shoulders. "Why did you single out Endar?"
"As long as the household knows that Endar is Dorian's husband, no one will challenge his being in her bed. And believe me, there are males here who won't hesitate to tear him apart if they aren't made aware that he's in her bed by her choice." He took a deep breath, let it out slowly. "I'll explain the rules tomorrow. For tonight, just tell the men to keep their distance from all the women." He paused, and then added, "You'd better get settled in. We'll be here for a few days."
After Falonar left, Lucivar turned to Daemon. "Come on. Let's finish this so we can both get some food and rest."
Daemon followed Lucivar up the staircase in the informal receiving room and through the labyrinth of corridors. After a couple of minutes of silence, he said, "You named him Daemonar."
"It was the closest I could come and still keep the name Eyrien," Lucivar said quietly, his voice a little thick.
"I'm flattered."
Lucivar snorted. "Well, you would have been when he was an infant. Once he got his feet under him, he turned into a little beast." He raked a hand through his shoulder-length hair. "And it is not all my fault. I didn't do this by myself. But nobody seems to remember that."
"I can't imagine why," Daemon said dryly, watching Lucivar swell with indignation.
"When he does something adorable, he's his mother's son. When he does something clever, he's the High Lord's grandson. But when he acts like a rotten little beast, he's my son." Lucivar rubbed his chest. "Sometimes I swear he does things just to see if my heart will stop."
"Like tonight?"