"Sara Douglass - The Axis Trilogy 1 - BattleAxe" - читать интересную книгу автора (Douglass Sara)

forbidding Tower of the Seneschal. There were few places for them to meet
privately at the Tower, and few excuses for her to be there in the first instance.
Embeth was some eight years older than Axis, a good-looking woman in her
late thirties. They had been friends since Axis, as an eleven-year-old youth, had
been sent by the Seneschal to train in arms at her husband's household in Tare.
She had been young then too, and pleased to have the opportunity to make
friends with the silent young boy. As her children had come, Axis had been a
companion to them as well, and now one of her own sons, Timozel, served
under Axis in the Axe-Wielders.
Five years before her husband had died and the friendship between her and
Axis had deepened until now they were also occasional lovers. Occasional not
only because they rarely had the opportunity to meet, but also because of Axis'
birth; Rivkah's shame clung close to her son as well. The Lady of Tare had a
reputation to protect for she was still young enough to remarry and give another
man sons. Those rare nights they spent as lovers were accomplished only with
extreme secrecy - and were the sweeter, perhaps, because of it.
Embeth had not brought a candle with her, trusting that the occasional lamp
along the corridors would prove sufficient light. She lifted her skirts clear of the
floor to prevent them rustling, glad she had chosen her black silk for the feast.
She shivered a little in the cool night air, or perhaps it was because she was
drawing closer to Axis' room.
Thank Artor that as BattleAxe he warranted his own room in the palace and
was not sleeping in the barracks with the common soldiers. Embeth smiled to
herself a little in the dim light тАФ would she still have tried to sneak into his bed
in the barracks? She pictured herself being discovered in a room full of common
soldiers in the dead of night with her gown unlaced and her breasts bared, and
just managed to repress her laughter.
Suddenly Embeth was caught from behind, a strong arm pinning her around
her waist, and a hand planted firmly across her mouth to prevent her crying out.
For a moment she stiffened in shock, then she relaxed back against the man
who held her. She would know the feel of his hands and the smell of him even in
the darkest pit of the AfterLife. Axis.
"You walked right past my room," he whispered in her ear, his breath warm
against her cheek. "I wondered if perhaps you had another assignation further
along the corridor." He felt her lips smile against the palm of his hand.
He pulled her gently back a few steps until they reached a closed door. It
opened silently with the pressure of his shoulder, and they stepped through into
a plain chamber; Priam's palace steward had instructions not to allocate his
king's bastard nephew a grander chamber in the main wing of the palace. After
the door latched closed behind them, Embeth twisted in his arms and rested
against his chest. They stood silently, holding each other, their deep friendship
more important for the moment than desire.
Finally Embeth pushed herself back and looked carefully at Axis' face in the
dim candlelight of the room. "You look exhausted, Axis. How far have you
ridden?"
Axis grimaced and let her go, turning to pour them some wine. "From
Nordmuth. Three days ago."
Embeth accepted the wine he gave her and took a small sip. From Nordmuth
to Carlon was an exceptionally hard ride, and circumstances would have to be
extreme to make Axis push himself and his horses like that. Axis' sudden