"Tracy Falbe - The Rys Chronicles 1 - Union of Renegades" - читать интересную книгу автора (Falbe Tracy)

sarcastically.
In retaliation he swung at her, but she halted her stride just in time to
avoid the back of his hand. Missing her, Barlow contented himself with a
vicious scowl.
He had arranged accommodations for Miranda and the children in a
stable stall behind a tavern. The miserable shelter did not surprise her,
but she contained her comment about not wishing to inconvenience the
horses. She would see more of BarlowтАЩs temper soon enough.
Thankfully he departed quickly into the tavern. Exhausted, Miranda
plopped down on a bundle of hay and let Esseldan breastfeed. She took a
deep breath to steady her nerves after she noticed her hand shaking. That
morning she had been planting the crops that would allow her and her
children to subsist through another year without any help from Barlow.
Now her small field and garden were abandoned to the Atrophane Horde.
Miranda tried to imagine what the Atrophane invasion would be like.
She grasped that it was a much larger thing than the local disputes. All
her life she had heard the reports about the Atrophane Empire growing in
the east. But the grand stories of conquerors living in opulent cities had
never seemed to apply to her life.
тАЬMama, what is happening?тАЭ Elendra finally asked. The little girl could
be extraordinarily tolerant of disruption, but the quaver in her voice
revealed true fear.
MirandaтАЩs green eyes regarded her daughter sadly. Even Elendra can
tell this is worse than usual, Miranda thought.
тАЬThe Atrophane Horde has come to conquer our land,тАЭ Miranda
answered bluntly.
Elendra understood this truth less than her mother did and simply said,
тАЬWhen can we go home?тАЭ
тАЬI do not know,тАЭ Miranda whispered. Normally she would try to comfort
her daughter, but Miranda was too overwhelmed to muster any bright
words. From her seat in the stable she could look up the alley beside the
tavern and see the crowd of refugees in the fortress courtyard. All day she
had seen the trauma on the faces of Bostas, and in her heart Miranda
knew Droxy was a deathtrap.
тАЬMama, can I have some food?тАЭ Elendra asked.
Gesturing to their bundle of supplies, Miranda answered, тАЬYes, but
remember we have to make it last.тАЭ
They ate their meager supper of bread and dried fruit. Miranda wished
she was outside the dirty town so she could forage for fresh greens in the
woodland and meadows. Years of economic neglect from her master had
made Miranda skilled at gleaning food from the land, but there would be
nothing to brighten their meal tonight.
Spreading out the blankets, Miranda took some solace in the fact that
the straw in the stall was fresh. She tucked her children snugly into the
corner, and then stepped out for a moment alone. A chocolate brown mare
in the next stall hung her head out and Miranda petted the velvety nose of
the good-natured animal. The softness beneath her fingers calmed her
thoughts and her mind drifted back to a distant day.
 Miranda remembered being a child on a farm south of the Bosta
territory and sneaking rides on the work horses. Her father would become