"Meredith Ann Pierce - Darkangel 2 - A Gathering of Gargoyles" - читать интересную книгу автора (Pierce Meredith Ann)

burning very low.
Aeriel held a pitcher of oil in her hands. She had meant to be there before he came, refill the lamps and
be gone. But she had misjudged the time. He had been sleeping some while now, by her guess.
Aeriel entered the inner room and knelt beside him. The feather throw on which they had sailed to
Istemes cascaded in great rumples from the bed, spreading as far as the lampstands' feet. Aeriel ran her
hand over the soft white feathers.
She knew that she should go away. The young man's breathing had grown uneven. His eyes fluttered
beneath their lids: he dreamed. She touched his cheek. It was hot. Her hand fell to his shoulder, and his
fingers upon the covers twitched. Aeriel leaned near.
"Husband," she said softly, "awake." Then softer still, a whisper now, "Irrylath, Irrylath, come back to
me."
The young man shuddered, moved beneath the counterpane. A rush of longing overcame her. Aeriel
bent and brushed his eyelids with her lips.
"Irrylath," she said. "Husband, awake."
His lids tremored, and for a moment she was certain he must rouseтАФbut no. She closed her eyes,
remembering him as he once had been: the darkangel, white-faced winged fiend who had borne her
away from her home in Terrain to his keep on the plain of Avaric.
He had married her at last, when he was yet the witch's son, for expedience's sake, because he needed a
final bride. And he had lain just so, that last fortnight, poisoned by their wedding toast.
She had held a dagger above his breast, ready to kill him, but could not strike. He was so fair. So she
had rescued him instead, giving him her own heart, cut from her breast, and laid in his, to replace the
one of lead the witch had given him. His heart, made flesh once more, became her own.
He was mortal now, the Lady's son, the prince of Avaric, no more the darkangel. He had sworn to fight
the witch, to find a winged steed to ride against her and her other "sons," his former "brothers," the
icari. Aeriel gazed at Irrylath: husband to her, but only in name. She dared touch him only when he
slept.

file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry.HARRY-4...Darkangel%20-%20A%20Gathering%20of%20Gargoyles.html (5 of 162)11-7-2007 2:10:47
 Meredith Ann Pierce - Darkangel 2 - A Gathering of Gargoyles (raw html)


Aeriel put her lips to his. His breath was warm against her skin. A drop of oil fell from the pitcher that
she held. She felt it strike her cheek and his. Startled, she drew back, and two more drops fell. The
young man caught his breath between his teeth, and woke.
He sat with a start, blinking, staring at her. One hand was at his cheek. The oil there smeared. He ran
the back of his hand over his lips, his eyes.
"Something touched me," he muttered, his breathing harsh. His eyes found Aeriel's again. "Did you
touch me?"
Aeriel felt all her boldness vanish now. "I came to refill the lamps," she stammered, and drew back,
holding the pitcher before her in both hands now.
The other stared after her. "Did you kiss me?" he whispered.
Aeriel shook her head. She could not think. "No," she told him. "No."
He caught the bedcover about him suddenly, rose and quit the room. Aeriel set the heavy pitcher on the
floor, ran after him. In the dimness of the outer chamber, the white throw swirled about him like a robe.
It dipped low in back. Aeriel could see the marks down his back where wings once had been. I did that,
she told herself, took away his wings.
At the window, Irrylath tore the hanging aside. He stared out over starlit Esternesse, breathing in the
pure night air in gasps. He shook the hair back from his eyes without turning to look at her.
"Why?" he said. "Why did you come?"
Aeriel put both hands to her forehead. She wished that she might wake from this. She wished that she