"Jennifer Roberson - Sword Dancer 5 - Sword Born" - читать интересную книгу автора (Roberson Jennifer)

better odds than I'd been offered before beyond a dance in the circle--which I
couldn't do anymore, thanks to me breaking the oaths and codes of Alimat. And
departing the South altogether. It was as good an excuse as any to leave a place
where men who'd trained as I had, where men as good as I was, were hunting
my head.

So. Here we were on a ship bound for Skandi. Where maybe I was from. Or not.

"Scared?" Del asked, following my thoughts.

Yes. "No."

She smiled slightly. Still following. "You are."

"Scared of what, bascha? I've fought I don't know how many men in the circle,
killed a dozen or more fools outside of it; ridden to a standstill a stud-horse who
kills other fools, fought off hounds of hoolies, an evil sorcerer who wanted to
steal my body and my soul--or maybe just my body; we've argued enough about
whether I have a soul--survived numerous deadly simooms bad enough to strip
the flesh from my bones, withstood afreets and loki, sandtigers and cumfa, not
to mention various tribes wanting to sacrifice me to some god or another;
escaped murderous women and angry husbands... and I share your bed.
Regularly." I paused. "What's to be scared of, after all that?"

"Knowing," she said. "Or--not."

Oh. That.

She waited, wind stripping unbound hair from her flawless face. Such blue eyes,
had Delilah.

I spread legs, bent knees, set my balance to ride the lalloping sway of the boat
and crossed arms against my chest. Tightly. Somehow, this mattered. "I suppose
you wouldn't be. Scared. Of knowing. Or--not."

"I am scared of many things," she said simply, "and not the least of them is of
losing you."
That shut me up in a hurry. After a moment I even managed to close my mouth.

Del, strangely satisfied, merely glanced sidelong at me, smiling, then looked
across the bow again. "Ship," she said lightly.

So there was. With blue-painted sails. Behind us, above us, the crew of our own
ship noticed the other also.

Well, it wasn't land, but it was better than empty ocean. At least, until the crew
swarmed like sandstingers over all the sails and ropes and timber. Next I knew,
we were turning. Hard.

"Hey--" I grabbed the rail and latched on, not happy to hear it creak again