"Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Black Throne 02 - The Black King" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rusch Kristine Kathryn)

Visionary or else come after her.
Maybe he had been sitting in Jahn for six months planning his attack. After all, he had
waited twenty years after his sonтАЩs defeat on Blue Isle before trying to take over the Isle
himself. Rugad was known for his strategy, his cunning, and his patience.
She shudderedтАФor at least, she thought a shudder. All of RugadтАЩs schemes looked at
the long term. He had backup plan after backup plan. Rugad acted and schemed and took
his time until he got things right.
Arianna had not planned anything in her life. Her decision to become Black Queen had
been impulsive. She had even governed with short-term goals. First she had gotten the
Fey Empire to accept a queen who was half Fey and half Islander. Then she had gotten
them accustomed to peace. Then she had gotten them to develop the resources they
already owned instead of conquering new ones.
She hadnтАЩt foreseen the problems that policy would bring, but she would wager that
Rugad would have analyzed every aspect of it, from the results of success to the reactions
of his own people. And he would have known the price of failure.
It was ironic that in many ways she had been reduced to little more than a brain. She
had always been active, physically as well as emotionally. She always made the final
decisionтАФ weighing options, examining costтАФbut she left the actual work of analysis to
someone else.
Rugad never had. And right now, he stood poised to rule the Fey Empire for the next
hundred years.
тАЬThere you are.тАЭ
She didnтАЩt turn. Turning would have taken too much effort. She recognized CoulterтАЩs
voice.
He sat down beside her. She envied his graceful movements, his unconscious fluidity.
He was thoroughly IslanderтАФ short, round featured, blue eyedтАФand yet he was the
strongest Enchanter she had ever encountered. In the fifteen years they had spent apart,
he had learned how to control that magic and how to make it work.
He folded his hands together and studied the river. тАЬThinking of jumping in?тАЭ
HeтАЩd asked her that the first time he found her here, months ago. She smiled and said
what she had said back then. тАЬIтАЩd sink, but I wouldnтАЩt drown.тАЭ
 That was the nice thing about Golems. They couldnтАЩt really be killed.
He smiled at her. Whenever he looked at her, his expression was filled with a love so
strong that she could feel it. Sometimes she wondered why he was still interested. She
clearly wasnтАЩt the woman she had been.
Then his smile faded. тАЬYouтАЩre spending a lot of time here lately.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩm trying to learn how to think.тАЭ
тАЬYouтАЩve always had an agile mind.тАЭ
тАЬMaybe. But now I need more than that.тАЭ She leaned against the back of the bench and
heard the grating as stone met stone. She winced, but Coulter didnтАЩt seem to notice. тАЬWhy
do you think Rugad hasnтАЩt come for me?тАЭ
Coulter brought his legs up and wrapped his arms around them. He rested his chin on
his knees. тАЬIтАЩve been wondering that same thing for some time now.тАЭ
тАЬAnd you havenтАЩt come up with an answer?тАЭ
тАЬOh, I have.тАЭ He continued to stare at the water. Sunlight reflected off it, creating
diamonds of red light that played across his pale skin.
тАЬThen why havenтАЩt you told me?тАЭ
He shrugged.
тАЬCoulter,тАЭ she said. тАЬI could cross our Link and find out anyway.тАЭ
They had originally designed the Golem as a place for her to go and be private. But