"Kristine Kathryn Rusch - The Fey 02 - The Rival" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rusch Kristine Kathryn)

small nose blended perfectly with the slight roundness their father had given
to his bone structure. For the first time in his life, Sebastian looked
integrated, whole, not like something slapped together from mismatched pieces
of clay.

He made a small panicked noise in the back of his throat, a noise that echoed
in the silence of the garden, and disappeared into the trees.

"Sebastian!" she called again, but he didn't come to her like he usually
did. Something was wrong. And her internal sense warned her that if she ran
down the steps, through the halls, and into the garden, he would be gone.

So she slipped out of her gown and Shifted. Her bones compacted and
lightened. Her arms stretched out, the fingers melded into tips, and
feathers sprouted all over her body. Her 14
mouth stretched into a beak,
and her vision changed as her eyes moved to the side of her head.

This was her robin form, one of two dozen shapes she had never told Solanda
about. Shape-Shifters were supposed to have only one alternate form Solanda
could only turn into a small tabby cat but so far Arianna had experienced no
limitations. She could Shift into anything she chose, as long as she
practiced the form in advance. She had been playing at her robin form since
she was six years old.

The change happened within a heartbeat. She hopped to the edge of the window
and flew. The air currents ruffled her feathers and she felt the warm kiss
of freedom. She longed to rise with the wind and explore the city of Jahn,
looking for food, looking for other birds, but she quelled the instinct,
landing instead on the edge of the birdbath.

She cocked her head and looked into trees. The long, cool shadows hid
nothing. She could see the smooth tree trunks, the sloping branches, the
carefully tended grass.

Sebastian wasn't quick enough to hide from her.

Was he?

"Sebastian!" she called again.

"If you're not dressed when Dad comes for you, he'll really be mad."

No answer. The strangeness made her stretch her wings, then tuck them back
against her side. Sebastian always answered her, and he hated displeasing
their father. Normally just the sound of her voice would have made him
appear.

"Sebastian!"