"Paul Thompson - [Elven Nations Trilogy 1] - Firstborn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Thompson Paul B)

re-entered the tower. The griffon rider shook his head and made for
home. He was in trouble.
North of the tower, across the ornate Gardens of Astarin, stood the
PalaceofQuinari. Here the descendants of Silvanos, the House Royal,
lived. The palace stood clear of the trees and consisted of three,
three-story wings radiating from a rose-colored marble tower. The tower
soared three hundred feet from base to pinnacle. The three wings of the
palace were faced with beautiful colonnades of green-streaked marble.
The columns spiraled gracefully upward from their bases, each in
imitation of a unicorn's horn.
The rider's heart raced as the palace came into view. He'd been away
four days, hunting, flying, and now he had an appointment to keep. He
knew there would be trouble with the speaker for his insolent behavior at
the Tower of the Stars, but for now thoughts of his upcoming rendezvous
made him smile.
He brought the griffon in with firm tugs on the reins. He steered
toward the eastern wing of the palace. Lion's claws behind and eagle's
talons in front touched down on the cool slate roof. With a tired shudder,
Arcuballis drew in its wings.
Servants in sleeveless tunics and short kilts ran out to take the beast's
bridle. Another elf set a wooden step ladder against the animal's side. The
rider ignored it, threw a leg over the griffon's neck, and nimbly dropped to
the rooftop. More servants rushed forward, one with a bowl of clean
water, the other with a neatly folded linen towel.
"Highness," said the bowl bearer, "would you care to refresh
yourself?"
"A moment." The rider pried off his helmet and shook his sweat-damp
hair. "How goes everything here?" he asked, dipping his hands and arms
in the clean water, once, twice, three times. The water quickly turned
dingy with dirt.
"It goes well, my prince," the bowl bearer replied. He snapped his
head at his companion, and the second servant proffered the towel.
"Any word from my brother, Prince Sithas?"
"In fact, yes, Highness. Your brother was recalled yesterday by your
father. He returned from theTempleofMatherithis morning."
Puzzlement knit the rider's pale brows. "Recalled? But why?"
"I do not know, my prince. Even now, the speaker is closeted with
Prince Sithas in the Tower of the Stars."
The rider tossed the towel back to the servant who'd brought it. "Send
word to my mother that I have returned. Tell her I shall see her presently.
And should my father and brother return from the tower before sunset, tell
them the same."
The servants bowed. "It shall be done, my prince."
The elf prince went briskly to the stair that led from the rooftop into
the palace. The servants hastened after him, sloshing dirty water from the
bowl as they went.
"Prince Kith-Kanan! Will you not take some food?" called the bowl
bearer.
"No. See to it Arcuballis is fed, watered, and brushed down."
"Of courseтАУ"