"Терри Гудкайн. Восьмое правило волшебника, или Обнаженная Империя(engl) " - читать интересную книгу автора

hair, pulled back into the traditional single braid of her profession,
framed Cara's heated expression. "We'll see how much of an omen they are,
then."
Cara's glare turned as dark as the races whenever she saw the huge
birds. Being swathed from head to foot in a protective layer of gauzy black
cloth, as were all of them except Richard, only added to her intimidating
presence. When Richard had unexpectedly inherited rule, he had been further
surprised to discover that Cara and her sister Mord-Sith were part of the
legacy.
Richard returned the little white kid to its watchful mother and stood,
hooking his thumbs behind his multilayered leather belt. At each wrist,
wide, leather-padded silver bands bearing linked rings and strange symbols
seemed to gather and reflect what little light remained. "I once had a hawk
circle over me at the beginning of a journey."
"And what happened?" Jennsen asked, earnestly, as if his pronouncement
might settle once and for all the old superstition.
Richard's smile widened into a grin. "I ended up marrying Kahlan."
Cara folded her arms. "That only proves it was a warning for the Mother
Confessor, not you, Lord Rahl."
Richard's arm gently encircled Kahlan's waist. She smiled with him as
she leaned against his embrace in answer to the wordless gesture. That that
journey had eventually brought them to be husband and wife seemed more
astonishing than anything she would ever have dared dream. Women like
her--Confessors--dared not dream of love. Because of Richard, she had dared
and had gained it.
Kahlan shuddered to think of the terrible times she had feared he was
dead, or worse. There had been so many times she had ached to be with him,
to simply feel his warm touch, or to even be granted the mercy of knowing he
was safe.
Jennsen glanced at Richard and Kahlan to see that neither took Cara's
admonition as anything but fond heckling. Kahlan supposed that to a
stranger, especially one from the land of D'Hara, as was Jennsen, Cara's
gibes at Richard would defy reason; guards did not bait their masters,
especially when their master was the Lord Rahl, the master of D'Hara.
Protecting the Lord Rahl with their lives had always been the blind
duty of the Mord-Sith. In a perverse way, Cara's irreverence toward Richard
was a celebration of her freedom, paid in homage to the one who had granted
it.
By free choice, the Mord-Sith had decided to be Richard's closest
protectors. They had given Richard no say in the matter. They often paid
little heed to his orders unless they deemed them important enough; they
were, after all, now free to pursue what was important to them, and what the
Mord-Sith considered important above all else was keeping Richard safe.
Over time, Cara, their ever-present bodyguard, had gradually become
like family. Now that family had unexpectedly grown.
Jennsen, for her part, was awestruck to find herself welcomed. From
what they had so far learned, Jennsen had grown up in hiding, always fearful
that the former Lord Rahl, her father, would finally find her and murder her
as he murdered any other ungifted offspring he found.
Richard signaled to Tom and Friedrich, back with the wagon and horses,