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.Blood on the cloth of Yian's robe, Poss a'ltic felt the weave of the silk, a textured weave, heavy spirals looking as though they were carved in the cloth.A gift from the man.Had he been looking for favor, or simple pleasure.Footsteps pounded on the wood floor, people were runningin the hallway.The door crashed open.Was A'in coming? And for simple pleasure? Or favor? “Was he?” she said,forgetting who she was talking about.Yian's lover or her father? And tastingblood in her mouth, her bottom lip was split.Seeing blood in the spirals, blood and Poultat blue.- 22 -Hotter again than the day before - and no wind.The fabric screens hungmotionless and with Grandfather overhead, the room was a maze of red shadows.The quicker Son had just set.Poss a'ltic didn't move when Cayse came and stood next to her.“I've beenassured that the breeze will come up soon.”“It won’t be too soon,” Yian said from the other side of the screen where shesat with Koisen, playing a game of squares.Through the open spaces of thepanel, Poss a'ltic could see her fan working furiously in a flicker of white cloth set with dark bones slats.The aide wore the gauze overrobe Poss a'ltic had met theLaurel Hickeywww.2morrow.bc.caEye of the Ocean – Book 1: Ji’Jin StationZimmer in, the tears repaired with fine embroidery repeated at random over thesurface to make a new design.And over very little else - a narrow cut sleeveless tunic in pale green.Cayse smiled as he lifted her sweat moistened hair off the back of her neckthen let it go as though at a loss of what to do with it.“Come and finish yourdinner.”“Do you want your hair up?” Yian asked without taking her eyes off the game.The fan was again in one hand, closed.“No,” she said, meaning hair and dinner both, but followed Cayse back to thelow table where A'in was sitting.Yian followed her to the table, settling her and wrapping the absorbent cotton shawl around her shoulders, using her handinstead of a scan to test for dampness where she might become chilled from thesweat drying.Then loosely braided Poss a'ltic's hair in a single rope down herback before returning to Kascin and their game.A'in had stared at his plate the whole time, as silent as his daughter.Cayse held the small bowl of soup up for her but Poss a'ltic shook her head.“Iam here,” she said to him instead.“This is my decision to make.”Cayse sighed as he put the bowl down.He had been poking at his own dinnerand hadn’t eaten any more than she had.“You're here enough to have looked atthe spins, or was it some other Empress who went over them three times? Youneed him and regardless of whether it's now or later, you won't let him go.Youcan't any more than you could Raswini.”“Cayse,” A'in said quickly, “how many times must I tell you? I'm not staying.”“You'll stay.”A'in took a quick look to Kascin but the boy had his eyes on the board game.“She won't let you go,” Cayse continued.“Regardless of what she's sayingnow, she won't let you go.Not without my allowing it.She can't keep that small a thought from one day to the next.”“I've thought of it,” she said.A'in dropped his eyes at her words.Much of hisanger had been put under control; he let it fester quite deliberately.Cayse looked at her.A lifetime of accommodating and resisting, of servingand fighting.“Both of you, don't fight me on this,” she added.“Fight you?” A'in stood.“How long since we've done anything but fight? Oh, I'll stay until this is over.You'll need me again, same as you needed me thismorning.And I know my duty, god knows.How couldn't I? The family honor.” Heshook his head.“I may suit you, but I'm sick to death of having to.I swear that some mornings, you wake up and you're not even sure who I am.I'm not a manwhen I'm with you, just a thing.”“A'in, that's quite enough,” Cayse said.“Is it? You're out of your territory, little brother.It's not you that she takes to her bed.” A'in pulled her shawl and robe down at the shoulder, one finger tipLaurel Hickeywww.2morrow.bc.caEye of the Ocean – Book 1: Ji’Jin Stationtracing the points down her neck and lower.Round purple marks where he hadworked at her, keeping her body alive.Closing her eyes at the feel, there was a long moment when she wasn't sure if he still touched her or not.But he was atthe door when he spoke next.“You should have died this morning, better youthan her.You don't even remember that she's dead, do you?”Who? Poss a'ltic wondered but he was out before she could ask and Cayse hadstarted talking as soon as the door closed.“Possi, talk sense,” he said.A tuck had her robe closed again and the shawlrearranged.“You're cycling and Kascin can't handle you.He doesn't have thenative ability much less the training and he's too sensitive to pattern residue.And, I don't think you'd let another tass'altin get near you, not when you're deep in pattern.”She could still feel A'in's fingers [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]