Read Online The Assassins of Tamurin by S. D. Tower - Free Book Online Page B

distraction.”
    I opened my mouth and closed it again. I’d never thought about why I talked so much. But what she said made sense.
    “The technique is admirable,” she went on, “but it fails in the face of a clever enemy who refuses to be distracted. Also, it grates upon the ear. So, beginning tomorrow, Lale, I want you to speak less and listen more. I already know you’re quick-witted and resourceful. You don’t have to prattle on, as you did today, to convince me of this.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” I said humbly. I felt shamed at my behavior yet deeply relieved that she still thought I was worthy of her school.
    “Do you have any questions about this?” she asked.
    One sprang to mind. “Well... please, ma’am, what’s the other thing you won’t forgive? I don’t want to do it by accident.”
    She gave me one of her rare smiles. “I doubt you could commit that fault at your age, but I’ll tell you nonetheless. The second thing, Lale, is disloyalty.”
    “Oh,” I said.
    “The Golden Discourses of the Five Elder Sages tell us that disloyalty is among the worst of the Eight Iniquities. Disloyalty overthrows the natural order and causes all things to descend into confusion. Therefore it is to be avoided at all costs.”
    “I won’t be disloyal,” I told her stoutly, “ever.”
    “I’m sure of this, Lale. But let me tell you why loyalty is so important for my daughters. It is because they don’t know their bloodlines; and so they have only me, each other, and the school. For this reason you must always be loyal to the other girls, who are your sisters, and to the school itself, which is your home, and to me, since I have become the mother of you all. Nothing is more important than that loyalty. It gives you a family, Lale, and to be disloyal is to break that family apart. A girl who is disloyal not only has ruined herself but has also tumed on the only family she will ever have.” She paused and then added softly, “It has never happened, but such a girl would be sent away. She would never see her sisters or me or Tamurin again. She would be as alone as she was before she came to me.”
    I felt such fright at this prospect that I could hardly speak. Eventually I managed to whisper, “I’ll never betray you, Despotana.”
    “Of course you won’t,” she said cheerfully. “I only want you to know the rules. Give me your loyalty, daughter, and you give me everything. Do you understand?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Now it is time you went to bed. We’ll be riding again at dawn.”
    I glanced at the single honey cake remaining on the serving board in the table’s center. She saw me and said, “Take it with you, if you like. Dilara has a taste for them.”
    “Thaiik you, ma’am,” I answered. I took the cake, said good night to her, and slipped away to the bedroom, where Dilara and Sulen pounced on me.
    “What did she want? What did you talk about?” they both demanded at once.
    I left out the part about being a chatterbox and said she’d told me about loyalty to the school. Dilara chewed the honey cake and nodded, a fierce look in her eyes. “Mother’s right,” she said. “Nothing’s more important than that. A girl who betrays the others throws away everything. Being sent away is too good for her.”
    On this note we put out all the lamps, except the one on the low table next to Dilara’s side of the bed, shucked our clothes down to our breechclouts, and slid under the coverlets. Sulen took one sleeping couch and Dilara and I ended up in the other one, which was just how I wanted it.
    Sulen was one of those people who can fall asleep instantly, and did so. But Dilara and I whispered and giggled for a while, despite our fatigue, and at length I said, “You were going to tell me why you called the Despotana Mother Midnight.”
    “Oh, that,” murmured Dilara. “All right, here’s the story, the way it is in the book. Be quiet and don’t interrupt.”
    I snuggled down beside her and