Read Online The Jewel of Kamara (The Delthenon Chronicles) by Bridie Blake - Free Book Online Page A

promise.”
    —
    Lord
Darby’s manor was on the outskirts of the city and was truly beautiful. It had
once belonged to Wimarc’s uncle, Viscount Fredi, and was given to Darby upon
his death. Darby had added his own flourishes to the manor. The tribal masks
that hung from the walls were from the Pentian Isles, and Tempani found it hard
to draw herself from those. The charming paintings in his study were painted
for him by a common born artist who wandered the kingdom painting what he
thought beautiful: a child playing in a stream, wild horses running through a
field, a man holding his wife.
    But
it was in the library where Darby had done the most work. Viscount Fredi had
not been a scholar and hadn’t cared for books and reading. His library had
remained empty until Darby moved in and brought with him every book he had ever
read and others he longed to read. They were stacked high to the ceiling, row
after row of wonderful stories and rich histories.
    “A
little extravagant isn’t it? Even after all these years I still see reading as
a bit of a novelty. Many nobles take their ability to pick up a book and have
the knowledge to understand each word for granted.”
    “But
you have not forgotten what it was like?”
    Darby
smiled kindly. “We never forget our roots. I was born a commoner, and no matter
the title I have now, I still have my common blood pumping through my veins.”
    “Lord
Darby of Coastir. Commoner turned nobleman. A tale as romantic as they come.
The manservant of our king saves his life one day, and in return the king
grants him a title.”
    “There
was more to it than that. We had formed a firm friendship before that day. He
taught me to read.”
    “Fancy
that. Our king can read!”
    “Quite
well actually. He just doesn’t care for it the way I do.” Darby accepted the
tray of tea from his servant and poured them both a cup. “You have a question
for me. I can see it on your face.”
    She
frowned as she put her cup back on the table. “I don’t see how a king whose
close friends are a former commoner and a man who had a Kalaowin wife can
continue to run the kingdom the way he does.”
    Darby
sighed. “The man and the king are two very different people.”
    “I
don’t understand how.”
    “The
king is ruled by power, but the man sees some sense. Unfortunately, the king
often wins out.”
    “And
innocent people suffer.”
    “Sometimes,”
he said slowly before taking a sip and then resting his cup on his knee.
    “Prince
Nicolass is just like his father.”
    “And
Prince Theodore is his mother.” Darby shook his head. “Don’t count out the man
Prince Nicolass is. He may well surprise us all.”
    “I
won’t hold my breath.” She looked around the library and smiled. “Do you ever
wonder what your life would be if you hadn’t saved the king’s life?”
    “All
the time,” he said. “But I learned quickly not to dwell on what might have been
but instead on what is. I will always have the scar from the arrow that struck
me as I saved the king’s life. I will always walk with a limp.”
    “I
can’t help but wonder what my life would be if I had been raised among my
mother’s people instead of among nobility.”
    Darby
eyed her curiously. “That is an interesting thought,” he said. “Or perhaps if
you had stayed on at the convent and become a sister?”
    Tempani
shook her head. “Never,” she said quickly. “I am not built for that life.”
    “Quite
right,” he mused. “I believe you are in the life you belong to.”
    “It
just doesn’t seem fair when others who share my blood are imprisoned in slavery
or hiding in the south for fear of slaughter, and I attend fancy dinners and
balls.”
    “There’s
not much in our lives that is fair, my dear. It’s what we do with the
injustices that matters.”
    Darby’s
footman, Yuta, walked into the room. “My lord, His Royal Highness Prince
Nicolass of Lenthir to see you,” he announced and bowed deeply as the prince
walked