Read Online The Queen's Consorts by Kele Moon - Free Book Online Page A

glow.
    “Yes.” He returned her smile. “ Very nice things.”
    Taryen looked back and forth between them with amusement. “I thought you were leaving.”
    “I am.” Calder brushed at his robes before he turned to walk out of the room. “Off to find clothing for Lady Sari, one little girl named Aria, and a whole wealth of good sense that was obviously lost to me in the night.”

Chapter Five
    “Here”—Sari pointed to the map in one of the many travel books Taryen collected—“is the City of Flowers. It’s the largest producer of flowers in all of Auroria.”
    “You’ve been there?” Taryen looked to Sari with dark eyes mesmerized by the fantasy of journeying outside the high walls of the Sacred City. “You’ve seen them?”
    “I have. If you travel using the vortexes, you’ll end up in the City of Flowers sooner or later. They do so much exporting that requires quick travel. All major cities have direct tunnels there. Plus it’s a tourist mecca. Everyone wants to see the flowers. It’s amazing.” Sari gave Taryen a bright smile. “There are no trees, only vast rows of greenhouses as far as the eye can see. The sky is less cloudy, and on a good day you can actually feel sunshine on your face.”
    “I thought they used artificial light.”
    “They do,” Sari said, feeling sad about that. “But they get more sun there than they would anywhere else. At night the artificial light makes the glass houses glow like a sea of colors. If you go up on Favan Mountain, there’s a spot where you can sit and look down over the city. You wouldn’t believe how beautiful the lights are.”
    “I could be a gardener for the City of Flowers,” Taryen mused. “Must be very rewarding, tending to the flowers, watching them blossom and grow.”
    “It’s not very fun. Like the mines, they have slave labor there. Those who manage the greenhouses have taken all the joy out of the job, I assure you.”
    Taryen appeared unconvinced as he ran a finger over the City of Flowers on the map. “One can find joys in their job even when it’s forced rather than chosen.”
    “Not many do, Taryen.” Sari studied him, knowing he held no bitterness for the life the gods gave him. “You’re unique.”
    He looked up from the book, frowning at her. “That’s a compliment?”
    She smiled. “Very much so. I wish I had your gift of forgiveness and natural joy.”
    “No, you don’t. It’s a birth defect.”
    Sari frowned. “Excuse me?”
    “Some Rayians are born pure of heart.” Taryen sounded like he was explaining something unpleasant. “There are tests when they reach school age. If they fail, they are sent to the missions outside the Sacred City.”
    “To work?” Sari asked, knowing there were Rayian-run missions. Sari always found that strange, seeing how their generosity differed vastly from the corruption most Rayians were capable of. “They’re forced to do charity work against their will?”
    “Not against their will. They prefer it,” Taryen said as if it were obvious. “To travel, to care for others and see the world. No pure heart wants to stay within the Sacred City.”
    Sari heard his longing and asked, “Why weren’t you sent away?”
    Taryen shrugged. “The gods chose me to serve the queen.”
    “Were you tested?”
    “Twice.” Taryen turned the page of the book, his eyes downcast as he studied drawings of the City of Flowers. “Once when I was six cycles. I failed, but it was decided the gods’ will was for me to remain here. When I was fourteen, Calder appealed to the council to test me again. Again I failed, but they refused to send me away.”
    “Why do you say it’s failing?”
    “No one wants to be pure of heart. We make poor leaders, and leadership is a Rayian’s birthright.”
    “I disagree,” Sari argued, hating the Rayians more than ever. “I think compassion makes for very good leaders. If there are many of you, it seems by design that some of your race should be pure of