Read Online WindBeliever by Charlotte Boyett-Compo - Free Book Online
Authors: Charlotte Boyett-Compo
Ads: Link
he thought with a grimace? The man had just been given the warmest welcome ever to an Outlander and the man could only think of his stomach.
Throwing his leg over his mount’s head, the Outer Kingdom warrior slid to the ground and tossed his reins to a waiting stable boy. “Her Highness will be in shortly, Sasha,” Yuri told the tow-headed lad. He lowered his voice. “And not in a very good mood, either.”
The boy glanced at the tall man standing beside Andreanova and nodded. “Another one?” he whispered.
Yuri sighed. “No, not this time.” He reached out to tousle the lad’s hair. “Take care, now.”
Conar, who had been looking up at the looming stone walls before him, had not missed the undercurrent of conversation between the two. As Yuri extended a hand for Conar to lead the way up the sweeping thick stone steps to the Palace’s entrance the Serenian prince turned cool blue eyes to his companion.
“Another
what?”
Yuri flinched. “Pardon Your Grace?”
Conar’s left brow crooked upward.
“Oh.” The stain on Yuri’s face deepened. “Her Highness has suitors who come nearly every day to ask for her hand, Your Grace,” he explained. “Little Sasha thought you might be another such visitor.”
Conar’s brow lowered to meet its twin across the bridge of his nose. “If it’s just the cow’s hoof they want, the poor buggers might not be so bad off. But if it’s the rest of her oversized carcass they’re seeking, they have my pity and sympathy.”
Yuri gasped. “Highness, please!”
Conar snorted, interrupting. “The only thing the bitch has going for her is her mouth. Maybe WINDBELIEVER
Charlotte Boyett-Compo
Page 31
some man could use that for his ....”
One moment Conar was standing at the base of the steps, his sardonic gaze raking Yuri’s shocked face, the next he was face down in the dirt, his forehead cracking hard against the bottom riser. “Oh, shit!” he heard Yuri moan just as the lights went out and he pitched into a bottomless well of silence.
He woke to a splitting headache, the room throbbing along with the pulse in his temples, a blinding pain in his right cheek as he stared up at the underside of an elaborate damask canopy which stretched above the lush bed on which he lay. His fingers dug into the satin sheets stretched out beneath him as he gingerly eased his head to first the right then left to view his surroundings, but the bed was so high off the floor, the foot posts so thick and massive, all he could see was a broad expanse of gilt crown mold, a splash of gold and red damask wallpaper and huge double oaken doors. He tried to lift his head upward, but the strain caused him to gasp with pain and he snapped his eyes shut, groaning.
“You won’t die,” he heard a sneering female voice shout into the agony that was his awakening. “Unfortunately,” she added with a clipped explosion of contempt.
“Go away!” he whispered, knowing instantly who is was that was torturing him with her grating voice.
“If I could, I would, believe me, you sorry jackass,” she hissed back, “but Father insisted since I was the cause of you being here, I was to be the one to care for you.” What she thought of such a notion was evident in her bored and scathing tone.
“Bitch,”
he
breathed.
“Bastard,”
she
retorted.
He heard the creak of a chair and then her heavy footsteps moved toward the bed. He knew she was hovering above him, staring down at him.
“Go annoy someone else,” he sighed. He tried to shift on the bed and found himself gasping as pain flared in his rump.
“You look like shit,” she informed him and sneered down into his face when he managed to glare up at her. “Are all Serenian’s so ugly?”
If he could have he would have shouted at her, but such an action was sure to have caused him even more intense pain, so he settled for clutching the sheets in an even harder grip. “Are all Outer Kingdom cows so fat?” he shot back, almost
Throwing his leg over his mount’s head, the Outer Kingdom warrior slid to the ground and tossed his reins to a waiting stable boy. “Her Highness will be in shortly, Sasha,” Yuri told the tow-headed lad. He lowered his voice. “And not in a very good mood, either.”
The boy glanced at the tall man standing beside Andreanova and nodded. “Another one?” he whispered.
Yuri sighed. “No, not this time.” He reached out to tousle the lad’s hair. “Take care, now.”
Conar, who had been looking up at the looming stone walls before him, had not missed the undercurrent of conversation between the two. As Yuri extended a hand for Conar to lead the way up the sweeping thick stone steps to the Palace’s entrance the Serenian prince turned cool blue eyes to his companion.
“Another
what?”
Yuri flinched. “Pardon Your Grace?”
Conar’s left brow crooked upward.
“Oh.” The stain on Yuri’s face deepened. “Her Highness has suitors who come nearly every day to ask for her hand, Your Grace,” he explained. “Little Sasha thought you might be another such visitor.”
Conar’s brow lowered to meet its twin across the bridge of his nose. “If it’s just the cow’s hoof they want, the poor buggers might not be so bad off. But if it’s the rest of her oversized carcass they’re seeking, they have my pity and sympathy.”
Yuri gasped. “Highness, please!”
Conar snorted, interrupting. “The only thing the bitch has going for her is her mouth. Maybe WINDBELIEVER
Charlotte Boyett-Compo
Page 31
some man could use that for his ....”
One moment Conar was standing at the base of the steps, his sardonic gaze raking Yuri’s shocked face, the next he was face down in the dirt, his forehead cracking hard against the bottom riser. “Oh, shit!” he heard Yuri moan just as the lights went out and he pitched into a bottomless well of silence.
He woke to a splitting headache, the room throbbing along with the pulse in his temples, a blinding pain in his right cheek as he stared up at the underside of an elaborate damask canopy which stretched above the lush bed on which he lay. His fingers dug into the satin sheets stretched out beneath him as he gingerly eased his head to first the right then left to view his surroundings, but the bed was so high off the floor, the foot posts so thick and massive, all he could see was a broad expanse of gilt crown mold, a splash of gold and red damask wallpaper and huge double oaken doors. He tried to lift his head upward, but the strain caused him to gasp with pain and he snapped his eyes shut, groaning.
“You won’t die,” he heard a sneering female voice shout into the agony that was his awakening. “Unfortunately,” she added with a clipped explosion of contempt.
“Go away!” he whispered, knowing instantly who is was that was torturing him with her grating voice.
“If I could, I would, believe me, you sorry jackass,” she hissed back, “but Father insisted since I was the cause of you being here, I was to be the one to care for you.” What she thought of such a notion was evident in her bored and scathing tone.
“Bitch,”
he
breathed.
“Bastard,”
she
retorted.
He heard the creak of a chair and then her heavy footsteps moved toward the bed. He knew she was hovering above him, staring down at him.
“Go annoy someone else,” he sighed. He tried to shift on the bed and found himself gasping as pain flared in his rump.
“You look like shit,” she informed him and sneered down into his face when he managed to glare up at her. “Are all Serenian’s so ugly?”
If he could have he would have shouted at her, but such an action was sure to have caused him even more intense pain, so he settled for clutching the sheets in an even harder grip. “Are all Outer Kingdom cows so fat?” he shot back, almost
Similar Books
