The King’s Justice by Katherine Kurtz Read Free Book Online Page A

outward vehemence of her denial had lessened a little during her sojourn at Saint Giles’—for so long as she kept her seclusion, she had been able to insulate herself almost totally from contact with or even mention of other Deryni—but the dread rekindled and burned ever brighter as she drew closer and closer to Rhemuth and her Deryni son. Only for Kelson’s sake had she left the abbey even now, anguished by the continuing toll his Deryniness seemed to take in human lives. Not even his young bride had been safe.
    And that was why, ultimately, Jehana had finally chosen to leave the cloistered sanctuary of Saint Giles’; for Kelson, now nearly six months a widower, would need to take another wife soon to secure the succession. Jehana had no idea what the field of likely candidates might be like—only a notion that the right royal bride, chosen according to the standards Jehana espoused, might mitigate the negative aspects of Kelson’s Deryni blood. Only thus might there be a chance to turn Kelson aside from the path he seemed to have chosen, to lure him away from the evil influences of the other Deryni at court and bring him back to salvation.
    The horses’ shod hooves began to strike more solid footing, picking up the pace as the way became smoother, and Jehana parted the curtains just far enough to glance outside again. Ahead, between the straight figures of Sir Delrae and a tartan-wrapped Cassani officer, she could just see the familiar walls of Rhemuth Castle shimmering silvery and pristine in the spring sunshine, bold against a sky pebbled with tiny white clouds.
    White sheep , she thought fiercely to herself, fighting down a lump threatening to rise in her throat. White sheep on a blue hill .…
    But the childhood image, intended to divert the double pangs of fear and joy at homecoming, did not have the hoped for effect. Far from the meager comfort she had found at Saint Giles’, she could feel the old emotions welling up—the terror for her soul, for Kelson’s soul, threatening the composure she knew she must regain before she dared face those who would be waiting.
    And in the yard at Rhemuth Castle, on the landing of the stair that led to the great hall, Kelson, too, was experiencing no small amount of trepidation at what the coming reunion would bring. Only his Uncle Nigel, Archbishop Cardiel, and Nigel’s two younger sons waited with him for the queen’s arrival. He had thought not to overwhelm her with too many people at first.
    â€œIt’s been so long,” Kelson whispered to his uncle, standing at his left elbow. “What do you think she’ll be like?”
    Nigel’s smile conveyed a reasonable composure as he glanced aside at his royal nephew, but Kelson knew that he, too, had misgivings about his sister-in-law’s return.
    â€œShe’ll be somewhat changed,” the royal duke allowed softly. “Hopefully, the changes will be for the better. God knows, she’ll see you’ve changed.”
    â€œNot all that much, have I?” Kelson asked, surprised.
    Nigel shrugged. “What do you think, Kelson? You’ve become a man in her absence—the magic all aside. You’ve fought a war, you’ve killed—you’ve had to make some very difficult decisions that I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to make.”
    â€œI’m told it comes with the job,” Kelson murmured, managing a brief, wry grin.
    â€œAye, but some men do a better job than others,” Nigel returned. “You’re one of them. Even now, on the eve of another war, you’ve kept your personal anger in check when most men of far more experience and years would have let vengeance run wild. I don’t know that I could have kept from killing Llewell right there in the cathedral, if I’d just had my bride butchered before my eyes.”
    Kelson half-turned away and began furiously twisting the ring on his little