The Silence Within (The Young Ancients: Tiera) by P.S. Power Read Free Book Online Page B

was glaring at her at all. Gerent was making eye contact, but he wasn't staring. "Well, it is , isn't it? You threw in with my enemies and it cost me more than anyone can ever repay. There's nothing you can do to bring Regina back. You let them go and then let her escape justice. I get that it wasn't your plan, but..." She didn't know what else to say. It all hurt, but that probably wasn't a good enough reason to sit there talking about all of this with the King himself. She just didn't care if he took offense. If she had to die for it, well, that would be a mess, but as long as Sandra and the Count her father died first, she could accept it.
    It wasn't particularly sane, but life wasn't. That was her world now. Maybe it had always been, and now she was learning enough to see it?
    "I... Know. Well, see to that, then." The line broke, without more being said. It was a dismal thing, she knew, but Timon didn't wait for anyone to discuss how clearly in the wrong she was. Carol was looking at her strangely. It wasn't a happy thing at all, but her eyes seemed less tense suddenly. Almost as if she were letting Tiera know that her speaking like that to King Richard made her feel better for some reason.
    Why that would be she had no clue, and didn't really think she wanted to bother finding out. After all, there was nothing to gain by throwing in with the rebellion. That they had to lose, in the end, was just so clear that Tiera nearly hated them for it. It was a waste, disturbing the peace with a plan that simply couldn't do any good for the world at all. Richard had his enemies, but like her, most of them hadn't been harmed because they were hated . It was just that politics had gotten in the way, disrupting everything. As far as she'd ever heard that was the simple truth. People had said they thought Richard was bad for Noram, but no one had spoken of him harming them personally as their reason. Poor planning, taxes, or in some cases not letting Counts tax others, backing people other than them... all of these had been mentioned, but no clear abuses were.
    That didn't mean she loved the man overly. Even if he were an in-law after a fashion now. A nephew in-law? Because that made sense, didn't it? If she were a less trusting soul she might have felt that Tor had made the whole thing up to save the man from her. She wasn't totally certain that wasn't just the case really. She couldn't prove otherwise, so let it go. A lot like she was doing with Trice and Timon's marriage.
    The device freed up, Tim went and got his other handheld, so that the Wards could be contacted and informed that they were needed for some entertaining groveling. Timon actually phrased it that way, which got Maria to respond in a snooty tone that was cute sounding when you didn't have to see her pinched features distorting all out of reality over the idea.
    "We have to grovel? To whom? And why ? I can't remember doing anything to you personally that should require that, Countier Lairdgren. Did..." She sounded uncertain for a few moments, then let herself keep going. "Is it about that matter from a few weeks ago? I... can see that. I suppose that if you need us to, we could-"
    He spoke over her, rudely.
    "Not at all. No, Tiera has captured your mother and we're taking turns watching her be beaten and helping her perfect her apologies, before the main event with Bonita. It took a false start, but she didn't do too badly earlier here, with Collette. I think that Tiera wants to do this in the next few days and tomorrow she needs to be in Austra, so if we could do your portion of that in the morning? That will let me set up a shipment for The Royal Table and send a few of the new communications devices along for Denno and his people." It probably all made sense, on some level, but it was pretty clear that something had happened that Maria knew about and that her brother didn't want discussed in public.
    That got them an appointment for the early morning, which meant