Читать онлайн «The Mirror King»
Автор Джоди Мидоуз
DEDICATION
MAP
CONTENTS
Dedication
Map
Part One: The Inundated City
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Part Two: The Dragon Crown
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Part Three: The Vermilion Throne
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Part Four: The Radiant Heirs
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
Forty-Five
Forty-Six
Forty-Seven
Forty-Eight
Forty-Nine
Acknowledgments
Back Ads
About the Author
Books by Jodi Meadows
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
PART ONE
THE INUNDATED CITY
ONE
THE PRINCE’S BLOOD was on my hands.
Screams from the courtyard below pounded through my ears, through my head, but I was blind to all but Tobiah’s motionless form. He was so still. So pale. His skin was like paper. The guards cut away his clothes, revealing the black bolt protruding from his gut. Blood splashed like angry ink, pooling around him.
“Tobiah. ” The whisper splintered from inside me. My hands were on his face. His head rested on my knees.
“
And then, “
“But that’s all we ever do. ” My fingers curled over the contours of his cheek. His skin felt icy, but maybe it was my imagination.
Only half aware of the cacophony below, and guards shooting toward the assassin on a nearby rooftop, I bent until my cheek brushed Tobiah’s nose. I held my breath and listened for his.
Gasp.
Rattle.
Sigh.
It was weak, and I could almost hear the blood flooding his lungs in a crimson tide.
Flecks of wetness dotted my cheek, but I didn’t move.Gasp.
Rattle.
Sigh.
I’d learned a little about injuries from tutors the Ospreys had hired, and from the boys who were interested in medicine. Though I’d always been more concerned with causing damage, I knew about herbs and binding wounds and how quickly people could slip into shock—even those who hadn’t been hurt.
But with every one of Tobiah’s weak exhales, everything I’d been taught flew from my mind. Wet little puffs of knowledge, flying away with his gasps and rattles and sighs.
Except for one fact: Crown Prince Tobiah was unlikely to survive this injury.
Gasp.
Rattle.
Sigh.
If he didn’t get
Only I could find it for him.
The world came crashing back in a rush of screams and shouting. The twang and whack of crossbows punctuated the voices.
“What is she doing?” Blood stained the guard’s hands as he pressed a cloth onto the prince’s wound. The men surrounding him looked up, toward me.
“Get the princess out of here,” James barked. He was a familiar face: the crown prince’s bodyguard and cousin, and my friend. I should be able to trust him. “Get her inside. ”
“No!” I clung to the prince’s shoulders as someone grabbed around my middle, and another darted in to cushion the prince’s head as I was dragged away. “No! Don’t touch me!”
