She was close enough that I could see the runes carved on her white armor. I knew that the armor seemed to be carved of old bone, but I had seen her on the dueling sands, and knew that the “bone” was as hard as any metal. The sword she held in her hand was also white. The blade was a killing blade, even if I’d been immortal. It was overkill for me. Then she held her blade up so it caught the moonlight. Blood gleamed on the edge of the bone blade. It might have been the blood of human soldiers, but then again, it might not. She meant me to think it was the blood of my men, my lovers, the fathers of my children. She meant the sight of that blood to be a blow that would soften me up for the real blow to come. But I would have known if Doyle’s blood decorated her blade. I would have known if Rhys had been touched. As much as I valued Sholto and Mistral, my heart would survive their deaths. “Shit,” Gregorio said. I felt her start to cast a spell, a prickling build of power. It was a pale thing, but very real.
What do You think about Swallowing Darkness (2008)?
