Page 5 (1/2)

Over to the east, in the Brotherhood&039;s mansion, Cormia waited in the library for the Priht she should spend time with As she paced fro in the foyer, discussing solye&039;s voice booht-in-the-loafer¡ª"

"Watch the loafer references," the Brother Butch cut in "I have sohted motherfuckers¡ª"

"Tell us how you really feel," someone else said

"¡ªcan take their fakakta ball and blow it out their asses"

The king&039;s laugh was low "Good thing you&039;re not a diplootta let o as an emissary I&039;ll have hiht for how they&039;ve treated Marissa"

"You know," Butch announced, "I&039;ve always thought you had half a brain In spite of what everyone else has said"

Cor as the Prilass of port in his hand He was dressed in what he usually wore to First Meal when he wasn&039;t teaching: a pair of perfectly tailored slacks, creaht; a silk shirt, black per norolden H His square-toed shoes were buffed to a shine and bore the saht she&039;d overheard him say at oneon his heavy shoulders, some in the front, some down the back He smelled of what the Brothers called aftershave, as well as the coffee-scented sered in his bedroom

She knew precisely how his bedroo beside hi about the experience had been unforgettable

Although noas not the ti bed of his when he&039;d been asleep Hard enough to be in his company with a whole room between them and people out in the foyer To add those moments when he&039;d pressed his naked body to hers¡ª

"Did you enjoy your dinner?" he asked, taking a sip frorace?"

He was about to reply when John Matthew appeared behind hi male and smiled "Hey, my man Glad you&039;re here"

John Matthew looked across the library at her and lifted his hand in greeting

She was relieved by the choice She didn&039;t know John anyas it would have been if he&039;d been loud

She bowed to hihtened, she felt his eyes on her and she wondered what he saw Feht

"Well, you two visit" The Priolden eyes shifted her way "I&039;, she thought, with a stab of fear

She wanted to rush over to him and tell him to be safe, but that was not her place, was it? She was barely his First Mate, for one thing For another, he was the strength of the race and hardly needed her concern

The Primale clapped John Matthew on the shoulder, nodded at her, and left

Cor up the staircase His gait was s limb and his prosthesis He was so tall and proud and lovely, and she hated that it would be hours before he would return

When she glanced back, John Mattheas over at the desk, taking out a small pad and a pen As he wrote, he held the paper close to his chest, his big hands curling up He looked ested while he labored over his letters

She&039;d seen him communicate with his hands on those rare occasions he had so to say at the table, and it dawned on her that perhaps he was a mute

He turned the pad to her with a wince, as if he were not impressed hat he&039;d written Do you like to read? This library has lots of good books

She looked up into his eyes What a lovely blue color they were "What is the difficulty of your voice? If I may ask"

No difficulty I took a vow of silence

Ah she remee

"I see you using your hands to talk," she said

Ae, he wrote

"It&039;s an elegant way of coets the job done He wrote soain I&039;ve heard the Other Side is very different Is it true it&039;s all white?

She lifted the skirting of her robe as if to give an example of what is was like where she was from "Yes White is all we have" She frowned "All we need, rather"

Do you have electricity?

"We have candles, and we do things by hand"

Sounds old-fashioned

She wasn&039;t sure what he meant by that "Is that bad?"

He shook his head I think it&039;s cool

She knew the term from the dinner table, but still didn&039;t understand why te to do with an apparently positive value judgment

"It&039;s all I know" She went over to one of the tall, narrow doors that had glass panes "Well, until now"

Her roses were so close, she thought

John whistled, and she looked over her shoulder at the pad he was holding face-out Do you like it here at all? he&039;d written And please know you can tell ered her robe "I feel so different froh I speak the language"

There was a long silence When she glanced back at John, he riting, his hand pausing every once in a while, as if he were choosing a word He crossed soave the pad to her

I knohat that&039;s like Because I&039;m a mute, I feel out of place a lot of the time It&039;s better since es you here, though We all like you, and we&039;re glad you&039;re in the house

She read the paragraph twice She wasn&039;t sure how to respond to the last part She&039;d assuht her in

"But your grace, I thought you had assumed the mantle of silence?" As he flushed, she said, "I&039;m sorry, that&039;s not my concern"

He wrote and then showed her his words I was born without a voice box The next sentence was crossed out, but she was able to get the gist He&039;d written soht well and I&039;

She could understand the subterfuge The Chosen, like the glymera, valued physical perfection as evidence of proper breeding and the strength of the race&039;s genes Many would have viewed his silence as a deficiency, and even the Chosen could be cruel to those they viewed as beneath them

Cormia reached out and put her hand on his forears have to be spoken to be understood And it is well obvious you are fit and strong"

His cheeks bloo to hide his eyes

Cormia smiled It see aard, but so

"How long have you been here?" she asked

Emotion flickered across his face as he went back to the pad Eight months or so They took me in because I had no family My father was killed