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But as they made their way to the castle, Solon soaked in the scents and sights of his old home and sootten how olay As the Mikaidon’s stout, four-wheeled chariot rolled up the cobblestone road to the imperial palace, Solon’s eyes were drawn to the west As in most cities, the approach to the palace was jas, homes, and shops as densely as possible But in Seth, only the eastern side of the Is The west side was centuries-old vineyards, rolling over the hills in perfect rows as far as the eye could see The grapes hung heavy on the vine, and there weretheir ripeness The harvest would be any day
Most kingdoms required their lords to offer a certain number of men for war every surapes Already, Solon saw, enormous broad baskets had been stacked at the ends of the rows There was no need for walls to protect the vineyards The wines of Seth were its pride and its life’s blood No Sethi citizen would harer to do so, and the theft of cuttings from these vines had precipitated war between Seth and Ladesh The loss of half a dozen ships had been counted a small price when they successfully sank the Ladeshian s back to Ladesh to begin rival vineyards, along with its escort Ladesh had its silk ht it from Seth
To Solon, like most Sethi, the vineyards were rich not only with beauty but also withand nurturing and waiting--all resonated withfor every citizen
They came over the last rise and Solon saw Whitecliff Castle for the first time in twelve years It hite marble, a testaht: no whiteit across an ocean was so expensive that every time Solon saw the castle he ed and als, sranaries, and storehouses ringed the hill cheek by joithin the granite walls, but the crown of the hill was all castle Steps broad enough for horses led up the first tier into the outer hall The outer hall had a roof but no walls, leaving it oddly open to the elerooved marble pillars held a lass
At the base of the steps, Oshobi drew his tea to make this easy or hard?" he asked
"I’m here to solve problems, not cause them," Solon said
"Too late for that," Oshobi said "There’s a roo noble would be put on the second floor, and he should have rated the third floor, but it was better than the dungeon, and it would give Kaede time to decide what to do about hi only a few looks Oshobi was obviously a fa was Cenarian, not Sethi, so fros wasn’t remarkable Besides, it was als to do
Sky watchers had aided the construction of the outer hall, so the stained glass panels provided art appropriate to the season Currently, the sun lit the whole outer hall purple with scenes of harvest and grape crushing, woher above their ankles than absolutely necessary andthe, of fishing, of grand balls, of festivals to Nysos So Solon of when he was a boy and a rare hailstorm had broken dozens of the panels He relass for a ceiling? Of course there was no choice but to replace the broken panes, though the price was ruinous One couldn’t let one’s entryway fall into a shareat black oak doors into the inner entry Here, white staircases frareat iold and marble statuary lined the hall As they headed past the stairs to a side door, however, one of the smallest, oldest men Solon had ever seen ca, however, and gaped at Solon He was the old Wariyamo chamberlain, a slave who had chosen to stay with the family permanently rather than take his freedonized Solon After a moment, he recovered and whispered to Oshobi, who proestured for Solon to follow hireat hall, past decorative geoned with swords and spears It was another wasteful displayemissaries: we have so ht, a reat hall was euards at the far door, and both of thenize Solon They opened the doors to the inner court promptly, so Oshobi wouldn’t even have to slow Oshobi led Solon past the great throne from which Solon’s father and brother had ruled, and headed into the inner court
The doors opened at the base of stairs, braced by lions They ascended twenty-one steps, and Solon felt his throat tightening Then he saw her
Kaede Wariyamo had black hair and perfect olive skin Her eyes were deep brown, nose stately,with the ile tail and her nagika was siika was a dress that looped over one shoulder, the cloth gathered to the opposite hip and falling long to the floor, fully covering the ankles, leaving one breast bare It wasn’t, as Solon had explained to Midcyri on nu or innately feminine They simply weren’t erotic in the same way In Seth, a man would comment on a woman’s breasts as a Midcyran commented on a woman’s eyes But after ten years in Midcyru, Solon’s pulse quickened to see the woman he loved and who’d once loved hiht years old now, and irl he had known had receded froence had come more to the fore, and a steel that had once been buried deep now lay close to the surface The holes of the clan piercings on her right cheek had long closed, but the di the world she had not been born an eht she was more beautiful than ever He rei He had kissed that slender neck, caressed those breasts He could still remember the smell of her hair It had been in this very rooht no one would find them He had wondered often when she would have made him stop, or if But they’d never found out Her mother, Daune Wariya him such foul names that had he been a little older he would have thrown her frohter the vitriol Solon had failed Kaede there He had allowed his own shaer and rets with her
"Oh, Kaede," he said, "your beauty would shame the very stars Why did you never write?"
The sudden softness in her eyes steeled She slapped him, hard