Read Blood and Steel (The Cor Chronicles Volume I) Page 60

Cor fumed in the small yard outside the castle, furious at the Loszian, and he swore to himself it would be the last time this man pushed him. Cor hadn’t been outside yet this morning, and it was a miserable autumn day, rainy and cold. His breath came in small white plumes, and he stood in the cold black armor with his helm in his hands, allowing the rain to freely splash his face and the chain mail cowl. It seemed foolish to stand outside in the weather, but the damp cold helped calm his temper and focus his mind.

  After a few minutes, Thyss joined him outside clothed in her usual garb and her curved sword strapped to her back. She hissed between her teeth, a sound Cor had come to associate with her displeasure, as she looked upwards with obvious disgust at the falling rain. Thyss closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them, Cor could see that she was totally dry. As the rain continued to fall on her skin, hair and clothes, it sizzled away as if on a frying pan over a hot fire.

  “Useful,” Cor said.

  “I cannot wait to stretch my legs,” she said. “I’ve been cooped up too long. There is nothing in this castle to interest me.”

  “Until I showed up?” he asked, seeing that slight smile he had become accustomed to. “Why are you here?”

  “I just told you; I need to do something other than read moldy books and stare at black walls.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” he said, uncertain how to phrase the question. “I know something of Dulkur, and you would be someone of import there. You have all of the physical aspects of the ruling class, and the power of the elements runs through you. Taraq’nok introduced you as Lady Thyss.”

  She turned to meet his eyes, and Cor swore he could see fire burning in her pupils as she spoke, “A life of luxury, spending every day lying on satin cushions while strong naked men with beautiful ebony skin feed me exotic fruits stolen from the villages of the masses. Wearing gold and jewels to exemplify my wealth and power over people with no hope. A different lover every night, or even every hour if that’s what I want. An existence with no passion, no fear, no excitement. All order and no chaos. Decadence and no risk. Hykan damn it.

  “I go where I will and do as I will when I will,” she said, raising her voice to the heavens. “I create enemies only to slaughter them and bathe in their blood, should I so desire. I shall challenge the tallest, strongest peak with my blade and force it to submit to me. I bow to no kings, no queens, and challenge even the stars themselves to shine brighter than I. I shall force the chaos of entropy upon the world and laugh as those who would rule struggle vainly to contain it. I live for my own desires, here and now, for as long as I live, and no one shall take that from me, lest they take my life!”

  Cor stared at this woman in amazement, and for the first time in his life, truly understood himself. His entire life, forces across the continent had tried to make him as they would have him. Even Rael, the Dahken who taught Cor how to use his power and strength, had attempted to mold Cor into a shape that he would prefer. Cor looked upward into the falling rain, and vowed that no longer would he allow any to seek his destiny for him, and nor would he determine another’s except by his sword. Cor turned and kissed Thyss, embracing her with his steel clad arms and crushing her body to his. She fought against him, her body rigid and almost as strong as his, but she returned the kiss with no less ferocity.