“Palatine would’ve made a good king,” I said.
“Yes. Better than Eckhardt. Eventine. Far better,” the Queen sniffed. “Sir Luther … where is the Haesken Treatise?”
“Palatine told Lady Mary he burned it.”
“Pity…” The Queen shook her head. “I wish he hadn’t. That I might have garnered some modicum of understanding. Some … connection.” She wiped tears from her cheek. “Palatine. You saw him in his last moments…”
“Yeah.” I tried hard not seeing Palatine’s tortured visage in the darkest corners of my mind.
“Do…” The Queen’s nails dug into Palatine’s tombstone. A woman lost. Forlorn. Broken. “Do you think he understood? Do you think he understood the peril? Do you think he knew he would bear the brunt of the curse? That should he send you down into the bowels of hell to slay the Half-King, and you were successful, it would mean the casting away of his own life? That he himself would become that … that horror? That thing? That monstrosity? Do you think he knew? Do you think…” She swallowed, licked her lips, her hands trembling. “Do you think he hated his life so much that he would cast it all away?”
“No, Your Majesty,” I lied, “of course not.”
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About the Author
Kevin Wright studied writing at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell and fully utilized his bachelor’s degree by working first as a produce clerk and later as an emergency medical technician and firefighter. His mother is thrilled.
For decades now he has studied a variety of martial arts but steadfastly remains not-tough in any way shape or form. He just likes to pay money to get beat up, apparently.
Kevin Wright peaked intellectually in the seventh grade. Some of his favorite authors and influences are George R.R. Martin, H.P. Lovecraft, Lloyd Alexander, Neil Gaiman, Joe Abercrombie, and Joseph Heller.
The Last Benediction in Steel Page 37
