Never once had he blown out his birthday candles or glimpsed a star arcing across the night sky without wringing the words through his mind: I wish I was thin.
Chapter 18 - Night Flight
"Very good, very good. I always knew there would come a day when we'd have to fight for real, like this. You never liked me all that much, anyway."
Reklam
He stood up to bid her good night.
"Is that one of the things you always say to women?"
"I have said it before, but I don't think I ever came so near meaning it," he answered with a smile, There were no warm lights in his eyes; only a dreamy, absent look.
"Good night, I adore you, Sleep well," he said, and he kissed her hand and went away.
Büyük Avrupa kentlerinin müze duvarları, galeri duvarları. Ölü duvarlar. İnsanın soluğunu daraltan duvarlar. Duvarlar yaşamımızdaki mezarlar mı. Kent sokaklarında çıkan her benlik değiştirilmiş, takınılmış bir kişilik değil mi. Duvarlar gerisinde en çok kendimiz olmuyor muyuz. En çok duvarlar arasında direnmiyor, en çok duvarlar ardında duymuyor muyuz. Duvarlar ardında bu doyumsuz yaşamdan soluklar alarak ve alamayarak ayrılmayacak mıyız. Ona gene bir şiiri anımsatıyorum.
“Do not go gentle into that good night.”
All of the Truth
His eyes lock on me, cold and certain. “You’re not getting away, not
without answering my questions. I recognize the feel of your mind, but I
can’t read your thoughts. I’m not a telepath. So, you’re going to do
something new for you and actually tell me the truth.”
I take a step back, eyeing Talan warily. My fingers twitch, and my legs
are still shaking, giving me away. My whole body is charged with panic and
something more corrosive. Heartbreak, maybe.
Months of deception have made lying second nature, and my mind
offers up a whole garden of falsehoods, pretty little blossoms of deceit
waiting to be plucked. Should I offer him another rotten bloom while I hide
a knife behind my back?
The question is which lie to pick…
Am I a scared farm girl blackmailed by enemies? An agent conspiring
with Fey nobles to put him on the throne? Am I a wide-eyed innocent, a
blank slate? An idiot?
Maybe a politician’s trick—I could just lie, lie, lie, flood him with lies
until he’s too exhausted to bother with the truth.
But the lies feel brittle now, dried roses ready to crumble at the slightest
touch. I can’t bring myself to lie again. And Talan won’t fall for it anymore.
So, I say nothing, because that’s all I’ve got left—silence.
The wind toys with Talan’s hair, lifting dark strands. “I’ve been inside
your mind before.” His voice is cold as midwinter frost. “Isn’t that right,
little telepath?”
I nod, just once.
My mind churns wildly like a raging storm.
He knows I stole from him. He just doesn’t know why.
He steps closer, slowly, like he has all the time in the world to destroy
me. All the warmth leeches from the air around us. In my thin nightgown, I
shiver.
“And why did you steal that map from me?”
Reklam
Reklam