vita31: переводы

→I smiled back and stood. They all hastily followed suit, and I waved them down. “Hang out here if you want. It should stay cool for a little longer. I‟m going to go do my…thing. Then we‟ll go.”

→Feeling bad for them, I reached out to the air around me with my mind. For a moment, there was nothing, and then I sensed the moisture particles hanging in the air. There weren‟t many, but they were there. Spreading beyond the room, I pulled in more moisture, undoubtedly turning nearby halls and rooms into ovens. In here, however, the temperature dropped and grew moist. A slight thrill ran through me, as often happened when I tapped my inherited gentry magic.

→It occurred to me how horrible it must be to live here. The gentry lacked most of the technology of my own world. No central air-conditioning. No electric fans. This place had to be roasting these people alive, particularly after what they‟d been used to before I came along.

→Tentatively, I then attempted to move the air itself in some sort of breeze. Nothing. I had managed that feat only once and couldn‟t repeat it.

→Realizing what I‟d done, Shaya crooked me a grin. “Thank you, your majesty.”

→been me. I‟d claimed the land without realizing what I was doing, and that‟s when it had transformed to this mirror of Tucson.

→The land had been greener and more temperate under its last ruler, Aeson. Aeson and I had had a fair amount of friction because he‟d been trying to get Jasmine pregnant and had wanted to give me a shot too, in hopes that he would be the father of that world-conquering prince. Plus, Aeson was just a total asshole. I‟d killed him in battle, and when a ruler dies, the land seeks out someone else powerful. That someone else had

→They all stared at me, and I immediately felt stupid. What had I expected? When I‟d conquered the kingdom, it had shaped itself to my will, transforming itself into my idea of perfection: the Sonora Desert. The castle had not changed, and remained in its constant state: thick blocks of stone. Black stone. Stone that absorbed heat like crazy and had little ventilation. It was the kind of place more suited to cold, misty moors.

→She kept her voice as blank as her expression, but I could see badly feigned disapproval on the others‟ faces. They didn‟t like the way I neglected my duties here. I suspected Shaya disapproved as well, but it didn‟t stop her from sparing me the details of the Thorn Land‟s day-to-day affairs. She knew I didn‟t really want to hear them, no matter my asking, so she didn‟t tell me.

→“My God, it‟s hot,” I said.

→I noticed then just how truly oppressive the heat was in here. Everyone was sweating.

→Shaya schooled her face to neutrality. “We manage, your majesty.”

→“Anything else? How are things going otherwise?”

→I nodded because there was nothing else to do. The waiting infuriated me. Every moment that passed meant Jasmine, a mere fifteen years old, had another chance to get pregnant and give birth to a prophesied heir that would allegedly conquer the human world. I was subject to the same prophecy but was smart enough to use birth control.

→“We‟ll find your sister,” Rurik said grimly. I think he‟d taken this mission as a matter of personal pride. “It may take awhile, but we‟ll find her.”

→“Incredible. You guys can make trees come to life and raise stones from the earth, but you can‟t find one pouty teenage girl.”

→His smile faded. “No. We‟ve still got scouting parties roaming the kingdoms, but they‟ve found nothing.”

→I rubbed my eyes. “Alright. Whatever. Any word on Jasmine?”

→Rurik, sprawled lazily in a chair, flashed me a grin. “It‟s part of your image, your majesty.”

→She regarded me indulgently, having heard this argument before. “You can‟t show up at Queen Maiwenn‟s court without your retinue.”