refuse: переводы

→In any case, her fight was not over yet—not nearly over. It had only begun. And yes, Cleo would be strong. Just as her father and Emilia had asked her to be.

→Jonas had told her to be ready, but for what? She didn’t trust him. A few words spoken in a conspiratorial whisper changed nothing. For all she knew, he was the one to tip Magnus off about her presence in the crowd.

→Holding her arms tightly, the guards marched Cleo toward the palace. As much as she wanted to fight, to scream, Cleo kept her head haughtily high. She would be fierce. This particular fate could ultimately serve her well. Inside the palace, she would be reunited with Nic and Mira. Together they would find a way to escape. They would figure out how to use her mother’s ring to locate the Kindred. With it, she would possess more than enough power to take back Auranos and vanquish their enemies forever.

→“Didn’t you hear my father?” Magnus asked with a glance up to the balcony before his brown eyes flicked to hers. “You’re cordially invited to be our guest. My father doesn’t take disappointment well, so I advise you to accept as gracefully as possible.” His dark brows drew together as he studied her. “I know this must be a very difficult time for you.”

→Before she could reach for her dagger again, two guards grabbed her arms and held her firmly in place. Prince Magnus drew closer and slid his hand under her cloak to locate her weapon. He eyed it with disinterest.

→“We really have to stop meeting like this,” a hatefully familiar voice said. She looked to her right with alarm to see that Prince Magnus now stood next to her.

→“I know you’re concerned for the safety of your princess Cleiona. Rumors abound that she was killed. I assure you, that’s not the case. She’s safe and well and shall soon be my guest at the palace. Consider this an act of generosity to show that I am benevolent toward all Auranians during this transition.”

→“So you see”—King Gaius spoke loud and clear from his royal perch—“the future belongs to Limeros. And if you join me, it will belong to you as well.”

→Cleo frowned with confusion. How could he say those things? She wasn’t his guest.

→She looked up at him with confusion as he slipped away from her. She immediately hid the dagger back under her cloak so no one would spot it. When she looked around again, Jonas was lost in the crowd.

→His jaw was tense. “No. A rebel who wants to bring an end to the King of Blood.” Ignoring the danger the dagger presented, he leaned forward to brush his lips against her ear. “One day very soon, be ready.”

→She glared at him and pressed her dagger closer to flesh to prove she wasn’t fooling around. “Says who? A Paelsian savage who pledges allegiance to the man who’s stolen my kingdom and destroyed my family?”

→To see proof that they lived gave her a glimmer of hope that she could free them. She needed her friends at her side if she was going to come up with a plan to right what had gone so horribly wrong. It was her father’s last request.

→Cleo’s kingdom had been torn from her. Her family was dead. She was alone. But she wasn’t ready to run yet. Nic and Mira hadn’t made it out of the castle in time. King Gaius had obviously extended his “generous” hospitality to them. They also stood on the balcony with him as Auranian representatives, looking pale and distraught but as brave as possible given the situation.

→Whenever she began to lose faith, she touched the ring her father had given her for strength—her mother’s ring. The sorceress Eva’s ring.

→She was exhausted. All day and all night she’d stuck to the shadows of the walled palace city, now overrun by Limerian security. But no one paid much attention to a mere slip of a girl.

→They were terrified of both him and his army that surrounded them, watching for any signs of trouble. Cleo drew the loose hood of her cloak closer to her face as she listened to this hateful man speak his lies and false promises with a smile on his face.

→The idea of it made Jonas’s stomach clench. He hated feeling powerless. He wanted to act now, but he knew that would only get them all killed. “The chief made many mistakes. He’s gone now. And, if you ask me, he was a lousy leader. We needed someone who was strong and capable, not one who would so easily be fooled by someone like King Gaius.” Jonas’s jaw was tight. “Basilius’s defeat sickens me. Because of his greed and stupidity, the rest of us must suffer.”

→Together, Brion and Jonas had found other boys they recognized from their country, those who refused to surrender to this madness. There was now a group of six of them, all gathered in the protection of the forest.

→He’d killed many since this war began. He’d considered himself a hunter before this, but of animals, not men. Now his blade had found the hearts of many men. What little inside him was still a boy of only seventeen years had hardened to compensate for this. Each time he killed, it became easier and the faces of the men whose lives he took became less distinguishable from each other. But this was not the path he ever would have chosen for himself had he known where it would ultimately lead.