Tatianna: переводы

→“Decision?” I heard the frown in his voice. “What kind of decision?”
“She didn’t say.” I was shaking, trying to hold back frustrated tears. I needed to be strong, but I had just received the news that I was pregnant, and not only that, my child could end up destroying everything I’d worked so hard to protect. To top it all off, I didn’t know if Ash wanted a kid, or was ready for a kid, or if I was ready for a kid. “I didn’t have a chance to ask about the details,” I said, attempting to keep my voice steady. “After reminding me of that little prophecy, she disappeared, and I decided it was time to go home, screw what the other rulers thought.”

→“What else did the oracle say?” Ash finally whispered, sounding dazed.
“She has a proposition for me,” I replied, afraid to turn around, to face him. Afraid that I would see fear, dismay or disappointment in his eyes. “She wants me to find her, said that I have ‘friends who can show me the way.’ She said she’ll be waiting for me, and my decision.”

→I shivered and closed my eyes, not knowing whether to laugh or cry or scream. “I think so.”
Ash exhaled slowly. I heard him sit, rather suddenly, on the bed.

→“I remember,” Ash said, sounding puzzled. “New Orleans. We went to that cemetery to get a Token for her, to exchange for your memory. The Church Grim chased us all the way to the edge of the grounds. What did she tell you?”
I gripped the back of a chair to keep myself upright. My heart was pounding against my ribs, and I could barely get the words out.

→“I… We had an unexpected visitor,” I began. Ash came to my side, not bothering to shut the balcony doors, and a cold breeze ruffled the curtains. “In the ballroom. It was the oracle. She showed up out of nowhere and freaked everyone out. Do you remember her?”

→The realm I had sworn to protect from any and all threats, from without…and within.
What you carry will either unite the courts, or it will destroy them.
“Meghan.” Ash was behind me in the door frame, his voice firm yet pleading. “Please. Tell me what’s happening.”
I took a deep breath and walked back into the bedroom.

→My mouth went dry. With Beau trailing worriedly behind me, I walked to the glass doors across the room, opened them and stepped onto the balcony, breathing in the night air. Far below, Mag Tuiredh, the city of the Iron fey, sparkled under the full moon. My city. My Iron fey.

→“All right,” Ash said, closing the door firmly behind us, “I’ve kept quiet long enough. What’s going on, Meghan? What happened at Elysium?”

→Only Ash kept pace with me, saying nothing, though I knew that would end the second we reached our chambers. I still didn’t know how I was going to tell him.

→Glitch didn’t say anything when the carriage pulled to a halt outside the palace, and no one tried to stop me as I strode down the halls; even the gremlins, who would normally swarm around me like happy, psychotic puppies whenever I entered a room, kept their distance.

→How am I going to tell him? What is he going to think about all this? I gazed out the window, Ash’s worried, intense stare burning my cheek. Oh, Ash, I wanted this day to come, but I never thought something from our past would come back to haunt us. What are we going to do now?

→“Home, Ash,” I said finally, desperate to get out of Tir Na Nog, back to the familiar comfort of my realm. “Please. I’ll tell you everything when we get home.”
He wasn’t happy, but conceded to my wishes, though I could feel his eyes on me the entire ride back to Mag Tuiredh.

→“What happened? Why are we leaving Elysium? What’s going on, Meghan?”
My legs were shaking. Now that I was away from the rulers, the oracle’s words came back in a rush, threatening to drown me. I couldn’t think, couldn’t explain. I needed time to compose myself, to sort this out. Ash had to know, he was the other part of this equation, but the Unseelie Court was not the place to break this kind of news. I couldn’t tell him now. Not like this.

→That was the easy part.
As soon as we were in the hallway, out of sight and sound of the rulers, Ash turned on me, silver eyes bright. “I heard the commotion in the ballroom,” he said, his voice low and intense, nothing like the cool, composed nonchalance he had shown in front of Mab.

→Ash’s eyes gleamed, the shadow of an evil grin crossing his face. “As you command, my queen,” he said in a low voice, barely hiding his glee. “I will carry out your wishes. Please send Mab and Oberon my apologies. I will rejoin you as soon as I am able.”

→The Unseelie Court is no doubt wondering if their former prince is as strong as he was. They’re curious to see if a mere mortal can protect himself and his queen in the Winter Court. If there is any doubt, word will spread, and the other courts might see the Iron Court as weak, easy to exploit.” I reached out and squeezed his arm, smiling fiercely. “That doubt ends right here. I want you to make sure that everyone knows that we are not weak, that the Iron Queen’s knight is not someone to cross. Ever.”

→“Ash,” I interrupted, placing a finger against his mouth, making him arch his brows. “Just kiss me.”
He smiled. Slipping an arm around my shoulders, he drew me forward, lowered his head and brought his lips down to mine.
We kissed each other in that dark carriage, our lips moving in rhythm, both of us uncaring of the Unseelie city right outside the windows.

→Dammit, don’t cry, Meghan. I bit my lip to keep the tears in check. It would not do to show up to the Winter Court with blurry eyes, but sometimes Ash would surprise me with quiet, sincere statements like these and I couldn’t help it.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, mistaking my tears for remorse, perhaps. “I’ll stop talking about the Winter Court. I knew I had to come back and face Mab eventually. You shouldn’t have to hear me go on and on about it—”

→“Feeling homesick?”
“Tir Na Nog is no longer my home.” Ash finally looked up again, meeting my gaze. His eyes lightened, back to that gorgeous silver. “I’m whining, aren’t I?” he said with a rueful look, and shook his head. “No, I’m not homesick. I might miss my kin, but my home is Mag Tuiredh, or wherever you wish to rule from. The Nevernever, the Iron Realm, even the mortal world, it doesn’t matter to me. Meghan…” He shifted closer, closing the distance between us, and one hand rose to brush my cheek. “My home…is with you.”

→“But you still miss them.”
“Yes,” he admitted. “I was still a part of that circle. It was familiar, safe. I belonged there. Even with all the cruel games we used to play, the countless times we used each other, I still knew that Rowan and Sage and Mab would always be there.” He gazed down at his hand, still trapped in mine. “But things are different now. My brothers are gone, and the Winter Court will no longer welcome me, not like it did before.”