Extraits

nouvel — Comment les choses vont-elles se passer, Ash ? Où serons-nous dans un an, dans deux ans ? Je ne peux pas rester ici éternellement. Tôt ou tard, je vais devoir reprendre une vie normale. L’école, le travail, l’université bientôt

nouvel Un monde où je devais me soucier du travail scolaire, des examens, de mon orientation. Avant d’aller en Faerie, j’avais des projets : trouver un job étudiant et économiser pour m’acheter une voiture ; intégrer un institut technique après le bac, peut-être sur les campus de Baton Rouge ou de La Nouvelle-Orléans. Serais-je encore en mesure de me projeter dans ce genre d’avenir, après tout ce qui était arrivé dans ma vie ? Et quelle place un prince sombre et exilé y trouverait-il 

nouvel Tout cela me paraissait si loin, maintenant ; le temps où je prenais le bus avec mon ami Robbie, et où mes seules préoccupations étaient de passer dans la classe supérieure, de faire mes devoirs et d’obtenir mon permis de conduire. Tant de choses avaient changé. Ce serait étrange pour moi de retourner à l’école et de reprendre mon ancienne vie sociale comme si de rien n’était

nouvel Ash rit sous cape mais n’essaya pas d’intervenir. Je soupirai et scrutai la route qui se dessinait au-delà de la tête de notre monture, cherchant des repères familiers. Mon cœur se serra : dans les herbes et les buissons du bas-côté de la route, je venais de distinguer une camionnette rouillée et déglinguée, si vieille qu’un arbre avait poussé par son toit.

nouvel Mon souffle se troubla, et je me tournai pour l’embrasser et caresser ses cheveux noirs et soyeux. Le poulain-pelé renâcla et fit mine de se cabrer — pas assez pour me jeter à terre mais suffisamment pour que je décolle de quelques centimètres. Je me retins à sa crinière tandis qu’Ash me saisissait par la taille pour m’empêcher de chuter. Le cœur battant, je luttai contre l’envie de punir le cheval — et de lui fournir ainsi une autre excuse de m’envoyer par terre. Il dressa ses oreilles et tourna la tête pour nous regarder de ses yeux rougeoyants, tout empreints de dégoût

Extrait de l'auteur:

Ash strode to a nearby rock, swooped down, and tossed me a long, slightly curved stick. When I caught it, I saw that it was actually a leather sheath with a gilded brass hilt poking from the top. A sword. Ash was giving me a sword … why?

Oh, yeah. Because I wanted to learn to fight. Because I’d asked him to teach me.

Ash, watching me with that weary, knowing look on his face, shook his head. “You forgot, did you?”

“Nooooo,” I said quickly. “I just … didn’t think it would be this soon.”

“This is the perfect place.” Ash turned slightly to gaze around the clearing. “Quiet, hidden. We can catch our breath here. It’s a good place to learn while you’re waiting for your father to come out of it. When we’re done here, I have a feeling things will get much more chaotic.” He gestured to the sword in my hand. “Your first lesson begins now. Draw your sword.”

I did. Unsheathing it sent a raspy shiver across the glen, and I gazed at the weapon in fascination. The blade was thin and slightly curved, an elegant looking weapon, razor sharp and deadly. A warning tickled the back of my mind. There was something about the blade that was … different. Blinking, I ran my fingers along the cool, gleaming edge, and a chill shot through my stomach.

The blade was made of steel. Not faery steel. Not a fey sword covered in glamour. Real, ordinary iron. The kind that would burn faery flesh and sear away glamour. The kind that left wounds impossible to heal.

I gaped at it, then at Ash, who looked remarkably calm to be facing his greatest weakness. “This is steel,” I told him, sure that Leanansidhe had made a mistake.

He nodded. “An eighteenth-century Spanish saber. Leanansidhe nearly had a fit when I told her what I wanted, but she was able to track one down in exchange for a favor.” He paused then, wincing slightly. “A very large favor.”

Alarmed, I stared at him. “What did you promise her?”

“It doesn’t matter. Nothing that endangers us in any way.” He hurried on before I could argue. “I wanted a light, slashing weapon for you, one with a good amount of reach, to keep opponents farther away.” He gestured to the saber with his own weapon, a blindingly quick stab of blue. “You’ll be moving around a lot, using speed instead of brute force against your enemies. That blade won’t block heavier weapons, and you don’t have the strength to swing a longsword effectively, so we’re going to have to teach you how to dodge. This was the best choice.”

“But this is steel,” I repeated, listening to him in amazement. He could teach a class with his knowledge of weapons and fighting. “Why a real sword? I could seriously hurt someone.”

“Meghan.” Ash gave me a patient look. “That’s exactly why I chose it. You have an advantage with that weapon that none of us can touch. Even the most violent redcap will think twice about facing a real, mortal blade. It won’t scare the Iron fey, of course, but that’s where training will come in.”

“But … but what if I hit you?”

A snort. “You’re not going to hit me.”

“How do you know?” I bristled at his amused tone. “I could hit you. Even master swordsmen make mistakes. I could get a lucky shot, or you might not see me coming. I don’t want to hurt you.”

He favored me with another patient look. “And how much experience do you have with swords and weapons in general?”

“Um.” I glanced down at the saber in my hand. “Thirty seconds?”

He smiled, that calm, irritatingly confident smirk. “You’re not going to hit me.”