Blood of Elves

'So this is the famous Surprise.' The magician twisted her lips a little. 'Look me in the eyes, girl.'

Ciri shuddered and hunched her shoulders. No, she did not envy Ye

The magician turned towards the stout high priestess. The star on her neck flamed with reflections of the sun beaming through the window into the refectory.

'Yes, Ne

'I don't know her family tree,' the high priestess replied calmly. 'It didn't interest me.'

'Tall for her age,' continued the magician, still appraising Ciri with her eyes. The girl was boiling over with fury and a

'Not badly developed.' Ye

No.'

'Any migraines? Fainting? Inclination to catch cold? Painful periods?'

No. Only those dreams.'

'I know.' Ye

'It is. They gave her only natural stimulants.'

'Stimulants are never natural!' The magician raised her voice. Never! It is precisely the stimulants which may have aggravated her symptoms in… Damn it, I never suspected him of such irresponsibility!'

'Calm down.' Ne

accept someone else's authority but in this case I am forced to inflict it on you. And let there be no more talk about it.'

'As you wish.' Ye

Ciri could barely keep her hands from shaking; she swallowed hard and looked inquiringly at Ne

'You're going with Lady Ye

Ciri bowed her head and clenched her teeth.

'You are no doubt baffled,' continued Ne

'Lady Ye

'Go,' nodded Ne

I'll escape tonight, Ciri made up her mind. Back to Kaer Morhen. I'll steal a horse from the stables and that's the last they'll see of me. I'll run away!

'Indeed you will,' said the magician under her breath.

'I beg your pardon?' the priestess raised her head. 'What did you say?'

'Nothing, nothing,' smiled Ye

'Be more understanding.' The high priestess's features visibly

hardened. 'Please, be kind-hearted and understanding. She really is not who you take her to be.'

'What do you mean by that?'

'She's not your rival, Ye

For a moment they measured each other with their eyes, the enchantress and the priestess, and Ciri felt the air quiver, a strange, terrible force between them growing in strength. This lasted no more than a fraction of a second after which the force disappeared and Ye

'I forgot,' she said. 'Always on his side, aren't you, Ne

'And you're always against him,' smiled the priestess. 'Bestowing him with strong feelings, as usual. And defending yourself as hard as you can not to call the feelings by their rightful name.'

Once again, Ciri felt fury rise up somewhere in the pit of her stomach, and her temples throbbed with spite and rebellion. She remembered how many times and under what circumstances she had heard that name. Ye

They're talking quite openly in front of me, without any restraint, she thought, feeling her hands start to shake with anger once more. / 'hey 're not bothered about me at all. Ignoring me completely. As if I were a child. They're talking about Geralt in front of me, in my presence, but they can't because I… I am…

Who?

'You, on the other hand, Ne

'And pulling my nose into other people's business?'

'I didn't want to say that.' Ye

because, after all, it is widely thought I don't possess any such organ. But we'll manage somehow. Isn't that right, Surprise?'

She smiled at Ciri and, despite herself, despite her anger and a

She listened to Ye

'No one asked me about it,' she mumbled.

'What didn't anybody ask you about?'

Ciri turned in a half-pirouette and furiously whacked the hollyhock with her fist. The bumble bee flew away, buzzing angrily and ominously.

'No one asked me whether I wanted you to teach me!'

Ye

'What a coincidence,' she hissed. 'Imagine that – no one asked me whether I wanted to teach you either. Besides, wanting has got nothing to do with it. I don't apprentice just anybody and you, despite appearances, might still turn out to be a nobody. I was asked to check how things stand with you. To examine what is inside you and how that could endanger you. And I, though not unreluctantly, agreed.'