A Magic King (27 page)

And with that he turned and strode away, his dark robe flapping behind him like an Emperor's train.

* * *

"You can't be serious." Daken's voice trembled with fury and disgust as he paced the confines of her room. They had moved here for privacy, although in the world of wizards and thin dormitory walls, she wondered if any place was free from prying eyes and ears.

At least Steve was mercifully absent. The boy had been waiting in the apartment, a plate of sweets set on the low table by the fire. He scrambled to his feet as Daken stormed into the room, then he bowed once to both of them and disappeared.

Jane collapsed onto the couch, feeling unequal to the scene she and Daken were about to play out, but unable to avoid it. The only thing she could do was get it over with as quickly as possible.

"Is that..." Daken grabbed hold of his temper with obvious effort. "Is he what you want?"

"Hell, yes," she exclaimed, rising from the couch to block out her own square of space near the fire. "He's offering me power, the chance to govern wisely, the opportunity to make real changes, affect massive numbers of people in positive ways. Of course, I want that!"

Daken squared off with her, his eyes catching and amplifying the light from the fire. "You could have all that as my queen."

"Since when? You still see me as a little fool, an innocent to be guided by your political ambitions. My only power would be in your bed, and even then I'd be underneath you, literally as well as figuratively."

"And you think he doesn't want to bed you?"

Jane threw up her hands. "Well, of course, he does. He's a man, as much ruled by his pants as you are. But at least he respects my mind, too. With him, I'd have real power. With you..." She let her voice trail off, not knowing what, if anything, she'd have with him.

"But he's dangerous."

"All power is dangerous," she returned.

Daken stepped forward into the glow of the fire. The light from the flames danced brilliantly across his face, making his skin seem to radiate with his own special power. Looking at his eyes, she saw the soothing comfort for which she longed.

"Do you want him, Jane? Not his power, but him. The man Kyree."

Jane sighed, closing her eyes against the headache that seemed to haunt her these days. She broke from his touch, pacing the room with heavy steps. "I don't know, Daken. If you're asking me if I love him, the answer is I doubt it. I barely know him. He certainly doesn't love me. He's in love with the power I could bring him."

"Then why—"

"Because he respects me. Because I respect him, and I respect the things we could do together. He's right, Daken. Politically, we're the perfect combination." She suddenly turned to face him, and this time hers was the face touched by the firelight while his remained in shadow. "I can live without love, Daken. I've been doing that for most of my life. Kyree's offering me power. Why else would I have been brought forward in time, fulfilling a centuries old prophesy, if not to influence the world for the better? I've got to guide this Earth away from the mistakes that destroyed my world. I can't do that without the kind of power he's offering me."

She bit her lip, knowing the pain she felt was only a fraction of the pain her words inflicted on Daken, but she continued anyway, not seeing any other way.

"What do you have, Daken, that can compete with that?"

He was silent a long time, his face cast in shadow, his body outlined by the pulsing red glow of the fire.

"Nothing," he finally said. "Nothing at all." Then he left, his footsteps firm as he walked away.

Chapter 11

Jane cried the rest of the night. Her love for Daken burned as brightly as ever, but without a similar love from him, she could do nothing. She'd be a fool to give up everything Kyree offered for the uncertain and probably subservient life she'd have with Daken.

So she cried, mourning the loss of everything she might have had with Daken more than she'd grieved for the loss of her whole world. Then, when the morning sun filtered through her window, she dried her eyes and dressed, trying to work up some enthusiasm for a bright future as an Empress.

Looking in the mirror, she wished she'd bothered to buy some cosmetics. Her eyes were swollen, her face blotchy. It didn't help that her head still pounded like a football field right after the winning touchdown.

Even food didn't help. Unwilling to face breakfast in front of the entire University, Jane sent Steve to bring her back something to eat. She took one bite, then ran to the bathroom. Five minutes later, she was sure she'd thrown up everything she'd eaten in the last year.

"I hate this place," she moaned, burying her face in the cool towel Steve handed to her. But that was all the self-pity she permitted herself. The Council meeting would start in a half hour, and she was determined to attend.

She made it with minutes to spare. Steve led her to the Council's audience chamber. The room was predictably impressive with a curved table facing the door. The Council members sat in the five seats beneath a brilliant ivy flag that stood for the Elven Lord. Petitioners lined up in the hallway waiting for their turn to plead their cause.

The Elven Lord naturally sat in the center seat. Kyree stood to his right, apparently trying to convince Ginsen of something unpleasant. Given the bitter look on Ginsen's face, Jane guessed they were talking about her.

Kyree noticed her the moment she entered the room. He immediately crossed to her, his expression warm, his eyes concerned as they lingered on every sign of her sleepless night.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she forced herself to smile at him. "I just didn't sleep very well."

"When we are married, you will sleep like a babe every night. I promise."

His earnest expression drew her first real smile of the day. "Then you must be a great wizard indeed."

Kyree grinned. "Oh, I am. You can count on it." His face suddenly darkened, his eyes piercing beneath the stark slash of his eyebrows. "Does that mean you have decided to accept my proposal?"

Jane swallowed nervously. She couldn't think of any reason not to give him her answer. She made her decision last night. She'd given Daken his opportunity to stop her. There was nothing left to do but make it official. At least to Kyree. Still, it took all her composure to say the words that would seal her future.

"Yes, Kyree. I would be honored to marry you and be your Empress."

He raised both her hands to his lips, kissing them each in turn. "You do me a great honor, Oracle. You will not regret it."

"So what next?" She glanced around at the other Council Members. "Do we tell them?"

"Oh, no. Not yet. There are still some minor details to work out."

"You mean a strategy."

He grinned. "You are quick, Jane. Between my magic and your tech-nol-ogy," he struggled with the English word, "we will be unstoppable."

His interest in her technology struck a sour chord within her, but she was forced to push it aside as he continued.

"We must meet. Tomorrow night. Today's proceedings will go late, and I'm always irritable afterwards."

"All right," she said, a thrill of excitement running through her spine. "And perhaps you can show me some real magic. Except for the communication spell with Daken, I haven't been able to see exactly what a true wizard can do."

He raised a surprised eyebrow. "Then you must allow me to show off my skills for my new bride."

"I'd love that." The thrill of excitement grew to a tremor of anticipation as Jane looked forward to the evening. Then, to add some spice to her thoughts, Kyree spoke into her ear, pitching his voice to a sexy bedroom tone.

"Come to my room. After dinner."

She lifted her gaze in a coy glance. "Are you sure I'll be safe with you?"

He stopped, raising her hand to her lips as a courtier of old. "I promise, I shall do nothing you do not wish me to do."

"Then you may count on me."

He smiled, deftly twisting her hand over to place his lips into her palm. Then the moment was gone as the Elven Lord approached them, his face set in clear lines of annoyance.

"It's time we started, Kyree."

The wizard inclined his head, but Ginsen barely noticed. He flicked his contemptuous glare over Jane, taking in her baggy eyes and sallow skin. Tomorrow morning, first thing, she swore to herself, she would buy some good make-up.

"You sit over there." Ginsen pointed to the seat on the other side of Kyree.

She inclined her head as she'd seen Kyree do, but Ginsen had already turned his back on her, stomping to his seat.

"I tried to get him to put you on his left," whispered Kyree in her ear, "but the man is a stubborn fool."

"It's just as well," she responded, eyeing the two other Council members, both of whom she'd met before. "I feel more comfortable next to you anyway."

The proceedings began soon after that. There were no preliminaries. The Elven Lord merely nodded to one of the mages manning the door, and the first petitioner was ushered in.

The process was surprisingly efficient. A petitioner would state his case. Opposing viewpoints, if any, were also present. The mages kept order much as a bailiff would in a court of law. After hearing whatever arguments, the Council members argued the merits in open court, then eventually reached a decision. Truly difficult cases were held over for private debate before the Council decided, but there were very few of those.

Jane tried to judge if Kyree truly pulled the strings as he claimed, but it was impossible for her to tell. As far as she could see, the cases were decided fairly, with most of the Council members agreeing on the outcome. Kyree was certainly forceful in his opinions, but so were the other members. And when Ginsen finally pronounced judgment, she couldn't tell if his decision was based on his own personal opinions or because Kyree encouraged them.

So it continued throughout the morning with only a short break for lunch before they returned to the endless line of problems and complaints involved with running a kingdom. Jane found herself longing for the cool serenity of the computing center when suddenly Daken walked in.

From the moment she saw him step into the room, her heart swelled with pride. He looked every inch a king. His face was clean shaven, his clothes both elegant and understated. His scabbard, now hanging by his side, actually gleamed in the sunlight. But his regalness came not from his clothing, but through his bearing. He stood tall where most people slouched. He met each one of the Council members' eyes, his gaze steady and demanding respect. He was, in manner and appearance, Daken, King of Chigan.

He didn't look at her but once and then only as he made his bow to each of the Council members. If his gaze happened to linger a moment longer on her drawn features or her encouraging smile, then it was probably because he was gathering his thoughts before his presentation.

He spoke eloquently of the problems his people faced every day. His condemnation of the Tarveen was both specific and graphic, causing more than a few gasps of alarm. Then he began his request for arms, starting with a well-reasoned argument and finishing with an impassioned plea. By the time he was done, Jane wanted to scream "Bravo!" and throw flowers. As it was, she could only sit in silent dread as the time for discussion began.

Now was the moment when Daken would expect her to come out strongly in support of his military needs. Jane tensed, feeling sick to her stomach once again. Her headache hadn't abated and her vision occasionally blurred, but she persevered, remaining staunchly faithful to what she saw as her mission—to keep the world in peace. And that meant denying Daken's request for arms.

As was typical, Ginsen spoke first, usually to ask the other members for their opinions. He didn't this time.

"King Daken, you are aware of my long-standing policy of pacifism, are you not?"

"Of course, Elven Lord. And it is a good and worthy policy in most circumstances. However, there are times, and this is one of them, when nothing but a show of force will do."

"It has never been necessary before," Ginsen returned.