The Harem Master (33 page)

"Ihsan!"

The cry came too late as steel slid across his throat, spilling hot blood down his shoulder and chest. Ihsan tried to breathe, tried to stay conscious, fuzzily hearing Kitt screaming his name.

Then, mercifully, he didn't know anything at all.

Euren wrapped herself in a blanket, then screamed for the guards.

They burst into the room, swords drawn, but nearly dropped them when they spied the man lying on the floor. "Highness!" the taller guard burst out. "Are you well?"

"I'm fine," Euren said. "I managed to kill him, by the grace of the Divine. Alert the rest of the guards, ensure that Prince Ihsan and His Majesty, the councilors, and ambassadors are all well. Go now, at once."

"Yes, Highness," the shorter guard replied. The tall one lingered, frowning pensively at the body, then at Euren. "Highness…"

Her mouth quirked. "Yes, I know. I—" she pushed her hair back, made a show of being sheepish. "I wanted to give my harem a chance to sneak back to their rooms first. I was too flustered to realize at first that time was of the essence, that I might not be the only one they wanted to kill."

"Yes, Highness," the guard said, still frowning but letting the matter drop. "I'm sure His Majesty and Prince Ihsan are well. Respect, I will remain here with you until more guards arrive."

She nodded, and he turned his back as she climbed out of bed to get dressed, hastily pulling on the clothes she'd been wearing only minutes ago. Quickly braiding her hair and wrapping it into a knot, she pulled on sturdy ankle boots and tucked her throwing knives into their hidden sheaths. Bless Ihsan, he had known exactly how to order her clothes.

Dressed, she walked over to the guard and stood in front of him. "I want my father brought to me, and I do not care about the king's orders. Bring my harem as well and see that Ihsan's harem is sent to him. I think, in light of this, the more protection we have—"

The sound of panicked, shouting voices cut her off; she pulled a dagger as feet came pounding into her room. Guards burst in, faces filled with dismay edging on panic. "The king is dead! Prince Ihsan is badly wounded."

"What are you talking about?" Euren demanded, almost dropping her dagger.

"We have found His Majesty dead, and Prince Ihsan was badly wounded by his attackers."

Oh, no. There must have been an assassin already in the room or something. Ice ran through her body, and a scream lodged in her throat. She barely held it back as she shoved past the guards before they could stop her. Euren ran as fast as she could, lungs burning, tears stinging her eyes. She could hear guards pounding after her, but only ran faster, barreling into Ihsan's room—and started crying when she saw him lying on the floor, Kitt bent over him struggling to control the blood spilling from his throat. "What happened?" she dropped down on Ihsan's other side. "Divine damn everything, what happened? Ihsan, Ihsan." She balled her hands into fists, then opened them and reached out. Drew back. Reached out. Fumbled helplessly. "I-Ihsan, you can't!"

"Out of the way!" A voice barked, and then she was being shoved aside by a man who immediately started working to save Ihsan, barking orders to Kitt and another man who crouched down beside him. Euren gulped, tried to make her mind work past the stark terror of Ihsan being dead. She'd already lived through that once, had cried and cried and cried, had almost given up hope when the stupid fool had shown up half-dead.

She couldn't go through that again.

Someone said her name. Slowly Euren looked up and stared into Asli's pretty pale eyes. "Asli…"

"Euren, come on, they need you."

She looked at Ihsan, but he was still lying on the floor; her view of him was mostly blocked by the bodies of Kitt and the healers as they worked.

"Euren!"

Looking back at Asli, she drew a breath, then let it out slowly. "Who needs me?"

"Everyone, Euren," Asli said. "His Majesty is dead, remember? And Ihsan… Euren, you're Queen."

The word slapped her in the face, shot through her as though she'd been thrown into the icy river at the base of the monastery. Queen. Merciful Divine she was not ready for that. "Asli…"

"You can do this," Asli said quietly, squeezing her hands. "Come on. You have to take care of everyone, because right now there's no one else to do it."

Euren gulped for breath, pinched her eyes shut, and took another deep breath. Slowly opening her eyes again, she nodded, let go of Asli's hands, and strode over to the guards clustered around looking lost. "Secure the king's body and those of the assassins here and the one in my room. No one goes in or out of the palace. If they try, imprison them."

"Yes, Highness," the guards chorused before scattering to carry out their orders.

As the last of them left, Gulden and Canan stepped into the room, clothes slightly askew and hair hastily pulled back in loose tails. "Princess—" Gulden broke off with a soft cry. "Ihsan! What happened?"

Euren shook her head, not certain she could speak. They rushed forward and hugged her, kissed her sharply. After a moment she stepped away, turning to watch as Kitt and the healer's assistant very carefully moved Ihsan to a pallet they'd set up on the floor. "Will he…"

The healer looked at her, slowly standing up, joints cracking. He shoved messy gray-black curls from his face with bloody fingers, either unaware or uncaring. "Right now it's tenuous, Majesty. The wound at his side was minor, and the throat wound was messy but not necessarily fatal. But he's lost a lot of blood, and after a certain amount is lost there is no recovering. Time alone will tell us. If he makes it through the day, he will probably be fine. Looking at all he has already endured, the strength that would have taken, I have faith."

Majesty. She didn't want that word applied to her. "Thank you. Without you, he would definitely be lost."

He bowed. "An honor to serve, Majesty. If you will pardon me, I must go attend King Kagan's body. I will return to check on His Majesty."

"Of course, thank you." When he'd gone, Euren went to sit down beside Ihsan, resting her head on his forehead, silently praying that he would survive.

"Stupid," Kitt said, full of so much self-loathing Euren's head jerked up, eyes widening in alarm. "I was focused on other things. I got soft and stupid. I assumed, like everyone else, that all the assassins had been accounted for, but they had three teams. I thought of it, but I got here too fucking late." He started snarling at himself in Rittuen.

Euren reached over Ihsan and gripped Kitt's shoulder, shook him. "Kitt, stop it. You're not perfect—nobody is. Whatever mistake you think you made, without you he would definitely be dead. He would not want you blaming yourself. Stop it. Focus on what you did right and what you can still do."

Kitt stared at her, and after what seemed like forever, most of the anger and bleakness in his face drained away. "What do you need me to do?"

"Figure out the assassins. Where is Sabah?"

"Here," Sabah said as he stopped in front of them, chest heaving, skin flushed and gleaming. His face looked stricken as he stared at Ihsan. "Is he…?"

Euren shook her head, fought back the tears stinging her eyes. "He's all right for now, though still critical. Watch over him. I have to take care of the kingdom." A small, shaky laugh slipped out. She tamped down on it before it turned hysterical and pushed stiffly to her feet. "Keep me informed of his progress, Sabah. Kitt, you keep me informed of yours."

"Yes, Majesty," Kitt said and slipped away.

Euren moved to Ihsan's table and sat down, looking over all the papers he'd been going over. He'd kept her apprised of all he did, had been pulling her into more and more of the daily running of the palace and kingdom, but it was hard to do when all their meetings were furtive, and she had so much to learn that she hadn't been able to at the monastery.

She needed help, that much was evident. Thank the Divine she did not have to contend with Bulut. The fool had better hope he was on a ship well out to sea because otherwise Kitt would find him, and when that happened…

Well, she might feel sorry for him if he were not a despicable bastard who deserved every second of the slow, agonizing death Kitt had in store for him.

But no Bulut meant no Steward, and if she didn't want her inexperience burning the kingdom to the ground then she was going to need an advisor. That was a lot of trust to place in a person, however. She stared at the papers, willing them to tell her something.

It was all financial documents, notes scratched out in Ihsan's impatient hand here and there, tidier notes made by Sabah. Finance. Lord Cenk was the Councilor of Finance, one of the most respected men in the palace, and the only councilors they trusted.

She looked over at Sabah, who was sitting quietly beside Ihsan, one hand resting on his forehead, pulling away occasionally to stroke his hair or fuss with the blanket Sabah had draped over him. "Sabah." He looked up. "Would your father accept if I asked him to take on the role of Steward, at least temporarily?"

He smiled faintly, approvingly. "Ordinarily, probably not, but under the circumstances he would gladly help."

"Good. I—" she broke off at the sound of a commotion outside the door, right before her father came blowing in. He stopped short when he saw her at the table, Gulden, Asli, and Canan with her or nearby, cleaning up the mess that had been made in what must have been quite the struggle. Euren preferred to keep ignoring it, especially the blood staining the pale floor. "Captain."

Pain and worry flickered across Fatih's face, but he did not voice his concerns, simply dropped to one knee and bowed his head. "Majesty, all councilors and ambassadors are accounted for, safe and sound."

Euren nodded. "Confine the ambassadors to their rooms. They are not to leave them, and if they try, they will be dragged into a cell and left there." She drew a breath, letting it out slowly. "Arrest all of the councilors save for Lord Cenk. Send him to me."

He looked up again, eyes widening, but after a moment, he dropped his head again. "Yes, Majesty. Do you want them given any explanation, past the obvious?"

"The obvious will suffice. Let me know if they cause a disturbance."

"Yes, Majesty." He rose, bowed, and with a parting look of concern followed by a smile of reassurance, strode off to carry out her orders, calling to his guards. The sound of their heavy steps, the rattle of swords and armor, could be heard until they turned off the hall.

Divine, that was going to take adjusting. Euren rested her elbows on the table and cradled her forehead in her hands.

"You should eat something," Canan said, piling up the rags they'd used to clean up the worst of the mess.

"I'm not certain I could stomach it right now."

Gulden dropped down next to her, brushing back a strand of hair that had slipped free of her loose knot. "Try anyway, because it's going to be a long day. I'll fetch it—and find some servants to finish cleaning this place." She kissed Euren's cheek then rose and left. Asli replaced her, looking over the paperwork and steadily sorting through it.

"Sabah," Euren called. "Do you know why Ihsan came to see you tonight?"

"No, unfortunately, though if I had to guess I would say he wasn't able to sleep and was working instead. He's been trying to sort out the financial anomalies; he may have come to ask me about them. But he could have also just wanted to be worn out." A bare smile flickered, but then it vanished, and Sabah bent to watch Ihsan again.

Someone knocked on the door, then swung it open at her call. A guard stepped into the room and bowed. "Majesty, Lord Cenk is here to see you."

"Thank you." Euren pushed her papers aside as Cenk entered, sank to his knees, and bowed low. She was never going to get used to that. "Lord Cenk, thank you for coming so quickly. I am certain I do not need to explain the situation, or the direness of it, to you."

"No, Majesty," Cenk said quietly. He slowly sat up, glanced at Sabah and Ihsan, then back at her. "I am honored you've not put me with my fellow councilors. How can I serve you?"

"With Bulut gone, and all that has happened tonight, I am in need of a Steward. Will you accept the role, at least temporarily, until the palace is settled and certain problems are resolved?"

He bowed again, and whatever he felt about the situation was hidden from sight, though she doubted it would have shown on his face anyway. Sabah had definitely gotten his calm, contained demeanor from his father. "It would be an honor, Majesty. Have you a specific duty I should attend first?"

"The councilors," Euren replied. "Sabah and Kitt must have told you what we've been trying to unravel. I want the councilors picked apart, every stone of their lives overturned. Secure their families, their deputy councilors, the staff and servants. No one leaves this palace, or communicates beyond its walls, without permission from you. I want to know who was party to and orchestrating the slave trading, who was bribed into compliance, who was being blackmailed."

Cenk nodded. "Yes, Majesty. If I may, Lady Seth is trustworthy. She can oversee council matters and begin to look for possible replacements, as we will surely be needing at least a few of those in the very near future."

Lady Seth was Master of the Temples, charged with overseeing all the temples in the kingdom. She was not a priestess herself but had very close ties to them. Attempting to drag her into a slave ring would have guaranteed failure. "Very well, see it's done."

"Majesty," Cenk replied and rose. "I will come find you when I've something worthwhile to report, or at the end of the day, should I have something or not."

He left and Euren sighed. She should have brought up the financial problem, but that could wait until matters were a little less chaotic. She was going to be busy enough soothing angry ambassadors and planning a royal funeral.

"He did not mention my father," Asli said softly. "In all of this, no one has once said that my father might be free of wrongdoing." Tears fell down her cheeks.

Guilt and remorse curled through Euren. She dropped the papers she'd picked up and hugged Asli tight. "I have every faith your father is a victim, not a conspirator. I'm sorry I locked him up. I can—"