The Twelve Kingdoms (14 page)

“Not enough to be further interested.”

He smiled easily. “You're not tempted—not even a little?”

“Tempted?” I had gone for arch, not breathless, Danu take it.

“I think you are. We could trade lessons. You'd enjoy it.”

“You're mistaken.” I deliberately looked at the sun, pretending to gauge the time. “I have no interest in learning a new sport; nor do I have free time to squander on pointless activities.”

“Never pointless, if done well.”

Over his shoulder, Jepp had her hands splayed on the other man's pecs, as if measuring, gazing up at him with a bright, teasing smile. Madeline had corralled the maids into heading back to their duties, but more than one gazed back longingly. We'd be in for a bumper crop of babies, indeed.

Harlan turned, following the direction of my gaze. “Shall I order the men to keep hands off? They are accustomed to exercising that discipline.”

“As are you?” I riposted, seizing the opening and regretting it instantly.

“As well you know, Your Highness,” he returned in that smooth, deep voice, a caress in it that reminded me of the feel of his hands. “I would never press an undesired advance. Nor would my men. But yon ladies look most willing. The men will resist any and all invitations, however, if I instruct them so.”

“No need,” I sighed, thinking of Jepp's ulterior motives and enviable enthusiasm. “I'd have every woman in Ordnung out for my blood. But make sure they behave themselves—and that they pay up for any babies they start.” That should have been in his almighty contract. Docked pay for each child left for us to raise.

“There won't be any.”

“You're so sure?” In my skepticism, I made the mistake of looking at him, his blond hair dark with the oil, the thick neck and corded shoulders. For some strange reason, my fingers itched to do as Jepp was even still—run my hands over the shape of those muscles, to feel that strength for myself, to discover if his skin was as smooth as it looked. I shouldn't want that. Had never felt that desire.

He knew it, too, Danu take him, eyes glittering with answering invitation.
This is staged for your benefit, isn't it?
“We have methods for preventing unplanned babies. Our women are always safe with us. No Dasnarian man would have so little care for his lover as to expose her to that danger. I should have made that clear last night. It didn't occur to me that it was one of your concerns.”

“I have many concerns—none of them to do with you. Believe me, Captain, I haven't given you or your . . . offer the least bit of thought.”

“Liar.” He leaned in close to murmur the word, so I scented his skin. Man, sweat, and sunlight. “How did you sleep? I tossed and turned myself. I kept thinking of you and the way you taste. Imagining how your hands on me would feel.”

Calling it a strategic retreat, I stepped back, removing myself from the temptation to touch him, to run my fingertips over his oiled muscles. “How unfortunate for you,” I replied. “I had far more important things to think about and still do. Excuse me, Captain.”

Satisfied at having set him back on his heels, I strode away, ignoring the fact that his amused laugh once again followed me.

I
t was missing my workout that had put me in such a foul mood. Harlan and his machinations had made it so I'd have to sit in court all day, enduring the stagnation as my blood slowed and muscles stiffened. Was it so much to ask to be left to my own devices?

Apparently so.

Dafne softly snored from her adjoining bedchamber and a pang of envy stabbed at me for her deep and easy sleep. I tried to be quiet for her sake as I pawed through the gowns, looking for something feminine to please Uorsin, formal enough for court and yet suitable for my state of mind. Dafne had a point about all the pastel pretties. I might as well drape my sword in silk scarves and call it a rose of Glorianna.

Grabbing one at random, I pulled it on, giving up my boots for a pair of satin slippers. Protection from nothing. The floofy skirt bunched up in a weird way when I buckled on my sword and it irritated me that I had to fuss with it. The topaz caught the sun as I turned, gleaming with tawny gold as Harlan's skin had. I didn't know what to make of him and this strange flirtation.
The way you faced the High King was amazing to witness. Nobody that I've seen has handled him so well.
Harlan's words echoed in my mind and I turned them over, seeking the truth in them. I rubbed my thumb over the Star, taking a moment, wondering about the jewel—why Illyria wanted it, how she knew of it, and why my mother had given it to me.

Had I learned handling Uorsin from Salena somehow? I certainly had none of her Tala magic. That had all gone to Andi and, it now appeared, also to Amelia. I'd always been glad not to have it, knowing well how much Uorsin hated Andi for her strange and skittish ways. It had relieved me to be so thoroughly his daughter. Despite everything else, I'd always had that.

But I'd protected my sisters. Harlan had that much right. I'd never regretted that choice.

Lady Zevondeth might know more about the Star. I should have gone to seek her out as soon as I arrived. She could be tedious in her old age and her rooms unbearably hot, but I owed her a visit. Good thing Dafne had reminded me. Odd thing that I hadn't thought about her. I emerged from my dressing chamber to find Derodotur waiting for me.

“The High King wishes to see you in his study,” he said, “before court commences.”

Biting back a sigh, I nodded. Visiting Lady Zevondeth could wait. Would have to. “Is there news of Amelia?” I followed along with him.

He hesitated. “Not exactly.”

The summons boded well, in truth. That he meant to consult privately with me. Perhaps my initial punishment had ended and we could return to reasonable speaking terms. Danu knew we had plenty to discuss. Uorsin sat behind his great desk, poring over a scroll so fresh from the road that it shed dust on the glossy surface.

“My King.” I curtsied, glad I'd worn the gown. Captain Harlan, formally attired now, turned from the window he'd been gazing out of and gave me a respectful bow, marred by a slight frown. I ignored him, keeping my focus on the King.

Uorsin tapped the scroll without looking up. “Erich has sent me a letter. Can you imagine what it says?”

Hopefully not a declaration of war. “Inquiring if Amelia and his grandson are at Ordnung?”

He made a noise of disgust and tossed the scroll at me. “No, Daughter. Guess again.”

I scanned the letter, then backed up and read more carefully. “This makes no sense.”

“It makes no sense on any number of levels, but mainly because Old Erich is an even older and greater fool than I took him for. And I had figured him for quite a bit of both.”

“How can he think you'll pay this kind of ransom for Astar? Even if we thought he had him—and he has to realize we know he doesn't—Astar is Avonlidgh's heir as well. Erich can't turn him over to the High Throne, even for the price of Avonlidgh's freedom. Who would succeed him on his throne if he did? Erich can't mean to get more children at his age, especially when Hugh was the only one to survive to adulthood. And I can't see him giving Avonlidgh to anyone not in his direct line. It's a bluff.”

“It's only a bluff if he doesn't truly have Amelia and Astar.”

“He doesn't.”

Uorsin narrowed his eyes, studying me. “That's only true if you haven't lied to me, Daughter. He knows full well I'd never release Avonlidgh.”

He wasn't blazingly angry, however, or he would have conducted this interview in private. Much as I hated having witnesses to him questioning my honor, I'd rather face him like this, across his desk. “What would it have gained me to prevaricate? I would much rather have brought you the news that Amelia and your grandson were safely ensconced in Windroven than tell you the truth, that I don't know where she's gone. I wanted to bring them here, but knowing them to be there would have been my next preference. Had she in fact remained there, I could have arranged to hold the castle and bring your forces in to defend it against any misbehavior of Erich's.”

“If that's so, then Erich thinks me the fool and, further, believes that I don't know otherwise. Why would he think that?”

I glanced at Harlan, who watched and listened with apparent impassivity, but I began to read him well enough to detect his interest in the conversation. Choosing my words carefully, I said, “Amelia left only with her private guard and the child, spirited out of Windroven in secrecy. He has to be guessing that you don't know where she's gone either.”

“Or he's recaptured her.”

I nodded, thinking. “Possible, yes.” Though I seriously doubted it. I might not care for Ash's background, but he was a fierce fighter and dedicated to my sister. They would not have been easily captured. “Did he offer any sort of proof?”

“No. It would be interesting to ask.” He nodded at me, and like that, we were in sync again. Always it came back to this, that my father and I thought the same. Today he'd settled, seemed more himself. His best self.

“It would tip our hand,” I pointed out. “Asking would reveal that we, in fact, don't know where they are either. This could be a test. Perhaps he suspects she's here and is seeking to confirm that. If we deny the ransom, he could take that as affirmation that his heir is in Ordnung.”

“Perhaps he's heard rumor of this girl child.”

Through dint of great will, I did not look at either Harlan or Derodotur.

“My King?”

“You may speak freely in front of the Captain, Daughter.” Uorsin sized up the man. “He is, after all, bought and paid for.”

Harlan's easy expression didn't change and I resisted the surprising urge to defend him. Hadn't I, after all, accused him of the same thing?

“I don't see how he could have. Nobody knows except the Lady Mailloux, myself, and those in Amelia's party.” And now the other two men in this room, though I was sure Derodotur had been informed immediately. It was a hedge. Amelia's midwife also knew, but we all agreed she'd likely been taken along with the infant princess. Pray Danu she didn't pop up somewhere else. Like back at Windroven, spilling her guts to Erich. “Until we have the infant princess safe, I think the fewer people who know of her existence, the better.”

“They should be here. This is where they belong. Here, in Ordnung, where they will be safe.”

“I agree, my King.” Would he let me go? Did I dare go with Illyria lurking? At least the Star went where I did. “My Hawks stand ready to—”

“Not you.” He cut me off. “Don't make me repeat it. Captain Harlan?”

He snapped to attention, bowed, and straightened. “Your command, High King?”

“Prepare a detail of your best men and lead them into the Wild Lands. You will ascend Odfell's Pass and enter the Tala kingdom. Find King Rayfe and his wife. You'll no doubt find my grandson with them.”

Though he spoke to Harlan, Uorsin watched me for reaction, cagily waiting for me to argue. Which I wanted to, with every fiber of my being. Only the sure knowledge that he laid a trap for me with this gambit kept me from speaking. Folding my hands behind my back, to keep them off my sword hilt, I made myself wait calmly.

“Your will shall be done, High King.” Harlan bowed again.

“Nothing to say, Daughter?” Uorsin ignored him and needled me.

“You believe Amelia is with Andi and the Tala?” I kept my voice neutral.

“Yes.” Uorsin stood. Leaned on his desk. “Don't you?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Still a trap, but I could hardly refuse to answer. “Because they can't enter Ann—the Tala kingdom. No one can.” Amelia had—a secret from our father. She'd refused to tell me much about it. I knew only because she'd slipped up and referenced talking to Andi. As near as I could piece together, she'd snuck out of Ordnung and made the arduous journey to Annfwn, somehow convincing Andi to let her through the magical border. Where little Ami had gotten the courage and fortitude to pull that off, I didn't know.

It also truly impressed me that she had. Though it had been a disobedient, even traitorous, act, I couldn't condemn her for it. If it ever came to light that she had done so, I'd find a way to take the blame. It rightfully belonged to me anyway. If I hadn't killed Hugh, she could have cozily lived with her true love in Windroven, raising their babies and staying out of trouble.

Therefore, I would not be the one to betray her actions—which Uorsin had strictly forbidden—to our father. Not only to protect her. Preserving Uorsin's great affection for his youngest daughter would go a long way toward preserving the peace and stability of Ordnung and the Twelve.

“Because Amelia knows we'd worry—and that her and Astar's extended absence would only heighten political tensions.”

“Bah.” Uorsin dismissed that idea with a flick of his hand. “Amelia is a beautiful and sweet girl, but not that bright. Thinks of no one but herself. Such things would never occur to her.”

I tightened my jaw to hold back my reply to that.

Uorsin tapped his blunt fingers on the desk thoughtfully. “It could be, however, if your tale is true, that the baby was taken as bait to lure her into the Tala's grasp and that she is, in fact, a hostage.”

“Why go to the trouble of faking the child's death, then?” I pointed out, knowing I might regret provoking him. Better than insisting on Andi and Rayfe's good intentions. “We were not meant to see through the subterfuge.”

“If you think yourself so clever,” Uorsin growled, “where
do
you think she is?”

No good answer to that. “If you agreed to let me go look for her, I would cut through the Wild Lands at a diagonal and attempt to pick up her trail from Ordnung.”

“And if you should not return, as she has not?”

“I would return to you and Ordnung as long as I had breath in my body.” Hadn't I done that already? I'd come to Ordnung instead of going with Amelia. “My place is by your side.”

He eyed me, a glimmer of something in his eye. “I want to believe you're loyal to me. I need to be able to count on that.”

I met his gaze with a rush of relief. He praised me rarely, but when he did, all was worth it. Here was the King I knew. We could come through this and all would go back to normal.

“Yes, you'll stay here, and Captain Harlan, you'll take your men, see what you can find.”

I took the chance—a final bid—and leaned my hands flat on his desk, holding his gaze as steadily and fearlessly as I could. “But, my King, Captain Harlan and his men have never faced the Tala. They don't know what the demon folk are capable of. The Hawks are experienced. We very nearly won Odfell's Pass—any of them can verify—and would have taken it but for the magical barrier.”

“Then you shall advise him.”

A sound in the antechamber, a crawling up my neck. The door opened and Illyria, with her dead eyes, entered. Uorsin's gaze went to her, locking on with a ferocity that seemed unnatural, even from a man who'd built an empire out of sheer force of will.

“Leave us now,” he commanded.

As I turned to go, Illyria glanced at me, lips curving in a bloodred smile.