Trying to catch her breath, she also tried to hold her tongue. She didn’t want to ruin the intensity of the moment by starting what would probably end up in an argument.
But she failed miserably.
“There must be another way,” she said softly against his ear.
He tensed. She could feel it inside of her as they were still connected. But mostly she felt him go tight all around her as she sat nestled in his arms and lap.
“There is no other way and you know it,” he said quietly. He met her eyes and brushed her hair back from her face with a gentle hand. He tucked the strands behind her delicately pointed ears. “Do you think this is easy for me? Before I met you I had nothing to lose. I thought that would make me the best kind of opponent. But now…now I’m not so sure.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, fighting the urge to hold her breath.
“I mean…I feel things now I hadn’t felt before. Not in this life and not in the life I had before the curse.” He trailed gentle fingers over the crest of her cheek. “Do you know how beautiful you are?” he asked her. “I can never convince myself that you really do want to be with me. Of all the men in the world, someone like you has chosen someone like me.”
“I can say the same of you,” she said with feeling. “I have never felt beautiful until you told me so. I’ve never wanted to feel that way. But now I find I am vain because I bask in your regard of me as though I were some fine lady with gently bred manners and social graces. And yet you never treat me like I am weak or docile or any of those other lady-mannered things. You relish my independence and my strength. You make me feel stronger than I am. Better than I am in all things.”
“You should feel strong and beautiful and independent and all of those things that make you you. You may be small of stature but to me you are larger than life. There is more of you than I could ever hope to manage.”
“Quite right,” she said primly. “I am a handful and then some. I will always keep you on your toes. I refuse to be tamed or predictable.”
“There is no danger of that,” he assured her with a chuckle. Then he sobered. “But I am in danger, for in this battle I will have a weakness. One I didn’t have before. And yet…” He toyed with another strand of her hair. “And yet I feel I have a strength a thousand times stronger than this ring could ever have provided.”
The remark warmed her even as it troubled her. “I don’t want to be a weakness for you. I want you to have every ounce of strength and power you can possibly have. We should travel the globe gathering more trinkets to assure that you are undefeatable and I…”
She stopped for he was shaking his head and she already knew it was too fanciful a notion. There was nothing more they could do.
“We will get the cuff tomorrow,” he said quietly, “and then I will spend one last night in your arms before going to Meru’s temple. There I will pray for the beginning of the end of my curse or the end of my existence. I hope to carry the strength you give me with me but I cannot do that if you deny me it.”
“What do you want me to say? That I give you my blessing and support you with all of my heart?” She did not cry. She never cried. But tears edged into her voice and it quavered as she spoke. “I would never deny you anything. And you already have all of my heart.”
It was the first time she had given her feelings voice, and she felt naked and vulnerable for doing so. She had put it all out there, shown him everything. What would he do with it? Would he laugh it off? Would he crush her with his next words? Would he…?
“As you have mine,” he whispered, touching his mouth to hers in an achingly sweet kiss. Tears filled her eyes even as her heart soared and tumbled in a turmoil of emotion. He loved her. He loved her and had said as much aloud for her ears to hear rather than just letting his actions be interpreted as such. She hadn’t been sure, but now…oh, but how could he love her and still leave her?
No. That was selfish and unfair. She would not do that to him. As painful as it was, she had to support him in whatever decision he made.
“I am with you,” she breathed. “Whatever you do, wherever you go, know I am with you. And because of that you will be a thousand times stronger than any cruel god.”
He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to his chest.
“Is it possible to love you even more?” he asked with wonder.
“Certainly. I am a magnificent creature and only get better with time. You have said so yourself.”
He laughed. “And now I have given you too high a regard of yourself. You will be impossible to live with.”
“But you will live with me,” she said, her tone suddenly serious. “You must promise me you will defeat Sabo and come back to me.”
He looked into her eyes a long moment before saying, “With you as an incentive to return, I will be undefeatable.”
“See to it that you are,” she said, her chin lifting.
“Yes, my lady. As you command.” Then he kissed her, stood up with her, and brought them over to the bed. He arranged her beneath the covers and undressed and joined her.
“What are your plans for getting to Xzonxzu?” she asked once he had curled around her and had settled them warmly together.
“I think I will go in the guise of a diplomat from another city. Perhaps Calandria. It is far enough away that there is little likelihood there is one already here. I will make it seem as though I wish to open trade with his city. When there is money involved, even demigods want to listen.”
“It is hard to know that. He already has vast wealth. He may not even wish to be bothered.”
“I will do my best to make him think it is worth his while. Tomorrow I will hire guards and servants so I will look wealthy and prosperous.”
“You are wealthy, and in your way prosperous.”
“But I don’t keep appearances to that effect and so I must. Tomorrow we need to hire people. I plan to be in the demigod’s citadel by nightfall.”
“You know…I am a thief. You could always use me—”
“No.” His tone was hard and sudden. “I will not risk you. There is no telling what the citadel’s defenses are like. It could be like sneaking into a jailhouse.”
“But those are the easiest places to sneak into,” she argued. “Security that tight grows lazy and lax. There’s always a place where—”
“I said no. We will not discuss it any further.”
Irritation flooded through her. His high-handedness didn’t sit well with her in the least. Well, he could be as stubborn as he liked; she was stubborn too. And already an idea was forming.
“Very well,” she said easily. “I will not sneak into the citadel.”
“Thank you. I will rest easier knowing that. Now go to sleep.”
She closed her eyes and with a sly smile on her lips she went to sleep.
The bulk of the day was spent finding retainers and outfitting them in livery. Maxum sent out a petition to see Xzonxzu.
It was three days before the petition was answered. By the time the reply came Maxum was fuming and chaffing. Airi did her best to calm him, to remind him they had waited this long, a few days more wouldn’t matter. He had calmed considerably in the end and she had entertained him with her body and her light sense of humor. They left the other men to their own devices and did things together in the city, shopping and eating and going to the town fair. Apparently the first day the snow flew was the first day of the winter fair every year and it went on for several days. There was much to entertain them and she could almost forget why they were really there.
Until the messenger had come to the inn granting Maxum an audience with the demigod that afternoon. Maxum would have preferred morning, a time not so close to sunset, but he could not control the situation any more than he already had.
He was ready to go to the citadel and was waiting at the bottom of the stairs in the inn’s common room for Airi. She had dawdled behind and he was growing impatient, wondering if this was by
design…a subconscious sabotage on her part. But then he shook the notion off. She knew how badly he wanted this, and she was willing to stick with him as long as it took. She had done nothing but support him all along, even though she thought this was madness. And for some time now he was beginning to agree with her. He should simply accept life for what it was, live with Airi…maybe make a family with her if she was amenable to the idea. He had never wanted children before—his life as a goldsword had prevented him from putting down any kind of roots.
But he had never felt as strongly as this before. He had never known a woman so incredibly compatible with himself. Her fight and vigor, independence and fearlessness—he’d never known a woman like that before.
He heard the door to their room open and he looked up. The other men, dressed in servants’ livery, all fell into a shocked silence as they looked up along with him. For there stood a woman none of them recognized.
She was dressed in a beautiful winter gown of white, with a bodice embroidered in meld metal thread, a metal which was like gold, only it was emerald green in color. The metallic threading picked up the light and gleamed back at them. Her skirts were full and floor length, as was the fashion for the area, and they too were embroidered in meld metal. The fabric appeared to be jilu silk, a heavy silk appropriate for the cold weather but just as shimmery as the meld metal.
She was wearing a fashion corset. It was beneath the bodice of the dress and came up to the midpoint of her breasts. She was wearing it tight so that her breasts looked as though they were moments from spilling over the top and had the bodice been even a millimeter shorter, he would have been able to see a touch of her nipples.
The bodice left her shoulders completely bare, her sleeves not beginning until a good distance down her arm, but then covering her fully to her wrists. Around her arms was a heavy pink shawl of jilu silk with a violet fringe. Looped over her wrist was a silk drawstring purse.
Airi paused at the head of the stairs and looked down at the men, judging their reactions to seeing her in this traditional feminine garb. Doisy’s eyes were lit up with appreciation and they scanned over her multiple times. Dru’s mouth was hanging open in shock and awe. Kilon…well, Kilon looked even more disgusted with her than usual, if such a thing were possible. But none of that mattered, all that mattered was Maxum.
Maxum’s reaction was one of confused hunger. This was not the Airi he wanted with a passionate hunger—this was a stranger. And yet his craving for her only intensified. Seeing her dressed in so many clothes immediately filled his mind with the desire to take them all off her, piece by piece. She had her hair dressed up in an elegant coiffure, one that shockingly left her ears uncovered. That, perhaps more than anything, disturbed him. There would be many people who would take exception to her as an elf. She had hidden her ears all of her life, why would she bare them now?
She came down the stairs in a walk that put far more slink and sexuality in her spine than elegance and breeding. She came to face him and raised a fair blond brow.
“What do you think? Am I passable?”
“I…I…” Maxum was at a loss for words for a moment. Then, “What the hells are you doing in that outfit?”
“I’m coming with you.”
“Not dressed like that you’re not!”
“Maxum, there’s nothing wrong with the way I’m dressed,” she said in a lightly scolding tone. “I am dressed just like any other lady of his court would be.”
“You’re not just any other lady!” he erupted. “Why are you doing this?”
“Maxum, you’re a wealthy dignitary. You must have a wife or a mistress or even a sister. Take your pick. I’ll play whatever role you choose. Although with these”—she touched her ears and for the first time he realized she was wearing earrings in them…and a matching necklace and bracelets—“I would stick to mistress or wife. But you must choose one. And you must take me. The one thing that is very clear from what we’ve been told is that Xzonxzu has a hunger for women. I figure the rarer the better to get his attention. And what would be more rare than a cold-blooded elf? I imagine he would find it to be quite a conquest to get close to me. Certainly close enough that I can gain access to the cuff.”
“No! I told you I didn’t want you stealing the cuff!”
“You said you didn’t want me to sneak in. I will be walking in the front door by your side.”
“Maxum,” Doisy said, “she’s got a point. Regular people bore the hell out of Xzonxzu. Look how long it took him to respond to your petition. He couldn’t care less about you. But with a temptation like Airi, he will be more likely to keep you close in order to gain access to her. That will allow us to remain in a position where we can freely move about the citadel. She can keep Xzonxzu busy while we go about the business of stealing the cuff.”
“Busy how?” Maxum demanded. “By selling him her body? Absolutely not!”
“I will not sell him my body!” she exclaimed utterly aghast. The reaction filled him with a sense of relief. At least she hadn’t been suggesting that much. He wanted the cuff badly but not that badly. “But he doesn’t need to know that. It will be a very powerful flirtation, but nothing more I assure you.”
“Well, at least you have that much sense,” he said tightly.
“Maxum, come on,” Dru chimed in, “you have to see the benefit in this. She will be the perfect distraction.”
“Provided he even finds her interesting,” Maxum said with a frown.
Airi had to look shocked. “What are you saying? That I’m not woman enough to get his attention?”
“No. Not at all. You are more than woman enough. But he is a demigod who has no doubt made his way through thousands of women, a different one in his bed every night. You may not be novel enough to garner his attention.”
“Oh, I’ll be novel enough. You just leave that part up to me.”
“She’s fresh pussy,” Kilon said crudely. “Exotic too. He’ll like her every bit as much as you do.”
“See, even Kilon agrees…in his way,” Airi said with a roll of her eyes.
“That doesn’t comfort me,” Maxum said, his frown intensifying. But he tilted his head and then gave a reluctant nod. “All right. I can see how it could work. But the moment you feel you’re in over your head you do whatever it takes to get out of there. And I don’t want you trying to steal the cuff—that’s our job. You just keep him busy while we look for it.”
“Agreed!” She clapped her hands and rubbed them together eagerly. “Come on. This guy doesn’t have a chance!”
“Wait a minute,” Maxum said, narrowing a look on her. “Are you armed at least?”
Airi gave him a look that said, “Do I look stupid to you?” before she lifted up her skirt and showed him the Dagger of Truths strapped to her inner thigh. She had strapped it on upside down so she could pull it faster if she needed to, even with the skirts in the way. Somewhat mollified by the sight, Maxum nodded and held out his arm like a proper gentleman. It made her snicker, but at a quelling look she primly took his arm and began to act everything the genteel and wealthy woman should be. She didn’t have much experience at it, but she’d seen more than enough of it to do a fair imitation. She acted like just the sort of vapid creature she would have stolen from in the past. Only, she added an air of mystery and sensuality to it. She had to attract him at all costs. And no matter what Maxum said, if the opportunity to grab the cuff presented itself, she was going to take full advantage of it.
They approached the citadel and were allowed entrance into the main entryway. There they were met by a man, tall and reedy and pale in complexion, who then led them into an antechamber. They were announced loudly as Sor Maxum and Lady Airianne of Calandria and the doors were opened to admit them to a massive room done in fair colored marble with veins of gold running through it and soaring domed ceilings with tremendous frescos painted all around the curve of them, depicting stories featuring a strong, central male figure. Airi assumed this was a pictor
ial tale of the demigod’s triumphs and battles. She would have a chance later to study them, but for now she focused on the man they were approaching.
“Honored guests, you will kneel before the god, Xzonxzu,” the reedy man commanded as soon as they had approached the man sitting in a golden throne. Both Maxum and Airi went stiff at the idea of bowing before anyone, but playing their roles to perfection they bowed to the “god” Xzonxzu. Briefly Ari wondered if the gods knew of these blasphemous claims to godhood. Perhaps this was part of the reason why Meru had sent them to Xzonxzu’s door. To take the demigod down a peg.
Airi began to wonder which god had elevated Xzonxzu to his demigod status. In order to become a demigod a god had to bless the mortal with immortality, strength, and wealth—or so the stories went. But if that were the case then Maxum would qualify as a demigod now. Perhaps he was one. Meru had gifted him with the means to become the strong man he needed to be. And wouldn’t it take a demigod to battle a god and even hope to come out alive?
The man in the throne was not as large as Airi had expected, but he was clearly as youthful and strong as one would expect of a demigod. He sat indolently on the throne, a gold and bejeweled crown on his head. He wore a toga of white embroidered in metal—gold, most likely—and wore rings on almost all of his fingers, a bracelet on either wrist, an armband of gold and silver on his left biceps and a sparkling diamond earring in both ears. If she had to surmise, it would be that every one of the stones on his body was the most valuable stone of its kind in cut and clarity. Each one refracted the late afternoon sunlight that was pouring in through the mullioned windows all around the throne room.
“So,” Xzonxzu barked. “Calandria wishes to open trade with Gorgun? Why have you not come sooner than this?”