I was in my suite in the king's castle when I heard a soft knock on the door. I slid into the drawing room, thought about picking up my cutlass just to be safe, then decided I didn't need it. If someone was coming to kill me, I would've had a vision warning me. I opened the door to find the Princess Vanessa standing there.
The first thing I noticed was that she had changed clothes. The tomboy outfit was gone, replaced by a red velvet dress with a high collar and a flared skirt. I wondered if her father knew she was at my door, wondered if he would approve of her associating with her uncle's killer.
"Hello," I said. "Would you like to come in?"
She stepped into my drawing room, which was decorated in creams and yellows. She looked around, then said, "Are you really a princess?"
"Yes, I am. My mother was the Queen of Adah. It's a country on the other side of the Great Desert."
"You said your mother was the queen."
"She died recently."
"My mother died when I was little."
"I'm sorry," I said. "Should you be talking to me?"
"Why would anybody care?"
"Your father might not want you talking to the person that killed your uncle."
"My father and my uncle didn't get along. I think it had something to do with me."
"Not so much you. Your uncle just had a problem with princesses and queens. That's why he tried to kill me."
"Because you're a princess like me?"
"Yes. He believed only men are fit to rule."
"Why?"
"I don't know why. Maybe he was jealous of you."
"Why would he be jealous of me?"
"Because one day, you'll be the Queen of Holt, while he would never be more than the Duke of Genese. Perhaps he wanted to be king."
"He did want to be king," King Linus said, appearing in the open doorway. He had changed clothes, into black riding boots, black cotton breeches, a white cotton shirt, and a black velvet waistcoat. "He used to remind me that the only reason I was king was because I had the good fortune to be born first."
"I'm sorry you lost your brother," I said. "And that I had to be the one that took him from you."
"I lost my brother a long time ago. The day my daughter was born. The day he realized that he would never be king. It's kind of fitting that it was a woman that ended his life."
"Did you know he was a member of the KRB?"
"I suspected. I didn't know for sure."
"What's the KRB?" Vanessa asked.
The king didn't seem to know how to answer that, so I knelt down and looked Vanessa in the eyes. "It's a group of men that doesn't like women."
"By women, you mean princesses?"
"Yes, but you don't have to worry about them, because I intend to get rid of each and every one of them."
The princess did something unexpected. She hugged me. When she finished, King Linus placed his hand on his daughter's shoulder and steered her toward the door.
"Why don't you head down to dinner, I need to talk to Princess Lila." King Linus waited until his daughter was out of the room, then turned back to me. "You were very brave, coming here after what happened back in Genese."
"Not really. If you were you planning on killing me, I'd know about it."
"Because you're a seer."
"Yes."
"You certainly are going to turn things upside down in this part of the world. Half the royals are going to want to kill you, the other half are going to want to marry you."
"Is the KRB that large?"
"In truth, I have no idea how many people are in the KRB. I didn't even know my brother was a member."
"But you suspected."
"I suspected."
"Since you're not one of those that wants to kill me, can I assume you're in the half that wants to marry me?"
"I think my marrying days are behind me." King Linus grinned, a wolfish grin if I ever saw one. "However, I wouldn't mind bedding you."
"Are all the kings in this part of the world as blunt as you?" If he expected me to blush, then he was going to be disappointed.
"One of the advantages of being a king is that you can be as blunt as you want."
"How would Queen Catlett feel about the two of us sleeping together?"
"I think she'd prefer you sleep with an ally instead of an enemy. In fact, I was thinking that you and I could get together later, after dinner."
I had a vision right then. I saw myself naked and tied spread eagle to a large four post bed. Silk scarves bound me to the bed, another silk scarf gagged my mouth. Silk pillows beneath my hips raised my bottom high in the air. King Linus stood over me holding a riding crop.
"As an ally of Queen Catlett, I can't kill you," he said. "However, I can make sure that you remember there is a price to pay for killing my brother."
With that said, he brought the riding crop down on my bare bottom, over and over and over. I fought my bonds but the silk scarfs held fast. Likewise, the silk scarf in my mouth muffled my screams. When he began to draw blood the vision faded. I found myself back in my suite. King Linus was standing in front of me, looking puzzled.
"Princess are you all right?"
When I saw the king standing in front of me, my first reaction was to retreat a couple of steps. I suppressed that reaction and forced myself to hold my ground. Yes, King Linus loved his daughter. Yes, he understood that his brother resented his daughter. That didn't stop him from loving his brother. It certainly didn't stop him from resenting me for taking his brother's life.
"I'm fine," I said. "A little hungry perhaps. A little tired definitely. After dinner, I think I'm going to turn in. Perhaps you and I can get together tomorrow night, after I've had a chance to rest."
The king bowed. "As you wish."
I had no intention of being here tomorrow night. I didn't want to spend a lot of time in the castle of a man that wanted to punish me for killing his brother. First thing tomorrow morning, I intended to continue my journey to Vassa. I'd have Edgerton make up some excuse about needing to get back to Vassa as quickly as possible.