“I could tell.” She smiled. “Nevertheless, it is now official. You no longer have to prostrate yourself to me. Not that you ever did, but a bow is all that is required of you.”
He sampled the suckling pig and steamed vegetables in a spicy sauce. “And these lands that are now mine, when may I see them?”
“For now, you are required here. When I can spare you, you may travel to inspect them. They are administered efficiently, at the moment.”
“What do you need me for, My Queen?”
Minna cast him a quelling look, and Kerrion commented, “You obviously have no knowledge of protocol, Lord Conash. It is not polite to question the Queen.”
“What would you know of queens, Kerrion, since you have none in Cotti lands?” Blade shot back.
“I treat them the same as kings, of which you have no experience, either.”
“I would not say that. I know that they bleed like any other man, and their blood is red. They die just like commoners, too.”
Minna frowned at Blade. “This is not a subject I wish to hear of, Lord Conash, and both of you will stop sparring this instant.”
Blade smiled and turned his attention to his meal, ignoring Kerrion’s furious glare. The Prince did not speak to him for the rest of the meal, and Minna-Satu divided her attention between them. When at last the feast ended, Blade had imbibed a great deal of excellent wine, and felt quite expansive. He had not been so drunk, he reflected, for several years. To do so was dangerous. It slowed his reflexes and interfered with his reasoning. This night, however, at the Queen’s side, he was confident of his safety.
The assassin’s wariness of becoming inebriated had never stopped him drinking; that had always been one of his few pleasures. Usually he only allowed himself to reach the point of being comfortably numb, when many things became amusing, and he could laugh. This night he had not laughed, but quickly passed to the point where he could no longer think clearly, whereupon the manservant helped him to his rooms. Blade flopped down on the bed and fell asleep as the servant removed his boots. A short while later, he snapped awake, his heightened senses warning him of a presence in the room. Minna sat on the edge of the bed, regarding him with deep concern.
He relaxed. “You should not be here, My Queen.”
“Why, pray tell?”
“It is not seemly for you to be in a man’s bed chamber.”
Minna smiled. “With you I am safe.”
“Still, rumours may grow from this. It is not right.”
“What will they say? Most know of your... misfortune, although I have only told Chiana. She was too innocent to see it. I think she was greatly disappointed.”
He rubbed his eyes, trying to see her more clearly. She wore a simple robe of vivid green, her hair loose about her shoulders. “Do you often frequent the bedrooms of your lords?”
“Blade!”
“I did not mean….” He groaned. “I am drunk. What are you doing here?”
“I was concerned. You drank far too much tonight.”
“Indeed I did, and now you torture me. I must sleep.”
Minna smiled again. “And so you shall, when I leave.”
Blade tried to sit up, but his right arm had gone numb. He rubbed it, grimacing as it tingled with returning blood. “Well, I am still alive, My Queen. You need not concern yourself.”
“But I am concerned. You abuse yourself. You are consumed by a great sadness and hatred. I saw it the moment I met you. What is it that makes you so sad?”
“I would have thought that was obvious.”
“There is more to life than the pleasures of the flesh.”
He tried to unlace his tunic, which pinched him, but the laces kept slipping from his fingers. “I have been denied more than that. I will never have a family, or be anything more than a paid killer with a fancy title.” He gave up trying to undo the laces and clasped his brow. “Why am I telling you this?”
“Because you are drunk. But now that you are a lord, you can make a good marriage. Many women would be honoured to wed you.”
“I do not need some trollop who will sleep with every man in the city and present me with a troop of bastards to feed and clothe.”
She shook her head. “A woman of good breeding would not do that.”
“Nor would she be happy. Why are you so concerned about me?”
The Queen rose and wandered around the room, multiplying in Blade’s blurred vision until he closed his eyes to block it out.
“You are a good man,” she said. “I knew it the moment I met you, and so did Shista. I shall need you at my side in the future, and I do not want you to drink yourself into an early grave, no matter how deep your sadness and hatred.”
He opened his eyes and smiled. “You are wrong, My Queen. I am not good. I am a cold, unfeeling bastard, and a remorseless killer. I care for no one, not even myself, and I do not care if I drink myself to death. If there was a price on your head, I may even kill you, but now you have made me so rich I do not think you need worry about that.”
She swung to face him with a frown. “You are lying. Why do you want everyone to hate you? Already you have made Kerrion dislike you, and that was deliberate, I will wager.”
“A fair bet. But Kerrion is an idiot.”
“No, he is not. He is a good man led astray, but he can be redeemed.”
“He is Cotti,” Blade said.
“Yes, I forgot. For that, you can never forgive him.”
“Why should I?”
“He did not do this to you, nor would he.” She reclaimed her seat beside him. “You have been mightily wronged, and you are bitter. But I shall need you at my side.”
“As a killer.”
Minna inclined her head. “Probably. If this war is to be ended, I shall make many enemies, and I need someone like you, someone I can trust, who cannot be bought or seduced.”
Blade made another attempt to undo the laces. “I thought I was to retire.”
“I am asking for your help.”
He slumped, closing his eyes again. “You have it. Now may I go to sleep?”
“Not yet. You said something to Kerrion tonight, for he has become more amenable since your conversation. What did you tell him?”
He chuckled. “The dolt. I told him that if he did not agree to your plans, you would give him to me, and then I would threaten his brother into a treaty.”
“Excellent. He believes you.”
“He is a fool, then.”
“Maybe not. With you, I have death at my side, and no one is beyond your reach.”
He sighed and rolled onto his side, facing away from her. “I am just a man who knows how to stick a dagger into people and get away with it. One who is very drunk, and probably will not remember any of this conversation tomorrow.”
Minna grasped his shoulder and rolled him onto his back. Her deft fingers undid the laces that had foiled him, while Blade watched her with narrowed eyes.
“What will your spies think, My Queen?”
“Jashimari queens were once tended by eunuchs as well as maidens. They will think nothing. Nor is there any shame in it.”
Blade smiled and closed his eyes.
Minna studied his peaceful face and the sweet smile that held such innocence. It could warm the heart of its beholder even as he slid two hand-spans of cold steel into it. It was perhaps a greater weapon than his daggers, more deadly than steel, with its ability to melt even the strongest resolve. Already she knew its power, yet she had never seen any joy in it. She shivered and left him to sleep, returning to her room, where Shista waited.
Chapter Nine
The following day, Blade paid the penalty for his indulgence, and stayed abed until noon nursing a pounding head and a sour, rumbling gut.
When he was well enough to seek an audience with the Queen, the liveried flunky who stood at the doors informed him that Minna was entertaining Kerrion again, and had been doing so for most of the day. Blade waited while the servant conveyed his request to Minna-
Satu, and it was soon granted. A scowling Kerrion emerged and stalked away down the corridor, two guards accompanying him. Clearly he had been sent away when the flunky had announced that Lord Conash wished to see the Queen, and was none too pleased. The servant bowed to Blade and motioned for him to enter, holding open the doors.
Blade accorded Minna-Satu a swift bow and sat on a cushion in front of her, trying to rub away his frown. A dull ache persisted behind his eyes, and his stomach still gave the occasional rumble. Minna folded her hands and waited for him to speak, her head tilted.
He came straight to the point. “I remember little of what we discussed last night, but what I do disturbs me. It seems you wish me to be some sort of protector. I am an assassin, not a bodyguard.”
“I have a bodyguard.” She glanced at the slumbering sand cat. “I need you to take death to my enemies, not protect me from them.”
“So who do you want me to kill?”
“No one, at present; but I fear that there will be, in the future.”
“I have done as you asked and had my reward. There are other assassins.”
“But none as good as you. I will use them if you wish, but they will fail me.”
He gazed out of the window, then turned back to her. “You have an army to do your bidding. Surely they can kill your enemies?”
“Not when my enemies are amongst my people. To send soldiers would start a revolt. People would cry repression and injustice. An assassin can kill without causing an outcry.”
“Why would your people turn against you?” he enquired.
“Some will not like what I plan.”
“I may be one of them.”
The Queen appeared surprised. “Why would you wish the war to continue, Lord Conash?”
“Why would I want it to end? Or, more to the point, how do you plan to end it?”
Minna gazed at him as if trying to penetrate his guarded expression and read the thoughts hidden behind his eyes. She made a vague, helpless gesture, a slight frown tugging at her brows. “You make this extremely difficult. Will you not trust me?”
“No. I trust no one, least of all those in high office.”
“Last night you promised to help me.”
“Last night I was drunk. Set no store in anything I say in that state, My Queen, you will be sadly disappointed. You appointed me an advisor; does that not mean you will ask my opinion? You ask for my help, but is it only in the capacity of killing that you need it? You spoke of wishing to be my friend and confidant. Is now not the time to confide in me? You claim to trust me above all others, although I have given you no assurance that you may. Perhaps now is the time to put your intuition to the test, rather than later.”
Minna-Satu studied him for several moments before she nodded. “You have the right of it. I cannot allow my promises to you to be empty when I shall need you so much on my side. I will not confide the details. I need no advice in that regard. My course is set upon the prediction of the Idol of the Beasts, and cannot be at fault.” Her expression became sorrowful.
“I know that no treaty can be reached with Prince Kerrion. Even if he agreed to all of my terms, his people would never accept them, and he would probably be killed or deposed when he returned home. Kerrion has not the power to end the war, any more than I. But he is a tool I will use to achieve an end that will bring about peace. The Cotti and the Jashimari will be forced to accept peace, but there will be great turmoil before this happens. I have established that Kerrion suits my purpose. Had he not, he would have faced the gallows. As it is, he must live to return to his people, or my plan will fail.”
“And what great sacrifice must you make to this end, My Queen?”
Her stiff smile was clearly forced. “You are too perceptive. Yes, I must make a sacrifice, but that is my choice. Will you help me?”
He frowned at the floor, aware that she held her breath while she waited for his answer. “All my life, I have had no purpose. I earned enough to feed and clothe myself, buy drink and gamble. Now that I no longer need to work, my life has even less purpose. My future is a bleak and empty one, unless I agree to help you in your endeavour. Therefore, I will do as you wish.”
Minna inclined her head. “Thank you.”
Blade nodded, shifting, and was relieved when she sensed his wish to be elsewhere.
“If there is nothing further you wish to discuss, you may go.”
He rose and bowed. “My Queen.”
“My Lord.”
When the doors closed behind him, Minna slumped, not realising until then how tense she had been, how nervous that he would not accept. His agreement lifted a tremendous burden from her shoulders, and the future seemed less uncertain.
The following day, she met with Kerrion once more, and sat down to a luncheon of roast fowl and vegetables bathed in sauces. The Prince ate heartily and sampled the excellent wines with obvious pleasure, remarking that they were finer than his. He seemed to have accepted his situation, and the fierce, angry look had faded from his eyes, replaced by a disgruntled one. From time to time, his eyes would drift to the window, and he would gaze out at the sky like an eagle longing for freedom. Minna could not shake the impression that she had trapped a man with a wild heart, whose element was the wide open spaces and drifting golden sand.
Kerrion longed for the sun’s warmth on his skin and the wind in his hair, just as Blade preferred stalking the night’s shadows. Never had she met two men so completely opposite. One of cold nights, the other of warm days, and yet she could not say which one she preferred. Kerrion drank only a little wine and ate heartily; Blade picked at his food and consumed far too much alcohol, a foil for the Prince’s sunny nature with his bitterness. She was glad there was no need to choose between them, for she doubted that she could.
Kerrion looked up and opened a new subject, as if reading her thoughts. “Your assassin, Blade. He is not a man to be trusted.”
“What makes you say that?”
“He cares for nothing and no one. Such a man is not to be relied upon.”
“He told you this?”
“He did. We had a few interesting conversations on the journey here, although it was like pulling teeth to make him talk.”
Minna smiled. “But you acquired the knack, I daresay?”
“I did. He would dearly have liked to kill me for it, but I was able to goad him into divulging his true nature.”
“And you maintain that he is not to be trusted?”
“No indeed. He is a cold, unfeeling man. He told me this himself, and boasted that no one is safe from him, should that person find a price on his or her head.” He shot her a meaningful glance.
Minna laughed, helping herself to more vegetables. “You think he is a danger to me? His nature is no secret. He told me of it himself. And yes, he even said that he would kill me if he was paid. But I will have you know that he was lying to both of us.”
“How can you be so certain? He has no reason to care for you.”
“I am his queen, and he is Jashimari, born and bred. He hates the Cotti with a depth I have never encountered before, but he would not harm me. I trust him with my life, and he knows it. Perhaps my trust in him can earn his trustworthiness.”
The Prince shook his head and took a sip of wine. “I would not rely on that. Malice has drowned his finer emotions. I fear that no one can reach him now. Look into his eyes and tell me that you see anything other than two pits of ice, and I will call you a liar.”
“I will not argue his nature. I am touched by your concern, but I fear that time will prove you wrong. Blade is not a murderer, only an assassin. There is a difference.”
“Indeed, he told me that killing brings him no pleasure. Nothing does, but he also has no pity. A man like that is dangerous.” Kerrion pushed aside his empty plate, his expression despondent. “I must own that his mutilation was the heinous deed of Cotti soldiers, performed upon him when he was just a boy. I abhor it, and will put an end to the enslavement and torture
of captured Jashimari children, if I am allowed to return to my people.”
Minna digested this for several moments, hiding her horror. “I had not been told of these crimes against children. Did Blade admit this to you?”
“Yes, he was enslaved, and lived with my soldiers for four years. It shames me deeply.”
“I had guessed that the Cotti were responsible. It explains his hatred of them. But I had thought him an isolated case, now you tell me that there are many?”
“Aye,” the Prince admitted, “too many.”
“This is yet another reason to stop the war. Such atrocities cannot be allowed to continue.”
“I agree, but we both know that to stop the war is impossible. The moment I sign a treaty, Lerton will denounce me as a traitor and my life will be worthless, my crown his.”
She nodded, lowering her eyes. “I am aware of this. I have another proposition to make, however, one that will solve those problems.”
“What is that?”
She took a deep breath, her cheeks warming. “If we are ever to achieve peace between our lands, we must establish blood ties between our thrones. If you were to become my consort, our daughter would bridge the gulf between our peoples. Our families would be forever linked, so even her descendants and the future kings of the Cotti would be related by blood. Nothing is stronger than that, and we can stipulate that your heir must take a Jashimari bride from a powerful noble family, thereby strengthening the ties.”
Kerrion stared at her, stunned, then rose and walked over to the windows to gaze out at the sun-drenched garden. Shista raised her head to watch him, then flopped back with a sigh.
He faced Minna again. “So, this is your plan. It is impossible. Your people would never accept my daughter as their queen. They would despise her; call her a half-breed and a mongrel.”
“Allow me to know my people a little better than you, Prince. Yes, they would be angry at first, but my daughter will inherit, so it is laid down in the law. Also, I may choose my consort, and nowhere does it state that he must be Jashimari.”
Prince Kerrion shook his head. “My people will not accept it. Nor will I. Cotti kings marry. They have wives to bear their sons. I could never be a consort.”
“Will you have your pride stand in the way of peace? You will have your wives and sons when you return to your land. To be the Queen’s consort is the greatest honour amongst Jashimari.”