The Golden Dynasty

Chapter Twenty-Seven Affairs of State

I was lounging on the mats and cushions with Sabine and Narinda watching the sun set over Korwahn. Ghost was lying on her belly on the mats by my feet, front legs stretched out before her, head up, blinking and sniffing the air.

From my vantage point, I could see the weakening rays of the sun striking deep pink, gold and vermillion through the sky, the last shimmers striking the gold on the statues of the Avenue of the Gods.

My eyes moved from the breathtaking view to slide across the roof where I saw my girls gathered around the table at the opposite corner. I saw the sun twinkling off the bangles at their wrists and their earrings.

Gaal was on her knees draping a bolt of fabric around a standing Quixa’s hips. Vibrant swathes of different colored cuts of fabric were strewn everywhere around the table, the bolts of fabric I bought my girls in the marketplace that day.

I had decided some weeks ago that a queen’s girls did not wander around in drab, threadbare sarongs and bandeaus but they wore jewelry, makeup and brightly colored, fashionable clothing. To their delight, they each had received four pieces of fabric since the first one I bought so many weeks ago and a new piece today as well as their jewelry and pots of makeup for their own. They also had more than one candlestick by their bed and each had mirrors in their rooms as well as small pieces of art and brightly colored quilts on their beds to break up the monotony of cream adobe in their quarters.

Movement caught my eye, I looked to the winding, black, wrought iron staircase that led to the roof and I saw Twinka was arriving.

Twinka disapproved of me outfitting my girls and made this very clear nonverbally, as she was doing now with a tight-lipped look in their direction.

I ignored it and so did my girls but I watched as she made her way to me.

She stopped two feet from our mats.

“Does my queen actually need a slave to do something?” she enquired.

We’d already had dinner and I looked down at the plate of carob drops, candied fruits, honeyed almonds, the jug of wine, the jug of mango juice and Sabine, Narinda and my silver chalices that were littering the mats, all of which my girls had brought to us before they’d settled with their fabric.

Then I looked up at Twinka and replied, “Me.”

Her lips got tighter and she inclined her head.

Then she turned and walked three feet away.

That was when I called, “Twinka?”

She sighed visibly, audibly and heavily and turned back then she lifted her brows.

“I bought three bolts of fabric for you today. Gaal will make you dresses,” I told her for she didn’t wear sarongs around her hips and bandeaus or halter tops to cover her breasts but a long, wrap of material she crossed under her neck and tied at the back.

She had one. It was always clean but also threadbare.

“Your kindness is extraordinary, my queen,” she lied about her opinion with obviousness, “but my clothing is fine.”

“I disagree,” I returned.

“The old Dahksahna gave me this fabric,” she informed me.

“Well, the new Dahksahna is giving you more,” I replied, she opened her mouth to retort but I got there before her. “Fine, if you want to wear that in the house, that’s your choice. You leave this house; you do it representing your Dax and Dahksahna and wear your new sarongs.”

She glared at me. Then she inclined her head. Then she turned and moved quickly off the roof.

My girls watched her and waited before they emitted their low giggles, doing so only after she was well out of sight.

I smiled down at the mats, picked up my chalice of juice and took a sip.

“You’re very hard on her,” Narinda muttered, I put my chalice down and looked at her in surprise.

“Sorry?” I asked and her eyes went from the top of the stairs to me.

“She is old and she is stubborn, set in her ways. She has the running of this house for months and lives alone, clearly liking it that way,” Narinda replied. “She is a slave and this is rightfully your home with your husband but you must understand the way she feels.”

I made no response for this was true.

Narinda carried on. “And my father taught me the best way to handle someone who is stubborn is to let them be stubborn and live with their decisions. If she wishes to wear shabby sarongs, then she denies herself kindness and beauty. That is her choice, Circe, and it is the wrong one but it won’t hurt you to allow her to live with it.”

I still made no reply for this was true too.

“You can’t force kindness, my lovely,” Narinda said softly.

And this was true too.

“All right, sweet Narinda,” I replied, “I’ll ask Gaal to make them and I’ll tell Twinka it’s her choice whether or not she wishes to wear them.”

Narinda smiled at me. I smiled back thinking it was good, having wise friends.

Then I said quietly, “Your father was very wise.”

She nodded and took a sip from her own chalice before her eyes drifted away and she said quietly back, “Indeed, he was.”

She was smiling her small, weird smile so I left her to her thoughts and looked back at the view. The pinks were disappearing, the gold was gone and stripes of vermillion and midnight blue slashed the sky as stars started to come out. I heard one of my girls moving around and, as the roof illuminated, I knew she was lighting the torches that were stuck in holders around the edge of the roof.

I felt my leg nudged, looked down at it and saw that Narinda had given me a light prod with her toe. I looked at her to see she wasn’t smiling small and weird but knowing and amused. Her eyes were on Sabine who I noticed belatedly had been completely silent for at least the last ten minutes.

I looked to my friend who was lounging across the top of the mats at Narinda and my heads to see she was gazing at the vista as well, her face soft, her lips tipped up, her eyes, though, were heated.

Someone was thinking good thoughts.

I pressed my lips together and bugged my eyes out at Narinda.

She smiled big, tipped her head back and called in Korwahk, “Sabine? My lovely, are you with us?”

Sabine started and her head jerked to us. “Sorry, so sorry, I was miles away,” she replied in Korwahk.

“No you weren’t, you were in bed with your savage brute,” I teased, watched her face flush then her eyes light then she scooted her cushions closer to us and asked, “Can I be forthright?”

This was familiar, and therefore was likely to get good, so Narinda and I closed into each other and Sabine as Narinda replied, “What you can do, my lovely, is not ask if you can be forthright every time you want to be forthright. I think you can take it as given you can be forthright.”

I stifled a giggle for this was true. Sabine always asked if she could be forthright before talking about what she got up to with Zahnin. And after breaking the seal on it the day I was attacked, she talked about this a lot. We never demurred so she had to know she could be forthright.

Sabine nodded then she leaned deeper into us and whispered, “Did you… did… erm, you know… did you know you can… do it on top?”

“On top?” Narinda asked mock innocently and I nudged her shin with my foot as I stifled a giggle.

Sabine’s eyes danced and her body gave a slight excited jump. “Oh yes, Narinda, on top. See, you know when… before, well, I told you how, after Zahnin got injured, I was hesitant to, you know… move things forward for before, erm… when we… um… when he… well, it seemed with all that grunting and groaning it took a lot of effort. I didn’t want him to aggravate his wound.”

“Yes, sweetheart, we know, you told us,” I muttered not able to hide the amusement in my voice.

Sabine nodded again and went on. “So, as I told you, I didn’t… erm… move things forward. But he, um… continued to use his hands in that way I like.”

“We know that too,” Narinda mumbled and we did, she’d told us, sometimes in some detail and it wasn’t only his hands but his mouth that he used in ways Sabine liked.

Sabine kept talking. “But, I was… well, something was, I don’t know. I liked it, you know, quite a bit. Erm… a lot, really. But… something was missing.”

I knew what was missing. Zahnin’s savage brute sword was missing.

Narinda and I kept quiet.

Sabine kept talking. “I didn’t know what but, it was good… I mean, beautiful but, I wanted more.”

“Yes?” Narinda prompted.

“But I didn’t know what,” Sabine repeated.

I pushed closer to tell her what she wanted but she continued before I could.

“So, I asked Zahnin.”

I blinked.

One could say that things were progressing… slowly… between Zahnin and Sabine. When he said he could be a patient teacher, he didn’t lie. He had been very solicitous with her and this included him doing things with his mouth and hands that she enjoyed very much but that he had to find very frustrating since she didn’t return the favor.

There was a poetic justice in this, I felt, for Zahnin had twice the amount of time giving and not receiving after he took and didn’t give. Not to mention his month of courting.

But I was beginning to feel sorry for Zahnin and that it might be time to intervene. At my request, the healer had long since visited his house to remove the stitches and even before that he was not wearing the bandages. The gash was still pink but it was mostly healed. But he was a warrior; he could survive a little somethin’ somethin’. But weeks had passed and he was giving, a lot, but he wasn’t getting anything.

And Sabine was still timid about it. I was shocked she asked him.

“You asked him?” I whispered, my voice filled with the shock I felt and she nodded again.

“Yes, we were, I was… erm, close. But I made him stop and told him what I felt and that I was worried I would hurt him and then… then… then...” her eyes got round and Narinda and I leaned in, “then he rolled to his back, picking me up as he did so and planting me astride him.” Her eyes drifted faraway and before I could lift my hand and snap in her face to regain her attention since she was definitely in hot sex la-la land her body jerked and she came back to us. “He said, that way, I could do all the work and he wouldn’t get hurt.”

He wasn’t wrong.

I stifled another laugh and Narinda nudged my leg with her toe again as I heard her swallow a snort.

“But…” Sabine went on, totally missing all this, “I didn’t… erm, do all the work. In the middle of it, he lifted up to sitting and used his arms and hands on me to make me go, um… faster and erm… you know, harder. So, I… you know… did.” Then she pressed her lips together before she burst out with, “After all he’d done before and how he felt inside me I couldn’t stop myself!”

I bet she couldn’t.

“Sabine –” I started but she cut me off.

“And it was fantastic… it was… it was amazing. And I think he liked it too.”

I was sure he did.

“Sabine –” I tried again but she kept talking.

“But, I don’t know… I’m worried. What if I hurt him? He seems strong and healthy but, I don’t want…”

I tried and succeeded in not bursting out laughing thinking of tiny, sweet Sabine hurting big, strong Zahnin and decided it was time to be heard.

“Sabine,” I called, reaching out to grab her hand. “Come back to the roof and out of your bedroom, my sweet friend.”

Her eyes focused on me.

I squeezed her hand. “He’s fine. Absolutely fine. Don’t worry about him. You’re taking care of him now in the way he needs. He’s been trained since five to know what his body can and cannot do. Let him decide what he can take and just… uh…” I grinned, “enjoy the ride.”

Her eyes got wide, her face got so red I could see it in the torchlight and then she giggled so when she did, I thought it was safe to giggle with her and Narinda joined in.

After another squeeze, I released her hand and she looked back over the rooftop which now showed a sky that was mostly midnight blue and twinkling stars with hazy streaks of pink.

“My warrior husband is gentle and patient,” she whispered to the night sky. “I never, ever would have thought…” she stopped and her eyes came back to us. “It started as a nightmare but now seems like the sweetest dream.” Her head tipped to the side and a small, confused smile played at her lips when she whispered, “How can that be?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart, but somehow these boys can pull it off,” I answered with feeling.

“They sure can,” Narinda agreed, we all looked at each other and then we all giggled again.

That was when I heard a low, warning growl come from deep in Ghost’s throat. I turned my head to her to see her head was turned to the top of the stairs. Then she gracefully gained her feet but in a watchful, guarded way that made me brace and I looked to the stairs.

Bohtan and Bain were ascending them. I started to smile but caught the looks on their faces, felt the vibe and heard Ghost growl again and I realized something was wrong.

I knew it definitely when Bain ordered my girls, “Prepare your queen to take her throne. Official business. Do it swiftly, we cannot delay.” His eyes came to me. “We await you at the front with Zephyr.”

He said no more before he turned and both warriors disappeared down the stairs.

What on earth?

“What’s happening, Circe?” Sabine asked in a hushed, worried voice as I watched all five of my girls scurry to me, leaving their fabric where it lay.

I didn’t know.

What I did know was that very soon I was going to find out.

And I was queen so I needed to get my ass in gear.

So I rose to my feet and whispered, “All is well, I’m certain, but I must hurry.”

And without a look back, I hurried.

* * * * *

“The beast remains here,” Bain ordered and I looked down at Ghost who was standing beside where I was mounted on Zephyr at the front of the house.

“I –” I started.

“Order it to the house,” Bain commanded, I started at his tone, one he’d never used on me. Then I nodded and looked down at Ghost.

“Ghost, go into the house, my baby.”

She growled in a scary way that I heard as “me” or “no” but she didn’t move.

“House, now, Ghost,” I demanded, she growled her denial again and still didn’t move.

“We have no time for this, brother,” Bohtan muttered.

“Very well,” Bain muttered back, jerked his chin at Bohtan then jerked his reins and his horse turned. He took point. I moved Zephyr behind him, Ghost prowling at my side. Bohtan fell in at the rear.

“Bain, can you –” I called.

“No talking, my golden queen,” he ordered and I bit my lip.

Something was wrong. Bain wasn’t like this. Not with me.

Shit.

I rode to the top plateau with my guards and my tigress in silence. I was wearing a gold sarong shot with white, a white halter top, gold bands at biceps and forearms, gold hoop earrings, gold dust on cheekbones and around my temples and my gold crown of feathers.

Definitely, as always, the Golden Queen.

As we rounded the top of the plateau, however, I sucked in a very unqueenly breath.

This was because I could see from afar, well beyond the plateau on the rise leading up to it from behind Korwahn, there was a wide sea of riders, so many there would be no way to count, thousands, maybe tens of thousands. It was now full on dark but I still saw them as they carried torches and not a small amount of fires had been lit on the ground. I couldn’t make them out but I knew they weren’t Korwahk for there were many flying pennants flowing in the light breeze that stirred the night air.

Korwahk warriors didn’t bother with pennants or, at least, I’d never seen any.

And on top of the vast plateau in the official clearing there was a throng of Korwahk warriors, maybe two hundred, none painted except those who were in my guard.

They were all standing at what could only be described as loose attention and they were all fully armed.

As we rode along the side of the plateau, I saw Lahn sitting on his throne on the platform carved in stone into the jutting lip of the plateau, a platform which had five deep steps up. The Eunuch was by his side, my white throne of horns on his other. And as we made it to the front, I sucked in another breath when I saw there was a grand chair located about a foot from the bottom step of the platform.

In it was a man wearing a steel breastplate of armor with a black and red dragon painted on it. There was a helmet of armor by his booted foot that had a shock of black and red feathers shooting out of the top. But he wore breeches and boots and, on his head, a crown pulled low, almost to his forehead, made of gold inset with diamonds and rubies.

He was graying and jowly with ruddy cheeks and mean, beady eyes. He had a very big gut which meant the breastplate had to be fashioned to contain it and it made him look ludicrous.

I did not laugh or even smile.

This was because his beady eyes were on me and they blazed.

Beside him, my heart lurched to see, stood Geoffrey, looking much thinner, much paler but much cleaner.

His eyes were on me too and they also blazed.

I was thinking whatever this was, something I already sensed was not good, was actually even worse.

Last, there were eight, tall, armed men wearing full armor lined behind the man with the crown’s chair.

Bohtan rode to my side and muttered, “You do not dismount. Swing your leg sidesaddle. Zahnin will deliver you to our king.”

I gave a slight incline of my head and did as instructed when we stopped before Lahn who did not watch us dismount, his gaze never shifted from the man seated before him.

As Bohtan told me, Zahnin came forward and pulled me from Zephyr. He escorted me, with Ghost prowling close at my side, to my throne and I vaguely realized all of his lieutenants had formed behind us as we walked.

Lahn didn’t look at me as I moved in front of him nor did he do so as I sat and my guards moved to flank the backs of our thrones, Zahnin standing beside mine or next to Ghost who had settled on her belly, her head up, her eyes on the man in the chair, her demeanor watchful.

“You do not bow to your king?” the man in the chair said and my eyes shot to him. “My Circe grows a big head.”

I blinked and realized several things at once. One, The Xacme was translating for Lahn which I thought was weird since Lahn was mostly fluent in English. Two, this man in front of me thought he knew me and I didn’t think that was good. And three, I knew as a dangerous vibe slithered through the air that Lahn did not take kindly to this man calling me his Circe.

When no one said anything, I ventured in English, “Do I know you, sir?”

I felt that vibe coming from Lahn shift but only to get sharper, more alert, no less dangerous.

At my words, the man in front of me returned my blink.

“Do you know me?” he asked.

“Yes, do I know you?” I asked back.

“I would hope so, my dove, since you’ve been warming my bed since you were fourteen years of age,” he replied and I couldn’t contain a sharp gasp nor could I hide the disgust in it.

Then I whispered, “What?”

His eyes narrowed. “Good question, sweet Circe, but the what I would wish to know is what do you expect to gain by playing this game?”

“Game?” I asked quietly, my mind reeling, trying to catch a thought.

“You know you are mine. You have been mine since you were six. You became really mine,” he leaned forward suggestively, “when you were fourteen.”

“That’s absurd,” I returned, not thinking and not including the words, “and sickening” because, seriously, fourteen? Not to mention, I’d never let this man touch me. He was old, for one, he was gross, for another.

His brows went up and he leaned back. “Absurd?”

“Absolutely. I’ve never seen you in my life,” I replied.

He glared at me. Geoffrey shifted at his side. I tried to stop myself from hyperventilating.

Then his eyes moved to Lahn. “I tire of this. You know why we are here.”

The Xacme translated (unnecessarily) and Lahn grunted, “Meena.”

“Yes,” The Xacme called.

“Then I will lay down our terms. You will see in front of you on your plain that with me, I brought thirty thousand Middlelandian soldiers. I do know, of course, that your savages will cut through them with all due haste. I also know, before they do, they will ride into Korwahn and likely not be careful who their swords slash through… women, wives, future warriors.”

I sucked in breath again at his heinous threat but he continued.

“Not to mention the warriors of yours they will take in the process, on the eve of your riding on Maroo. This is, I would suspect, not what you would wish just prior to you leading your campaign.”

I would suspect it too.

He kept speaking. “In payment for you seizing my enchantress, and to stop us from riding on Korwahn, I will accept four trunks of Korwahk gold, four of your silver, four of your diamonds, the same of your rubies, emeralds and sapphires and…” he paused and looked up at Geoffrey then back at Lahn, “another trunk of gold as payment for what you did to one of my most trusted ambassadors.”

My eyes flew to Geoffrey who was staring at me with unconcealed hate. Then he leaned forward and opened his mouth wide. I leaned back instantly for even in the light of the torches and fire pits, I saw he had no tongue.

Oh God. Lahn had had him captured and his tongue cut out for speaking to me the day of the selection.

No wonder he was so thin and pale.

Oh God.

I tore my eyes away from Geoffrey and looked back at the man with the crown.

Lahn didn’t reply.

So the man did. “You delay which is unfortunate. You must know I can easily signal my troops to ride. I’m sure your men have been alerted and are preparing their defense. I will countenance no delays.”

Lahn spoke then, in Korwahk, with The Eunuch translating. “You are on Korwahk land, King Baldur, be careful how you speak. You do not rule here.”

So this was King Baldur. Wow.

He was a jerk.

His chest puffed out. “And I’ll remind you, you are not the only king in attendance.”

“I am the only one that matters,” Lahn replied in Korwahk after The Eunuch translated and upon hearing it, King Baldur instantly lost it and slammed a fleshy fist into the arm of his chair.

“The gall!” King Baldur snapped. “You do not respect the crown I wear; you torture my emissary and steal my enchantress. You have no honor. I know you’re primitives but you cannot expect to behave like this in affairs of state without reprisal.”

“Threats of intimidation, preposterous demands and righteous bluster may be how you conduct business in the Northlands but you are no longer in the Northlands,” Lahn replied (again in Korwahk).

King Baldur shifted angrily in his chair before he cried, “This is outrageous! The woman who sits beside you belongs to me!”

I tensed but Lahn leaned forward, forearm to knee, not aggressively, just casually and returned, “My golden queen does not know you, how can she belong to you?”

“She lies!” King Baldur shouted with a hand pointed in my direction and Ghost growled, pushing up on her front paws to sitting, her blue eyes not leaving the king.

“A caution, fat man,” Lahn said in a low voice and King Baldur’s face went red with fury when the words were translated, “do not insult my queen.” He opened his mouth to retort but Lahn kept speaking. “This man at your side is no emissary. He is a spy. In the Southlands, these activities are dealt with harshly. He has been among us for many years. He knows our ways. His actions were foolish and his punishment swift. If he has run crying to you like a girl then he should not have boarded the ship that would cross the Marhac Sea that would bring him to the dust and stone of Korwahk.”

Okay, cutting someone’s tongue out was harsh but Lahn was not wrong. You know the rules, you play the game, you lose, you pay the price.

Still. Yikes!

“Your actions are barbaric, including you seizing women and forcing them to be slaves to your cocks, one of these women being mine and she sits by your side. If you wish to keep her at your side, I will have restitution!” King Baldur yelled.

“Do you threaten to steal my queen?” Lahn asked.

“You do not pay then you must be prepared for what happens, all that will happen, when my soldiers ride,” King Baldur shot back, the armored men at his back straightened attentively and Lahn sat back.

What he didn’t do was speak.

This silence lasted a long time and was clearly more than King Baldur could endure for his eyes flashed to me.

“Circe, come to your king this instant!” he ordered. “You serve me.”

“I’m telling you, sir, I do not know you,” I replied, he jumped out of his seat and the instant he did, Ghost gained all four of hers and started growling.

“Do not lie, you stupid bitch!” he boomed. “Come to your king!”

“Sit,” Lahn ordered in English and King Baldur’s gaze snapped to him with both anger and obvious surprise at his use of Baldur’s tongue.

“Do not, you stinking, savage animal, dare to command me!” King Baldur clipped.

“You sit or I’ll force you to sit by cutting your legs off at the knees,” Lahn told him in English again and I tensed because I knew he could do this and would. He was not armed but I suspected he could be, if he wanted, in less than a second.

“The insolence!” King Baldur shouted. “You cannot attack a king during a state visit!”

“You are in the Southlands, fat man, I can do what I wish. Now sit on your fat ass or your nation will lose its king. Your son, who is weak and prefers to have his cock stroked while he accepts his lover’s through his ass, will succeed your throne. Which means, since he is weak, his lover will rule your nation.”

King Baldur snapped his mouth shut, a telling sign that this was true. His eyes widening told the tale that he was surprised Lahn had this information.

“It is unfortunate,” Lahn went on, “as there are many men who prefer this, that your son is not the kind who is strong. But you know, fat man, that he isn’t and his lover is greedy, manipulative and foolish. If your son sits on your throne and allows his lover to pull his strings, your own people will revolt to reunite with their sisterland of Lunwyn or Fleuridia or even Hawkvale as well as Prince Noctorno will ride on Middleland to seek vengeance for your years of gluttonous follies and they will succeed. Middleland will cease to exist as they cut up pieces as their glory.”

King Baldur glared at him then proclaimed, “We are done. We will ride,” and he started to lift his hand but Lahn warned, “I would not do that.”

At Lahn’s low, rumbling, severe tone, King Baldur’s hand arrested in mid-air and he continued to glare at Lahn.

When he did, Lahn shared, “You know of our plans to ride on Maroo. You know when we plan to ride on Maroo. I would hope you are not foolish enough to think you and your soldiers have crossed my land without my knowledge so you also know I would prepare to ride against you to defend Korwahn.”

King Baldur said not a word so I guessed Lahn was right, he came through Korwahk fully knowing Lahn knew he was coming which was a bizarre thing to do.

Lahn went on. “What I know is, to have your tantrum and try your hand at taking our treasure, for, do not think, fat man, that I suspect for one moment you wish more to have your magical one back but instead you wish to return to your throne with trunks of our riches. Your play centers around increasing the wealth of your throne, not your nation. Your throne. So you think that, if I were to refuse your demands, while I am otherwise engaged in defending my city, you will unleash a plot to kidnap my queen. This means you would sacrifice thirty thousand of your soldiers to my warrior’s steel for a tantrum and for greed. Nevertheless, you undoubtedly have an escape plan so, as your warriors fall, you can safely return to your homeland and continue your tyranny at the same time demand ransom in return for my golden bride.”

He paused, King Baldur made no sound or move and Lahn continued.

“What you do not know is that we have allied with Keenhak. They have sent forty thousand of their warriors to aid in our campaign against Maroo. And as you blustered before me, feeling safe in the knowledge that your soldiers are lined behind you, Keenhak warriors took formation behind them. You lift that hand, I lift mine and your soldiers would be cut down before they took their first breath of Korwahn air and I, fat man, nor my brethren, would have to lift a blade except to cut down the metal men at your back.”

King Baldur’s hand stayed lifted, his lips started to curl and Lahn finished.

“And, you should know, your archers who took their positions an hour ago were dispatched before my queen reached Korwahn’s Majestic Rim. Not one of them lives.”

Geoffrey took a step back. King Baldur’s face paled and his hand dropped. I tried hard not to smile. Ghost sat down on her ass.

“Now,” Lahn went on, “you will leave with no trunks filled with Korwahk’s bounty in your greedy, fat hands. What you will leave with is your life and the knowledge that if you ever carry forth a plot that threatens my golden queen, you will die choking on your own balls and you’ll do it while staring in my eyes.”

King Baldur visibly swallowed. Geoffrey took another step back.

Lahn grew impatient. “I am savage so you must recognize I am being generous with this offer. Therefore you also must know your continued presence is making me impatient.”

Geoffrey shuffled back quickly, losing himself in the sea of Korwahk warriors behind him.

King Baldur gave Lahn one last, long glare then shifted his substantial bulk around and barked at the men behind him. “Bring me my mount!”

And I sat silent beside a silent Lahn as his mount was brought to him and we watched as it took two tries for him to heft his substantial weight in the saddle while his armored soldiers deftly mounted their own steeds and then, with some haste, they were away.

When I lost sight of them, I turned to Lahn to see his head tipped back and his eyes were on Zahnin.

“Take her to our rooms. Lock her in. She is attended by no slave and no wife and keep the animal from her. Do it now,” Lahn ordered, stood and stalked down the steps while I blinked after him.

“Come, my golden queen, now,” Zahnin demanded firmly and slowly, dazedly, my head turned to him.

His arm was extended to me.

I looked back where Lahn had disappeared and I felt my chest rise and fall with my rapid, deep breaths.

Whatever was wrong wasn’t over. And I had the distinct feeling, even as bad as that was, the worst was yet to come.

So I stood without the aid of Zahnin, straightened my shoulders, kept my head held high and I walked to Zephyr.