Kammani made room for Iltani at the table. “We are almost finished healing Kuwari. As important as it is to reunite Ditanu with his family as quickly as possible, I decided it was best not to take an injured cub to Ditanu in his present state. He is already unbalanced. Seeing his cub in pain would only trigger even more overprotective parental instincts. Ditanu has already carved up enough of his Shadows.”
“Does Ditanu have other injuries?” Life-threatening ones? She couldn’t ask it aloud.
“A few minor wounds. The greatest threat is grief and stress to his body.”
“I had dreams while I was traveling here,” Iltani frowned. “Ishtar somehow linked our souls and I could see through your eyes. I saw Ditanu kill that guardsman—the one who claimed to have seen me die along with Kuwari.”
“Then you know a bit of what has happened.” Kammani scooped up Kuwari and then gave him to Iltani. “I would prefer to keep Kuwari here, but I don’t know if Ditanu will be reasonable enough to follow you back to these chambers without the cub to lure him along.”
“He might,” Iltani said guardedly as she pressed a hand to the slight curve of her belly. “There’s something else you likely don’t know. How closely did you check me over?”
She had Kammani’s attention now, the priestess looking her over with a sharp attention. Her eyes narrowed slightly and then widened when she noticed the protective hand Iltani had over her belly. “What?”
“Consort Ahassunu had taken a terrible wound to her stomach. The unborn cubs were in distress, her body already starting to abort them. Ishtar reached out and took them from the consort and put them here.” Iltani touched the unmarked skin of her stomach, still in shock from the event. “That’s why I was unconscious when you found me in the boat. My body needed time to adjust.”
It seemed more dream than reality. Yet it was real. The blood link allowed her to sense the tiny sparks of life within her. They were strong and stable. Would those tiny unborn cubs help to ground Ditanu and convince him to surrender his rage and grief for a time?
“Ishtar be blessed,” Kammani mumbled as she reached out and laid a hand over Iltani’s stomach. “We could use some more good news.”
A commotion at the door had the Shadows in the room jerking to attention and Iltani only then realized they had been edging closer to her. Curiosity? The need to protect? Iltani didn’t know but didn’t care either.
A young priestess was admitted into the room and she made straight for Kammani and then spotted Iltani. She froze, dropped into a deep bow at Iltani’s feet and then glanced between the two older women nervously.
“What have you to report?” Kammani asked the young novice.
The girl’s throat worked, but she found her voice. “The council moved forward with Beletum’s plan as you expected they would. She slipped something in Ditanu’s water before the Shadows could stop her. The council members said it was an herbal brew to increase the chances Ditanu would become fertile.”
“When did this happen?” Kammani snapped.
“More than an hour ago. Councilor Ziyatum had guards outside the area. They wouldn’t let me go. They kept me prisoner for an hour. Then I heard screaming. I don’t know what was happening inside, but I think King Ditanu may have attacked Beletum as she entered the cage, and then I heard the councilors all shouting, and Shadows drawing weapons. When Ziyatum’s guards were distracted, I escaped.”
Iltani’s heart started to pound, pumping adrenaline and rising magic throughout her body as it prepared for battle. She had already stayed here longer than she could stand with Ditanu in distress. She took Kuwari in her arms and she bolted out of the room at a run, leaving the others scrambling to follow. The Shadows were upon her in moments, the majority surrounding her in a wall of bodies while others moved ahead to clear the halls.
While Iltani could take care of herself, she didn’t mind them clearing the way.
Kammani squeezed between the Shadows and hoisted a heavy sword harness at Iltani and then the sword itself. “You may not need it, but better to have it.”
Iltani blinked at the crystal-bladed sword in her hands, a touch surprised she’d forgotten it.
“I would prefer our enemies not know you are Ishtar’s Blade just yet,” Kammani said as she hustled a cloak around her shoulders while Iltani fought with the harness’s buckle one-handed. She wasn’t used to carrying a cub and she suddenly had greater respect for mothers everywhere.
Iltani won the fight with the harness and glanced sideways at Kammani. “The element of surprise might allow us to catch our enemies off guard.” She grinned wickedly. “Besides, revealing myself might be far more opportune later.”
A relatively short time later, Iltani was striding down the corridor that led to the practice ring. The main door, a massive construction of metal and oak wide enough to allow horses and chariots to pass through unhindered, was gaping open.
As she approached, there was movement at the entrance and a body came hurtling out to land in a heap on the floor. Iltani slowed her step, took one look at the fallen soldier, and noted he was still alive and mostly unharmed and that he was not a Shadow.
The Shadows surrounding her moved around the guard and on into the room. She cut around as well, but the priestess just stepped over him, her robes slapped at him as she moved.
Kammani raised an eyebrow at Iltani’s look. “He’s a fool fighting on the wrong side. He deserves far worse.”
Iltani didn’t bother with a reply. Instead, she pulled the cloak’s cowl over her head and made certain Kuwari was hidden within the heavy folds. That done, she entered the practice ring to find the chaos she’d expected.
The Shadows with her spread out, quickly joining their brothers and sisters to help subdue the guards belonging to the house of Beletum. Once they made quick work of that, they shoved aside councilors and guards alike with equal disregard and cleared a path for High Priestess Kammani and Iltani.
As Iltani walked further into the sand ring, her eyes riveted upon a golden dome-like cage that took up the far end of the ring. Through the gold-tinted hazy walls, she could just make out the form of a gryphon pacing.
The closer she got, the easier it was to see inside the cage.
Ditanu was indeed in gryphon form. Iltani’s eyes narrowed. Beletum was in gryphon form as well—although her formidable gryphon body had not been enough to protect her. She had collapsed on her side, panting, one shoulder and foreleg covered in blood where Ditanu had mauled her. Beletum’s father stood over her protectively, a drawn sword in his hands.
He’d taken a nasty wound in his right leg, blood staining his robe and running down his leg to soak into the sand. Ditanu continued to pace and snarl at them. Iltani wished she knew whether Ditanu’s drug addled mind had decided he wanted to mate the female after all, or if he simply wished to finish off his prey. It might be petty of her, but Iltani hoped his snarls meant he wished to kill, not breed.
One of the Shadows who had been with the king’s contingent of bodyguards, stepped forward and reported to Uselli. “King Ditanu attacked Beletum. Her father must have expected it, for as soon as it happened, his guards converged upon us and the distraction allowed her father to enter the cage before we could stop him. When we tried to pursue him, the dome locked itself down, preventing anyone else from entering. I believe Ziyatum sabotaged it to stop us from protecting Ditanu.”
Iltani stepped up to the cage and reached out to trail her fingers along the golden dome. The power felt warm and familiar. Ishtar’s power.
No. Ziyatum hadn’t sabotaged the cage. Ishtar had. Iltani felt her goddess’s presence. The Queen of the Night trusted her chosen king was capable of defeating both Beletum and her father.
Iltani frowned. Be that as it may, having Ditanu kill members of his council, even if their own stupidity was the cause, wasn’t a good idea. Ditanu was wild enough, more so than she liked to see. Reasoning with him wasn’t going to be easy as it was—she didn’t need him descending far
ther into blood lust. Or any kind of lust for that matter. She eyed the big gryphon as he paced the confines of his cage.
Just what had that fool Beletum given him? And what was Iltani, herself, willing to do?
Kammani leaned closer and whispered in Iltani’s ear. “He won’t hurt you.”
“I know.”
“Good. Now go save Ditanu from killing those fools.”
With a nod, Iltani paced halfway around the golden cage’s perimeter and arrived at the ‘door’. Two Shadows were flanking it, keeping the councilors and Beletum’s guards at bay. When the Shadows acknowledged her presence with raised swords, she tilted her head back so they could see who was under the cloak.
Still, she kept Kuwari hidden from view. The cub had suffered enough traumas this day; he didn’t need to see more adults waving swords at him. Kuwari made no sound, clinging to her body where she held him braced against one hip. She could feel his soft furry paws shifting against her skin from time to time, but his beak never so much as poked out of the robe to see what was going on. She doubted if the cub had any interest in anything except his father. Every few breaths, he’d draw in a deeper lungful, likely scenting for his father.
Iltani doubted he could detect anything through the shimmering of the cage’s golden walls. Neither scents nor sounds filtered through that she noted. Her fingers trailed along its warm surface.
At least, she hoped that was why Ditanu still hadn’t taken note of either her or the cub. If he was too far gone to recognize Kuwari, than Iltani didn’t know what she’d do.
“Clear the room,” Iltani whispered to Uselli.
He repeated her order with a sharp authority. The councilors took up a righteous shouting and refused to leave. The Shadows started removing them bodily. Iltani touched the archway spell and the energy parted to allow her passage.
Her sudden arrival in the dome caught Ditanu’s attention and he whirled towards the door, his beak gaping and his paw raised to strike. Every line in his body said he was going to charge at her, but that’s not what caused her spike of fear.
Recognizing her mistake in the time between heartbeats, she reached out with a small trickle of Ishtar’s magic. It wasn’t enough to harm the tiny sparks of life in her womb, but it was enough to reshape one wall of the golden cage. The old councilor continued to rush at the king, his sword raised to kill, but the wall of magic got there first and Ziyatum’s strike bounced off it harmlessly.
Ditanu twisted around to glare at Beletum and Ziyatum, his tail twitching angrily, but after a moment, he turned back to Iltani with a snarl.
She parted her cloak, revealing her mostly naked body with Kuwari clinging to her side.
His tufted ears rotated forward, no longer pinned to the side of his head. He dragged in a deep breath, releasing it in a huffing sound, the wordless question clear in the tone.
“Yes, it’s Kuwari. He’s real and alive.”
After a full-bodied shake, Ditanu paced forward, stalking her.
Still holding one arm out away from her body while the other braced Kuwari in place, she wasn’t prepared for the tackle Ditanu aimed at her. She didn’t tumble to the floor. Instead, his weight slammed her against the cage wall. Her right shoulder made contact first, followed by that hip and then the rest of her body as two great paws planted against her shoulders pinned her against the shield. The magic at her back had some give to it, so it wasn’t as painful as it could have been, but several older bruises made themselves known.
While she was still fighting for breath, Ditanu shoved her robe aside to get to Kuwari. He purred, rubbing his face against Kuwari. The cub answered, his softer calls a soothing counterpoint.
Ditanu recognized his cub. Iltani’s throat tightened and tears flooded her eyes.
He made more of his coughing calls and started poking around under the robe. As quickly as the joy came, it plummeted again. Iltani’s heart sank. He was looking for his other cubs. Perhaps he didn’t remember they had died?
“My king, I’m sorry,” she said, a hesitation in her voice. Would telling him about his unborn litter sooth some of the ache in his heart, or make it worse? She didn’t know. However, the decision was taken from her when he suddenly stopped and shoved his beak against her abdomen and rubbed back and forth, pausing only long enough to press his nares against her skin, scenting a second time. His purring started up again, twice as intense as before.
The deep tone vibrated along her breastbone and unable to stop herself, she reached out with the hand not supporting Kuwari and caressed Ditanu’s wild mane. She worked her fingers into the feathers on his head and then on down to where they merged into the thick rough of fur around his neck. His tufted ears twitched and he pressed his cheek against her bare shoulder, rumbling another wordless question.
“Yes, they are yours. Yours and Ahassunu’s.” How I wish they were ours. Iltani’s throat closed tight, feeling dry as a sun-scorched rock, but she kept up the gentle caress of her fingers in his rough. He seemed to enjoy it and it kept him calm.
Calm was good. Calm was exactly what she wanted.
Why couldn’t she feel half as mellow? Instead, she was a chaotic mix of guilt, happiness, love, and…yes…that heat curling through her body, which had been simmering ever since Ishtar had inhabited her body during the blooding ceremony on the temple roof, was surely desire.
Ditanu half curled around her, his lion’s tail curving along her back.
Wrapping her one arm around his head, she buried her face in his soft feathers and started crying.
“Please my king, you must come with me now. Kuwari and your unborn cubs need you to be strong. Come with me and I’ll look after you.” She rubbed her face against his feathers and hoped her king would return to himself.
He recognized Kuwari, but he didn’t communicate and that worried her.
Still, he followed her to the edge of the cage and when she drew her cloak around herself again, hiding Kuwari from the view of those outside the cage, he paced her calmly enough.
It was all going well until they were outside the cage, and his Shadows slowly encircled him, putting themselves between him and any who might mean him harm. Ditanu snarled then, lashing out at one of his Shadows, knocking the hapless guard to the ground. Heart pounding, Iltani waited for the killing blow. It didn’t come. Instead, Ditanu merely shoved Iltani farther away from the other males around them.
“Every male step back,” the Priestess Kammani ordered. “He’s protecting her.”
The male Shadows eased back while the female ones came forward, filling in any gaps in their king’s protection. When Ditanu didn’t lash out at his female guards, she knew Priestess Kammani’s assumption was correct.
Iltani walked from the sand-covered practice ring, Ditanu’s Shadows trailing behind, clearly uncertain what to do to help their king. Iltani didn’t actually know what to do to bring her king back from whatever part of his mind he was hiding in. She only hoped Priestess Kammani, who was trailing them, knew enough to help.
Chapter Eighteen
Her heart in her throat, Iltani beckoned Ditanu to follow her and then turned and started down the hall. The big gryphon paced her as she made her way back to the king’s suites.
Priestess Kammani slid closer. Not so close as to gain a response from Ditanu, but near enough she could communicate to Iltani in a whisper. “Once you get back to his rooms and you need to show him he is still loved, that no matter how much pain he’s in, he’ll find joy again one day. Show him how to live for his cubs, if not his kingdom.”
How was she supposed to draw Ditanu out from wherever he’d fled within his own mind? Yes, he showed recognition toward Kuwari, so she had hope that link and the tiny sparks of life in her womb would be enough to stabilize Ditanu and sway him back over to the side of the living. But beyond that, what else was she supposed to do?
Ditanu’s own survival hadn’t been enough for his father.
When the old king had lost his mate and most of his
cubs, he’d snapped, attacking everyone and everything until his own body turned on itself. Never having witnessed it, she didn’t know if the old king had shown recognition of Ditanu after he’d descended into grief madness or not.
Her nagging doubts kept pace with her the entire length of the walk back to the king’s chambers.
Turning to look over at Kammani, she asked, “Do you think he’s passed the worst of it?”
“I do,” she answered calmly. “As long as you stay and shower him with love and keep Kuwari near, I think our king will recover. He’ll need careful watching, but I have hope.”
The heavy weight which had been threatening to crush her heart lifted. She would do anything Ditanu needed her to do, anything Ishtar asked, anything at all—raze mountain ranges, wage war until every beach turned red with blood, call storms the like the world had never seen to sink their enemies’ ships—she’d do anything to see Ditanu safe and well once more.
Please let Kammani be correct.
So far, he’d been docile with her even though he showed a more aggressive side toward others.
Ditanu paced in front of her again, forcing her to stop. He pressed closer to Iltani, trying to nuzzle under her cloak to touch his cub. Kuwari huffed softly at his father and Ditanu relaxed marginally.
Although distracted by his cub, his vigilance never lessened, not even once they were safe in his rooms.
Continuing on to his bedchamber, Iltani crawled onto his bed and then gestured for him to join her. He paced the room’s perimeter, seeking signs of enemies in the shadows and corners of the room. When he found nothing, he paced back toward her, huffing softly to catch her scent.
“Come, my king, join your cub.” Iltani patted the bed and deposited the cub in the center while she moved closer to the head board to give him more room. Kammani’s words still echoed in her head. Iltani just hoped rest, Kuwari’s love and her own was enough to heal his grievous emotional wounds.
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