Prince of Spies

by Bianca D'Arc

  Drake escorted them to his reserved table near the fire and turned to the crowd, quickly introducing his cousins from the Jinn and launching into a song before anyone could ask questions about them. He was good. He was actually damn good, Riki quickly realized. On par with or better than many of the famous bards who had entertained Lucan in the palace.

  She recognized some of the tunes he played and found herself tapping her toes and humming along. Riki had always loved music of almost any kind and had hidden her enjoyment carefully from Lucan. He often had musicians play for him in his chambers, though it was more for effect than any true enjoyment, Riki secretly thought. Lucan was always too busy eating and plying his many lovers to bother listening to the music he demanded be played in the background. Only Riki truly enjoyed the soaring melodies and clever rhymes. One or two of the musicians had noted her interest, but were keen enough to keep their knowledge well hidden from the vindictive king.

  Riki saw the pitying looks they gave her, though, as they entered and left the chamber where she was kept chained. A few would smile at her kindly when nobody could see and some would play songs she particularly loved—sometimes she thought they played them just for her. Lucan could care less what ballad or dance tune was played, as long as there was music to accompany his pathetic seductions.

  It was rather disgusting, really, but Riki never associated the music with the heinous acts she’d been forced to witness. No, the music had been her savior at such times, allowing her to focus on something with her ears, even while her eyes were forced to watch something abhorrent to her.

  And Lucan made her watch. When, in the beginning, she’d tried to turn away, he’d had guards tie her and beat her until she complied with Lucan’s desires. It seemed because he couldn’t have her, he enjoyed taunting the virgin with his vile acts of sexual possession. Everything she knew about sexual perversions she’d learned from watching Lucan, but as long as there was music, she could focus on that, even while her eyes remained open and watching Lucan’s disgusting tableaus.

  The music was her salvation, her solace and her strength. No one knew just how deeply she loved it.

  Drake launched into a sad ballad known as “Arundelle’s Lament”. It was a mythical tale about how the river bordering both Skithdron and Draconia in the north got its name. It told of the sad wizard woman, Arundelle, who lost her mate in the days when wizards still roamed the lands and magic was everywhere and in all things.

  Riki loved Drake’s version of the song and her eyes filled with tears at the particularly poignant verses. It was a long ballad with many stanzas and Riki sat entranced through each and every one, as did most of the room. Drake was truly gifted.

  When the last note sounded, silence reigned through the crowded room. Seconds later, thunderous applause filled the air. Coppers and even a silver coin or two flew through the air to land in the pot at Drake’s feet as he smiled and bowed to the cheering crowd. He picked up the pot of coins and set it on the table between Riki and Nico as the applause died down.

  “Thank you my friends,” Drake addressed the crowd with a humble smile. “I must take a break now, but I’ll play more for you after I’ve wet my whistle.”

  Groans and cajoling rose from the crowd, many trying to get Drake to play some more, but he politely declined, pulling out the big chair reserved for him. He drank heartily of the tankard a pretty lass placed before him. In fact, drinks were delivered for Riki and Nico too, simply because they were with Drake, so popular was he.

  A burly man came over, wiping his hands on his apron, and Riki realized this must be the landlord or one of his family, at least. Drake stood and shook the man’s hand, introducing him to Nico and then briefly to Riki as Jonas Brewer. He seemed a pleasant sort of fellow with a kind smile, but Riki saw he had a shrewd eye for business and he ran his establishment with keen awareness of efficiency and potential for profit.

  “Won’t your cousins favor us with a song?” Brewer asked with a jovial smile. There was an undercurrent of urgency as well and Riki was instantly on alert for why the man seemed a bit anxious. Nico and Drake must have felt it as well, for both sat a little straighter in their chairs and Nico’s gaze roved casually around the place, pausing only briefly by the door.

  That was enough to make Riki look, and what she saw in her brief glance nearly gave her a heart attack. Four soldiers in uniform stood by the door surveying the crowd. Their uniforms signaled they weren’t from the actual palace, so they wouldn’t recognize her, but they were definitely looking for something. In fact, they were probably looking for her.

  Riki remembered what Nico had said about hiding in plain sight and an idea formed in her mind. Gathering her courage, Riki looked over at Nico. His gaze was shifting casually around, noting exits and potential routes they might take, she realized, if things went badly. She had to do something to save herself. Nico had done everything to this point and she needed to take a more active role in her escape. It was fast becoming a matter of pride.

  “I can sing.” Riki spoke those words privately to Nico alone, testing the waters before she jumped in.

  Nico’s gaze shot to hers, questioning.

  “You don’t have to do anything. Let me take care of you, sweetheart.”

  “That’s all you’ve done is take care of me. I can do this, if it will help. If you need me to, I can sing, and rather well, so you won’t be embarrassed. Though I’m nowhere near as good as Drake.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Riki smiled at him as he reached across the table to take her hand in his. To anyone looking at them they seemed a young couple in love. Only they knew of the life or death situation they were in and the dire plans being hatched silently between them.

  “I can do it. If Drake will play for me.”

  Nico raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles softly as his gaze moved subtly to the doorway. The soldiers were moving closer, she could see them out of the corner of her eye. It was time to act. Nico nodded slightly and turned to the landlord.

  “My wife will sing a song for you while our cousin rests, if that is your wish.”

  Riki was impressed with the slight Jinn accent and foreign phrasing Nico used and her smile was genuine as she looked up at the landlord. Thankfully, Jinn women were seldom heard to speak to strangers, though they were rumored to be quite vocal among their own people.

  “Are you sure, Cousin Ari?” Drake asked with concern. “You don’t have to if you feel ill.” His hand shot out to take hers as she rose slowly from the table. The message in his blue eyes was clear. He worried for her, but she knew she could do this. It was about the only thing she could do to help herself—and these wonderful men who were protecting her.

  “It’s all right,” she told him softly. Drake squeezed her hand once, then let go, reaching for his lute, but Nico’s hand closed over the instrument’s long neck first. Riki was surprised, but the dancing light in Nico’s eyes warmed her.

  “I will play for my lovely wife. We are still newlyweds, after all.” Nico’s laughter was echoed by Drake and the landlord, and soon the other tables around them were cheering as Riki and Nico faced the crowd.

  The landlord faded back to the bar area. Riki could easily see the soldiers stopping, watching them speculatively for a moment before moving on. All she had to do now was sing convincingly enough and they would have no idea the prize they searched for was right under their noses.

  “What song, my love?” Nico asked her softly.

  Riki thought quickly of the many songs she’d committed to memory over the months she’d been subjected to Lucan’s imprisonment. She needed something relatively short, that she could do well. After just a few seconds of deliberation, she thought of one the crowd would probably like as well.

  “How about ‘The Siren’?”

  Nico looked surprised for a moment, and then smiled his devastatingly handsome smile. She was certain his smile alone charmed half the women in the room. Nico really was the most del
ectable rogue.

  “Anything for you, my love.” She heard several women sigh at the interplay while Nico stood at her side, one foot resting on a chair while he held the lute against his middle, propped on a raised knee. He began with a few introductory notes and Riki realized he had a great deal of skill with the instrument. Of course, he was a prince. He was probably schooled in all sorts of things most regular people never learned.

  When he got to the part where she began to sing, a hush came over the room. Many recognized the popular tune, apparently, and wanted to see how the young Jinn lass Riki was pretending to be would do with it. She opened her mouth, fear nearly overpowering her for one dark moment before she found that place within herself where the music lived. It was the place she had retreated to when Lucan had done his worst to hurt her, to ridicule her and break her. It was the place only music touched and it formed the basis of her soul.

  Touching that vast power, she began to sing, knowing nothing could harm her while she was in that magical place.

  Chapter Nine

  Nico was uncertain of Riki’s plan but willing to give her this chance to prove herself. He knew, deep down, she had to do something to take control of her life or live forever with fear. He’d seen it before with warriors he’d freed from long imprisonment. To a man, they needed to feel as if they were doing something in their own rescue or else live diminished for the rest of their lives.

  There were only four soldiers in the tavern. Chances were, if they became overly suspicious, Nico and Drake could handle them, so it was with well-calculated risk he allowed Riki to take the stage and sing.

  But when her mouth opened and the song came pouring out, Nico was nearly as entranced as the patrons of the tavern. Her voice was magical, enthralling and pure. She had the attention of every person in the room within the first few notes of the song and kept it throughout.

  The song spoke of a sea siren who cried for the men she unwillingly killed as they sought her out in the depths of her ocean home. The melody was especially haunting and the words touching. Nico had always liked the song, but he’d never heard it better performed than in this moment. Riki was powerful indeed, though her power came not in any physical way, but rather in her ability to bedevil and beguile with just her voice.

  Every man in the tavern was watching her, hanging on every note from her luscious lips, wanting her. A possessive pride rose up in Nico’s dragon soul. This was his mate! His woman who had such gifts. Others could watch her, but they’d never have her. They’d never hold her the way he would. This he vowed as the dragon within preened with pride and a bit of awe at the phenomenal woman the Mother of All had seen fit to mate with him.

  The song had only a few stanzas and a mellifluous chorus. It was over soon enough and as with Drake’s longer performance, silence greeted the last note, followed by thunderous applause as the last chord faded away. Coins rained down on them both, landing in the emptied pot Drake hastily put at their feet. Riki curtsied shyly, her pale face becomingly rosy while Nico handed Drake back his lute with finality. They’d done their song to convince the soldiers they were truly Jinn entertainers. He would not subject Riki to more, no matter how much the crowd begged.

  Drake accepted the instrument with a flourish and a wink as he replaced them in the center of the room and broke into a happy, complicated tune. Soon the crowd was clapping along, stomping their feet, and a few were even dancing on the edges of the crowd. Nico noted the departure of the soldiers and acted the part of the crafty Jinn, emptying their winnings into his pocket and replacing the empty pot at Drake’s feet for the next round.

  He kept Riki next to him, one arm possessively around her shoulders as people sent drinks and sweets to them, in thanks for her song. She was definitely popular with the crowd, but what surprised Nico most was the women liked her just as well as the men. She had touched a chord with them, her voice reaching through to all in the room, not inspiring lust, but instead, ringing with the beauty of the words of the song, creating looks of wonder on all their faces.

  There was something more to Riki’s voice. Nico could feel it. But he wasn’t quite sure what it was, only that it was somehow magical. This would bear further study and thought, when they had time to explore what her voice could truly do.

  It sounded far-fetched, even to him, but then, Riki’s twin could shift to dragon form. Who said Riki hadn’t found some other way to channel the immense dragon magic within her soul?

  “Would you and your lady favor us with another song?” The jovial landlord was back at their table, but Nico turned the man down with a regretful sigh.

  “I fear not, good sir. My wife is newly with child and tires easily these early days.”

  The man smiled broadly, offering his congratulations as Riki snuggled closer to Nico, feigning fatigue very well indeed. She was a natural at this sort of thing and he couldn’t be prouder of her. There could be no more perfect mate for the Prince of Spies.

  “Well, if I can’t convince you, the room next to your cousin’s is ready for you. Drake arranged it this morning when he got word of your arrival.” The landlord took up two empty tankards in one big hand and swiped the table dry with a cloth he kept at his waist. “I know you’ll be taking your leave early in the morn, so I’ll wish you well now and hope you’ll return to visit us the next time you’re in the city.”

  Nico shook the man’s free hand, surprised only a little by the secret gesture he made with his thumb. No wonder Drake stayed here when he was in Plinth. This man was part of the Brotherhood of the Jinn. Nico gave him the return sign and a wide grin split the man’s face as he nodded once and bustled off. Nico realized they had friends in Plinth he hadn’t even known about. Aligning with the Jinn—something Drake had managed to accomplish long ago, and Nico more recently—was turning out to be a very good thing, indeed.

  Riki was content to let Nico handle arrangements and guide her actions. Once the soldiers left the tavern, the real fatigue of the escape, the journey, her residual weakness from the beatings and starvation and the letdown from the terrifying fear that those soldiers would raise the alarm all collided within her. Riki was drained and weak, more than happy to lean on Nico and let him lead the way down the dim hall to their room.

  They went into the room just before Drake’s, and Riki let Nico settle her on the side of a large bed, offering no protest when he removed the scarf from her hair, then the jewelry. He left the ring on her finger and kept his own on as well, which touched her for some odd reason. They weren’t mated in the tradition of the Jinn, but they wore the symbols, and it pleased some inner desire she hadn’t even recognized.

  When he tugged at her dress, she protested. Sitting at her side on the edge of the large bed, Nico grasped her hands in his.

  “I won’t hurt you, Riki. I promise.”

  “I know you won’t,” she replied softly, “but I can’t give you my virginity. It’s my only protection from Lucan and his men. Please understand.”

  Nico’s lips thinned, but he seemed to swallow whatever argument he wanted to make. Instead, he pulled her into his arms, holding her close to his heart.

  “I do understand, but know this, Arikia. A time will come when you will give yourself to me willingly.” His words were strong and sure, sending bolts of excitement through her warm body. “I will never force you, never take you without your consent, never seduce you into anything. You will come to me willingly, or not at all. Is that clear?”

  She nodded against his chest. “Yes, Nico. Thank you.” The relief was heartfelt. Riki knew Nico was a man of his word. If he said she would be given the choice of her own free will, then she believed him.

  “Do you trust me?”

  “I do,” she said softly, knowing the truth of those words in her heart.

  “Then lie with me tonight. Skin to skin. I promise I will not take your virginity this night or tomorrow morn, but I need to feel you against me, sweetheart, like I need my next breath.”

  And she
could feel the need trembling through his strong muscles, so close under her cheek beneath his shirt. If she truly trusted him—and she did—she would do as he requested, but there was one problem.

  She didn’t trust herself.

  Still, she wanted to feel Nico’s skin against hers. The idea was too tantalizing to resist and she had his promise of safety as long as she didn’t willingly request his lovemaking. Moving back, Riki allowed him to remove her colorful dress, leaving her bare before him.

  Silently, Nico tucked her into the big bed, care in his every move. He moved away then, to secure his belongings and turn down the lamp for the night, leaving the room bathed in a soft golden glow. He returned to the bedside, catching her eye before stripping out of his clothes right in front of her. It was as if he wanted her to see each and every inch of his glorious body as it was revealed.

  He was lean and hard muscled, bulging where it counted most. His arms were thick and strong, as were the muscles of his thighs and calves. His belly was ridged with muscle like a washboard and his chest was a thing of beauty. Nico held her gaze, daring her to look at that part of him that most wanted to claim her, and slowly, she dropped her gaze.

  He was rampant, hard and wanting, his cock long and thick. Riki wondered how in the world such a glorious thing could fit inside her untried body, and she found herself wanting to find out.

  But that would never do. She had to resist such thoughts, even with male perfection standing right in front of her. Her chastity was the only thing protecting her. Give that up and she gave up her life as well.

  Still, Riki found herself growing warm, her blood firing and swirling in her veins. Had the mere sight of a naked man ever caused this kind of reaction in her before? She knew it had not. She’d seen Lucan and his lovers of both sexes. The men were fit and trim with good bodies—Lucan demanded only the best—but none had evoked this heated response. No other man had ever affected her like Nico and she knew in her heart, no other man ever would.