The Duke's Handmaid (Book 1 of the Ascendancy Trilogy)

by Caprice Hokstad

  kee would not see the rolling of his eyes. He was nearly exasperated with her tiptoeing. Yet, she probably wouldn’t bother him with something trivial. “Fine. Tell xassa to report to me immediately.”

  “Yes, Master Terzak.” She bounded to her feet and hurried down the hall.

  Chapter 77

  Once out of Master Terzak’s presence, kee ran to the quarters. She had no idea why her master was in such fine spirits, but she couldn’t have hoped for better. She nudged xassa gently from sleep. “Master Terzak is home and in a jovial mood. He has agreed to give you audience, xassa. Come, tell him before he grows impatient.”

  xassa squinted. “You mean now?”

  “Yes, now, xassa. Don’t keep him waiting.”

  xassa got up, straightened her short skirt and ran out with kee at her heels. Both of them knelt at the door to the den. “Master Terzak, may xassa and kee be allowed to enter, please?”

  “Yes, come in and tell me what’s so important it couldn’t wait until morning.”

  As the two girls arose from the floor, kee winked at xassa and nodded encouragement. Both knelt near Terzak’s feet, though kee made sure xassa was a foot closer to him. She was only there for support.

  “It could wait until morning if you would rather, Master Terzak,” xassa hedged.

  “No, it can’t,” kee said.

  Terzak studied kee and xassa with an arched brow. “Listen, you wanted to tell me now. I granted audience and I waited for you. Don’t play games. Out with it.”

  kee nudged xassa. Her evasion made kee nervous. If xassa didn’t tell him, kee would be forced to. It could only annoy Master Terzak further to procrastinate.

  “Well, Master Terzak, it’s just that...” xassa trailed off.

  “It’s just what, xassa?” Terzak prodded irritably.

  kee frowned and nudged her again. “Tell him,” she whispered. “Now.” xassa wrung her hands and looked back at kee for some way out. “You must tell him,” kee reiterated.

  xassa took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She blurted out, “xassa is with child, Master Terzak.”

  There was an uncomfortable silence. Terzak’s jaw dropped. “But it’s...it’s impossible...y—you aren’t old enough...” he trailed off, mouth agape. “I thought Itzi...?”

  xassa lowered her head and shook it. kee answered, “No, Master Terzak. Itzi are forbidden to compact before their eighteenth year. It is rare someone xassa’s age conceives, even rarer such a child survives. xassa assumed she would miscarry and that is why she didn’t tell you sooner.” kee reasoned the delay would come up eventually and decided it best to rebuff it in advance.

  Terzak frowned. “How long have you known this, kee?”

  xassa spoke up. “xassa just told kee today, Master. kee insisted xassa tell you immediately.”

  Terzak was silent a long while. His gaze was far off. “How long, xassa?” he asked.

  “About six months, if the child lives,” xassa replied softly.

  “Who else knows?”

  “kee and you are the only ones, Master. xassa swears she has told no other.”

  “And it will remain that way. Both of you, give me your right hands,” he growled. They both lifted their right hands up to him. Terzak removed a dagger from the sheath at his belt and drew it quickly across xassa’s wrist, just above her band. She squealed and then whimpered as it bled profusely. Terzak cut kee’s wrist likewise. kee sucked in her breath and cringed. He held both their hands up, letting the blood trickle over the bands and down their arms. “Repeat after me,” he said. “I swear by my blood and my own right hand I will not reveal to another soul what I know about the bastard child of Terzak Rebono.”

  xassa repeated the phrase exactly. kee translated it to third person for her vow and inserted “Master” before “Terzak”. He released their hands. They used their left hands to apply pressure to their wounds, staining their hands in blood.

  Master seemed unconcerned with their bleeding. “I want you both to pack—right now. We are going to my secret lair. Bring your bedrolls and everything else you have here. We will leave in fifteen minutes.”

  “Yes, Master Terzak,” they chorused blandly.

  “You are dismissed.”

  Both girls stood awkwardly, since they still held their bleeding wrists. Neither said anything until they were both in the slave quarters. kee ripped a section from marha’s old clothes and wrapped xassa’s wrist first, tying it off tightly. She ripped another strip of cloth and handed it to xassa, holding her wounded wrist out for her to bandage.

  “xassa is sorry you were dragged into this. xassa didn’t know Master Terzak would hurt you or make you go away for knowing,” she said in a half-cry.

  kee felt strangely calm. She patted xassa on the back. “It’s all right. There was no way you could know. It doesn’t hurt that much.” Compared to the branded Owner’s Mark, the cut was indeed inconsequential. It hurt even less than the abrasion wounds she’d caused herself at the ITC almost a year and a half before.

  “Why did Master have to cut us?” xassa whimpered.

  “kee thinks it is symbolic. If we break the vow, he will cut off our hands as easily as he sliced the skin. Swearing by our own blood makes us betray ourselves if we tell.”

  xassa shuddered and wiped her eyes. Each girl placed a spare uniform atop her bedroll and rolled it up. There was nothing else to take. With marha gone and the two of them leaving, kee mused that the rest would finally have a reasonable amount of space. For a fleeting second, she wondered whether she would see them again. ghian and ria were due to be released the same day as xassa, in six months.

  kee carried both bedrolls to the door where they waited for their master.

  Chapter 78

  Terzak couldn’t risk any accusations of underage seduction, and he couldn’t risk the baroness finding out how promiscuous he was—not before she married him. With any luck, nature would solve all his problems and no one would ever have to know. He didn’t want to give kee and xassa any temptation to tell anyone what was going on, therefore he wouldn’t allow goodbyes.

  “Sorry girls,” he said to ria and willow when he reached his chamber. “I have to attend to some business. You may sleep in my bed until I get back.” He wouldn’t be home that night, but they didn’t have to know it.

  The girls grinned. “Thank you, Master,” they said together.

  Terzak grabbed a heavy cloak and two blankets. He met kee and xassa at the front door, then accompanied them to the stables. He ordered them to wait outside while the stable boy hitched the wagon. He dismissed the stable boy before he summoned the girls, assuring the lad never saw them.

  kee loaded their bedrolls onto the wagon. kee and xassa sat next to him in the front seat. He gave them each a heavy blanket; it was a cold night. Twin moons shone brightly, but Terzak made certain it didn’t matter. Every chance he got, he took the densest forest or the most obscure path there was. If either slave had been trying to memorize the way, he made sure it was impossible. He drove in a deliberate circle several times to confuse the directions. He stopped in the forest and blindfolded the girls, then urged them to sleep in the back of the wagon. He could have made the trip in six hours, but he took several detours along the way to make the distance seem greater.

  Feigning danger, Terzak spoke harshly and ordered the slaves to keep low. The lair was in Ganluc, though Terzak told them they were outside the borders of the Twelve Kingdoms in the Barbarian Wasteland. There was a small peasant’s cottage above ground as a decoy, which also served to hide and shelter the ventilation shafts, but the lair was underground. He guided xassa into the lair first, trusting kee to wait without removing her blindfold.

  When both slaves and their belongings were inside, Terzak lit a second lamp and allowed them to remove their blindfolds. The walls and ceilings were lined in stone. There was a small fireplace, but he didn’t light it. “Well, I hope the two of you enjoy your new home. I will bring food once a week. As long as you do
n’t try to leave, you’ll be fine. This place is impenetrable from the outside. You’ll be here as long as xassa is pregnant.”

  kee and xassa nodded.

  “Water is plentiful from the pump, but you must be mindful of the drainage. The soil here does not absorb much water. The watercloset is the only outlet. If you put too much down, it could back up on you. I would advise against that.”

  The two girls had trouble holding their heads up. He was glad they were tired. “kee, if xassa had not told you herself, I would have told you. I need you here to take care of her and there is no one I trust more.”

  “Yes, Master Terzak, thank you,” kee said with a weak smile.

  “There is no day nor night down here—no rooster to wake you, no chores to do. Keep the dishes and pots clean and I’ll take laundry back and forth. Now, go, make your beds and sleep some more. I’ll be sure you are locked securely inside.” He didn’t wait for a reply but headed down the long dark hallway.

  He heard, “Yes, Master,” from behind.

  Terzak unbolted the hatch, exited, and then slammed the vault shut. There was no way anyone could get through. kee and xassa could be suffocated or starved, but only one other person had the proper keys to get in. He felt safe.

  Chapter 79

  Time drudged on slowly for kee and xassa. kee insisted xassa rest as much as possible. She waited on xassa like she would for a mistress and did every bit of work herself. Even with that, it was hardly enough. kee didn’t know what to do with herself. She begged Master Terzak to bring silver to polish, mending, or sewing to fill the lonely hours. She nearly told him she could read so she could ask for books, but she couldn’t bring herself to disobey the duke for selfish gain.

  The duke. It was during the long months of confinement with no concept of day or night, nor even the day of the week that kee could not stop thinking about him. She knew he was royalty, Elva, and married. She also knew she was permanently branded as Terzak’s property. She never spoke of it to xassa. Yet, when she lay alone on her bedroll, her thoughts always seemed to stray back to Duke Vahn. No matter she would likely never see him again, nor could she ever be at his feet if she did see him. There was just no way around the fact she loved him.

  kee knew it was a foolish love, but the more she tried to debate herself out of her feelings, the more she found them strengthened. It had been an impossible love from the day of her birth to peasant Itzi. Yet, kee didn’t ache to be Elva or noble born. She never wished harm upon the duchess. She knew how much Duke Vahn loved her.

  If there were a patron deity of slaves, and if kee had ever been selfish enough to ask something purely for herself, it was her impossible wish to wear Duke Vahn’s bands again. She cared not one wit whether they were iron or silver or whether any titles or honors were included. She would plow fields with the hypaethral division if it meant she could catch a glimpse of him from time to time.

  The only thought that brought her comfort was a stretch in logic and she knew it. She imagined by obeying his last commands, she was somehow still his in spirit.

  His final words to her were deeply engrained upon her memory. When she recalled them (as she often did during her long, lonely confinement), it was in perfect clarity—all the inflection in his voice as well as the temperature and odors in the room at the time. She relived those fateful moments...

  Her shining silver neck band landed with a dull thud on the floor. She could read the inscription, ‘kee, property of Prince Vahn Rebono, Duke of Latoph’. It lay there, mocking her. She was being thrown away. Cast aside like refuse. Unwanted. Then she wept. Her heart ached so much she wanted to cut it out.

  “kee, I have a favor to ask you.” That Voice—so soothing and commanding it melted her to the bones just thinking about it. His strong hand lifted her from the floor. How could she ever refuse him? He was her master, her life. She had sworn herself to him—branded his “P” to her heart.

  “I am giving the rest of the house staff to Marquis Terzak. If you do not want to be free, it would mean a lot to me if you would go with him as well. He and I will be in a joint business venture, so I could see you occasionally. Would you do that? For me?”

  To be certain, this was not what she wanted, but where was the sacrifice in doing only what was easy? It was time to prove she could be a true slave at heart and obey when it was difficult. If this was what he wished, then she would do her best to please him. No matter how many times she relived the question, even knowing how dismally her life would change, the answer was always, “kee would do anything for you, Master Vahn. kee will go with him if it pleases you.”

  She had sniffled, felt a light breeze from the half-open door, and heard a scuffle from somewhere on the floor behind her. Then his Final Order was pronounced—the one that controlled her life ever since—“It pleases me very much, kee. Treat Marquis Terzak as you would me…” kee knew she answered affirmatively, but the weight of that last command always echoed so heavily everything faded after that.

  No one but kee knew how faithfully she had obeyed those words. No one but kee would construe them to alleviate a broken heart. Even so, at times the yearning was just too much. If she was alone with her face planted in a lumpy pillow, she allowed herself the luxury of silent tears.

  Master Terzak had left them in the dark, figuratively as well as literally. Suns’ dials were useless where there were no suns, and he would bring neither hourglass nor calendar. His visits were short and cold. He always seemed rather disappointed at xassa’s appearance. kee supposed he wanted her to miscarry. He asked for a general report, left scant rations, clean clothes, portable work for kee, then removed dirty laundry and left, locking the vaulted hatch behind him. There was no warmth and no congeniality—strictly business. kee felt as though they were being punished.

  Chapter 80

  Shortly after Dauntere passed his eighteen-month mark, when they were between nannies yet again, Vahn spent an enjoyable evening playing with his son. He tucked the handsome miniature of himself in with a hug and a kiss, leaving him with his favorite toy, a horse carved of wood. Vahn retired early and found Saerula also in bed. For once, she didn’t snap at him. He even felt their little talk went well. Communication seemed to be opening up. He kissed her deeply and fell asleep satisfied and hopeful.

  His hope shattered the next morning. He didn’t realize it until later, but the duchess had only consented to the kiss to transfer a powerful sleep-inducing apothecarum. The best he could ever decipher, she had taken an antidote and then slipped the potion pod in her mouth just before the kiss. He wasn’t even sure if her intent had been sleep or death.

  When Vahn awoke, Saerula was not next to him. At first, he assumed she was bathing. He sat up, groaning at his tremendous headache. When he managed to focus, he found all her drawers opened. Female accessories and shoes lay strewn all about the chamber. The traveling trunk was missing. He bolted from the bed. Saerula’s clothes and jewels were gone. Vahn darted down the hall in his undergarments, yelling for Niles. At the nursery door, he hesitated for a fraction of a second, afraid for what he might see. He turned the knob and swung the door open. The crib held only the carved horse he had given him as a gift. Dauntere was gone, and worse—his bureau drawers were open and emptied.

  Frantic, Vahn tore down the stairs. Several servants frowned when they saw him fly by, nearly naked. He raced out the garden door toward the stables, calling out in panic, “Guards! chupo!” He found Niles lying in the carriageway. Vahn knelt at his side and checked his pulse. He was alive, but unconscious. There was a bump on the back of his neck, likely from a sword’s hilt.

  chupo arrived, stunned to find the servant wounded. “What happened, Master?”

  “I was hoping you could tell me. Have you seen the duchess?”

  “She left over four hours ago,” chupo reported, dousing a rag in a watering trough.

  “Left? How? Which way?” Vahn asked impatiently.

  chupo frowned as he knelt by Niles’ head with th
e wet cloth. “In the coach, with Prince Dauntere. Mistress said she was going to visit her family. Didn’t you know, Master?”

  “No. Why didn’t someone come get me?”

  “Mistress ordered Allegiant and Regalia hitched to the coach and brought to the keep. With all the servants packing and loading her things, it never occurred to chupo that you could not know.” He looked down to swab Niles’ face. “chupo is sorry,” he said in a low voice.

  Vahn shook his head. “Not your fault. You obeyed your mistress. How could you know I was poisoned in my bed?”

  chupo gasped, his eyes growing wide. “Poisoned?”

  Vahn shook his head and waved off the question. There was no time for explanations even if he had one. “Help me get Niles inside, then go saddle Fortitude.” Vahn stood and maneuvered toward Niles’ legs.

  “Yes, Master.” chupo picked up the shoulders. Together they moved Niles into the keep and set him on a thick rug. chupo didn’t need another dismissal. Once they set Niles down, the equerry shot off back outside.

  By this time, the other servants were sufficiently curious and poked their heads around the corners of walls. Vahn snapped at one, not even looking at his face. “You. Where is Jallor?”

  The servant cringed, frozen in his tracks. “He accompanied Duchess Saerula and the prince, your highness,” he said meekly.

  “He WHAT?” Vahn shouted. Niles stirred at the shout. Vahn held the wet cloth out to the standing servant with a look that demanded he take it. The servant took over with the cloth while Vahn stood. Anger infused his voice. “Didn’t anyone wonder why I wasn’t with her? Did you all just assume me dead?”

  “Duchess Saerula said you were ill and left orders not to disturb you. She said you hated Ganluc anyhow, so she was leaving you here to recover.”

  Niles squinted. “Duke Vah…n?” he rasped.

  Vahn crouched by Niles. “You’ve had a nasty hit, but I think you’ll be all right. What happened?”