Niles lifted his upper body, propping on one elbow. “The duchess...going to Ganluc...I...” He shook his head. “She asked me to come with them—to be their servant.” Brows furrowed in a pained look. He was obviously afraid to spell it out. Vahn nodded without comment. “But I’d be damned before I’d serve that weasel.” Vahn arched a brow. “Oh, not the duchess. I meant Jallor,” Niles explained quickly.
“Quite all right, Niles. I think ‘weasel’ is appropriate for both of them.”
Niles nodded, cupping the knot on his neck in his hand. “When I refused to come with them, they knew I would tell you. The last thing I remember, I was headed back inside when everything went black. How long has it been? You could still catch...”
Vahn laid a hand on his shoulder and whispered. “It’s been at least four hours. Thank you for trying. I’m going to get dressed and ride after them. Do see a healer on my purse. Send someone to fetch one if you don’t feel up to walking.”
Vahn looked pointedly at the servant with the cloth. “Spread the word Niles is in charge of the house in my absence.” The servant nodded.
Vahn dressed quickly. Fortitude was ready and waiting when he emerged from the keep. He thanked chupo and charged off. Vahn raced after his wife, but she had too great a lead. Even though she had the coach, Allegiant and Regalia were strong and fast. Vahn’s muscles ached and poor Fortitude was lathered when he finally sighted the bridge into Ganluc in the distance. The whole area was swimming in a sea of brown and saffron surcoats. Saerula’s father, King Pendo, had a full legion of knights blocking the bridge. Vahn cursed under his breath and pressed forward.
“Return my son,” Vahn demanded.
Pendo’s knights laughed at him.
The treacherous Synchow River prevented any southern route into Ganluc but by bridge. If he went farther north, he could cross the Synchow where it was fully in Latoph, but Dauntere would be heavily guarded by now. Vahn kicked himself for not bringing more men. He turned away from his jeering foes.
At the border village of Jintae, Vahn found food and refuge. After a long rest and plenty of water, he saddled Fortitude and started home at a walk. Vahn was dejected and broken. Tears fell as he traversed the lonely valleys. Losing Saerula was hard. He had been so confident their marriage problems were minor and that love would get them through. How could he have been so blind? Worst of all, she’d taken his precious son.
Captain Shil met him forty miles short of Ny. “What did you think you were doing?” Shil barked before he even saluted.
Vahn was annoyed. “Who do you think you are to question me?” he snapped.
“I am the man who swore his life to protect you, your highness.” He turned his horse around and dipped his head when he made it to Vahn’s side. “I cannot fulfill my vows when my sacred trust gallops off to a hostile country alone.”
Vahn sighed.
“Forgive me, my liege,” Shil whispered.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t have gone alone. Pendo had a full legion of knights and there I stood, gawking at them like a fool.”
Shil shook his head. “I meant that I swore to protect your whole family. I failed you in that.”
“That’s not your fault. I was the idiot who gave Saerula so much autonomy.”
“Then we share the guilt,” Shil said.
Vahn halted. Shil responded in kind. Vahn stared his captain in the eyes. Worry was etched in the creases of Shil’s forehead. Shil held his gaze a moment, then looked down. It was the first time he’d ever seen shame in his captain. There would be no talking him out of his guilt. Shil might not argue, but he’d bear the burden just the same.
“Agreed,” Vahn whispered back.
“We’ll get him back,” Shil said.
“Together,” Vahn added.
When Shil smiled and lifted his head, Vahn kicked his horse forward. They rode the rest of the way home in silence.
Chapter 81
Vahn asked Niles if he would stay as the majordomo. He accepted. The rest of the servants were released. Saerula had hired them all. Vahn didn’t want anything to do with them. The loss of his nine Itzi suddenly hurt more than ever. He had thrown them out to placate a backstabbing, two-faced shrew. After all her elitist talk, she ran off with the lousiest servant in the house, while he gave up the best slaves in the land to be left with nothing. In a moment of fury, he flung a dagger into the fireplace mantel. Weeks later, it was still there. Vahn wondered whether Niles left it as a testament to his employer’s rage or because he couldn’t pull it out.
Much as he wanted his girls back, Vahn felt he didn’t deserve them anymore. It would be selfish. They were bonded with Terzak and accustomed to him now. At least before, his motives were noble—he had given them away to save his marriage. It would be wrong to disrupt their lives again just because he’d failed. He couldn’t imagine them understanding his perspective. He’d failed as husband and master. They deserved better.
Saerula had made it easy for him to hate her. He would not waste any more sentiment on her worthless heart. Since Dauntere was third in line to the Throne, kidnapping him made Saerula a traitor to Latoph, so Vahn’s marriage was easily annulled. He didn’t shed any tears when the parchments were signed and sealed.
The horses, carriage, jewels, and various other articles she plundered, though insulting, were of little import. However, Vahn couldn’t bear the nights without his son. He missed him deeply, but even more, he was concerned for what became of him. Saerula had at least pretended to love her husband when they were first married. She had never bothered to pretend with Dauntere. Was anyone holding him close and kissing his tiny cheek? Was anyone talking to him and tickling his tummy to hear that priceless little laugh?
Since she didn’t love the boy, Vahn surmised she’d taken him for spite and control. It was somewhat comforting to think the child was valuable for any convoluted reason. Otherwise, he wouldn’t put it past Saerula’s icy heart to neglect, abuse, or even abandon him.
Vahn wrote to Arx, pleading for help and advice. Arx sent back hollow condolences, but warned the kingdom could not sustain a war with Ganluc while relations were so grave with Senkra. If Senkra and Ganluc ally against us, Arx wrote, it could prove disastrous. Therefore, I will not send any envoys over this.
Vahn crumpled the parchment with its royal seal and scarlet and gold ribbons, and hurled it into the fire, knocking a large jar of ink off his desk in the process. “The fool! Why would I provoke my son’s captors to war?” he growled to the crackling blaze. Any threat of aggression would surely put Dauntere in more danger than he already was. Arx must have the most incompetent envoys alive if they couldn’t be diplomatic concerning an infant. However, if Vahn ever found out his son was harmed, he’d lead his private army against Ganluc, and damn the consequences.
Pain and loneliness spiraled into obsession. Vahn offered rewards for information leading to the child. He took Captain Shil and sometimes several others on endless reconnaissance and spying expeditions.
Niles maintained Rebono Keep single-handedly. It couldn’t have been too hard with no one ever there. Vahn tried to remember to express thanks when he was home, but that was a rarity. He hardly ate or slept. Months passed in a blur of heartache, dusty trails, and saddle sores.
Whenever the opportunity arose in the field, Vahn asked after the death of his father. Strangely, though he found nothing new, he discovered he was not the first to ask. From the descriptions given, it sounded like Terzak had been digging for him. Yet, if Terzak had been asking around, why had he not reported anything?
Vahn wrote to pressure his cousin, using the loan as leverage. Terzak had not provided any of the information he promised, nor had he followed through with the tavern. Terzak did not reply. For several months, Vahn had far too many things on his mind to keep nagging his cousin.
Impasse after impasse wore on the young duke. He mounted a desperate full-scale effort right before Queen’s Jubilee—thirty knights in seven separate teams snuck
into Ganluc. They were dressed in common clothes with minimal weapons and instructed to gather information as inconspicuously as possible.
Four teams returned with wounded members—one man had a broken leg, one a nasty rock scrape, and a few had arrows lodged in various body parts. Thankfully, none of the wounds were mortal. The other three teams, including the one he and Shil had led, returned intact, but Dauntere’s location was still unknown when his second birthday came.
All of Ny celebrated Queen’s Jubilee, but Vahn could only think of his son in a strange land without a loving father or mother. He doubted his son’s birthday was even observed. At least Niles understood. He politely declined to celebrate the holiday.
When his best attempt failed, Vahn was defeated and depressed. Though his search wouldn’t end, obsession subsided into resigned discouragement. He spent more time at home and The Scarlet Dryad, resuming attention to long-neglected matters of the duchy.
Three weeks after the sad birthday, Vahn received a letter from Terzak saying he had “pertinent information from Ganluc” to impart. It didn’t say whether it was news on his missing son or pieces of his father’s murder puzzle, but it was marked “important”. Terzak urged an appointment at Mors Manor to relay the news in person. Vahn allowed himself a little hope as he counted off the days until the meeting.
Chapter 82
Terzak changed his ways at home. He had been of the mind Itzi-Elva relations were sterile. With that illusion shattered and to mollify the baroness, he banned all further intimate contact with his slaves. Besides, pregnant Itzi didn’t generally command much silver when used as harlots, as he planned for the new tavern. There were methods of contraception, but he had far too many ambitions to take another chance.
After six months of tedious excursions to the lair, xassa had not miscarried. He had not figured out how to dispose of a baby and two slave witnesses. He didn’t even want to kill kee. xassa had always been rather useless except as a pet, but kee was not only the best he had, she was the only one whose term wouldn’t end. byli died of fever. willow and fawna had one year left. He grudgingly set ghian, alkae, and ria free on Queen’s Jubilee, sending the stable boy to drop them off at Ny’s gates.
Had xassa still been at Mors Manor, he would have been legally required to free her as well. Beyond the fact the hidden slaves were not in Latoph and thereby not subject to its laws, Terzak thought it better they not know he was violating the spirit of his contract with xassa. He didn’t mention Queen’s Jubilee had passed.
Chapter 83
kee did not need to know what month it was to realize xassa’s time was near. She begged Master Terzak to summon a healer or midwife, but he staunchly refused. He scolded kee for suggesting another soul be told the unmentionable secret.
The tired optimess wondered what he intended to do with the baby once it arrived. She tried not to assume he wanted both mother and child to be lost, but it was hard to see his callous refusal for medicinal aid as simply a security measure. He had a secret society kee knew numbered healers among them. They kept all of his other secrets, why not this one?
In spite of poor nutrition, xassa’s tender age, and the rarity of the half-breed child she carried, the pregnancy continued to full term. They were alone when xassa’s time finally came. The frightened young girl screamed and cried nonstop throughout the seemingly endless labor.
When xassa appeared ready to die of exhaustion, kee delivered a weak yet living baby boy. His ears were pointed and his eyes were stormy gray like Master Terzak’s. His hair, however, was a flaming shade of red, like xassa’s. kee wrapped the child in a towel and laid him next to his mother. She cut the cord with a dull vegetable chopper. There was so much blood everywhere it worried the doting optimess. She had no reference for what was normal.
“xassa, please eat now,” kee begged when the pains stopped.
The blood- and sweat-soaked girl whimpered and turned her miserable head away. “No, kee, just let xassa die. xassa...I can’t take it anymore.”
“But you’re a mother, xassa. You have a beautiful son. If not for yourself, then for him. Please. Just some juice perhaps?” kee urged through tears as she slid her hand over xassa’s forehead.
“Can’t you see? He’ll never be mine. Master Terzak will probably kill him and xassa. I’m just sorry he’ll kill you too, kee. You never did anything wrong. So, so sorry,” she murmured and drifted off in exhaustion.
Though she was gravely afraid xassa might never wake up, kee relented, kissed xassa’s forehead, and let her sleep. She placed the listless babe at xassa’s breast, but he couldn’t be coaxed to nurse. He didn’t cry, but uttered some soft baby whimpers. kee gathered him in her arms, then rocked him in a creaky old rocking chair. She sang a soft lullaby until he quieted. He became so quiet and still kee was afraid he passed on. She removed him from her shoulder to find him sleeping peacefully. He seemed too small and frail to be healthy, but she had no idea how to help him.
Looking at xassa’s son, kee couldn’t help remembering Prince Dauntere. He would be two years old on Queen’s Jubilee, whenever that was. A sharp pang of longing gripped her as she cradled the child to her bosom. Exhausted, kee fell asleep in the rocker with the babe on her shoulder.
When kee awoke to the infant’s cries, she took him to xassa only to find her stiff and pale. kee slipped her fingers under the copper neck band. xassa’s skin was cold and clammy. No breath passed her windpipe; no blood coursed her veins.
kee cried along with the baby. She wondered if she had failed to do something that would have saved xassa. Master Terzak had scoffed at kee’s petitions for better nutrition, so she gave xassa all her meat rations and the best of her vegetables, never letting her know of Master’s stolidity or her own sacrifices. Now xassa was gone and kee was emaciated.
Nevertheless, the baby needed to eat somehow. His cries stabbed at her heartstrings. She wished she had a bottle or some other way to feed him. She bared her own breast and placed her nipple into the wailing mouth. Since she had not been pregnant, lactation would come slower. Worse, her milk would be low because of her starved condition.
kee fretted her inadequate milk might cost the child’s life. Yet, the tiny half-breed could take very little, so it was of no consequence she had little to give. Once the boy slept again, kee wrapped xassa in a sheet. It was too hard to look upon her innocent young face, so much like kee’s murdered sisters. Tears flowed again as she moved xassa’s frail body to tuck the sheet under her. Why didn’t Master even allow a midwife? It was all so pointless.
kee moved the babe to another room so she wouldn’t have to return to where xassa’s shrouded corpse lay. With xassa gone, kee didn’t hesitate to consume her rations. It was barely enough for one slave, much less two or a nursing mother. Now alone except for the sickly child, she wondered what Master Terzak would do. He had clearly wanted the baby to miscarry. Would he now induce his death as xassa had predicted? Knowing the secret, could kee hope to see the suns again? It would be a simple matter for him to stop delivering food. That would solve both his “problems”.
kee loved xassa’s baby as if he were her own. She secretly named him Blod, after her father. He was too weak to cry much or cause trouble. She worried every time he fell asleep in her arms he might never wake as xassa had. Her milk came in sufficiently for the child’s desire, but she continually prodded him to take more. As long as he lived, she would give him her very life’s blood, if necessary.
kee realized she was no longer as attractive nor as capable of work as she had been when she left Rebono Keep. Grief over xassa cut her deep and the buried memories of her murdered family returned to haunt her. The duke’s last orders wore thin on the broken slave. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually, she was near her breaking point.
How could she continue to treat Master Terzak like Master Vahn when he was nothing like him? If little ‘Blod’ died and she was left prisoner, kee decided there would be no reason to care any longer. Thoughts of suicide b
egan to tickle at her consciousness. Three days she and the weak baby spent alone before Master Terzak arrived.
Chapter 84
Terzak’s wish for a miscarriage had not come true. Therefore, he arranged to sell xassa to the illegal slave market for nearly nothing, just to be rid of her. The slaver promised to cut her tongue out and sell her outside the Twelve Kingdoms. Now all Terzak had to do was see if he could deceive kee about it.
He was surprised when he saw kee. How had she become so gaunt? Why was her hair so dull and her eyes so haunted? Surely, it didn’t happen in a week, but how had he failed to notice sooner? She knelt as he entered the lair and gave her report. “xassa passed away, Master Terzak.”
He feigned sympathy and shook his head. “Oh, that’s too bad. It’s Queen’s Jubilee,” he lied. “I was going to free her today.”
kee nodded faintly, not looking up. Her attitude annoyed him. Was she aware of his dishonesty? He pulled a ring of keys from his belt and shook them to bolster his story. “See? I have the keys right here.” The keys would have unlocked xassa’s Unringed bands, but only so that Ringed ones could be applied, however, kee didn’t have to know that.
Dead was even better than the plans he had made. Now he wouldn’t have to lie about where xassa was going and kee could come home with him. He knew he had pushed kee a bit too far over the last seven months. It would require some extra care for her return to the same level of service. However, she was worth a little effort to bring her back in line.
“You have a son, Master. Would you like to hold him?”
He blinked. “The baby lived?”
kee nodded.
After a long pause, he answered her. “Yes, bring him to me.”
“Yes, Master Terzak.” She dipped her head to him before rising, but her movements were more sluggish than he remembered. The child did not awake as she brought him back and laid him in his arms. kee guided his hands until he supported the tiny head properly.
The Duke's Handmaid (Book 1 of the Ascendancy Trilogy) Page 31