by Gwynn White
“I hope you do because the Fifteen will never permit one of your bastards to ascend to power,” Felix said.
Mott laughed. “You are too stupid to see the finer workings of my mind. But I don’t have the time—or the inclination—to explain it all to you.”
Felix smiled inwardly. If his brother realized half of what he knew about his mind, Mott would thrust that dagger into his chest before he got his next breath out.
“So let’s just stick with what you can understand,” Mott said, voice bleeding condescension. “Once the wedding festivities are over, Lukan will die. That gives him at least two nights to get his seed into the Norin rebel. I hope the bitch is fertile.” Mott glared at Felix. “And I don’t expect any mishaps with the monitoring of the murdering bastard. You are to watch him, and at the first sign of trouble, you will kill him.”
Mott was even more unhinged than Felix gave him credit for.
He resisted the urge to scoff. “Was I the only one who saw the images of Lynx slobbering over Axel?”
A troubled frown settled on Mott’s face. “Lynx is certainly willful, given the threat hanging over her family.” He paused. “But I’m not without resources. I have already sent Lynx a message. When she’s done listening to it, she will believe Axel betrayed her. That will make her despise him as much as she now detests Lukan.”
“And that will get her into Lukan’s bed?” Felix shook his head, unable to believe the level of his brother’s stupidity.
“Oh, I think Lukan’s lust will take care of that. He’s been drooling for her since the summer. Her skimpy little dresses only increase his desire for the whore.” Mott smiled maliciously. “That, and my goading about Axel will do the trick.” His brother rubbed his heart, so recently rescued from Lukan’s killing blow. “There are few things my son hates more than being compared to his cousin.”
Felix strove—and failed—to keep the incredulity out of his voice. “And if Lukan does manage to drag Lynx off to his bed, do you think a couple of pokes will be enough to produce your heir?”
Mott tapped his dagger against his thumbnail. “Possibly not. But it’s the risk of the game, isn’t it? That’s why I insisted on Kestrel for Tao. As soon as she delivers a boy, I’ll have Tao’s throat slit, too.”
Felix shivered, but he pulled his cape around his shoulders to hide it. Even though he had no qualms about murdering Mott and Lukan—or anyone else, for that matter—not in his wildest dreams could he imagine wanting to harm his own children. But it was his brother’s cruelty—and an addiction for brain-rotting chenna—that had made him so open to persuasion by Thurban.
“And if Tao can’t prove himself useful by providing an heir?” Felix taunted.
Mott looked pained. “Then he will pay for that insolence by dying. And before you ask, I will then have no choice but to take another wife. Perhaps my next crop of sons will be less of a disappointment.”
“So that’s been your plan all along, to purge your sons?” Felix hoped the question preempted any suspicion that he knew Mott’s motives.
“Don’t be so crass, brother. Purges are your thing, not mine.” Mott’s smile broadened. “We’ll only have one other death to celebrate this wedding season—Raklus’s. A fitting end to a pathetic career, don’t you think?”
This was too much, even for Felix. He gasped, shooting forward on his chair. “Raklus? The man who just saved your life?”
“Astonishing irony, isn’t it? But yes. He needs to make place for a new Lord of the Conquest if we are to win the war in Treven. And that new lord needs to understand that failure is deadly.”
“Axel,” Felix said, slapping his hand onto his thigh with frustration. “You intend to kill my friend and replace him with my son?”
“It’s called giving with one hand while taking with the other.”
“It’s called iniquity.”
Mott held up his dagger to silence Felix. “Enough, little brother. Let’s recall the sequence of events that led to the war with Treven.” Knowing what was coming, Felix’s body locked rigid. “You were the one clamoring for the invasion—therefore, we could say you are equally responsible for the losses we have suffered.”
Felix brushed his wispy hair away from his face. “You know as well as I do that we needed a fresh supply of ice crystals. The biggest reserves in the world are in Treven.”
“So you keep telling me, but it seems only fitting that you should offer some sacrifices to pay for your poor counsel.”
“And my son and friend are those sacrifices?”
“If you choose to be that melodramatic, yes.” Mott grimaced. “But the hard, cold fact is that, right now, Chenaya needs a military leader with balls of steel.”
“Yes,” Felix said. “Who else but a man who would help himself to the crown prince’s betrothed?”
“Precisely,” Mott said, with a smugness that made Felix want to hit him. “I intend to give Axel a chance to prove if his balls are merely itching for a beautiful girl or if they are indeed loaded with the stuff that makes a Lord of the Conquest great.”
Felix cursed Axel’s stupidity and life-threatening arrogance under his breath. Not to mention the sudden lucidity of his brother’s mind. “And the attack on Lapis will prove that to you?”
“Of course not. That’s a mere diversion. I have no doubt Axel will crush Lapis without breaking a sweat.”
“Then what?”
“Telling Lynx about the ice crystals was an affront I’m struggling to come to terms with—even from Axel,” his brother said. “He has to make up for that by rendering me a service. It’s the only way I can trust his loyalty.”
“What kind of service?” Felix asked warily. This conversation had taken a turn he had not foreseen and did not appreciate.
“Before leaving for Lapis, he will kill Lukan and Raklus. He will then finish the job after Tao’s first son is born. Until then, he is under probation.”
Felix’s icy blood chilled. “You plan to make my son complicit in murdering the crown prince and his brother? So—so you can blackmail and control him all his life? The Fifteen will never condone those murders. The minute they hear of them, they will howl for Axel’s blood.”
“That will teach him to go chasing whores.” Mott grinned.
“Never!” Felix stood, pulling his body as straight as possible. “I will not permit it.”
“Shut up, Felix,” his brother said, dragging him back down onto his seat. “Axel isn’t a child. He’s a man with an appetite for power and beautiful women. He can have both—if he does what I command. If he fails, then, as valuable as he is on the battlefield, I’ll know he cannot be trusted, and I will hand him over to the Fifteen to do with him as they please.”
Felix knew very well that any trial would be a farce. The Fifteen would be commanded to execute Axel, and they dared not disobey. His pale face flushed. “And you expect me to support this . . . this abomination?”
Mott slammed his dagger into Felix’s dangling sleeve, trapping his hand to the arm of the chair. “Yes, I do. If you wish to live, because, as you yourself said, I’m in the mood for purges.” His brother pulled the knife free. “Now go and break the good news to your son.”
Felix sat motionless. “Axel will never agree to this.”
“Oh yes, he will, when you tell him to clear a space in his bed for Lynx. She can be his first prize. And when he’s tired of her, he can throw her to the wolves for all I care.”
Mott flung the dagger at the chenna-stained portrait of the two of them hanging on the wall. The knife sliced a perfect gash in Felix’s throat.
“Now go, before I finish you off and break the news to him myself.”
Chapter 34
Lynx shook her head, refusing to believe that she had been so wrong about Axel. Why would he betray her? What did he have to gain? It didn’t make sense to her.
There had to be more cameras in her room, ones Axel hadn’t known about last night. Cameras he’d discovered today.
So what was Mott playing at?
Cursing herself for not joining Axel for breakfast, she ran to the door, intent on finding him. As she reached for the handle, the door flung open, and Kestrel burst into the room.
“Aren’t you excited?” Kestrel yipped, waving a diamond and emerald encrusted egg in the air. “It’s such an honor.”
Lynx’s jaw sagged.
“The raid. Didn’t anyone tell you?” Kestrel asked.
Lynx shook her head to shake her sense of surrealism. The only raid she knew concerned their parents’ heads, but not even Kestrel could be that callous. Not trusting her voice, she prized the egg from Kestrel’s hand and opened it. No light burst forth. Instead, cushioned on a bed of gold, sat a miniature ostrich egg. She looked at Kestrel.
Kestrel’s eyes gleamed back at her. “Everyone got an egg like this at breakfast. At least all us young high-born did. Oh, and Lukan wasn’t there. Although everyone was whispering about what happened last night. What were you thinking?”
“All the wrong things. Trust me, Kestrel, if I could undo that punch, I would. But I can’t. Now I just have to do my best to save the situation for both of us.”
“Both of us?” Kestrel took a step back. “I’m not involved in your problems, Lynx. I’ve been the model princess. No one can criticize me.”
“Of course you are.” Lynx sighed. “Okay, tell me about this egg.”
“We’re having a treasure hunt today,” Kestrel breathed, all concern forgotten. “In a labyrinth, here in the palace. But,” she gave a mock bow and then squealed, “in our honor, the main prize is a golden ostrich egg covered in jewels. It goes to the person who finds it first.” Kestrel spun around, making her skirt twirl.
Since when did Kestrel care about egg raids?
“At last, I get a chance to raid an egg without the risk of killing myself.”
“A mock raid?” Lynx demanded, biting back bile. “Can’t you see it? They’re insulting us, Kestrel. Norin culture. Our culture.”
“Lynx, I’ve always believed in embracing the good from both cultures—and this is as good as an egg raid gets.” Kestrel snatched her enameled egg back from Lynx. “We are not savages living in Norin anymore. This is the Heartland, where they do things with class and style—and without unnecessary bloodshed. And at the end, one gets something of value—not just your stupid honor.” She rolled her eyes. “And with Tao so willing to give away everything he has, this is about the only way I’ll get any riches.”
Regardless—or maybe in spite—of the cameras, it was time to educate her sister. Lynx grabbed her egg informa off the table and sat on the bed. “I have something to show you that may change your mind about how civilized they are.”
“Make it quick because the raid is about to start, and I plan to be first off the line. I came to you because I didn’t want you to miss out.”
“This won’t take long, I promise.” Lynx waited until Kestrel sat before opening the lid on her egg.
Nothing but a miniature ostrich egg glinted back at her. Lynx swore, prodding it with her finger, but no light or voice beamed forth. Mott’s presence had obviously been a onetime wonder.
“The damn thing stopped working.” She flung the egg onto the table, hoping the impact would inspire Mott to appear, but the informa remained stubbornly silent.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Kestrel grabbed Lynx’s hand and leaped to her feet. “But come, or we’ll be late.”
Lynx resisted, pulling her sister back down onto the bed. “Wait. Just because I can’t show you Mott’s message doesn’t mean I don’t have something to tell you.”
“The only message the emperor has for us is to go and have fun raiding some treasure,” Kestrel said. “And I would have thought you’d be happy for me. Aren’t you the one always extolling egg raids?”
“No. Yes. Not like this.” Lynx sighed, knowing she wasn’t winning any friends here. “Look, Kestrel, I know it’s a lot to take in, but Mott sent me a hidden message in my egg, telling me that unless I sleep with Lukan on our wedding night, he’ll send Axel to Norin to behead our parents.” Even as she spoke, Lynx knew how unlikely that sounded. She didn’t need Kestrel’s incredulous expression to guess her sister thought her crazy.
“A hidden message? To you? From the Emperor of All Chenaya and the Conquered Territories? Come on, Lynx, you might have been someone special in Norin, but it doesn’t count here.”
“It’s not like that, Kestrel,” Lynx pleaded.
“Then where’s my hidden message?” Kestrel demanded.
This wasn’t the time to get into a debate with Kestrel, so Lynx picked up her egg again. “Mott and Felix watch everyone all the time. They have something called electricity. I don’t know how it works because it predates the Burning, but it powers these insane devices—like this egg—that show moving pictures of people. They even come with sound so—”
“Predates the Burning?” Kestrel interrupted. “Really, Lynx, do you think I’m that stupid? And of course the emperor wants you to sleep with Lukan. You are marrying him.”
“Kestrel, please listen, for once.”
Kestrel jumped to her feet. “No, Lynx, you listen to me. For once. I want that golden egg, and this is your chance to prove your love by sponsoring me. So, either you come with me now, or our sisterhood is over.”
Lynx let out a long, slow breath, thinking it wasn’t much of a sisterhood to begin with. She was about to refuse to go when it occurred to her that Axel would probably be at the raid. She could speak with him while Kestrel played at being a Norin.
* * *
Lynx’s shoulders slumped. Axel wasn’t in the tapestry-hung room where the egg hunt—she refused to call it a raid—was to commence. Neither, she noted, was Lukan. As usual, Tao waited alone for her and Kestrel to join him.
On the other side of the hall, a mass of celebrating young high-born thronged a wooden archway. Shaped like a golden ostrich egg, it led into the labyrinth.
Tao looked bored. Lynx sympathized. Clearly, treasure hunts were not his pleasure, either. She smiled in greeting as she and Kestrel approached.
He seemed pleased to see her. “Missed you at breakfast, Lynx. Too much ball last night?”
“Something like that,” she said dismissively.
Tao offered Kestrel his arm. It took her sister a moment to notice because her eyes darted around the hall.
Looking for Lukan, too?
Clearly not finding the object of her search, Kestrel smiled at Tao—it didn’t quite wipe the disappointment off her face—and clasped arms with him. Sadness flickered through Tao’s eyes and then vanished.
Lynx motioned to the labyrinth. “So how does all this work?”
“Everybody lines up at the archway, and when the trumpet blows, they take off into the labyrinth.”
Lynx raised her eyebrows at the idea of all those people rushing headlong through the narrow entrance.
Tao nodded. “Those who survive the crush head out to find the treasure. Today, it’s an egg.”
Lynx suppressed a smile; so much for Kestrel’s claims that there would be no unnecessary bloodshed.
“Surely our rank will let us go first?” Kestrel asked, staring bright eyed at the archway, her body quivering with excitement.
“No. It’s precisely because of our rank we’ll hold back. A treasure hunt is one of the few ways we spread wealth to the high-born.” Tao cocked a finger at the exuberant youth waiting for the signal to start. “They love these events, even though most of them will be hopelessly lost in the first few minutes. It’ll take hours for them to find their way out.”
“Sounds awful,” Lynx said. “How long does it take for the treasure to be claimed?”
“Expect to be here at suppertime.” No wonder Tao looked so unenthusiastic.
Undeterred, Kestrel asked, “How many people will make it to the egg?” She was too busy eyeing her competition to hear Tao saying the hunt wasn’t for them.
“Very few,
and then they have to fight over it. But there are plenty of other sparkly trinkets hidden in the labyrinth to keep the excitement up. Almost everyone comes away with something.” Tao smiled. “It keeps resentment at bay. They think the Avanovs are actually sharing with them.”
“That’s condemning,” Lynx said, wishing she could get behind Tao’s façade to read his real thoughts.
“The truth often is.” Tao’s beautiful blue eyes scanned the crowd, and then he sighed. “Lukan is turning out to be extremely trying.” He shot Lynx a grin. “I blame you. Word of advice—hitting a man on the jaw isn’t a good recipe for keeping him around.”
Lynx cracked a small, contrite smile.
“Thank you, Tao,” Kestrel said. “I’ve been trying to tell Lynx for days now to control her temper.”
Lynx waved to the Lukan-free space around her. “And it turns out you are both right. I take my chastisement without murmur.”
“That’s good enough for me.” Tao turned to the boisterous crowd. “Well, we can’t wait for him, or we’ll end up having a riot.” He clicked his fingers to signal to the trumpeter. “Begin.”
As the guardsman lifted the trumpet to his lips, Kestrel broke into a run, headed for the lineup. She called over her shoulder for Lynx and Tao to follow. Lynx folded her arms across her chest.
“Hey, come back,” Tao shouted to Kestrel over the blast of the trumpet.
Either Kestrel didn’t hear, or she chose to ignore him. Lynx suspected it was the latter but could do nothing about it as the crowd stampeded Kestrel through the archway.
Face distraught, Tao turned to Lynx. “How am I supposed to spend the rest of my life with a girl that pays me no mind? She’s only interested in what she can get from me.”
The rest of us have had to cope. Nice as you are Tao, what makes you different?
Lynx squeezed his arm. “I’m sorry, Tao, but my sister is a Norin. As you have seen, we don’t take instructions well.”
“‘Not taking instructions well’ is an attribute I happen to admire. Being grasping and greedy is something else altogether. Hell, it’s not like I haven’t already given her some jewelry. And if she thinks I’m going to run after her when I told her it’s not for us, then she has another thing coming.”