7
K yros didn’t wish to leave the chamber, but dawn was streaking the sky, and he had things to see to. With one last kiss on his slave’s brow, he tugged on his tunic and walked from the room.
As he closed the door gently behind him, he turned to the guards. “Do not disturb her. When you hear movement, have her meal sent in.”
He hurried to his chamber to change and found Boreas waiting for him. He friend grinned as he bit into an apple.
“Ah, the sign of a satisfied man,” Boreas said around a mouthful of apple. “Was she worth it?”
Kyros threw his clothes into a pile and laughed. “Worth every last coin.”
“Good.”
There was something in his tone that told him that Boreas had discovered something. Kyros pulled out a new tunic of dark purple and soft leather pants. As he pulled on his fresh clothes, he regarded Boreas. “What did you find?”
“You were right. Dugu has been in charge of the slave market for too long.”
“Nothing new there. He’ll need to be replaced immediately,” he said as he swept his hands through his tousled hair. “Did you find much corruption?”
The lengthy silence from his closest friend made fear snake down his spine. He turned to Boreas. “What did you discover?”
“The very worst, Kyros. Hesione alone didn’t start the war.”
Kyros’s legs nearly gave out. He walked to the table near the window and slowly sank into the chair. “Explain.”
Boreas raked a hand through his hair. “It didn’t take much digging to discover just what Dugu had done. I haven’t yet discovered who, but someone in Hesione, along with Dugu, ambushed our soldiers.”
“I want Dugu arrested.”
“Already done.”
Kyros nodded. “You’re a good friend, Boreas. Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. There is no telling what we’ll discover, now that Dugu doesn’t have his hold over the slave market.”
“Halt all auctions,” Kyros said suddenly. “I have a feeling my slave wasn’t the only one sold without her consent.”
“As you wish,” Boreas said and made for the door.
“Boreas?”
“Aye?”
Kyros rose and looked out his window to his beloved kingdom. “I need to know who at Hesione did this to us. Their soldiers were killed as well.”
“My men are already trying to get the name from Dugu. We’ll have it before the day is out.”
Jarina woke with a smile on her face. Something she hadn’t expected had happened last night: it was almost as if their souls had touched. She wasn’t fool enough to believe that anything could come of their union—she was queen of Hesione and needed to return as soon as she could. Which meant leaving her new master.
She rolled onto her back and sat up. Muscles in her legs protested when she moved, making her chuckle as she recalled the many times she and her master had coupled.
It had surprised her when he’d asked her name. Part of her had wanted to tell him the truth, to see what he would do, but another part had cautioned her.
She rose from the bed, hastily washed, and put back on the simple white gown she had worn the day before. She tied the belt loosely around her waist and then sat at the small table and mirror and began to brush her hair. It was knotted terribly from their lovemaking, but she didn’t mind.
The door suddenly opened, and Jarina whirled around, hoping it was her master. Instead Seta came in bearing a tray laden with food. Her footsteps were hurried and her face pinched with worry.
“Seta? What is it?”
“I’m not sure. Something is going on, though. Dugu, the old lord who was in charge of the slave market, has been brought to the palace and is being questioned. It is rumored that someone will replace him as controller of the slave market, but, until then, all auctions have been halted.”
Jarina could only stare openmouthed at Seta as she hurried from the room. She blinked and looked down at the food Seta had brought. A moment ago she had been starving, but now all she could think of was that her opportunity to return to Hesione might very well come this day.
“Kyros!”
Boreas’s shouts thundered through the palace as he called for his king.
“Here!” Kyros bellowed as he rushed from his throne room to the hallway to meet his friend. “What is it?”
“Our troops need to be assembled. We might have moved too slowly in bringing Dugu here.”
Kyros gripped Boreas’s arm. “Calm down. What are you talking about?”
“The person at Hesione that was conspiring with Dugu is Queen Jarina. She and her army are headed here now to take over your kingdom.”
Kyros’s stomach fell to his feet like lead. He knew just how weakened and devastated his army was. They didn’t stand a chance against Hesione’s army. “Gather what men you can,” he said. “Meet me in the courtyard in half an hour.”
As Boreas ran to get the troops, Kyros turned to retrieve his armor, only to skid to a halt. If he left the palace, his slave could very well be killed if the city was attacked. Yet he couldn’t take her with him.
“Guards!” he hollered as he rushed to his chamber.
The two men followed, eager to do his bidding. “I have a new slave in the east wing. Take her out of the kingdom and hide her in my country manor. Make sure she’s safe.”
“Aye, sire,” they said in unison before pivoting to find the slave.
Kyros knew she’d be safe out of the kingdom. If she got out in time. He pushed aside thoughts of her as he hurried to strap on his sword and daggers. By the time he reached the courtyard, Boreas had already assembled the men, who now waited for Kyros outside the gates of the kingdom.
“Ready?” Boreas asked.
“To think I thought the queen had been duped like I was. What a fool I’ve been.”
Boreas clapped him on the back once Kyros was mounted on his horse. “You cannot see everything, my brother. Let’s finish this today.”
“Aye. It’s time for peace.”
The ground rumbled like thunder as Kyros rode through the gates and set his army toward Hesione.
Jarina watched from her balcony at who she could only imagine was the king riding through the gates of the kingdom, where he met up with the entire Pereth army. Her stomach twisted in knots as she realized the man she had come to care for was out there somewhere and might never return.
She didn’t want to think about never seeing him again, but there was nothing for it. Her hands gripped the rail of the balcony as the army began to move, the ground shaking in their wake.
The door to her chamber flew open. Jarina whirled around to see four guards fill the room.
“What is this about?” she demanded.
“We’ve been instructed to get you out of here,” the tallest of them said. His voice was deep and his shoulders wide.
Jarina shook her head. “Why?”
“We’re at war,” another stated. “There isn’t time. We must leave now.”
At his words, the first guard tossed her another gown. “Change into that so we won’t be stopped. We cannot leave with you dressed as a slave.”
The other two guards who had been standing at her door since she’d arrived turned on their heels and hurried away. Through the door she could see other servants and more guards rushing around the corridors.
She gripped the gown to her chest. “Give me but a moment and I will be ready.”
They nodded and left the chamber. As the door closed and she began to untie her belt, she couldn’t help but offer up a prayer for her new master. Their time had been short, but it had been the best time of her life, and she didn’t wish to see him hurt in any way.
After she stepped out of her slave gown, she put on the dark purple gown that hung sensuously against her skin, making her think of her master. She smoothed down the sleeveless gown and then tied the silk-braided belt around her waist. After a deep breath, she walked to the doors and opened them.
“I’m ready.”
The guards nodded, and she followed them down a maze of corridors until they reached the outside. Standing in the courtyard were three horses. One guard quickly helped her mount, and before she had barely taken the reins in her hands, they were off.
Chaos ensued as Pereth readied for the worst, and deep in the pit of her stomach, Jarina feared that Hesione might be attacking, that her uncle was attacking. She had to reach Hesione before her uncle did something she couldn’t undo.
Wind whipped at her face as she followed one guard through the streets and the other rode behind her. Images of her night with the man she called Master continued to flash in her mind, making it more and more difficult to leave Pereth without saying good-bye to him. But she had no choice.
She was Queen Jarina of Hesione, and with that title came responsibilities. Her happiness came second to the welfare of her people. As they passed the gates of the kingdom, she pulled up on her reins.
The guards faced her, their helmets obstructing her view of most of their faces. “What’s wrong?” one asked sharply.
She took a deep breath and raised her chin. “Do you know who I am?”
“Nay,” the second guard all but shouted. “We were told to get you out of the palace and to safety. And that’s what we’re going to do.”
“What you’re going to do is take me home.”
Both guards stared at her silently for a moment, giving her time to continue.
“I am Queen Jarina of Hesione, and I must return to my kingdom at once.”
The first guard started laughing as he took off his helm. “That’s a nice try, but you forget I saw you dressed as a slave.”
Jarina expected his response. “I was dressed that way so no one would know who I was. I was visiting King Kyros in an attempt to make peace between our kingdoms,” she lied smoothly.
“I don’t believe you,” the first guard said, looking to the second.
The second guard looked as though he didn’t know what to believe.
“You have two choices: take me back to Hesione and be well rewarded by me and your king, or keep me away and die when both kingdoms realize what you have done.”
“Hesione is attacking us!” the first guard shouted.
“My uncle is attacking, you idiot. Now take me back to Hesione or stay here.”
The guard sneered at her. “I’m taking you where I was ordered to take you.”
Jarina nudged her mount forward until she and the guard were facing each other. “You won’t take me to my people?”
“Nay.”
In a blink she threw her elbow into his ribs. He grunted and doubled over with a moan. She lifted her knee the same time his face moved downward, and she kneed him in the face, knocking him unconscious. She pushed the guard off his horse, where he fell with a thud to the ground.
She then turned to the other guard. “I will go alone if I must, but I will return to Hesione.”
After a moment the guard nodded. “I’ll take you. I just pray you’re telling the truth.”
8
K yros had never been so furious in his life. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on Queen Jarina so he could wring her neck for her treachery.
Gaining entrance into her kingdom had been far easier than he had expected. He and Boreas only had taken ten soldiers with them as they’d entered the kingdom, while the rest of the army hid in the nearby forest. It would just take a blow from their horn to send the army descending on Hesione.
Kyros raised his hand to halt his men before he dismounted. The city was eerily quiet, as if it were deserted. His eyes scanned the nearby buildings, but he saw nothing.
“What is it?” Boreas whispered.
“I don’t know. Leave two here with the horses. We need to get into the palace.”
The men kept to the shadows as they slowly made their way to the palace. They encountered no one until they reached the palace of Queen Jarina. Two men guarded the front entrance and another two a side entrance. Just as Kyros was about to send his men to kill the guards at the side entrance, a door opened and a maid ran outside and into the trees, her skirts held high as she laughed.
Kyros and his men watched and waited as a man followed her outside; Hesione guards quickly disappeared into the palace. By the man’s dress, he was a noble, and by the look on his face and the swell in his pants, he and the girl would be occupied for a while.
Kyros motioned his men inside the doorway after the couple wandered off. As soon as they entered, they found themselves in the kitchen staring at a portly woman who looked as though she had lost her entire family.
She raised her solemn gray eyes to Kyros and leaned back in her chair. “What do you want?”
“I’ve come looking for the queen,” Kyros said. “Tell me where I can find her.”
“I’ll tell you where you can find her uncle. He’ll tell you where she’s gone,” the woman answered tartly, fire lighting her eyes for a moment. She sighed loudly and pointed to a stairway. “Take those stairs. They will lead you to a long corridor. You’ll find her uncle in the throne room. It’s the sixth door on the right.”
Kyros glanced at the stairway. “You need to come with us.”
“Why?” she asked. “I’m not about to sound an alarm.”
“I can’t take that chance,” he said as he took her by the arm and pulled her up. She barely reached his chest and met his gaze with more courage than he expected.
Her lack of interest in why he was at the castle puzzled him. As he pulled her toward the stairway, she pushed behind her ear a strand of gray hair.
“Why are you leading me to her uncle so willingly?” he asked her.
She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t care for the man. No one does.”
“But you care for your queen?”
“I do.”
He laughed as they stepped into the dimly lit corridor with soaring ceilings and many doors. “Yet you lead me to the very man that will hand her over to me. I don’t think you like you queen very much at all.”
She harrumphed. “I don’t give a wart’s ass what you think.”
“Watch how you speak to my king,” Boreas hissed from behind her.
She looked over her shoulder at Boreas and then glanced at Kyros. “He’s not my king, so I’ll talk to him however I please.”
Kyros raised a hand to stop Boreas from chiding the woman further. He didn’t care how this woman talked to him as long as he could capture Jarina and end the war before more blood was shed.
“There,” the woman said as she stopped in front of huge double doors. “He’s in there. He’s always in there.” She had such hatred in her voice it made Kyros pause.
He nodded to his men, who threw open the doors as he shoved the woman inside. She gasped as she stumbled into the throne room, giving Kyros and his men the diversion they needed to assess the occupants and take control.
Only four guards and two men were in the room. Out of the corner of his eye, Kyros saw his men surround the guards as he and Boreas walked to the two men near the thrones at the back of the large room.
“Which of you is Ampyx!” Kyros bellowed.
An older man, eyes filled with malice, stepped forward, his hand on his dagger at his waist. “I am. And you are?”
In the space of a heartbeat, Kyros pulled his sword and leveled the tip on Ampyx’s throat, forcing the man to his knees. “Where is she?”
“Wh—who?” he stuttered, his hands raised and shaking.
“Jarina. Summon her immediately.”
Ampyx looked helplessly to his friend, who Boreas held immobile with a dagger at his throat. Finally Ampyx returned his gaze to Kyros. “I cannot.”
Anger flooded Kyros. He pushed the tip of his sword into Ampyx’s throat. Blood welled and dripped onto Ampyx’s red tunic. “Cannot or will not?”
“Cannot,” Ampyx repeated. “She isn’t here.”
Jarina held her breath as she and the Pereth guard circled
around Kyros’s massive army outside her gates. Her guard had proven highly skilled, and they had covered the ground quickly as they rode to Hesione.
Suddenly he held up a hand to stop her; then he turned his mount around to come even with her. “We’re at the gates. I don’t suppose you want to go in the front?”
She smiled and shook her head. “It’s time you followed me now,” she said and nudged her horse.
She couldn’t reach the palace quick enough. It took everything in her not to rush to the gates and shout her identity to all, but her need to see the shock on her uncle’s face kept her quiet.
The trail to the hidden entrance to the palace was overgrown and barely discernable, and the only way Jarina knew her way was because her father had made sure she could get to the entrance blindfolded in case of an emergency.
She jumped from her horse when they reached the doorway. “This way,” she said to the guard.
He followed close behind her as she pushed open the nearly hidden doorway in the stones. She closed the door behind them and pointed to the palace. “We’ll go in through the side entrance.”
After he nodded, she hurried toward the door and the guards. As soon as they approached, the guards blocked their way with their spears.
“Move,” she commanded them.
They both hesitated as they glanced at each other. The younger one finally spoke. “I’m glad you finally returned, my queen.”
Her heart fell to her feet. “What has my uncle told everyone?”
The soldier shrugged. “I know not.”
“Then how did you know I was gone?” she asked. She was ever thankful she had one of Pereth’s guards with her.
The guards exchanged another look. “We were two of the six that took you, your highness.”
“Took me?” she repeated, unsure she had heard him correctly. “You would dare abduct your queen?”
“Aye,” he quickly replied. “Lord Ampyx wanted us to kill you. Instead we took you to Pereth and the slave market. We knew you would eventually find your way back.”
Jarina sighed as the full impact of what her uncle had done settled around her. “And my personal guards?”
Pleasure of His Bed Page 16