by Stacy Reid
She blinked in bemusement. Heat flared across her cheeks. “I am not sure,” she said in a strangled voice.
“Untruth” the Serangite said flatly.
A throb started in her head.
“I am unsure as to how the amount of times is relevant,” her queen snapped leaning forward in her seat to glare at King Ajali’s high chancellor.
Saieke flashed her grateful look.
“It is necessary as my king is trying to determine if the princess is still suitable,” he said flatly.
Saieke trembled. “Dozens of times,” she said in a hoarse voice. “It is hard for me to keep track.”
“Truth”
There was a pause as the king and his chancellor conferred once more.
“You have claimed that you could not find a way to inform your king when he came back as it was distressing for you, we accept that. King Ajali is willing to overlook such a flaw of an impure bride. It is the purview of any princess to take a consort, and as such, we cannot hold you ill-accountable for it. Would you have any objections to proceeding with the ceremony, Princess? We have none.” The high chancellor voice rang true and resounded in the silence of the council room.
Cold fear sliced through her veins, wicked in its intensity. The king wanted her kingdom’s land and elixir enough to go against edicts and marry an impure princess. She could not. The trap tightened around her. “I do object.”
“Truth”
“On what grounds, Princess?”
She took a deep breath. “I love him, and I may carry his babe.”
There was an eruption of disbelief that swept through the chamber.
“Are you with child?”
“It is too soon to tell.”
“Truth.”
“We misunderstood you, Princess. You have been aware of your blood-oath to Nuria for two months now, is that not so?” the high chancellor of Boreas demanded.
“Yes.”
“Truth.” the Serangite drawled.
“Yet for you to suggest that you may be with babe would imply that you have lain with your consort recently. After you were made aware of the blood-oath by your king?” Azul demanded incredulity ringing in his voice.
She hesitated for an infinite amount of time. “Yes,” she whispered.
“Truth.”
Tears welled in her eyes when she saw the tracks that ran down her mother’s face. Saieke could not hope to lie with a Serangite examining her brain patterns with her psychic eye. She thought that she would have been examined by a healer and she could bend the timeline all she could, and said her lover had been prior to her kingdom’s pledge. The punishment to take a consort after one has been blood-oathed would be severe, if not death. She knew it would be death for the lover.
You are distressed an insidious whisper against her mind.
No, I am well. She wrenched her mind firmly away from the caress. She did not want Drac privy to what was happening. Saieke had never intended for her deception to come to light. She would be punished most severely under the laws of her kingdom.
“Did you take a lover after you heard about the blood-oath or before?” the chancellor asked.
She felt the misery that rolled off her mother as she sat forward in her chair with tension vibrating through her body.
“After,” she whispered.
“Truth.”
Please do not ask the exact date I took my consort
She heard the roar of disbelief that came from the council collectively.
Her king surged to his feet, his rage palpable. “Princess was your lover aware that you were to wed the King of Nuria?” her father rasped, with hands fisted in his robes.
“Yes” Saieke raised hands that shook to wipe at her tears. Her knees weakened and she desperately wished to sit in a chair.
“Truth.”
“You have dishonored your nation, Princess. The name of your consort and his kingdom immediately!” her king thundered.
“I cannot.” Saieke glanced at King Ajali and recoiled from the twin flames of rage in his eyes.
“You will give me the name of this traitor, Princess. Not only have you dishonored your nation, you have spat on mine. We demand satisfaction,” King Ajali’s voice was a deadly hiss as he straightened in his chair.
His high chancellor whispered furiously in king Ajali’s who stared at her, the fire in his gaze burning.
Sorrow and dread bled from her mother and father chakras. The Nurians King’s chancellor raised his hand and silence descended into the chambers.
“King Ajali is willing to continue with the binding ceremony. He is able to put his nation’s needs above his. The Princess of Boreas has indeed dishonored her kingdom by betraying her king. Before the blood binding ceremony, it is Boreas’s right, by law and honor, to punish the princess and redeem their honor. We also demand satisfaction. However, our satisfaction will be fulfilled by the death of this betrayer who thought he could lay with King Ajali’s bride. His name and kingdom, Princess,” he delivered coldly.
Saieke started at him stonily. “I submit myself to my kingdom for whatever punishment the council deems fit. I was willful and impetuous. However, I do not regret my actions. My kingdom hopes for an allegiance with yours. I propose they must settle for an alliance with a head family as I will not bind myself to the King of Nuria when I love another.”
“You will be silent!” her king roared in the chamber.
Saieke looked at her father as tears ran down her face in silent misery. She loved him, but what he asked of her, she could not fulfill. King Ajali wanted unlimited access to their mountains and healing elixirs springs, and it seemed he was willing to take a soiled bride to achieve his end. It seemed even a bride that threatened she might be pregnant by her lover was welcomed. She knew that meant whatever intrigues were going on were dire.
Fear leaked from her king’s chakra. He feared that the Nurian nation would declare war for their dishonor or he feared more than that. He feared war was coming to Amagarie and they would be a kingdom without alliance or allegiance and thus, without hope. But if she married King Ajali…Drac. He would kill them all, especially if the king raped her to ensure their vows would be unbreakable.
“You will deliver, unto this tribunal, the name of the one who helped you to betray your oath!” high chancellor of Nuria thundered.
Saieke looked at him defiantly. She would never release Drac’s name, and she knew they would never imagine that she had taken a Darkan for a lover. “I will not, he does not deserve death!”
The silence that descended was ominous.
The Azul chancellor rose and spoke. “You are dismissed, Princess, until this tribunal is convened within an hour’s time. You will be placed in the blue room where palace guards and warriors will be stationed at your door at all times. You will not be allowed to leave.”
Chapter Twenty One
“Saieke!”
She turned at her name, and for the first time since she arrived, she smiled in joy.
“Rakiae!” It seemed as if she had not seen her in eons instead of days. Saieke brushed her anxiety aside and hugged her friend.
“Oh Saieke, I am so happy that you are well. I have been so worried!” Rai clasped her tightly, kissing her cheeks.
“I am well.”
Saieke led her over to the lounge where they sat down together. A servant poured them wine in chalices and laid out several sweetmeats and tarts for them to eat. Saieke inclined her head and dismissed her, leaving her and Rai alone together.
“There are more than a dozen warriors stationed outside this door, Saieke.” Rai popped a tart in her mouth closing her eyes in bliss.
“I know,” Saieke murmured. “I am not to leave until the council has decided my fate.”
“Are you not terrified?”
“I am Rai, bu
t I cannot do what they ask. I have asked for a private audience with my parents and have been refused. I hoped that I could speak to them as their daughter so that they would understand.” Saieke clasped her hands tightly together as she smiled at her dearest friend.
They both looked up when the chamber door open and her mother swept into the room. Saieke leapt up and rushed into her arms.
“Oh Saieke,” Izumi murmured returning her hug.
“Mother.” The tears she had been fighting spilled.
“I will leave,” Rai stood.
“No, please stay,” Saieke said. “I am not sure when I will have this opportunity again.”
They sat on the lounge, and Saieke gulped her wine to steady her nerves. “I am so sorry mother, but I cannot marry King Ajali.”
Her mother leaned over and clasped her hand. “You took a lover, Saieke,” Izumi admonished.
Saieke laughed at the horrified look that appeared on Rai’s face.
“Oh kings!” Rai cried choking on her wine.
“I did and I love him,”
Her mother hesitated. “Saieke, King Ajali still desires your hand. He spoke to the council when you left. He claims he would still marry you, as his nation will understand fear drove you away. He demands the name of your lover to redeem his honor in a duel.”
“Rubbish, Mother. He wishes to kill him for being with me.”
“Yes. You were aware of the consequences to your lover if you were ever found out and still you acted.”
“I will not reveal his name or his kingdom.”
Izumi released her hands and clasped Saieke cheeks staring into her eyes. “I understand your fear for him; however if you continue to refuse, I believe King Ajali will have no choice but to declare war or refuse to sign a treaty with our kingdom. We cannot, as a kingdom, afford for him to make such decisions Saieke.”
“Mother, are you asking me to confirm the oath with King Ajali?”
“Yes.”
“I may really be with child.”
“There are ways to resolve such a delicate situation.”
Saieke recoiled.
Her father entered the chamber and held out his arms wide. She rushed to hug him.
“Do not hate me, Father” she whispered.
“Come” he said and led her back to the lounge.
“Saieke, we are facing a grave threat as a kingdom. You will be called before the tribunal in a few minutes to answer to the charges of willfully breaking an oath.” He shifted the folds of his voluminous robes and sat close to her. Eyes as blue as hers looked at her from a face bracketed with deep grooves of worry. Saieke swore the deep red of his hair seemed peppered with more grays.
Her heart thumped when she saw the misery and fear in his face. She smiled wobbly because she also saw love. “I am now aware that you have protected me from much of the intrigue that has been happening in this kingdom and others. The Mevians tried to prevent my marriage to the Nurians and they were willing to do that with my death if necessary. I think you were aware of that, my king. That they wanted me.”
She waited for him to answer.
“We received several threats when your blood-oath banners were posted. However, with an allegiance with King Ajali, we did not feel overly intimidated by such threats,” he responded.
“Are we on the brink of war, Father?” she asked.
He inhaled deeply. “I fear we are on the brink of anarchy. There are many rumors of movements within the different kingdoms. Spies have reported that Avindar and Mevia have been making preparations for war.”
“Why?”
“We are not sure, my love,” her mother responded. “They are whispers of the Kingmaker stirring, and he is an omen for war. A kingdom will lose its ruler soon. We have received several threats from both the Mevia and Avindar that warned us against joining with Nuria. Then the emperor of Mevia offered for your hand. We had already signed a binding oath with King Ajali and could not consider his proposal.”
“We are not the only kingdom with the healing elixir, Mother,” Saieke said. “Why is Boreas so coveted?”
“We are not sure. We need an allegiance if war is to threaten our kingdom; whether it is fifty years from now or several centi. It took us a long time to recover from the second Great War.”
Saieke looked at her parents and felt her insides twist. They loved her, but the love of their people was greater. That was something she understood. They had to make decisions that held the lives of millions in balance, and her life was one.
“I am aware I need to pass through several councils before I can sit with you and make decisions for the better of this nation,” She took a deep breath and continued, “If I had been made aware of exactly what was happening, I might have not fled. Yes, I ran out of fear he would ravage our lands and change the laws and the will of our people. You feared that as well, I can see, but you believed it was better to have a tyrant’s protection instead of none. I understand. We are still recovering from the war, and it was King Ajali who murdered thousands of our citizens, and burned our mountains and homes to ashes. I cannot marry him and hand to him our kingdom to rule.”
“Saieke,” her queen said, “If you refuse, Nuria will seek your death for the insult given to their king, and they will succeed in killing you. Our people will wage war upon your death, and without an alliance we could not hope to win. We fear that if you are not with the Nurian nation, the Mevians will come for you to further their agenda and we could not hope to resist that either.”
She looked at her king as he sharply stood and paced around the room with his hands clasped behind his back. His royal robes fluttered about his feet, and several times Saieke thought he was about to trip. She understood so much more now.
She could not marry the Nurian King as war would be declared when Drac came for her, and she knew with every fiber of her being that he would come. She had felt the echoes of possession and love from his beast.
“The Nurians already consider you their king’s bride,” her father said as he stomped his presence into the carpet. “They will take you by force when they leave and there is nothing we can do as a kingdom to prevent that from happening. You may refuse to confirm and refuse the ceremonies, but they will take you until you have confirmed the oath.”
“Yes my King, I may be considered his bride, but I have to confirm the oath and his kingship before he can gain heir-ship to this kingdom. Even when he takes me, I will never sign my blood or make an oath to him and Nuria.”
They will have to break me.
Her father came over to her and clasped her hand.
“As a king, I do not regret all that as transpired, but as your father, I have many regrets. My actions placed you in this position, and I can only beseech to our ancestors you will make the right decision.” He kissed her lips and walked out of the room, defeat bleeding heavy from his chakra.
“Mother,” she whispered, “advise me.”
Her queen leaned over and wiped the tears that were rolling down her face. “You love this consort of yours?” she asked.
“Yes, I do.”
“Is he of this kingdom?”
“I cannot tell you.”
“Is he of a royal line where we can forge an allegiance with his bloodline?”
“No.”
“I wish to tell you to follow your heart, but you are a princess. You have millions that will be affected by your decisions. I know your pain because I fled my kingdom to be with your father; but I was not a princess, and my nation has yet to recognize our union and claim an alliance.” Regret burned in her eyes. “We did you a disservice in how we signed the oath without consulting you. You are not just a princess, you are our daughter. You also dishonored your house and kingdom by taking a lover in the hopes of breaking an oath your Ricarkri made. You have put our nation’s honor at risk. If you refuse th
e Nurian king, he will take you, as is his right by the oath, and your people, when they learn of it, will rebel. You are loved by all Saieke. War will be inevitable. If you refuse to name your consort and his kingdom, the Nurians will demand recompense from us. The only way for us to start to mend the hurt and the fear, Saieke, is for you to give up your consort and confirm your oath with King Ajali. In time, you will learn to love him, give him a chance.”
Her queen leaned over and brushed a kiss across her cheek. “The council will summon you shortly, Saieke. Prepare yourself.” She gracefully rose and swept out of the room.
Saieke trembled as a rush of emotion swelled inside of her. All of this could have been avoided if she had stayed and met the Nurian king. She knew she would not have felt the same fascination for him that she felt when she met Drac, but mayhap she would have forced herself to be dutiful and not willful. Yet, the love that she felt for Drac and all he had to offer made all pain and sorrow gently fade.
“What will you do, Saieke?” Rai asked her.
Saieke looked at her friend through a curtain of tears. The chamber door opened.
“You are summoned to the tribunal, Princess Saieke.”
She rose gracefully and followed. Her parents were right in their assessment. The king would try and take her as was his right, given to him by the oath. Her people might resist if they knew she was unwilling, or might not when they considered their position.
Even if he were to refuse her now and cancel the oath, he would demand recompense from her kingdom for the dishonor, and they would be unable to deliver. She walked with her head held high and swept into the council chamber. She went to the dais and stopped in front of the gathering without showing fear.
Tears were still glistening in her eyes, but she did everything for them to not spill over. The tension that gripped the room was sharp and dark. She startled inside when she saw the warriors who now stood behind King Ajali had doubled. She felt the fear that sneaked from her lieges’ chakra and also from her people that sat on the council. From the Nurians, some leaked their emotions due to the intensity of their rage. She inhaled a deep breath and reached into the dark abyss of her mind and sought him.