by Stacy Reid
“Hari Tehdra.”
Obsidian eyes slowly shifted to him. “King Ajali?”
He smiled at the challenge in her tone. “Meet my brother, High Duke Uriah, and his wife, Lady Shae.”
Tehdra rose from the table and executed an elegant curtsey. Did she not realize her head did not lower, and she displayed no deference? Nothing about her indicated she came from a lower family.
Ajali’s interest mounted with rapidity.
Everyone sat and started to eat from the platters of roasted meats, pies and fruits artistically displayed on the large table.
The first step in appearing besotted was underway. Lady Shae was influential with the other ladies of the high court. By tomorrow, the castle would be rife with gossip that the king had a commoner dined at his table, and he’d been unable to tear his gaze away.
He grunted softly, for his inability to shift his regard from Tehdra was not false.
A heavy groan echoed in the room, and the door opened once more. Lady Sascha sauntered in as if he’d extended an invitation.
“I am sorry I am late, my king,” she said with saccharine sweetness and a curtsy.
Uriah’s displeasure was pronounced.
His wife smiled softly at him. “I invited Lady Sascha to dine with us tonight, my love.”
Anger darkened Uriah’s hazel eyes. She returned his gaze unflinchingly.
Uriah sent Ajali a swift glance of apology. Lady Shae knew as his hari, Lady Sascha was not allowed in his private wing unless Ajali commanded it.
“Dine with us, Lady Sascha,” he said drily.
She gave him a radiant smile and slid gracefully into the winged back chair closest to Ajali. Her blond curls hung to her hips in all its glory, and her blue eyes only showed heat. She dressed in a caftan that displayed all her charms, and she was exquisite…yet, he was not enticed.
He considered Tehdra, and desire rushed through him once more. She looked so cool and remote, waiting to be thawed, yet he knew she burned hot, and his cock flexed in remembrance.
“The court is alive with talk that you added a black haired temptress to your harem. Your Serangite is distressed and is awaiting an audience with you,” Lady Sascha said slyly with a pointed glare at Tehdra.
“The hari Tehdra is not the only black haired female in the harem,” Uriah said, amusement coloring his tone. “It would be silly in its extremity to banish all females on such a meager description. If Ruxia desires a greater response, she must provide a more thorough picture. For all we know someone could have disguised themselves in their assassination attempt.”
Lady Sascha’s lips flattened at being thwarted.
Ajali could not act on the information Ruxia had given him. When she’d initially told him of the vision, his brother and high chancellors had worked tirelessly to achieve another outcome. They had banished over one hundred women from his harem and had proceeded to rid the castle of all women with dark-colored hair. He’d halted their frantic actions. They needed more information before they could act. Ruxia could not even tell them of where her vision unfolded. What would they do then? Find a method of removing all such women from his sight even when he visited the other realms?
Ajali was not afraid of his death, much to the disconcertion of his council and his brother. It was foolish to worry about the inevitable. The fall of his people, his kingdom, however, was untenable. Nothing was more important than to sustain the legacy his mother and father had given their lives for. The legacy he had been called a tyrant for when he’d fought to protect it. Ajali was greatly concerned about the war to turf him from his throne, but he was adept at searching out treachery. He was a King—the most dangerous position to hold in any kingdom. Death stalked Kings’ footsteps as those who wanted to rule and subjugate, plotted without ceasing. His own people spied and worked against him. Mevia wanted him off the throne and that in itself was a curiosity. The kingdoms had been at peace for more than three centi. Prosperity reigned and the kingdoms flourished. Yet, whispers of war abound and he knew they were much more than rumors. His spies reported that Avindar and Mevia were preparing secretly for war—massive amounts of food had been prepared and put in hidden storage, strategic armies were being carefully trained in each kingdom and weapons of all kinds were being stock piled. To what end, he had yet to uncover.
He’d acted decisively when his oracle had informed him that war would visit Amagarie again. The outcome of his kingdom depended on his every decision. The Borean Mountains had been integral to his success, and he had moved with cunning to secure an alliance with their kingdom. The laws that governed Nuria only allowed for a queen of similar ranking, the highest on the aristocracy ladder.
Uriah was already married to Lady Shae, a High Duchess of Aria, and his sister Xian could not wed the Princess. It was a pity the Borean lieges did not have a son with whom he could blood-oath his sister. They only had Princess Saieke.
Never in Amagarie’s history had royalty married royalty. Never had they had an allegiance—a joint heir-ship of thrones. Yet the Borean king had agreed to Ajali’s proposal. The rumors of war had then solidified into something tangible. He had seen knowledge of war and death in the Borean king’s eyes.
The allegiance had fallen through due to the princess becoming the mate of a Darkan. Ajali had not contemplated trying to take her from him. The bloodshed that would have flowed in the streets of both kingdoms was not worth it. He wanted to avoid battling at all cost. The last Great War had ravaged the seven kingdoms, and the depth of cruelty that he had lowered himself to protect his people when his father and mother had fallen was not something he ever wanted to revisit. He would conspire and assassinate to avoid war, instead of reviving the tyrant.
“What house are you from?” Lady Shae asked of Tehdra.
He drank deeply from his chalice as he waited for her reply. When it came, his gut tightened.
“I am from the house of Kabul, the third daughter of master Thorne.”
Her voice scraped against his skin with its sensuality, low and smooth, throaty yet feminine.
“What is he master of?” Lady Sascha said with a tinkling laugh. “I am not familiar with that house, and I know most of the upper lords’ houses from Aria.” A small pause and then, “You are from Aria, are you not?”
Tehdra inhaled subtly, and pleasure lighted her eyes. If Ajali had not been watching her so closely he would have missed her reaction. For the briefest of moments cruelty settled on her features like a second skin, then it disappeared.
He was beyond intrigued.
***
Envy and anger pulsed beneath the countess’ veneer of civility. Pleasure hummed through Tehdra as she fed from the other woman’s negative emotions. Strangely, she could feel distaste from Lady Shae as well. Apparently the two viewed Tehdra as a usurper.
She swallowed the piece of meat she had been chewing. “My father is a master of glass. He is the best in the village and provides many of his works to our king. His work is known throughout the kingdom, hence the title of master.”
There was a sharp intake of breath, and Lady Sascha’s anger spiked.
“A lower house daughter as a hari?”
Tehdra did not deign to answer.
The doors to the dining hall flung open, and energy blasted through the room in the form of a petite and beautiful young woman. Her skin was dark and smooth, but the vivid green of her eyes gave away her connection to Ajali. She rushed to his side and kissed his cheek, doing the same to Uriah. It was strange that Uriah did not possess their eyes; his were a soft hazel with a mixture of pale green.
“I am late,” she said, laughing. “Forgive me, Ajali.”
“Forgiven,” he said with an indulgent smile. “What kept you this time?”
“I was learning to control Azriel, thank you again, kalija, for such a wonderful gift.” She kissed his jaw and then sat down
.
Her gaze ran across the table and rested on Tehdra, then travelled to her attire and jewelry.
“Haris at our table, Kalija?” She asked with raised imperious brows.
“Tehdra, I present my sister, Princess Xian.”
Tehdra stood and curtsied, and the princess nodded.
The princess greeted Ladies Shae and Sascha with welcoming smiles, never removing her gaze from Tehdra.
“The castle is alive with talk of your beauty. I see they have not exaggerated.”
“I thank you,” Tehdra said.
The princess smiled but it did not reach her eyes. “It is curious that my brother—”
“You are to be trainer to the hari Tehdra,” Ajali said, rendering his sister silent.
Tehdra frowned and lowered her fork. What was this?
“Trainer?” the princess and Lady Sascha demanded in unison.
“What do you mean, kalija?” Xian asked, a frown splitting her beautiful face.
“Tehdra is unskilled in the fighting arts, and I wish for you to undertake taijiu training with her starting in the morn,” he said smoothly.
“You jest! My duties are not that of a trainer, and I have Azriel to master.”
“And yet I require you to undertake her training,” he said.
Jealousy wafted to her. Tehdra flicked her gaze to Lady Sascha. Her face was impassive, but the envy and ire that bled from her was dark and spicy, carrying a tinge of bitterness.
“Why do you keep a hari that is unskilled and not suited for your harem?” Lady Shae asked.
“Lady Shae,” Uriah snapped, cold anger riding his voice. “You will not question your king.”
Defiance flashed in her eyes. “I am only asking what we are all wondering, my lord. It is known that Ajali does not keep untrained haris.”
“Uriah, please do not snap at your lady,” Princess Xian murmured. A hint of unease drifted across her face. “This was the first thing I wondered when kalija made his request. Yet, I can see from his closed off expression that he will not discuss it.”
She waved at Tehdra dismissively. “Very well, kalija, I will train your hari Tehdra in Taijiu. But I will not be responsible for marring her pretty, pale skin.”
Ajali chuckled and tugged at the braids that hung past her hips.
Tehdra liked that he smiled so easily, yet he was a predator.
The slight tension that had invaded the dining room dissipated. She still felt the low hum of jealousy from Lady Sascha, and Tehdra devoured her meal with gusto as she was ignored by all as they bantered and ate.
Lady Sascha talked with Shae and Xian animatedly, and it was obvious to Tehdra that haris were not disdained despite the reaction she got from his sister. She found it puzzling that Lady Sascha was a hari; she was a countess of the realm, powerful and rich in her own right. She and her brother were from the house of Assia, loyal aristocrats to the house of Haddin. Why had she placed herself in his harem?
Once again the doors opened, and a warrior glided in without making a sound. He smelled like death. Viciousness hummed to life in her as she noted the lethal way he moved towards Ajali.
“News from Acheron,” the unknown warrior whispered.
A spark of heat rushed from Ajali only to be quickly contained. He met Uriah’s eyes and some sort of message seemed to flow between them before it was quickly veiled.
“Ladies, if you will excuse us,” Ajali said and flashed from the room without waiting for acknowledgement.
Subtle tension invaded Xian limbs. She made as if to leave and then hesitated.
“Is all well, Xian?” Shae asked, looking at the door in bemusement.
The smile that curved Xian lips did not reach her eyes. “I had entertainment planned after dinner.”
Tehdra tasted the fear that filtered from her. She hid it well; her expression did not betray her feelings.
“Let’s adjourn to the drawing room. No need to spoil our entertainment because the men left,” the princess said in a jovial tone that was obviously false to Tehdra, and apparently to her alone.
Lady Sascha and Lady Shae laughed, and conversation picked up as if there were no lull.
Three pair of eyes bore into her as she pushed back her chair. “If you will excuse my presence, I will not join you for the evening entertainments.”
The princess nodded, and Tehdra walked away. At the exit Xian’s voice reached her, cool and remote.
“Be sure to be at the battlement arena first thing in the morn, hari.”
Darkness stirred, and pleasure rippled through her. Tehdra lifted her brow as she glided from the room.
Distrust.
Its flavor was so biting her teeth had almost chattered. She would only have a few days at most to uncover the Darkans that spied for the enemy at castle Shelah and remove them. Ajali also distrusted her because she had failed to research all that a hari had to offer.
I have not failed. Ajali had not fallen, and she still resided within his castle walls. She would simply disappear and leave the city if her position became precarious. Then find a way to exist in the shadows without alerting the warriors who were witches.
She flowed through the castle trying to trace Ajali’s steps, dancing with the shadows and darkness to ferret out information. There was no pulse of fear, and other negative emotions for her darkness to follow. She inhaled the shadows inside her with relish, yet there were no flavors of death and pain.
Tehdra stood high on a turret overlooking the castle grounds, opening her mind deeper to her darkness, spearing her chakra to encompass the entire court. Anger flared, jealousy pulsed and…ahhh. Greed rushed to her, and she ate the dark energies with relish. Power hummed beneath her skin, and she welcomed the savagery that filled her mind.
Mine…
Patience, she slid back to her beast.
The suspicions she felt had to be side tracked. Xian posed a threat, yet so did Ajali. The thought that brought the cruel smile to her lips could not apply to him—she could not silence him by ripping out his throat.
She turned her thoughts to the princess. How to silence the misgivings of Princess Xian? How to train and appear naïve in the art of warfare?
Tehdra pulled the shadows to her, sinking inside its obscurity.
All distrust must be silenced.
Chapter Five
The Darkage—Kingdom of Darkness and Shadows
The Northern Keep
Blood, hot and spicy, flowed down Princess Saieke’s throat. She shuddered and clamped down on Drac’s thick length as pleasure bombarded her. His hips snapped hard in a final thrust, and she climaxed in a burst of bliss so intense she released her fangs from his neck and screamed.
Fangs,
He kissed her lips in a tender, soothing gesture.
She still struggled with the knowledge that she now possessed fangs, drank the blood of her lover, had strength and speed that could almost rival the most powerful Amagarian, and most amazing of all, she was the mate of a Darkan. Each morning after breaking her fast, the first thing she did was read the scrolls in the great archives hoping for an explanation. Was she to fully turn into a Darkan, or were the abilities she had glean the extent of her transformation? Could she have a child, and if she did, would he or she, be a Darkan?
As the Borean princess and heir to the throne, Saieke had never expected she would now be living in the realm of shadows and darkness. She had fled her kingdom in hopes of escaping a binding marriage to the king of Nuria. Her flight had forced her into the Darkage and instead of being ripped to pieces as she had expected, she’d found Drac, her mate, her paradise.
Pleasure drained from her, leaving exhaustion in its wake. Saieke slowly licked her mate’s throat and watched the pinpricks heal as if they never existed. “I am still startled every time I feed from you,” she murmured in the crook
of his neck.
She laughed huskily as he moved with her, and it seemed as if he simply appeared with her in the caves under their castle. It was alit with crystals and not the great torches they were used to. The Northern keep was the only castle in the Darkage illuminated by the crystals from Avindar that seemed to hold lightning within them. Negotiations were underway for more crystals to be delivered to the entire kingdom. Drac tipped her, and she dropped with a splash into the deep body of water. Though she laughed, sadness pierced her heart. It has been weeks, and her Queen blades were still not by her side.
I can feel your sadness princess, Drac growled in her mind through their lei—the psychic connection that had formed since mating. Another aspect of being with him that was wonderful but still terrifying.
“I am well,” she said with a smile. But you are troubled.
He lifted her and wrapped her legs around his waist and inhaled from her neck.
I am well.
Saieke drew back and met the obsidian darkness of his gaze. They were not cold but filled with heat and memories of their loving. Shadows also lurked, and that was something she was not used to seeing from her love.
“You have received words about my blades?” she asked tentatively, fear cramping her stomach. A soft hiss filled her mind as his demon tasted her fear and rejected it.
After a small hesitation, he cupped her cheeks and sipped at her lips, soothing and loving her at the same time.
They are being held in the stronghold dungeon in Mevia. The words were whispered against her mind to lessen the harshness of what was happening.
Fear, acrid and potent, blossomed inside her. Drac pushed love at her through their lei.
Saieke felt the love tunnel through her and strangled the anxiety that swamped her, leaving something akin to peace in its wake. Her loyal blades, who had risked everything for her, were captives with her enemies—the very enemies that had hunted her when she’d fled her kingdom. They’d hunted her across the Darklands, and had almost caused her death within the Darkage itself. Now they had her Queens’s blades. Drac had promised her weeks ago that he would find them. And he had delivered.