by Narro, B. T.
She gathered her skirt beneath her knees as she sat beside Sanya. “Is this a meeting of war strategy?”
“Not yet,” Tauwin answered as Cheot returned with a beautiful young woman Sanya had yet to meet. She appeared close to Sanya’s age. A headband kept her flowing brown hair away from her blue eyes, which looked remarkably similar to Cheot’s. His daughter, Sanya guessed. She’d felt this woman read the room quickly when she’d entered, while holding a perfect smile as if excited to be there. So she was a psychic.
“Mother, councilmen, this is Bliss.” Tauwin gestured toward her, and she bowed. “She will be my psychic.”
Tauwin had been using Kerr’s psychics to determine when someone lied, though he’d made it quite clear to everyone that they wouldn’t all remain. It seemed suspicious to Sanya that he’d chosen one she’d never seen before. It must have to do with her relation to Cheot, but probably not as much as her beauty has to do with it.
Bliss walked around the table to stand beside Tauwin. She looked comfortable at the proximity. Too comfortable. Sanya gritted her teeth.
Kithala showed Tauwin a concerned look but said nothing.
“Yes, Mother, what is it?”
“I have some questions—”
“Everything will be answered momentarily,” he interrupted. “Hector, escort out the servants and close the door.”
Tauwin’s henchman did as he was told. When the door was shut and barred, he leaned against it and folded his arms.
“Amos, you’ve served as a councilman for longer than I’ve been alive, correct?”
“Yes, sire.”
“You’ve even served a Takary.”
Amos squinted his beady eyes, giving a confused glance to the psychic. “I have, sire. Rinn Takary.” Amos sounded as if he’d been questioned about this already.
“And who was your favorite king to serve?”
The old man laughed nervously. “That’s a difficult question to answer. The truth is I liked Kerr the best. He was old like me, and our plight is often misunderstood by the young.” He laughed.
Tauwin smiled as if he might laugh with Amos, but then his mouth straightened. “Except you didn’t like him just because he was old, did you?”
Amos stopped laughing. “I suppose I respected him and agreed with him.”
“You suppose?”
“I do, sire. I did, I mean.” He swallowed nervously. “But I support you completely now.”
It was the truth. Sanya had a breath of relief at not having to watch the old man beheaded.
Tauwin glanced up at Bliss. She had a twinkle of amusement in her eyes as she smiled down at him. “It’s a lie, sire,” she said, sounding like a young girl who was trying to be seductive.
“Now just wait a moment!” Amos jumped up from his seat. “That is no lie! I’ve given you my full counsel. I’ve been helping you take over Kyrro to the best of my abilities, and I plan to continue.”
“Another lie,” Bliss said. But it wasn’t. There was fear, yes, but no doubt to his meaning. Sanya couldn’t figure out what was going on.
“Preposterous!” Amos shouted. “Who is this damn woman? She’s the one lying.” He pointed his bony finger. “You can’t trust her, your highness.”
“But I do. It’s you who I don’t trust.” Tauwin nodded at Hector.
“Wait! This is wrong!” Amos backed away as Hector trudged toward him. “She’s lying!”
Kithala stood. “Tauwin, are you sure you can trust this woman?”
“I’m sure. I’ve tested her loyalty.” It wasn’t quite the truth, but it wasn’t a lie, either. Sanya didn’t know what to make of the statement except that they’d most likely shared a bed. She wasn’t jealous at the thought but worried and angry. If this woman wanted to be queen and her father was already a councilman…oh god’s mercy. Now Sanya saw where this was headed.
She was in trouble. Not necessarily today or the next, but sometime soon Bliss would need to be dealt with.
Sanya forced herself to watch as Amos threw up his arms, hopelessly trying to defend himself against Hector’s ax. She was supposed to enjoy watching traitors being killed and couldn’t let on that she knew Amos was innocent. The old man shrieked as the blade cleaved off one of his hands at the wrist and got through to his chest. The force of it knocked him down. Hector ended him with a nasty strike down onto his dome.
Sanya changed her BE to hide her pity. She needed to be glad he was dead. She felt Bliss read her. The psychic was in and out of Sanya’s mind quickly, a sign of talent. Bliss had made no mistake with Amos. She knew the man was telling the truth, yet she’d still gotten him killed.
It only deepened what Sanya already believed. Cheot would be the only councilman left soon.
Kithala and Wischard had stumbled out of their seats and now stood as far as possible from the gruesome scene. Wischard looked toward the door as if considering escape. Tauwin laughed, then looked at Sanya. His eyes went wide with glee and excitement.
“She’s the only one still seated! Marvelous, Sanya! How special you are!” He rose up from his chair, walked over, and took her mouth in a series of wet kisses that showed plainly how he wished to bed her right there. She made herself enjoy it, kissing him back feverishly. She ignored how inappropriate it was to kiss so passionately after watching a man murdered, as if she and Tauwin had been aroused by the sight. But she needed to be the woman he wanted her to be.
“Bastial hell,” Wischard said in shock, though Sanya couldn’t tell which had disgusted him more, the gruesome death or the distasteful kissing.
Tauwin grabbed hold of Sanya’s arm and motioned for her to stand. She did and he took her place in her seat, then pulled her on top of him so that his hard manhood pressed against her bottom. She had to constantly manipulate her BE to keep Bliss from detecting her disgust. She couldn’t fathom how he could be aroused by all of this.
“Wischard. Remind me how long you’ve been a councilman.”
He spoke quickly and with great fear. “For many years, sire, and I am completely allegiant to you. I’ll admit I’m afraid, however. I have a family and I don’t want to die, but this fear is why I’ll do everything in my power to help you take over Kyrro, as I have been doing.”
It was all true.
With great equanimity, Tauwin turned to Bliss, as did everyone in the room. She looked unfazed by what had just happened, her hands clasped in a relaxed manner.
“It’s a lie,” she said in her squeaky voice.
Wischard gasped and fell as he tried to make it to the door. He was just getting it open when Hector caught up and cleaved off his head with a single stroke.
Sanya no longer felt Tauwin’s manhood against her. Perhaps the second death, which he must’ve known was coming, wasn’t nearly as exciting to him as the first.
He pressed on her back for her to get up, and when she did, he walked back to his throne. Hector shut the door. Sanya waited to see if he would bolt it, which would indicate whether anyone else would be killed. She never thought Tauwin was capable of ordering his mother’s death, but now Sanya wasn’t so sure.
“Cheot.”
“Yes, sire.”
“How do you feel about the death of your fellow councilmen?”
“Surprised and upset. I thought they would be deemed loyal.” Lies, every word. But what he said next was completely true. “I am loyal to you, though, sire. I’ve been loyal since the day we met.”
Tauwin looked to Bliss for verification.
“True.”
Sanya caught Kithala glancing at her. This was now a show for them, and they both knew it.
Tauwin stood. “And your loyalty will no longer be questioned. You and Bliss are dismissed.”
Hector opened the door and left with them after Tauwin gestured for him to go.
“So what did you think?” Tauwin asked her and Kithala.
Sanya couldn’t help but feel this was some sort of test and that she’d passed, but she wasn’t sure about his mother.
Kithala glanced at Amos’ body slumped against one wall. The gash in his head was nearly deep enough to split his skull in half. She shifted her gaze to Wischard’s headless body beside the door. Blood drained out of his neck.
“I feel sick,” she answered. “Why did you want me in here for this?”
“You’re always questioning me to make sure I’ve made the right decision after my orders have been issued. Wouldn’t you have worried I’d acted hastily if I told you that I had two councilmen killed because of their disloyalty? Having you here has allowed you to see the same thing that I have so you don’t have to question my orders.”
“I still think you acted hastily. How much do you really know about that psychic? She looked enough like Cheot to be his daughter. We should have her investi—”
“She is Cheot’s daughter. So what?”
“Oh, Tauwin,” Kithala muttered in disappointment, then glanced to Sanya as if looking for assistance.
She needed Kithala as her ally, so she spoke. “It’s difficult for your mother and me to see why Bliss wouldn’t simply lie to further her father’s plans.”
And then Kithala added, “Didn’t you think that Bliss and Cheot were lying?” When Tauwin showed no signs of answering, she continued. “Amos and Wischard sounded genuine to me. I just don’t understand the purpose behind using one psychic with a clear bias.”
“Cheot and his daughter care about our dynasty. Bliss may be biased toward him, but he’s on our side and always will be.” Sanya supposed this was actually true. “It’s more important that I trust my psychics than have them be detached lie catchers who care nothing about me or my kingdom. All of the Kerr’s psychics are like that, none of them fighting for Kerr when our army came.”
“And what did you do with those psychics?” Kithala asked morosely, clearly assuming the worst already.
“I sent them to officers who need lies caught, Mother. Calm yourself.” He spoke the truth. “Sanya, what do you think?”
It was unlike Tauwin to ask her opinion about any matter, so she wasn’t prepared for this. She thought until she came to the best answer. “If you trust Cheot and Bliss, then I will as well.”
“And you, Mother?”
“Did you have them tested by the other psychics before you sent them away?”
“Of course.” It was true.
Kithala seemed to be able to tell as well. Sanya supposed mothers knew when their sons lied better than anyone, except psychics.
“Then I shall trust them,” she said in a resigned way. “Now I’d like to leave this room if we’re done.”
“Yes. I’m sorry about the gore.” He wasn’t.
As Kithala left, Sanya walked over and kissed Tauwin’s lips. “I’m off to see my father,” she said quickly, as passion began to build in his chest.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her in for another kiss. She became supple in his arms as if the kiss had melted her, and she let out a hum of delight.
He smiled as they parted. “Remind me again why we’re waiting to get married.”
Thankfully, someone knocked on the door and a voice came through, “Sire, Cheot says he needs to speak with you.”
“It can wait,” Tauwin shouted back, then kissed Sanya again. “I know the agreement was to wait until Kyrro was taken, but that was between our fathers. I don’t see any reason—”
“Sire,” Cheot shouted through the door. “I apologize, but it’s urgent. Some men and women believed to be from the Academy were found in Raywhite Forest.”
Sanya cupped his cheek. “Because you’re too busy for a wedding right now.”
Tauwin kissed her one last time, then went to open the door for Cheot. The young king leaned out and demanded, “Get my throne room cleaned up,” presumably talking to his guards and servants waiting outside.
Sanya waved goodbye and slipped through the throng of people before Tauwin could stop her from leaving. She’d lied about where she was going. She did need to see her father, though she wasn’t ready to confront him just yet. There was something else she had to do first.
Her father was the one who’d arranged her engagement to Tauwin. When Tegry Hiller was in control of Tenred, Spiro had begun meeting with Tauwin’s father, Ken Takary, who had initially wanted to offer his support to Tegry in exchange for command of Kyrro when the war was over. But Spiro explained that Tegry needed no assistance. He already had the Krepps. If Ken revealed his desire to rule Kyrro, it would just make him a threat in Tegry’s eyes, and the Takary family would be next to fall after Kyrro’s king.
So instead, Ken and Spiro would amass their own army in secret during the war between Tenred and Kyrro. In exchange for Spiro’s help, Sanya would marry Tauwin, uniting the families.
It felt like a lifetime ago when Sanya first met Tauwin, though it was only less than a year. She’d been frustrated by this agreement until she’d realized she could come up with a plan of her own. She’d still put up the necessary resistance to her father’s wishes, making it appear she didn’t want to marry Tauwin. It had always been easy to keep her feelings from her father because he’d never shown her any affection like Basen had.
Pondering that as she headed to Kyrro City’s market, she became angry at the thought of him making a portal. Was her threat not frightening enough? She was prepared to find him and end him, but there hadn’t been any more portals except small ones far away that did nothing to disrupt her mother’s spirit. Anyway, finding Basen might prove difficult. The portal didn’t seem as if it had come from the Academy, but farther north, maybe in the Fjallejon Mountains. But that was just the entrance. The exit portal was somewhere too far for her to feel clearly.
It doesn’t matter, she reminded herself. You’ll be free soon enough, Mother.
Sanya focused on her task at hand again as she purchased a dog, his fur short and his legs long for a beagle. He was still young but nearly fully grown, with a white stomach, legs, and muzzle, while his head and back were coffee colored, going from light to dark across his body.
His tail encompassed every shade seen on the rest of his body as it wagged excitedly. Sanya rubbed his head, using psyche to find the exact right spot. With a quick spell of affection, he was forever loyal to her. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t live through the day, though at least his death would be painless.
After purchasing a water skin and a knapsack that she filled with food, she took her temporary pet into Raywhite Forest. Whatever the people from the Academy were doing there, they certainly would interrupt her experiment for the chance to kill her. She frowned at the thought. She wasn’t supposed to make so many enemies, but it was too late to change that now.
She jogged through the forest and arrived at the southern edge after a few hours. The pungent stink of death invaded her nostrils. She almost turned around right then, but she needed to know how the battle for Trentyre was faring.
She hid behind the remaining trees. Acres of them had been cleared, the lumpy land replete with dead stumps. Tauwin’s army had dug a trench that extended all the way to the ocean miles north. Where the land was flat enough for Sanya to see across it, she noticed evidence of another trench that twisted to the water as well. It wrapped around the outside of Trentyre like a moat, with about a quarter-mile between the two trenches.
She heard shouting, then the crash of fireballs, but she could see no men. How long would it take for the city to fall like this? Tauwin’s troops would need to rush and take the trench first, then the city. They’d need armor to survive the onslaught of fireballs and arrows, though—armor that still needed to be made.
She sighed. It could be weeks before she was the queen of Kyrro. The thought of Tauwin bedding her every night she awaited her crown made her cringe. She might need to find a way for Trentyre to be taken sooner.
She made sure to stay out of sight as she spied and pondered. Word would get back to Tauwin if anyone saw her. All he knew about her skills was that she was good enough with a sword to be accepted at the
Academy so she could spy for him. She’d sent many letters to him describing the layout of the Academy, the number of students and instructors, and how many formidable psychics they had. The information was just to create the illusion that she actually cared to help.
If she really did care, however, she would’ve done more when Abith Max foolishly tried to take over the Academy by walking in with his army. She could’ve broken the bastial energy for a mile radius around her, preventing the school’s mages from succeeding in their ambush. There wouldn’t have been enough archers to fend off Abith and all of his men, and the Academy would’ve fallen. But then everyone there could’ve been killed in the process. As dense as her heart had become, she still was human enough to want to avoid such tragedy.
It saddened her every time she thought about how wrong all of this had gone so far. Terren was supposed to die so the takeover would be swift and peaceful. Trentyre was supposed to fall like Oakshen and the capital. And the only one who could manipulate the energy of the spiritual world was supposed to be her, not Basen. Though, he didn’t even realize what he was doing.
Now her identity was known by thousands. At least no one outside the Academy was close to discovering who she really was or what she really wanted.
She would’ve preferred to stay at the Academy while she waited for this war to end. For the first time since she could remember, she’d actually felt joy there. It was a surprise, but she could honestly say she liked Basen. Many of her smiles around him had been genuine. She liked Cleve as well, and Alex. The thought that he was dead depressed her. No, it made her regret her actions. She felt no empathy for Alex or his friends, just knew they were deeply hurt by what she’d done. Maybe one day, when all of her work came to fruition, she could teach herself to be completely human like she once was and truly grieve for the good men and women who’d fallen before this war came to an end.
She wanted to feel pain over her heinous actions. She wanted to be unlike Tauwin, a monster in human skin. It sickened her to realize how similar they were.
All right, enough with these damn thoughts. It would be evening soon, and she still had to visit her father before nightfall.