“They are. That's how we found the devices. Cyrus hasn't got access to the Guild, but there are some gifted amateurs out there. This is a big palace. It will take days before we're certain they've found every nasty little surprise Lord Eaglespike has left for us.”
Adrina found herself regretting her outburst. Perhaps he really was concerned for her welfare. On the other hand, he may simply be using it as an excuse to exclude her.
“You didn't invite me to your council,” she accused with a bad feeling she sounded like a petulant child.
“That was Marla's idea, not mine.”
“You're a Warlord and a High Prince. Don't you think it's time you stopped listening to your mother?”
“If I listened to my mother, Adrina, you would be a prisoner.”
She did not doubt he spoke the truth. “What's going on, Damin? I've a right to know.”
He nodded. “That you have. How much have you heard?”
“Only that you confronted your cousin and that R'shiel did something to him.”
“Actually, it was more the threat of what she could do that encouraged Cyrus to see reason. When Kalan returned to Greenharbour ahead of us, Cyrus tried to get her to ratify his claim to the throne and sanction the Convocation, even though he had only three Warlords to attend. Kalan refused naturally, so he tried to storm the Sorcerers' Palace. He didn't count on the Harshini. They threw up some sort of protective dome that he couldn't penetrate. They'd been under siege for days. R'shiel says we arrived just in time.”
“And what is the demon child doing now?”
“I don't know for certain. As soon as we took possession of the palace, she left for the Sorcerers' Collective. I haven't seen her since.”
“Has something happened?”
Damin shrugged. “Who knows? R'shiel has all of us dancing on strings like puppets in a show that only she can see.”
“Yet we all dance willingly enough,” Adrina said with a frown. “So what happens now?”
“We wait for Tejay Lionsclaw. Until she arrives, we can't hold the Convocation.”
“Is she on her way?”
“She should be.”
“You sound uncertain. Isn't she on your side?”
“I would have said yes a few days ago, but that was before I learnt that Cyrus Eaglespike married his daughter Bayla to Tejay's eldest son last spring, while I was in Medalon.”
“So the person who holds the casting vote is tied to your opponent by marriage. That's not a very comfortable position to be in.”
“Decidedly uncomfortable,” Damin agreed.
“How are you going to ensure that she remains in your camp?”
“I haven't worked that out yet. Any suggestions?”
The question took Adrina by surprise. That Damin actually wanted her opinion was flattering. In fact, that he had bothered to come here at all, to acquaint her with the situation and ask her advice was the last thing she expected.
“You need to discover the quality Tejay Lionsclaw admires most in a leader and make sure you have more of it than your cousin,” she advised. “That, or give her something she wants. Something that nobody else can give her.”
He laughed sourly. “That's easy! All I have to do is give her the secret of the explosive powders your damned Fardohnyan bandits use against her in the Sunrise Mountains. If I could do that, she'd swear the allegiance of her House to mine for an eternity.”
“My father guards that secret more closely than his treasury.”
“I know. We've tried everything we could think of for years to discover it.”
Adrina hesitated before she spoke again, aware that her next words would mean she was taking an irrevocable step in a direction she had not planned to go. But she was tired, mentally and physically. Her surrender seemed inevitable and the energy it took to sustain her defiance was needed elsewhere.
“You haven't tried asking me.”
Damin looked up at her in astonishment. “What?”
“I said, you haven't tried asking me.”
“I heard what you said, Adrina,” he told her, rising to his feet. He stood too close. She wished he had stayed seated. She didn't like looking up at him. “Are you telling me that you know the secret of the explosives?”
She could not tell if he was angry or just surprised.
“That's exactly what I'm telling you.”
“Why didn't you tell me this before?”
She took a step back from him. “You didn't ask.”
He turned away from her and walked to the open doors. The set of his shoulders was stiff and angry. He was silent for a time then he turned back to her.
“Why tell me now? Why the sudden change of heart?”
“You always suspect me of having an ulterior motive, don't you?”
“That's because you usually do have an ulterior motive, Adrina.”
She was honest enough to not deny the charge. “Our fates are bound, Damin, whether we like it or not. I cannot go on fighting you forever.”
“You seem to be doing just fine, so far.”
The door opened and Tamylan returned before Adrina could respond to the charge. Her slave did not seem to notice the tension in the room. She curtsied hurriedly then turned to Damin. “My Lord, Princess Marla requires your presence urgently. She has news of Lady Lionsclaw.”
Damin nodded then turned to Adrina. “We'll finish this discussion later.”
He strode from the room, angry and annoyed, before she had a chance to answer.
Tamylan closed the door behind Damin and leaned against it, staring at Adrina suspiciously. “Did you tell him?”
“No.”
“Adrina...”
“I keep planning to, Tam, but the timing never seems right.”
“You can't keep it a secret much longer.”
“I know,” she sighed.
Tamylan crossed the room and took her arm gently, leading her to the chaise.
“Well, I suppose there's no point in worrying about it now. Why don't you lie down? You need your rest and he said he'd be back. You can tell him then.”
Adrina nodded, aware that she was almost swaying on her feet with fatigue.
“He's mad at me again.”
“He'll get over it.”
“I told him about the gunpowder.”
“Was that wise?”
“I thought... oh, hell! I don't know what I thought. He makes me so angry!”
“No angrier than you make him,” Tamylan pointed out with a shrug. “Now stop fretting and come and lie down.”
Adrina sighed wearily. “What would I do without you Tam?”
“I'm sure I don't know, Your Highness.”
Adrina smiled and lay back on the couch. She would tell Damin when he returned - about the gunpowder and the child.
“Tam, did Marla say what the news was? About Lady Lionsclaw?”
“No, but she seemed excited rather than upset, so I suppose the news is good.”
Adrina closed her eyes for a moment then opened them again, looking at Tamylan with concern. “If I go to sleep, you'll wake me when he comes, won't you?”
“Of course.”
“You seem to like him now. You used to think he was a barbarian.”
“I still do,” the slave told her. “But I've decided the demon child is right about one thing. I think he really cares about you, Adrina. That rather improves my opinion of him.”
Adrina closed her eyes again. The humidity and the strain of the past few weeks caught up with her in a wave of fatigue. “Do you think he'll be happy when he learns I'm with child?”
“He'd better be,” Tam replied sternly.
“You're going to make a wonderful nurse, Tam.”
“Rest, Your Highness.”
Adrina didn't answer. By the time Tamylan had gently closed the door behind her, she had let the torpor overtake her and drifted off to sleep.