The footsteps stopped. “Allegra?
She sighed and stirred, opening her eyes. Markus was crouched in front of her, blocking her view of his officers.
He kissed her languidly. “Wake up. He put his hand on her waist, and his thumb stroked the underside of her breast.
Allegra decided she had better “wake up before he started pawing her in front of his military advisors. “Are they gone? she asked. Wishful thinking, but it was worth a try. Maybe he would send them away.
“Still here, he murmured. “We want you to sing for us. Come to the table.
“Markus, I dont want to. She meant to sound firm, but the words came out frightened.
“Come. Sing. He silently mouthed, Put them to sleep.
What the blazes? She sat up in the pillows. As she rubbed her stiff shoulder, she gave him a questioning look.
In a voice so low, she barely heard, he said, “Come, my night bird. If they are sleeping, they cant harm you.
For saints sake. He wanted her to do a spell. Whatever for? She almost said no, but then she changed her mind. If she put his officers, his guardsand himto sleep, she could sneak out of the tent, assuming she didnt knock herself out, as well.
Markus stood up and offered his hand. As she took it, she felt the sword calluses on his palm exactly like in her dream. A shiver went through her, and this time it didnt come from fear.
He drew her to the table, and the men watched her with appraising stares that among her people would have been considered extraordinarily rude. She wanted to cover herself with her hands, but Markus had her arm in his large grip.
“Here. He set her at the table between his and Yargazons places, by a pole that supported the tent. The men sat drinking their wine, seeming relaxed in their cushions, but with an ingrained tension that she doubted they ever lost.
Markus went to a chest across the tent and removed something that glittered. Straightening, he detached a small piece from it, then turned and showed it to her. Squinting, Allegra realized he had a key. He closed the chest and set the key on its top. Then he came back, holding the larger object. No, two objects, bracelets it looked like. As he drew nearer, she blanched. Those werent bracelets, they were gold shackles joined by a gold chain. Rubies, diamonds, topazes and onyx glinted in the metal.
As Markus knelt next to Allegra, she drew back. “What are you doing? she asked, frightened.
“Just making sure you dont fly off, he murmured. He lifted her hand. She strained to pull it away, but he clicked a manacle around her wrist. The metal felt cold on her skin. He wrapped the chain around the pole and closed the other manacle around the chain.
I cant do this. She was surrounded by warlords in a culture that obviously valued their ferocity, height and physical power far more than any kindness. She feared if they sensed her apprehension, she would seem like prey to them.
Exactly why Markus wanted her to knock out his advisors was another question altogether. Convoluted tangles of power swirled here. If she put them to sleep, including Markus, she would be trapped without the key to the manacles. But maybe she could figure out a way to free herself. However slim her odds for escape, they werent zero.
Markus had picked up the compass, and now he handed it to her. He took his goblet off the table then and settled next to her in the pillows.
“Sing, beautiful songbird, he said, raising his goblet. Had they been alone, his sensual expression might have aroused her. But the calculating stares of his military advisors were frightening. She didnt know what they intended.
Allegra stared at the compass in her lap so she wouldnt have to see their harsh faces. She chose the lilt that had put Markus to sleep last night. As she sang, she focused on the compass and poured out a comfort spellsoft, sweet, soothing. Although she wanted her voice to carry to the guards outside, she had to be careful. If she sang too loudly, Markus would know why and the others might wonder. She couldnt risk their suspicion.
Allegra soared into the high notes, caressing them with her voice, and wove a green spell. It came more easily this time, swirling their moods around her. Sleepy. They all were, even Markus. Good.
She caught wisps of thoughts, nothing concrete, emotions more than words. They liked her singing, Ardoz and Markus especially. In fact, Markus loved it. Yargazon was impatient to reach some place, she wasnt certain where, and his mood dominated. He wanted to fight. Go to war. So did the others. A restless anger drove them, prodded by their smoldering resentment of Cobalt, the hated emperor who had stolen their country and their lives.
Sensuality overlaid their moods, woven into the aggression, especially with Yargazon and Bladebreak. The pairing of violence and arousal disturbed Allegra. They associated warfare with sexual desire and believed taking a woman increased their power as warriors. It terrified her, especially given her vulnerability.
Markuss responses were much healthier, rich and sensual, robust. To her surprise, he felt a great deal of tenderness toward her, which he strove to hide, thinking it would be perceived as weakness. He had been deeply lonely, but she was changing all that for him. In different circumstances, knowing he desired her so much would have pleased her.
She recoiled from Yargazon. He wanted her as much as Markus, and having her shackled next to him heightened that desire. But his lust smothered. He wanted to hurt her, to hear her cry. He didnt see her as human. In his eyes, she was incapable of true emotion, a temptress who deliberately weakened men. He found her exotically beautiful and voluptuous, unbearably so, and that translated into a need to punish her. Overriding it all was his fury at her defiance. He admired Markus, considered him a good leader and regent, a man worthy of respect. He felt fatherly toward the prince. He knew the honor Markus had given him with the auction, and he wanted Allegra to suffer for the insult she had done Markus, for her resistance, just for being herself. He would conquer her as he conquered on the battlefield, laying waste to both.
Bile rose in Allegras throat. How could he hate her so much? She withdrew her concentration, shutting him out of her spell. As his mood receded, the others became clearer.
Ardoz surprised her. Although he considered her pretty, his response had more kindness to it than desire. The bloodlust for war burned within him even more than in Yargazon, but it had no sexual component. To him, Allegra represented softness, the reward after the battle, the place where a battered warrior laid his head. When she realized where else he wanted to lie, she blushed. What would Markus do if he realized his military advisor found him more attractive than his pleasure girl? She caught images from Ardoz, fantasiesmemories?where he held a younger Markus. It bewildered her, and she almost stumbled in the song.
Colonel Bladebreak was a different story. His interest in her had a hard edge, aggression intermingled with lust. With dismay, she realized he assumed Markus brought her to the table because he meant to share her with them. Bladebreak expected her to fight when he took her, and the bastard looked forward to it. His response so distressed her, she lost her place in the song.
Distraction rippled from the men as she stuttered. She jumped back into the lilt, determined to knock them out before anyone hurt her. Even without a spell, she knew Markus would never consent to let them touch her. So why flaunt her? For status, obviously. It established his rank in some subtle male hierarchy. But he walked too close to the edge. Jazid men might dress their women in almost nothing for their pleasure, but in public the women wore robes. The bright colors identified their sex, with the associated status it gave their men, but covering them up decreased the chance of an assault or kidnapping. Markus wanted it both ways, to show her off and to keep her only for himself. He had the power and bodyguards to protect her, but he was taking a risk. He had better know what he was doing, because she would pay the price if he lost control of the situation.