A Raider rode forward and snatched Mikel from Tamylan’s arms. Other hands took the reins of her mount, leaving her nothing to do but cling to the pommel as, surrounded by the Hythrun, she rode toward a crumbling ruin that must be their command post.
Adrina chewed on her bottom lip and wondered if she’d done the right thing, admitting she was trying to get home. Damin Wolfblade clearly did not believe her, but Tarja Tenragan was hard to read. Perhaps he would champion her cause? Surely the Medalonians would see the benefit in letting her go? Her arrival in Talabar was bound to destroy the treaty.
On the other hand, returning her to Karien would be almost as effective. They could demand any number of concessions from Cratyn. She stared at the backs of the two men in whose hands her fate now rested, and realised her only protection lay in making them want to shield her from Cratyn’s wrath.
Adrina realised that she was going to have to change her tune.
She was going to have to be nice.
She wondered, for a moment, if she remembered how.
Chapter 33
“What in the name of the Founders are we supposed to do with her?”
Jenga paced the hall, hands clasped behind his back, his brow furrowed with concern. He had hoped for sleep on his return to the Keep. He had not planned on the discovery that Tarja and Damin had captured a court’esa who turned out to be the Crown Princess of Karien.
“My suggestion is that whatever you do, you do it quickly. You don’t want her around causing trouble, my Lord, and believe me, she will cause trouble.” Damin spoke from the heart, never more certain of anything.
“She’s well guarded,” Tarja pointed out.
Damin laughed sceptically. “Then make sure you change them often. In a week, she’ll have every man she comes in contact with eating out of her hand. A week after that they’ll be helping her escape. It’s a good thing we searched her saddlebags. There’s enough here to buy more than a few men’s souls.” He glanced at the fortune in jewellery scattered on the rough wooden table. The blue diamond alone would feed a small village for a year.
“You claimed she was a shrew,” Jenga said, stopping his pacing for a moment to glance at the gems. The torches painted dark shadows over his lined face.
“She is,” Damin agreed. “But she’s also as sharp as a new sword. Now we’ve deprived her of her purchasing power, she’ll resort to more direct methods. She’s court’esa trained. That may not mean much here in Medalon, but trust me, it makes her more dangerous than you can possibly imagine.”
“What do you mean, court’esa trained?” Tarja asked. “She’s a princess.”
“Your definition of a court’esa and ours is very different, Tarja. What you call court’esa in Medalon are merely common whores. In Fardohnya and Hythria, they are highly trained specialists, worth a small fortune to those who can afford them. Adrina was probably given her first one around the age of sixteen. He would have been a skilled musician, an artist maybe or a linguist. But first and foremost, his job would have been to make Adrina more valuable as a wife by teaching her the art of giving pleasure in the marriage bed.”
“So our princess is a whore?” Tarja asked with a grin.
Damin shook his head impatiently. “You’re missing the point. She’s Hablet’s daughter. She’s been trained by the very best and if she thinks it will help her cause, she’ll use every skill at her disposal to get her own way. And in case you hadn’t noticed, she’s not exactly hard to look at. If you don’t believe me, go up there now and spend an hour in her company.”
“No thanks, I’ve seen all of Her Serene Highness I want to.”
“You two can argue the lady’s finer points some other time,” Jenga snapped. “Right now, I have to decide what to do with her.”
“We could ransom her back to Cratyn,” Tarja suggested. “Surely he will sue for peace if it means the return of his wife.”
“I’m not so sure,” Damin said with a shake of his head. “She seemed very determined not to go back to Karien. And if that Fardohnyan you killed was to be believed, then the Kariens have betrayed them.”
“But Adrina never got the message. There has to be another reason she left.”
“What of Hablet?” Jenga asked. “Perhaps knowing his daughter is our hostage will stay his hand?”
Damin shrugged. “He’s a treacherous bastard. He could just as easily abandon her to her fate as try to get her back.” He smiled sourly. “We’ve more chance of trading the jewellery, I fear.”
“Maybe we should consult her Highness on the matter?” Tarja suggested. “She did, after all, demand to be informed of any negotiations regarding her ransom.”
“You jest, surely,” Jenga said.
“If only he was joking,” Damin sighed.
“Well, I’ll leave it up to you, Lord Wolfblade. You captured her, so I’m making her your responsibility. You may use whatever men you need to keep her guarded, but I don’t have time for this distraction. Give me your recommendation when you’ve decided what to do. And put those gems somewhere safe. Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I’m going to bed.”
Damin watched the Lord Defender leave with an unfamiliar feeling of despair. He turned to Tarja, who seemed more amused than concerned. The captain wrapped the jewels in their velvet cover and tucked them into his belt.
“You’ve a fortune there, you know.” Damin finished his wine with a grimace and then glared at Tarja. “Don’t look at me like that, you have no idea what she’s like.”
“Oh, I got an inkling today. You’re welcome to her.”
Damin rose from his seat by the fireplace and poured himself another cup of wine. He drank it in a gulp.
“She tried to kill my uncle, you know.”
“Adrina?”
Damin nodded. “Hablet sent her to Greenharbour for Lernen’s birthday a couple of years ago – the same year you were recalled to the Citadel, as I remember. Adrina had obviously been well briefed about my uncle’s various weaknesses before she arrived and she pandered to them very effectively. She dragged him along to the slave auction and coaxed him into buying a pair of twin boys. The cunning little bitch even made the boys ride back to the palace in his carriage, no doubt hoping to whet his appetite. That night they slit their wrists in my uncle’s bed and bled to death while he slept. The blade they used was Adrina’s table knife. She must have slipped it to them in the carriage. I wonder how she sleeps knowing they killed themselves rather than do as she demanded.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t go to war with Fardohnya over an attempt on the High Prince’s life.”
Damin shrugged and poured another cup of wine. “Nothing definite could be proved. I was out hunting that day, and didn’t return until late, but I was told Adrina claimed at dinner that she had lost her knife. We could never connect the boys to her afterwards, and we tried every avenue of investigation. In the end, we had no choice but to let the matter drop.” He swallowed the wine and thumped the cup down on the table. “You know what really irks me?”
“What?”
“That bitch and her slave are wearing the collars Lernen gave those two dead boys. I’d recognise them anywhere. Lernen and I had quite an argument over their cost. It’s how my mother met her gem merchant, incidentally. Adrina no doubt kept them as a souvenir.”