A Lotus for the Regent (19 page)

“
The fracturing of the Ausir people.” Kamen rubbed her back absently
with the sponge.

“
Yes. And I saw it happen. But the assassins were not content with
merely the death of King Javin. They went after anyone connected with him who
might have a claim to the throne.” Ajalira drew in a deep breath, and her chin
crumpled in sorrow. “They murdered my father, Javin's bride, and all my
cousins. They would have killed me, too, if my mother had not escaped with me.”

Kamen wrapped
his arms around Ajalira and kissed her head. She was the Ausir heir! Why was
she not pressing her birthright among her own people? Why was she effectively
hiding among the Sunjaa? “I'm so sorry. How did you get away?”

“
My mother, great with child, did not participate in the festivities.
She was in a separate wing of the palace, attended by her servants. I was
supposed to be with her, but I sneaked down to the party. I wish I had not.”

“
If you hadn't, you wouldn't have known what was happening. Your
mother would've been taken by surprise.”

Ajalira nodded,
and a tear slipped out and splashed into the still bathwater. “I know. But my
dear father, poisoned.” She could not speak for some time, and Kamen said
nothing. He just held her until she was ready to continue. “I left Norivea when
I was twelve. We fled to Tendol where a ship loyal to my father took us as far
from danger as possible.”

“
And this flight led you to the Dimadan?”

“
We were pursued, and the ship's captain knew he would soon be
overtaken. So he put us down on a large island and sailed off as if we were
still on board. He said he would return for us, but he never did.”

Sunk by the
enemy, most likely.

“
The Guildmaster took us in, and he wanted to start training me as a
Lotus right away.”

“
He's a cutthroat businessman, trying to turn a profit.” Kamen
remembered his greedy, little black eyes.

“
My mother objected to her daughter prostituting herself, and she
fought him. She grabbed a sword and defended herself and me, and she slew not
only several of the guildhouse slaves but also a Lotus before she was
surrounded.”

“
Your mother must have been an outstanding swordswoman.”

Ajalira lifted
her head in pride. “She was Tamari.”

“
Of course.” Kamen kissed her lips. Tamari women came from a culture
where they fought alongside their men.

“
I knew my mother would be slaughtered, so I told the Guildmaster I
would do as he wished. Anything to save my mother's life and the life of my
unborn sibling.” The sorrow in Ajalira's eyes evaporated in a storm of quiet
rage. “Everything I did was in vain. I was told she had died in childbirth, so
my oath still held me. I did not know she had been killed until a few weeks
ago, and that is when I tried to escape.”

“
The Guildmaster promised to spare her life in exchange for your
agreement, and then he murdered her anyway?” Kamen leaned his head on her
shoulder.

“
Yes.” There were no tears in her voice.

“
And the baby?”

Ajalira shook
her head and then threw her arms around Kamen's neck, sobbing on his shoulder.
Kamen took her from the tub, carried her to the bed, and laid her under the
sheets. Then he curled up beside her and held her until she fell asleep. But
Kamen could not sleep. His mind was awhirl. He saw further than she. Ajalira
was the heir and the absent Queen. If the Ausir knew her identity—Kamen's heart
leaped in fright. They would want her. Whomever Kamen chose to be King, if
indeed he would arbitrate, would want to take Ajalira as his wife to solidify
his claim and strengthen his position. Kamen held her more tightly, as if she
would slip away from him that very night. He had spent six years pining for
Darien only to find Ajalira, the only one who had made him forget his desire
for his best friend. Would he lose her as soon as he found her? Maybe the
Guildmaster had lied about the baby's death. Maybe Ajalira had a little
brother, someone who could be King and allow her to stay with Kamen. The hope
that sprang up in Kamen died that very instant, for there was little to no
chance that any baby could survive the murder of its mother.

Kamen kissed
Ajalira's hair and caressed her cheek. She was beautiful by the moonslight, and
she slept peacefully, even though Ausir required little rest. Kamen's love-play
had exhausted her, and her confession must have wracked her soul. In the quiet
of that moment, Kamen figured it out: Ajalira must not consider herself the heir
because she was a daughter's daughter. He knew just enough about the Tamari to
know that only males inherited.

Once Kamen could
no longer concentrate on the ramifications of Ajalira's identity, weariness
soon overcame him. As he drifted off to sleep, the music in his mind that sang
him to melodious repose was that song of the eerily beautiful little boy who
had played the dulcimer for him at the guildhouse that night weeks ago.

****

The music of the
little minstrel haunted Kamen's dreams, so when he awoke the next morning, he
gave orders for the
Aramina
to be readied. He and Ajalira would sail to
the Dimadan to solve the mystery of the boy. Could it be that Ajalira had a
little brother and he yet lived? As they waited for word on the preparation of
the ship, they breakfasted. Ajalira sucked absentmindedly on a strawberry,
staring off into space and only biting off its end after holding it between her
lips for several moments.

“
My lady? What do you think?” Kamen reached across the small, round
table and took her hand.

Ajalira snapped
back to reality. “It may be, but I do not want to hope in vain.”

Kamen squeezed
her hand and raised it to his lips. “We will know soon enough.”

Raised voices
beyond the breakfast room brought Kamen to his feet. Something was amiss. “Wait
here.”

But Ajalira
rose, too. “I am Tamari. I go where my man goes.”

Kamen kissed
her. People out in the corridor were yelling, but the voices mingled together
in nothing but an incomprehensible cacophony. Something was terribly wrong.

“
It is the Dimadan,” Ajalira said, and Kamen remembered how keen her
ears were.

Just then a
servant burst in. “Forgive the intrusion, Your Grace.” He bowed.

“
Out with it, man.”

“
The Guildmaster of the Red Lotus Guild is here in Arinport, indeed,
even at the palace gates. The Dimadan was attacked by the few remaining
Losiengare ships, pillaging for supplies. Zenji refugees have come seeking
protection. It seems they escaped by small boats to the Sunjaa warships and
fled here. The Guildmaster himself demands to see you.”

Just the man
Kamen wanted to see. “Who is with him?”

“
The finest women clad in the finest clothes, silk pallavs and long
skirts.”

“
Lotuses,” Ajalira said.

Kamen turned to
Ajalira, took both her hands, and held them against his chest. “We'll have our
answer soon enough.” He commanded the servant to show the Guildmaster in, and
he gave direction for the Lotuses to be given the best apartments the palace
had to offer. They would expect nothing less, despite being refugees.

“
I want to be here when you confront him.” Resolve hardened Ajalira's
eyes.

Kamen grabbed
her around her waist and crushed her to him. “I'd never dismiss you in an
affair that touches you so closely.”

“
I love you, Regent.” She kissed his nose.

He winked back
at her. “And I you, Interpreter.”

Kamen tried to
keep Ajalira's spirits light for the few minutes it took the Guildmaster to
appear. He was going to reveal perhaps the heaviest news Ajalira had heard
since the death of her mother, and he wanted her to be prepared for it, not
dwelling too much on the darkness that threatened to crowd her spirit.

Ajalira was
sitting on a rich, embroidered sofa when the Guildmaster entered the bright
breakfast room. Kamen stood looking out over the balcony, his back to his
sudden guest. The Guildmaster had to clear his throat before Kamen turned
around.

“
Welcome to Arinport, Guildmaster.”

The old Zenji
man bowed low in his native fashion. “Regent, you honor me and my Lotuses with
your hospitality.”

Kamen gestured
to the table, still laden with a half-eaten breakfast. “What news from the
Dimadan, then?” He sat.

The Guildmaster
stared at Ajalira, who said nothing but glared, and then he, too, sat. As he
spoke to Kamen, he kept glancing over his shoulder back at Ajalira. “Losiengare
ships attacked, and we had no choice but to flee the perfect solitude and
beauty of the guild.”

“
I'm sorry that you've been dragged into this. Tea?”

The
Guildmaster's already pale skin blanched. It was Kamen's aim to have his
flippancy unnerve the Guildmaster. “You are too kind, Your Grace.”

Kamen blew a
raspberry and waved his hand. The Guildmaster looked bemused, and he turned to
regard Ajalira with equal confusion. The Sunjaa Regent impudent in the face of
a Losiengare raid?

Kamen poured out
the tea and passed the honey, grinning as he did so. “Well, at least you have
music to comfort you.”

“
Pardon?” The Guildmaster mixed honey into his tea.

“
Music.” Kamen looked over at Ajalira who now stood in anticipation
of the answer. “The boy you have who plays the dulcimer.”

The Guildmaster
narrowed his eyes and dropped the spoon on his plate. “Who?”

“
The boy who played for me the night I stayed at the guildhouse.”

The
Guildmaster's shoulders slumped, and his eyes filled with tears. “His music is
forever silenced.”

Ajalira started
forward, and Kamen jumped to his feet.

“
The Losiengare launched their incendiaries at everything that moved.
He was trapped in a burning house, and no one could rescue him.”

“
He is dead?” Ajalira asked, coming forward.

The Guildmaster
slowly raised his face to his hosts. “I shouldn't have let him out of my
sight.”

The Guildmaster
was so masterful a liar that Kamen could not tell whether this news, too, was
false. All the old Zenji's looks were true, so Kamen could do nothing but take
him at his word. He went to Ajalira and hugged her, running his hands through
her hair and kissing her head.

And as Kamen
consoled her, the Guildmaster sipped his tea in peace.

Chapter Eleven

“
So, Lira, it comes to you.” Having left the Guildmaster and his
Lotuses in the palace, Kamen and Ajalira had returned home.

“
What does?” Ajalira heard the heavy note in Kamen's voice, and she
went to where he stood, looking out over their enclosed garden.

“
The Ausir throne.” He was still looking at the garden, not at her.

“
My love, you can't think—Kamen, no.” Ajalira took his hands and
turned him to face her. “No, no. I am only a daughter. My father was no King,
nor was my mother a Queen.”

“
You are the last of the blood of the Tamar House.” Kamen's eyes were
so grave that Ajalira ached.

“
No, my love, no.” She understood now. Of course Kamen would be upset
that she had put him in a position of appearing to be biased in his decision.
“You mustn't think that I want to press this—this claim. It is not even a
claim. Truly, there is no way that anyone could think that you would be
influenced by my lineage in making your choice of whom to set on the Ausir
throne.” She raised his hands to her lips and kissed the knuckles of first one
hand then the other. “Please, you must believe me, beloved. I would never have brought
disgrace to you that way!” She hung her head. “But I have anyway, haven't I?”

Kamen suddenly
laughed and pulled her close to his chest. “My Lira.” He leaned her head on his
shoulder and murmured into her hair. “You don't care about potentially being
Queen of all the Ausir. You care about whether or not I 'appear' to have been
influenced?” He kissed the crown of her head, but Ajalira was perplexed.

“
Of course. You cannot think that anything means more to me than your
honor?”

“
If any Ausir were to learn that I had somehow managed to maneuver
the Ausir into accepting my arbitration to choose their King, while all the
time having the true heiress as my concubine, they would not think me
dishonored. They would think me shrewd and cunning beyond my desert.” He
nuzzled the top of her head, setting his chin between her horns.

“
So you are not angry with me? Not ashamed of me for not telling you
this before you took me as your own?” Ajalira spoke her deepest fears. “I
should have, but—”