A Lotus for the Regent (22 page)

"The color
of blood." Kamen took Ajalira's hand.

"Before we
go," Ajalira said, "I have something for you." She opened her
other hand to reveal two bone fragments.

"What are
these?"

"My most
recent kills, tribute to my lord and my love." She put them in Kamen's
palm and closed his fingers over them.

Kamen would add
them to Evix's fragment. "You are truly my savage beauty, Tamari through
and through." He led her from their apartments into the corridor where
awaited his entourage. He gave his slaves the nod, and they all started
forward.

The banquet hall
was packed full of people, not only with the Seranimesti and Kimereth but also
curious, rich men of Godswatch who might find and seize on some economic
advantage from the proceedings. All conversation stopped, and Kamen took the
stairs slowly, escorting Ajalira down every step, reveling in the open stares
of appreciation that came from every man in the wide room. He was proud that it
was Ajalira's beauty that grabbed their attention. For a moment, everyone
seemed to forget the reason he was there, namely, to settle a political
question.

They were in for
the shock of their lives. Kamen and Ajalira had already discussed it and had
decided that this had to be done.

But first, there
were many introductions and much bowing and many exchanges of niceties and
vague gestures of amity that Kamen knew were all false. He was no stranger to
people trying to curry favor with him, but this was as bad as he had ever seen
it. He would wipe all their simpering smiles off their faces.

The master of
the festhall, Banar—a hideously fat old man finely dressed and never seen
without a gaudy cup of wine clutched in his fat, ring-laden hand—called for
everyone's attention. “Greetings and welcome, noble lords of the Sunjaa and the
Ausir. We are blessed beyond words that you have chosen Godswatch and my humble
establishment as the venue of your conference. All that we have is yours. May
good cheer flow like wine, and may your spirits be as full as your stomachs.”

A crass greeting,
but Banar grinned shamelessly. Perhaps such gluttony was normal here among the
men of the north. Kamen rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but he
was interrupted by a parade of Melara priests and priestesses who, dressed in
robes of burgundy edged in black silk, plucked their lyres and blew their
flutes as they danced in a tripping train among the grim-faced guests. Kamen
waited patiently, allowing the religious rite to run its course. Melara was the
goddess of wine, song, beauty, and love, and her auspices over any proceedings
within a festhall were appropriate.

The rite was
short, and Kamen was glad for it. The dancers disappeared as quickly as they
had arrived, and Kamen moved among the Ausir lords.

"Before we
begin," Kamen said in a loud voice, silencing the room. Ajalira translated
immediately. "I have an announcement to make. Or, rather, my concubine has
something to say."

All eyes turned
to Ajalira, but she looked only at Kamen. He squeezed her hand and with his
eyes gave her the kindest look of support he could. Ajalira turned to the crowd
and spoke, and though Kamen could not understand her words, he caught her name,
Ajalira Zomalin. For a moment after that, the silence wrapped the room like a
blanket. Jaws dropped. Eyes widened. And then there was such a general eruption
of surprised cries that Kamen thought the Ausir might riot.

Kamen put
Ajalira behind him, backed up on the steps, and threw his hands into the air.
"Hear me! Hear me! You called me here to arbitrate, and I shall have the
floor!"

Ajalira screamed
out her interpretation, and the Ausir nobles quieted.

"My
concubine shall now withdraw," Kamen said more calmly, "and we shall
talk." He surrendered her into the care of his most trusted servants, who
escorted her away. But he did not fear for her safety. Not only could she take
care of herself, but who would now wish to harm her? She was the greatest prize
of the entire Ausir nation.

Kamen's heart
sank at the thought, and he watched in pain as she left. Saerileth appeared and
took her place at his side as his interpreter. She would not distract the lords
as Ajalira would.

Tivanel
Seranimesti was the first to speak, accosting Kamen before he had even taken
his seat. "Regent, my house is ready to recognize the validity of Lady
Zomalin's claim."

The Kimereth
lord, with whom Kamen was not yet acquainted, elbowed his way past his rival.
"My lord, I am Ansim, master of the Kimereth, and I implore you to
investigate further the parentage that your concubine claims."

Kamen took his seat,
placed his elbows on the table, and steepled his fingers. For such a long-lived
race, the Ausir moved quick as Chiel's breath. The Seranimesti were ready to
acknowledge Ajalira, for they had the Tamari on their side. The Kimereth had
not suffered crippling losses as the Losiengare had. They were more cunning,
and they controlled large parts of the Silbrios. They had a mighty navy, so
they could afford to be more cautious.

"Sit,
everyone," Kamen said, but the Ausir did not move to sit. "We'll
decide nothing standing."

They all sat,
but they did so with an ill grace. Refreshments were served, fresh fruits and
wine, and soft music started up somewhere.

"There is
no rightful King of the Ausir," Kamen said. "Not since King Javin
died without an heir."

"That is
our fundamental problem, Regent," Tivanel said.

"But more
than that," Ansim added. "We are a nation of Larenai Ausir ruled over
by Tamari. I don't expect you to appreciate what this means, but—"

Kamen raised his
hand, cutting off both Ansim and Saerileth's simultaneous interpretation.
"My concubine is Tamari, last scion of Khajira blood. I know precisely
what this means."

Ansim shut his
mouth.

"In any
case," Tivanel said, "it would not be right to send the Tamari away.
Nor should they be slaughtered." He leveled a withering stare at Ansim.

"The
goddess Abrexa blessed reunification," Kamen said before Ansim could
retort. "Divine upheavals brought the Ausir back together, and that isn't
something to be thrown away."

"Yes, but
Abrexa is no Ausir." Ansim pounded the table with his fist. "And she
was raised by the Tamari, so she was biased. The whole reason we're at war is
because of the return of our long-sundered cousins. We Larenai got along just
fine without them, and we were one people. Just because a goddess says so
doesn't mean we're all supposed to magically get along."

Kamen shrugged.
The Kimereth were purists, and the Seranimesti were willing to embrace their
Tamari cousins.

"That's all
immaterial," Tivanel said. "Javin inherited because he was half-brother
to Kiltarin, rightful Larenai King. And Javin was Ajalira's uncle. That's the
only point that matters right now. Lady Zomalin."

Ansim nodded.
"Agreed. If she is indeed of Khajira blood, she must be given to whomever
you choose as King, Regent. She alone can seal the peace."

Tivanel's eyes
burned with intensity. "No one will challenge an Ausir King who takes Lady
Zomalin as his bride."

"You
forget," Kamen said, his voice a growl, "that you're talking about my
concubine. She's mine."

"Will you
let the world burn for her sake?" Ansim asked.

Kamen opened his
mouth to say "yes", but before he could answer, Tivanel said,
"It's not about what you would do, Regent. Ajalira Zomalin is Tamari. What
is her duty?"

Kamen wanted to
come over the table and strangle the Seranimesti lord. He wanted to throttle
him because he knew he was right. "Recess." Kamen stormed out of the
hall to Ausir cries of objection. He swept into his apartments like a sudden
sea-squall.

"Done so
soon?" Ajalira ran to him but pulled up short when she saw his face.
"What happened?"

Kamen wanted to
punch something. He wanted to scream. Ajalira was his. She loved him, and he
loved her. They had promised themselves to each other. Darien had witnessed it.
Kamen had signed it. It was written; it was done. He was Sunjaa, so who were
these Ausir to countermand the Word?

Kamen picked up
a vase that sat on a nearby end table and slung it across the room where it
shattered on the far wall. Ajalira jumped.

"Kamen."
She took his face in her hands, forcing him to look into her calm, blue-green
eyes. "What's the matter?"

"They want
you." Kamen's voice trembled. "They want to take you from me."

"What?"

"You're
Zomalin, your father's daughter. But more than that, you're Tamar, your
mother's daughter. They want you to marry whomever I choose to be King. Only
you can legitimize their crown."

Ajalira shook
her head and mouthed "no, no, no" and kissed him all over his face.
"I am yours."

"You are
mine." Hot tears stung Kamen's eyes. He clumsily returned her kisses.

"I will not
do it."

"That's
what I said."

"Then why
are you so upset, my love?"

Kamen slipped
and fell backwards into the dark, depthless pool of his own anguish.
"Seranimesti told me to ask you what your duty told you."

Ajalira released
Kamen's face and walked backwards blindly until her knees hit a sofa, upon
which she slumped down. Her eyes unfocused, and her expression went blank.
"My honor?"

Kamen did not
even have to ask. She was Tamari, and the very thing that had brought them
together now threatened to tear them apart.

Honor.

Chapter Thirteen

Ajalira could
not see. A blackness darker than Kamen's eyes was over her. The only sound was
her blood in her ears. She tried to move her lips, to speak Kamen's name, but
she could not move even so much.

“
Lira?” Kamen's voice broke through the fog, and his touch on her arm
brought her back to reality, a reality of living damnation.

“
Kamen.” She still could not quite see, but she felt up his arm and
cradled his face in her hands. “What are we to do? If you do not … turn me
over, then they will unite against you.”

“
Let them!” Kamen's defiance was belied by the heartbreak in his
voice. He pulled her toward him, setting her on his lap, and she nestled
against his shoulder. One of his dreadlocks was before her face, and her sight
focused on it.

“
I told you, my love, that the Tamari were founded on a point of
honor.”

Kamen nodded,
but he did not speak.

“
The second King of all the Ausir had two sons and one nephew, the
son of his brother and his wife's sister. That nephew was Ellon, and they
called him Tamar for his savagery in battle. He fought in the great Nohr
battles that occurred just after the Ausir founded their nation. So, too, did
the King's firstborn, but the second son was a sailor in love with the sea. He
left his people during their wars to take to ship, exploring.” Ajalira paused
long enough to kiss the lock of Kamen's hair. She addressed the rest of her
speech to that black dreadlock.

“
Ellon was furious. He said that his cousin had disgraced his people
and his name forever, but there was no difficulty yet because he was loyal to
his other cousin, the crown prince. But when the crown prince, by then King,
was killed in battle,
then
the sailor returned to claim the throne. By
that time, he was wedded to the demi-goddess Mirsa, and the Larenai accepted
them both as rulers, and their son, the God-King, ruled after Talmai the Sailor
died.”

“
But Ellon did not accept them.” Kamen's arms tightened around her.

“
No, he refused to swear fealty to one who had abandoned his people,
and he left. He gave up the name Khajira and left the Silbrios and all the
Ausir.”

“
Who followed him?” asked Kamen. He seemed to be trying to focus on
this story, to put out of his thoughts the horror of their present predicament.

“
His soldiers. The entire army left the Silbrios, taking with them
their women and children. They sought out a hard land to live in, lest they
ever grow soft. So it went on until my grandfather, Arathan, King of the
Tamari, seventh in the right line from Ellon Tamar. He returned because the
God-King, who had never acknowledged any fault in his father's behavior, was
dead. Kiltarin, consort of the goddess Abrexa, ruled the Larenai, and he asked
Arathan for help in the upheavals of that time. Kiltarin's mother, widow of the
God-King, married Arathan, and their children were half-brothers—and
half-sister—to the Larenai King, Kiltarin.”

For a long
while Kamen was silent, and Ajalira did not move. She did not want to think.
She did not want to look ahead to her future.

“
So you really are all that there is?”

“
I had two uncles on my mother's side,” said Ajalira. “One was high
priest of Abrexa and had no offspring. The other was Javin, last King,
assassinated at his bridal feast. Arathan had neither brother nor sister, nor
did his wife.”