A Lotus for the Regent (31 page)

Kamen brushed
his lips across her brow. “Thank you, Lira.” He smiled, and then he was gone,
swept away by the chattering steward.

Ajalira smiled
at Kamen's retreating back. He was the noblest man she had ever known, and in
his dark face went all the light of the world. But she had her own tasks now,
and wrapping the distasteful pallav around her shoulders, she went to find the
Seranimesti lords.

They were
actually staying in the palace, and it did not take Ajalira long to make her
way to the apartments set aside for them. A footman announced her presence, and
she was immediately taken to meet with Lord Tivanel Seranimesti. She saw, too,
his younger brother, Konas.

“
Lord Seranimesti.”

“
Lady Zomalin.” Tivanel bowed to her, and she was perplexed by the
deference in his manner. Did he not think her a whore? “We were not expecting
your arrival until tomorrow.”

“
Tomorrow, Your Grace, is to be your coronation.” Ajalira gestured to
the sofas by the window. “If it please you, I can explain to you all the
Regent's plans for the coronation to ensure the safety of His Grace King Jahen
as well as yourself.”

“
You mistrust the Kimereth still?” Tivanel waited until she had sat
to seat himself, and he took up a place nearer her than she would have liked.
Lord Konas, on the other hand, seated himself on the sofa opposite hers.

“
There was an attempt on His Grace the Regent's life on the outward
journey,” said Ajalira. “They abducted me in Godswatch. Poison and again
poison, both times. And it was poison that took the lives of all those of the
House of Tamar, excepting only mine.”

“
Excepting yours and your mother's.” Tivanel smiled.

“
No.” Ajalira's smile was bitter. “It was not the Kimereth who
poisoned my mother, of course, but she was slain by poison nonetheless.”

“
Tell me of her death.” Tivanel fixed her with his green eyes, and
Ajalira unaccountably blushed. Why should he look at her so?

“
She was murdered in the Dimadan,” said Ajalira. “Poisoned by the Guildmaster
of the Red Lotus Guild. I have no proof, only an overheard confession, but I
shall yet be avenged on him.”

“
He is staying in this palace.” The voice was Konas's, and his gaze
Ajalira understood. He was judging her, testing her. “How can you, a Tamari,
endure that?”

“
Because he is the guest of my lord's King.” Ajalira shook her head.
“He has not wronged King Jahen, and the Regent granted him asylum here. I must
wait until such time as the Guildmaster leaves.”

“
Ah.” Konas nodded, seemingly satisfied.

“
How is it that you came to be a Lotus?” asked Tivanel, and his
burning green eyes made Ajalira uncomfortable.

“
I gave myself over in exchange for my mother's life,” said Ajalira,
lifting her chin.

“
And you were betrayed.” Tivanel took up her hand then and lifted it
to his lips. “I suspected something of that sort after I came to know you in
Godswatch.”

Ajalira jerked
her hand from Tivanel's and rose. “You mistake me, Your Grace. I am not here to
speak of betrothal to you. I am not to wed you. I cannot.”

“
You would allow the royal Ausir line to diverge from the blood of
Tamar? You would allow there to be rivals for the throne?”

“
That,” said Ajalira proudly, “is nothing to me where honor is
concerned.” She tilted her left forearm toward him, showing the long scar on
the outside of it. “I swore myself to Lord Kamen Itenu. I am his concubine, and
under Sunjaa law that means I can have no other husband. I can give him legal
heirs, and that, Your Grace, ought to make even you accept that I can have no
other.” She smiled. “You need not worry that you will have to be bound to me.”

Tivanel nodded
slowly. “I see.”

“
I am here only to speak of the preparations for your coronation.
Tomorrow, a day earlier than would be expected, as the
Aramina
does not
come to port until tomorrow, Your Grace will be announced before all the city,
including the visiting ambassadors of the Fihdal and Vadal empires. There are
to be no Ausir present, saving only your entourage.”

“
That I cannot accept, Lady Zomalin.” Tivanel rose and began to pace.

Ajalira sat
back down, relieved that he was not so close to her. “Why not?”

“
Because I
must
be declared before any and all Ausir in
Arinport.”

“
The Regent says it is a security risk.”

“
But not to
his
King,” said Tivanel. “Surely no Ausir would
have cause to raise a hand against King Jahen? No, it would be against me they
would rise.”

“
So I am to tell the Regent that you insist the coronation be open to
any Ausir?” Ajalira knew that Kamen's concern was as much for
her
sake
as Jahen's.

“
Yes, insofar as I
can
insist when I receive my crown at the
Regent's pleasure and by his grace.”

Ajalira thought
she sensed resentment in Tivanel's words, but she could not understand why.
“You are to be given the crown, Your Grace. Why does that not suffice you?”

“
It does.” Konas spoke for his brother. “And we are grateful to the
Regent for his generosity in standing aside.”

“
As for the other arrangements,” said Ajalira, addressing both
Tivanel and his brother, “it has been set that you should appear to leave the
palace immediately following the coronation, and set sail, supposedly, for the
north. Instead, you will be guests in my lord's house for two days. Only then
will you take ship, for the Kimereth are not to be discounted.”

“
I understand.” Tivanel nodded, as though considering. “Thank the
Regent for his careful preparations, and, excepting only that I desire the
coronation to be open to the Ausir of Arinport, I happily agree to his plans.”

“
I will discuss your terms with the Regent and give you his
response.” Ajalira rose and bowed.

“
And thank him also for the music.” Tivanel spoke again, but he was
no longer looking at her. “It was gracious to have traditional Tamari music
played for us.”

Ajalira nodded
and left, but she was puzzled. There was, so far as she knew, no palace
musician who knew any Tamari music. As she passed through the halls, she, too,
heard the strains of an old Tamari melody, the ancient marching song of Ellon
Tamar, and she was just turning toward the sound, when she saw Kamen.

She ran to him
and kissed him there in the hallway. “My love.”

“
And what did the Seranimesti say?” asked Kamen. His eyes were tired,
and Ajalira looked forward to the day when Jahen could take up the duties of
his throne.

“
He wants to allow all the Ausir in Arinport to attend the
coronation, but otherwise he will agree to everything.”

“
And what did he say regarding not having you, Lira?”

“
He asked a bit after my mother,” said Ajalira, “when he thought he
would have to marry me, but he seemed not to care either way about it when I
told him that I was yours only.”

Kamen shook his
head. “He fancies you, Lira.”

Ajalira
laughed. “You are teasing me. He does not.”

Kamen's eyes
lost some of their tiredness, instead gleaming darkly. “Oh, he does. But he
shan't have you. You're mine.”

“
Always.” Ajalira kissed him. “But where did you find a musician who
can play Tamari melodies? The Seranimesti said that they heard some and wanted
to thank you.”

“
I would like to take credit for that, but I'd nothing to do with
it.”

“
There.” Ajalira tilted her head. “Can you not hear it? Someone is
singing.”

Kamen smiled.
“My ears aren't as keen as—”

Around the
corner stepped a small boy, perhaps six years of age. A dulcimer was slung
across his back, and his high, clear voice stopped singing only as he saw them.

“
I've seen you before.” The boy bowed to Kamen. “But I've never seen
you, Lady.”

Ajalira swayed
on her feet. The boy before her was the very image of her own dead mother,
excepting only his horns. This boy had none. Ajalira fought back against the roaring
in her ears.

“
What is your name?” Her voice did not seem to belong to her. “Where
are you from?”

“
My name is Kaelmoro.” The boy's eyes did not leave her face. “I am
from the Dimadan.”

Kamen left
Ajalira and swept the boy up into his arms. “The Guildmaster said that you had
died in the Losiengare raids.”

“
He lied.” The boy was still not looking at Kamen. He reached out for
Ajalira. “You are my sister, aren't you?”

“
How did you know?” Ajalira could not move, not even to take her
little brother from Kamen. “Where have you been?”

“
I have been raised my whole life in the Dimadan,” said Kaelmoro. “I
didn't know you existed until now, but as I was playing for the Guildmaster, he
suddenly told me to stop, that the Regent and his concubine had returned unexpectedly,
and I must hide again. I've been hiding since we left the Dimadan.”

There was
something strange about the way the boy spoke, almost as though he were
listening to something that Ajalira could not hear.

“
I'll have words with the Guildmaster.” Kamen's fury was plain on his
face, and Ajalira, suddenly able to move, darted to his side. She enveloped
both him and Kaelmoro in her arms.

“
You can't.” Kaelmoro shook his head. “I killed him.”

“
What?” Kamen set the boy down and knelt to look him in the eyes. “How?
Why?”

“
Because when he told me to hide, I felt guilt pouring off him. I
touched his mind then, and I saw that he had killed my mother. Even though he
had given my sister the honor of being a Lotus, I couldn't forgive the murder.”
The boy's clear eyes were sad, and Ajalira, pushed off when Kamen had put
Kaelmoro down, now knelt, too.

“
What does that mean?” asked Kamen, looking to Ajalira. “Felt guilt?
Touched his mind?”

“
My grandmother, Mirel, was called the last of the telepaths,” said
Ajalira, feeling as though she had stepped into another life. “But her
telepathic gifts were passed on to her firstborn by Arathan, Nethrin the high
priest. Neither my mother nor my uncle showed any ability, but it is possible
that it passed through her to … my brother.”

“
You believe me.” It was not a question. Kaelmoro turned to Kamen. “I
killed him by lulling him to sleep and then stabbing his throat. I wasn't sorry
to do it.”

“
You knew my question?” Kamen looked at Ajalira. “The heir to the
Ausir throne.”

****

“
And you didn't know this before?” Lord Tivanel Seranimesti stood
facing Kamen. Ajalira was between them, her hand on Kaelmoro's shoulder. She
interpreted as the others spoke.

“
Of course not.” Kamen smiled wryly. “If I had, I certainly wouldn't
have dragged my concubine all the way to Godswatch!”

“
True.” Tivanel's gaze shifted to Ajalira and Kaelmoro. “I can
imagine you wouldn't want to risk her.”

“
Do you acknowledge my brother's claim, Lord Seranimesti?” asked
Ajalira.

“
He does,” said Kaelmoro. “I see his thought.”

Ajalira caressed
the nubs of Kaelmoro's horns beneath his hair. “Then what is the difficulty?”

“
You can read minds, Your Grace?” The Seranimesti lord spoke gravely
to the boy, and Ajalira felt Kamen's hand come to rest on her waist.

“
Not always. I can feel emotions all the time.” Kaelmoro spoke
perfect Ausir, just as he spoke perfect Sunjaa. “But to read minds takes
concentration. I've only just learned it.”

“
So it is to be your coronation tomorrow then, and not mine.” Lord
Tivanel smiled, and Ajalira could not understand his looks.

Kaelmoro,
however, turned to face Kamen. “It is hard to sense thoughts or emotions, Your
Grace, when yours are so strong.”

Kamen's grip
tightened on Ajalira's waist. “I think I have reason.”

Kaelmoro looked
from Kamen to Tivanel and back again. “Reason and no cause.”

“
Shouldn't I be supposed to be most disappointed?” asked Tivanel.

“
I don't want to be King,” said Kaelmoro. “I just want to go home.”

“
I will take you home, Your Grace,” said Tivanel. “After your
coronation tomorrow.”