Bride by Command (28 page)

She could not be empress, and she couldn’t love a man who would betray her as Jahn had. Could she use her unwanted powers to escape without hurting anyone? Could her curse somehow become her salvation? Jahn had taught her that life could be more than she’d ever imagined it to be. He had shown her aspects of herself that she had never known existed. She was strong. She was capable. She had learned to live very well beyond the home she had always known, and she could, and would, learn to live without Jahn.

 

 

JAHN
did not know Angelo Rainer, the relatively new deputy in the Ministry of Magic, very well, but he had come highly recommended and certainly seemed stable enough. “Stable” among wizards and witches was a rare trait, Jahn had found. It was as if their abilities ate away at their brains and their souls. It took great strength to maintain stability when there were powers and unearthly gifts at one’s fingertips.

Rainer was obviously surprised to be called before the emperor, especially at such an early hour. Still, he was well put together, clean and clear-eyed and well dressed. His long, straight hair, which was fairer even than Morgana’s, was caught in a neat braid.

Jahn was in no mood to do other than get straight to business. “Did you encounter any trouble on your journey to the palace with Lady Danya?”

Rainer blinked. “Trouble other than the lady herself?”

On another day, Jahn might’ve smiled at that comment. “Any attacks on your party? Any strange incidents or accidents?”

“No, My Lord,” Rainer said solemnly.

So, either there was no conspiracy, or Rainer’s traveling party had gotten lucky, or Lady Danya had a hand in the violence which was taking place. Having met her briefly, but not briefly enough, Jahn could see that as a real possibility. “What do you think of Lady Danya?”

Rainer hesitated, and Jahn read people well enough to know that whatever the man said next was going to be carefully measured and likely not entirely true, though he also doubted it would be a lie. Finally the younger man said, “She is very beautiful.”

“That’s hardly a comment on the character of a woman who might one day be empress. Would she make a good empress, do you think?” Jahn did not intend for anyone other than Morgana to fill that position, but he was interested in the answer, nonetheless.

Rainer sighed, and then he answered, “No, My Lord, I do not.”

“Care to elaborate?”

Rainer glanced at the sentinels who stood nearby, and realizing the man’s predicament, Jahn directed the soldiers into the hallway so he and the deputy could be alone for a moment. After the door had closed behind Blane, Rainer spoke.

“I believe Lady Danya is much more fragile than she appears, My Lord. In my opinion she does not have the stamina nor the wisdom to be empress. She is more girl than woman, and yes, it does not help matters that she has managed to alienate everyone she’s met since coming here.”

Jahn saw something he understood in the young man’s eyes and words. “Yet you like her.”

Rainer bowed crisply. “My Lord, I would not dare to care inappropriately for a woman intended for the emperor.”

“Good answer,” Jahn said softly. “Not that I believe you.”

Rainer rose and met Jahn’s gaze, but he did not say anything further.

Jahn had a good sense about people, and he liked Rainer. He also instinctively trusted the man. “As far as most of the residents of the palace are concerned, I am on a hunting trip and will be away for several more days.”

“I will not reveal otherwise,” Rainer said crisply.

“No, I suspect you won’t.” Jahn stood and walked toward the deputy. How much could he trust this man? He could not handle what needed to be done alone, he knew that much. He did not have magic, he did not understand the training and the temptations involved. This man did. Though Rainer had not displayed his powers, he would not be in his current position if Jahn didn’t understand very well what he could do. “There is something else I need from you,” Jahn said in a lowered voice.

“Anything, My Lord Emperor.”

“It requires the most ardent discretion.”

“Of course.” Rainer bowed again, as Jahn drew close.

He did not know what to do with Morgana. He loved her still, always would, and he intended to keep her as his wife. But he didn’t know how to save her, how to keep her . . . how to help rein in her considerable power. It was quite obvious to him, after a long, sleepless night of remembering every word he and Morgana had exchanged and searching his mind for answers, that his wife did not have control of her destructive power. All those times when she had asked him to warm her, she’d been chasing away her unwanted power in the only way she knew how.

Jahn looked into Rainer’s eyes, man to man. “Help me.”

 

 

MORGANA
had remained compliant and silent as sentinels she had once considered friends, men who now looked at her as if they expected her to sprout another head at any moment, delivered food, fine clothing, and even new furnishings to her chamber. She ate some of the food, for the sake of her baby in case there truly was one, and she sat in the plush chair which was placed by the window, a replacement for the chair she had turned to dust. She refused to wear the elaborate gown that was delivered. She preferred her ordinary, worn yellow dress, the only garment she could call her own after last night’s destruction of so much in this very room. If Jahn thought he could buy her forgiveness with silk, then he did not know her at all.

Did she know him? Was anything he had said or done real?

It was Blane and Iann who came into her room to clean up the dusty remains of her anger. They scooped and swept, and Iann shuddered as he touched a footstool and it fell apart. Neither of them looked her in the eye. This was what she had to look forward to, if she stayed here. Fear. Her own fear that she would kill someone, as well as the fear of others.

None of these men would ever look at her the same way again. She’d lost them as surely as she’d lost Jahn.

She was surprised when a visitor was announced, and even more surprised when a young, attractive man walked into her chamber and gave her a small but genuine smile. “How do you do?” he said formally. “My name is Deputy Angelo Rainer, and I’m a representative from the Ministry of Magic. I’m told you’re Ana Devlyn?”

“That name will do, I suppose,” Morgana answered, not bothering to rise from her chair. Why was he here? To arrest her? To recruit her? To interrogate her about her power and where it came from? If that was the case, he’d be very disappointed. There was only one way to find out why he was here. “What do you want?”

Deputy Rainer walked bravely, and perhaps foolishly, closer to Morgana. He studied her eyes and her folded hands, and then he extended his own hand, which fluttered close to her face but did not quite touch her. He muttered a few times, sputtering words like “remarkable” and “unusual,” as well as a few less easily decipherable hums.

Morgana was quite annoyed at the man’s demeanor. He studied her as if she were a two-headed cat! “I will ask you again,” she said sharply, “what do you want?”

“At the emperor’s request, I am here to teach you how to harness your abilities.”

Morgana’s heart leapt. She was tempted to send Deputy Rainer away, to kick him out of her prison room and send the ornate gown she refused to wear with him. But the words he spoke generated something she had not experienced since the moment Jahn had left her last night. “Is that possible?”

“I believe so, yes. No,” Rainer said more forcefully, “I am
certain
it’s possible. All abilities are ours to capture and use. Powers which some call unnatural but which are completely natural to those who have them are simply different types of energy. You own your power. It does not own you.”

“But it does,” she whispered. Her curse had ruled her life since the moment she’d killed Tomas.

“Not for long, Mistress Ana,” Rainer said confidently. “Give me your hand, if you please.” With that he offered his hand, which was well-shaped and long-fingered, and a little pale.

“If you had seen what I could do, you would not offer your hand so easily,” Morgana said, as she left his hand hanging there, untouched.

“I am not afraid,” Rainer said gently.

“Perhaps you should be.”

The hand remained, solid and unmoving, and Rainer said again, “I am not afraid.”

 

 

AFTER
last night’s triumphant moment when Kristo had been so certain his daughter was near, he’d felt nothing more of her presence. Still, he was sure she was here. So close. So damned close!

Danya looked as if she’d been drained of life, she was so pale. There were circles beneath her eyes, and she was skittish. There were moments when she looked horribly delicate, as if she were about to break in two. He’d thought her to be a bit stronger than this, but her secrets were beginning to weigh upon her.

Time to test her, to see if she could be at all useful. With Rikka dead, he could use another ally. Besides, until Morgana was in his hands, Danya remained the only choice for empress. He would not have all that he wanted, if that was the case, but he could and would use every power he had over Danya to get what he wanted most of all.

All Kristo needed was a child. He would prefer that child to be his own blood, his own grandson, but if necessary, Danya’s offspring would serve. If the child was as malleable as the mother, he would serve quite well.

“I want you to kill Deputy Rainer,” Kristo said without preamble, as he closed the door to Danya’s chamber behind him and confronted her. She was alone, as he had known she would be, and was dressed for the day in one of her new, inappropriately seductive gowns. This one was made of a dark, bloodred fabric, much too close to imperial crimson to be proper. The neckline was cut so low that if she sneezed, her nipples would likely be revealed, and the waist was caught up tight to show how tiny her figure was. She had used artificial color to give life to her cheeks, and to be honest, looked no more appealing than the cheapest village prostitute.

She went impossibly whiter as Kristo made his demand. “Why?”

“He watches you too closely; he knows too much.” And Kristo didn’t like the way Rainer had looked at him in the dining hall. The deputy’s restrained abilities apparently included a sensitivity to magics which could reveal Kristo’s powers much too soon.

“He knows nothing!”

“Then kill him simply because I order you to do so,” Kristo said. “You know who will suffer if you do not do as I command.”

Danya swayed on her feet. “How? How am I to kill a man in this palace, an important man in the emperor’s service, and not get caught?”

“That’s your concern, not mine. Women seem to prefer poison over messier methods of disposal, perhaps because they are so often the ones who have to clean the messes more violent actions leave behind.” He walked toward her, silent and smiling, and when he was very near, he reached out and raked his fingers across the exposed swell of her bosom. “It would be quite difficult to get blood out of such a fine fabric, and I suspect it might never wash off your delicate skin.”

“Don’t touch me,” she whispered, not for the first time.

Kristo allowed his hand to drop. “You will do as I direct.” He did not like the way Rainer looked at Danya, the way the man had remained close even though Lady Danya was not at all pleasant these days. Murder likely wasn’t necessary, but Rainer was one of the men who would not be welcome in the new order. Besides, he enjoyed the idea of testing how far his ally would go. What would she do to save her son? Would she kill the emperor when asked to do so?

“Of course.”

“You will kill him tonight,” Rainer said.

Danya’s eyes snapped up and she glared at him. “I need more time! You expect me to plot and carry out a murder without implicating myself in less than one day? Where will I get the poison you spoke of? I will never become empress if I’m caught, and then where will you be?” She pursed her lips and her tired eyes narrowed. “You need me,” she said, perhaps realizing the truth of those words for the first time. “If not, you wouldn’t be here. You would not have taken Ethyn and bothered to blackmail me if you didn’t, for some reason, need
me.
”

He would need her only until she produced a child and named Uncle Kristo its guardian. And if he found Morgana before the First Night of the Summer Festival, he would not need Danya at all. And yet he answered with an almost friendly “Of course I need you.”

That admission gave her a new confidence. “I’ll need a few days to plan.”

“Rainer must be dead before the emperor chooses you.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Danya nodded, and then she ordered her “uncle” from her presence.

Kristo didn’t like that new boldness in the woman he controlled. He didn’t like it at all.

JAHN
didn’t bother to change into a sentinel’s uniform as he rushed up the stairs to Level Seven, two loyal guards directly behind him. What was the point? Morgana knew who he was, so disguises were no longer necessary.

Almost everyone else in the palace was at supper, so he and his men had the stairway to themselves, as they had planned. Maintaining the fantasy that the emperor was on a hunting trip was difficult when he had no choice but to meet with a handful of his staff to deal with the newest crisis, but he would do what he could to give Sanura the time she needed.

The two people he loved most in the world, his wife and his brother, both had reason to take his life—and both had threatened to do so. How had he gone, in a matter of days, from being happier than he could remember to this low point in his life?

Rainer had reported that Morgana’s powers were most definitely controllable, but as they had been ignored for years, it would not be an easy task. She had agreed, through Rainer, to remain in the palace while she took his instruction, but she made it clear that, agreement or not, she considered herself a prisoner.