Lord Of Dragons (Book 2) (25 page)

Sebine certainly hoped so, and as she allowed the girl to finish brushing and oiling her hair, she found her mind drifting off to the night she spent with Prince Jaraz. What would he think of her coming to visit his kingdom, especially after their playful exchange of words and the King's wrathful response to their flirtations? Would he feel flattered or suspicious? She thought of Tael and her heart fluttered for a moment, hoping there would not be too much tension and rivalry between them.
 

Her mind drifted to her mother as Jasmia finishing drying her off. How was mother surviving now that the King had gone to war? Perhaps she was pleased that he was away, and Sebine knew it was true as her mother was always happiest in times when the King was off traveling. Why had Sebine's father abandoned her mother? Or was it just a lustful night, perhaps a marriage feast or a festival, and mother barely remembered his name? The thought saddened Sebine to her core. If the wizard was right about her father, then maybe it was best for her to never meet him.

"Did you bring clothes with you?" Jasmia studied Sebine's long, lean figure with admiring eyes. "Or should I find something suitable for you to wear? I can have many dresses brought here for you to select. Would that please you?"

"Yes, very much, thank you. Could you find something colorful, I saw so many girls wearing beautiful dresses at the square last night. And make sure it is something revealing and sure to cause a scandal. I don't do drab very well."

Jasmia's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Why of course, Your Royal Highness. I'm so pleased that you found me and I could serve you. I have a feeling you'll have a wonderful time here in Shaar'el." And with that, the girl started to dart off, then she squealed and turned around, realizing she was about to leave Sebine standing there naked. A hot flush of embarrassment crept over her face.

"I'm so sorry! I got ahead of myself. Let me get you a robe and you can relax in the dressing room until I return."
 

Sebine smiled at the girl's excitement, and waited only a few moments until Jasmia returned with a soft, cotton robe. The girl led her into a dressing room with several royal women lounging around and nibbling on clumps of grapes and cheese and nuts. At Sebine's arrival, a royal woman around her mother's age greeted her with a warm smile and motioned for Sebine to join them. She couldn't help but admire the woman's silky-white skin and piercing, emerald-colored eyes.

"Welcome to Shaar'el, Prince Sebine. We've heard so much about you from Master Greyth Shalinor."

Jasmia flushed with excitement and bowed to the woman. "Princess Sebine, allow me to introduce you to Queen Hesmia. I believe you know her son Prince Jaraz, and her daughter, Princess Marei?"

 
Sebine's mouth fell open in surprise at encountering Prince Jaraz's mother like this. She had expected a more formal setting. And even worse, she recognized the Queen from when she first entered the bathhouse looking disheveled and horrific.

"It is my great pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty." Sebine gave a bow and sat at the plush chair where the Queen had motioned her to sit.

"My children have told me that you saved their lives. Is this true? King Braxion acted so horribly towards our trade delegation and now threatens the world with war? I do hope you have some good news for us...the wizard was vague in his plan as to how he would prevail against this great evil."

"I wish I had better news," Sebine said, trying to keep her voice hopeful. "With your cooperation and knowledge of history and magic, I believe we can fight this foe together."

The Queen laughed and gave Sebine a pitiful look. "Oh child, you are young and naive. We are in no danger from King Braxion or his army. Shaar'el has stood for nine thousand years and faced countless armies and has never fallen. We are not the least bit worried if King Braxion foolishly brings the battle to our walls—he will fail, like all the others before him."

Sebine bowed and pretended submission to the Queen's wisdom, but she knew in her heart that the Malathians were doomed.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

TAEL WOKE WITH a start, searching the room for signs of Sebine but found her missing. He called her name and heard no response. Where had she gone off? He darted over to the balcony and felt the warm flush of sunlight on his skin. The view was spectacular, the endless shifting sands of the desert contrasted against the many levels of the vast city that stretched so far out it almost reached the horizon.
 

Feeling grimy and sweaty, he searched the chambers for a bath but found only a toilet. Was it safe for him to go outside, or should he wait for his grandfather? From his experience he knew that waiting for Master Shalinor was usually a poor choice, as his arrivals and departures were so unexpected they defied reason.

He went outside the front door and found a line of men and boys in robes traipsing down a stone walkway. Conspicuously dressed in his dusty desert clothes, he chased after the men and followed them from a safe distance until they disappeared inside a low building with steam billowing out the back. He snuck inside and did a horrible job pretending to fit in with the other men, drawing confused stares and whispers amongst the men.

"And you are?" Tael turned to greet a servant's perplexed face.

"Tael Shalinor...perhaps you know my grandfather, the wizard, Master Greyth Shalinor?"

"Why of course, welcome, young master. You'll find the baths this way."

A young man about Tael's age strode over to intercept them. "Did you say that your name is Tael Shalinor? From Valance?"

Tael nodded his head and inspected the handsome young man.

"Did you arrive with Princess Sebine? I once met her with my sister in Trikar...quite some time ago." As the man flashed a handsome smile, Tael found himself hating him in an instant. This had to be the famous Prince that Sebine had talked about.

"Prince Jaraz, I presume? Princess Sebine mentioned you many times on our journey here." Tael gave the man a toothy smile he normally gave to people he was about to punch.

"Did she really?" The prince flashed him an incredulous look. "I would have thought I'd failed to make much of an impression."

"Well your party did fight off the Vizathian Knights in the palace and defend against a horde of Hakkadian sorcerers. Sounds impressive to me."

The Prince's face darkened at Tael's flippant comment. "We never intended to fight. We went as a trade delegation to Trikar and were greeted by violence. The mad King Braxion slew his own ambassador to our kingdom. I watched the man moan and die in a pool of his own blood. He threatened to have his guards rape and murder my sister. You call that impressive?"

Tael raised his hands in a sign of peace, but the Prince was fuming now. "I wasn't there, I only heard about that night from Sebine."

"And you fail to call the Princess by her formal title? You seem like a man of low breeding to me...like one raised in the gutter...a slum dweller who carouses with whores and sleeps with dogs." The Prince sniffed Tael and twisted up his nose in disgust. "You even smell like a diseased dog. Why have you not made yourself presentable before arriving here?"

A sneer crossed Tael's face as he fixed his eyes on the Prince. "I've heard you have a great arena here in Shaar'el? It seems my father once visited your proud city and made a mockery of your ineffective swordplay arts. I always wondered why the Malathians maintain such a strong reputation as credible fighters? From what I can see I'm unimpressed."

A cold tension filled the room as they stared at each other, a tension only broken by the arrival of a powerful, older man with greying hair. "Let's save the bluster for the sparring arena, shall we?" The man gave Prince Jaraz a look of warning, and led him away.

Tael soon found himself alone and wondering why he'd done something so stupid as to pick a fight with a prince in his own city. He took a bath and scrubbed and changed into new clothes, and quickly returned to his chambers feeling embarrassed and out of place.

"I see you've found your way to the bathhouse?" said Princess Sebine. Tael gaped at how lovely she looked: face bright and painted with rouge, her hair clean and lustrous, and she wore a colorful print dress cut low in the front to reveal her firm breasts and silky skin. He found an indecent smile forming on his face.

"Don't you even think about it," she said, and gave him a knowing smile as she wagged her finger at him. "We're due to have breakfast with the royal family."

A cough escaped from Tael's mouth as he remembered the look of fury on Prince Jaraz's face. "Couldn't we eat in our rooms? The view is beautiful from the balcony."

"What did you do? Please don't tell me you already got in trouble on the first day here?"
 

"Just a little bit?" He gave her a hopeful grin as she scowled at him. "He called me a slum dweller and said I was from low breeding. He was being extremely rude."

"Whom are you referring to?"

"Prince Jaraz...I met him in the bath—"

"And you hit him? Challenged him to a duel? Gods, Tael! Couldn't you at least behave yourself until they formed a decent impression of you?"

"I didn't hit him! I only called him unimpressive."

Sebine barked out a laugh. "You what? No fighting or wrestling or insults?"

Tael shook his head and found a smile slowly forming on his face. "But I think he hates me all the same. Maybe he thought I was low-born because I showed up filthy at the bathhouse."

"Filthy? I must have looked like a homeless beggar showing up in a royal bathhouse with the Queen and so many royalty. You should have seen how horrendous my hair looked this morning."

They laughed together and found the tension had melted away. "What are we going to do, Tael? Maybe I can talk to the Prince and smooth things over, I don't know. Let's go and eat, shall we? Just keep quiet until I can think of something."

Tael nodded and held her hands and gave her an apologetic kiss. "I'll try to make a good impression, I promise. We really need their support if we're to venture out north to those ruins." He reached for his sword and sheath, determined not to venture out in the city unarmed, not like the last time in Rez'el.

"Indeed." Sebine led him outside to a set of steep stone steps. "At least the Queen seems to like me, though she's extremely blind in thinking their city is safe against King Braxion and his army. But I'm sure they'll lend us help on our expedition."

They climbed several flights of stairs until they reached a huge patio covered in blue and gold tiles painted with various images of strange, mythological creatures and demons. On the far edge of the patio overlooking the expansive view was a collection of sumptuous chairs and tables filled with royals sipping on tea and drinks and chatting together. At Sebine and Tael's arrival, the royal family went quiet and studied their approach.

Following Sebine's lead, they bowed together when they neared the royals, and Tael sensed an acid stare coming from Prince Jaraz who skulked at the back of the group. He recognized the older man from the bath house, and realized from his prominent place in the group that he was likely the King. The woman next to him bore a wise countenance and possessed a stunningly beautiful face that contained a great deal of humor and patience. She studied him with curious eyes.

"May I present Princess Sebine and Tael Shalinor from the Kingdom of Valance." Tael felt relieved to hear his grandfather's voice introducing them. He turned and inspected his grandfather's wary eyes as they met. "They have fled from the court of the false king of Valance, the son of the Witch Koroshen of Naverstrom, the bastard-spawn of evil. In their perilous journey across land and sea and air they have survived fanatics and danger to arrive safely in Shaar'el. Our goal is to form an expedition to the ancient ruins of the Saarian Empire, the ancestors of both the Malathian Kingdom and the Hakkadians."

Murmurs and whispers spread across the group at the wizard's words, and Tael noticed that one very pretty girl seemed especially intrigued at his grandfather's pronouncement, especially when he mentioned the expedition. Tael found himself staring at her plump red lips and lovely face. Her almond-shaped eyes caught his and she studied him with a fair mixture of intrigue and wariness.

Sebine nudged him as they stepped towards several seats where the King beckoned for them to sit. "I said you'd find her alluring," she whispered, and gave him a devilish grin. Tael felt guilty for being caught, but found himself unable to avoid glancing again at Princess Marei.

"And we also welcome Princess Theria, daughter of high elf King Rhaelian." The wizard flourished a hand and the most beautiful and mysterious girl Tael had ever seen turned and stepped forward from where she had been studying the vast view of the city. "The King has commanded his beloved daughter to aid us in our quest to the Saarian ruins." At the introduction of the elven princess, Tael found himself mesmerized at her beauty.

"So tell us, Princess Sebine, of your adventure from Trikar to Shaar'el?" The King gave her a warm, expectant smile.