The Black God's War (43 page)

“We will find a way, Father. We will save Lucia. I prayed throughout the night to Lord Oderigo and he showed me that she is alive, in a cell inside the citadel. They are nursing her wound and they have not harmed her.”

“Maybe not yet, Son.” The king’s face became long, as if contemplating a great horror. He glanced at Narayani again, then back to Caio. “Rest and heal and continue to pray for Lucia’s safety.”

The king stood again, wincing as if his knees hurt him. He walked close to Narayani, his boots thudding against the carpet. He squeezed her jaw with his powerful hand and made sure she looked into his heavy eyes. “If you hurt my son in any way, I will do to you what your rajah has threatened to do to my daughter. Believe me, you will have never known such pain. No man could do to you what I can.”

Narayani shot a glance toward Caio. She felt the tears building, ready to erupt.

“Father, let her go.” Caio voice remained soft. “She understands you.”

The king squeezed her jaw tighter, then pushed her head back. Narayani lay down on her side and curled her knees to her chest as her tears began to flow. She heard the king exit the room and the doors close behind him.

Caio touched her shoulder. “I am sorry, Narayani. Everything is going to be all right. I promise you, everything will be fine.” He fetched a fine, white cloth from atop his light wardrobe and placed it on the bed before her. “In case you want to wipe your face.”

How is it that you can calm my mind so quickly?

Narayani sat up, dried her wet face, and cleaned up around her nose.

Caio put the palm of one hand forward and gently took one of her hands in his. He covered it with his other hand. He turned his head away and coughed again, a wet, painful cough. He looked at her again, smiling as if he were not in pain.

“I worship a goddess called Mya. She is the divinity presiding over water and healing. She heals both bodies and hearts. If you would like me to, I will pray to her for you. She might help soothe your feelings.”

“You do this for me?”

“Close your eyes. Invite Mya into your heart and feel her presence. Wait and she will come.”

They sat together in silence. The atmosphere felt strange to Narayani, but sweet and wonderful.

She didn’t know where the words were coming from, but she thought them:
Come into my heart. I am broken. Help me.

It began with silence, a penetrating, easy silence throughout her mind, heart, and soul. Her body filled with a warm presence, as if a kind spirit had entered and filled her body with a profound love. The clouds cleared away, clouds of terror, of heartache, of rage. Feelings of dignity, wholeness, and peace took their place.

She opened her eyes and lost herself in Caio’s radiant eyes.

“Feeling better?” Caio smiled, still holding her hand.

“Thank you.” She quickly reached out to hug him. She felt his heart beating and knew that neither of them wanted the embrace to end.

She brought her face around to his and kissed him.

I am sorry, Rao. He is the only one who can save me.

His sculpted lips were perfect against hers. She kissed him harder. He kissed her back, opening his mouth and caressing her tongue with his own. She moaned softly, dropping sweet hints of ecstasy. She pulled her body closer to his, feeling totally surrendered to him.

She leaned harder against his body, pulling away her robe to let her firm breasts press against him. They lay down together, wrapping their legs around each other. As their tongues danced, she grabbed up his robe and pulled it over his head. She threw her own robe off and pushed her whole body against his.

As he kissed her neck, more moans of perfect pleasure escaped her lips.

“I’m very new to this,” he said.

She rolled onto her back and held Caio so he stayed above her. She grabbed between his legs, squeezed him, and guided him to her …

Chapter 66: The Veil of the Enemy

LUCIA WOKE AGAIN TO VOICES. She guessed the men were coming to see her and sat up, leaning forward over the edge of the raised wooden board that was her bed.

Sunlight streamed through a window, illuminating the dust floating in the air of her cell. The reeking air assaulted her stomach. She pulled up her robe to inhale the herbs the Pawelons had pressed against her with their cloth bandage. She shivered, her body still suffering from fever.

She knew the sages had used some of their healing magic on her during the night. She had been vaguely aware of it while she slept, a presence like a warm cocoon, circulating energy throughout her body.

The same number of soldiers and sages stood around the room. After some commotion beyond the door, the warriors stood at attention. The hinges screeched again and a man entered by himself.

Their prince!

“Your Grace,” the prince said in Rezzian, “I am Prince Rao. Let me say first that if you cause me any harm, you will be killed.”

Then that’s how I’m going to die.
“What do you want?”

“Please start by telling me what happened yesterday. I stabbed
him
. I didn’t stab
you
, but you were there. I had no time to react. Did you willingly trade places with your brother?”

You want me to admit it so you can have me put to death.

“Well?” he asked.

“I don’t know what happened. I only know I’m here.”

“Your brother is alive.”

Thank you, Ysa!

“You’re saying you didn’t cause your brother to disappear?”

“No,” she lied.

“Then was it the gods themselves?”

“I suppose it was.”

“I had no time to react,” he said.

“What are you saying, you wouldn’t have killed me anyway?”

“I could have easily killed you after I stabbed you. I worked very hard yesterday to keep you alive.”

He had a point. “Why?”

“Because I need your help to end this war.”

Liar.
“And that’s why you tracked and hunted us at the lake?”

“Of course we didn’t.” The prince’s face flushed with some frustration. “We had no idea you were there. Your friend threw a spear at my friend—remember? Why would we try to hunt you down after you agreed to the duel?”

“So that you wouldn’t have to fight my brother fairly?”

“No.” The bastard was either a very good actor, or telling the truth. “I wanted this war to be over
after
our duel. The single combat was my idea. Remember?”

Then it was
all
due to Lord Danato
. Lucia slouched back against the wall as the realization sunk in.

The prince rubbed his forehead as if accepting difficult facts. “You’re telling me you weren’t hunting us?”

“No!”

“Then it was a perfect coincidence?”

Lucia remembered Danato’s directions that sent her and Caio to the lake that night.
No, not such coincidence at all.

Lucia was surprised to find the prince, at least to this point, different than she expected him to be. His act made him seem reasonable. He also seemed to be wounded, dragging his legs as if it hurt to walk.

“Your people are the ones who keep this going,” he said, pointing.

“I’ll have you know my brother and I were trying to stop this war. That’s the only reason he agreed to your duel.”

“Funny, the day before I proposed the duel, you and your brother ambushed our men after you hid behind the rainstorm. I wouldn’t call that an act of peace.”

Lucia put herself in Prince Rao’s place and understood his thinking. “A lot changed after that battle. After what you and your friend did to me and Ilario.”

“Ilario. The one who died. Was he the Haizzem’s protector?”

“Yes and much more. Because he died, my brother’s no longer in the same mind. He wants to conquer Pawelon now.”

Prince Rao paced the room with difficulty, drawing and exhaling long breaths.

“You’re saying your brother wanted to attack us on the day you came for us hidden behind the rainstorm. Then soon after that he changed his mind, so that by the time I proposed the duel, or soon after that, he wanted peace. Then after Ilario died, Caio wanted to conquer Pawelon again?”

“That’s mostly true, except he never wanted there to be a war in the first place. When we hid our army behind the storm, we were hoping to deal such a powerful blow that it would shock your nation into surrendering. And it was my idea. He went along with it.” Lucia rubbed her aching temples, aware she needed more rest.

The Pawelon prince continued his slow pacing, apparently sorting out the details in his mind. “I want to make sure I understand. You’re saying that Ilario’s death changed everything for Caio. And you’re saying it was a coincidence that we found you at the lake. I find that impossible to believe.”

This bastard’s mind is sharp.
Lucia hesitated. “The truth is …” She looked to her right at one of the many soldiers staring at her. “One of our gods told us to go to the lake that night.”

“Mya? Oderigo? Or Ysa?”

And he knows a lot about us.
“No. Lord Danato.”

“Interesting,” he said.

“You know our gods?”

“Oh yes, I’ve studied them.” He stopped his pacing. “Then your black god was trying to hunt us.”

He was hunting his own people.
“I don’t think so.”

“Why else would he send you there?”

“Lord Danato is a perverse figure. I’ve given up trying to understand him.”

The prince tilted his head to one side. “And you had a relationship with Ilario?”

“That’s not your concern.”

“You said so to my lady.”

Lucia scrolled through her memory of that night.
I did say something to the girl about him.
“I’m not going to discuss my private life with you.”

The prince’s eyes widened, looking compassionate for a moment. “I am sorry for your loss. I didn’t want to hurt Ilario. In that instant, I had no choice. It was either my friend or yours. I am very sorry.”

Lucia stared down at the dirty stone floor and fought back her emotions.

The prince looked over Lucia’s body. “How are you? Are our healers helping you?”

Lucia’s entire body ached with fever, but she had to admit that her health had improved. “Considering I should be dead now, I won’t complain about anything yet except for this gods-forsaken cell.”

Rao nodded. “And you should, but we don’t have a better place to hold someone like you.”

“Is Duilio here, too? Our Strategos?”

“I shouldn’t talk about that.” Rao stepped closer to the bars of the cell. “What about your arms? Can I see them?”

Realizing it made no difference anymore, Lucia pulled back her sleeves. A moment later, she pulled the sleeves down again.

“Amazing,” he said.

“They are tattoos.”

“Briraji has canny senses. He said you would say that, and that you are lying.”

The sage is called Briraji. Remember, the sage is Briraji.
“Well then I can’t convince you, can I?”

“Would you try?” he asked.

Lucia became aware of herself shaking her head in frustration, then stopped, not wanting to give the prince any more clues. “They are tattoos.”

“There has never been a time with two Haizzem, has there?”

“Exactly. It’s impossible.”

“Unless this is the first time in history.” Rao’s hand shot to his chin. He scratched it as if experiencing a revelation. He took slow steps, a few in one direction, a few in another, keeping his head turned toward his prisoner.

“Let’s talk about something else then,” he said. “Think back to the day you and your goddess created the great lightning storm. Do you know I’m the one that stopped you?”

“I felt an evil presence around me before I fell down unconscious.” The prince smiled, but Lucia continued, “We found out later you had taken credit for stopping me. So it
was
you.”

“Your Grace, I did stop the storm, but as I did I sent you a message of peace. I could have really hurt you or killed you. And then at the ambush, after the rainstorm, I could have killed you and the man who came after you. You said that was also Ilario?”

“Yes.” And Lucia realized he was right, that he could have hurt her and Ilario much worse that day.
But he wanted our army to retreat. That’s why he didn’t kill us.

“I am a man of peace. I wanted to negotiate a conclusion to this war, but you were gone before we were able to discuss it.”

His words were very, very hard to accept. She knew he was a skilled liar. “What do you want from me?” she asked.

“I want your people to go back to their homes and leave Pawelon alone.”

Gods!
Could it be? Could she have misjudged him this much?