The Destroyer Book 2 (51 page)

"It is probably the food." She slid off of my lap easily and grabbed a thin silk robe that matched her eyes. I got a last look at her gleaming body before it was hidden behind the fabric. Before she left the bathroom she turned to me.

"I'll bring your pet tomorrow or the next day. Agreed?" she asked while she bound the sash around her thin waist.

"Agreed." I stood out of the chair and retied my pants.

"I ruined another one of your shirts." She gave a mocking frown before she danced playfully into the other room. I looked at the tunic and saw that her claws had ripped the back to shreds. I was running out of the fine garments that the king's tailor had made for me.

"Ahh food! Excellent!" Isslata giggled from the main area of my suite. I heard footsteps walk into the room and the clink of flatware being arranged. I walked to the sink and turned on the cold water, splashing some on my face to bring me down from the adrenaline rush the lovemaking had just given me.

"Oh, here comes dessert as well," Isslata purred loud enough for the guards and servants to hear.

"Good evening Isslata," Vernine's soft, velvety voice drifted through the rooms.

"Put that on the table," Isslata said in annoyance. I walked into the room and saw her directing the human servants. One of them was Bethany, the girl that I had met when I had first entered the castle and been directed into the servants' quarters. She noticed me and her eyes grew wide with confusion, but she knew better than to greet me.

I smiled at Vernine and she licked her lips. She was wearing a dark red combination of leather pants and a silk blouse that seemed to match her eyes. Her hair lay braided down her back and tied with a group of half a dozen wild roses. The three of us stood around awkwardly for a few minutes while the servants finished arranging the feast on my small oak dining table. When it looked like they were finished, Isslata shooed them out the open door to my room and into the hallway. Then she closed the door behind them and turned back to us, a look of lust plain on her face as she eyed Vernine.

"You started without me didn't you?" Vernine smiled slightly at the golden woman. "I can smell him all over you."

"Couldn't help it." Isslata stalked over to Vernine like a panther. "Besides, there is plenty left for you." She purred as she moved her head toward the other woman's. Vernine moaned and met her lips eagerly. Their kiss quickly turned into a battle of aggressive licking once Vernine's hand ran across Isslata's chest, into her half-open robe, and grasped her firm breast. I felt my erection tense with their demonstration. Flashes of the week the three of us spent in my room suddenly appeared in my memories, but it seemed like déjà vu and not a real memory.

"Hummm . . . Dinner first, lover." Isslata broke the kiss and glanced over to me. She bit her lip and sighed. "We can't keep the O'Baarni waiting. He needs to satisfy all of his appetites tonight."

"Agreed. I don't want him going hungry." Vernine's normally impassive face looked wild with desire. Her eyes reflected the setting sun that slid through the doors on my balcony and made them glow with hunger.

I remembered to exhale and sat down on one of the plush seats. There was more than enough food to feed eight of us, but Isslata was never one to live below her means.

And I did have an appetite.

"The day is beautiful," Runir said as he walked out to the balcony, dodged my massive dress and petticoat mixture, and then flopped into the seat beside me. He was covered in sweat and I figured that he had been exercising in his room. I smiled at him and then turned to look out at the city.

I didn't go out on the balcony often, and when I did I made sure I was in disguise. The late afternoon sun cast a shadow on the east side of the castle, so I doubted any would recognize me in the countess's dress with my face exposed. Still, I nervously dropped the veil every few minutes just in case one of our enemies happened to glance this way.

The banquet was a few days away and my excitement made me restless. I was eager to get my talons on Nanos if I found the opportunity. I would wrap my fingers around his throat and squeeze. The dreams of revenge kept me awake at night. The moment was so close I could almost feel his blood drip down my hands.

"Still no sign of Losher?" Runir grabbed a pitcher of cold water and poured himself a glass.

"I've seen a few patrols on the perimeter of the walls, but none inside of the city. It looks like the noble quarter is being rebuilt." I pointed to the northwest area of Nia that was closest to the castle. There had been scaffolding and workers moving on rooftops most of the day.

"Do you think they returned to their homeland?" Runir asked.

"Unless they went south to Brilla." I sighed. We were cut off from all communication from my army. They would know exactly where the Losher force had gone.

"Where are the boys?" He looked over his shoulder into our suite for the other guards.

"They went to train. At least that is what they said. I bet it is a mixture of training, gambling, and who knows what else." I grabbed a small metal file and worked a sharp angle out of one of my nails. The last few days of waiting had been tough for me. I spent them locked up in the suite with only my journals, Runir, and the guards to keep me company. Runir's constant attention had worn my nerves down to a nub of fiery anger. I would have loved to send him with the other men to explore the castle and gather information, but the risk of him being discovered was too great.

He seemed thrilled with all the alone time we were getting. At least we had our own rooms so I had a few hours of solitude before the blonde man ostensibly grew concerned for my safety and created reasons to come to see me.

"Can we talk about the banquet again?" His question was a whine. Fuck he was annoying me. I'd seen him command squadrons of men in life or death situations, I knew he was brave, yet he had the spine of a wet rag when we talked about the banquet.

"No," I spat. It was the tone of voice I used before I went to my room to be alone. I stared icily at him.

"I just want to review it with you. Nanos will give his speech, and then what will we do?"

"We'll work the party and gather information. The purpose is to observe and get a feel for the attitude of the nobles." I sighed. "This will not be dangerous if you don't make a fucking mistake." He winced at my words and I realized I was being a bit hard on him. "Sorry. I know you won't make any mistakes. I am tense and nervous also." He grinned like a dog given a rib bone for a treat.

"I'm surprised Nanos hasn't tried to set up a private dinner with you. Countess Detoria has a massive amount of political clout. You probably got one of the best rooms in the castle, but I guessed he would have been kissing her--your--ass every day for support." Runir smiled.

"I agree." We had discussed this before and the conversations were spinning in maddening circles. Perhaps my friend thought I would have a new epiphany about the situation. "I can think of a few scenarios, one being that Nanos doesn't really know what he is doing. Jessmei was always in touch with the aristocracy, knew who contributed what to high society, and what their agendas were. Nanos preferred to play fight and bully." Runir nodded solemnly. Although Jessmei was a few years younger than both of us, she had been the darling of our childhood group. A fact that had infuriated her brother.

"Yes. But if he is being coached by the Ancients, would they let him make those kinds of mistakes?"

"No. They have set this up for some purpose. They need Nanos for something, otherwise they would just take the castle, kill the royal family, and declare their empress the ruler of Nia. The nobles might have resisted and fled to Brilla, or Brilla could have counterattacked in the spring once our main forces returned from the North." I found myself asking what the empress's plans really were. Again.

"It seems that they want the castle and the nobility. They banked on Nanos's cooperation over his father's, but they should have used Jessmei instead." Runir nodded his head in agreement with his own theory.

"Maybe. Jessmei would never have cooperated, perhaps the empress suspected that from the intelligence she gathered. So she kidnapped Jessmei for leverage against the king. Nanos was the eager and willing back-up plan. He had probably been feeding the Ancients information since we were first aware of them. Fucking bastard." I recalled the blonde prince standing over his dead father. His face had been angry. Angry that I discovered his betrayal and angry that I witnessed his cowardice.

"Do you think Jessmei is alive?" Runir looked down at his glass of water and then finished the beverage in a quick gulp.

"Perhaps." My throat formed a lump. I didn't want to talk about her. She was either dead or alive. Nothing I could do now would change that. Even thinking about what horrible fate she suffered at the hands of the Ancients would just distract me from the task at hand.

"She is a smart--" A quick series of three knocks on the door followed by two spaced out ones interrupted my friend's words. It was the signal that our warriors were returning. We relaxed when the door slowly opened and my guards entered.

"Any updates?" Runir asked as he got out of his chair to greet them.

"A few," my lead guard said. His name was Westar and he had been in my father's service for the last twenty years. "Nanos hasn't met with any of the other nobles yet and they are quite offended."

"Any news of the Losher army?" I asked.

"They have been relocated to our keep." Westar's face scowled in anger. "The leader of the Ancients had some sort of agreement with the Losher chiefs. Apparently they have a strong alliance."

"This seems odd. Our men will just come through the pass in spring and retake the castle if Losher’s army is not here for support." I tried to figure out what the new position of the army meant.

“Perhaps it is a feint? They could be back in Nia within a week. It will take four more months for our warriors to push through the mountains. It was probably safer for the Ancients to move the Loshers off of the board for some time instead of trying to manage them here. I’m sure they are watching the southern border in case Brilla sends troops from Sapphire.” Runir’s reasoning was sound, I nodded as I studied the faces of the men. Something was amiss.

"What else?" I probed.

"There is a rumor . . ." Westar’s voice trailed off into silence.

"I like rumors. Do tell." I smiled and tried to relax. This dress was a little looser than the one I wore during my carriage ride and brief exploration of the castle, but it still squeezed my torso uncomfortably. The countess was a good forty pounds lighter than me and her age had pulled all the muscle and fat from her body.

"It sounds unbelievable, but apparently a man who matched Greykin's description was seen with a group of riders a few days’ north of the castle."

"You're right. That does sound unbelievable," I said with a laugh and a sigh of relief.

"It seemed he rode with two Ancients. Or at least, Lord Cartor's man said he saw their ears and hair when they rode. This man is positive that it was Greykin, and you must admit that the Old Bear is hard to mistake. But it makes little sense that he would ride away from the city in the company of Ancients." I nodded and brought back the painful memory of my last moments with Greykin. He had thrown himself at half a dozen Losher warriors to buy time for Paug, the king, Nanos, and I. Greykin was a stout warrior, but well past his prime. He wouldn't have been able to take on that many soldiers and live.

"I would guess Lord Cartor's man is mistaken," I sighed heavily. Greykin and I had our differences and he was more often than not a pain in my ass, but he was a great warrior, devoted to the crown, and steadfast in what he believed. Another casualty of Nanos's treachery.

"Aye." The guards pulled out cards and began to set up a small game on the large oaken table in the middle of the central room. I looked over to Runir and then nodded my head for him to join them. He'd be able to dig a little deeper than I would. The hardest part about being a leader seemed to be getting accurate information from the scouts and troops. No one wanted to pass bad news up the chain of command.

I closed my eyes for a second and then reopened them, gazing down across the sprawling, beaten city. The sun would set in a few hours and I saw workers attempting to fix homes that had been destroyed in the siege. Everywhere I looked I noticed evidence of Nanos's crime. The banquet could not come soon enough.

Runir and I made a small journey a few nights ago to investigate my father's room, but it was guarded by Ancients and we got as close as we dared before returning. After the banquet, I would be willing to take more risks since I would understand more of the empress's plans for Nanos and the noble families.

There was a loud knock on the door. It almost sounded like someone kicked the thick wood. In a whirlwind of activity, the men in the room moved to strategic locations in the suite. They didn't draw their swords, but one of the guards on loan from the countess had a light crossbow already loaded that he pointed deftly at the entryway to our suite.