The Soldier's Lotus (23 page)

“
Well, then I withdraw
the bet.” Kamen glanced sidewise at Saerileth, and she knew that he meant it
for mockery. “Your Lotus can get you anything.”

A brief shadow flickered in Darien’s eyes, and Saerileth
pressed his hand. She knew it was jealousy that touched him, and she could
almost have laughed at the thought.
Almost.

“
His Grace will see
you now.” A herald announced their names.

“
Saerileth, Red Lotus.
Lord Kamen
Itenu
. Captain Darien, late of the king’s
navy.”

Saerileth had expected that Kamen would be announced before
Darien, but the knowledge that her own status was accounted higher than that of
a
Sunjaa
noble was helpful. She did not allow her
smile to touch her lips, but she felt the added glow in her eyes.

“
Your
Grace.” She bowed gracefully, Zenji fashion,
speaking first as she had been first introduced.

“
Saerileth!”
The little boy-king slipped from the knee of
his grandfather, the
Vadal
king, and ran to
Saerileth.

“
You seem to have
charmed my little grandson, Lotus.” The king appraised Saerileth, and she
pretended not to notice. She kept her face half-turned from the king, allowing
Jahen
to lean his head on her shoulder. She kept the boy
balanced on her hip, and, though the
Vadal
fashions
were neither translucent like the
Sunjaa
ones nor
tantalizing like the Zenji ones, she made the most of the way the red silk
clung to the curve of her buttocks. Saerileth kissed
Jahen’s
brow and murmured soft
Vadal
words to him.

“
Your
Grace.” Kamen bowed, as did Darien, but Darien
did not speak.

“
You have rescued my
grandson and my nephew, and for that you have my gratitude.”

Saerileth heard the king’s breath slow ever so slightly. He
was bracing himself for the request he expected, the request that Saerileth
knew Kamen was about to make. But it was too soon.

“
His little Grace has
been in my care since his mother died,” said Saerileth, not allowing Kamen time
to speak. “He feels safe with me.”

“
That brings me to
something I have wanted to ask.” The
Vadal
king had
pale blue eyes, and his wheat-colored hair was silvering. Saerileth had noticed
these facts with no more than the briefest of glances, and she continued to
monitor his reactions through her eyelashes. His eyes were wide, and strong
emotion dilated his pupils.

“
How may I ease Your
Grace’s grief?” Saerileth was sufficiently confident in her guess that she did
not speak vaguely.

“
How did my daughter
die? And who – exactly who – saved my grandson?”

Saerileth continued to cuddle
Jahen
against her shoulder. She was genuinely fond of the little king. “The Princess
Royal was cut down by two assassins. One grabbed her; the other slit her
throat. She died within seconds, and her honor was intact.” Saerileth turned to
face the
Vadal
king, and she fixed her eyes full on
his face. “As for then-Crown Prince
Jahen
, he was
playing on my knee at the instant. I hid him in my
pallav
,
and I fled with him to Captain Darien. In the noble captain I knew that the
orphaned boy would find a champion, one to lead his army and retake his throne.
For surely, Your Grace, the peace for which you gave your daughter into
concubinage
was not your only aim?”

“
What do you know of
my aims?” The king was on his feet, and his wide eyes showed Saerileth how
nearly she touched him.

She let one hand skim over her side and hip, and the king’s
breath hitched. “I know that you loved your daughter, Your Grace, and that you
sought marriage to the
Sunjaa
king for her. You took
concubinage
because it was the most that you could get –
and because your blood would sit on the
Sunjaa
throne
forever. The
Sunjaa
nation is the oldest, most
powerful kingdom of men. Their line has never been broken, not in all their
long history. Father to son their line goes back, and so shall it ever go
forward. Even now, when it was likely that the line would end, the gods willed
otherwise.”

The king licked his lips, and Saerileth dropped her eyes,
forcing a blush. “My grandson is safe here.”

“
But he is deprived of
his birthright, Your Grace.” Saerileth pressed her lips to
Jahen’s
brow. “He is of royal
Vadal
blood, but he is not Your
Grace’s heir. He
was
the heir to the
Sunjaa
king. He is of higher blood than any other mortal king. He is only a child now,
but he will one day be a man. He will ask then why a usurper sits on
his
throne.” She knelt down slowly, releasing
Jahen
. “Go
back to His Grace your grandfather.” The red silk of the
Vadal
gown clung to her breasts, and Saerileth was slow in standing.

“
You speak truly,
Lotus.” The
Vadal
king swept the boy up into his
arms.

Saerileth heard Darien’s increased breath, and she turned
to him. Her eyes glowed, and she felt his jealousy as a flame in her flesh.

“
It is only right that
His Grace should honor those who risked so much to save him. The captain’s
house was burned to the ground for his devotion to the true king.” She turned
back toward the king and flashed him a brilliant smile. “Would it not be proper
gratitude for the captain to lead the assault?”

“
I will send my army
to restore my grandson to his throne.” The king’s breath was faster even than
Darien’s. “And I will have the captain lead alongside my own general.”

“
Thank you, Your
Grace.” Saerileth bowed again.

Darien spoke then. “I would be honored to help my true
liege regain his rightful throne.” Then Darien grasped Saerileth by the wrist,
pulling her toward him. “My Lotus and I are at Your Grace’s service to that end.”

Kamen bowed then, too, and spoke the first words he had
said since his first greeting. “Thank you, Your Grace.”

“
When will it please
Your Grace that we should go back?” Saerileth kept her body pressed against
Darien’s, but she smiled at the king. “For the longer the usurper remains in
Arinport, the harder it will be to dislodge him.”

“
The army will muster
out within the week.” The
Vadal
king stood tall and
proud in the center of his throne room, and he was utterly in Saerileth’s hand.

“
Thank you, Your Grace.”
Saerileth repeated Kamen’s words.

“
And you will dine
with me tonight?” Saerileth was careful to accept on behalf of them all, lest
the king want to improve their acquaintance.

“
We all would be
honored to be Your Grace’s guests.”

****

“
That was the most
miserable evening I’ve ever passed.” Darien stretched out on the soft bed. “And
I don’t even want to think about why the king put your chambers on the opposite
end of the floor from mine.”

Saerileth smiled and lay down beside him. “But I am not
in
those chambers, my love.”

Darien pulled her close and nuzzled her hair. “And I’m not
letting you go back to them, either.”

“
Oh
not to sleep, of course.”
Saerileth leaned up and kissed him, enjoying
the
 
unexpected
softness of his lips
beneath her own. “But I will have to go back once, as that is where they will
be delivering my clothes once they have been cleaned.”

“
Do you think the
clothes are ready?” asked Darien.

“
Probably.
Why?”

“
Then go get them now
and come back immediately.” His voice rumbled low in his chest. “Or I might
have to kill the
Vadal
king before we leave, and then
where would we be?”

“
Are you jealous,
Master?” Saerileth leaned up on her elbows and looked into his face. “Of a king
not a twentieth part the man you are?”

Darien’s laugh was rough-edged, and Saerileth felt her
nymphae
flood. “I don’t mind their looking. It’s impossible
not
to look at you,
Saeri
. But when a man
might be able to take you from me—”

“
Darien!” Saerileth
sat up straight, her breast heaving. “How can you say that?”

“
I got a bit of my own
back then.” He sat up, too, and cradled her against him. “Don’t tease me like
that anymore.”

“
I was not teasing
you.” Saerileth looked up, anxious to reassure Darien. “I was manipulating him.
It
is
what we Lotuses do. I know how to use words, to
use every gesture, every glance – I can convince people of most anything. That
was all it was, Darien.”

“
You’ve never looked
at me that way.” Darien twined his fingers through her hair, and Saerileth
could hardly breathe through her need.

“
I-I cannot manipulate
you, my love.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Please believe that I have not, nor
ever would, use any Lotus influence on you! I couldn’t if I wanted to. You melt
me with but a glance.”

Darien laughed and kissed her. “I know,
Saeri
.
You’ve told me that before. And I believe you. But I don’t have to like it when
I see kings obsessing over you. Now go get your clothes before I change my mind
about letting you wear clothes anymore!”

Saerileth kissed Darien’s lips and darted down the hall.
The army was already being summoned. She would have no cause to go before the
Vadal
king again, and she resolved that their goal to aid
little King
Jahen
would fall to the wayside before
she caused Darien even an instant’s discomfort again.

The room assigned to her was well-lit, but there were no
attendants present. Saerileth did not like this, and she swept her clothes into
her arms and turned to leave.

“
Stay, Lotus.”

Anger warred with fear, and Saerileth whirled back to see
Kamen.

“
Lord
Itenu
.” Her voice was ice. “I must go back to my master.”

“What was
the game you
played on the
Vadal
king?”

“
His Grace did not see
any game.”

“
I wouldn’t have even
guessed, either, if I hadn’t been expecting something of the kind.” Kamen
stepped nearer, and she could hear his heightened breath. “You’ve bewitched
Darien, haven’t you?”

“
No.” Saerileth stood
her ground and looked up to glare at Kamen. Though nowhere near Darien’s
mammoth proportions, Kamen was a large man, beautiful and graceful, and she
could almost smell his desire.

“
Then why should he
love you?” Kamen towered over her now.

“
Why shouldn’t he?”
Saerileth tilted her chin. “I am accounted beautiful by the
Sunjaa
.
I am a Red Lotus. And
I
love
him
.”

“
Do you?” Kamen’s
words were almost a purr.

“
Yes.” Saerileth
closed her eyes, concentrating, wanting to hear Kamen’s heartbeat.

“
Even
though he … dominates you?”

She heard Kamen’s heart rate speed up as he asked the
question. “My
Master
does not do such things. You do, Lord
Itenu
. It is you who are the dominant, you who desire such
absolute control. And you will never succeed with my Master. Not only is he
unlike you—”

“
Unlike
me how?”

“
He does not take
equal pleasure from males and females.” Saerileth raised her hand to
forestall
 
Kamen’s
objection. “Yes, I know about common quarters. I know that he has fucked you,
Lord
Itenu
, many times.” As she said the words,
Saerileth felt her own jealousy rise like bile in her throat. “And for that I
could wish you dead!”

“
Then why didn’t you
let me die?” Kamen was only a breath away from her.

“
Because I love him,
and you are his friend. Your death would hurt him, and I would not have him
suffer anything that I could prevent.”

“
I want him,” said
Kamen.

“
No.” Saerileth looked
full into Kamen’s dark eyes, and she saw there the pain she had known she would
see. But she saw, too, the other emotion, the one she had dreaded. “You love
him. Because he is great, because he is a man the likes of which you will not
see again, because he is … Darien. But you could not make him happy, nor could
he make you so. You are a dominant. I have seen it in you. But you would never
be able to dominate my Master, and you would break your heart trying. No, him
you love. I am the one you
want
.”