Woman of Silk and Stone (19 page)

Spying a servant I recognized as a server at
dinner, I hurried over, calling out to him. The man glanced over
his shoulder and immediately halted, wringing his hands nervously.
His clothing was wrinkled, but he didn't look any worse for
wear.

"
Beleti
, please!
You should be in your room, w-where it is safe," he stuttered
anxiously, his eyes darting over my head to the seven-foot
Darisam
who had caught up with me was
glowering.

"Don't mind him. Now tell me exactly what
has happened," I ordered him, my tone firm and calm, hoping that
would give him something to focus on.

He hesitated a moment and then nodded.
"Shortly after you...ah, retired for the evening," he muttered with
a speaking glance at Adar. "The king went to his chambers to
recover from the ordeal, and the evening meal was served. Then..."
he gasped, emotion overcoming him. "Half the council and guards
fell over, sick or unconscious. And the rest of the
Litum
rushed to the king's chambers and escaped with
him and the
Ahatki
.
Sukkall
Efrim's personal servant was found to have
poison in his possession, and the remaining members of the council
took Efrim into custody. They are meeting now to decide how to
proceed."

Panic thrumming through my veins, I grabbed
the man's shoulders. "And those who were poisoned? Are they all
dead?" I demanded, my heart beating so hard it vibrated in my
chest.

"Honey-
sa
, stop.
Your guard will live, and most of the others will also. Let this
man do his work, and I will take you the council," Adar said
calmly, finally getting my attention. The moment I released the
servant he gave me an abbreviated bow and scuttled away.

With tears in my eyes, I looked up at Adar,
watching as his stone-carved features softened, his radiant skin
taking on a muted glow.

"
Ti summu
, forgive
me. I was...disappointed that our time was interrupted, and I do
not have the same attachments to these people as you. But I will
help you now," he promised. And I believed him.

"Take me there. We've got to stop whatever
is happening and get to Tam. His aunt will kill him."

Adar's eyebrows arched, and I knew he was
wondering how I'd arrived at that conclusion, but urgency was
riding my heels and I didn't want to waste any time explaining. He
seemed to understand because he merely nodded, then gathered me in
his strong arms and dissolved us into smoke.

We rematerialized in the council chambers
amid a scene of chaos.

Efrim was bound by ropes and thrown
haphazardly into a chair, two guards standing over him. The rest of
the council looked dual parts ill and disoriented, although there
was one face that looked far too smug for my liking.

"Efrim is innocent," I shouted into the
melee, knowing there wasn't enough time to waste on
pleasantries.

It took a minute, but everyone settled down
and turned toward me, incredulous expressions on their faces.
Efrim's most of all.

Well, I was pretty shocked, too.

"What is the meaning of this? What are you
doing here?" Shakar, my least favorite council member demanded
haughtily, as though I had interrupted bachelors' night out rather
than an emergency trial.

I was thrilled to see
Zagmi
Tilmun seated in one of the chairs, though he
looked fatigued to the point of collapse.

"Honey, I am glad to see you are safe. We
were not sure where you had gone, and Hamsum..." he trailed off,
closing his eyes and making my heart pound faster. "Hamsum was
unable to search for you," Tilmun finished, his expression
grave.

"He's still alive?" I asked, noting the
pleading tone in my voice. If he died, one of my only friends here,
I wasn't sure I could live with the guilt.

Tilmun nodded wearily. "Yes, but barely.
Many of the
Litum
are bedridden. It was
fortunate I had not yet partaken of the evening meal or I too would
have been poisoned, and unable to heal so many. Still, we have lost
two of our members, and several of the lower guard. Until this plot
is fully uncovered, we cannot call for
Ensi
Tam's return."

"We can't leave him where he is, either," I
stated baldly, wincing at the number of affronted gasps and
protests. If I was wrong about any of this...but deep down I knew I
wasn't. This was what I had been called to Solis for, why I had
been ripped from my boring little existence back on Earth. I was
here to be the lone voice of reason.

"Look, you all haven't had a rebellion in
Solis for a long time, so you won't recognize what's going on. But
this is classic Shakespeare. Ninna is holding the king hostage, and
she will kill him. Soon. It will be a tragic accident, something
that couldn't have been avoided. Or they will be set upon by
mercenaries that will be easily connected to Efrim. Either way,
Ninna will be the only one to return, along with the loyal
Litum
that went with her, and within a
day, she will be installed as Queen, and the council will be
disbanded, apart from the few advisors she chooses," I glanced at
Shakar, who paled, "who will ease her into the transition."

Open-mouthed astonishment greeted me on
every face but two: Shakar and Efrim.

Voices were raised and everyone immediately
began to dismiss me as totally insane, and that's when Adar spoke
up.

"Fools. You have not lived long enough to
remember the strife before the kingdoms were split, but I witnessed
the devious nature of your people many times. Brother killing
brother, son murdering father. All for a glimpse of real power. It
is why we broke the land, divided you into smaller groups; no one
person was strong enough to hold all of Edin, and there were always
serpents hiding beneath the throne, waiting for the chance to
strike. We knew this day would come again, when the kingdoms grew
too large and the chance to rule was too tempting, but I am sorry
it has happened to young Tam. He is blameless, and of a good heart.
I will do what I can to retrieve him."

Adar's words silenced the room, his potency
consuming the space as surely as if his flames devoured the walls.
I blinked back tears, falling a little in love with him in that
moment.

"This is preposterous," Shakar cried out,
splitting the thoughtful silence. His face was sweaty, as usual,
but his hands were shaking and his eyes wouldn't rest for even a
second. I realized he was looking for an exit.

"I swear on my life; I make my most solemn
vow, and may Sarrim Adar set me ablaze if I lie. I did not poison
the evening meal. I did not put our king in jeopardy," Efrim
avowed, his voice steady and full of conviction. Much as I detested
the Jafar look-alike, I knew he wasn't responsible for this
travesty.

Frankly, he would have made sure everyone
died.

While Shakar sputtered and moved toward the
far door, Tilmun studied Adar, and then me. Finally, he nodded and
dragged himself to his feet. "There is no time to waste in debate.
The
Darisam
have long been guardians and
objective observers. If both he and the
halqu
believe the king is still in peril, then we must
act. The
Ilati
have guided them here, and
we cannot ignore their wisdom."

And that was pretty much that.

There was still some argument, mostly from
Shakar and one other council member, the one in charge of security,
who were immediately placed under suspicion of collusion; but
everyone else agreed that while they didn't understand her motives,
Ninna was behind the attack.

I, on the other hand, understood them
completely. As I told the council, it was straight out of
Shakespeare. The Lady Macbeth wannabe had been passed over as heir
when her brother died, and she was forced to play nursemaid to a
child who inherited all the power she coveted. While he was young,
she could be his motherly influence, guide his hand, control him. I
didn't doubt that by the time he was fully matured, he would have
met with an accident, no doubt after naming Ninna as his successor,
since his line would be ended. The surplus from the increased taxes
was probably padding the pockets of the elite guards she had bought
off to be her personal army. Ninna was playing a long game.

But when I turned up, and Tam immediately
began attaching to me, seeking my guidance and attention, Ninna had
to act quickly. If I was eliminated, she'd be in an even better
position to be his sole confidant, comforting him in his grief. No
doubt she would implicate Efrim, her strongest opponent in the
council, solving two problems in one brilliant stroke.

But I didn't die.

I had no doubt that if Efrim's connections
to the assassination attempts were examined with real scrutiny,
they wouldn't hold up. She simply hadn't had the time to engineer
things as carefully as needed on such a rushed schedule. Besides,
she would've been the one overseeing the trial, or whatever they
had here, so she could have ensured no one dug too deeply.

Now, because of Adar's claiming and my
assumed immortality, Ninna had no choice but to make her final play
before people started questioning motives, or Tam grew any closer
to me.

I really, really hated that bitch.

"Call on the Horde," I said, interrupting
whatever slapdash battle plan was developing. "Ninna won't have
factored them in, and Temuk and Khenti will come if I ask. We can't
be sure which guards remaining are still loyal to the king, so we
need outside help."

Adar wrapped his arms around me and immersed
me in his distinctive cardamom and clove scent, his heat warming my
blood and easing some of the tension I was carrying. I never
imagined that I would come to rely on him so quickly, but he had
made it clear that whatever mattered to me, mattered to him. I had
never known that kind of security with another human being. Or
Darisam
. Whatever.

It was intoxicating.

"You are right, Honey-
sa
. They will always answer the call of the
halqu
and the
Darisam
. And they are formidable in battle; or at
least they once were. Hopefully they have not lost the old
ways."

I rolled my eyes at that less than rousing
endorsement and focused on the council. "I understand that this is
difficult to face, that you are working against everything you have
believed for many years to be true. But the simple fact is that
your king, who is a defenseless little boy, is in the hands of
someone without conscience, without remorse, without feeling. She
will keep him alive as long as it is expedient to do so, but the
moment he becomes a liability, she will kill him. I don't know this
because of any special ability or intimate knowledge of Ninna; I
know because this has happened on my world many, many times, and
the signs are too obvious for me ignore. Please,
please
call on the Horde and let's go get Tam back," I
asserted, not minding that there were tears in my eyes, or that my
throat burned with the need to weep hysterically. This was what had
to be done, and until I saw Tam's sweet smile and felt his hand in
mine, I was never going to be able to let go.

And thank God, finally, they did.

***

It was weird, being out of the palace. Even
though I'd been there less than a week, those golden walls had
become my home, and the world outside was alien and threatening. In
my heightened state, every person we passed had a calculating glint
in their eye, a knife in hand, a cruel word on every lip.

Adar had seated me in front of him on one of
the ubiquitous
sisu
, and I leaned
gratefully against his broad chest. The man still hadn't put on a
shirt, was wandering around barefoot, clad only in his silky black
trousers, and I couldn't help but be appreciative. The smoothness
of his polished-stone skin pressing against me, his scent, the
constantly radiating heat that seemed to just melt into my bones
with an intimacy that went far beyond simple comfort; all were
keeping me anchored, keeping me sane in a sea of dread.

"Honey-
sa
, what is
your favorite color?" he asked, his voice a low hum in my ear. I
shivered at the sensation and then barked out a surprised
laugh.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I
turned my head so I could look up at his smiling face, struck again
by his overwhelming physical beauty. I wondered if I would ever
stop being bowled over by him in our eternity together.

I hoped not.

"I have learned many things about you; that
you are brave and determined, compassionate and loyal, lovely and
wise, but I do not know the small things. When we return Tam to his
throne, I want to scour all of Edin to bring you blossoms of every
flower in your favorite color. I want to discover your favorite
meals and serve them to you in bed. Every night I want you to fall
asleep to the music I write for you, and each morning I want you to
dress in the clothing I provide. I do not know how to discover
these things without asking. So I ask, what is your favorite
color?"

"Blue," I whispered, my eyes brimming and my
chest tight. I stared at the male I was tied to through no choice
of my own and felt a deep wellspring of joy bubble up inside me,
despite the danger into which we rode.

I found me a keeper.

By the time we reached the outside of the
city, a growing crowd of townspeople were following us, concern
etched on every face. It occurred to me then that some had probably
heard of what was going on up at the palace, may have even seen Tam
removed. Waving at the riders in our group to halt, I grabbed the
reins and directed the
sisu
to turn
around, facing the crowd.