“Indeed.” He looked from one to the other as though he’d caught them stealing the silverware at a royal banquet.
“Lord Antonius.” Drayke inclined his head respectfully. “My lady has spoken of you so often. It’s a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.” He finished with a charming smile.
“Has she now?”
Antonius stared him down, his expression stern. Austere. As a child, I’d seen grown men quake when he fixed those piercing black eyes on them. Next to my father, he’d been the most powerful person in the land because everyone knew he had the ear of the king. Though he came from humble beginnings, even the members of the High Council treated him with respect.
“Lord Drayke has provided an invaluable service to the crown in the past few days, Antonius. As has Sir Magnus.” I spoke quickly, hoping to reduce the palpable tension in the air. My vizier may have been up in years, but at the moment he reminded me of a jealous old bull facing down a randy stud for the right to rule the herd. And in this case, I was the herd.
“Please. Join us in the library,” I went on. “We have much to tell you.”
“As do I,” he replied gravely.
He followed me down the hall, managing to insert himself between me and my companions, who he seemed to regard as reckless, testosterone-laden ruffians.
Antonius. My vizier. A witty, acerbic, crafty old man, I inherited him along with the massive jewel-encrusted crown. The one that gave me a headache every time I had to don it. My father trusted Antonius, turned to him for the two things a king rarely gets – wise counsel unencumbered by a desire for personal gain, and harsh truth. He was the one man in the kingdom who had the courage to tell my father when he’d made a mistake or when he was wrong. I’d heard Antonius call my father a stubborn ass. An idiot. A fool.
He does the same to me now.
I’d known Antonius since the day I was born, as did my father before me. Dark and swarthy, he had the heavy brows and beaked nose of a desert sheik. By my reckoning, he had to be nearly eighty, though he seemed ageless to me. He still had a full head of black hair without a touch of gray and exuded the power and vitality of a much younger man.
It was Antonius who accompanied me on my journey to meet the oracle, Antonius who prepared me during that long trip to hear the fate that awaited me. The Prophecy of Doom. The fact that he’d come all this way himself instead of sending a message with one of the Royal Guards made me uneasy about the news he had to impart.
Antonius took one look at the arrangement of the chairs facing each other on opposite sides of the table and immediately stood behind the one at the head. With a wave of his hand, he bade me take my place, then took the seat to my right, forcing the other men to choose chairs farther down the table.
I recognized his tactic. In seconds, he’d established my role as sovereign in this meeting and his as my right hand. It was a maneuver he perfected when I first claimed the throne and had to meet with the older males who made up the High Council. They were prepared to disregard the words of a naïve young girl, but they couldn’t ignore him. Over the years he served as my father’s chief advisor, and his father’s before him, they’d developed a grudging respect for Antonius.
I wondered if he had somehow picked up on the submissive nature of my relationship with the two warriors and acted to reestablish my role. It wouldn’t have surprised me if he did. The old man was a master at instantly sizing up a situation. It was one of the skills that made him invaluable to me.
Magnus opened his mouth to speak but Antonius cut him off.
“I come to you with distressing news, your majesty.” He glanced at the two warriors then turned his back on them dismissively. “News of a most…sensitive…nature.”
I got the unspoken message, as did my companions. How could they miss it? He wasn’t exactly subtle. “It’s all right, Antonius. You can speak freely in front of them. These men have been sent by the Goddess. The oracle showed them to me long ago. In a vision.” I lowered my voice so only he could hear. “The night you first brought me to this place.”
“Sent by the Goddess?” He gave them both a once-over then huffed dismissively. “Well, I suppose She knows what She is doing.”
I bit my lip to keep from grinning. He was in rare form this morning. “Tell us, Antonius, what has brought you all this way?”
He took a deep breath and as he let it out, his shoulders slumped.
We’d lit dozens of candles to help us read the scrolls, and the light played over his face, revealing every line, every wrinkle. I saw him as if for the first time. A tired old man, weary of keeping up the pretense of strength and vitality. Weary of shouldering the day-to-day burdens of managing the realm. Weary of conflict and strife. He’d done it all for me, lending me his strength when I had none. Standing between me and anyone who might do me harm, even a pair of fearsome warriors less than half his age.
I drew on the lessons he’d taught me in negotiating. Laid a hand on his and summoned words to give him back his dignity. “We are aware of the dangerous times our world is facing. You risked your life coming here to deliver your message. Thank you for your bravery.”
I watched him lift his head and pull his shoulders back, marveling at the inner strength it took to put aside his physical and mental exhaustion and do his duty. At that moment I learned another lesson from Antonius. Warriors are not defined by age or size or muscle mass. The mark of a true warrior is his spirit.
“Her majesty is right,” Magnus chimed in. “All of us, the entire kingdom, are in your debt, sir.”
Antonius inclined his head slightly, barely acknowledging the remark, but I saw the fire back in his eyes. I smiled at Magnus, vowing he’d get a very special thanks from me later for his act of kindness.
“I merely did my duty,” Antonius said. “But bravery alone will not save us. I come to you with terrible news from the mountains on our northern border. The spell cast by the Woman Clothed in the Sun a thousand years ago has been broken. The Lord of Darkness has risen from his forced slumber. He and his followers have taken the occupants of a whole village hostage. They’ve dragged them into a cavern where they believe one of the sacred sources is hidden. A stone with the power to command the very earth to do the bidding of he who possesses it. He’s forcing them all to dig for it – the able bodied, the old men and women, even the children. Anyone who refuses or is not able to keep up…”
Antonius swallowed hard then went on. “They are put to death. And their friends, their loved ones, are forced to dig the graves.”
“You say the Lord of Darkness has followers,” Magnus broke in. “Why would anyone want to help him?”
“I can answer that,” Drayke replied. “They believe he will grant wealth and power to those who pledge loyalty to him. Unimaginable wealth. Unlimited power.” He gave a wry smile. “Believe me. I’ve experienced his sales pitch firsthand. To one who has never had it, a taste of such incredible power can be more seductive than the charms of the most beautiful maiden.”
Antonius slammed his fist on the table, startling us all. “Enough!” he boomed. “There is no time for idle chatter. You must go to the mountains. You can educate him on the ability of the evil one to sway the minds of weaker creatures on the way. Find the sacred source and seize it. Centuries of slumber have recharged his strength, but he needs the sources to maintain it. Each one adds to his power. The Prophecy says when he possesses them all – he will be invincible.”
Chapter Thirteen
Melisandre
“Then we dealt him a crippling blow when we destroyed the Flask of Fire,” Drayke said.
Antonius gave me a surprised look. I nodded. “It’s true. Lord DeMartine incinerated the flask. It’s gone.”
I gave my vizier a quick rundown of our journey to the caldera of the volcano and how Drayke defeated the Dark Lord’s mind tricks, seized the flask, and did away with it. I left out the part where I squared off with his guards in combat. The ol
d man worried about me enough. No need to alarm him with details of how I’d been forced to kill one of them. Or how I’d risked death again when I had to face down the fire-breathing fury of my lover in dragon form.
Antonius gestured to the manuscripts piled on the table. “I’m glad to see you’re doing your homework,” he said, “but a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. I have studied the old legends for more years than you’ve spent in this world. There’s one ancient myth you must keep in mind. It claims the combined force of the elements is indestructible. If any element is destroyed, the others are rendered more powerful.”
“If that’s true, with each victory the next battle we face will become even harder to win,” Magnus declared.
For the first time, Antonius regarded him with approval. “Exactly.” His eyes fell on the amulet around Magnus’s neck. The one with the sparkling stone imbedded in a lump of dark rock. “Perhaps the Goddess chose well after all,” he muttered to himself.
Antonius turned to me.
“You must go, my lady.” He gave me a sad smile. “I wish with all my heart it was not so. But the Prophecy says that ultimately you alone have the power to defeat him.”
He addressed my companions, his voice harder than I’d ever heard it before.
“Take the queen to the mountains. Guard her with your lives. But this I pledge to you – if any harm comes to her, great warriors, I will hunt you both down and kill you with my bare hands.”
I walked out with him arm in arm through the temple. Two of my royal guards waited on the steps outside to accompany him back to the palace. He stopped in front of the dais, under the open dome.
“Being here brings back so many memories. I came here for the first time as a young man with your grandfather. Then, when he passed, I brought your father to hear the Prophecy for the first time, as I did with you.”
His gaze traveled around the vast chamber. “You know, I was married to my Dalia for forty-one years. And all that time, I was in love with another woman.”
I stared at him, shocked. The comment seemed totally out of place, and so unlike my normally reserved vizier. I wondered why he’d chosen to share such an intimate detail of his life, especially at a time like this.
I’d known his mate, Dalia, well. She’d gone to be with the ancestors shortly before my father died. Antonius was like a doting uncle to me when I was a child, and his mate had taken on the role of surrogate grandmother in my life. I remembered her as sweet and gentle, with silver-white hair and arms always open to give a warm hug to a shy little girl who’d lost her mother at a young age.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Antonius said. “I loved Dalia with all my heart. But long before I met her, I was swept off my feet by the most beautiful, bewitching woman I’d ever seen. We had a passionate affair. But she could not be mine. She was pledged to serve the Goddess.”
I followed his glance to the empty throne on the dais. Dear heaven, he was talking about the oracle!
“Dalia knew about her. I told her everything before we married. I told her I was marrying her with my lover’s blessing. I’d cherish her and share my life with her. When we were together, she’d have my love and attention. But from time to time I would go away to be with my other love. She agreed to accept me as her mate under those terms and I did my best to make her happy every moment we were together
Before I could think of anything to say, he went on.
“After a few years had gone by, Dalia surprised me and asked if she could accompany me the next time I went to visit my lover. My mate was always agreeable, and she seldom asked for anything. I couldn’t bear to deny her request, so although I was apprehensive, I agreed to take her along.” He paused. “I saw a new side of Dalia that weekend – a wild, passionate woman capable of wickedly naughty behavior I’d never have imagined from her. It added a new dimension to our life…and to our lovemaking when we were alone together.”
I had no problem believing the oracle capable of such acts. But my straight-laced old vizier bedding two women at once? Grandmotherly Dalia behaving like a wanton wench? Antonius saw the look on my face and laughed.
“I know. It’s hard to imagine this old man standing before you as a young stud. After that, she joined us many times. She and the oracle grew close. Over the years, they developed a bond stronger than that of friends or even sisters. The oracle shared my grief when Dalia passed on.”
He fixed those dark eyes on me. “Magnus and the Dragon Lord – you’re bedding them both.”
Thank heavens it wasn’t a question, so I didn’t need to reply. I was too embarrassed to admit the truth. And it would have been fruitless to lie to Antonius. He could always see right through me.
“I told you my secret because I want you to know it’s all right,” he said. “Ever since your father died, I’ve tried to offer you the kind of guidance he would have, but in this case, I think I’m better suited to give you advice than he’d have been. King Vidos was a good man, Melisandre, but he’d never have understood your feelings. He loved your mother until the day he died. No woman could ever take her place.”
“I know,” I replied, swiping away a tear. “Papa was true to his mate, even after she passed on.”
Antonius smiled. “Though I’m sure he’d have used less graphic terms, if he were here your father would tell you fucking selfishly, taking your own gratification without regard for the feelings of another, is wrong. But he’d also have said there’s no sin in fucking for pleasure, as long as no one gets hurt.
“As a young man, I thought I knew all there was to know about life,” he went on. “But the women in my life taught me two important lessons. First, you can love more than one person at a time, honoring and cherishing each for what he or she brings to your life. Second, there is no sin where there is love. Guilt is a wasted emotion. Make your choices in life and then own your actions.” He paused, his eyes twinkling. “No act is wicked in the eyes of the Goddess if all the parties involved enjoy it.
“Remember this, Melisandre. You may be the queen, with all the responsibilities that come with your crown, but just like every other person in the kingdom, you get to decide what you want out of life. Drayke and Magnus, your warriors – the Goddess sent them into your life. You need them. And you can love them both…at the same time.”
Chapter Fourteen
Magnus
I’d hoped for more time. Time to teach her how to fight – and how to defend herself, though as long as there was breath in my body she would not have to. I didn’t need the old man’s threats. I’d lay down my life to keep Meli from harm.
Not only time to prepare her for the battle to come. I’d hoped for time to take my queen in my arms and explore these new feelings. For the first time in my life, I wanted more than a hard, fast fuck with a woman. I wanted to hold her afterward and whisper words of love.
But as the oracle reminded me, the gods are fickle bastards. So when Meli came back to the fortress after saying goodbye to Antonius, I pulled her aside.
“Take this. Keep it with you at all times.”
She stared at the image painted on the sheath of the dagger I pressed into her hands. A female warrior standing fierce and proud, her golden hair flowing loose around her, naked save for a floor-length purple cloak tossed over her shoulders and an animal skull tied around her hips with a leather thong. Bleached white with age, the skull hung down between her thighs to cover her most intimate parts.
“Magnus, this is beautiful! I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I had it made for you.”
She gave me a quizzical look. “Made for me? When? We met just a few days ago, and you haven’t been away from the fortress.”
“I’ve known you for years. The oracle showed me visions of you from the time my training began.” I pulled the dagger from its sheath to show her the same image painted on its handle then ran my finger across the razor-sharp blade. “It’s you, my lady. This is how I’ve alw
ays pictured you. Not as a queen on her throne dressed in royal robes, but as a fierce warrior.”
No need to let her see how frightened I was for her with the dangers she’d be facing. I mustered up a leer. “Except for the skull, of course. In my visions, you were always completely naked.”
I was rewarded with a grin. “I saw you in a vision, too. But you weren’t naked – though I wished you had been!”
Something was different about her. In the past, she’d never been comfortable enough to take part in the sexual banter Drayke and I indulged in. When she threw her arms around me and gave me a fervent kiss, I raised an eyebrow. Definitely different.
“That was to say thank you,” she replied to my unspoken question. “This is a beautiful gift. I will always treasure it.”
“It’s not meant to sit on a shelf. A dagger is a weapon. I want you to keep it with you at all times. Practice pulling it from the sheath over and over until the move becomes instinctive.”
“I have a dagger. Right here on my belt,” she said.
She’d donned the garb she wore when we trained, a simple white shirt tucked into dark leather trousers that fit the curves of her bottom like a second skin. I’d had a difficult time concentrating on our lessons over the past few days. All I wanted to do was yank them down, bend her over my knee and redden her sweet ass cheeks until she was dripping wet, then bury my shaft deep in her hot, tight pussy.
I dragged my thoughts back to the present. “You do, but not like this one. It’s forged from pelonium. Most daggers are built for a man’s hand, meant to be wielded with force. Although this dagger can pierce a suit of armor, it’s delicate enough to slice apart a parchment and make two separate sheets out of it. Hold it like this.” I demonstrated, balancing the hilt on her finger.
“It weighs almost nothing!”
“The blade and handle were crafted especially for you. When you hold it, it should feel like an extension of your hand.”
Chaos Born: A Sci-Fi Menage Romance (Warriors of the Seven Stars Book 2) Page 8
