“Oh, were we loud?” she said. “My apologies, Your Highness.” She supposed there was no reason to keep the truth from him. “We were celebrating the return of Eithan Draig and Nicce… er…” If she had a surname, Xenia didn’t know it.
“Nicce,” said Timon, brightening. “Truly? I thought she was dead.”
“No, indeed,” said Xenia. She glanced up at Feteran, who was smiling.
“Why is she in the company of that dreadful Eithan Draig?” The king shook his head.
“Oh, didn’t you know?” said Xenia. “They are always together, quite enamored with each other.” She cocked her head. “I suppose from your point of view, it would seem strange.”
“He was trying to kill her,” said the king. “I rather got the impression she was going to kill him.”
“Hate and love are not always so far away from each other in one’s heart,” said Xenia with a small smile.
“Perhaps not,” said Timon. He furrowed his brow. “She is safe, then? And happy? I always meant to protect her, for her mother’s sake, and I… I’m afraid I failed in that. I used to think I was a powerful man, that a king could move mountains. Now I know my limitations. I am nothing but a sad old man.”
“You are nothing of the sort,” she chided, reaching out to touch his knee.
He chuckled, taking a drink of his spiced wine. “I am sorry to call you from bed for this.”
“No, you mustn’t apologize,” she said. “You must call for me whenever you wish to see me. That is how it must always be with us, Timon.”
Feteran rolled his eyes.
She smiled at the king, holding his gaze.
When she left the room nearly three quarters of an hour later, Feteran walked her to the door.
He spoke quietly to her, too quietly for the king to hear. “You’d think you were still attracted to him, when everyone knows you prefer breasts to cocks.”
She gave him a sour look. “Yes, well, you are not his son, no matter how you try to convince him you are.”
“We shall see who prevails between us,” said Feteran, smiling. “I don’t mind the competition. How is Nicce? I haven’t seen her in so long.”
“What do you want with her?”
“It occurs to me that she owes me a favor,” said Feteran, his smile widening, baring all his teeth. For a moment, he resembled a feral beast.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Nicce woke Eithan with her kisses, and they made love while she urged him on, telling him to bite her, and he acquiesced, unable to stop. The way he wanted her, it was insistent and bigger than him. He could never fight the way he wanted her. He had to remind himself that he didn’t have to.
He hadn’t tasted her blood since before the prison.
He’d forgotten what it was like.
They slept afterward, slept again, slept until the sun was blazing into the window of her room, and it was too warm to stay in bed any longer. They flung open the windows and dressed and went downstairs, where Jonas’s children were playing in the courtyard. They ranged in age from five to fourteen, and they were all tall and sturdy, with noses that looked just like Jonas’s, even the girls, and Eithan thought it suited them. The little girls were pretty but they were as tough as their brothers, and he watched them, smiling, until he turned to Nicce and found her gazing at him with a troubled look on her face.
“Don’t,” he said, seizing her by the waist and pulling her against him.
“It’s only—”
“I wish I could take it back,” he whispered into her temple. “I didn’t mean any of it, truly. We never have to have children. I want you more than anything on earth.”
She let him kiss her, but she didn’t seem mollified, and he was on edge later, when they ran into Septimus and his wife Diann, who had a pert nose covered in freckles and very light yellow hair. She was short, and she was small, even though her belly was swollen with child. She looked like she would be a meek little thing, but she was anything but, as he’d discovered last night at dinner.
She was quite the woman to have tamed Septimus, and they seemed suited to each other, with their light hair and their fair complexions. Septimus never seemed to stop touching her, except when he went to fetch things for her, which he was quite willing to do.
“Do you need anything, love?” he said. “Are you comfortable?”
“Oh… I don’t know,” said Diann, tapping her chin and thinking about it. “Perhaps more pillows. This chair is dreadful.”
“Of course,” said Septimus and trotted off.
“I didn’t get to meet you last night,” Diann said to Nicce, smiling widely. “I’ve heard so much about you. I thought you’d be taller.”
“I thought the same of you,” said Nicce. Then she winced. “Oh, I’m sorry. Is that a rude thing to say?”
“Pfft,” said Diann, waving this away. “Everyone calls me rude. I don’t care, though. I say what I think, that’s all. I think you’re a very nice height, though. I wouldn’t want to be a dreadfully tall woman, because I could never fall in love with a man who was shorter than I was. Could you?”
“I…” Nicce glanced at Eithan. “Well, it doesn’t seem as though that’s something I’m going to have to worry about.”
Septimus was back with pillows.
Diann arched her back, pointing behind her. “What took you so long?”
“I came as quickly as I could,” he said, tucking the pillows behind her back.
Diann snorted. “You were flirting with that woman who works in the kitchens.”
“I wouldn’t do such a thing,” said Septimus.
“Probably daydreaming about carving her up, I imagine.” Diann pursed her lips at him.
Septimus coughed. “No. I wasn’t.” He scuffed his foot against the ground. “Do you want to come on the hunt with us tonight, then?” He looked up at Eithan and Nicce. “Both of you, of course. Killing nightmares is something that never gets old.”
Eithan turned to Nicce. “What do you think? If you need to rest, we could wait.”
“No, it might be nice to have a sword in my hand again,” said Nicce. Then she sighed heavily.
“What?” said Eithan.
“My sword,” she said. “I lost it in the ocean. I had to kill Diakos for that sword, and now it’s gone forever.”
He started to laugh, but he was interrupted when someone appeared in the doorway to the room where they had gathered. It was a small sitting room on the first floor of the keep. The figure was wearing long black robe, the hood hanging back to display his face. He had sharp cheekbones and very blue eyes. His hair was black.
“Feteran,” said Eithan.
“So good to see you both again,” said Feteran. “It’s been too long. Eithan. Sister.”
Feteran was also the son of Sullo, which made him Nicce’s half-brother.
“What are you doing here?” said Nicce.
“Oh, what a greeting that is.” Feteran smirked. He crossed the room to them and when he was close, he proffered his hand.
Eithan shook with him. “We weren’t expecting to see you here.”
“He’s an advisor to King Timon,” spoke up Septimus. “He was here before the Guild.”
“Whose idea do you think it was to have the Guild close?” said Feteran, offering Nicce his hand.
She shook with him too. “Last time we spoke, you were obviously in some distress. Considering that now I have some idea of what it’s like to be locked up for years on end—”
“Oh?” said Feteran. “How long were you imprisoned by a god again? What? Fifteen years?” He smirked again.
“I know it’s nothing compared to what you went through,” said Nicce. “I was only saying…” She drew in a breath. “If you would like us to really be brother and sister, maybe we could start again.”
“Or maybe,” said Feteran, “you could make good on that favor you owe me.”
Eithan’s insides tightened. He’d never liked it when Nicce had promised that to Feteran. “
I think we’re even. We freed you from that cage—”
“We made a bargain,” said Feteran. “Is that how our new sibling relationship will begin, sister? With a betrayal of trust?”
Nicce narrowed her eyes. “You seem determined to be at odds with me.”
“I still remember how you taunted me, demanding that I share everything that I knew with you before you would let me out of my cage,” said Feteran.
“Well, I’m sorry about that,” said Nicce.
“Don’t be sorry,” said Feteran. “Keep your word.”
Nicce didn’t say anything.
Eithan glared at Feteran.
Septimus shot him a confused look, but Eithan only shook his head at the other knight.
“Perhaps,” Feteran continued, “we could talk somewhere private, just the two of us.”
“Three of us,” said Eithan immediately.
Feteran looked Eithan over with a dismissive shrug. “Fine.”
“Well,” said Nicce, “we don’t even know where that might be. We’re not familiar with this new keep.”
Septimus gestured to the doorway. “You could go across the hall. There’s a room there like this one. You can shut the door. But someone’s going to explain to me what this is all about at some point, right?”
“Sure,” Eithan said to him. He started across the room.
In moments, Eithan, Feteran, and Nicce were alone in another room, the door closed. The room had a couch along one wall and several easy chairs set up opposite it, but none of them sat down. Nicce and Eithan stood together, facing Feteran. They waited.
Feteran looked them over. “Well, I’ll come right to it. I want to be king of Rabia.”
Eithan snorted. “Just Rabia? Why not the entire Four Kingdoms?”
“With time, perhaps,” said Feteran, his mouth curving into a smile.
“I don’t see what that has to do with us,” said Nicce.
“I want your help,” said Feteran. “You owe me.”
“How are we supposed to help you become king?” said Nicce.
“Well, you have some sway with the king,” said Feteran to Nicce. “He speaks of you fondly, talks about your mother. You might be able to ingratiate yourself to him and then convince him to alter the line of succession. I have already become very close to him, and he thinks highly of me.”
Despite himself, Eithan found himself interested in this idea. “You want to convince a king that he should bypass his own heirs for you? That’s… no man would do that. He’s got a million sons.”
“Five,” said Feteran.
Just as many children as Jonas, then. Eithan scratched at his trimmed beard. “Now, maybe if it was one son, it might be easy enough, especially if you could convince the king that his son was very poorly suited for the task or that being a king would be dangerous for him. But all of them? I can hardly even imagine how it could be done.” But his tone wasn’t dismissive. It was excited. This was a challenge.
Nicce looked up at him, and she was smiling. “You could do it.”
Eithan shook his head. “No, it’s impossible. And I don’t think we should make Feteran king. That can’t be a good thing.”
Nicce turned back to Feteran. “Do you know of something that could put a god to sleep for a very long time? A powerful substance? A drug?”
Feteran looked back and forth between them. “Why would you ask that? This bargain has already been struck, and you are the ones who still owe me something.”
“Yes, well, we did let you out,” said Nicce. “And I think that’s worth rather a lot, isn’t it? You couldn’t even dream of being a king while you were stuck in that cage. On the other hand, your assistance to us, it’s been very little.”
“As it happens,” said Feteran, “I don’t know how to put a god to sleep.”
“But you know things about gods,” said Nicce. “More than you’ve told us.”
Feteran sighed. “Perhaps.”
“So,” said Nicce, “maybe it doesn’t have to be a bargain, per se, but a friendly agreement. We’ll assist you in your machinations for power, and you’ll assist us in killing the gods.”
Feteran’s eyebrows shot up. “All of the gods?”
“Maybe you have an attachment to our father?” Nicce said.
“No,” said Feteran. “He knew I was imprisoned by Ciaska for all those years and didn’t lift a finger to help me. He thought that ceasing his romantic connection with her was response enough. I hate him. He never cared about anything besides himself. I’d like him to die.”
Nicce’s smile widened. “Without the gods, your power as a king would be greater.”
“More secure,” agreed Eithan, who couldn’t seem to help himself. He wanted this challenge. He wanted something like this to do. Maybe he wasn’t broken. Maybe he didn’t need quiet. Maybe he could handle a task, maybe he could execute it.
It was only that it seemed obscene, because he couldn’t admit that he’d enjoyed manipulating Ciaska—and he hadn’t. It had been a matter of survival, and everything about that period of time in his life had been nightmarish. However, this was different. He wasn’t forced to do this. And he might want to accomplish something, to feel as if he was whole again. If he could do this, it would mean he was a man again, not the handful of shattered pieces of one he’d been in the dungeon. Maybe it would mean he was worthy of Nicce again. He spoke in an urgent voice to Feteran. “You wouldn’t want the threat of the gods hanging over your head. They might come after you, anyway. Don’t they have some strict policy not to interfere in the lives of humans? A half-god as king, it might be seen as interference. Maybe they’d stop you.”
“No,” said Feteran, eyes flashing. “They would not. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“So, you’ll help us?” said Nicce.
Feteran looked back and forth between them. “Perhaps we could really be brother and sister, after all.”
* * *
After the agreement had been made, there was little else to speak of. Eithan watched as Feteran took his leave of them, and they were left alone in the sitting room.
Eithan went over to the couch and sat down, sinking his fingers into his hair.
“Oh, no,” said Nicce, coming over to him. She knelt down on the floor beside him. “I read you wrong, didn’t I? I thought you wanted it. I thought—”
“No, you read me right.” He reached down and tugged her up to sit next to him. “I just wonder if I should be ashamed of myself for wanting it.”
She put her hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be for the greater good. Feteran will help us stop the gods, and that will help the kingdom.”
“Will it?” He eyed her. “They don’t interfere anymore. And killing Ciaska didn’t do anything to stop the nightmares.”
Her face fell. “I know.”
He drew in a slow breath. “In the end, what’s saying that the king’s sons would be any better for Rabia? Rich, spoiled boys who’ve never known any trauma in their lives?” Well, except the night you tore them from their beds and made the toddler wet himself, said an oily voice in his head. “They would be selfish, undoubtedly. And I’ll make sure they’re taken care of. I won’t let Feteran hurt them or turn them out in the streets. It won’t be so bad for them.”
She looked up at him. “Yes, of course. And the gods are a threat. They could decided to interfere at any time.”
He nodded slowly. “That’s true.”
“It is,” she said. “And what you’re saying, it makes a lot of sense.”
He couldn’t help but smile at her. “It would be nice to have something to do, I suppose. A goal. A challenge. Something to work towards.”
“Yes,” she said, nodding.
His smile widened. “That’s what you always have, isn’t it? Since you’re destined for greatness?”
“Don’t tease me about that,” she said.
He kissed her.
She clung to him.
* * *
Xenia stood in the doorw
ay to the room she shared with Revel. “Oh, come now, you aren’t still giving me the silent treatment, are you?”
Revel was sitting at one of their writing desks, but she wasn’t writing anything. Instead, she was staring out the window that was just over the desk, looking out at the mountain and the sky. At Xenia’s words, she turned to look at her. “Have you been with the king all this time?”
“No,” said Xenia. “I had things to see to. I have been pulled in one direction and then the next.”
“You were avoiding me.” Revel got up from the desk.
“I wasn’t,” said Xenia.
Revel gave her a knowing smile and came across the room towards Xenia. “I terrify you when I’m angry. Admit it.”
Xenia couldn’t help but smile back. “I won’t.”
“But you know it’s true.”
Xenia arched an eyebrow. “I think you only pick fights with me so that we can make up.”
Revel shrugged. She was inches away from Xenia now. “I don’t mind making up.”
Xenia reached out and touched the other woman’s face. “You know I adore you. You know I could never care about anyone the way I care about you.”
Revel closed her eyes and leaned into Xenia’s touch. “Is this the part where you remind me that when we met I betrayed you?”
“No,” said Xenia. “I have long forgotten that.”
Revel closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against Xenia’s.
The kiss went through her like a soft song. Xenia couldn’t understand how it could be, after all these years, that touching this woman still affected her so deeply. She deepened the kiss, smoothing her fingers over Revel’s neck and back, pulling her closer.
They kissed for a long time.
Eventually, Revel pulled back. “Maybe it’s me who can’t forget that. Maybe it colors everything. Maybe it’s why I don’t trust you.”
Xenia was hurt by this. “You don’t trust me?”
“I must not.” Revel sighed. “Why else does this keep coming back up over and over again? And in the end, I know you are not doing anything with the king, but…”
“But you want to be the most important thing in my life,” said Xenia. “And you are.”
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