“Don’t you think I tried?” Her blue eyes flashed with fury. “Your guards wouldn’t let me near your palace.” Tarn had the uneasy feeling this anger should trouble him far more than the rage she’d displayed when he’d spoken to her disrespectfully.
“I had no idea.” What could he say to this woman to make amends? No doubt nothing would satisfy her. Senshu wanted to punish him for his supposed shortcomings, but it wasn’t his fault her father was a traitor.
“It appears you didn’t. But you do now.”
“So you take your revenge on me by kidnapping my son and luring me here?”
“You need to suffer for the wrongs you did to me and my family.”
She slapped the keitan hard against his arm. Tarn gasped as the agony seared down his chest and into his legs. This time she kept the instrument pressed against his body, and the pain became more intense and more unimaginably terrible every second. Tarn trembled and groaned. His legs gave way, and he crumpled, senseless, to the ground.
The pale light of dawn illuminated the spacious bedchamber. Nerya had awoken ages ago. Her slumber had been fitful, her mind racing. Jaden lay by her side, breathing deeply. She still had no idea what had happened to him, let alone why he’d changed so much. It unsettled her, not being entirely sure what, or who, he was anymore. Asumi had said he was a Dai’Shi-en, a loyal servant of the Empress of Acheron. How could that have come about? Not only was he from Marquab, he was supposedly Suzerain Commander of their forces. He’d lied to her in the past, so had he been lying to Tarn and Sarin as well, intent on leading them into a trap all along? To be honest, she didn’t know.
While his features were in repose, he appeared to be the Jaden she knew. Yet when he was awake, he changed. Something terrible lurked inside him and had taken control of his mind, although once or twice last night she’d seen brief, tantalizing glimpses of the man she’d come to care for so much. Nerya wanted to help him, but she didn’t know how. She feared what he’d become, and yet the pain of losing him like this to the darkness inside him tore her apart.
She tensed as he opened his eyes. Her instincts prompted her to pull away from him, but he clamped a hand around her wrist.
“Nerya.” Tenderly, he brushed his fingers against her cheek. “Please don’t look so frightened of me.”
“I’m not frightened. I’m a warrior.” She frowned. “I’m unsure, that’s all. You’re so different.”
“I’m sorry.” He let go of her and sat bolt upright. “He’s here!”
“Who’s here, Jad…?” She paused and shook her head. “I don’t even know what to call you, Jaden or Dai’Shi-en.”
“You may call me whatever you like.” He sounded distracted. “No.” He shook his head. “I’m always Jaden to you, Nerya.” He rubbed his forehead and frowned, as if trying to clear his mind. “I have to go. Lord Naga has returned to the citadel.”
“How can you possibly know that?”
Jaden seemed a little more like his old self now, and she needed at least some kind of explanation. Was he still Jaden of Iberim, the man for whom she’d given up all she believed in and, despite his past deceptions, fallen for? Or was he now just a Dai’Shi-en, loyal servant of the empress and a traitor to his friends? Asumi had told her Tarn and Sarin had been captured and were both locked in the dungeons. She couldn’t help but wonder if Jaden had somehow been involved in their capture and incarceration.
“I know Lord Naga has arrived because I can feel his presence. He exudes a magical energy I can sense. There’s no better way I can explain it.”
“Magical energy? Is it some kind of magic that’s turned you into a Dai’Shi-en? Does this have something to do with why your wounds healed so quickly? I need to know. Have you been lying to me about everything?”
“You ask so many questions, Nerya, but I can’t tell you anything.” He began to slide from the bed.
“No. Stay.” She put a restraining hand on his arm. “I haven’t finished. I’ve had enough of acting like some weak and feeble female. You owe me an explanation. You cannot order me to your bed, make love to me and then tell me you won’t harm me, without giving me an adequate explanation about what’s going on. Everyone in this citadel appears to fear you, and Tarn and Sarin are prisoners in the dungeons. I demand you tell me the truth right now.”
Jaden’s obsidian eyes revealed nothing. “You deserve an explanation, but I’m sorry, I can’t give you one.” He pulled away from her, and the light caught the strange mark on the inside of his wrist, making it glow with an eerie, silvery blue fire.
Nerya brushed her fingers against the mark. “Ow! That hurt. It feels as if I’ve been stung by a swamp wasp.”
“The discomfort passes quickly,” he said with a wry smile. “You surprise me. It doesn’t do that to everyone. Only those who have a unique sensitivity toward…”
“Toward what?”
He shrugged. “I suppose you could call it magic, but it’s more complicated than that.”
“And the mark means you are a Dai’Shi-en?”
“Yes. It was put there the day after my many months of indoctrination ended. The day I fell to my knees and swore fealty to the empress.”
“The Empress of Acheron?” Nerya’s heart sank. All her vain hope was lost. “So you serve her now?”
“The truth can be read in different ways…” Jaden brushed his fingers against the gold dragon that rested on his chest. “Do something for me, Nerya. Take this amulet from my neck.”
“Can’t you do it yourself?”
“I can’t find the strength.” He picked up the small silver box. “Take it off and put it in here.”
His words didn’t make any sense. He opened the box. The inside was lined with a strange, almost translucent gold substance. “What’s that?”
“Mirillium. The silver and the mirillium help mask the unique power lodged within the pendant.”
Wondering whether it might sting like the strange mark on his wrist, she leaned forward and took hold of the amulet. Oddly enough, it felt very warm and pleasing to touch as she eased the chain attached to it over his head.
“Does it really have magical powers?” The amulet rested in her palm, and she found the strange, rather comforting warmth compelling. Her fingers closed around it. She didn’t want to give it up.
“The box,” he urged.
Nerya forced herself to open her hand and slip the pendant into the box. He snapped the lid shut. She almost resented him telling her to shut it away as she watched him place the box on the table with trembling hands. She’d never seen Jaden display weakness before even when he was injured.
“It felt strange. I wanted to keep it,” she murmured as he slid his arms around her and pulled her close.
“Its magic is powerful,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry if I hurt you at all last night.”
“You didn’t hurt me.” She twined her hands around his neck. “I’m so confused.”
“No, don’t look too deeply into my eyes.” He lowered his lids. “I don’t know what you’ll see in them anymore.”
“Tell me,” she urged, brushing her lips against his chest where the amulet had rested. “Explain to me what’s happening to you and why you have to wear that amulet.” She suspected it must be imbued with some strong magic to affect her as it had. In the brief moments since she’d taken it from Jaden’s neck, she sensed he’d somehow changed. “You say it has unique powers. Powers that alter you in some way when it’s around your neck?”
“It changes me, yes. But now I’m no longer wearing it, I still can’t tell you all you want to know. The walls in the citadel have eyes and ears. Even without the power of the amulet, she might somehow come to know what I’m truly thinking.”
“She?”
“Nerya, you just have to trust me.”
“You know how difficult that is? You’ve lied to me so often.”
“It was necessary.” Jaden twined his fingers in her hair and kissed her deeply. For a few blissful moments,
the man she knew and cared for was back with her again.
This time she was ready to welcome his embrace as he pushed her back on the pillows. Jaden rolled her away from him, onto her side, and edged closer to her. His huge erection dug into her buttocks as he eased her top leg forward. With one smooth movement, his shaft slid inside her, filling her body. As he began to move his hips, he slid his hand lower, easing his fingers into the slit of her sex, reaching for the small nub of nerve endings that gave her so much pleasure. His loving caresses set her senses alight, and she gave a soft pleading moan, wanting to say so much, but unwilling to dispel the wonderful feelings that now held him close to her again.
It felt so good, his cock sliding smoothly in and out of her once more. This was all she’d ever wanted, all she desired. He rolled her swollen clitoris between his fingertips, and the bliss inside her expanded. Nerya’s desire grew stronger as Jaden thrust his hips hard against her buttocks and twined one arm around her, stroking her breasts, while his lips caressed her neck.
Nerya contracted her internal muscles, moving them in time to the pumping rhythm of his shaft. She had no wish for this to end, yet her pleasure was rising, her climax coming closer and closer. Jaden gave a soft groan, his cock pulsing, spilling his seed inside her. As he came, he pressed his fingers harder against her clit, and a powerful climax swept over her, erupting in a warm tidal wave of exquisite bliss. Jaden was all she wanted, all she desired. She never wanted to lose him again. The knowledge swept through her, powerful and frightening at the same time. She loved this man more than life itself. She wanted to be his forever.
They lay melded together for a long, perfect moment. Then, when she least expected it, Jaden pulled away from her. “I’m sorry, I have to go. Lord Naga will be expecting me.”
Nerya rolled over and clutched him. “Jaden, please don’t leave me.” As he drew away from her, he reached for the silver box. “Don’t do it,” she begged. Once he put on the amulet, she would lose him again.
He sighed. “I have to go. It’s necessary.” He paused for a moment, his reluctance obvious. Taking a deep breath, Jaden picked up the amulet. “Just trust me. Believe in me. That’s all I ask.”
“I want to help you.”
“You can’t. No one can. Not yet.” He slipped the chain over his head. As the amulet came to rest against his chest, the familiar light died from his eyes. They became black and soulless again. “I want you to do exactly as I tell you, Nerya.” He brushed his fingers across her full lips. “You’re to stay in my rooms. Here you’ll be safe.”
His expression was so full of concern, so intense, that she said, “Yes,” immediately. “If you wish it.”
“I’ll arrange for clothing and anything else you may need to be brought to you, and you can send for the woman you were with in Brion’s quarters, if it pleases you.”
“Asumi?”
“She can keep you company, but don’t return to the seraglio. It may not be safe for you there now that Lord Naga has returned to the citadel.” He slid from the bed and reached for his clothes.
Chapter Twelve
Delicate silver lamps hanging from the ornate plaster ceiling illuminated the wide marble-floored corridors leading to Lord Naga’s audience chamber. The place had clearly been designed to impress those who came here, and display the power and wealth of the mage. However, Jaden didn’t find it at all impressive as he walked briskly toward the huge black double doors. This was nothing in comparison to the magnificent palaces belonging to the emperor of Acheron and his fellow Dragon Lords.
Jaden had witnessed the awesome mystical powers the emperor possessed and, in comparison, Lord Naga didn’t appear to have great magical abilities. The mage did control one potent force, however, judging by the pitiful creatures who served him in the citadel. So where was the source of that power if it didn’t prove to be within Naga? Jaden was determined to find out.
As he reached the doors, the mage’s guards pulled them open, and he didn’t even have to pause in his stride as he walked inside. The doors, sheathed in black iron to help shield Lord Naga from other magicians who might wish to harm him, banged shut behind him. In Acheron, one fought for power and then fought again to hold it. This was a dangerous land, and only those in the service of the Dragon Lords were truly safe, but they existed by the whims of their respective masters.
The vast audience chamber had a polished, black marble floor, and the same marble covered the walls. There was little furniture to speak of in the room. With its high, vaulted ceiling, it reminded Jaden uncomfortably of a massive tomb, except its two occupants were still very much alive. The sharp clicking sound his boots made on the smooth floor echoed eerily around the chamber as he walked toward the mage.
Clad in an ornate robe of silver brocade, Lord Naga sat on a high-backed, throne-like chair at the far end of the room, and Senshu sat on a smaller chair beside him. How had a woman like Senshu managed to capture the interest of the mage and rise to such a position of prominence, especially when Naga had so many beautiful concubines to service his every need? His hand on the pommel of his sword, Jaden halted in front of Lord Naga and inclined his head, just enough to display the briefest measure of respect.
“Dai’Shi-en.” The mage’s voice was thin and reedy, not strong and compelling as Jaden had expected it to be. He saw little power in the man’s face or demeanor, which led him to believe that at least some of the magic Naga controlled had been stolen from another and did not lie within himself.
“Lord Naga,” Jaden acknowledged, his gaze resting briefly on Senshu. He made no attempt to acknowledge her. The omission was quite deliberate on his part. Judging by her irritated expression, she knew it.
“You are welcome.” Lord Naga’s smile was patently false. Jaden knew he resented the presence of a Dai’Shi-en in his citadel. Even men like the mage were easy to read at times. “We are honored by your visit.”
“Thank you.” Short of stature, thin and spindly, Lord Naga had a weasel-like face which wasn’t improved by a drooping moustache decorating his upper lip.
Jaden continued to ignore Senshu as she glared at him, drumming her long nails on the arm of her chair. Her black silk gown clung to her voluptuous curves, and the low cut neckline revealed a fair portion of her large breasts. Around her throat hung a vulgar necklace of huge diamonds.
Few dared conceal anything from a Dai’Shi-en, so he knew that, despite the fact she was Naga’s consort, she still chose lovers from the soldiers who served in the citadel. Surprisingly the mage was aware of this and appeared not to object. She was clearly a very sensual woman. Bedding this scrawny little man must be quite a chore for one such as her.
Lord Naga eventually broke the awkward silence. “I confess I was surprised to hear of your arrival.” He regarded Jaden thoughtfully, displaying just the faintest hint of suspicion. “And you traveled in such illustrious company.”
“I was in Kabra.” He chose not to explain how or why. “There I heard of King Tarn’s intention to rescue his son. It seemed wiser to accompany him and Lord Sarin here. Acheron can be a dangerous place for unwary travelers. I presume you wanted them both alive?”
“Indeed I did.”
“The empress congratulates you for capturing the rulers of both Kabra and Percheron,” Jaden said. He knew Eridea well. She’d be pleased at such news, but she would also be very suspicious of the mage’s intentions. “She wants to know what you plan to do with them.” His host was being neglectful by not offering him a chair. Jaden had no real desire to sit, but it was unforgivable behavior toward a representative of the empress. Turning his back on Lord Naga, Jaden beckoned to a servant he’d noticed lurking in the far corner of the chamber. The man held a tray containing goblets and a flagon of wine. “Here,” Jaden commanded.
The man hurried forward. He wasn’t one of the soulless beings who served in the citadel, and he appeared terrified as he scurried toward Jaden and put down his tray. “My lord.” The man bowed so low his head almost t
ouched the ground.
“Chair,” Jaden snapped. The servant hurried over to the nearest chair. He picked it up and carried it back to Jaden. “There.” Jaden pointed to a spot next to Naga.
The servant placed it in position, inclined his head and backed away. Jaden sat, relaxed back and crossed his long legs. “You did not answer my question, Lord Naga. What do you plan to do with them?”
“So her Exalted Majesty didn’t get my message?” Naga asked. “I set out my entire plan in the letter.” He must be aware that the unique bond between a Dai’Shi-en and his mistress would allow Jaden to know such things without any kind of physical contact.
“She did not.” He had no idea if she’d received it or not. He could have learned more by fully opening his mind to Eridea and the Dragon Lords, but he wasn’t foolish enough to do that at present. Nevertheless, the bond was strong enough to enable him to sense that, as yet, there were no Dai’Shi-en on their way to Usaka to check on Naga. “I should tell you she’ll not be pleased. Once I learn of your true intentions, I’ll report directly back to her.” He paused. “Or perhaps it might be wiser if I send word directly to the Dark Lord himself.”
Few even dared speak of the Dark Lord, the feared ruler of Acheron. He controlled powerful magic, much stronger than that of the other Dragon Lords. Jaden had been in his presence on a couple of occasions and he’d found the man very unsettling.
“There’s no need to report to the emperor at present,” Naga stuttered. “I’ll send another message at once to the empress. I’m certain she’ll be able to deal with this herself.”
“Is it possible your intentions might not please the Dark Lord?” Jaden frowned. “Or are you somehow party to his secret plans for the invasion of the Western Kingdoms?”
“No, I’m not.” Naga shook his head and his long, drooping moustache flopped against his damp lips. “But I’m certain my plan will please the emperor as well as the other Dragon Lords.”
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