The Harem Master

by Megan Derr

  Warm fondness curled through Euren even as old anxiety stabbed her heart. "That sounds like Ihsan. He's told me some of what happened to him these past years, but we've not been together long enough for him to tell me much." Only the stuff that tore him apart, that needed out before it festered, and only after he'd exhausted himself trying to keep it in anyway.

  Seeing his body torn apart from the shrapnel bomb had been heartbreaking. She hated seeing him hate himself, think himself no longer beautiful—as if she or his men needed him to be beautiful at all. She had not sequestered herself for five years because he was pretty, the idiot.

  "He is a fine man, and I think he will also be a fine king," Meltem replied. "He spoke of you often, Highness. Said more than once that he probably should have let you be the one to go off to war. Loved to tell us of how you bested him every time you sparred."

  Euren laughed. "I am not convinced he did not throw a few of those matches. I may be a better fighter, but it takes more than wielding a sword to win a war, and I lack most of those skills." She took a sip of wine as Asli held the dish to her lips. "At least the war is over now. I hope that remains true for a very long time."

  "As do we all," Emre replied and drank his own wine. "Tell us, by your pleasure, Princess, of the route we will be traveling and all we should know about it in order to protect you."

  Swallowing a bite of fish and chasing it with wine, Euren began to explain.

  Four

  Demir stumbled back as the doors flew open, tripped on a guard's boot, and went tumbling, his back slamming down on the hallway floor, head cracking against it. Tears of pain filled his eyes, but he wiped them from his eyes and sat up. A guard extended a hand and Demir gratefully took it. "Are you all right, Lord Demir? I am so very sorry."

  "I'm fine, and the clumsiness was mine. What's going on?" he asked and then saw Ihsan striding down the hall as if he were set on finding a head to remove. "Ah. Prince Ihsan met with his father?"

  "After three days of His Majesty stalling," the guard muttered, then made a face. "Apologies, my lord."

  "No need," Demir said lightly, but before he could coax the guard into saying more, Kagan came stomping out of the room trailed by two concubines who looked even more wrung out and unhappy than they normally did after attending His Majesty during meetings.

  Kagan paused as he saw Demir. "What is it?"

  "Nothing, Your Majesty." Demir bowed low. "I was on my way to ensure the pavilion preparations were proceeding accordingly and would be ready on time for the banquet tonight. Is there some way I can serve you?"

  "Send fresh concubines to my public office," Kagan said and walked off without waiting for his reply.

  Demir rose to his full height and gestured for Ricep and Mesut to follow him. When they were in the relative safety of his office, he motioned them to a small, padded bench against one wall and said, "Tell me of the meeting."

  "It was horrible," Mesut said, voice cracking. He bent over, bracing his forehead on the backs of his hands. "Poor Prince Ihsan. Anyone could see he was still distraught by news of the Princess's death. She came up in the middle of the discussion, and His Majesty—" he broke off.

  Ricep said quietly, "He said the family was better off without 'that careless slut'. That was when Prince Ihsan stormed out. Before that, Prince Ihsan had been trying to discuss the war: all that he's done these past years, the pending return of the army, why he went missing. His Majesty would hear none of it, kept turning the discussion to other matters. The council was furious."

  As they should be. They had been running the war since long before Ihsan ran away to join it. His Majesty could not be bothered to pay more than the barest attention to the warring, even though men died and Tavamara was constantly under threat of being consumed by foreigners. Even though his own son was directly involved in it.

  How long would it take for the council to remove His Majesty? Assuming that was what the council and Ihsan planned to do, which it must be. If it wasn't, Demir might actually lose his mind.

  All this talk of meetings was an unwelcome reminder that in a few more days the full council would be in residence, and one of the topics up for discussion would be the dissolution of the harems. It would almost be a relief so far as the concubines went. Most could return to their families, and it would not be hard to find positions in the palace or city for the few who did not have that option.

  No, the concubines would be fine. He would make certain of it. His only fear was entirely selfish. There was nothing else he knew how to be, no other job he wanted to do. And there was still the possibility that Bulut would find a way to force Demir to be his concubine.

  His stomach churned, but Demir forced the clawing panic and dread aside. "Was anything else said that I need to know?"

  "No, Lord Demir. Most of it was His Majesty angering everyone and listening to no one," Ricep replied. "Do you think… might Prince Ihsan become king soon?"

  "I don't know," Demir said. "I have a feeling we'll know soon enough. Go rest, send the twins to attend His Majesty in his office."

  They nodded and left.

  The door had barely closed when it opened again. A tall, slender, fine-boned and pretty man stepped into the office. He had short, curly hair and a nose left slightly crooked by three different breakings; many had often said he looked more like a concubine than a guard, but he wore his uniform and weapons with the ease of a lifelong soldier. Those who judged his beauty first always found themselves regretting it. Ruth had been head of the harem guard for nearly as long as Demir had been its harem master. "Captain Fatih is here to see you."

  "Send him in, Ruth, thank you."

  Ruth bowed again and faded off, and a moment later, Fatih stepped inside. He closed the door behind him, then sat down in the chair immediately in front of Demir's desk. "We need to talk."

  "I know," Demir replied. "We need to tell Prince Ihsan about his sister."

  Fatih nodded. "Yes, of course, but I am undecided if it is wise to let him know the entirety of what we do. His father will have people watching him; I do not know his harem well enough to know if any of them might be bought. I trust Haluk, but the other two…"

  "Not even Sabah?" Demir asked. "Sabah has always been faithful to His Highness."

  "He is of noble blood."

  Demir made a face but did not argue. Nobles were all too often quite happy to sell out anyone for power; politics were a delicate, deadly game he tried to keep away from as much as possible. Not easy in his position, but he did try.

  Unfortunately he sensed the harem debate was going to put him right at the middle of the mess. As if he did not have enough to worry about simply trying to keep his charges alive. "Did you want to speak with him, or shall I? It may be better if you do it."

  "Oh?"

  "You are His Highness's father-in-law," Demir said. "That aside, I do not think he cares for me. Certainly he does not trust me."

  Though he could not begin to guess why, when Ihsan had been so open and friendly that first night. Demir had thought maybe he had found an ally where he most needed one. But the following morning when he had arrived with the palace tailors, he had been almost immediately dismissed. Politely, but coolly, and without bothering to explain what Demir had done wrong. In the days since, Ihsan had maintained that distance.

  Disappointing, even depressing, but not surprising. It had probably been foolish to look to a royal to be an ally. Those days were most definitely in the past.

  Fatih stared at him, frowning. "Well, this will give him a reason to trust you. I will tell him if you insist, but I prefer to avoid doing anything that might remind His Majesty that it was my daughter who ran away with His Highness."

  Demir cursed silently, feeling a fool for not having considered that. His Majesty had become even more volatile since Ihsan's return. There was no telling what he might do if he took notice of Fatih at the wrong moment. "Of course, I am sorry," Demir said, drumming his fingers on his desk as he pondered how best to con
vey the message. Ah, he had it. "I was going to visit His Highness later this evening to give him some jewels I ordered from the city, but I can do it now before I go inspect the pavilion."

  "Thank you." Fatih smiled briefly. "I will see you at lunch unless we are either of us snatched away. Good luck."

  Demir sighed as Fatih left and the door closed once more, rubbing the knuckle of his first finger up and down the middle of his forehead. Nothing for it except to do it. Hefting the heavy chest sitting on his desk, he balanced it on one hip as he locked his office, then carried it in front of him while he quickly walked to Prince Ihsan's chambers.

  He was forestalled when the door swung open and Bulut stepped out, the scowl on his face twisting into one of leering pleasure as he noticed Demir and promptly looked his fill. "Good afternoon, Lord Demir. How does the day find you?"

  "Busy," Demir said. "I'm sure you're quite busy yourself, Lord Bulut."

  "Always." Bulut prowled toward him. "The meeting regarding the harems is in five days. I was going to come and discuss it further with you. Perhaps over lunch?"

  Demir bowed his head. "Apologies, Steward, but I've already arranged to have lunch with Captain Fatih. We are coordinating changes we must make to accommodate the return of Prince Ihsan and Princess Euren and their respective harems."

  "I see."

  "If you will forgive me, Lord Bulut, I must speak with His Highness." He moved to step around Bulut, stifling the anger and misery that sprang up when Bulut sidestepped to cut him off and then crowded into his space, putting Demir up against the wall with only the chest of jewels to force space between them.

  He tensed when Bulut touched him. Under a proper king, nobody would dare treat him so disrespectfully. Demir would be well within his rights to drive the bastard back by force. Because of Kagan, however, he had to take it, endure it, choke on it. "Respect, Steward, I am busy and must be on my way."

  "Have you considered my offer? I would do well by you."

  Demir bit back his immediate reply. He had every faith Bulut would use him, but he wouldn't do it well. The only thing Bulut did well was slither.

  He bit the insides of his cheeks as Bulut reached up to trace a finger along his face, dancing close to but not quite touching his mouth. Demir looked over Bulut's shoulder, fixed his eyes on the far wall, and contemplated dropping the chest on Bulut's feet.

  "I would treat you the way such a rare and beautiful jewel should be treated."

  "If the harems are demolished, then I would assume, my lord, that the Right of Concubine would be abolished with them. No person would be permitted to enjoy a luxury such as that once it is denied the king."

  Bulut smirked. "An easy enough problem to overcome. I—"

  He stopped at the sound of the door opening, and they both turned their eyes to see Sabah filling the doorway. Sabah's eyes fell on them, narrowed. "Is there a reason you're behaving so inappropriately right outside Prince Ihsan's chambers? A reason, Harem Master, you are keeping His Highness waiting?"

  Waiting? Ihsan hadn't known he was coming.

  "Of course, my apologies," Bulut replied and stepped away. "We'll speak later, Lord Demir."

  "Steward."

  Bulut turned and walked off without another word. Demir gripped the chest tighter and turned toward Sabah. "I brought some jewels that I thought His Highness would like for his harem."

  Sabah jerked his head for Demir to follow him. Inside, Demir crossed until he was a few paces in front of the wide table where Ihsan sat drinking wine and reading through various stacks of paper, Kitt at his side. He knelt, bowed, and waited, the knot in his stomach growing larger and tighter as Sabah knelt beside Ihsan and spoke quietly in his ear.

  Ihsan's eyes snapped to Demir, anger filling his face. "What is going on between you and the Steward?"

  "Nothing, Highness," Demir said, weariness threading through the dread and anger. He had thought, maybe, just maybe, Ihsan would listen if he complained. But after his cold demeanor of the past few days, and now his anger over something that was not Demir's fault…

  "He should not be touching you, and I want to know right now why such a liberty is permitted."

  "Respect, Highness, that is my concern."

  "I am making it mine," Ihsan snapped.

  Demir's anger broke free before he could tamp it down. "Because I have no choice, Your Highness. Because I am surrounded by royals and nobles who constantly take my right to choose away." Recovering himself, he set the chest on the floor and pushed it forward, then bowed again. "My apologies for my outburst, Highness. And for troubling you with trivial matters. I have brought jewels I thought you and your harem might enjoy."

  Only silence greeted his words. Demir remained bent over, eyes firmly on the floor. What manner of punishment would Prince Ihsan administer for his rudeness? The way a monarch punished his people usually said all that needed to be said of him, and Demir preferred to know as soon as possible what sort of prince had returned home.

  "Come and join me, Lord Demir," Ihsan said quietly. "Have some wine."

  Demir looked up—and nearly looked back down again when he accidently caught Ihsan's eyes. "I am not certain that would be appropriate, Your Highness."

  "Please, Lord Demir. If you do not want to, I will not insist, but I would be honored."

  Where had Ihsan's anger gone? Was he trying to coax Demir into admitting guilt? It would be useful if Ihsan would stop being so damned confusing.

  Standing, Demir crossed to the table and sat on one of the large, plush cushions that surrounded the table. He frowned when Kitt sat beside him and poured the wine. "You need not pour for me."

  "I occasionally do what I'm told," Kitt said and winked at him.

  Before Demir could think of a reply to that, Ihsan sighed and said, "I am sorry, Lord Demir. In my anger I was careless about how I displayed it. My anger was not for you, but for Lord Bulut. I was angry with him already, and I am infuriated that he is abusing his power to get away with such an egregious breach of conduct. Does he bother anyone else in the harem?"

  "Only me," Demir replied. "He thinks that the council's decision regarding the harems is a closed matter, and that after the harems are abolished I will be amenable to his suit."

  "After the harems are abolished?" Ihsan set his empty wine dish down with a hard clack. "What are you talking about?"

  Demir frowned. "Has no one told you of the matter yet? Tavamara faces increased scrutiny and disapproval from our allies and trade partners for our harem practices. Combined with His Majesty's… mercurial nature, the council thinks it might be wisest to end the practice once and for all. The council is convening early and discussing the matter at length. The first hearing is in a few days, though I do not know the exact date."

  "No," Ihsan said. "That is not going to happen. I'm not going to surrender a sacred practice because of a bunch of ignorant, narrow-minded heathens and my father's selfish, malicious tendencies. I will tear the whole court apart for daring not to tell me of the matter. Thank you for informing me, Lord Demir."

  "Highness," Demir said and bowed slightly.

  "Finish your wine, please, but you are free to go."

  Demir drank the wine, though it still felt strange to sit so casually there with Ihsan when for the past few days Ihsan had barely spoken to him, and always with icy formality. Ihsan's anger with Bulut seemed to have made him forget he did not care for Demir, either, and Demir had no desire to linger long enough for Ihsan to remember. Best to say what he had come to say and depart. "There is something else I needed to discuss with you, Highness. It was my real reason for coming here."

  "What is that?" Ihsan asked, hand stilling where he had started to reach for his papers again.

  Drawing a breath, letting it out slowly, Demir said, "Your sister is not dead."

  Silence met his words, and then Ihsan said, low and sharp, "What are you talking about?"

  "We—Captain Fatih and I—smuggled her out. His cousin is the executioner and help
ed us arrange the deception. We snuck her out of the palace, got her onto a ship. I do not know where she is now, but she is alive and safe."

  Ihsan stared at him, then dropped his head into one hand, elbow braced on the table, and gave a shaky laugh that was mostly a sob. "Zehra is alive. I cannot believe it." He looked up after a few more minutes, tears on his cheeks. "Thank you, Lord Demir, and for telling me." Sabah held out a handkerchief and Ihsan wiped his face, then drained the wine dish that Sabah filled for him. "Kitt and I saw you and Captain Fatih sneaking out of one of the secret passages a few nights ago. Is that what you were doing, smuggling someone out? How often do you do this?"

  "You saw us?" Demir bit back a curse. If Ihsan had seen them and they had been wholly oblivious to it, there was a good chance others had as well.

  He startled when Kitt rested a hand on his arm briefly.

  "Kitt," Ihsan said sharply. "Do not touch."

  Kitt blanched. "My apologies. I'm still unused to all these new rules, and used to comforting through touch. I did not mean to take the same liberties that Bulut did, Lord Demir."

  Smiling faintly, Demir said, "It's all right. I know the differences in how people touch me, and a foreigner can be forgiven a few errors."

  "You're the only one who calls me a 'foreigner' instead of a 'heathen'," Kitt replied, smiling crookedly. "Even this lot prefers to say heathen when speaking of anyone not from Tavamara."

  "We mean no offense, Kitt," Ihsan said quietly. "I'm sorry. We'll have more care."

  Kitt shrugged. "I've been called worse than heathen. I don't care. It was just an observation."

  "All the same." Ihsan sipped at his wine and turned his gaze back to Demir. "So you have smuggled others out?"

  Nodding, Demir said, "Yes, whoever we can. All the concubines he's ordered executed, a handful of servants."