by Megan Derr
A guard opened the door. "Your Highness, Lord Demir is here and says he must speak with you at once."
Fear banished all remnants of sleep. "Send him in." Ihsan threw back the blankets and opened the bed curtains, entering the main area of his chamber just as Demir reached it. "What's wrong? Is everyone well? Was somebody hurt? Where are my men?"
"Your men are well," Demir said. "I am sorry I caused you alarm. I need to speak with you about Lord Bulut." Demir did not bow, did not even lower his head.
Ihsan had never known Demir to break protocol, save for when he'd lost his temper after Ihsan had questioned his relationship with Bulut. He was completely unsurprised that Bulut was yet again the source of Demir's distress. "Are you all right? What did he do?"
"Apparently His Majesty ordered Lord Bulut to keep a close eye on your harem. He came by earlier in the evening while I, Lord Haluk, and Lord Kitt were still in the city. Shortly after we returned, he came by again and forced his way past me into my private rooms—into my bedroom, where your men were making a show of training so he would believe the lie. I have ordered him locked up for the night."
"I will see him removed from his post for such disrespectful and violent behavior," Ihsan snarled. "Let me get dressed." Merciful Divine, he was standing around naked. In all his hideous glory. At least Demir had been considerate enough not to say anything, or show his horror.
Going to his trunks, he quickly pulled on clothes, jerking the dark teal sleeves on hard enough he half-expected them to tear. When they were securely laced, he wrapped a teal sash around his waist and tucked away a few small daggers, then at the last moment, buckled on his sword.
Binding his hair in a knot at the back of his head, he rejoined Demir at the door. He faltered briefly, noticing only then that Demir's hair was loose. It had always been braided back before, Ihsan had never appreciated how much there was. It fell to his hips, long and straight and beautiful. Ihsan shook himself, cursing himself for a pathetic fool. "Tell me exactly what transpired this entire night; leave nothing out."
Demir winced but obeyed. When he got to the part where Kitt had kissed him, Ihsan understood the wince. "I apologize for his behavior, Lord Demir. I know apologies are paltry things, especially when I've offered so many already on Kitt's behalf and his behavior shows no change, but I promise it will be taken care of."
"I do not mind Lord Kitt," Demir said quietly. "His behavior is not intended to be offensive, so I do not take it that way. I only am sorry that I permitted something so forward with your harem when I had no such permission. I was not expecting it, else I might have prevented it."
Oh, how to admit that if he felt anything at all, it was simple envy that Kitt had kissed Demir, though whatever Demir said, he still was not pleased Kitt had breached protocol and stolen a kiss from a man who had been enduring unwanted attentions from Bulut and Divine knew who else. "You owe me no apology, Lord Demir. We were little more than strangers when I returned a few weeks ago, but I trust you as much as I trust my harem. Certainly I trust you with them. Please let the matter trouble you no more. One kiss from my bratty little viper is hardly anything to worry about. My anger is solely for Lord Bulut, and I am going to deal with him right now. Come."
He strode from his room, Demir at his side, heading quickly for the small wing at the back of the palace, close to the guard hall, where all prisoners were kept. At the center of the prison hall was the small, desolate courtyard where executions were carried out. Minus, of course, public executions, which were done in a completely different section of the palace and had not been used in years.
Not even for his sister's death. His father's contempt was so great he had not even granted her a princess's execution. All to the good, in the end, since it meant Demir and Fatih had been able to save her life, but the insult remained all the same.
The guards on duty were restless, anxious when they saw him. They moved hastily out of his way as he approached, and though a couple looked as though they knew they should stop him, no one did. "Where is the Steward?"
"This way, Your Highness," a guard said and led the way to and then down the farthest rows of cells, to one all the way at the end. The distance was meant to give Bulut plenty of space away from the other prisoners, the closest he would get to special treatment in deference to his position.
Ihsan dismissed the guard, then turned and stared at Bulut through the bars. He was dressed as garishly as ever, the bright blue robe with green leaves and yellow birds even more ridiculous looking when viewed through prison bars. "You should thank the Divine that I do not have the authority to have your head removed, Steward. I do not care what your orders from my father, you had no business violating the harem and the privacy my men were promised, especially by forcing your way into Lord Demir's private chambers. There is no excuse for such a gross breach of conduct. Have you anything to say in your defense?"
"Your father's instructions were quite clear: do not trust you, your harem, or Lord Demir. I was making absolutely certain that they were all where they should be and not doing anything illegal or otherwise inappropriate." His mouth pinched, eyes hard as they stared right back at Ihsan.
"And the fact Lord Demir was giving sexual instruction to my men, when he has rebuffed you time and again, had nothing to do with it," Ihsan countered, and the rage that filled Bulut's face for a single moment before he contained it was all the confirmation Ihsan needed. "I may not be able to see you executed, Steward, but I will see you removed from your position and thrown out of Tavala. If the second most powerful man in the palace cannot respect the sanctity of the harem hall, then why should others? If you cannot respect your position and the power it wields, you do not deserve to have it."
"It is for His Majesty to decide my fate," Bulut replied.
"It is my harem that was harmed by your gross misconduct," Ihsan said. "I will—"
"That. Is. Enough," Kagan snarled from behind Ihsan. Turning, Ihsan stared at his father, red-faced and dressed in a heavy black robe, feet shoved into slippers, hair tumbling in every direction. "Why have I been woken up at this ungodly hour? Why are you and Lord Demir disobeying me, and why is my Steward locked up?"
"Because he deserves to be!" Ihsan burst out. "The Jeweled Garden is a sacred place where all concubines should be able to feel safe, and your Steward violated that sanctity because he will not take no for answer and was envious my men were receiving sexual instruction from Lord Demir."
Demir stepped forward. "It's as Prince Ihsan says: Lord Bulut violated the harem, and specifically Prince Ihsan's harem. I have absolute authority over the harem, and violators are mine to punish. Respect, Majesty, he will remain locked up until the changing of the guard, and he is no longer allowed in the harem hall, nor will he speak to the concubines, without my presence and permission."
Kagan's mouth tightened as he stared at Demir, but after a few long minutes, he nodded. "So says the law, Harem Master. Now both of you return to your rooms."
"I want to see my harem first," Ihsan said. "After the way they have been treated, I deserve to see them for myself and be assured they are now well."
"Fine," Kagan snapped. "You may have an hour with your harem, but after that you are to return to your room, and you're not to leave without my permission. Am I understood, Ihsan?" He gestured sharply for the guards hovering nearby to escort Ihsan and Demir.
"Understood, Your Majesty." Ihsan strode past him, not even bothering to bow.
Demir joined him outside the prison hall, and they walked back to the harem hall. Ihsan looked over his shoulder, warning the guards to keep their distance with a look. When they'd fallen back to a suitable distance, he returned his attention to Demir. "You've been most kind since my return, Lord Demir," he said softly. "I've not properly expressed my gratitude for all you've done for me and mine when you had no reason at all to trust us, to risk your life and livelihood. I have no doubt you could do better than this mess of a royal family."
"My desire is to ser
ve, Highness," Demir said, stopping and turning to face him, gold eyes somber but filled with some deeper fire. "My position obligates a certain degree of loyalty to the crown, but I give my personal devotion where I choose and I have no regrets giving it to you."
Ihsan nodded, not trusting his voice enough to speak.
Demir resumed walking, and Ihsan fell back into step beside him. When they reached the harem hall, two black-sashed guards watched the entrance. They bowed as Demir and Ihsan approached, murmuring low, "Greetings, Your Highness," as they strode past.
Inside, Ruth stood at the door which led, if Ihsan recalled correctly, to Demir's private quarters. "Is all well, Ruth?" Demir asked.
"All is well, Harem Master," Ruth replied. "His Highness's harem remains in your chambers. I did not think you would want them yet returning to their own quarters."
Demir nodded. "As ever, you anticipate my thoughts. Thank you, Ruth." He unlocked the door, then led the way inside.
It felt wrong to step into Demir's private space. Ihsan had done nothing but trouble Demir since his return, and this latest intrusion seemed like one more violation Demir should not have to endure.
His men were lounging in the sitting area, gathered around a small, low table playing a game of taaki. They smiled and rose nearly as one when they saw him. "I hear it's been quite the night; I cannot decide if I am disappointed or relieved to have missed all the fun."
Kitt, predictably, snickered before curling his hands around the back of Ihsan's head and dragging him down into a long, playful kiss. When they drew apart, Ihsan lingered, his mouth not quite touching Kitt's as he murmured, "You are in trouble for stealing kisses, brat. You like to cause my harem master no end of distress."
To his surprise, shame filled Kitt's face. "That's not the worst I did."
"What…?" But before Ihsan could ask him to explain, he drew back, and Ihsan was kissed by Sabah and Haluk in turn. "So how did your adventures in the city go?"
"Well, I suppose," Haluk said, resuming his seat at the table, Kitt beside him. Ihsan took the seat opposite them, leaving the ends of the table for Sabah and Demir.
Instead of sitting, however, Demir vanished briefly into his bed chamber. He reappeared after a moment with a comb, and Ihsan was not the only one staring as Demir began to comb out and braid his long, beautiful hair while the others related everything that had happened, Kitt's investigations in the harbor to Demir and Haluk's time at the House of the Moon Orchid. And the brutal interrogation of Jove's middleman. Ihsan looked at Kitt, hoping his expression conveyed how much Ihsan wanted to strangle him.
Kitt ducked his head, toyed with his wine dish. "I am sorry."
"There's no reason for you to be sorry," Demir said. "We have been over this already." But even Demir could not hide the strain around his eyes and mouth, the barest tremble to his fingers before they fell out of sigh beneath the table. "I have seen plenty of dead men in my time, and His Majesty is not always kind to the concubines. I do not need to be coddled by a handful of men six to twelve years younger than me."
Coddled, no. Demir was not the kind of person ever to need coddling. But he was long past due to be comforted. Ihsan took the wine dish that Sabah held out to him and swallowed all the wine that remained it. Where in the world had they obtained Endless Midnight? He hadn't even known that was on the premises. "Well you endured such a thing better than me," he said as he set it down. "The first time I saw a man killed in front of me I was left in tears. The first time I had to kill a man was much, much worse." He curled his fingers inward against an urge to touch his scars, a permanent reminder of another series of firsts he preferred to think about. "If I'd not had Sabah, Haluk, and Kitt with me at various times throughout the war, I am not certain I would have come back with my mind intact." He smiled ruefully. "Some days, I am not certain I did."
"I think if you had remained here, Highness, you would have been crushed by your father. But I am sorry for the pain all of you endured while you were gone."
Ihsan shrugged. "I like to think it has given me a chance to be a better king than my father. Certainly I hope I would at least notice when a slave trading operation is being shaped right beneath my nose. How should we go about stopping it?"
"Take back control of the harems," Sabah said. "They have lost Jove, who seems to have been in charge of the operation. They've also lost Jev, who, if not his only middleman in the city, was at least one of the major ones. That is one crucial piece and one major piece removed from the board." He tapped the abandoned taaki board then removed a red piece painted with orange leaves and a green piece painted with white flowers. Setting them aside, he tapped three black pieces laid out in a row near the center of the board. "But the harem is not just a crucial piece, it is a foundation. Take that from them, and they'll be forced to withdraw, if not abandon the plan entirely. Once that's done, we can begin to root out all the individual pieces, sort out who is commander, who is soldier, who is beast."
Demir lifted a hand then rested it on the table. "What of Bulut? There is no conceivable way any of this could have gotten as far as it has without his knowledge. He paid me the 'courtesy' of informing me ahead of time that the full council was being called to vote on the matter of the harem well before any formal action was taken. He must have known the problem was there long before it was noticed by anyone else. He will be free again in a few hours, but with Jove and now Jev dead, it will not bode well to whoever else is involved that Bulut was imprisoned. And now he is not allowed to have anything to do with the harems, unless of course His Majesty overrules my command."
"A good point," Ihsan said. "We need to find a way to remove him once and for all. After that, it will merely be a matter of sorting friend from foe within the council. We can start with those we know were victims of blackmail. Though first we must overcome the matter of our own arrest, since we cannot do a damned thing confined to our quarters."
Sabah splayed his hands. "Let us start with my father. I've barely spoken to him since I returned. I think His Majesty would permit him to visit me if I were to send a note asking permission. My father is not party to this mess. He can speak with the blackmail victims discreetly, possibly gather additional information for us. If we can find a trustworthy messenger, the scheme might just work."
"Ruth and the concubines can pass secret messages for us," Demir replied. "Ruth will know other guards we can trust. And we always have the secret passages."
"They are proving remarkably useful for such a stupid security risk," Kitt said with a grunt, and then drank a hefty swallow of wine. "Lord Demir, I believe we owe you a new bottle of wine."
Demir smiled faintly. "Nothing is owed. I am honored to drink it with such esteemed company."
"This is your wine?" Ihsan asked. "My apologies, Lord Demir. We seem set on taking and taking but never giving. I assumed it was ordered from the kitchens."
Demir laughed. "No, it was taken from a locked cabinet, though in the thief's defense, he did it for my benefit."
Ihsan buried his face in one hand. "Kitt, I am going to lock you in a trunk." Dragging his head up, he looked at Ihsan. "I am sorry, and I will replace it. Such fine wine deserves better treatment and occasion than this, though I've enjoyed it." He took another swallow after Sabah poured it. "So how furious was Lord Bulut to see my harem enjoying themselves here?"
"I thought he was going to kill us for a moment," Kitt said. "I had my back to him, but I could feel the violence, heard him mutter something that did not sound remotely nice. That one is dangerous because when he lashes out, it will be because his control has shattered. He will have no restraint, no remorse, and whatever he does, it will be vindictive, cruel, and fatal. Be careful." He took another sip of wine. "Though, as always, I am happy to put an end to the problem right now."
"You're here because you wanted to stop being an assassin," Ihsan replied. "Stop offering to kill people for me. I am not going to allow it."
Kitt made a face. "I am with you because I love
you, because you're the only person I am willing to kill for instead of it being something I have no choice about. A lot of our problems would go away if you let me kill Bulut and Kagan."
"There is no love lost between my father and I, but I do not want him killed in cold blood until absolutely necessary, and killing either of them—nevermind both—would cause more problems than it solves. Keep your fangs tucked away for now, pretty viper mine."
Kitt gave another grunt but relented. "If I am not going to be a viper any longer, I hope you intend to keep me otherwise occupied."
"Oh, I think you know I can," Ihsan said. "Including giving you to the harem master for actual training. I am fairly certain you could use it. What say you, Harem Master?"
Demir slowly lowered his wine dish, the barest smile on his face. "He shows remarkable discipline when he feels like doing so. However, he shows a propensity to be overly playful regarding his role as concubine." He looked at Kitt, and on anyone else Ihsan would have described that look as pure mischief. But he couldn't reconcile the expression with Demir, who was usually so serious and never ventured further than gentle teasing. "Even when he kisses, he treats it like a game. I think there is room for improvement there, until he learns to take his role seriously at all times, even in privacy."
Kitt's mouth dropped open then snapped closed in a pout that was almost genuine. Haluk and Sabah did not even try to hold back their laughter. Kitt shot them sour looks before he returned his attention to Demir. "I'll have you know that no one else has ever complained about my kisses, or my mouth, except to say I occasionally say the wrong thing at the worst time. I do not believe you when you say my kisses need improvement."
"His Highness asked for my thoughts, and I gave them," Demir replied.
Ihsan grinned when Kitt gave him a wounded look. "You do tend to be either deadly or playful. There is very little in between. But I have never found that a flaw."
