“Interesting change. You were never obedient. Master Premal should’ve bedded you a long time ago.”
Auburn swallowed but refused to let Ajeem bait her. She had to focus and find a way to escape.
“Will you serve Lord Premal so faithfully?”
“I belong to Prince Eli.”
“A weak foreigner whose mind you’ve poisoned. You belong tied to a Qumarefi’s bed.”
“Premal doesn’t scare the Prince of Tamryn.”
“Maybe not, but Master Premal should scare you. I should scare you.” Ajeem grinned, the expression colder than a desert night as he drew a wicked-looking blade. “You belong to Master Premal, little witch, always have.”
Fear rounded her eyes, and Auburn scanned the room for a way out.
“Not this time, cobra. You’re cunning has left you all alone. There’s no one to hear you scream.”
Her heart slammed against her chest as she edged further away from Ajeem. Undeterred, he followed her, the cold smile never wavering. The barrel-chested man grabbed for her, and Auburn ducked away, her dancer’s feet helping her escape him as she dodged around a chaise.
Ajeem snarled and threw the chair aside, but a dagger at his throat and a sword at his back halted him.
“What are you doing in my rooms?” Eli whispered.
The unuttered threat hung in the air as a trickle of blood oozed down Ajeem’s neck. Ajeem said nothing, but the bobbing of his Adam’s apple made the blood run thicker.
“Don’t kill him,” Auburn said. “He’s not worth risking the trade deal over.”
“He’s not, but you are.” Eli’s gaze never left the Qumarefi man.
Ajeem’s lips curled into a sneer. “She’s a slave. Less than nothing.”
“You owe your life to that slave.”
Ajeem only glared.
“Your presence in my rooms is an insult. If I find anyone in here again without my permission, not even Auburn can save them.” Eli pressed the blade against Ajeem’s throat, and the trail of blood thickened.
“Please, Prince Eli. If you kill him...”
Fear flickered over Ajeem’s face as Eli’s dagger bit deeper. “Master Premal will destroy you.”
“He won’t be the first to try. Now go. Before I change my mind and send your body to Premal as a warning.” Eli stepped to the side, removing the dagger from Ajeem’s throat.
The man stared back at Eli, fear and hatred mirrored in his dark eyes, then fled.
The prince turned to her. “Are you all right?”
Auburn nodded, but she was shaking.
Chapter 11
Eli sheathed his weapons and wrapped his arms around Auburn. She buried her face against his chest and choked back her tears. She didn’t want to disappoint him with her weakness.
“You’re sure you’re okay?” Eli tightened his arms around her.
“I am now.”
As he held her, Auburn realized he’d done as she’d asked. Prince Eli hadn’t killed Ajeem because a slave had explained why he needed to spare the Qumarefi.
No one had ever listened to her before, had ever cared what she had to say. That anyone, much less a prince, paid attention to her words made her a little light-headed.
A whisper of a smile curved her lips as she lay her head against Prince Eli.
“Where are my guards?” Eli said.
The anger in his words made Auburn shiver.
“It’s not your fault they aren’t here. They left my room unattended and created a vulnerability. Their recklessness could’ve cost you your life.” Eli held her closer. “By the gods, my guards better have a damn good reason for leaving their posts.”
Sligo opened the door, and Rolland was a few steps behind him. They both bowed.
“Did you find my men?” The ice in Eli’s words had Rolland stepping back.
“Yes, Your Highness,” Rolland said. “Found them asleep two rooms down.”
“They will be...” He paused at the expression on Sligo’s face. “What happened to them?”
“We think they’re drugged. We can’t wake them up, Your Highness,” Sligo said.
“Might be yetha root.” Auburn glanced up at the prince. “It’s expensive and impossible to get unless the buyer is well-connected. If it’s yetha root, your men will have no memory of what happened, but they’ll be unharmed when they wake up.”
Eli sucked in a slow breath as he held her closer. “So the perpetrator avoids a diplomatic incident and can blame the guards for being drunk or falling asleep on the job.”
Auburn shivered. “Might even put a bloody dagger in one of their hands to make it look like they killed me.”
Rolland’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve never heard of yetha root. You’re sure it’s real?”
“They warn the sultan’s traders that deal with Oskelesians of it.”
“You’re not a trader,” Rolland said.
Auburn met his stare. “I listen when others talk.”
“Your Highness, she might have been involved in this,” Rolland said. “She could be working with your enemies to sow distrust.”
“What I want to know,” Eli said, “is how an intruder got in here. More men protect these rooms than the two visible guards that stand outside my doors.”
“Perhaps he was stealthy,” Rolland said.
Eli arched a black brow. “As stealthy as an ox pulling a cart.”
“The door never opened,” Auburn said. “I was waiting for Prince Eli to return. I would have heard it.”
Rolland glared at her. “Perhaps you’d fallen asleep. How else could he have gotten in here except through the door?”
Sligo peered out the windows. “No footsteps in the sand caught on the window ledge.”
Auburn lifted her shoulders. “Some rooms have hidden passages so slaves can serve without being seen. I’ve never been in this part of the palace before, so I’m not sure if there are any here.”
“Show me what to look for,” Sligo said.
Auburn did, and the two of them scoured the room for a hidden passage.
Eli ignored Rolland’s growing impatience.
“Here,” Sligo said as he pointed out an almost invisible seam in the thick stone.
Eli strode over and scrutinized the telltale hairline. “How do we open it?”
“It might only open from the inside,” Auburn said. “The slave would come in, see to their duties, then disappear back through it.”
Sligo’s jaw set. “That the captain of the palace guards missed this in the security briefing is unacceptable.”
“Might not have thought of it,” Rolland said. “Qumarefis think little of slaves.”
Sligo’s gaze passed from Auburn back to Rolland. “Then they’re fools. I will send three guards to stay here with you, Your Highness. I will secure this passage and search the other rooms for similar ones.”
“See to it. And there’s one other thing we need to consider,” Eli said. “Premal attacked me, and I must make a corresponding show of force. Thoughts?”
Rolland paled. “Do we really want to court such a powerful enemy, Your Highness?”
“Premal is an adviser to the sultan, but the sultan has many of them. What makes Premal so powerful?”
“He’s rich, well-connected...”
“Many in the Qumarefi court are.” Eli’s cold blue gaze fell on his attaché. “Powerful, rich, and well-connected or not, Premal chose to make me an enemy. He cannot strike at me without consequence.”
“Perhaps the nectar from an azalea blossom,” Auburn said. “When I was young, the other children forced me to eat one. I was sick, but never in real danger. They grow in the sultan’s garden.”
“Sligo?”
A dark smile curved the bodyguard’s lips. “Consider it done, Your Highness. I expected you to make enemies, just not this quickly.”
“You can’t poison a member of the sultan’s court!” Rolland said.
“Of course I can, unless they can stop me.” A serpent’
s smile curved Eli’s lips. “And I will get a trade deal.”
“But the Dragon Church...” Rolland said.
“They’re my concern, not yours.”
Rolland opened his mouth to say something and snapped it shut again.
“We all need to be extra vigilant.” Eli studied Rolland. “One asp has shown its scales. I’m sure there are more.”
Rolland sucked in a breath, but before he could say anything, a knock on the door had them all turning.
Sligo opened it to let in three guards. The men dressed in Tamarian uniforms took up positions near the door and the secret passage.
Rolland bowed. “Should you need anything, Your Highness-”
“I won’t.” Eli’s hard gaze never wavered as he watched his attaché leave.
Once Rolland was gone, Sligo bowed and left Eli alone with Auburn and the guards.
Auburn breathed in the prince’s rich clean scent. “Sligo doesn’t trust Rolland, not even with three Tamarian guards in the room.”
“Sligo is the best judge of character I’ve ever met.” Eli held her closer. “How are you doing?”
“Better, thank you.”
Eli kept an arm around her as he led her to the overturned chaise and righted it. He motioned for her to sit then poured her a glass of water. After she’d drunk it, he sat beside her and held her close.
“What was his excuse for being here?” Eli asked.
“Ajeem said he was taking me to Premal. Some other things that didn’t make much sense.”
Eli stilled. “Like what?”
She shook her head. “None of it matters.”
“It does to me.”
“Called me a viper.”
“That denotes power,” Eli said. “In Qumaref, a more common insult is whore.”
Auburn chewed her lower lip. “Hadn’t thought of that before, but it’s true.”
“What else did Ajeem say?”
“Something about how I’ve always been Premal’s.” She shook her head. “I’m just glad you got here when you did.”
“It’s because of your advice. The sultan was growing restless. When he took a break, so did I.”
A smile curved her lips. “Exactly right.”
Chapter 12
The sun was sinking in the sky when the meetings concluded and Eli could return to his rooms.
As he walked through the cooling corridors, Auburn’s words rolled through his mind. Why would Premal think Auburn belonged to him? And why would he risk the sultan’s wrath for a slave? A beautiful, intelligent, and kind slave, but still a slave.
And viper. That was a dangerous, often lethal, snake. Not something you’d you’d call a slave.
When he arrived back in his suite, the prince found Auburn curled up on a chair, one of his books in her lap as she stared at the door. Fear flickered across her face, and a smile replaced it when she realized it was him. The expression lit her face, and Eli’s chest tightened.
By the gods, she was beautiful, and a secret part of him was delighted that she was waiting for him.
As he slipped an arm around her, the soft scent of vanilla teased his senses and derailed his thoughts.
He held her close, enjoying the feel of Auburn in his arms. She was uninjured but still scared, and Premal was to blame. Eli kept his anger sheathed, not wanting to frighten her more, but the prince would exact payment from Premal for sending Ajeem.
Eli may be from Tamryn, but he’d grown up in court. Politics could be just as deadly in the land of the Dragon God as they were in Qumaref. But he would leave that for later. First, he needed to understand more about what he faced.
Eli settled Auburn against him in a protective and slightly possessive gesture. “I need to ask you more about Premal. Are you up to it?”
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
A smile curved Eli’s lips. “Any idea why Premal wants you? Or why he’d wait until now to try to take you?”
“It might not have been his first attempt. I’ve always needed to be careful.”
“That azalea flower.”
She nodded. “It wasn’t the only incident. Most said I was cursed, and only the dead have blue eyes.”
“There are lots of people with blue eyes.”
“I didn’t know that as a child.”
Eli teased his fingers over the curve of her jaw. “Your eyes are beautiful. They’re the color of a summer’s day.”
Red tinged her cheeks, and she stared down at her hands.
“I have no need to lie to you.” He held her close and refocused on the situation. “If Premal was behind the azalea blossom, then he’s wanted you a long time.”
“I remember Priyanka talking about it when I was young. She wanted the sultan to sell me to Premal, but he wouldn’t. It was one of the few things he denied her, and she hated me all the more for it.”
“Strange Premal would try to poison you after he’d been trying to buy you from the sultan.”
“If he killed me once he owned me, no Qumarefi would care. Like a camel or a goat, I would be his property to do with as he pleased. And he has a reputation when it comes to slaves.”
Premal deserved so much worse than azalea nectar, but Eli would deal with that later. “Premal’s become bolder. Or more desperate.”
“I don’t understand his motivations. Perhaps he planned to make it look like you murdered me.”
“Why would he do that?”
“You wouldn’t know who’d done it, and that would make you question the people you brought with you. It would also damage your reputation. The sultan doesn’t tolerate abusive treatment of his slaves. He says you wouldn’t throw a vase on the ground to watch it shatter.”
“Yet he tolerates Premal.”
Auburn lifted her shoulders. “Premal is very rich and very powerful. Not even the sultan can do exactly as he pleases.”
“So Premal uses you to make me look bad to the sultan and undermine these negotiations. He’s either a master strategist or a spoiled child.”
“Or both,” Auburn said. “He didn’t become as wealthy as he is by being foolish, but wealth can make men feel entitled to things and angry when they don’t get those things.”
“An unpredictable enemy. Or at least one I can’t predict yet because I don’t know the game.”
“He will try again, but he’ll be less bold.”
Eli’s protective side roared and his eyes narrowed. “If he tests me, he will learn what it means to challenge a Prince of Tamryn.”
Auburn interlaced her fingers with his. “Please don’t let it interfere with the trade negotiations. The people of Qumaref will suffer if you don’t reach an agreement.”
Eli thought about that several minutes. “Was Premal involved in discussions with K’tel and Arren?”
“Yes, why?”
Eli could think of several reasons Premal would want negotiations to fail, none of them good. If the sultan’s adviser had decided to force an end to relations with Tamryn, the entire diplomatic team needed to be vigilant. The prince would post more guards, carry extra weapons, and exercise caution with anything he ate or drank.
But that wouldn’t protect Auburn.
He touched his lips to her temple, then took off his signet ring and handed it to her. “I want you to have this.”
Auburn stared at the elegant ring with dragons that wrapped around its sides and a gold dragon crest that encircled a dark sapphire at the top.
“For me?” Her eyes widened as she cupped it in her hands.
He thumbed over her lush lips, and the happiness that lit her face made his chest ache. He closed her fingers over the ring. “Yours. Now and always.”
She kissed him on the cheek, then tried the ring on each of her fingers. It was too large for even her thumb. She hurried over to a bureau and came back with a deep-blue silk cord. She slipped the ring on it and fashioned it into a necklace.
Eli swallowed back the satisfaction of seeing her wear his ring, seein
g her marked as his. So wrong, so very wrong, yet he couldn’t deny it.
“Between that and your new clothes, there will be no question that you’re with my entourage. If anyone bothers you, it will be a direct insult to me and to Tamryn.”
Auburn hugged him, the unexpected intensity of her emotion surprising him.
“Thank you. You have no idea what this means.”
“I have some idea.” Eli stroked her hair.
The feeling of her in his arms soothed him, comforted him, and triggered a protective instinct he hadn’t known himself capable of exhibiting. He barely knew her, and yet, he would kill Premal if the adviser tried to hurt Auburn again.
Eli stared down at the woman in his arms, and a deep warmth filled his chest and radiated out to his limbs. He held her tighter.
Dracor save him, Prince Eli prayed. He was in trouble.
Chapter 13
It was late, and Eli couldn’t sleep. While his body ached for the woman beside him, his mind played through the events of the day over and over again.
The sultan’s gift hadn’t been spontaneous, of that he was certain. Auburn was a pawn in a larger game, and by giving her to Eli, the sultan had pulled him into it.
Time to learn more.
Tucking the blankets around Auburn, Eli dressed and found the bodyguards outside his door. “Send for Jaelin.”
A guard saluted and hurried down the halls.
Eli paced the room as he waited, his head spinning with possibilities. Auburn’s hair and eye color told him she wasn’t a native to Qumaref. While the desert kingdom had a reputation for abducting foreign citizens and forcing them into slavery, the stories were more fanciful than real. Even the Dragon Church had admitted that much.
Auburn was from his side of the ocean, and while that might explain the sultan’s gift, Eli doubted it. Auburn had told him about the failed discussions with Arren and K’tel.
Premal wanted her for reasons other than her beauty, and Eli suspected the sultan knew it. All the stranger that Pandhuka had gifted her to a foreigner rather than use her to appease a powerful noble.
There was a light knock at the door, followed by the code word.
To Love a Prince (Knights of Valor Book 1) Page 6
