by Keziah Hill
Ris laughed. ‘But he was furious you spent it all on building walls. Silly old coot,’ she said fondly. Lissa knew Ris missed him. He’d shared her bed every now and then.
‘He couldn’t admit that those walls saved us many times from raiding warlords.’ Ris sighed. ‘Would that they had done their job this time.’
‘It wasn’t the walls that failed us, it was Catiscal,’ Lissa said bitterly. She grabbed some newly weaved cloth and started folding it, hoping some common practical tasks would quieten her pounding heart.
Ris pulled the cloth from her hands and held them. ‘This marriage. Do you really think it a good idea? Is a vengeful ex-slave any better than Antos? We could help you escape. I hate to think you under the thumb of that man.’
Lissa stared at the rough, dear hands of Ris, pained to see the worry in her eyes. ‘I don’t know, Ris. He’s not all he seems. I think he’s a better man than Antos. I have to believe that. Otherwise we’re all doomed,’ she said with a despairing laugh. ‘One thing’s for sure, there is no love between the brothers.’
Ris grimaced. ‘There is that in his favour I suppose.’ She started folding the cloth, keeping her eyes on what she was doing instead of on Lissa. ‘Last night … the chain … are you all right?’
Lissa felt heat wash over her cheeks. ‘Yes, I’m fine. More than fine.’
‘You mean …’
‘I mean that whatever else he is, My Lord Death knows what he’s doing in the bedroom,’ Lissa said.
Ris grinned, a look of relief on her face. ‘Well, that’s good. You can never be too sure with those Catiscal folk. Too much denial and repression can make some of them a little twisted.’
‘That sounds more like Antos. Horrible man.’
A sudden yell from outside the storage hall had both Lissa and Ris running to see what was amiss.
‘My Lady! My Lady!’ Ella ran toward them. ‘There’s a fire in the southern wheat field. It’s moving to the stables.’
Lissa’s pulse quickened. A fire near their main stables could be a disaster. ‘Quickly, go and find Val. We need some people to set up a line with buckets leading from the river,’ Lissa said. ‘Ris, you find Devadas. We’ll need some of his men to help us. Now he’s King he’ll have to take on some of the responsibilities of his office. Quick now!’
Lissa followed a crowd of people through the main entrance to the town, all heading down to the field to fight the fire. It didn’t take long for them to see smoke and flames inching across the early growth. Not too bad, she thought, just a small outbreak. They should be able to get it under control quickly enough. She saw Val had already organised a small team of people to transfer buckets of water from the river to the fire. It was a fair way from the main stable.
Might be a good time to check and see if everything was as it should be. They planned to move these stables closer to the town walls and eventually enclose them as well. That was their major project for the winter months.
She crossed to the wooden structure, thankful she’d thought to pull on her work boots and wrap a woollen shawl around her neck and shoulders. The air was cold which made the fire a curiosity. Fires were not uncommon in summer, but unusual in the colder months. She had only a small amount of time to wonder about this when she entered the stable. It was empty and dark. That was strange. Maybe the guards were off fighting the fire.
Frowning, she stepped further in and was grabbed from behind by a strong arm while a leather-covered hand clamped over her mouth. Struggling, she tried to cry out.
‘Stop,’ hissed a voice at her ear. ‘Stop or I’ll slice you.’
She stilled when she felt the bite of a blade against her neck. Another man stood in front of her with a hood over his head, holding a knife. Holes in the hood revealed dark, furious eyes.
‘You’re coming with us to see your real husband. The laws of Catiscal will not be broken, especially by a traitor.’
The hooded man held the knife against her while the other bound and gagged her. They dragged her out of the stable, away from the sight of the townsfolk who were still fighting the fire. Two horses stood ready. She was bundled onto one with the hooded man behind her. Then they wheeled their horses around and thundered off in the direction of Catiscal.
‘Don’t worry, My Lady,’ the hooded man muttered into her ear. ‘You will still get your wedding. All is prepared.’
Lissa tried to stop dark despair leaking into her mind. Devadas would come for her. Or would he? He’d spent ten years hating her. One soft caress didn’t mean anything. Would he care enough or leave her for Antos? The horses thundered on. She would soon get her answer.
Chapter Ten
Devadas stood with Luc and Alain and watched as the last of the fire was extinguished. The townsfolk were well organised and made short work of what he saw immediately was a suspicious fire. The air was too cold for a fire to start without some help. Could it be someone after a bit of drama or was it what he most suspected – someone from Catiscal out to do some real damage? The stables were nearby. Perhaps they wanted to burn it down. Well, it was a stupid place for stables.
‘Why aren’t your stables inside the town walls?’ he asked Val. ‘They’re very vulnerable out here.’
‘We only had enough stone to enclose the dwellings. Our plan was to move them inside this winter after we built some more inside the walls. But there should always be at least two guards out here. Where are they?’
Val headed for the wooden structure, followed by Devadas.
‘This is not right,’ the older man said.
‘Perhaps they helped to put out the fire,’ Alain said as he and Luc joined Devadas and Val. ‘There’s no one here.’
A smothered cry had Val moving quickly into the darkness of the stables, followed by the others.
‘That’s the stable boy,’ he said.
They found two unconscious men and a boy bound and gagged in one of the stalls.
‘They’ve taken My Lady!’ the boy cried as soon as the gag was removed. ‘They were from Catiscal! I’m sure they were.’
A surge of fury flared hot and sudden within Devadas. Antos was quick to act but with his usual underhanded, spiteful methods. Not for him an honest battle. No, he preferred to toy with his enemy’s mind. He would find Devadas had learned a trick or two over the years. Turning to Luc and Alain, he gestured to the town walls with his head.
‘Come. We need to make sure the fire is fully out.’
‘But what about Princess Lissa?’ Val spluttered. ‘What will happen to her?’
Devadas fought to control the rising terror in his heart. He knew what his brother was, what he was capable of. But the plan that leapt into his mind the moment he found Lissa was missing relied on the pretence of indifference.
He shrugged. ‘She’s the spoils of war. If Antos wants her, he can have her. She’ll either survive or she won’t. There are more important matters than the fate of one woman. The men in my army and the army of Horvald are tired. And, after all, I have what I want. I’ll make peace with my brother and get on with life.’ He grinned. ‘In fact I might just ask for an invitation to their wedding. That should get my brother off my back. The High King Janiver will be pleased that the lands of Catiscal and Horvald are peaceful and under the control of one family. The more I think of it, the more I realise the marriage between my brother and the Princess Lissa is an excellent idea.’
Val glared at Devadas, his eyes filled with hatred. ‘They named you well, Lord Death. You have a black heart and a black soul.’
Devadas laughed. ‘What did you expect? Chivalry? Concern? After ten years of being a mercenary and then a warlord I have neither. Go back to your people and get on with your work.’
Val stalked off, muttering curses. Devadas looked down at the still unconscious figures of the guards and at the stable boy who stared up at him with large, fearful eyes.
‘Go back to the village, Boy. Tell them to come and look after these men.’
The boy scampe
red off like a shot.
Alain raised an eyebrow. ‘It’s unlike you to be so unconcerned about the theft of one of your possessions, particularly one who has haunted you these last ten years. Oh, don’t bother to deny it,’ he said as Devadas frowned. ‘Like the rest of us, you dream and you get drunk. There is truth in both states.’
‘You have a plan don’t you?’ Luc asked.
Devadas smiled. ‘I do indeed. A plan not so different from what I described to my good friend Val. The combined armies of mine and Horvald’s are tired so I’d rather be as underhanded as my brother. I’ll make it clear I’m not prepared to go to war over Lissa and I’m agreeable to Catiscal and Horvald having close ties as befits two warriors of Catiscal. Antos will want more but he’ll be interested in what I have to say. That will get us into the walls. Then we’ll see what’s what.’
Rough hands threw Lissa onto a stone floor then whipped off her hood and gag. The ride to Catiscal had been hard and fast, with the sour smell of her captor in her nostrils. He’d held her tight, muttering occasionally about Devadas’s treachery and how Antos would avenge such betrayal.
‘I brought her to you, My Lord,’ he said with a voice full of triumph.
‘You’ve done well, Bastin, very well. My brother will no doubt be wondering where his lovely bride has got to. He’ll realise soon enough. But then it will be too late.’ Antos sat on a chair carved of stone, glaring down at Lissa.
‘Cut her bonds,’ he ordered.
Bastin grabbed her hands roughly and cut the rope, nicking her in the process. She jumped then rubbed her stinging wrist. Clambering to her feet, she glared at Antos.
‘What is the meaning of this? You dare to abduct me like a piece of chattel? Is this your idea of Kingly behaviour?’
‘You’re mine, Lissa. You’re father bargained with me so I want my property.’ He stood up and barked at his entourage. ‘Get out, all of you! The Princess Lissa and I need some privacy.’
Lissa tried to stop the insidious slide of terror now inching up her spine, threatening to choke her breath. She wouldn’t survive if she became immobilised with fear. Glancing around, she searched for any way out, any point of escape.
Like Horvald, the Great Storm had forced the people of Catiscal to settle and rebuild their town. With their uneasy alliance with Horvald, Lissa had visited Catiscal a number of times, principally to trade. The quality of their wool was exceptional. In the process she’d seen, like Horvald, Catiscal had put down roots and largely moved away from making war on other towns and settlements. The old King of Catiscal, Vanko, once an avowed enemy of Horvald and her father, had seen the way the world was going, especially since the High King in Tisvo seemed to want peace and an end to the wasteful war throughout the land. High King Janiver had gradually brought all the principalities under his rule. Horvald was among the last.
Lissa had developed an unlooked for but welcome friendship with Dana, Devadas and Antos’s sister, and with their mother, Juno. She would have visited more but for the unpleasant attentions of Antos. Attentions that she’d thought she’d made clear to her father she did not welcome. But it seemed her father had ignored her and had continued negotiations with Antos after Vanko died.
If what Antos said was true and they had made offerings to the Catiscal gods, then Antos would believe they were betrothed. As Lissa’s gaze darted around the hall looking for anything that would help her, she silently cursed her father. It was so typical of him to go down this pathway without consulting her. Not for the first time she realised he had resented her efforts to build Horvald into a peaceful and settled principality. He relied on her skills to build up the town but needed to exert his control. She would need all her skills to get out of here alive. And what of Devadas?
Banishing all thoughts of rescue, she studied the man in front of her as his entourage filed out of the hall. He stepped off the platform and approached her.
‘We will be married tonight, Lissa, in front of all my people. You won’t be able to escape. Then I will sweep down on Horvald and take it. King Janiver will see my claim as proper and lawful, since I have conquered Horvald and taken you as wife. He doesn’t like warlords challenging his authority, as my brother will find.’
Antos’s gaze rested on her like a carrion bird eyeing his prey. Then he frowned and lifted his hand to her neck. She flinched as he looped his fingers through the gold chain around her neck and pulled.
‘What is this? What has he done to you?’ He pulled her dress off her shoulder and saw it was more than a necklace. Confusion showed in his eyes, quickly replaced with lust as he realised how Lissa was bound.
‘My brother shows his regard in a very creative way. Take off your dress. I want to see what these chains look like on my bride.’
She shook her head. ‘No.’
‘Take it off.’ The menace in his voice made fear flow hot through her veins. The coppery taste of blood was in her mouth.
‘I won’t. I won’t stand here and do your biding. I am not your slave.’
‘But you are his? A willing slave to a brutal warlord. My spies tell me he was once your slave. A Prince of Catiscal the plaything of a stupid woman. And now the two of you are engaged in this perverse game. If that’s what you want, I can play those games too. Take your dress off.’
Lissa stared at him, remembering the last time she’d been ordered around by a man with such familiar features to this one. With Devadas, such an order made her wet with longing. With Antos, everything within her wanted to shrivel with revulsion.
He pulled at the neck of her dress with both hands, intending to rip it from her. She grabbed at his hands and tried to pull away.
‘Stop it!’ she screamed. ‘Leave me alone!’
They continued to struggle until a loud, imperious voice caught their attention.
‘What is the meaning of this? What are you doing, Antos? Let her go immediately!’
Lissa look around while still holding onto Antos’s hands, her fingernails digging into his skin. The Lady Juno stood in the doorway. Antos dropped his hands from Lissa’s neck.
Juno approached them, pinning Antos with her dark gaze. ‘You dishonour the house of Catiscal with such behavior, Antos. You may now be the Lord in this land but that means your behaviour must be above reproach. You do not force women against their will.’
‘Go back to the women’s quarters, Mother. This is none of your affair.’
‘None of my affair? You attempt to ravish a Princess of Horvald, a friend to both myself and your sister and this is none of my affair?’
‘She is mine. Her father and mine made offerings to the gods.’
‘That does not mean you can force her. You know I want this marriage between you and Lissa.’
Lissa stirred and started to speak. Juno held up her hand, biding her not to interrupt.
‘It would be a good marriage, Lissa; a binding between our two lands. Surely you must see how it would benefit both Horvald and Catiscal.’
‘You know that I have nothing but respect for you and Dana, Lady Juno. But I cannot marry your son. I cannot marry anyone.’
‘You seemed to be happy enough to marry a filthy warlord,’ Antos said. ‘He forced you, too. Why do you not protest his demands?’
‘Because I love him!’ Lissa said, relieved to say for the first time what she’d felt for ten long years. ‘I love him.’
Juno frowned with confusion. ‘How can you love someone so quickly? He only arrived in Horvald a few days ago. Lissa?’
Lissa turned to Antos with widened eyes. ‘You haven’t told her?’
Antos paled and shook his head. ‘What does it matter? He is a traitor to Catiscal.’
‘The Warlord Death is your son, Devadas. He escaped from my father’s army ten years ago. He has returned to conquer Horvald and take me as wife. I … I used him unjustly all those years ago and he has returned to take his revenge.’
Juno staggered on her feet. Lissa moved to her and caught her before she fell.
‘Get a chair,’ she barked at Antos.
‘No, no. I’m fine,’ Juno said, recovering herself. She glared at Antos. ‘How long have you know that the Warlord Death was Devadas?’
Antos shrugged. ‘Long enough to put my plans into action. I’d hoped he would defeat Horvald and hand her to me on a platter. But my younger brother fancies himself a king.’ He sneered at his mother. ‘I will sweep him away.’
Juno stared at him for a long minute. Lissa watched with interest and a little hope as Antos fidgeted and couldn’t meet her eyes. She’d not known he was so affected by his mother’s authority. Like most Horvaldians, Lissa assumed all the women of Catiscal were firmly under the thumb of their menfolk. Maybe this wasn’t the whole truth. Maybe the women of Catiscal had their own methods of wielding power.
‘The Princess Lissa will come with me to the women’s quarters. If you wish to marry her, it will be done with due ceremony under the laws of Catiscal. You are King and must make decisions in the interests of your people. But I strongly advise you to seek out your brother and make peace. The gods bring bad fortune onto warring families. Don’t let your hatred of your brother destroy us all.’
Antos stiffened at her words. ‘I will do as I see fit. Take her and prepare her. We will marry tonight.’
Juno frowned. ‘Why the rush? Surely you can wait a day or so. We need time to prepare for the ceremony, make the proper offerings to the gods. Your people will need to see your bride. All of the arrangements can’t be made in a few hours. The day after tomorrow will be soon enough. Come, Lissa. Dana will be pleased to see you.’
The older woman grabbed Lissa’s arm and all but dragged her from the hall. ‘Quickly,’ she muttered. ‘We must get you away from here.’
Chapter Eleven
‘So, Brother, you have come to your senses. That is good. I knew you would finally come around. No one should ever say a woman could turn the head of a warrior of Catiscal.’
Antos’s smug smile had Devadas clenching and unclenching his hands. They ached with the need to throttle him. Instead he shrugged. ‘I fought a war to get Horvald. I don’t need to fight again over a woman. My men are tired. I’d rather celebrate your nuptials and then work with you to consolidate both Catiscal and Horvald in the eyes of the High King. There could be rich rewards for both of us.’
