“Of course you didn't know. But you can bet Adrina knows. Why else would she marry Damin with barely a word of protest?”
“Has it occurred to you that she might love him?”
“Don't be ridiculous! She wouldn't know the meaning of the word.”
“I think you're wrong, Your Highness. I don't think Adrina knows anything about Damin being the heir to her father's throne.”
“Then you are as blind as my son.”
R'shiel thought back over her conversations with Adrina. Nothing she had done or said would seem to indicate that she knew of any law that would make Damin the heir to the Fardohnyan throne. Even Kalan had given no hint that she knew of such a law. But that did raise another interesting question.
“Does Damin know about this law?”
“He does now! It's a tragedy he didn't learn of it sooner.”
“Why didn't you tell him sooner?”
“I only learnt of it recently, myself. My youngest stepson is a member of the Assassins' Guild. The Guild was approached by one of Hablet's lackeys to murder my sons, Damin and Narvell. They refused the contract, but decided to look into the reasons behind Hablet's obsession with the destruction of the Wolfblade line.”
“Then I don't see the problem. Damin is still heir to the Hythrun and Fardohnyan thrones. With Adrina at his side, won't that just make his claim to the Fardohnyan throne that much stronger?”
“Of course it does, that's my point. There will be no stopping Adrina now. With Damin at her side, she can claim her father's throne. Once she's done that, all she needs to do is dispose of my son and she will rule Fardohnya and Hythria. If the child she is carrying turns out to be Cratyn's, then she can lay claim to the Karien throne as well!”
“Child? What child?”
Marla shook her head in despair. “You don't know? By the gods, it's as plain as the nose on her face. Adrina is with child, R'shiel. Surely you noticed! I for one would be very interested to learn whose child it is.”
R'shiel really had no idea. She wondered if Adrina knew, or even suspected. It was possible, of course. She and Damin had been lovers for several months. The child could only be his. If she had been pregnant when she left Karien, her condition would have been patently obvious before now.
“If what you say is true, then the child is Damin's. I can promise you that.”
“Bah! Who knows with a woman like that? It could be Almodavar's, if she was bored enough. I just pray Damin doesn't learn of her condition before I can prove the truth of the child's parentage.”
“You've not told him about it, then?”
“And have him lose what little sense he has left regarding that woman? I don't think so. And I would appreciate it if you said nothing to him either. At least until I can find the evidence I need to convince him how foolish he's being.”
“I'll not say anything about Adrina's condition,” she agreed, in an effort to appear cooperative, “but only because I think you're on a fool's errand. The only thing you are likely to prove is that Damin is the child's father.”
“My son? Get a child on that Fardohnyan whore? Never!”
Marla's blind prejudice where Adrina was concerned was beginning to wear on R'shiel. “Your Highness, I really think you should reconsider your attitude towards Adrina. She is married to your son and if you're right about her condition, she carries your grandchild. Don't you think life would be a lot easier if you made an effort to get along with her?”
“I don't trust her,” Marla replied stubbornly.
“You've hardly given her a chance.”
“I see no reason why I should.”
“You should, because I say you should,” R'shiel declared.
“I'm not going to be ordered around by a slip of a girl who thinks she can bend the world to her will...”
Marla's voice tapered off as R'shiel reached for her power. She didn't do anything with it, she simply let it fill her until her eyes darkened and turned completely black. She stared at Marla unblinkingly, her black eyes like orbs of burning onyx, her silence a threat in itself. There wasn't much point in being the demon child if you couldn't lay down the law every now and then, especially when being reasonable wasn't getting her anywhere.
Marla fell to her knees. “I am sorry, Divine One. I did not mean to doubt you.”
“Then you will do as I say,” R'shiel commanded, borrowing just enough power to fill her voice with an irresistible compulsion. It was not a coercion, but it was enough to scare the wits out of the Princess. “You will treat Adrina in a manner befitting her status as your daughter-in-law and you will give this marriage your full support. If not, you will answer to the gods.”
“It shall be as you command, Divine One.”
“Then be gone from my presence,” she added dramatically, “while I am still in the mood to indulge you. And do not speak to me of this again.”
Marla scrambled to her feet rather inelegantly and was gone from the room in a matter of moments. R'shiel let go of the power and laughed. The look on Marla's face alone had been worth it. All she could do now was hope that she had frightened the Princess sufficiently for her to toe the line.
“Was that Marla I just saw running out of here?”
R'shiel looked up as Adrina slipped into the room. She studied the Princess closely, but if her belly was swollen, it was impossible to tell in the long loose gown she was wearing.
“It was. I'm afraid I indulged in what Brak would call a 'tasteless and theatrical display of power' to get my point across.”
Adrina frowned. “Well, I hoped it worked. That woman really doesn't like me.”
“I think you'll find her a little more cooperative from now on. How are you feeling?”
“Fine,” Adrina replied with a puzzled look. “Why do you ask?”
“Are you pregnant, Adrina?”
The Princess paled and took the seat so recently vacated by her mother-in-law. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, are you pregnant? It's a simple enough question.”
“I'm not sure.”
“How can you not be sure?”
“Very well, I have my suspicions, but as I don't want to be pregnant, I've done nothing to confirm them.”
R'shiel smiled. “You mean you hoped it would go away if you didn't think about it?”
Adrina glared at her for a moment, then shrugged. “It's stupid, I know.”
“Marla thinks you are.”
“Wonderful! That's all I need.”
“Does Damin have any idea?”
“Of course not! He's a man. They never notice that sort of thing. And it doesn't really show yet.”
“Don't you think you should break the news to him before someone else does?”
“And give him the idea he has some sort of claim over me? I don't think so!”
“Adrina, it's his child too. And you are married to him.”
“That's beside the point.”
“That is the point.”
“R'shiel, don't you understand what will happen when I tell him? The first thing he's going to do is surround me with so many bodyguards I'll be lucky if I can see daylight through them. Then he's going to lock me away somewhere 'for my safety' so that the child will be protected. Then he'll strut around crowing like a rooster because he's proved his manhood.”
R'shiel laughed. “So what are you going to do, Adrina? Carry on as if nothing is amiss while your belly swells to the size of a large melon?”
“I don't know what I'm going to do, I...” She stopped mid-sentence, interrupted as Mikel slipped through the door.
“What is it, Mikel?” R'shiel asked, puzzled by the expression on the child's face.
“The High Prince requests your presence in the Great Hall, my Lady. You too, Your Highness.”