"Allow me to introduce myself. Beldar, at your service." He bowed with a courtly flourish, and held out a package to me, his eyes fixed politely on my face and not on my exposed cleavage, smart man, a cleavage that he himself had exposed, allowing all eyes to see. "My Queen invites you to break fast with her and bids you wear this gown."
I took the package from him and opened it. It was a long dress. Black silk.
"Step outside and close the door while I change," I said.
"You wound me with your mistrust," Beldar replied. "Surely you don't hold our little skirmish against me. I was the one wounded."
I sniffed and didn't smell blood. "Your wound seems to have closed."
He flashed me a charming smile, arrogant devil. "We heal fast. Say you forgive me."
"When you return my knives."
"Not until we reach the court," returned Beldar regretfully. "By my Queen's command."
"The door," I said.
With a sigh, he closed it and I quickly changed. The dress fell about my feet in a full, rich swirl. A near-perfect fit at the waist but a bit loose at the chest, confirming my suspicion that the dress was Mona Sera's. Pity I hadn't inherited her full bosom. Not what I would have chosen to wear, but it was better than going around in a torn shirt with my breasts half hanging out.
"I'm done," I said, not bothering to speak loudly, knowing he would hear me.
The door swung open and Beldar's eyes widened in appreciation. He gestured up the stairs and inclined his head. "Ladies first."
"No, you first. I insist."
"Don't trust me at your back?"
"Nope. Not someone who would have raped me with a smile on his face."
"I would have thanked you afterward," he said winsomely, and I couldn't hold back a small smile. He might have been an opportunistic bastard but there was no denying he was a charming one.
He grinned back at me. "Very well."
I followed Beldar up the stairs and he led the way to the dining room. It was furnished with austere simplicity, with elegant black chairs set against neutral walls and natural wood floors. Everyone was already there, seated around a long formal table set with fine china, polished silverware, crystal candelabras, and gleaming candlelight. Mona Sera sat at the head of the table. Only the men were present. No other women. Nor were Gryphon or Amber present, I noted unhappily.
Beldar seated me at the foot of the table, a position of honor, perhaps, or maybe because it was the farthest seat away from Mona Sera. Far enough so that the irritating abrasive presence of another Queen was hardly felt. The presence of over twenty men in close proximity, on the other hand, was like a fresh punch to my senses. I didn't fight the awareness, just let it flow over me, grateful to be sitting down. The trick, I learned, was to absorb it, then tune it down like unwanted noise. The men closest to me held themselves stiffly and looked at me warily, and I wondered sardonically if it was because they were afraid of jumping me or afraid that I might jump them.
Mona Sera inclined her head, the gracious host. "I am so pleased you could join us, Mona Lisa." She'd had to ask my name last night. Nope, my cross had definitely not come from her.
"My pleasure," I said dryly, knowing she would have ensured I joined them whether I had desired it or not.
The food was brought out and I found out where the women were—serving us, silly me. From the corner of my eye, I watched Sonia serve Queen Mona Sera first. A quiet, subdued woman—all the women seemed quiet and subdued, for that matter—lay a plate before me. I glanced down. The steak was bloodier than I was used to but I forced myself to eat a few bites. A girl had to keep up her strength, especially in this crowd.
"We have a surprise treat for dessert," Mona Sera said, evil satisfaction lacing her voice. It had been surprisingly quiet and civilized up until then. I'd known it couldn't last.
The door opened and the smell hit me first: heated raw flesh. Gryphon stumbled in, supporting a barely conscious man. Both wore only pants, their tops naked. Gryphon's chest and face were reddened as if he'd gotten a light sunburn, but the other taller, bigger man was a mass of fiery, lobster-red flesh covered by not just blisters, but boils—huge half-dollar size boils that had broken open and oozed a pink-tinged exudate. His eyes were so swollen and puffed with fluid that he couldn't open his eyelids, and his lips were thickened and covered with open sores. His face was distorted beyond the point of recognition. Only the man's size and chestnut hair let me know that it was Amber I was seeing.
Gryphon guided Amber to kneel before Mona Sera. A thick peel of skin sloughed off from beneath Amber's arm and side as Gryphon removed his supporting arm and fell to his knees as well.
"Amber, you seem to be a little tired after your day in the sun, your punishment for disobeying me," Mona Sera with a chuckle. The laughter stopped abruptly with unnatural reptilian quickness. "But you, my dear Gryphon, seemed to have acquired nothing more than a light tan." She swung her narrowed eyes my way. "Let me guess, dear daughter. The sun's rays do not burn you."
"No more than it does most humans," I acknowledged.
"Dear, dear. You seem to have passed your gift to our sweet Gryphon," Mona Sera said. "And after only one night together. How interesting."
I was beginning to hate it when she said that. It meant that she was thinking, and nothing good could come of that.
"Fortunate for me that Gryphon was hardly damaged by the ordeal. I'd like him to be of some use to me at court," I responded coolly.
Mona Sera looked at me thoughtfully. "You speak as if Gryphon is yours."
I shrugged. "I thought you had thrown him away. I find myself having to take what I can find. Your damaged goods… unless you care to gift me with some of your healthy strong men. Like your lovely Beldar, perhaps."
I smiled at Beldar and he froze into stillness, the look in his eye not thanking me at all for drawing him into this. My pleasure, my eyes conveyed back to him.
Mona Sera bared her teeth in a chilly smile. "No, daughter, I think not, although it is true. You must have some protection at court."
"Then I must make do with your castoffs—Gryphon… and Amber."
"You would take Amber as well?" Mona Sera lifted a brow at my presumptuousness. "I doubt he will live in any case."
"Better for me if he does. An impressive statement, would it not be, to the High Council, to have him seen under your daughter's leash."
"An impressive statement, indeed. I like how your mind thinks."
Mona Sera smiled thinly but her eyes were cold. "But why should I be so generous?"
I leaned back in my chair. "It was my birthday last week. I'll take them as a birthday present."
Mona Sera looked at me for a long moment in utter silence. Then she threw her head back and laughed and laughed until tears of mirth flowed down her chiseled cheeks. And all the men laughed with her. Not because they found it funny but because they were afraid not to laugh.
"A birthday present!" Mona Sera wiped away her tears chuckling. "Very well. My gift to you." The laughter ceased abruptly. "Be ready. We leave in an hour."
We were down in the dungeon once again. Even with Gryphon's substantial helping hand, it had taken a monumental effort on Amber's part, using up the last reserves of his strength to make it down the stairs without falling.
"There's no place to lay him down," I said, wanting to help but unable to hold Amber in any place without sloughing off more of his burned skin.