He rubbed his eyes, trying to see her more clearly. She had shed her finery, and wore a simple robe of vivid green, her hair loose about her shoulders. "Do you often frequent the bedrooms of your lords?"
"Blade!"
"I did not mean…" He groaned. "I am drunk. What are you doing here?"
"I was concerned. You drank far too much tonight."
"Indeed I did, and now you torture me. I must sleep."
Minna smiled again. "And so you shall, when I leave."
Blade tried to sit up, and found that his right arm had gone numb. He rubbed it, grimacing as it tingled with returning blood. "Well, I am still alive, My Queen. You need not concern yourself."
"But I am concerned. You abuse yourself. You are consumed by a great sadness and hatred. I saw it the moment I met you. What is it that makes you so sad?"
"I would have thought that was obvious."
"There is more to life than the pleasures of the flesh."
He tried to unlace his tunic, which pinched him, but the laces kept slipping from his fingers. "I have been denied more than that. I will never have a family, or be anything more than a paid killer with a fancy title." He gave up trying to undo the laces and raised a hand to his brow. "Why am I telling you this?"
"Because you are drunk. But now that you are a lord, you can make a good marriage. Many women would be honoured to wed you."
"I do not need some trollop who will sleep with every man in the city and present me with a troop of bastards to feed and clothe."
She shook her head. "A woman of good breeding would not do that."
"Nor would she be happy. Why are you so concerned about me?"
The Queen rose and wandered around the room, multiplying in Blade's blurred vision until he closed his eyes to block it out.
"You are a good man," she said. "I knew it the moment I met you, and so did Shista. I shall need you at my side in the future, and I do not want you to drink yourself into an early grave, no matter how deep your sadness and hatred."
He smiled. "You are wrong, My Queen. I am not good. I am a cold, unfeeling bastard, a remorseless killer. I care for no one, not even myself, and I do not care if I drink myself to death. If there was a price on your head, I may even kill you, but now you have made me so rich that I do not think you need worry about that."
She swung to face him with a frown, but his wry smile melted her anger. "You are lying. Why do you want everyone to hate you? Already you have made Kerrion dislike you, and that was deliberate, I will wager."
"A fair bet. But Kerrion is an idiot."
"No, he is not. He is a good man led astray, but he can be redeemed."
"He is Cotti," Blade growled.
"Yes, I forgot. For that, you can never forgive him."
"Why should I?"
"He did not do this to you, nor would he." She reclaimed her seat beside him. "You have been mightily wronged, and you are bitter. But I shall need you at my side."
"As a killer."
Minna inclined her head. "Probably. If this war is to be ended, I shall make many enemies, and I need someone like you, someone I can trust, who cannot be bought or seduced."
Blade made another attempt to undo the laces. "I thought I was to retire."
"I am asking for your help."
He slumped, closing his eyes. "You have it. Now may I go to sleep?"
"Not yet. You said something to Kerrion tonight, for he has become more amenable since your conversation. What did you tell him?"
He chuckled. "The dolt. I told him that if he did not agree to your plans, you would give him to me, and then I would threaten his brother into a treaty."
"Excellent. He believes you."
"He is a fool, then."
"Maybe not. With you, I have death at my side, and no one is beyond your reach."
He sighed and rolled onto his side, facing away from her. "I am just a man who knows how to stick a dagger into people and get away with it. One who is very drunk, and probably will not remember any of this conversation tomorrow."
Minna gazed at him, then grasped his shoulder and rolled him onto his back. Her deft fingers undid the laces that had foiled him, while Blade watched her through slitted eyes.
"What will your spies think, My Queen?"
"Jashimari queens were once tended by eunuchs as well as maidens. They will think nothing. Nor is there any shame in it."
Blade smiled and closed his eyes.
Minna studied his peaceful face and the sweet smile that held such innocence. It could warm the heart of its beholder even as he slid two hand-spans of cold steel into it. It was perhaps a greater weapon than his daggers, more deadly than steel, with its ability to melt even the strongest resolve. Already she knew its power, yet she had never seen any joy in it. She shivered and left him to sleep, returning to her room, where Shista waited.
Chapter Nine
The following day, Blade paid the penalty for his indulgence, and stayed abed until noon nursing a pounding head and a sour, rumbling gut.
When he was well enough to seek an audience with the Queen, the liveried flunky who stood at the doors informed him that Minna was entertaining Kerrion again, and had been doing so for most of the day. Blade waited while the servant conveyed his request to Minna-Satu, and it was soon granted. Kerrion emerged, looking annoyed, and walked away down the corridor, two guards accompanying him. Clearly he had been sent away when the flunky had announced that Lord Conash wished to see the Queen, and was none too pleased. The servant bowed to Blade and gestured for him to enter, holding open the doors.
Blade accorded Minna-Satu a swift bow and sat on a cushion before her, trying to rub away his frown. A dull ache persisted behind his eyes, and his stomach still gave the occasional rumble. Minna folded her hands and waited for him to speak, her head tilted. He came straight to the point.
"I remember little of what we discussed last night, but what I do disturbs me. It seems that you wish me to be some sort of protector. I am an assassin, not a bodyguard."
"I have a bodyguard." She glanced at the slumbering sand cat. "I need you to take death to my enemies, not protect me from them."
"So who do you want me to kill?"
"No one, at present. But I fear that there will be, in the future."
His frown deepened. "I have done as you wished and had my reward. There are other assassins."
"But none as good as you. I will use them if you wish, but they will fail me."
He gazed out of the window, then turned back to her. "You have an army to do your bidding. Surely they can kill your enemies?"
"Not when my enemies are amongst my people. To send soldiers would start a revolt. People would cry repression and injustice. An assassin can kill without causing an outcry."
His eyes narrowed. "Why would your people turn against you?"
"Some will not like what I plan."
"I may be one of them."
The Queen looked surprised. "Why would you wish the war to continue, Lord Conash?"
"Why would I want it to end? Or more to the point, how do you plan to end it?"
Minna gazed at him as if trying to penetrate his guarded expression and read the thoughts hidden behind his eyes. She made a vague, helpless gesture, a slight frown tugging at her brows. "You make this extremely difficult. Will you not trust me?"
"No. I trust no one, least of all those in high office."
"Last night you promised to help me."
"Last night I was drunk. Set no store in anything I say in that state, My Queen, you will be sadly disappointed. You appointed me an advisor; does that not mean you will ask my opinion? You ask for my help, but is it only in the capacity of killing that you need it? You spoke of wishing to be my friend and confidant, is now not the time to confide in me? You claim to trust me above all others, though I have given you no assurance that you may. Perhaps now is the time to put your intuition to the test, rather than later."