He gazed at her stiff back, noting that her hands were clenched at her sides, and his frown softened. "Why do you not write to him?"
Her shoulders slumped. "And say what?"
"Ask if he is well, tell him of your unhappiness and of his child."
She turned to face him, looking defeated. "You are far too perceptive. It will get you into trouble one of these days." She sighed. "I cannot write to him, my letters would never reach him."
"Kerrion is a man of eagles, his familiar is a desert eagle. An eagle could bear a message to him and bring his to you. All you need is a man or woman of eagles who you can trust to have their familiar carry the missive."
She returned to sit on her cushions once more, her eyes dark with sadness. "How long will you be gone?"
He shrugged. "Not too long."
"You will be back before the winter storms begin? Once they do, the roads will be impassable."
Blade nodded, hiding his reluctance. "Of course."
"I will have need of you once my condition becomes known. People will suspect, there will be much speculation. My enemies will plot against me again."
"Unless you give them no reason to." She shot him a puzzled glance, and he elaborated, "If you take one of the consorts to your room, they will assume -"
"No. I cannot do that."
"He has only to sleep on the floor, so long as you can trust him. It will buy you some time, allay their suspicions until they realise that the consort could not be the father of your child."
She considered this, her eyes flicking over his face. "You are clever, Blade, though your cleverness does seem rather underhand. I do not like stooping to such measures, deceiving those around me with charades and lies. I shall, however, think on the matter, for it is my child's life that is at stake here, not mine."
For several minutes she appeared lost in thought, and he waited until she became aware of his presence once more and said, "Go to your estate then. All is quiet here for now, but return before the winter storms. I shall give you a company of men to guard you, for there are perils on the journey."
Blade did not want a company of men, but saw no point in arguing the matter. The Queen could be implacable at times, and he sensed that this was one of them. Instead, he rose and bowed.
"My Queen."
She inclined her head. "Safe journey, My Lord Conash."
Chapter Fifteen
Kerrion returned to his desert city in a glorious fashion. Thousands lined the way to his palace, cheering and tossing precious flowers in his path. He wondered at the hero's welcome bestowed upon a prince who had been the Jashimari Queen's prisoner and released at her behest. There was nothing heroic about his ignominious return to the desert, dressed in Jashimari clothes and riding a steed the Queen had provided. Upon reaching the Cotti camp, he had almost been shot before he was recognised. The well hidden, pitying looks of his senior officers had annoyed him greatly. In their eyes, at least, his captivity had reduced his stature.
Once dressed in Cotti clothes again, he was joyously reunited with his familiar, Kiara, who had been caged during his absence to prevent her from following him and being killed. Fortunately the officer who had discovered his abduction had had the foresight to cage the bird before she had woken on that fateful morning. With her perched upon his shoulder once more, he had compounded his unpopularity in the eyes of his men by announcing that he wished to have a Jashimari slave, and ordered that all the slaves in the camp be brought for his inspection. Twenty dull-eyed boys and fifteen frightened girls were brought before him. Kerrion ordered that they be taken to the mountain pass and released, which evoked angry muttering from some of his bolder officers. He informed them that slavery was banned under his rule, and any slaves found would be released and their owners punished. A few officers voiced protests to this, but his glare silenced them.
Three days later, he had set off on the two tenday journey to the city, where he would face his brothers and the ordeal of his coronation. The pale metropolis shimmered in the heat, its buildings built primarily from white stone or whitewashed to reflect the fierce sun. Tall palms shaded the wide, paved roads, and patches of verdure grew next to mansions and temples. Awnings protruded from shops to cool their bland interiors and invite the heat stricken to enter their tempting shade. The throngs of sun-bronzed Cotti that lined the way to wave and cheer their prince provided thirsty patrons for roadside inns and tea houses after he passed.
Kerrion still wore the silver circlet of a prince as he reined in his horse before the sweeping marble steps that led to the pillared archways of his father's great palace. The tall, gilded domes glowed in the sun atop pale walls built by master crafters in a previous age. He dismounted before the roaring crowds that cordons of soldiers held at bay, and turned once to wave before mounting the steps, his officers flanking him. The noise was left behind as he entered the cool, bare halls of the palace, a building that had outgrown its furnishings and whose grandeur was marked by an echoing emptiness, apart from a few cosy rooms. The scarcity of wood made it impossible to fill the many chambers with anything other than stone statues and a few paintings.
Liveried servants bowed and took his dusty white cloak, brushing sand from his tunic with its silver sun emblem, while others ushered him towards his private apartments. He did not expect to reach them unmolested, and was not surprised when Lerton appeared to confront him with a supercilious sneer. His younger brother, resplendent in foppish finery of pale yellow linen with gold trappings, bowed mockingly.
"Welcome home, Sire," he jeered.
Kerrion frowned, his fatigue making him curt. "I am not in the mood for your antics, Lerton. I am tired and I want a bath. Get out of my way."
Lerton hopped aside. "Whatever you say, Sire, your word is my command."
Kerrion stalked past, annoyed by his derision. Kiara spread her wings to keep her balance on his shoulder.
Lerton fell into step beside him. "Did you enjoy the hospitality of the Jashimari Queen?"
"I was a prisoner."
Lerton laughed. "Aye, taken prisoner by a woman!"
Kerrion stopped and swung to face his brother, causing Kiara's claws to dig into his shoulder. Lerton eyed him, and the various retainers stepped back. Because they had different mothers, Lerton was a mere two moons younger than Kerrion. He took after his father, a broad bear of a man, despite being the kin of snakes. His familiar, a pale golden stone snake with enough venom to give a man a bad headache, was coiled around his neck like an ornament. The half-brothers looked nothing alike, for Lerton owned blunt features that were at odds with Kerrion's fine, aquiline looks, and the younger Prince's almost white hair contrasted with his dark brown eyes.
"Is that what everyone thinks?" Kerrion demanded.
"It is true." Lerton shrugged, looking smug.
"No, it is a lie, which you probably made up. I was kidnapped by a man disguised as a woman, a skilful assassin who also killed our father."
Lerton snorted. "You were seen walking off into the desert with a whore, and you went willingly."
"I had a knife at my ribs, you fool."
"So you say, but of course you would." Lerton looked disparaging. "Who would admit to such a demeaning capture?"
"And do you also think that our father was killed by a woman?"
"No one knows who killed him. Perhaps it was you, so you could run off with your whore and consort with the Jashimari Queen."
Kerrion's eyes narrowed as he saw the thrust of Lerton's accusations and their danger. If enough people believed his brother, Kerrion could be denounced as a traitor. "You lying little worm," he snarled. "If that was true, I would not have returned."
"But you had to claim your crown. You are nothing without it."