Fantasy of Fire (The Tainted Accords Book 3) (16 page)

“Get out,” he says with deadly calm. She scrambles for the door.

“Roman!” barks Jovan. Roman scurries to his side. The king grabs him by the front of the tunic and lifts him onto his toes. “You better make sure her mouth stays shut.” His anger is getting out of control. I slip forward. Jovan lowers him, still vibrating with anger.

“Roman.” I place a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorrier than you can know to come between the two of you.” The older man’s eyes well up at my words. “It’s not your fault she dislikes me and please don’t think it is.”

“Her mother was killed by a mixed man, and no one believed her when she said she saw the murderer fly off,” he mumbles quickly. “I’ve never seen her like this.”

“I see,” I say. Even though I don’t. How is this an excuse for hating all mixed? “If you're able to prevent her from spreading the news, I would be very thankful.” I nod.

“You don’t even have to ask. I meant what I said earlier.” Roman bows and hurries out the door after his wife. I don’t envy him at all.

Jovan stands completely, furiously still. I peer up at him and it takes a few moments for him to meet my gaze. I don’t dare tell him I’m fine, or everything is okay. I know him better now.

I shrug and smile slightly. “One out of fourteen…”

He softens infinitesimally, but still looks infuriated. “It should have been zero out of fourteen.”

I can’t help feeling desolate at having lost a person who used to be a good friend. I think a part of me knew the relationship we had was irretrievable. “I suppose it’s unreasonable to think everyone will love me,” I joke.

A calloused finger tilts my chin. His angry blue eyes capture mine. “It’s not unreasonable at all,” he says.

I step away from his touch, too aware of the surrounding people. He growls as I turn to face the others.

“Some of this attitude will be unavoidable, though perhaps in time, my story will encourage other mixed to come out of hiding. I believe progress has been made here already,” I say.

“Don’t worry about Jacquiline,” Alzona calls as she fixes the tie on her tunic. “She always was a bitch.” Her comment grabs the attention of almost everybody there, except me and Crystal.

“You’ve decided?” I ask, brow arched. She arches one in response.

“Thank you,” I say. The more witnesses I gather, the easier Blaine’s demise will be.

“I’d ask those of you from the barracks to remain here for a few days. I’d like some help with a few things.” I look at Ice, who taps his nose with a knowing expression.

The nods and noises of agreement fill the room. My friends begin talking amongst themselves. I’m happy to see Shard and Malir talking, as well as Sanjay and Blizzard, though I imagine it won’t be long until Sanjay makes Blizzard lose his temper. I pull Ice aside and out of earshot.

“What have you found?” I ask.

“You have blue eyes,” he answers instead. I give him a dry look.

“You’re Sluti.”

“Solati,” I correct.

“Yeah, one of those.” He rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Should I be helping you?”

I shrug. “The king’s right there, and technically I’m doing this for Glacium, not Osolis.”

He shakes his head quickly. “Okay, just had to get that straight. Wouldn’t be good for guilt if I did the wrong thing.” I grin at his logic.

“Followed your two tails back from the Sixth. I’ve been staying close in case they make another move. You lost ‘em before reaching the castle. I traced the rats back to their base to get a lookie at the top dog. The person is Inner Rings or a fancy castle man, finely dressed. Below average height for a male here, and a little rounder in the gut. Thinning hair, nervous eyes.”

I sift through the assembly members in my mind. “Could be half a dozen men in the assembly. I’d have no idea about the Inner Ring.”

“I’ll take a look at dinner. I get dinner, right?” he asks. He sounds more concerned about this than he was about helping a Solati.

I assure him he’ll be fed and mentally check him off my list before moving on to the next task. Sanjay stands next to Fiona. He’s looking at me with consternation.

Alzona grabs my arm. “It’s all set. Starts in two weeks,” she says. I clap my hands and bounce up and down in excitement.

“How many?” I ask.

“You’re not gonna believe it, but all of them—even Leila,” she says with awe, talking of Willow. Leila was her working name. My own jaw drops. This was huge. Willow said she’d get the brothel’s mistress on board, but I’d no idea she intended to participate herself! Leila was the brothel’s top whore; no wonder all the women at the whorehouse joined.

“I don’t think it’s gonna be long until some of the smaller brothels join in,” she says in a quick whisper.

“I’m probably going to need Ice for a bit, and perhaps Blizzard as well…” I trail off as her jaw tightens. She doesn’t like me stealing her men.

She exhales through tight nostrils, then brightens as an idea strikes her. “That’s fine. If this takes off, I’ll move out of the pits anyway. I’ll offer positions to a few of the more reluctant whores. I’ll still need one or two fighters to take the sessions, though,” she says.

I nod. “Great idea, and I’ll help where I can.”

“You can’t help. You’re the Tatuma, for fuck’s sake,” she curses. I stare into her eyes until she realizes how stupid that sounded.

“I guess you’ve been doing it for a while now,” she admits. I feel eyes on me and give Olandon a quick smile. He stands in the corner, not talking to anyone. He looks completely baffled. It will have to wait.

“Rhone,” I call. His expression doesn’t change as he moves in front of me. I crane my neck to see his face.

“I need you to do something for me,” I say. “Straightaway, or it will be too late.” He continues to wait. It doesn’t put me off. He’s never wasted words.

“I have some documents I … acquired.”

He snorts. “You stole them?”

I quickly shush him and give the ever-watchful king an innocent look. Jovan narrows his eyes in response.

“So what, you need me to get them?” he asks, bending low.

“They’re hidden behind a rock I pried from the wall in my dungeon room, er, the room I was first put in.” I see a glimmer of humor flash in his eyes. I close my eyes and count.

“It’s on the left wall behind the bath. Seven across from the left, and six down. There’s a little white mark I made in the right-hand corner of the rock,” I say.

“Why can’t you get them yourself?” he grunts. I nearly smack myself on the forehead.

“Sorry. They’re in the Third Sector castle. That’s why I need you to go now. Soon it will be too close to the Fourth to retrieve them. And they are very important to Glacium’s future,” I say. I don’t worry that I’m saying too much to Rhone. He’s proven himself time and again.

“I have one task to complete for the king. I’ll leave directly afterward,” he says with a small bow. I squeeze his arm in thanks.

“What are you up to?” a rumbling voice says directly behind me. I squeal and jump.

I scowl at Jovan and move away to say farewell some of the delegates. It’s a chaotic time for Glacium; it’s a miracle everyone was able to be here at the same time.

“Sadra, Fiona,” I say. “Do you think you could get someone to organize rooms for our Outer Rings guests?” For some reason Sadra beams widely and sneaks a quick peek at the king before nodding at my request. I follow her look and catch Jovan smiling too.

It takes another half an hour for the room to empty, leaving Jovan, Olandon, and myself.

I collapse into an exhausted pile on a hard seat wishing it were my bed. We all stare at each other wordlessly. Jovan breaks out into a large grin and my grin quickly follows suit. He grabs me from the seat, hands on my waist and spins me in endless circles. Peals of uncontrollable laughter leave me as I struggle for breath.

“Put my sister down,” Olandon says. The king ignores him.

“Jovan,” I gasp. “Put me down please.” Another giggle leaves me as I'm placed on my feet once more.

“You did it,” Jovan says. A slow smile spreads across my face. I take a shaking breath as relief and happiness choke me.

“I did,” I say softly.

“What about the woman, Jacquiline,” my brother says. His tone is off. I peer at him curiously, and he turns his face—the equivalent of telling me to mind my own business. I answer his surface question while trying to figure out what’s wrong.

“I believe she’ll remain quiet. I hope in time her temper will cool and she’ll see things reasonably. Though I think our friendship is over,” I say.

He turns his head back briefly and I catch sight of redness around his eye. “What has happened to your eye, Landon?” I ask. It is barely there; his eyes flicker to the man behind me and back.

“I admit I lost my temper, sister. You know these people better than I. What just occurred in here...” His bafflement resurfaces. “I should have deferred to your judgment immediately and I apologize.” His eyes flicker to Jovan once more before he bows and leaves the room.

“Why is my brother acting like that?” I ask.

“I would guess he’s discovering the things he knew as truths are not truths at all.”

The cryptic reply tells me nothing. “And the mark on his face?” I fold my arms across my chest and wait, tapping my toe.

“I hit your brother,” Jovan admits. I wait.

“He needed some sense knocked into him,” he adds. “I’ve been itching to do it for weeks now.”

I smile a little at that and sigh. “Did you hit him hard?” Jovan’s head bobs down to my level.

“No harder than necessary to make him see my way.” He grins. I push his head back and make for the door, picking up my veil and band on the way.

“You can’t knock sense into everyone,” I say, looking back over my shoulder sweetly. “It’s barbaric.”

His eyes roam over my body, making me tremble.

“I’ve never pretended to be anything else.”

I sit next to Jovan that night. My brother remains several seats down between Drummond and Gerden. The advisors look distinctly uncomfortable and I quietly applaud my brother from where I’m placed. I swing my legs beneath the seat as I chew through the crunchy goodness of a pear, wishing I could see to the back of the room where the barracks are sitting. But it’s enough knowing nearly all the people I love are here. If Aquin and the twins arrived, it would be perfect. I throw a bit of meat to Kaura, who lies by my feet.

I only see him when he is up on the throne platform.

“Excuse me, m’King, could I have a word?” Ice asks.

“You may,” Jovan accedes. I lean in with interest.

Ice comes in close. Right up to Jovan, but on my side, so I can hear. Jovan tenses, not liking Ice so close. He’s certainly pushing the boundaries of appropriate behavior, but I imagine my friend has his reasons.

“Third table back, closest row, second from right,” he says. Ice followed my two tags back to see who they reported to. He’d said the person looked like assembly or Inner Rings. The person is in this room.

“Jovan, who is it?” I ask. Damned veil. I resist prompting him again in the short pause.

“Sole,” he says curiously. My jaw drops open and I sit back in my chair, unable to help the reaction.

Sole
.

I lean back in, giving instructions in a low voice. “New target while you’re in the castle,” I order. Ice jerks his head in acquiescence.

“He’s not the type to run it,” I say. “Find who he’s answering to.” I already know who the source is. But who will believe a Solati? Even Jovan won’t believe me and he kisses me on occasion. Ice bows to the king and moves back.

Several minutes pass until the disturbance has been forgotten and the hum of the food hall has resumed.

“We need to talk,” Jovan says in my ear.

Finally, he’s listening.

“I agree. And you’re too close.” I look nervously at Roscoe over his shoulder. Roscoe looks tired. I assume, as the king’s right-hand man, he’s been working day and night for some time now.

“I’m not close enough,” he disagrees in a heated voice. I shudder as yearning ripples through me once again.

“Meet me at the baths tonight,” he says. “Late.”

I open and shut my mouth twice before saying slowly. “An odd place for a meeting.”

He gives me a slow smile. The kind I’m embarrassed other people might see. “Well, if you’re scared…” he says. Warmth unfurls in my stomach. I know what the baths mean: no clothes. That would go directly against what I’ve decided to do.

“Clothes stay on.” I state my terms, cheeks burning under my veil.

Jovan booms with laughter, slapping a hand on the table, making the plates around us jump and clatter.

“Hush!” I scold. There must be many curious eyes on us because he waits another few minutes to return with his next proposal.

“How about, your clothes can stay on … if you wish them to?” His voice is so quiet I have to lean closer to hear. There’s no way he misses my sharp intake. The laughter dies as he waits for my answer.

There’s no danger of my clothes coming off.

I dip my head slowly, agreeing to his terms and push back from the table, whistling to Kaura. For some reason I’m no longer hungry.

I have no idea where the barracks are staying, so I head to my room with Kaura in tow, aiming to get in some training. My stomach flutters nervously. I think a lot of training is in order. I dodge up the stairs to my chamber.

“You full, girl?” I ask her. She waves her tail manically in response. I was happy to discover our relationship hadn’t suffered. She still obeyed my every command; Rhone's too, now. And she kept growing. She was well above my knee now. Rhone said she wouldn’t be fully grown for another couple of revolutions.

A hand grabs my elbow. I react, like I did with Kedrick. I pull the culprit toward me, taking his center away. I roll the man over my hip, using his momentum, and throw him into the wall to my right. My guards clatter over to me, Ashawn one of them, Wrath on his other side.

“That was awesome,” Ashawn says. “I didn’t know you could fight.” I shrug in return, not wanting to lie to him, but uneasy about agreeing while there are three other guards here.

A groan pulls my attention to my attacker. The red hair makes my stomach drop. No wonder Kaura didn’t react! She sits licking my attacker’s face instead.

“Shit!” Sanjay rolls onto his back, pushing her away.

I drop to my knees by his side. “Dammit, Sanjay, what were you thinking.”

His eyes aren’t completely focusing. A laughing Ashawn moves forward to help the other man up. I point to my room and Jovan’s brother dumps him on a chair by the fire. Kaura moves up to the bed and settles in the furs there, bored with the drama around her.

“Probably should’ve said something first,” Sanjay whispers.

“That would’ve been a good idea. Did you need me for something?” I ask. Sanjay glances up at Ashawn, who returns the look with a glare and doesn’t budge. Despite his joking, he’s begun to take Jovan’s orders quite seriously.

“Prince Ashawn, a moment please,” I request.

He leaves the room in a jangle of armor after threatening Sanjay a few times. I really should ask Jovan to let his brother out of the cumbersome battlewear. Many people thought it was just punishment. But I suspected the confinement doubled as protection for Ashawn as well. The archer hadn’t been found and Ashawn was his last target. Whatever the youngest brother’s mistakes—and they had been many—he seemed to have recovered his good character. More attention from Jovan had done wonders for the youngest prince.

Sanjay's face loses color as he looks at me. I remember his odd behavior earlier and dismiss my worry; it’s a reaction from hitting his head against a stone wall. He clears his throat as I take a seat opposite him, removing my veil and placing it on my lap. It gives me a thrill to do so.

He stares at me for several moments afterward. I would smile, but I’ve rarely seen him this serious.

“It
is
you,” he says, voice hoarse.

I frown. “What?”

“From the whorehouse,” he says. “I saw you there.”

I frown in concentration for a few seconds. Is he calling me a prostitute? Then I recall seeing a very agitated Sanjay in the courtyard. I’d followed him to the Middle Ring to make sure he returned safely. “Oh, of course. I’d forgotten about that,” I say in a rush. That explains his odd look as he tried to place me.

“You saw someone from the assembly in the Outer Rings and you forgot?” he says incredulously.

“You’d be surprised,” I say drily, thinking of Rhone, Ashawn, and Blaine.

“Well, I… That is, did you?” He darts a look at me. “Do you know why I was there? At the whorehouse?” he blurts.

I sit back in confusion. If anyone else had said that, I’d think the answer was obvious: to see a whore. “You don’t remember why you were there?”

He shakes his head. “I had a drink, in the Inner Ring. Next thing, I’m waking up between two naked women with no idea what I’ve done or how I got there.” He rubs a hand over his face.

All of the small inconsistencies in his behavior click into place. “Is this why you’ve been acting strangely?”

“It’s driving me insane.” He stands up and lights the fire in angry movements. “I don’t know if I’ve betrayed Fiona, and don’t want to tell her in case she leaves me, but I don’t feel right about touching her while I might have.”

“She’s noticed your strange behavior,” I agree.

He turns panicked eyes to me. “What happened in that room, Olina? If you were there, maybe you can help me.”

“I was there,” I say. Trying to get information out of Willow about Seedyr wood arrows, but he doesn’t need to know that. “I have friends in the brothel there. I might be able to find out for you. It will cost you, though. She doesn’t give many things for free.”

“I don’t care what it costs me. I need the answer,” he says fervently.

“Good or bad?” I ask quietly. His face falls.

“Good or bad,” he says solemnly.

I tap my finger on my knee as I watch the normally energetic Bruma looking completely drained of all happiness.

“Who gave you the drink?” I ask.

“Some friends of Blaine. He wanted me to meet someone who’d apparently developed a lighter, more durable type of sled. I’ve been interested in this for some time so I agreed to the meeting.” He shrugs. “The man’s ideas were rubbish, the designs worse than the sleds Adnan and I have already developed. Waste of time.”

I rest back in the chair, somehow unsurprised by Blaine’s involvement. “And what did Blaine have to say about all this?”

Sanjay swallows. “He said I was adamant about visiting the brothel. He refused to go, but said some of his friends took me there,” he says.

My fury grows with each uttered word.

Sanjay sits back down. “That’s the thing. I asked Blaine to keep quiet about it until I could speak to Fiona. He wanted to know something trivial about an invention Adnan and I have been working on. Weaponry, you understand?”

“I do.”

“But he’s been asking more and more questions. Amounts of weapons. Their exact workings. Plans. He doesn’t mention telling Fiona anything, but the threat is there, you know? The only reason I answer is because he can’t do anything with the knowledge. Can he? He’s an advisor.”

I pick at my trousers wondering how much I should reveal to Sanjay.

“I can ask my friend at the brothel for you. Of course I’ll do that. I think you should know that despite King Jovan trusting Blaine, I have my own suspicions about him.” I lean forward to hold my friend’s gaze.

“I’m currently gathering proof of Blaine’s guilt. I believe he’s behind the unrest in the Outer Rings. Please keep that to yourself,” I add a bit harshly. “Sanjay, you’re one of a handful of people who I’d like to testify against him during council.”

“But what can I say?” he splutters. There’s more to his remark. He’s worried people will judge him.

“You can tie Blaine to wanting detailed information about weaponry,” I say. “I know as an advisor that isn’t bad by itself, but you can prove he used blackmail to do so. Every piece of information I present to the king helps to bring Blaine down.” Sanjay’s expression darkens as I put a label on what the manipulative hateful man is doing to him.

I stand and rest a hand on his shoulder. “Let's see what we hear back first. Then we can decide. You don’t have to do anything you don’t wish to do.”

Blue eyes look up at me. “You see a lot under that veil, don’t you?” he asks.

“Not as much as I’d like to,” I reply in complete honesty.

* * *

I pace in my chambers, thankful Olandon now sleeps in the royal wing of the castle. But perhaps his presence would solve my current predicament.

Nothing was going to happen. I’d made that clear. The clothes were staying on. I straighten. It was just a meeting between two leaders. It in no way violated my intention to stay away from the king of Glacium.

It was just a meeting … in the baths. I groan and sink to the floor beside my bed.

Hours later I creak open the door, a wide smile beneath my veil because I’ve figured a way out of the meeting. My guards will follow me down. When they see Jovan’s guards there, they’ll make their own assumptions. It would be damaging to our reputations and spark more unsettlement in a time of unrest.

My excuses die on my lips as I take a step out of the door and look around me. My watch are gone! I close the door behind me and walk down the hall and wide stone steps. Maybe they’re at the bottom?

They’re not.

I fume that Jovan has foiled my escape plans. No doubt the guards think they’re on some ‘important mission.’ I stand at the base of the steps, looking back up to my room, and then to my right—in the direction of the baths. Tapping my foot, I let the two sides of me engage in a furious debate. It’s easy to analyze the head, not so easy to interpret the heart. Being Solati hasn’t helped me much there.

Jovan will be waiting.

I throw my hands in the air and stomp down the hall in the direction of the baths, disrupting the quiet, flickering firelight from the torches lining the walls. Like last sector, I skim around the kitchens through the meeting rooms, just in case there are Bruma there, and duck out of the doorway.
Unlike
last time, the walkway to the baths has now been covered in. It would take my people a year to do this much work. Our smaller population hindered rapid progress such as this.

I push open the door and stride into the baths with measured steps. I listen carefully for sound. Jovan’s not here. My shoulders sag, though there is a sharpness in my chest, which makes me think I’m feeling something other than relief at the discovery he’s not here. Pricking my ears once more, I remove my veil to take a better look around the baths while I wait for him.

He’ll come. He’s the one who asked me here.

“I didn’t think you’d show,” a voice says. I squeak and jump around to face the sound.

I stare wide-eyed for a few moments before whirling back to face the wall. Jovan standing. Naked. In the water. I squeeze my eyes shut against the image of his hard chest as my stomach flips inside of me. Triple backflips, by the feel of it.