Mastered By Love (42 page)

Women and men alike sent her and Dario
assessing looks, some open and some furtive. Tariza stiffened in
anger. Everyone here already knew she possessed him, knew she took
him with her everywhere. Why were they staring so?

Deliberately, she slowed her pace,
greeting women by name as she passed, petting the occasional slave
on a bare shoulder. Let them stare. She had nothing to be ashamed
of.

Her mother and Lenora sat
at the queen’s table. A slave knelt at the side of each woman.
Tariza led Dario to her chair, on the queen’s right hand. Merita’s
lips tightened ever so slightly as she watched him take his place
at Tariza’s feet.

Then the queen’s face
smoothed into a practiced smile. “A joyous Breaking to you,
Daughter.”

“
And the same to you,
Mother. Lenora.”

Lenora grinned at her. “I
see Anata caught you on the way in.”

Tariza sighed. “Yes, she
did.”

“
She’s been complaining
continuously since the – um – incident the other day. I wondered
when she’d catch up with you.”

“
I never knew she could be
so rude.”

“
Oh, she’s just jealous
because she doesn’t have a beautiful favorite of her
own.”

Tariza bit her lip. “Every
woman in the room must be jealous, then. They’re all glaring at
me.”

“
Oh, they are.” Lenora
laughed.

She didn’t know whether or
not to take her sister seriously. Some of these Concordians might
truly envy her for her slave, but she sensed waves of loathing
coming off the crowd. She could see it in the venomous looks so
many were sending Dario’s way. If anything, the women of the court
wanted him available for punishment and revenge, not
pleasure.

All the more reason to get
out of here tonight.

Lenora leaned forward, eyes
gleaming. “They’re getting ready to do the Warrior Dance. You
should join in, Tariza.”

“
Oh, no. I’m not a warrior
anymore.”

Lenora’s mouth fell open.
“What do you mean? Of course you are. Mother, tell her.”

“
You have every right to
participate,” Merita said. “You’ve earned it.”

Tariza flushed. She sneaked
a glance at Dario, who stared at the floor without expression. “I
don’t know.”

“
Oh, come on,” Lenora said.
“You always performed it so well.”

“
I’m out of practice.” If
she danced, he’d see what she truly excelled at and it wasn’t
ladylike ballroom dance where she followed the lead of a
man.

“
It hasn’t been that long,”
her sister said in a wheedling tone. “You’ll remember. Please? I
think it would do the women of the court good to see you doing the
things you used to do.”

“
Your sister is right,” the
queen said. “It would be good for morale.”

They had a point. Besides, it would
help to lull everyone into thinking she wanted her old life back,
possibly making it easier for her and Dario to escape.

“
All right. I’ll do
it.”

Dario touched her ankle. She looked
down at him as he sent her a quick sideways glance.

Tariza leaned in close.
“Yes, Dario?” she murmured.

“
I’d like to see you
dance,” he said under his breath.

The table was blocking his
view. She patted his shoulder as she straightened and turned to the
queen. “I wish Dario to see the dance. I grant him permission to
sit in a chair.”

Merita frowned. “That would
be highly inappropriate. He may kneel on top of the table,
however.”

“
Very well.” She pushed her
dishes aside to make room. “Dario, kneel on the table.”

He looked as though he wanted to
argue. Tariza frowned, shook her head. With a clenching of his jaw,
he rose from the floor and climbed onto the table.

“
Good boy,” she
said.

He turned red from collarbones to
hairline.

Stifling a grin, Tariza left the dais
and ran to the center of the room to join the dancers.

“
Are you joining us, Your
Highness?” said a young woman with a knot of dark copper
hair.

“
Yes, but I don’t have a
spear.”

“
Take mine.” The redhead
thrust her weapon at Tariza with a broad smile.

“
But what will you
use?”

“
I’ll sit this one out.
It’s an honor to have the Princess borrow my spear.”

“
The honor is mine. Thank
you.” She bowed.

The auburn-haired woman returned her
bow along with another grin and left the circle of dancers. The
rest of the women in the circle were grinning too as they lifted
their spears in readiness for the music. Tariza did likewise, the
long shaft of the spear a familiar weight in her hand.

The music began. The dancers circled,
stomping their feet in time with the tune. They lowered their
spears to point toward the outside of the circle, performed lunges
forward and back, all in time to the music, then raised the spears
again before starting another cycle of the same steps.

She saw Dario on the table top, his
dark eyes fixed on her. What did he think of this?

The dance returned easily
to her mind and body. She chanted the fierce warriors’ words as she
stomped and twirled, holding her spear aloft. Finally the dancers
laid the spears on the floor and moved into the second, more
athletic section of the dance.

They leaped over the
spears, kicking high, slapping their boot heels as the music went
faster and faster. Tariza’s heart pounded. The blood sang in her
veins. She laughed. The dancers whirled around in their circle,
spinning and leaping, until on the last beat of the music they all
went down on one knee with a shout of victory.

The whole room burst into
applause and cheers. Tariza laughed again, her face flushed, her
whole body alive. She hadn’t enjoyed anything that much in a long
time – except perhaps the reunion with Dario.

The dancers gathered around her,
slapping her back and hugging her. When she at last broke away and
returned to the dais, Dario was still watching her. He gave her a
sad smile as she mounted the dais, then ducked his head and stared
at his hands clasped in his lap.

A chill stole into her
happiness. What was wrong? He hadn’t liked the performance, didn’t
approve of the style of dancing. That must be it. He couldn’t
accept this other version of her.

“
You were wonderful!”
Lenora said. “The best one out of all of them.”

She smiled at her sister,
yet she turned away from her to take Dario’s face in her hands.
“What’s troubling you?” she whispered.

“
It’s not my place to say,
Mistress,” he replied just as quietly.

“
I’m asking
you.”

He took a breath. “You were
magnificent and I can’t take you away from this. You belong here.”
He said the words in a toneless rush, as if they pained
him.

They certainly pained her.
He seemed to have some ridiculous idea of nobly sacrificing his
freedom so she could remain in Concordia. That wasn’t going to
happen. Didn’t he know how much it hurt her to see him
debased?

The queen and Lenora were watching,
probably straining to catch the whispered words.

“
We’ll discuss this later,”
Tariza muttered.

She planted an open-mouthed
kiss on Dario, who responded with an eager groan. “I’m pleased you
enjoyed the performance,” she said, loudly enough for the others to
hear. “Now resume your usual position.”

He obeyed promptly and with no sign of
resentment.

Tariza waited through the
tedious ceremony that followed, something she’d always enjoyed in
previous years. This time the lighting of candles, singing of songs
and whipping of a slave – said to represent the beaten spirit of
Winter – failed to hold her interest. She waited while the people
around her drank glass after glass of wine and stronger liquor,
until the laughter and talking went from loud to boisterous and
then began to die off.

Heads were down all over the hall.
Women and slaves alike had succumbed to excessive drink. Some had
left the hall, either to fuck or sleep. Some had lost consciousness
where they sat.

The queen looked drowsy and bored, and
Lenora dozed in her chair.

Tariza looked down at Dario. His gaze
was clear and steady as he looked back. Neither of them had taken
more than two glasses of wine between them both.

“
It’s time to retire,”
Tariza announced. “Come, Dario.”

***

In her
quarters, Dario pulled the absurd flower crown off his head
and tossed it to the floor. Good riddance. He swiftly unbuckled the
harness while Tariza stripped off her festival pants, replacing
them with heavy trousers in preparation for their
flight.

He thought of the way her
face had glowed during the Warriors’ Dance. She’d never looked like
that in Saturnios, except perhaps in the midst of sexual passion.
Would she have that opportunity on Belleren? His movements slowed,
then stopped. “We’re not going.”

Tariza gave him a startled
look. His jaw clenched tightly. She’d argue with him, but it
wouldn’t change his mind. He wouldn’t tear her away from her family
and people a second time. Not after what he’d seen
tonight.

She yanked a thick woolen
tunic over the fancy festival one she already wore. “Yes, we
are.”

“
It isn’t
right.”

“
We don’t have time to
argue, Dario. We’ve got to go. Now.”

He caught her hand. “I saw
your face when you were dancing. I’ve never seen you look so
happy.” He swallowed heavily. “I can’t take that away from
you.”

“
Maybe they dance on
Belleren too.”

He closed his eyes against
a sudden surge of irritation. She was being deliberately obtuse.
“That isn’t what I meant.”

“
Get your clothes on.” She
tugged against his grip.

“
Tariza, if we leave,
things will change.”

“
Isn’t that the
point?”

“
I’ve already done enough
harm.” He palmed the side of her face, willing her to understand.
“I don’t want to make you into someone else. Someone docile. I love
your fire.”

Her brown eyes were so wide
and steady. Fearless. “That’s why we’re going to Belleren and not
Saturnios.”

“
I’m not sure I can be
trusted.” There was something ugly in his soul, something that
wanted to dominate women.

“
Love, we’ve already had
this discussion,” she said. “Now, I’m going. With or without
you.”

She wouldn’t really do it.
Would she?

Tariza slung her already-packed bag
over her shoulder and turned for the door.

“
I’ll stay,” he said. “For
you.”

She shook her head. “Not
acceptable. Dario, don’t you know how much it hurts me to see you
humiliated and debased? I love you. I don’t want to–I won’t–live in
a place where you aren’t free.”

Frowning, he hung back.
“You laughed at the flower crown.”

“
That was only teasing. If
it’s real ... if we had to play those roles every day ... I
couldn’t bear it.”

“
You really mean
that.”

She tilted her head, a hint
of impatience in her gaze. “Of course I mean it. I love
you.”

He caught her in a
desperate embrace. “I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve
you.”

She smiled up at him. “I
feel the same way about you.”

They shared a long and
tender kiss. When they parted, Dario pressed his lips to her
forehead. “Are you sure, sweetheart? There’ll be no coming back.”
He searched her gaze for any hint of doubt.

“
I’m sure.”

Dario nodded. He needed to
trust her. After all, that was part of love, wasn’t it? “All right,
then. Let’s go.”

Dimples appeared in her
cheeks. “Clothes first.”

She still scrambled his
thoughts. He’d forgotten he was still naked.

He laughed. “Right.
Clothes first.”

The royal
Concordian stables weren’t as large or nearly as
grand as the ones in Saturnios. Not that it mattered – he wasn’t
here to appreciate their horseflesh. Curious mares and geldings
peeked from their stalls, pointed ears flicking, dark liquid eyes
following him as he followed Tariza’s confident stride down the
center aisle of the stable all the way to the end. She stopped and
opened the door of a roomy box stall.

“
In here.”

Inside the stall was one of the float
cars he remembered from the capture in Saturnios. It squatted in
the straw, gleaming in a sinister Galactic way in the yellow glow
of the lamp she carried.

“
It looks like a tight
fit,” he said. “How are we going to get it out of
there?”

“
Carefully.” She pressed a
control on the side of the vehicle and a door slid open
soundlessly.