Aradella flipped the cover away on the opposite side. Since her bed was against the wall, she stood up and stepped over Mekos. As she passed, he deftly ran his hand up her leg.
“I don’t have your eyesight. I need light.”
Mekos lit the little lantern, then put his hands behind his head and watched her get dressed. She tied on the pads, then put on one of her hideous dresses.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
Smoothly, he got out of bed, quickly kissed her lips, then opened the door.
Aradella wasn’t surprised to see Hale waiting for them. What did surprise her was the look of affection on Hale’s face. When they were outside in the cool night air, Aradella said, “What did you do to my guard?”
“Wild fox sex,” Mekos said over his shoulder as he hurried toward the palace.
“At least it wasn’t the slow swan kind,” she said. “They’re my favorite.”
He laughed. “Your place is attached to the palace. Why isn’t there a door into it?”
“Someday I’ll show you why.” He was holding open a narrow door. “Will Sojee be angry if he finds out we’re here?”
“He invited us. He wants me to listen for anyone coming. He doesn’t want Olina to hear what he’s planning. He said she’s too busy making her own plans to bother with us.” He glanced at her.
“Think she’s plotting other ways to get rid of me?”
Mekos didn’t want to answer that. “At least my father doesn’t know I’m involved. He still thinks I’m five years old and need protection from the world.”
Aradella looked at him. “At the wedding, I was afraid he was going to find out about Valona.”
“Me too. If he knew that, he’d yell at me for days, then he’d lock me in a swan pen.”
“He’ll certainly be angry when he sees what happens tomorrow.”
Mekos grinned happily. “I’m sure he will be.”
Smiling in conspiracy, they went into the palace. Mekos had to listen hard to figure out where Sojee and the men were.They entered the room through a small door that opened to a circular staircase and they hurried up it. Mekos moved silently while Aradella tried to. Her big garments were a hindrance to movement.
They stepped onto a railed balcony that looked down at a big room with a dozen chairs set up.
“It’s my birthday room,” Aradella whispered. “Or that’s what I called it. It’s where my parents held my...” She didn’t finish as the memory of her lost family hurt too much.
“We’ll hold birthdays for our children here,” he said.
That image made Aradella’s knees weak, but she made herself stop that. “Please tell me you don’t give a woman a litter of kits.”
Mekos suppressed a laugh. “I guess we’ll see what happens.”
They smiled at each other in mutual anticipation.
Below them, a door opened and the room filled with the noise of men arriving.
Aradella and Mekos stretched out on their stomachs and watched.
There were twelve men, each of them huge. They were muscular, heavy, and scarred. Several of them had scars that distorted their faces. One had a piece of his nose missing.
“Are they the winners or the losers?” Aradella whispered.
“They won. The losers have missing body parts.”
“This isn’t going to work,” Aradella said. “These men will hurt the women. They’ll—”
