PROLOGUE
Spring during the events of THE IPPOS KING
On a rainy day, as the Kai city of Saggara sank into sleep and left the daylight world to the younger races, Brishen Khaskem lit two candles in his dark bedroom for the benefit of his wife and held up a small, velvet bag. “For you, my beauty.”
Ildiko sighed and let the bag drop into her outstretched hand. “You are too generous with me. What inspired this latest offering?” He was always giving her small tokens of affection, private things that had meaning only between them, exchanged in the solitude of their bedchamber when the hours became solely theirs instead of belonging to the fortress, the court, and the queen regnant.
He traced a delicate line down her slender arm with one black nail, leaving nary a scratch behind. “You. Always you.”
A delicious tingle followed in the wake of his caress, the anticipation of finding their bed together where she might curl around his body and share all of her own great affection for him.
She slowly opened the small satchel, upending its contents into her palm. A chain spooled out first, then something small and pale. Light from the candles washed over a flower carved in exquisite detail from moonstone. The petals folded back in gentle arches, ending in blunt points. Cascading shades of white, yellow, and fading sunset washed over them, and at the flower’s center a starburst of light green and tiny yellow points filled the space. Darker green leaves surrounded the petals, and below those, an oddly tangled bird’s nest of black roots in strong contrast to the light flower and vibrant green leaves.
Ildiko recognized it instantly. A perfect miniature replica of her favorite flower in Saggara’s gardens, one not nearly as showy as those that bloomed through the warmer months, but far more resilient. It defied the snow and the cold when most everything lay dead or dormant, and unfolded in the hard depths of winter. Those black roots gave power and life to the pale blossoms that shivered in the wind and reminded her of their great fortitude and beauty when all else seemed bleak.
“Oh, Brishen,” she said on a long breath, holding the necklace up for a better look in the light. “It’s beyond lovely. How do you always know the perfect thing to give me?”
He shrugged. “Because I know my wife, nearly as well as she knows me. It was easy to explain to the jeweler what I wanted.” He motioned with a finger. “Turn around. I’ll put it on you.”
She did as he said, closing her eyes when he lifted her hair, kissed her nape, and clasped the chain together so that the flower lay just above her cleavage. Brishen nodded his approval when she turned to face him and asked “How does it look?”
“Almost as stunning as its wearer.” He leaned forward and kissed her lips. “Pretty hag.”
Ildiko threaded her fingers through his hair. “Ever the charmer, my dead eel.”
Brishen gave her a mock frown. “Just truthful. I see why this flower is your favorite. There’s much about it to admire.” He slid one finger under the strap of her shift, dragging it down her shoulder until it lay against her upper arm. The shift itself slid down to the curve of her breasts. “Come to bed,” he said in a voice gone deeper and more guttural. “I’ve played gardener to flowers for a time. Now I want to play lustful husband to Ildiko Khaskem.”
Ildiko chuckled, wasting no time draping herself in Brishen’s waiting arms. She’d once taught him to kiss the way humans did – an embrace of tongue and lips despite the danger of sharp Kai teeth. A kiss he indulged her with every chance he got, and one that always bound him to her by the best magic of both human and Kai.
They stumbled to the bed and fell across it in a tangle of limbs and caressing hands, half mumbled words of desire, and the soft moans exchanged between lovers. Ildiko embraced her husband, feeling the press of the exquisite flower between her breasts and his chest, praying she might always live up to the comparison.
CHAPTER ONE
Summer following the events of THE IPPOS KING
Brishen faced sha-Mertok in the torchlit hallway, wishing he were any place else. “Are you ready?”
Once his Master-of-the-Horse and now his second, the older man nodded and patted the pommel of the sword strapped to his waist. “When diplomacy fails, there’s always good steel.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. I grow weary of strife.” Brishen gestured to the servant standing behind Mertok. “You have both maps?”
The man bowed. “Yes, Herceges.” He raised a pair of large scrolls held carefully in his arms. “The one of Haradis before the galla attack, and the most current one. Should I bring anything else?”
His eyes widened when Brishen said “Perhaps a platter for my head. They will demand it by the time this meeting concludes.” He offered a small smile to indicate he jested. Partially.
The three men approached the closed door at the end of the corridor. The sentries posted on either side saluted Brishen before one opened the door and stepped inside first. He thumped the butt of the spear he held twice on the floor and announced, “The Khaskem. Regent of Bast-Haradis. Herceges of Saggara.” The sentry stepped aside, allowing Brishen a clear view of the room crowded with Kai who faced him and bowed in unison.
Brishen entered, with Mertok and the servant behind him, giving a quick nod to those vicegerents, justiciars, and clan leaders who’d responded to his summons to attend him at Saggara. His gaze swept the dimly lit room, noting the guarded expressions alongside the puzzled ones. He paused briefly on the woman he considered his opponent and might one day be his enemy if he ever found any proof of her maleficence against the queen regnant.
He recalled his earlier conversation with Ildiko in the garden. Surrounded by the verdant bloom of white flowers whose names he couldn’t remember, she was a pale rose herself standing beneath the moonlight, her vivid hair dulled by silver luminescence.
“Are you sure it’s wise to bring the Senemset matriarch here?” The frown marring her forehead deepened. “I know we don’t have proof she was the one who planned that assassination attempt on Tarawin, but she certainly has the means, the motivation, and the ruthlessness to do it. Who’s to say she won’t try it again while she’s here?” Ildiko’s strange human eyes narrowed. “I don’t trust her any farther than I can pitch her across the training field.”
Brishen had stroked her arms in reassurance and kissed her forehead. “I don’t trust her either, wife, and your summary of her character is accurate. However, I also know that Vesetshen wouldn’t expose herself to immediate suspicion by being close tosuch a crime. She’s a serpent, yes, but a wily one. If she was the one who sent an assassin for Tarawin, I doubt she’ll try anything like it again, at least while she’s here. If I’m right, she’ll spend her time trying to sow discord and doubt among my vassals.”
Ildiko’s frown changed to a scowl. “Vile woman. The moment you’ve had your fill of her, tell me so. I’ll have her thrown out of Saggara so fast, she’ll wonder what horse kicked her backside through the gates.”
He’d laughed, coaxing an answering smile from her, and assured her she’d be the first to receive that command along with a request for an upfront view of the event. No doubt it would go down in the annals of Kai history. There were already numerous records detailing how the Khaskem’s human wife had killed a Kai assassin while protecting the infant queen regnant. If Vesetshen was as intelligent as he credited her for, she’d think twice before crossing him or his deceptively fierce hercegesé.
