The Beast of the North (25 page)

‘He will,’ she agreed with a somewhat subdued voice. ‘I ask you not to speak of Morag, but you will speak of Crec and Lith. Thank you. But yes, the Lord Commander will be here. Gods, he is a bore. Utter, total windmill. Lith will yawn when she has to endure him again. Looks tall and handsome, but only does one or two things. Broods and plots. But he does bring new blood to this conspiracy. Many things might happen, Maskan. The future is ours to mold.’

‘I never thanked Lith …’ I stammered. ‘After the mint episode.’

‘For saving you from a short, murderous guard of the mint?’ She quaffed, and I did chuckle at that. She dipped her head underwater and rubbed it vigorously. ‘You are welcome, I am sure,’ she told me under her breath. She had a most beautiful earring dangling from her lobe, a thing of silver and pearls.

‘Thank you on her behalf, Shaduril,’ I said with gratitude.

‘Welcome.’ She grinned, and I was glad she was so brilliantly happy though her nakedness made me very nervous.

‘Why are you here?’ I asked her to distract myself from her nipples.

She shrugged. ‘Morag is busy. I had some time. I wanted to see you. Are you complaining?’

‘No. You were supposed to help me get ready?’ I repeated. ‘Will you dress me, then?’ I said with a smile.

She splashed water on my face. ‘I am no maid, Maskan. I’m just having a bath with you. But you can massage my foot.’ She arched her neck, her foot snaked into my lap, and I nearly shrieked. She grinned again, and I decided I either had to escape or play along. In the end, I let her leg rest there, and she, quite maliciously, did not budge it. ‘No?’

‘I don’t know how,’ I told her and grabbed the foot while pressing it here and there.

‘That is really sad,’ she decided, and I nodded. I had no idea what I was doing. She smiled suggestively, and I groaned with desire. Yet, there was a part of me that was wary. She spoke softly. ‘You know, I’m just jubilant right now. You don’t have to be an expert. Just press there … right there and move your fingers gently. There! You see. You can.’

‘You are different. A bit like a—’

‘Slut?’ she said, her eyes hardening.

I cursed myself. ‘Perhaps, no, definitely not. But I am not saying—’

She leaned forward and her leg brushed at me very suggestively. I enjoyed the excitement of the seduction; I feared it. She seemed strange. ‘Yes, you are saying just that. It is fine. I am enjoying myself tonight because soon I might be dead. Indulge me. Let me be the old Shaduril, just for a moment. In a bit, this very evening, Father will introduce you to Gal Talien and that pompous ass and future king of the land, Crec Helstrom,’ she said flatly. ‘Perhaps I should marry Morag before killing him, and I would be the Beastess of the North,’ she laughed and flashed a feral look on her face, clawing at the air. ‘I’d have Crec hung.’

‘I see,’ I breathed, totally at a loss with her mood. ‘I am happy to help you forget,’ I told her. ‘I am pleased it is no longer a suicide attack on the crown.’

‘Our plan, dear, is mad as a bat in daylight.’ She grinned. ‘But it has a speck of hope. I rather like … living. Right this moment.’

‘Will you tell me what you think about our future? You still interested in … seeing what lies further afield?’ I asked her, thinking about Sand and our plans together.

‘I want to see what is under the water, right now,’ she purred, and her leg came to rest in a very inappropriate place.

‘Not now,’ I said in a panic, for it was strange, and I was suddenly not in a mood. Her mouth smiled, but I saw she had lost her patience. Her foot pushed me very forcefully, and I winced.

‘Fine,’ she said after a while. ‘The mood is gone. You damned fool,’ she hissed. ‘My last night.’

I groaned. ‘I am sorry. I did not mean to ruin this for you. I worry. I always worry. That’s what I do.’ She nodded and sighed, and leaned her head back.

‘I forgive you for turning me down.’ Her eyes flashed as she looked at me, and I flinched for her foot dug in my side. ‘Just remember this. We are all driven by goals and desires in this family. Much more so than other families. We obey Father, but only so long as we get what we want in the end. I want you. I cannot understand how you keep resisting me.’

‘I have not! I’m very much yours! I’m just confused. You have me,’ I said with some panic. ‘I told you I am sorry.’ She got up—a glorious sight—and got us towels, and I could only stare at her. She threw one to me, and I grabbed it from the air, barely in time before it hit the water.

I pleaded with her. ‘Can we start over? We can. Right?’ I asked her. She snorted, and there was a sound of dogged anger in her voice. ‘Forgive me. This evening is remarkable, and I am an ass. Let me make it up to you. I care for you. And we can go … riding the day when it is all over. I’m committed to that. My friend might think it is a good idea, as well. Start anew. Your father has promised a lot, but you did warn me not to—’

‘Riding?’ she asked me. ‘Why riding?’ She waved me down and took some deep breaths. Her sodden blonde hair was curling wetly across her back to her buttocks, and I stared at her, hoping she would forgive me and not take the future away from us. She had sounded cruel. She stood there for a long time. I had heard women can make a storm seem docile, and she was truly brewing with rage. Finally, almost visibly, she relaxed. ‘Yes,’ she said and nodded at me. ‘We can start anew. Forgive me my anger. But you ruined it, very nearly at least.’ She pulled me up and took the towel from my hand. I instinctively covered myself, but she giggled, her mood swinging fast. She slapped my hands aside and began to dry off my face and chest. She sang softly, and her voice was like silk on skin. ‘Shall I dress?’ I asked her weakly, not covered in the least, and I was also naturally interested in anything but dressing.

‘I’ll do it after all,’ she told me with a whisper. I nearly slipped on the wet floor, but she balanced me. She smiled at my clumsiness and rubbed the towel across my belly. Then she did the same with my neck and shoulders. She nodded at me and made me sit down on a desk. ‘Help me.’ She nodded at her towel, draped over her shoulder, and I hesitated, then took it. I wiped her belly and moved it gently across her hips. She stepped between my legs, a bit forcibly as I resisted and pressed her chest on my chest. She tiptoed, and her breasts were caressing my throat, and she looked down at me. I tried to kiss her, but she retreated. She looked puzzled but smiled. ‘No kisses. It solves nothing and leads to trouble. One day, perhaps, but I am happy with the rest. For now.’ Her words bothered me for some reason, but I forgot it as she moved herself so that her nipple brushed my cheek, then my face, and I opened my mouth to kiss it, gently, very gently, and she pressed it deeper. I put my hand on her hip, and slid it to her buttock, her firm flesh trembling under the touch. I pulled her to me as I kissed those breasts, her shoulders, and her neck. I was consumed with lust, and she climbed to sit over me. I felt her hands grope between my legs, and she smiled as she teased me for a moment. I begged gods for mercy, but they were not there, and then she finally slid it inside her. She sat on me with all her weight, slowly, and pushed me on my back to the desk. I let her move, tried to find a rhythm to make it better for her, managed it, as she seemed to enjoy a short, powerful thrust. It was all very wonderful, and I did not want it to end. She was patient as she guided me to our climax. ‘Don’t be a screamer, Maskan.’ She giggled over me as I came, right after her, and I bit my lip to keep silent. But she was not done so quickly and pulled me up, leaned on me and guided me to renew the pleasure.

In the end, we were late for dinner, but no maid appeared to hurry us up.

Soon after, she was dressed. She smiled coyly at me, and I smiled back at her though I was ashamed. ‘Remember, Maskan, what I just gave you.’

‘You are my first. Shaduril …’ I began but stopped as I stared at her.

She wiped her hair into a bun. There was a moment of fury on her face, but it disappeared. She nodded, apparently having decided something. There was a soft glow as her earring changed to a simple silver thing. And so did her face. The blonde hair grew into red, the body a bit taller, and Lith smiled at me furiously. I stared back at her and looked away. ‘Funny,’ she said. ‘I thought you might have been more shocked.’

‘I am shocked,’ I said, and I was, but I did not wish to give her the satisfaction. ‘What artifact is this?’

‘I have my secrets, my love,’ she said but tapped her earring. ‘Father’s toy. But only useful for a female. He does not need it.’

I opened my mouth to refute the claim she was laying on me, but could not. Love? Lies. I was a fool.

She shook her head. ‘Let’s not upset poor Shaduril. She and I? We have past issues with men.’

‘You took a man of hers before?’ I asked her, enraged inside, but I forced myself to stay calm. Shaduril had told me to be careful. To be faithful to her.

‘We had a conflicting interest,’ she murmured. ‘Don’t judge me. She is not a perfect angel nor am I the incarnation of evil. I gave you something to think about and you are safe and sated. For now. But you won’t forget this. I was set on having you because you are ravenously handsome. And because Shaduril wants you. Now I have a foot inside the door.’

‘If you can change your face,’ I said with budding rage, ‘then why do you need me?’

She touched her earring. ‘It can only take the face of a female and a female must use it. You are still irreplaceable. Valkai could not find a woman that got close to the queen. Not one. She hates women, you see. We could use it to kill the king, but the queen would still be making trouble for us. So, we had to try to find a man. And we did. Better than a doppelganger. A real man.’ She smiled lecherously, and I shook my head.

‘Why don’t you take her place with the king? You can fight, no?’ I asked her darkly.

She hesitated. ‘You would rather risk me than her? She can fight as well.’

‘You are more …’ I told her and hesitated. ‘You are dangerous. She is not.’

‘You are wrong,’ she said with a smile. ‘Wait. And if you still insist on being with her, I shall keep this a secret. But I will ask for something later. And you will be mine when I ask for you. For Shaduril.’
Bitch,
I thought. She looked at me carefully and saw my struggle and relished it. ‘Say yes.’

‘Yes,’ I hissed.

She slapped her hip. ‘Good boy. Let us be careful, love, and enjoy the dinner,’ she stated, and we dressed. She pulled on her shoes and got up. She walked to me and kissed my cheek, and I struggled to remain still. ‘Time will make our heads clear, and our problems will disappear like fog in the morning. Wait. Forgive me for this, and what I will ask of you later on.’

I escorted Lith to the main hall. 

Shaduril was not there. Lith was wearing a black gown; no jewelry save the earring, and her hair was silky and set with red ribbons. Red ribbons on thick red hair, she looked stunning. She smiled demurely at the crowd, and I fell behind her in step.
Gods,
I thought,
she had made a mess of things.
Or I had. I should have known better. I felt awkward in the beautiful clothing, now complemented by tall leather boots. We reached the middle of the hall, lit by the usual fire in the fireplace, and the lords got up as we arrived.

Both were apparently high lords. They wore house colors, yellow and silver for Crec, who was the Lord Commander of the Mad Watch and also wore dark pauldrons with the Watch insignia of skull and sword. He was a balding, hard man of the second house and in his eyes, there was definite interest as he eyed us. He bowed his head at Lith, who curtsied at him, and her smile was one to turn a dead man into an amorous youth. It worked for the dour Crec quickly enough. The man the thieves called the Butcher was smiling widely and not brooding like Lith had predicted. Then I gazed at the man that was bound to be Gal. He looked the same as he had on the day of Alrik’s hanging. He was tall and gaunt and dark, but now with a recent short beard, and he wore an expensive red silk rope. I saw Balan swirling a mug of wine as he looked at us, and he gave Gal a nod towards me. ‘Your nephew, Lord of Trade,’ Balan said with small satisfaction as the man shuddered with surprise. ‘He was in some serious trouble, but we managed to fish him out of it. The king killed your brother’s wife not long ago.’

‘Why,’ said Gal, staring at my ring, ‘did not your mother bring you to us? Why did she not flee to us?’

I stopped as Lith slid to a seat next to Crec, who was all smiles. It was clear his face was unused to such smiles, but he was trying. ‘She was pregnant with me. She did not trust anyone? I know not, Uncle. You knew her, undoubtedly.’

He considered it. ‘You have Tal’s eyes. His bearing. And his speech. And our house ring.’ He could not take his eyes off the ring. The eyes were glazed.
Was it greed? Or suspicion? Did he desire it?
Finally, he went on. ‘It’s been twenty years since I last saw it. The ring. I had forgotten what it looks like, I think. But I believe Balan now. Do you know what happened to Tal? Did your mother tell you? And yes, she likely did not trust us. She had not even met the family, well, only briefly. Your father lived in the Temple, not with our household in the Second Ring. He had married her the year past. For not taking the effort to know your mother, I am to blame.’ He bowed his head slightly, and I mirrored him. ‘We did not get along with Tal.’

‘Uncle. He tried to take my mother by force.’