Warrior (38 page)

she lifted them to his. How could she

explain that Malcolm had kissed her,

and not the other way around? Would

he even believe her? And how had he

known unless he had been spying on

her?

“You had me followed?” she hissed

angrily.

“Jaisyn, do not change the focus of

this conversation!” Vulcan roared.

“Answer my question and answer

correctly: did you not kiss Malcolm by

the lakeside?”

She shook her head. “I did not kiss

him, Vulcan! He kissed me.”

Vulcan approached her slowly, in

that naturally predatory way of his.

He came to a halt directly before her.

Jaisyn felt a frisson of fear creep up

her spine. In moments like this, her

husband was unpredictable.

“What else did he do to you?” he

asked softly. “Did he touch you? Did

he take you? After I took your

innocence, did you let Malcolm have

you?” His hand were now curled

around her upper arms and with every

question, he shook her.

“No!” Jaisyn yelled, staring at him

even as his gaze told her that he did

not believe a word she said. “Malcolm

and I were nothing more than friends!

After you and your army took my

only brother from me, he became my

brother! I loved Malcolm as I would

my own flesh and blood!”

A look of disdain passed over his

face and he released her abruptly.

“Your gods do not speak against such

relationships?” He headed for the

adjoining door, his back to her.

“Vulcan!” she called after him,

knowing she should let him go, but

needing him to know she had not

betrayed him with Malcolm. “I swear

to you that Malcolm and I did not

have any relationship except that

which siblings have with each other.”

He stopped briefly. “And from what

you’ve just said, it seems your religion

condones the very things that mine

speak against. You are not to leave

this room until supper. You are not to

venture further than the city until I

return. I will appoint guards to watch

your every move while I am in

Montak. When I return, we will work

out an arrangement that will work for

the both of us. You may not love me,

nor I you, but in the eyes of my god,

we are married. I will not have the

legitimacy of any of my heirs

questioned!”

With that, he continued to the

adjoining door and snapped it shut

behind him. Jaisyn stared after him,

her heartbeat gradually slowing.

She had known intuitively that her

husband did not love her but to hear

him say it stung more than she cared

to admit. And to hear him accuse her

of being unfaithful, especially as she’d

gone to him a virgin with nary a

thought of being intimate with anyone

but him—

Against her will, she loved him and

he thought her a whore. A frustrated

groan escaped her lips. It seemed her

entire life was predicated upon irony.

***

Vulcan did not bother to say

goodbye to his queen. Jaisyn awoke

from the clatter of horses’ hooves as

her husband and his warriors headed

for Montak. She heard metal and

chain screeching as the portcullis was

lowered and the drawbridge raised.

Feeling the chill of the early morning

air, Jaisyn pulled the furs more snugly

around her. Perhaps her husband

would listen to reason when he

returned from Montak. With that

thought it mind, she closed her eyes

once more.

***

It had been two days since Vulcan

left for Montak and Jaisyn was on her

knees, a towel under them to keep

them from chafing, with her head over

the chamber pot. Jane and Anne,

unaccustomed

to

being

around

sickness, had been given leave to do

whatever they pleased. Magda and

Asha remained with her.

“I must have eaten something—”

Jaisyn began, in an attempt to explain

her illness to her maids, only to stop

abruptly and retch into the chamber

pot once more. As soon as she

finished, and leaned her head against

the bed, Asha replaced the filled

chamber pot with another. Magda was

beside her with damp cloths. She

wiped the queen’s mouth with one

and her entire face with the other.

“Perhaps we should fetch the

apothecary,” Asha murmured to

Magda softly, staring at the queen

who seemed too weak to even open

her eyelids.

Magda shook her head and a small

smile touched her lips. “He would

’ave no cure for this condition.”

Jaisyn’s eyes fluttered open and she

stared at Magda in confusion. Was he

condition so bad? And if it was, why

was Magda smiling?

“What is wrong with ’er Majesty?”

Asha inquired softly of Magda.

“Absolutely nothing!” Magda replied

vehemently, dipping the cloth in cool

water and running it along Jaisyn’s

neck. The queen sighed in gratitude.

“Everything is as it should be.”

Jaisyn might have been weak but

she was certain she had her wits about

her until she heard Magda say that

there was nothing wrong with her. A

groan escaped her lips and she closed

her eyes. She was losing her mind too.

Not only did she have the stomach

ailment, but she was also going

insane. Feeling her stomach turn once

more, Jaisyn rushed for the chamber

pot, and was surprised when it settled

on its own. She leaned her head back

against the bed and drew in a deep,

steady breath.

Magda turned to Asha. “Fetch a

tankard of cool water and some bread

and cheese for Her Majesty.”

Nodding, the maid immediately

went about her task.

Magda pushed herself to her feet

before assisting Jaisyn. When the

queen was once more lying in her

bed, pillows propping her up, Magda

sat on the edge and smoothed away

strands of hair from her face.

“Don’t ye worry now, lamb,”

Magda said gently, and Jaisyn felt as if

she were a six-year-old tot once

more, with her governess looking after

her. “After we get some food in yer

stomach, ye should feel better in no

time.”

Jaisyn stared directly in her maid’s

eyes, searching out the truth before

she asked her question, “Am I dying,

Maggie?”

Magda clucked her tongue and

stared down at the queen in wonder.

She had known the instant that the

condition had come upon Jaisyn and

that had been weeks ago.

“No, lamb, ye’re not going to die.

Ye might feel like it in a few months

but Maggie will be there to help ye,

just like she helped yer mama.”

Jaisyn shook her head slowly, not

understanding.

Taking mercy on her severely

weakened queen, Magda beamed

down at her with all the pride of a

proud and happy mother. “Ye’re with

child, lamb. And if I know yer cycle,

about a month and some days. Yer

mother was the same, didn’t get the

morning sickness until a month into

the pregnancies…”

The look on Jaisyn’s face turned

from one of shock to one of horror to

one of wonder. She was not with

child. She would know. Why, she’d

seen her flux only… only… she

thought hard, and when she finally

remembered, her eyes bulged. She

was most certainly carrying Vulcan’s

child.

***

Dax, dressed in the garments of a

poor woman, with both his hair and

face covered to stave off the cold and

to conceal his foreign identity,

watched from a hidden alcove before

one of the unused doors of the castle,

as the queen, followed by an

entourage of guards, and two ladies,

walked from the stables. He had

arrived the day her husband had left

for Montak, where Kegan had staged

an uprising in a village to draw him

away. He slipped unseen into the

bustling crowd and made his way into

the castle, following the unsuspecting

party at a discreet distance.

“Ye there!” someone called, and

although he suspected that the person

was addressing him, he continued on.

He heard footsteps pounding behind

him before a hand grasped his arm

and spun him around. Dax released

his hold on the shawl that covered his

head, allowing it to fall around his

shoulders. Red hairs fanned his face

and the soldier could only stare.

“Yes, sir?” he raised his voice an

octave or two, batting his lashes

slowly against his fine cheekbone.

Catching

himself,

the

soldier

released his death grip on her arm and

inquired, “What business have ye

here?”

“I am new to the castle. I am Davia,

the scullery maid,” Dax told the man,

watching in contempt as he took the

lie at face value. Some men were

beyond stupidity.

The soldier smiled slowly, revealing

teeth that had not seen a brush in

years. Dax fought the urge to grimace

and switched his smile to one of pure

seduction.

“What say ye I get ye acquainted

with the castle?” It was obvious from

his tone that the soldier was going to

acquaint Davia with a storage closet, if

anything so grand.

“Thank

you,”

Dax

accepted,

following after the burly soldier. As he

suspected, they came upon a dark

closet, which the soldier opened and

gestured for Dax to enter. Reaching

down to his waist, Dax fingered the

deadly dagger he kept there before

stepping through. The soldier licked

his lips and stepped into the dark area,

pulling the door closed behind him.

Had anyone been outside, they

would have heard a feminine chuckle,

the moan of a pleased man, a muffled,

gurgling sound, and finally, the sound

of a body dropping to the floor.

***

Jaisyn stood before the tall mirror in

her room, staring at her belly. For all

purposes, her stomach was still flat,

but she felt as if the muscles there had

loosened slightly. She’d assumed that

it was from her lack of practice but

she now knew better. She ran a hand

over her belly and a smile touched her

lips. A baby. An innocent unmarred

by the cruelties of the world. A gem

she would give her life to protect. A

part of Vulcan. At that thought, the

smile fell. Would he be happy when

he found out she carried his heir? Or

would he think it someone else’s?

Those thoughts were passing through

her mind when a knock sounded at

the door. Pulling her thick wrapper

closed, she moved over to take a seat

on the bed and called for the person to

enter. A maid she’d never seen before

entered, red hair flowing down her

back and blue eyes twinkling. In her

hands was a tray, filled with plates of

various sweets that the cook had

especially prepared for her. Jaisyn

smiled softly and asked, “Where is

Asha?” Magda had been given a day

of rest, so she hadn’t expected to see

her, but neither had she expected this

strange woman.

The maid placed the tray on her bed

and curtsied properly, lifting her eyes

to Jaisyn’s. Jaisyn reached for a sweet

biscuit on the tray and had it halfway

to her mouth when the maid began to

speak.

“My men have your sister in their

care and will not hesitate to kill her if

you do not do as I say.” The woman

was still smiling but her words were

cold and deadly.

“What did you say?” Perhaps she

had imagined it, for this frail, almost

angelic creature before her did not

seem the type to say things of that

sort. Plus, her sisters were in Lytheria,