until you’ve settled this business.”
She referred to the happenings
between Vulcan, Bael, Varian, and
Isolde. He hadn’t told her any more
than he wanted to, but she’d figured
some of it out. With Varian whisking
Isolde onto the dance floor, and for a
waltz at that, she knew that somehow
the two were involved. She hoped it
was nothing scandalous, but was
uncertain. Isolde had not mentioned
Varian in the months she’d spent with
Jaisyn. As she thought of that, she
found it strange. Usually, Isolde was
the first of her sisters to offer
criticism, but she stayed clear of any
topic dealing with Varian. Jaisyn now
understood why. She would have to
speak with her sister, and soon.
“If you would release me, liege, I
would retire to my rooms now.”
“This is not over,” he replied softly
as he let his fingers slip from her
waist. Jaisyn curtsied and walked
away, her ladies following behind her.
***
Jaisyn had just been helped into her
bed gown, and was sipping quite
gingerly at the herbal tea that Magda
had prepared for her when there was
a
knock
at
the
door.
Asha
immediately held up her wrapper and
Jaisyn pushed her arms through and
tied the front.
Magda opened the door and Jaisyn
recognized Lydia. She too was
dressed in a wrapper, and she passed
Asha and Magda stern looks when she
entered. Asha was already heading to
the door but Magda walked over to
Jaisyn and lifted her brow. Smiling,
Jaisyn nodded.
“I came because I wished to discuss
further what I told you weeks ago,”
Lydia began once they were alone.
Jaisyn became alert instantly. She’d
wanted to discuss it as well, but Lydia
had seemed unwilling to broach the
topic again.
Jaisyn stood and walked over to her.
“Yes, I think a continuation of the
discussion is warranted.”
Lydia smiled and nodded, before
stepping past Jaisyn and over to her
bed. Jaisyn turned to stare after her in
confusion but Lydia turned and lifted
the silver cup to her.
“Your herbal tea. I know that it
keeps your child sickness at bay,” she
said, handing the cup to Jaisyn, who
took it.
“Come. I will feel better discussing
this in my room,” she looked
pointedly at the semi-open door that
led to Jane and Anne’s quarters.
Jaisyn lifted the cup to her lips and
took a deep drink of the warm liquid,
before settling it on the tray in the
middle of her bed once more.
“Will you not take it with you?”
Lydia asked, staring at the half-empty
porcelain cup in confusion.
Jaisyn shook her head. “I will drink
it when I return.”
Nodding, Lydia turned and stepped
to the door. Jaisyn followed behind
her.
***
“Take her arm—we must hurry—
lift her leg a bit more. Right there.”
Harsh
breathing
followed
those
words. “Now, go and check to see if
the passageway is clear.” She
arranged a limb, pulling it over
another,
and
turned
to
her
accomplice. Wide, frightened eyes
stared back at her.
“There are no guards outside.”
“Good. Douse your candle lest we
be caught. And hurry. We must not be
seen.”
They left the room and closed it
behind them, hurrying quickly down
the dark passageway and into their
chambers.
***
“I am her guardian, Varian!” Vulcan
thundered, a loud thwack erupting in
the study as his large hand slammed
down on the desk. “She is my ward
and I have decided to give her to Bael
for the sake of a stronger alliance! It is
a political arrangement and I will not
have you thwart it!”
Varian lifted a dark, unruffled brow.
“With all due respect, brother, making
an alliance with Bael is equivalent to
making a deal with a devil.”
“How so,
brother
? And think with
the head on your shoulders and not
the one between your legs!”
Lips quirking upwards, as if amused,
Varian responded, “Bael does not like
you. And he does not like the fact that
Morden controls Montak. Regardless
of what you do, he will always think
that way. He’s only waiting for an
opening that will get his kingdom from
under your control.”
Vulcan had thought of that before.
Many times. He took a seat once
more. “So what do you suggest as an
alternative, brother?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Varian
replied, “You have always had two
alternatives, Vulcan. You can replace
the king of Montak with one of your
loyal followers, a loyal general or
untitled cousin, or you release Montak
from Morden’s oversight and seek to
make Bael an ally.”
Vulcan stared at his brother and
sighed. Running a hand across his
brow, he shook his head angrily.
“You could have simply sent a
messenger with your answer. Who
have you left in control of Lytheria?”
“I couldn’t be certain that you
would heed my answer if I sent a
missive. And Hector and Urian
currently have control of Lytheria.”
The king nodded and pinned his
brother with a withering glare. Varian
lifted a brow and waited.
“I am very angry, Varian. You’ve
sullied the name of one of my wards
with what you’ve done this night.”
“I am fully prepared to make right
the situation,” Varian replied solemnly
but Vulcan wasn’t fooled. His brother
was a tactician. He always planned
well before he did anything. Varian
had waltzed with Isolde with the
intention of being called upon to
marry her.
Varian suddenly stood and stared
down at Vulcan. With a bow, he
turned and headed to the door.
“And Varian,” Vulcan called after
him, his voice cold and hard. “Do not
undermine my authority again. You
are my brother but I will not have this
happen again. Is that clear?”
Turning to face his king, Varian
nodded and asked a question of his
own. “Have I ever undermined your
authority
before
this
day,
my
brother?”
“You have not, and that is why it is
easy for me to pardon you this time.”
A smile touched Varian’s lips. “I
could not let you give her to Bael
when I wanted her for myself. It is
why I had to come in person to
answer the question you posed:
‘
Would I oppose the betrothal of
Isolde of Lytheria to Bael of
Montak?
’
I feel for her as you do for
your queen.”
“
Rika
forbid,” Vulcan muttered,
remembering that his queen was quite
infuriated with him and he’d been told
in specific terms not to venture into
her chambers tonight.
Varian laughed and approached his
brother’s desk once more. “It is good
to see that you two have worked out
most
of
your
differences.” At
Vulcan’s glare, Varian laughed again
before taking long strides to the door.
Vulcan shook his head. It was late.
There was no doubt in his mind it was
sometime in the early morning.
With a sigh, he pushed back the
chair and left his study. The guards
standing before the door stepped aside
to let him pass before followed after
him. His mind was on his wife and the
surprise he would see on her face
when she woke in his arms in the
morning. A sly smile touched his lips
as he made his way up the torch-lit
staircase.
Chapter 17
Jaisyn swallowed audibly and tried
to ease the scratchy dryness in her
throat. Her eyelids felt heavy and she
struggled to lift them. It was pitch
black in the room, and chilly, as no
fire countered the cold of the stone
walls. A small whimper escaped her
lips and she stretched her legs, barely
covering her mouth with her hand as a
yawn escaped. She blinked sluggishly
and swallowed again, trying to
remember entering her chambers and
falling asleep. She couldn’t. She only
remembered speaking with Lydia and
—nothing else, not even dreams.
She moved again, this time rolling
onto her back, and looked around the
darkness of the chambers.
Why was there no fire in the hearth?
A groan came from next to her and
she
started
momentarily
before
relaxing once more. Vulcan was in
bed with her. Moving closer to him,
she snuggled against his warm body.
A hand reached out and caressed her
hip, and she sighed and prepared to
drift back to sleep. She was warm
once more. As she was drifting off,
something tugged at her memory,
making it hard for the much needed-
sleep she craved to come. Her brain
began to work and she stilled
completely as she figured out what it
was. Something in her recognized the
difference in the touch. Vulcan’s
touch was always so possessive,
gentle but at the same time firm. Why,
then, was he lazily tracing his hand
along her hip?
Her eyes widened as she leaned
back in the dark and ran her fingertips
down her husband’s torso. Lean. She
reached down and removed the hand
at her hip, lacing her fingers through
it. Hands… not right. Smaller.
A shriek tore from her lips and she
scrambled from the bed, tripping over
a piece of cloth that was on the
ground before righting herself. What
she would have given to have her
sword nearby.
“What—?” a groggy male voice
asked from the bed.
Jaisyn felt the bile rise in her
stomach. That was not Vulcan’s
voice.
“Who are you and why are you in
my bedchamber?” she demanded,
glad for the darkness that kept her
nudity from this man who was not her
husband.
The man groaned and she heard the
shifting of the bed as he moved against
it.
“You are in my chambers, lady,” he
replied curtly. Another groan tore
from his lips. “What in the name of
the Gods did you give me to drink?”
His
chambers? Confusion erupted in
her brain and she reached down and
picked up the material at her feet.
Was that her nightgown? With a heavy
heart, she lifted it over her head and
pulled it down, before crossing her
arms over her bosom.
“I did not give you anything to
drink,” she bristled, her heart thudding
painfully against her chest. “Who are
you?”
A dry chuckle followed that
question. “A woman with a man’s
mind. You didn’t even know my name
when you lay with me. I am Bael,
King of Montak. No doubt that had
something to do with your infatuation
with me. And you, forgetful lady,
what is your name?”
If the earth could have opened up
and swallowed her at that moment,
Jaisyn would have been glad. She was
nude in the king of Montak’s
chambers? Her hand flew to her
mouth and she desperately searched
her mind for any indication of what
had happened. She found nothing.
Tears built in her eyes and she rapidly
blinked them away. She couldn’t have
—she wouldn’t have—
“Have you left already?”
Shifting noises followed but Jaisyn
was locked in her own mind. She’d
been alone, in a bed chambers, naked,
with Bael of Montak. And he’d said
that she’d lain with him? Her
breathing became erratic as her hand
fell to her belly. She hadn’t lain with
Bael, had she? Her memory refused