“My father had a game of Battle Chant in the bottom of a wardrobe. You know the kind with latticework that allows some air into it while anyone hidden inside can see out?”
“Yes, I know.” She had one just like it in her own bedchambers.
“I was playing in there when I was supposed to be in bed.”
Sessily could just imagine the prince doing what he shouldn"t be doing.
“My parents retired to bed and when it sounded as if they were asleep, I raised my hand to open the door. That"s when light from the hallway pierced the chambers, and I saw my aunt-by-marriage and the hired assassins enter. I thought that my aunt meant to wake my father with some disturbing news.” Creshion let out his breath in a heavy sigh.
“Who all knew about this?”
“No one. Not even the other assassins I"d hired. They didn"t have your kind of scruples.
They were paid to do a job and—”
“Failed.”
“Yes.”
“What about the assassins who murdered your parents?”
“My aunt declared that the two men were the ones who had killed the king and queen and conveniently had the men murdered. It was easy to prove, and the men never had a chance to expose her for the traitor she was. I was too young to do anything about it or if she had ever learned I knew of it, she would have had me murdered as well. I bided my time until three years ago. I will stop at nothing to have her eliminated.”
Her heart ached for him. She"d lost her own mother as a child and no one had ever filled that void for her. But at least she"d had her father, who had been the center of her universe for many years. “I"m so sorry for your loss, Creshion.”
“You"ve never spoken of your mother,” he said quietly.
“She died when I was two. I remember her fragrance and her smile, dark eyes that sparkled with violet highlights. I wished I"d known her for longer.”
He ran his hand over her veiled hair in a gentle caress. “Sometimes that"s all we can have, which reminds us to cherish those moments with the ones we love while we can.”
“Aye.”
Sessily had to do the job. The woman couldn"t get away with murdering Creshion"s parents. “Do you have any idea as to how I might accomplish the mission?”
Chapter 10
Killing the queen"s spy didn"t take any effort at all. Running into a band of bloodthirsty thieves and dealing with them took a little more work. But when Tarn and Eaton came across three dragon fae watching over two of their men who appeared to be sleeping, Tarn figured he and Eaton had another battle on their hands. The dragon fae didn"t belong here, and he assumed they were up to no good.
But what caught his eye was the vines chopped up and lying on the ground near one of the sleeping men. The vines made Tarn think of Creshion.
“What are you doing on cobra lands?” Tarn asked, pulling out his sword, ready to do battle.
The one man shook his head. “The woman you were protecting doesn"t need your protection.”
Tarn glanced at Eaton, who shared the same look of surprise.
“What woman?” Tarn asked, frowning.
“The mystery woman. She wouldn"t say who she was.”
Tarn stared at the two sleeping men. His brother could do many things, but putting two men to sleep and trussing another up with vines before anyone could retaliate would have been impossible for him to accomplish.
“She did this?” Tarn asked, sounding genuinely astonished.
“You didn"t know she was capable of this?” the man asked.
Tarn didn"t answer, figuring it was none of the man"s concern, since he shouldn"t have been here in the first place. “What is your business here?”
“It was his business,” the man said, pointing at the one sleeping on the ground.
“And he is?”
“Duke Tully.”
“Of the dragon fae?” Tarn shook his head. “What was his mission here?”
“You would have to ask him, Prince Tarn. I guess since you didn"t know she could do this to a fae, you wouldn"t know how long it will be before the potion wears off.”
“No, and I"d advise you three gentlemen to carry your sleeping co-conspirators across the border before one of my people has it in mind to take your duke hostage for ransom.” As Tarn guessed that"s what these men were here to do in the first place, targeting Creshion. It hadn"t been the first time, nor would it be the last.
The men looked thoroughly dismayed at the task before them, but two of them lifted the duke off the ground while the last man lifted the other sleeping man over his shoulder. And then trudging under the weight of their sleeping comrades, they disappeared into the woods.
Tarn and Eaton continued on their way, hoping to catch up to Creshion and the lady before long. They didn"t speak for a long time, both trying to sort out what they had seen. Then Eaton said, “She"s a dark fae.”
“Aye.”
“Of the Denkar.”
“Aye, Eaton, aye.”
“If she can put two men to sleep, who intended them harm, what else is she capable of?”
Eaton raised his brows in question.
Tarn wondered the very same thing.
“If she can take down a duke and his archer companion, why did Creshion say he had to come to the lady"s rescue? Seems to me the lady needs no help from anyone else,” Eaton said.
“If several had ganged up on her, like here where there were five dragon fae and Creshion cast his vining spell on the one, most likely drawing his pistol on the other, she could not have managed so many men alone.”
Eaton didn"t say anything, just rode in silence for a while. “I"m not sure she couldn"t have taken out all the men herself. What if she—because she was a woman and didn"t want to show up Creshion—allowed him to take the majority of the men who came after them?”
Tarn chuckled. “That is a good tale, cousin. I"m sure Creshion would love hearing it.”
But what Tarn was dying to know was who the woman was, where she was from, and how Creshion had managed to disarm her. Tarn still didn"t believe that bringing her to their kingdom was a smart thing to do, and despite her abilities to put a stop to a threat to her person, he didn"t think she"d be able to manage the women of the cobra fae court who had their sights set on wedding his brother.
“Maybe she will be all right with dealing with the women of our kingdom,” Eaton said, attempting to sound convincing.
They exchanged glances and both shook their heads. “We will have to watch over her along with Creshion,” Tarn said while Eaton echoed his sentiments.
***
Late that night when they arrived at the castle of Salamain, Prince Creshion whisked Sessily in through a servant"s entrance, although most noticed, and he thought then it didn"t matter if he"d taken her through the main entrance. Even as they rode into the inner bailey, everyone took notice of the prince"s return. Everyone greeted him as would be prudent when the crown prince arrived. But everyone from courtiers to servants" gazes swept over the dusty woman in the hooded cloak, shadowed in darkness, attempting to determine who she was and why she was with their prince.
The stable master quickly took the prince"s mount, and Creshion dismounted and helped Sessily down.
She was afraid he"d insist on carrying her as her body was so weary of traveling by horseback that she could barely stand. But she didn"t want to look weak in front of the cobra fae like some damsel in distress. She wasn"t ever such a thing, and she hated feeling this way. On the other hand, she hated looking like she could barely walk.
Before she could take a step, Prince Creshion swept her up into his arms, and said thank you to a startled stable master, who was trying to keep his expression neutral but had wholly failed. Creshion stalked off with Sessily tightly in his arms.
It had become a common enough routine. They"d stop at a tavern for food or sleep. He"d remove her from the horse and carry her inside. But here at the core of Salamain, the royal center of the cobra kingdom, she did not want to lo
ok weak.
“Chin up,” he murmured in her ear. “The whole of the castle"s occupants and all the villages around will know of my bringing you here by morning. But I will keep you in my chambers until the night of the ball. At the big event, you will outshine everyone.”
She gave a soft ladylike snort. “How can I plan my mission if I"m sequestered in your chambers?”
“There will be time enough for that.”
Servants in the back hallway where only the menial task workers tarried, quickly stepped out of Prince Creshion"s way, bowing or curtseying, wide-eyed both that he was in their hallway, but also curious as to why he was carrying some unknown woman. She supposed he rarely did this.
“You would have been better off bringing my father.”
Creshion gave her a small smile.
“I mean, had he lived. He wouldn"t have caused as much of a stir as I am.”
“True.”
“Well, then how do you propose I go about my mission if everyone will most likely be watching every move I make?”
At the other fae courts, everyone knew Lady Sessily as a lady of mystery, showing up briefly every once in a while, then disappearing for long periods of time. But they knew her to see her, recognized her to be one of the dark fae, only they didn"t know what she did for a living.
Just that she was a fae heiress, who lived in a castle far from the royal castle of the Denkar.
But here at the cobra court, unless someone had attended one of the functions at one of the other fae courts, caught sight of her and recognized her, no one would know who she was. A woman of mystery, for sure.
It wouldn"t help her in learning of court secrets though. Or how best to accomplish her mission.
“The fact you are a female and with me will totally throw them off our trail.”
She wasn"t as sure as he was that what he said was true.
They entered his voluminous chambers where a bed that could have slept several took center stage. “You won"t sleep on the floor tonight,” he said.
“You have a trundle bed underneath the main one?”
“Yes, but you will be sleeping in my bed. It"s more comfortable and as sore as you are, you will need your rest. You will not be able to accomplish anything if you are limping around and barely able to walk. Besides, I expect you to dance several dances with me at the ball tomorrow night.”
“Several,” she parroted.
“You are my lover.”
“Right. But even mistresses do not dance with the men who must find a suitable wife.”
“You will dance with me, Sessily, as I wish it,” he said, being his arrogant self again.
She smiled at his tone of voice and ran her hand over his velvet sleeve, dusty like she was. “What if I am a pitiful dancer?”
“Then I will teach you how to dance well.” He set her in a chair when someone knocked on the door. “Enter,” he said.
A woman stood in the doorway, then quickly curtseyed, looking from him to Sessily, back to him. “A bath, Prince Creshion?”
“Yes.”
“And a meal?” she asked.
“I will see to the meal.”
She looked surprised, then nodded. “I will have the bath prepared.” She shut the door on her hasty departure.
“You don"t often see to the meal, do you?” Sessily asked, having noted the expression on the servant"s face.
“No. But while you are here, I will ensure the food is to your liking.”
“Make sure there is meat with the dish,” Sessily said, arching one brow. Though she assumed his concern over the meal preparation was that no one tried to poison her.
He smiled down at her. “And ale?”
“Anything but.”
“I will see what we have.” He paused at the door and glanced over his shoulder. “Are you prepared to receive antagonistic guests should someone choose to bother you?”
Sessily began pulling pins out of her hair and rested them on a table. “I"m ready for anything.”
“Good. I"ll be back after you"ve taken your bath.” He still hesitated. “If I had known how dangerous your gown and hair could be…”
She smiled. “It"s good for you to know such a thing if you should decide to take advantage of me.”
His smile was purely devilish. “I will let you know beforehand so you can remove your weapons first.” Then he shut the door and stalked down the hall.
Tarn and Eaton were rushing through the main entrance when Creshion reached them, heading for the kitchen. “You are safe, thank the goddess,” Tarn said. “You should have seen all the trouble we ran into when you were attacked.”
Creshion didn"t pause but continued on his way to the kitchen. “What trouble did you have?”
Tarn and Eaton joined him. Tarn said, conspiratorially, “We had to get rid of a fae who was snooping around.”
Creshion looked at his brother and said for him and his cousin"s ears only, “What fae?”
“A spy.”
Creshion managed to hide most of a smile. His brother beamed. It didn"t take much for Creshion to say or do something that pleased Tarn no measure. Eaton was also grinning from ear to ear.
Creshion sighed heavily. “And the other trouble?”
“Thieves. Who are no more. Then we came across men we assumed had given you difficulties.”
Both his cousin and brother waited for Creshion to speak, but when he didn"t, Tarn said,
“We sent them on their way before someone took the dragon fae hostage for ransom.”
“You are too soft,” Creshion said.
Tarn laughed. “Why did you not take them hostage yourself, if you are so hard, eh?”
“I was protecting the lady.”
“Seems to me she can protect herself. Who is she?” Tarn asked, his voice whispered.
They entered the empty kitchen, and Creshion found a loaf of bread, a brick of cheese, and a slab of ham. “Tarn, can you get me a bottle of wine?”
“Aye.” Tarn headed down the stairs to the wine cellar.
“The lady doesn"t like ale?” Eaton asked, pouring himself a mug of ale from a keg.
“No.”
“So who is she?” Eaton asked.
“I already told you.”
“Not anything about her special talent,” Tarn said, bottle of wine in hand. “Nor her name.
Just that she"s related to Prince Deveron.”
“Drop it,” Creshion said, taking the bottle of wine from him.
Tarn and Eaton stared at him in disbelief, but they knew he was serious. Both gave him small smiles.
“You are in love,” Tarn said, his eyes sparkling with mirth. “I never thought I"d see the day. I"d wondered what you would be like if it should ever happen. I"m truly happy for you, brother. It couldn"t have happened to a better man. Beware pissing the lady off, though. You never know when or where we might discover you sleeping your life away.”
“She"s just my ward until after the ball, and then I"ll return her home.” At least Creshion hoped that they could rid themselves of the menace who called herself their queen by the time the ball was through.
Neither Tarn nor Eaton looked like they believed him.
Chapter 11
When Sessily had entered Prince Creshion"s chambers, she was surprised to see the tapestries depicting pastoral scenes of shepherdesses and flocks and sheep instead of battle or hunting scenes like her father had decorating his bedchambers. She assumed all men would have rooms decorated in more manly themes.
She noted a trundle bed underneath his large bed, surrounded by navy blue drapes of velvet. Four large wardrobe closets were situated against the walls and cloaks hung on hooks nearby.
A metal porcelain bathing tub featured hand-painted sea serpents and sailing ships and a velvet covered screen shielded the tub from the door to the chambers.
As soon as the bath was filled, Sessily stripped out of her gown—that was not meant to travel in, and the maid promised to have it cleaned by mid-day—an
d Sessily slipped into the hot water and purred with heavenly delight.
Before Sessily had finished bathing, a maid brought her a gown, compliments of Creshion. The ice blue garment floated like the loveliest fairy gowns she"d ever seen. Sessily couldn"t have been more surprised or pleased. Where had he gotten the dress on such short notice?
The maid set the gown on the bed, then wiped her hands on her skirt and avoided eye contact with Sessily.
“What is the matter?” Sessily asked, wringing out her long wet hair.
“You are the talk of the whole castle, my lady. A lot of the women are sore indeed.”
“Ah.” It was to be expected. “What is your name?”
The maid"s eyes widened as if she was surprised Sessily would even want to know. She stammered, “Nesten, my lady.”
Or maybe she was worried that Sessily wanted to report her for some infraction.
Someone knocked on the door and the maid hurried to get it. “Yes, my lady?” the maid asked of the person at the door.
“Is she here, alone?” a sharp female voice snapped.
Sessily stiffened, quickly climbed out of the tub, and pulled a floor-length towel around her. This was just what Creshion had warned her might happen.
“Aye, my lady, but the prince said he does not wish the lady disturbed.”
The tall thin woman, whose dark curls were pinned high on her head like a miniature mountain, barged into the room and folded her arms as she glowered at Sessily.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Sessily asked sweetly, but she was certain her eyes glowed gold.
She did not like anyone, man or woman, who browbeat a servant. The maid was only doing her job, and she had no recourse but to allow the woman in, but then risked the prince"s wrath later for having done so. She might have worried Sessily would be just as angry with her.
The poor maid looked sick.
Sessily didn"t like having anyone interrupt her when she was not even dressed unless it was her own staff doing the interrupting and it was a true emergency.
Wanting to protect the maid and get her out of the line of fire, so to speak, Sessily cast a genuine smile at Nesten. “Could you fetch me a comb?”