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She gripped her mother’s hands. “In twelve weeks. Not with the dawn.”
A guilty flush travelled up her mother’s cheek. “Your father did not reveal the true date of his arrival, not wishing to cause you undue discomfort. The masquerade ball in three days time is being held in King Ajali’s honor.”
She froze. How could they?
“Meishan,” her mother said softly.
Anger surged through her veins. “I am not your heart!”
Her mother’s lips flattened. “You cannot think to break a pledge that your father has made.”
Saieke remained silent, her mind shifting through her options with icy clarity.
“Reports from your attendants says that you visited the ancient archives in hopes—”
“Father has people spying on me?”
Her mother’s face softened. “Not spying, Meishan…after your argument, he was concerned.”
“Concerned?” Saieke demanded. “He sold me to the tyrant king.”
“We need an allegiance. There are many things you are not privy to about the danger and politics that surround this court and the other kingdoms. Your father had to make terrible choices.”
“Then tell me,” she pleaded. “I am schooled in court life. Let
me be a part of—”
“There is no need to trouble yourself with the intrigues of court. When it is time for you to inherit, your father and I will impart all you would need to be queen.”
She wondered if her mother was so wonderfully naïve. “If this blood oath is formalized mother, I will never be queen. King Ajali will be the ruler of our realm, and his law will be absolute. He may very well murder me after I have sired his heir to brook no opposition.”
Her mother flinched. “I am sure King Ajali will treasure you. He pursued your father most ardently for your hand. In time, your union will blossom to love.”
Love? She was not interested in loving King Ajali or any other man. Love bred selfish desires...ones that could only bring ruin to her people. “We are speaking of the man who murdered three thousands of our people in one blow,” Saieke snapped harshly. “There will be nothing in my heart but enmity. He wants to rape our kingdom because we possess the elixir springs. He is a brutal king who will change the laws, will and spirit of our people. And when he does, my blade will pierce his heart.”
If I am alive.
The silence that entered the room was overpowering.
Icy smoothness settled on her mother’s face. It was Queen Izumi, not her mother, who stood. “King Ajali arrives at first light. You will comport yourself as the Princess of Boreas when you meet with him. I command you to give him a chance.”
“And when is the binding ceremony?”
“Your only concern is to confirm our promise when the High Bishop speaks,” the harsh voice of her father snapped through the room. With a flick of his fingers, he used the wind to slam the chamber door shut.
Saieke stood. “Father, I—”
He flashed to her. “I will not hesitate to order you whipped for even thinking to disobey my command.”
She hoped her eyes did not reveal the rebellion brewing in her heart. “Tales of King Ajali’s brutality are legendary. He will not care about me or our people.”
Her father’s face closed even further. “You will present yourself at first light to greet your blood-bound king. If you are willful in any manner, you will be confined to the towers until you are summoned for the ceremony.”
Pain sliced through her like a poison tipped dagger.
The towers. The cold, dank, and terrifying place her grandmother lived in exile until the end of her five hundred year sentence. There was a time Saieke had been allowed to visit, but those infrequent and precious times had been banned when her father discovered grandmother had urged Saieke to refuse the Nurian king.
She nodded and moved with measured steps out of the chamber. She drew the wind to her, whispering words, infusing her message with intricate codes, and then allowed it to travel on the air with surety to Thyon and Kamu.
