AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She would start her search for her kind tonight and uproot them from Nuria. With luck, as a hari, she would not be watched too carefully in the coming days, or be given tasks that would interfere with her mission.
Tehdra frowned as she remembered the king’s lesson. To be a part of his harem meant relinquishing all rights of her person to him. He could command her to fulfill anything he demanded and if she resisted, it was at her peril. It was also possible he suspected her of being a spy. If it was only mere desire he felt, why would Ajali have his chancellor deliver her to his wing? Intrigued, she’d asked the chancellor if she was not to be a part of the harem. The chancellor had blandly told her that she would stay with Ajali until he tired of her, and then she would be returned to the harem or her village. Either way, she would be wealthy.
She stepped into the shadows and speared her senses, seeking the whisper of danger. Careful to move with stealth even in the mire of the shadow world in the event she encountered one of her kind.
***
Ajali breathed through the fury tightening his chest in a vise grip, narrowing his gaze on the stone walls of his war room instead of focusing on the murderous rage. He had sent Ceran on a mission that had been highly secretive and classified. Yet, one of his best, most trained spies had been uncovered. He had fought in a battle so brutal it had left him nearly dead.
Ceran had been attacked in the Taryllion—thousands of miles of land separating the borders of the seven kingdoms. Someone knew that he had been sent towards Avindar, the kingdom of lightning, and they had orchestrated an ambush. Ajali had spies embedded deep in all the kingdoms. Knowledge was a power that he vied for with ruthlessness. The operative he had in Avindar had not reported in his usual time.
That could only mean death or betrayal.
Ajali had sent Ceran to infiltrate the kingdom of lightning and discover what had happened to his agent and replace him if needs be. Rumors of an alliance between Mevia and Avindar had been surfacing, and Ajali needed a foothold in Avindar. Ceran had not made it beyond Nuria. Even more disturbing, he’d been attacked by a Nurian.
Traitors lurked in his walls. In Adara. The knowledge of Ceran’s mission to Avindar could only have come from a select few within his castle. Ajali exerted fierce control on the violent fury that pulsed like liquid fire through his veins, hot and searing in its intensity. He was not ruled by excessive emotion. Rage would trigger those flames he had embedded deep inside, and its revival was not something he desired. The pleading screams of hundreds shouting for mercy reared its head, and he suppressed the memory with ruthless will.
Uriah administered the elixir attained from the rulers of Boreas. The precious liquid restored Ceran
to perfect health in only a few minutes. The savage gouges in his stomach and neck healed. The cut that had sliced him from hips to knee, sealed. The flow of blood checked, and the scars from fire had been replaced by healthy skin. His eye, that had been blinded, opened. “Are you sure it was one of our people?” Uriah asked.
The heat generated from their rage was almost stifling.
“I am, my lord,” Ceran responded, pushing into a sitting position, flexing his fingers and checking his wounds. “The Nurian that attacked me had one of the highest calibers of fighting technique. I could barely match him in taijiu, and his flame-wielding skills surpassed me. He left me for death. If not for the sentry patrols, I would be dead.”
“And he returned to Nuria instead of heading to Avindar?” Ajali asked.
“Yes, my king. He headed towards Adara.”
This was Ceran’s third time giving an account and neither time had exhibited inconsistencies. He hadn’t revealed any new information for Ajali to analyze.
“Dismissed.”
Ceran flashed from the war room, leaving Ajali with Uriah.
He met his brother’s cold gaze.
“They are making their move,” Ajali said. He knew his position; he was king. He could be assassinated from any quarter to further the goal of another leader…especially if he could not be threatened or manipulated.
“I thought it would have been from the Mevians,” Uriah snapped, anger riding his voice. “Mevia did everything possible to stop your allegiance with Boreas. We were expecting a move from them.”
“Be calm, my brother.” Ajali said. “It is from the Mevians. They want to incite war. I expected them to have spies within our kingdom.”
Since the loss of the allegiance, Ajali had been waiting for Mevia’s next attack. A few weeks ago they’d tried to prevent his marriage to the Princess of Boreas, even going as far as to try and kill her. They wanted him isolated that much was evident. But why not make an attempt to take him out directly? The enemy’s strategy had many webs he needed to untangle to ascertain the truth. If Mevia intended to embroil his kingdom in war, the surest way to do so was to cut off its head.
Uriah’s eyes darkened with grief. “I, too, expected spies, but not our own. You are respected and loved by your people. Why would Nurians work with the Mevians and Avindites?” He scrubbed a hand over his face, and walked to sit on the edge of the sole desk in the center of the chamber. “Can we be sure this is a move against you and not simply against Ceran?”
“Ahhh,” Ajali mused. “We will see.”
“How?”
“Gradually remove all warriors that surround the entrances to the eastern wing, and I will have outings with reduced escorts. We will give whatever spies they have here the opportunity to take me down or relay my movements.”
“Absolutely not!” Uriah barked. “We should be doubling your protection.”
“You doubt me, brother?”
After a deep pause, Uriah responded, “I do not believe in leaving my king and brother open to an attack when we could prevent it.”
