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“We will lure them to attack. My lax protection will be seductive to the enemy. They may be tempted to move and reveal their hands, and we want it revealed, do we not?” Ajali sank into a great chair, facing his brother. He waited for him to see the strategy. Sometimes the simple way to draw the enemy was the best.
“They will see through such an obvious ploy,” Uriah finally said. “There is no reason to be lax in your protection.”
Ajali smiled. “But there is, brother. I have become distracted by one of my new haris. There will already be whispers in the court of me keeping an untrained concubine. In all my years I have never done so, and they will be rabid with conjectures. I will remove the guards and enjoy private outings with her to show her my kingdom.”
Uriah surged to his feet and roughly ran his fingers through his hair, anger evident in the gesture. “This is absolute madness.”
“My enemies do not know my thoughts. They can only speculate. Plant rumors that the hari Tehdra has captivated me to the point where I grow reckless,” he commanded. “I will use her to my whim. Trust no one. I will order the warriors away under the guise of my hari driving me to recklessness,” he ended coldly.
His brother hesitated, and then with a sigh, he nodded. “It will be done.” Then he frowned. “Were you thinking to keep her before this mad plot of yours?”
“Yes.”
Surprise widened Uriah’s eyes. “And she is untrained?”
“Yes.”
“Is there any truth to your strategy?”
Ajali grunted. “No. Her presence is merely convenient.” She was both a fascination and a curiosity…one that may very well have deadly consequences. “She may also be the enemy. If that is true, it’s best for her to be in my sights.”
A smile tugged at his brother’s lips. “Not everyone is an adversary, Ajali. An enemy of yours would never be untrained.”
“And if she lied?”
Uriah paused. “It would be a strange lie. All the realms know you require women who are skilled and add value to your castle. If she is without skills you would not deign to show her any favor. She would never become close enough to you to unearth any secrets or to reveal your movements and whereabouts. The fact this hari is unskilled and has your attention is an anomaly the enemy could never have predicted to justify planting her in your harem. I suggest to you brother that she is at present, only an untrained lady from a lower house seeking wealth for her family.”
Ajali had already considered everything his brother said, but he would not ignore the soft warning that rippled across his skin. He was truly not a man ruled by impulse. For his foes to believe his ruse, he would have to act like he was besotted. He’d have to lower the walls he’d built around his emotions so he could be enticed by her provocative allure. You are already enthralled, his conscience taunted.
Without warning the flames deep inside him stirred, a cold fire burning though his veins. He stilled.
“What is it?” Uriah asked.
Ajali was unsure, but for a brief moment the icy fingers of dread had caressed his senses. The chakra had been malignant. Now…there was nothing. “Do you sense anything?”
“No,” Uriah said softly. “Do you want me to summon Acheron?”
Acheron, a high duke of the kingdom and one of Ajali’s Kingblades, was part witch and would be able to detect more when others could not.
Ajali flowed across the room. “Summon him. I want all of my Kingblades at court until the enemy acts.”
His blades were dukes of the realm, his most skilled and merciless warriors, and it was time to command them to court.
***
Tehdra chuckled darkly. Something inside of the king knew that she hid in the shadows. She was fascinated by that something. He was now aware his own people were working against him, and his scheme to uncover the spies within his walls was simple and brilliant. Her darkness had purred in approval as it tasted the deception from him.
He was a cunning strategist. And could frigidly control his emotions. If not for the first surge of frightening rage that her beast had wallowed in, she would have deemed him totally emotionless. Fury had pulsed within everyone else as they uncovered the possibility of a traitor in their midst, but not Ajali. What had caused him to be so merciless with his responses?
His tactic would allow her to be close to him, and she could offer protection. Thank, kings. Pleasure had burned in her veins when he had commanded Uriah to start the rumor that he was fascinated with her. Not any other hari, but her.
Foolish to be certain, for his scheme meant he either wanted to keep her close because he did not trust her, or because he desired to bed her. Either option was equally dangerous. She would have to do all in her power to ensure they had no more sensual encounters. From the simple taste she’d had of him earlier, he’d dominated her thoughts and threatened her discipline. What if she allowed him in so close, her beast took control and mated him? But how was she to keep him at a distance if he planned to use his lust for her to further his own goals? When she’d entered the war room, his scent had assailed her, and she had almost become drunk on the wonder of his fragrance.
She would benefit greatly from his deception. The most critical part of her mission included ensuring he did not fall under the claws of a Darkan. It was even too much to contemplate the repercussions if she failed in that regard.
Mine…mine…mine.
Her beast slammed against the cage of her mind, and Tehdra moaned as desire and bloodlust almost consumed her. She ruthlessly restrained the need, rebuilt her shield and glided through the shadows, spying. She thoroughly searched the castle. She smiled despite the tension that gripped her while she infiltrated the common areas. Several times Ajali’s warriors went on alert as if they could sense something else was in the room with them.
