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His wife smiled softly at him. “I invited Lady Sascha to dine with us tonight, my love.”
Anger darkened Uriah’s hazel eyes. She returned his gaze unflinchingly.
Uriah sent Ajali a swift glance of apology. Lady Shae knew as his hari, Lady Sascha was not allowed in his private wing unless Ajali commanded it.
“Dine with us, Lady Sascha,” he said drily.
She gave him a radiant smile and slid gracefully into the winged back chair closest to Ajali. Her blond curls hung to her hips in all its glory, and her blue eyes only showed heat. She dressed in a caftan that displayed all her charms, and she was exquisite…yet, he was not enticed.
He considered Tehdra, and desire rushed through him once more. She looked so cool and remote, waiting to be thawed, yet he knew she burned hot, and his cock flexed in remembrance.
“The court is alive with talk that you added a black haired temptress to your harem. Your Serangite is distressed and is awaiting an audience with you,” Lady Sascha said slyly with a pointed glare at Tehdra.
“The hari Tehdra is not the only black haired female in the harem,” Uriah said, amusement coloring his tone. “It would be silly in its extremity to banish all females on such a meager description. If Ruxia desires a greater response, she must provide a more thorough picture. For all we know someone could have disguised themselves in their assassination attempt.”
Lady Sascha’s lips flattened at being thwarted.
Ajali could not act on the information Ruxia had given him. When she’d initially told him of the vision, his brother and high chancellors had worked tirelessly to achieve another outcome. They had banished over one hundred women from his harem and had proceeded to rid the castle of all women with dark-colored hair. He’d halted their frantic actions. They needed more information before they could act. Ruxia could not even tell them of where her vision unfolded. What would they do then? Find a method of removing all such women from his sight even when he visited the other realms?
Ajali was not afraid of his death, much to the disconcertion of his council and his brother. It was foolish to worry about the inevitable. The fall of his people, his kingdom, however, was untenable. Nothing was more important than to sustain the legacy his mother and father had given their lives for. The legacy he had been called a tyrant for when he’d fought to protect it. Ajali was greatly concerned about the war to turf him from his throne, but he was adept at searching out treachery. He was a King—the most dangerous position to hold in any kingdom. Death stalked Kings’ footsteps as those who wanted to rule and subjugate, plotted without ceasing. His own people spied and worked against him. Mevia wanted him off the throne and that in itself was a curiosity. The kingdoms had been at peace for more than three centi. Prosperity reigned and the kingdoms flourished. Yet, whispers of war abound and he knew they were much more than rumors. His spies reported that Avindar and Mevia were preparing secretly for war—massive amounts of food had been prepared and put in hidden storage, strategic armies were being carefully trained in each kingdom and weapons of all kinds were being stock piled. To what end, he had yet to uncover.
He’d acted decisively when his oracle had informed him that war would visit Amagarie again. The outcome of his kingdom depended on his every decision. The Borean Mountains had been integral to his success, and he had moved with cunning to secure an alliance with their kingdom. The laws that governed Nuria only allowed for a queen of similar ranking, the highest on the aristocracy ladder.
Uriah was already married to Lady Shae, a High Duchess of Aria, and his sister Xian could not wed the Princess. It was a pity the Borean lieges did not have a son with whom he could blood-oath his sister. They only had Princess Saieke.
Never in Amagarie’s history had royalty married royalty. Never had they had an allegiance—a joint heir-ship of thrones. Yet the Borean king had agreed to Ajali’s proposal. The rumors of war had then solidified into something tangible. He had seen knowledge of war and death in the Borean king’s eyes.
The allegiance had fallen through due to the princess becoming the mate of a Darkan. Ajali had not contemplated trying to take her from him. The bloodshed that would have flowed in the streets of both kingdoms was not worth it. He wanted to avoid battling at all cost. The last Great War had ravaged the seven kingdoms, and the depth of cruelty that he had lowered himself to protect his people when his father and mother had fallen was not something he ever wanted to revisit. He would conspire and assassinate to avoid war, instead of reviving the tyrant.
“What house are you from?” Lady Shae asked of Tehdra.
He drank deeply from his chalice as he waited for her reply. When it came, his gut tightened.
“I am from the house of Kabul, the third daughter of master Thorne.”
Her voice scraped against his skin with its sensuality, low and smooth, throaty yet feminine.
“What is he master of?” Lady Sascha said with a tinkling laugh. “I am not familiar with that house, and I know most of the upper lords’ houses from Aria.” A small pause and then, “You are from Aria, are you not?”
Tehdra inhaled subtly, and pleasure lighted her eyes. If Ajali had not been watching her so closely he would have missed her reaction. For the briefest of moments cruelty settled on her features like a second skin, then it disappeared.
He was beyond intrigued.
***
Envy and anger pulsed beneath the countess’ veneer of civility. Pleasure hummed through Tehdra as she fed from the other woman’s negative emotions. Strangely, she could feel distaste from Lady Shae as well. Apparently the two viewed Tehdra as a usurper.
She swallowed the piece of meat she had been chewing. “My father is a master of glass. He is the best in the village and provides many of his works to our king. His work is known throughout the kingdom, hence the title of master.”
There was a sharp intake of breath, and Lady Sascha’s anger spiked.
“A lower house daughter as a hari?”
Tehdra did not deign to answer.
The doors to the dining hall flung open, and energy blasted through the room in the form of a petite and beautiful young woman. Her skin was dark and smooth, but the vivid green of her eyes gave away her connection to Ajali. She rushed to his side and kissed his cheek, doing the same to Uriah. It was strange that Uriah did not possess their eyes; his were a soft hazel with a mixture of pale green.
“I am late,” she said, laughing. “Forgive me, Ajali.”
