Oddly enough, sleep came easily.
Nora stood, eyesdown, as the Queen paced the room with a grim, determined look.
“He did not try to escape?”Satia asked.
“No, Bonded,” Nora said.“I had Witless watch.The mage never left the room, and Witless said the door closed and the lock clicked.”
“Can we trust an idiot?”Satia frowned.
“He knows ‘locked’.”Nora shrugged.
Mira bustled in with a tray.“Unsweetened tea, Majesty,” she chirped.“Just as the midwife ordered.”
Satia grimaced and kept pacing.“Was it deliberate?”She asked.“Perhaps a draft closed the door.”
“No windows,” Caris reminded her.“I think it’s deliberate,” she continued.“His interest in the spells wasn’t feigned.”
Satia nodded.Nearing the wall, she turned on her heel and started back.
“Bonded, perhaps walking the halls might be more interesting,” Avice suggested.
“Walking,” Satia snorted.“Waddling, more like.”She stomped on.“The instructions clearly say that blood mages can’t resist the lure of power.We have followed everything to the letter.”She paused, putting he hands on her lower back and stretching.“The hook might be planted, but we need to sink it deeper.”She sat in a high-backed chair, letting Mira serve the tea.“Once I am assured of his cooperation, I can make other…arrangements.”
Nora felt her nerves tingle in anticipation.
Satia took the cup, steam rising slightly.She blew on it, her eyes unfocused.
Nora waited.
Satia’s eyes met hers.“Seduce him.”
The new chamberswere lovely.High in the tower, with bright windows and plenty of natural light, comfortable if slightly worn furnishings, and a large bed with a feather mattress and pillows.There was even a privy, with a cistern for bathing and pipes that ran water and drained the wastes.Riven could hear Witless chortling about having his own room.
Riven stood in the center of the sitting room, staring around at the splendor.Everything he ever wanted.
His gut churned.
“See here,” Nora said, opening another door.
Riven followed, discovering a workroom with a wide stone floor.Various tables, shelves, and a few chairs completed the furnishings.
“Will this do?”Nora asked, her skirts swishing on the floor as she walked around.
“Yes,” Rivan said, turning slowly in a circle.Plenty of room to build the matrix necessary.“Plenty of space.”
“Good,” she nodded.“There are guards posted in the hallways, so you will not be disturbed.”
Riven nodded, not looking at her, pretending to study the room.
“You can begin in the morning.”Nora started toward the door.“I’ll bring the scroll.”She looked at him over her shoulder.“Sleep well,” she said with a smile as she left.
Riven stood frowning after her.That seemed…different.
He made no mistake; they’d kill him if he refused to cast the spell.Kill him with no remorse or regret, if it was so ordered by Queen Satia.There was a lady who’d command his death in a heartbeat.Or hold him until a new blood mage was found to do her will, and offer him as sacrifice to one who wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of this opportunity.
It was foolish to think he could find a way out of this.
And yet…he had to try.
