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“How can you make jokes after what we read? Those weren’t made-up stories from a children’s book! Real men suffered and died. They had wives who grieved for them, children who grew up fatherless.”
The Dragon Lord took my hand in his. “We’re warriors. It’s how we cope, Meli. Refusing to give in to fear, making light of danger, putting on a brave face for the sake of those around us.” He shot a look at Magnus. “Believe me, we wrestle with our demons. But we do it alone, in the dead of night.”
“Except for those nights when we’re wrestling with a willful wench determined to wake us with a raging hard-on,” Magnus added with a comical leer at me.
“And may the Goddess bless all willful wenches,” Drayke chimed in, bowing his head and joining his hands in a prayerful position.
I sighed. Were all men obsessed with sex?
“Queen Melisandre!”
We all headed for the door as a distant shout echoed off the stone walls of the passage outside the library. I recognized the voice and darted out ahead.
“Antonius!
The old man hurried toward me, his arms outstretched. I ran into them and was enveloped in a warm hug.
“I’ve missed you so much!” I cried. “But what are you doing here? Is everything all right back home?”
My vizier pulled away. Gave up acting like a doting uncle and resumed his role as trusted advisor to the reigning monarch. “Your majesty,” he said with a sweeping bow. “I trust all is well with you?” The question was accompanied by a raised eyebrow as Drayke and Magnus took up positions on either side of me, Magnus with one hand resting on the handle of his dagger.
“All is well, Antonius,” I assured him. “Allow me to present Lord Drayke DeMartine. And this is Magnus Markhan of the House of Linderal, Warrior of the Seven Stars.”
“Indeed.” He looked from one to the other as though he’d caught them stealing the silverware at a royal banquet.
“Lord Antonius.” Drayke inclined his head respectfully. “My lady has spoken of you so often. It’s a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.” He finished with a charming smile.
“Has she now?”
Antonius stared him down, his expression stern. Austere. As a child, I’d seen grown men quake when he fixed those piercing black eyes on them. Next to my father, he’d been the most powerful person in the land because everyone knew he had the ear of the king. Though he came from humble beginnings, even the members of the High Council treated him with respect.
“Lord Drayke has provided an invaluable service to the crown in the past few days, Antonius. As has Sir Magnus.” I spoke quickly, hoping to reduce the palpable tension in the air. My vizier may have been up in years, but at the moment he reminded me of a jealous old bull facing down a randy stud for the right to rule the herd. And in this case, I was the herd.
“Please. Join us in the library,” I went on. “We have much to tell you.”
“As do I,” he replied gravely.
He followed me down the hall, managing to insert himself between me and my companions, who he seemed to regard as reckless, testosterone-laden ruffians.
Antonius. My vizier. A witty, acerbic, crafty old man, I inherited him along with the massive jewel-encrusted crown. The one that gave me a headache every time I had to don it. My father trusted Antonius, turned to him for the two things a king rarely gets – wise counsel unencumbered by a desire for personal gain, and harsh truth. He was the one man in the kingdom who had the courage to tell my father when he’d made a mistake or when he was wrong. I’d heard Antonius call my father a stubborn ass. An idiot. A fool.
He does the same to me now.
I’d known Antonius since the day I was born, as did my father before me. Dark and swarthy, he had the heavy brows and beaked nose of a desert sheik. By my reckoning, he had to be nearly eighty, though he seemed ageless to me. He still had a full head of black hair without a touch of gray and exuded the power and vitality of a much younger man.
It was Antonius who accompanied me on my journey to meet the oracle, Antonius who prepared me during that long trip to hear the fate that awaited me. The Prophecy of Doom. The fact that he’d come all this way himself instead of sending a message with one of the Royal Guards made me uneasy about the news he had to impart.
Antonius took one look at the arrangement of the chairs facing each other on opposite sides of the table and immediately stood behind the one at the head. With a wave of his hand, he bade me take my place, then took the seat to my right, forcing the other men to choose chairs farther down the table.
I recognized his tactic. In seconds, he’d established my role as sovereign in this meeting and his as my right hand. It was a maneuver he perfected when I first claimed the throne and had to meet with the older males who made up the High Council. They were prepared to disregard the words of a naïve young girl, but they couldn’t ignore him. Over the years he served as my father’s chief advisor, and his father’s before him, they’d developed a grudging respect for Antonius.
I wondered if he had somehow picked up on the submissive nature of my relationship with the two warriors and acted to reestablish my role. It wouldn’t have surprised me if he did. The old man was a master at instantly sizing up a situation. It was one of the skills that made him invaluable to me.
Magnus opened his mouth to speak but Antonius cut him off.
“I come to you with distressing news, your majesty.” He glanced at the two warriors then turned his back on them dismissively. “News of a most…sensitive…nature.”
I got the unspoken message, as did my companions. How could they miss it? He wasn’t exactly subtle. “It’s all right, Antonius. You can speak freely in front of them. These men have been sent by the Goddess. The oracle showed them to me long ago. In a vision.” I lowered my voice so only he could hear. “The night you first brought me to this place.”
