Adrienne (22 page)

Malik yelled, “Not now.”

The door opened anyway. Saj and Mushira entered and closed the door. They faced Adrienne and Malik solemnly.

Malik stood and said in a deadly quiet voice, “I said not now. Get. Out.”

Saj responded, “I barred the ladies of the harem from the wedding, both ceremony and feast.”

“I kept everyone from even hinting about the harem to you, My Queen,” Mushira said. “As I kept them from mentioning anything that might make you think badly of King Malik. I did not mean to deceive you, and I ask for your forgiveness.”

“You?” Adrienne asked. She looked between them.

“I make no apologies for my actions,” Saj said. “I thought only of the good of the kingdom. We needed our queen. If she found out about the harem, Queen Adrienne would have protested the marriage longer. I would have dismissed the girls outright; however, I did not have the authority to do such as that.”

Malik said through his teeth, “If you had reminded me, Saj,
I
would have dismissed them.”

“True. I wished to conceal them, not remind you, since you had forgotten. I exercised the full extent of my power to keep the girls hidden and relations sanguine between my king and queen,” Saj replied. He bowed at the waist as though to say “you’re welcome” for the favor he had rendered.

Adrienne couldn’t believe her ears. She pointed to the door and said, “Get out. Both of you leave. Now. Don’t say anything else, just get out.”

Mushira opened her mouth to plead her case.

“She said not another word,” Malik growled.

Saj urged Mushira from the room and closed the door behind them.

Malik stared at it in confusion. In the history of his rule, Saj had never done anything like this. These past few weeks of misery were because Saj elected to hide the truth rather than let Malik deal with it and abolish his harem.

Several explosions in rapid succession made Malik whirl around and face Adrienne. She’d destroyed every vase in the room, which Hani had placed there in case Adrienne ever needed them.

“Adrienne?”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, staring at her hands.

Malik went to Adrienne’s side. He took her hands in his and brought them to his lips. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I should not have forgotten the harem. My carelessness caused you pain. I will not be so forgetful in the future.”

He laid a gentle kiss on her hands, then he turned and scanned the mess Adrienne had made. He released her and started towards the first vase. The glass would need to be cleaned up and Adrienne was not in the mood to suffer the presence of their servants. He would clean it himself.

“Leave it,” Adrienne said softly.

“Adrienne?” He looked back at her.

She stood and walked over to him. Taking his hand, she pulled him into the bathroom, away from the broken glass, and closed the door. She looked into his eyes and asked, “Did you go to the harem after you brought me here?”

“No. Adrienne, I have already—”

She placed a finger over his lips. “Am I being an idiot for trusting you?”

He removed her finger to answer, “No, you are not, my Adrienne.”

“I don’t want it mentioned ever again. What’s done is done. I don’t want to think about this anymore, either.”

“Allow me to help you forget,” Malik said in a low voice. He tilted her chin so she looked at him.

“Please.”

His lips met hers and the world faded away.

Chapter Fifteen

Adrienne smoothed her dress over her knees as she knelt in front of the she-cat. The cat was dark burgundy with a sprinkling of pale yellow spots across her shoulders. Belatedly, Adrienne wondered if mulits had any set color scheme or patterning.

Today she would choose her cub. The last few days had been spent getting to know Malik all over again. Now that their relationship was back on track, she wanted her bribe.

She smiled at the she-cat as it eyed her. “Hello.”

“
You do not reek of the power of which Malik lays claim
,” the she-cat finally said.

Adrienne nodded. “You’re right, I don’t.”

“
Who are they?
”

She glanced back at Chancellor Riler and Chancellor Sabri. She’d hoped the men would stop following her when they found out her destination. No such luck.

“They are children asking for mommy’s permission when daddy already said no,” Adrienne said. She smirked at the chancellors’ insulted looks. It served them right for trying to get her on their side so she would convince Malik.

Sabri asked, “You can understand the she-cat, Majesty?”

“Can’t you?” She would have thought the chancellors powerful enough to understand and communicate with animals.

Travers answered as he entered the room, “It is a rare mage who can understand animals, especially the animals of Ulan, Queen Adrienne. In my experience, only the Mage Guild masters and King Malik are capable of such a feat.” He sketched a quick bow and smiled at her as he straightened.

“Oh.” She looked back at Feyr. She’d understood him from their first meeting and thought her entourage had exaggerated her abilities to make her feel better. Was communicating with animals really all that rare?

“
Yes, Adrienne, it is
,” Feyr answered.

She frowned at that. “Could you only answer questions I ask out loud, please?”

Feyr gave his usual feline smile. He stuck his muzzle in her face, his grin growing when their audience gasped. “
The volume of your thoughts made me think it was a question asked aloud
.”

“Sorry,” she said softly. She gave Feyr’s nose a pat and he retreated to his previous position. Her attention returned to his mate. Given the expression on the she-cat’s face, Adrienne could tell the cat wasn’t happy. She asked the obvious question, “He didn’t ask you, did he?”

The she-cat snuffed at that. “
Oh, he asked. Though his request left no room for refusal
.”

Adrienne nodded. That sounded like Malik. “Do
you
want me to have one of your cubs?” she asked and hoped the answer was still yes.

Travers answered before the she-cat could. “If it is King Malik’s wish, the she-cat has no say in the matter. He is King of Ulan, and she resides in Ulan.”

The matter-of-fact quality of Travers’s voice made Adrienne mad. Nothing gave Malik the right to separate a child from its mother, especially not to pay Adrienne’s bribe.

“
My child was a bribe to you then, Malik’s mate?
” the she-cat asked in a curious tone. She cocked her head to the side.

Adrienne shrugged. “In a manner of speaking. He saw my interest in Feyr and thought a younger version would cheer me up. For my part, I had to leave my room.”

“
A bribe then,
” the she-cat agreed. She cast her eyes away from Adrienne to look down at her sleeping young. One cub with blue and grey tiger-stripes was fully awake and watched the newcomers with fascination. “
I do not think my mate weak, not anymore
,” she began.

Feyr explained, “
She thought my life in the palace made me less than the free mulits of Ulan.
”

“In other words, she thought you were tamed,” Adrienne clarified, mostly for herself, and nodded. “I can understand how you would fear something like that for your cubs. But—”

“
But Feyr is not tamed. He proved that during the challenges when he won the right to court me. His time with Malik did not turn him into a kept animal
.” She looked at Adrienne. “
I cannot say the same for you
.”

And suddenly the real problem presented itself. The act of giving up one of her cubs wasn’t the she-cat’s issue—the she-cat feared Adrienne would turn it into a weakling.

Adrienne would probably baby the cub beyond reason. Just looking at all of them asleep made her want to cuddle them close. A feat that would prove hard once the cub was Feyr’s size, but she doubted she would stop.

“But?” asked Riler when Adrienne didn’t finish.

Adrienne rose and dusted off her dress, frowning at a little brown spot that didn’t shake loose. Looks like she would be changing before lunch…again.

“I respect your decision,” she said to the she-cat. She gave Feyr’s head a pat and left the room.

She crossed the threshold, then stopped. Malik leaned against the wall to the immediate left of the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed. He looked like he was asleep. She thought to walk past without waking him, but Malik had other plans.

“I meant for you to have one of Feyr’s cubs, Adrienne,” he said without opening his eyes.

Adrienne turned back. “What you meant and what truly happened are two totally different things, Malik.”

Chancellor Riler and Chancellor Sabri inched past the royal couple and escaped quickly down the hallway.

“Do you usually back down so easily when someone tells you no?” he asked with an edge of scorn.

She narrowed her eyes at him. Why did he want to pick another fight when they had just made up? Or was this to be their relationship, one fight after the next followed by amazing make-up sex?

After a calming breath, she said, “You promised me something that wasn’t your right to give in the first place, Malik. She said no. I’m not bully enough to take a child from its mother by force.”

He finally opened his eyes, and they shone with his anger. Straightening away from the wall, he stepped close to her. “I am King of Ulan.
Everything
is my right,” he said quietly.

She didn’t back down, because she could do pissed as well as he could. She looked up at him with her knowing smile and countered, “I am Queen of Ulan. Everything is
my
right, too, and I
choose
not to separate a child from its mother.” She turned and continued back to their rooms.

Khursid and Qamar, who had waited a little ways away, bowed to Malik, then followed Adrienne. They parted ranks so Adrienne could say over her shoulder, “Consider this a learning experience, Malik. Don’t give away something that isn’t yours to give in the first place.” She tossed a wave over her shoulder.

Feyr and Travers joined Malik. Travers put Malik between him and Feyr, which made Feyr smile. The cat turned his attention to his longtime companion and asked in an amused tone, “
How do you like marriage so far, my friend
?”

Malik growled and entered the room, glaring at the she-cat as he stalked towards her. She shrank from him and shielded her cubs with her body while Feyr sat between her and Malik.

“Move, Feyr,” Malik commanded softly.

“
Make me
.” His manner was relaxed but he was ready to spring should Malik try to hurt his mate or cubs. It wouldn’t be the first time he and Malik fought physically.

“
I would never hurt your mate and cubs; I expect the same courtesy
,” he said.

Malik gave another growl and left the room. Travers made to follow him, but Feyr stepped on the tail of his robes. The man looked at Feyr with a startled yelp.

It truly is like a drug
, thought Feyr. But he hadn’t stopped the mage to revel in the man’s fear. When Travers started tugging lightly on his robe, Feyr extended his claws and sank them through the fabric, gripping the floor beneath. That got Travers’s attention, and he stopped trying to free his robe and went still as a statue.

Feyr nodded. Let Travers think Feyr meant him harm. It was better than the harm Malik would do to the man in his present mood. Feyr found amusement in this situation, since Malik had thought the scene in the throne room was a fluke. Feyr knew better.

His gaze turned to his own mate. She relaxed. Without loosening his grip on Travers’s robe, he reached out and nuzzled her neck. “
He will not harm you,
” he soothed.

“
You cannot be so sure of that,
” she challenged. She looked out the door. “
Adrienne does not fear him?
”

Feyr thought on this. “
She did at first. I smelled it on her.
” He paused to remember when it had changed. He finally said, “
Adrienne is a match for him. I think her outburst in the throne room some time ago showed her how much power she has, over Ulan and over Malik.
”

Mushira’s scream got Adrienne’s attention. She stood in front of the windows and watched the gardener-flower battles. She turned to ask what was wrong, but surprise stopped the question on her lips. Feyr’s mate stood in the doorway with the little blue and grey tiger-striped cub clutched in her mouth.

“Mushira, shut up,” Adrienne said when the woman didn’t stop screaming.

Mushira’s mouth snapped shut but she started whimpering instead.

“Go hide in the bathroom, if it’ll make you feel better.” She had to keep herself from laughing when the woman ran flat out to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Adrienne shook her head at the absurdity. “Why she’s more scared of you than Feyr, I’ll never know.”

The she-cat placed the cub on the floor and sat on her haunches. She replied, “
The people of the palace believe Malik only sends Feyr after those who anger him, because Feyr is his pet. I have no such bonds in this place.
”

“A loose cannon, then,” Adrienne said with a shrug. “To what do I owe the honor?” She signaled the she-cat to come fully into the room.

“
You do not fear him,
” she said from her perched position by the door.

“Feyr? No, he’s been nothing but—”

“
Malik.
”

Adrienne was confused. “You do.” She nodded, then admitted, “I did at first, too. He killed two men right before my eyes. I’d never seen a dead body before that moment.”

“
Why do you not fear him now?
”

Adrienne sat on the window seat. “He promised to never hurt me. I didn’t believe him until my little temper tantrum in the throne room the other day. We may get pissed off with each other but he’ll never hurt me.”

“
He would hurt me.
”

“Feyr wouldn’t let him.”

The she-cat nodded, then looked at the cub who sat patiently between her front paws. She gave it a push. “
I have changed my mind.
”

Adrienne stared at the little cub as it ran to her. She slid from the window seat and sat on her knees. The little cat jumped onto her lap, purring loudly. “Why?” she asked.