Harshini (9 page)

“I never said I didn’t approve. I just can’t handle never knowing what you’re going to do next.”

“You might find it’s better that way,” she suggested with the ghost of a smile.

Damin doubted that, but decided against pursuing the matter. “R’shiel, do you see Dacendaran much?”

“I haven’t seen him since we left the Karien border.”

“Can you speak to him?”

“I suppose.”

“Can you ask him if anyone has been interfering in his followers?”

“If you want. Why?”

“I’m not sure. I just heard something that bothers me a bit, that’s all.”

“I’ll ask him if you think it’s important.”

“That’s just it,” he admitted. “I don’t really know if it is, or not.”

R’shiel would have liked to explore Krakandar, but her status as the demon child was a significant obstacle. She had naively hoped that her identity could be kept secret until they reached Greenharbour. She’d had a vague notion that she would confront the Council of Warlords, tell them to behave because she, the demon child, commanded it, find the secret to destroying Xaphista in the Collective’s archives, then return to Medalon with a Hythrun army at her back. The chances of that happening now seemed remote. It had not occurred to her just how much the legend of the demon child meant to these pagans, or how much Damin planned to exploit it. The news had spread and a crowd had gathered outside the gates of the inner city, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

Although raised as the daughter of a Quorum Member, R’shiel had never been the subject of public speculation before and she found it extremely disconcerting. Her status as a Novice, and later a Probate in the Sisterhood, had meant she had led a fairly normal life, such that it was, until circumstances and her own rebellion had conspired to
forever change its course. She was not trained to deal with being a public figure, at least not on this scale.

It was Adrina who came to her rescue. Born and bred to be in the public eye, she seemed to know what to do without thinking about it. In fact, she seemed quite determined to teach R’shiel everything she could—as if it gave her a purpose in life, other than avoiding her mother-in-law.

Thinking of Adrina made R’shiel think of Damin. Now that she had met his mother and sister, she understood what fascinated Damin about Adrina. He had grown up surrounded by intelligent, powerful women, and Adrina was everything he admired. Of course, he was too dense to realise it, just as Adrina was too stubborn to admit how she felt about Damin. The pair of them made R’shiel want to scream with frustration. But at least they were doing what was required of them, and if they were too pig-headed to work out how they felt about each other, that was their problem, not hers.

A knock at the door was a welcome diversion from her woes. She called out a command to enter and was startled to find that her visitor was Princess Marla. R’shiel leapt out of her chair as the princess swept into the room.

“You are comfortable here?” Marla asked, glancing around the room to ensure that everything was as it should be.

“Very comfortable, thank you, Your Highness.”

“We must talk, demon child. I have many questions for you.”

R’shiel nodded, unsurprised. She’d been expecting this ever since she had spoken to Kalan.

“Of course. Won’t you have a seat? I can order some refreshments if you wish. Mikel!”

The boy appeared from the next room at her command. “My Lady?”

“Fetch us some wine, Mikel.”

The boy bowed awkwardly and hurried from the room. R’shiel turned back to the princess who was staring at her suspiciously.

“I won’t be drinking wine with you, my girl,” she announced. “I plan to keep my wits about me.”

“Water, then?”

“That will do.”

Marla seated herself beside the fire as R’shiel poured water from a silver pitcher into a matching cup for the princess.

Winter in Krakandar was much milder than in Medalon, so the fire was banked low, more for the convenience of not having to light it later than from any real need for warmth. She handed the cup to Marla and took the chair opposite.

“So, what is it you wanted to ask me?”

“You are very blunt.”

“I was raised to speak my mind.”

“By the Sisterhood, Damin informs me.”

“That’s correct.”

Marla did not look pleased to have her information confirmed. “So it’s true then that you are Joyhinia Tenragan’s daughter?”

“She fostered me. My real mother died giving birth to me.”

“I cannot understand how the Harshini allowed Lorandranek’s child to be raised by their mortal enemies.”

“The Harshini didn’t know of my existence until recently. When they did learn of it, they sent Brak to find me. I can see you’re concerned, Your Highness, but imagine how I feel. I was raised to despise the Harshini. Nobody was more shocked than I was to discover the truth.”

“Yet you appear to have adapted well.”

“Out of necessity. Not by choice, I can assure you.”

Marla took another sip of water, studying R’shiel over the rim of her cup. “And so, having accepted who you are, you have decided to meddle in the internal affairs of every nation on the continent.”

“There’s no point in being half-hearted about this,” R’shiel pointed out with a faint smile. “I’m supposed to destroy Xaphista. I can’t do that without affecting anyone else.”

“And this marriage? How did you get Damin to agree to it? Did you ensorcel him? Did that Fardohnyan woman?”

“Damin might be under Adrina’s spell, Your Highness, but it has nothing to do with magic.”

“It’s obvious he’s under some sort of spell!” Marla snapped. “He is beyond reason where she is concerned. I have never seen him so intransigent over a woman. He insists that she will one day be the High Princess of Hythria.”

“And so she shall.”

“The Warlords will never accept a Fardohnyan.”

“They will, in time.”

“We may not
have
time,” Marla told her. “My brother is dying, demon child. It is only a matter of time before he succumbs to the diseases that consume him. One cannot indulge in the type of activities in
which he finds pleasure without eventually paying the price. We do not have years, or even months, for the Warlords to grow accustomed to the idea of a Fardohnyan High Princess. We may only have weeks, and that is simply not enough time.”

“Then you will have to use your considerable powers of persuasion, won’t you?”

Marla scowled. “You haven’t persuaded
me
yet.”

“I don’t need to. It is done.”

“I will have it annulled.”

“I will have it ratified by the Harshini. I will have the gods put in an appearance if necessary. You can’t fight me on this, Your Highness. I have considerably more resources than you when it comes to divine intervention.”

The princess did not look pleased. “Even if I agreed to this absurd arrangement, one cannot trust a Fardohnyan, particularly one of Hablet’s brood.”

“You don’t think Adrina wants peace?”

“I think that young woman wants her father’s throne, and that’s the only reason she married my son. Have you any idea of the power you have handed her?”

“I’m quite sure Adrina knows a son of hers is likely to be King.”

“I’m not talking of that!” Marla said impatiently. “This has nothing to do with any child she might bear. Hablet has no legitimate sons. Under ancient law, that makes Damin his heir. My son would have had the Fardohnyan throne in any case, and now you have interfered and that grasping little harlot will become queen. Just how long do you think my son will survive after that?”

R’shiel leaned back in her chair, stunned by the news. “I didn’t know.”

“Of course you didn’t know. But you can bet Adrina knows. Why else would she marry Damin with barely a word of protest?”

“Has it occurred to you that she might love him?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! She wouldn’t know the meaning of the word.”

“I think you’re wrong, Your Highness. I don’t think Adrina knows anything about Damin being the heir to her father’s throne.”

“Then you are as blind as my son.”

R’shiel thought back over her conversations with Adrina. Nothing she had done or said would seem to indicate that she knew of any law that would make Damin the heir to the Fardohnyan throne. Even Kalan had given no hint that she knew of such a law. But that did raise another interesting question.

“Does Damin know about this law?”

“He does now! It’s a tragedy he didn’t learn of it sooner.”

“Why didn’t you tell him sooner?”

“I only learnt of it recently, myself. My youngest stepson is a member of the Assassins’ Guild. The Guild was approached by one of Hablet’s lackeys to murder my sons, Damin and Narvell. They refused the contract, but decided to look into the reasons behind Hablet’s obsession with the destruction of the Wolfblade line.”

“Then I don’t see the problem. Damin is still heir to the Hythrun and Fardohnyan thrones. With Adrina at his side, won’t that just make his claim to the Fardohnyan throne that much stronger?”

“Of course it does, that’s my point. There will be no stopping Adrina now. With Damin at her side, she can claim her father’s throne. Once she’s done that, all she needs to do is dispose of my son and she will rule Fardohnya
and
Hythria. If the child she is carrying turns out to be Cratyn’s, then she can lay claim to the Karien throne as well!”

“Child?
What
child?”

Marla shook her head in despair. “You don’t know? By the gods, it’s as plain as the nose on her face. Adrina is with child, R’shiel. Surely you noticed! I for one would be very interested to learn whose child it is.”

R’shiel really had no idea. She wondered if Adrina knew, or even suspected. It was possible, of course. She and Damin had been lovers for several months. The child could only be his. If she had been pregnant when she left Karien, her condition would have been patently obvious before now.

“If what you say is true, then the child is Damin’s. I can promise you that.”

“Bah! Who knows with a woman like that? It could be Almodavar’s, if she was bored enough. I just pray Damin doesn’t learn of her condition before I can prove the truth of the child’s parentage.”

“You’ve not told him about it, then?”

“And have him lose what little sense he has left regarding that woman? I don’t think so. And I would appreciate it if you said nothing to him either. At least until I can find the evidence I need to convince him how foolish he’s being.”

“I’ll not say anything about Adrina’s condition,” she agreed, in an effort to appear cooperative, “but
only because I think you’re on a fool’s errand. The only thing you are likely to prove is that Damin is the child’s father.”

“My son? Get a child on that Fardohnyan whore? Never!”

Marla’s blind prejudice where Adrina was concerned was beginning to wear on R’shiel. “Your Highness, I really think you should reconsider your attitude towards Adrina. She is married to your son and if you’re right about her condition, she carries your grandchild. Don’t you think life would be a lot easier if you made an effort to get along with her?”

“I don’t trust her,” Marla replied stubbornly.

“You’ve hardly given her a chance.”

“I see no reason why I should.”

“You should, because I say you should,” R’shiel declared.

“I’m not going to be ordered around by a slip of a girl who thinks she can bend the world to her will…”

Marla’s voice tapered off as R’shiel reached for her power. She didn’t do anything with it, she simply let it fill her until her eyes darkened and turned completely black. She stared at Marla unblinkingly, her black eyes like orbs of burning onyx, her silence a threat in itself. There wasn’t much point in being the demon child if you couldn’t lay down the law every now and then, especially when being reasonable wasn’t getting you anywhere.

Marla fell to her knees. “I am sorry, Divine One. I did not mean to doubt you.”

“Then you will do as I say,” R’shiel commanded, borrowing just enough power to fill her voice with an irresistible compulsion. It was not a coercion, but it
was
enough to scare the wits out of the princess. “You will treat Adrina in a manner befitting her status as your daughter-in-law and you will give this marriage your full support. If not, you will answer to the gods.”

“It shall be as you command, Divine One.”

“Then be gone from my presence,” she added dramatically, “while I am still in the mood to indulge you. And do not speak to me of this again.”

Marla scrambled to her feet rather inelegantly and was gone from the room in a matter of moments. R’shiel let go of the power and laughed. The look on Marla’s face alone had been worth it. All she could do now was hope that she had frightened the princess sufficiently for her to toe the line.

“Was that Marla I just saw running out of here?”

R’shiel looked up as Adrina slipped into the room. She studied the princess closely, but if her belly was swollen, it was impossible to tell in the long loose gown she was wearing.

“It was. I’m afraid I indulged in what Brak would call a ‘tasteless and theatrical display of power’ to get my point across.”

Adrina frowned. “Well, I hoped it worked. That woman really doesn’t like me.”

“I think you’ll find her a little more cooperative from now on. How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” Adrina replied with a puzzled look. “Why do you ask?”

“Are you pregnant, Adrina?”

The princess paled and took the seat so recently vacated by her mother-in-law. “What do you mean?”

“I
mean
, are you pregnant? It’s a simple enough question.”

“I’m not sure.”

“How can you not be sure?”

“Very well, I have my suspicions, but as I don’t
want
to be pregnant, I’ve done nothing to confirm them.”

R’shiel smiled. “You mean you hoped it would go away if you didn’t think about it?”

Adrina glared at her for a moment, then shrugged. “It’s stupid, I know.”

“Marla thinks you are.”

“Wonderful! That’s all I need.”

“Does Damin have any idea?”

“Of course not! He’s a man. They never notice that sort of thing. And it doesn’t really show yet.”

“Don’t you think you should break the news to him before someone else does?”

“And give him the idea he has some sort of claim over me? I don’t think so!”

“Adrina, it’s his child too. And you
are
married to him.”

“That’s beside the point.”

“That
is
the point.”

“R’shiel, don’t you understand what will happen when I tell him? The first thing he’s going to do is surround me with so many bodyguards I’ll be lucky if I can see daylight through them. Then he’s going to lock me away somewhere ‘for my safety’ so that the child will be protected. Then he’ll strut around crowing like a rooster because he’s proved his manhood.”