Midnight Soul (74 page)

Feeling my lips quirk, knowing that was the
queen’s magic, I looked from the couple to Circe, seeing her mouth
curved up in a soft, indulgent smile, her eyes glued on her slave
who was also her friend.

And I noted it again.

Since arriving the day before, I realized in
her home, she was the Circe I knew. My friend. A woman from my new
world living in a savage land in my old, a woman who was giving and
amusing and kind.

But when she walked out of her home, she was
the Golden Warrior Queen of Korwahk.

It was her way that this distinction was
rather vague.

But it was nevertheless unmistakable.

Now she was queen.

And she was a sight to behold.

Even so, I tore my gaze from her to another
sight that was always one to behold and saw her husband, his torso
twisted so he could look at his wife.

When he turned back to the couple, he was
shaking his head but doing it quite clearly fighting a smile.

Lahn was not one for flower petals.

But he liked that his wife was.

He became serious again when he looked to the
subjects kneeled before him.

Then he opened his mouth and started
speaking.

Diandra translated as he did.

“Today, the slave Derahn takes to wife my
queen’s servant, Jacanda. Today, he gives his oath that he is now
her possession. She owns his body. She owns his spirit. She owns
his seed. And today, the queen’s trusted servant Jacanda gives her
oath that she is now Derahn’s possession. He owns her body. He owns
her spirit. He owns her womb. They will take no other until death.
They will be owned by no other until death. Derahn will sow
children into Jacanda and he will offer protection and guidance to
the family he creates until his final breath. Jacanda will deliver
him these children and offer nurture and care to them and Derahn
until her final breath.”

As Lahn paused, there seemed a stirring of
the warriors both behind Circe and Lahn’s thrones as well as those
painted for the ceremonial day who were standing amongst the crowd
(including, I noted with a sidelong glance, Zahnin, who had
transferred his children to his wife, and was now looking much more
alert and back to fierce).

My gaze returned to Lahn as he spoke
again.

“And they will do this as free man and
woman…”

The stirring around us increased as Noc’s
hold on me tightened because this stirring was not only of the
warriors, but also the entirety of the crowd.

Lahn spoke through it, I had no doubt noting
the feel of the gathering, but ignoring it entirely.

“Owned from now to their death by no
merchant, no man, no warrior. Owned only by each other. This is my
decree. This is the decree of my golden queen. And this will be
done. As their oath is now done and they are man and wife to each
other from this day until they burn on their pyres.”

I shifted my gaze to the couple to see that
this declaration of freedom was another gift bestowed on them that
was a far sight sweeter than flower petals falling. They were
staring up at their Dax in open-mouthed wonder.

Apparently, slaves were rarely freed in
Korwahk.

“And as a gift to Jacanda,” Lahn roared on
while Diandra translated, sounding surprised herself (a secret
well-kept, clearly, for Diandra was much beloved and trusted by
Circe), “a loyal slave to your queen, a slave who has stood by your
queen’s side in womanly ways that mirror the actions of a warrior
of the Horde to his brother, it is the will of your king and his
golden queen that every merchant, man and warrior give liberty to
those who serve them with steadfast allegiance.”

I felt my frame stiffen.

Was he…?

I stared.

By the gods, Lahn was freeing the slaves!

The stirring increased as did the tightness
of Noc’s hold, and a shocked murmuring broke out amongst the
crowd.

“It is our will, the will of your king and
your queen,” Lahn thundered over the low sound. “It is the seal of
the Golden Dynasty. Fidelity is rewarded. Freedom is granted. We
build the Korwahk the prophets have foreseen and that Korwahk will
flourish and thrive under the reign of the Golden Dynasty,” he
suddenly lifted a hand and beat it to his chest, “
my
Golden
Dynasty. The dynasty pouring forth from my seed planted in the
fertility between the legs of
my
,” another chest pound,
“golden warrior queen.”

My eyes shot to Circe to see her rolling hers
at Lahn’s bold assertions.

But she was doing this grinning.

Lahn just kept speaking.

“All of those within our borders that your
Horde protects from this day walk free, and they do it vowing
allegiance to the sand and rock of this proud country.”

There was more murmuring amongst the
gathering, but as I glanced around, held close in Noc’s hold, I
noticed it was only murmuring. To my shock, although this was a
declaration that would change the fabric of their daily lives, most
everyone (but the warriors) looked surprised, no one looked
angry.

This was undoubtedly because every warrior
amongst them had clearly been told this was happening today and
they not only wore their paint, they wore their large swords at a
slant across their backs.

I’d thought this was all ceremonial.

I realized then it was not.

So apparently, when told to free your slaves,
you were quite all right with that because your alternative was to
demur and have a Korwahk Horde warrior carve you asunder.

I felt this was an appropriate reaction for a
variety of reasons and turned my attention back to Lahn when he
again started speaking.

“It is the way of my wife’s people that you
kiss to seal your oath,” Lahn said, now only speaking to the
couple. Then he ordered, “Do that now.”

I heard Noc chuckle as I felt him relax, and
it took a moment for Jacanda and Derahn to pull themselves
together, but once that moment was over, they hesitated no further
and fell into each other’s arms.

The kiss was not chaste.

Indeed, it was so not chaste it didn’t end at
all but continued with Derahn twisting Jacanda to her back on a bed
of petals on stone, covering her with his body, and a cheer rent
from the crowd.

Suddenly, golden panels until then unseen (in
other words, Circe conjured them), fell around the couple, hiding
them from view.

“That, sugarlips, is precisely why weddings
make people horny,” Noc murmured amusedly in my ear.

I twisted my neck and gave him a vexed
look.

His gaze drifted upward and his lips
muttered, “Fuckin’ hell.”

At his words and a new shout from the crowd,
my gaze drifted upward too.

And there, arcing over the gathering, indeed
the entirety of the Majestic Rim, glinting like it dripped pixie
dust, was the brightest, clearest, largest rainbow I’d ever
seen.

I again looked to Circe who now sat by her
husband. Lahn had taken his own throne and was jerking his head
tersely to a hovering servant, telling her without words to pour
the libation she’d brought for his wife first.

She scuttled over to Circe.

I watched her accept the chalice of wine like
she was taking a glass offered to her while she was seated at Noc’s
island.

And I knew.

Lahn did not free the oppressed of his
country.

His wife did.

By talking her husband into doing it.

Oh yes, the golden warrior queen of Korwahk
was quite something.

“Seems we weren’t invited just for a visit
with the excuse of the wedding of some chick we didn’t know,” Noc
remarked, bringing my eyes to him. “Seems we were here to witness
something really fucking cool.”

It would seem he was correct.

“I wish the others were here,” I replied,
meaning Frey and Finnie, Tor and Cora, and even Maddie and Apollo
(these last two for Noc, I didn’t think they liked me much, but my
Noc liked them).

“If they were, I wouldn’t have an excuse to
take you to Fleuridia, Bellebryn and Lunwyn,” Noc returned.

“True,” I murmured.

“Babe,” he called even though I was right in
his arms, looking into his eyes.

“Yes, my darling?”

“Feel like sealing our own oath?” he asked,
his stunning blue eyes now dancing.

“I always feel like sealing our own oath,” I
answered with the gods’ honest truth.

Noc smiled down at me.

Then he kissed me.

Unfortunately, for the sake of politeness, he
ceased doing this when Diandra’s husband, Seerim, and her daughter,
Sheena, joined us, carrying resin cups filled to the brim with
Korwahkian wine.

When I took mine from Sheena with a soft,
“
Shahsha
,” (“thank you” in Korwahkian) the pretty girl
grinned at me.

“I can see Lahn has it going on,” Noc said to
Diandra, who looked confused for a moment but her lips still moved,
uttering Korwahkian, translating for her husband and daughter. “Not
many leaders, no matter they can tear a man’s head off with their
bare hands, could pull that off by just saying it’s gonna be
done.”

Diandra kept talking, and when she was
finished, Seerim started.

Diandra translated.

“There will be uprisings. This is only the
beginning. The Horde has been warned and they are aware. It will
not be this easy. What it will be, eventually, is the legacy of the
Golden Dynasty.”

“Don’t doubt that,” Noc replied.

Diandra translated what Noc had said then
shared her own words, “It helps matters, I’m certain, that all the
rulers of the Northlands have declared their alliance with this new
creed and will block trade with merchants from Korwahk who won’t
follow it. Rulers who have also vowed they’re prepared to ride with
the Horde for those who take up weapons in an effort to defy
it.”

In other words, Queen Aurora (with the
support of Frey and Apollo, no doubt), Prince Noctorno, King Ludlum
and whoever was ruling Fleuridia now (I was out of the loop, I’d
heard there was a coup in the last conversation I’d had with Cora
through my crystal ball, but it was no longer my world so I didn’t
pay it much mind) were on board with Lahn’s decree.

“Not bad backup,” Noc muttered.

Diandra nodded.

Sheena said something and Diandra looked
toward the thrones before saying to us, “Our Dax and Dahksahna wish
our presence.”

I looked to the thrones too and saw now that
the king and his queen had been reunited with their family.

Thus Circe was waving us her way even as she
seemed to be attempting to control a very active Ashur in her arms
(this effort failing as she was also holding her chalice of wine
and the child very much wanted to launch itself at the white tiger,
who was engaged in the activity of licking the baby’s leg).

This was happening while Lahn had his
dark-haired toddler Tunahn riding his broad shoulders, the boy
looking to the expanse before him like he already ruled the people
milling about in it.

But his golden-haired daughter, Isis, had
plastered her front to her father’s massive chest, blurring his
paint, which was now smudging her golden garments, and giggling
while she pulled at his beard.

Lahn felt no need to appear kingly with his
daughter pressed to him, pulling at his beard. He’d just wrapped
his strapping forearm under her bum, held her to him, and smiled
wide into her beautiful little face.

“Time to attend the king and queen,” Noc said
in my ear, putting a hand to the small of my back and starting us
that way.

He was right, of course.

In a way.

But really, it was time to be with our
friends and celebrate a momentous occasion.

The first new creed as proclaimed by The
Golden Dynasty.

I took a sip from my cup as I moved, and
thought,
May it be one of many
.

* * * * *

Fleuridia

I plucked a piece of lavender as I ambled
down the lane beside Maddie.

I’d asked for this stroll.

Now I didn’t know how to go about the
business of why I’d done that.

During our visit to my world, Noc wanted to
see everyone, including Apollo and Maddie.

I’d said no words against it, even if I felt
no small amount of concern that I knew Noc would be welcomed, but I
likely wouldn’t.

This did not occur. Both Apollo and his
Maddie were very cordial with me.

Cordial.

Not friendly.

It was clear they most enjoyed seeing
Noc.

But they were very poor at hiding they were
not the same with me.

Apollo was formal and terse, if not outwardly
unwelcoming.

Maddie was hesitant and watchful.

We were only staying but days before being
spirited to Bellebryn as arranged (and paid for) with Valentine,
and I had thought to simply get through it and then move on with
our holiday.

What I didn’t factor was the fact that Noc
was as he was.

Highly perceptive.

At first, he seemed keen on the course of
attempting, with his good humor and easy manner, to sweep away the
awkwardness.

When this didn’t occur, and regardless that I
tried to hide my discomfort, he started to get frustrated.

Then angry.

I feared he’d demand words with Apollo, and
before he did something like that, altering a relationship I knew
they both enjoyed in a way they would cease doing that, something
had to be done.

And I had to do it.

Thus I’d asked Maddie on this stroll.

And I couldn’t begin to know how to sort
through the matter at hand.

I just knew I must.

For Noc.

And, to be quite truthful, for Maddie.

I stopped, twirling the stem of lavender in
my fingers, and called quietly, “Lady Madeleine.”

She stopped too, having walked on several
strides, and turned back to me.