Page 14

“Kes, exactly how much nightlily did you use?” I ask my trusted commander as we stare down at the prince who is still slumped unconscious in the back of the cart. We've been riding for hours and I would have expected him to have awoken by now, but there hasn't been a peep out of him.

“The normal amount, my Queen, however the effect of the nightlily is increased with the consumption of wine and it seems he had consumed a lot of wine.”

“Indeed,” I agree, “but we need to check if he is still breathing.”

She looks at me with a dubious expression. “Are you sure, my Queen? He seems fine, and if we disturb him I imagine it would be like waking a sleeping bear, and we don't want to attract any attention his roars might bring.”

She has a point. The fact we have him with us and now the two injured soldiers means we have had to take a much shorter, alternative route back to Ardvalla than the one we came on.

We need to get out of Ellerban as quickly as possible, but this means entering Greythorne’s province in a highly patrolled part of the border.

We are currently making camp on the Ellerban side of the border where we will stay for the remainder of the night and continue on our journey at dawn.

I have sent front riders to scout for Greythorne’s patrols and to report back before we ride.

However, I have no way of knowing if there are currently Ellerban tribes in the area or even Greythorne scouts.

Therefore, no fire is being lit, and communication is permitted in low voices only.

Kes is right, the last thing we need is an Ellerban prince making a commotion and attracting unwanted attention.

Still, I'm concerned as to his well-being, and I move closer to the cart to see if I can hear him breathing.

I hear nothing and I wonder if it's normal for a man to sleep so soundly.

Having never spent the night in a man's bed, I have no way of knowing.

I move closer again and lean over him a little.

“Careful, my Queen,” Kes cautions, “the prince is a highly trained warrior and has a fearsome reputation.”

I hear her words and understand her caution, but a part of me needs to know we haven’t accidentally poisoned one of the princes of Ellerban to death.

I lean in just a touch more, in the hopes of hearing even the smallest breath leaving his mouth, thereby gaining the reassurance I need. However, I should have heeded Kes’ warning. In the blink of an eye his bound hands shoot forth from the cloth covering him and he wraps his arms around my neck.

“Now, witch,” he growls into my ear, “tell me who you are and where you’re taking me.”

“Unhand the queen!” Kes orders but he doesn’t relinquish his hold by any measure.

His lips brush the sensitive skin of my earlobe and yet again, at a time when he is restraining me and I should feel fear, I am feeling the stirrings of arousal instead.

“I said, unhand the queen,” Kes repeats and this time he loosens his hold enough for me to slip my head free of his arms. I smile when I spy her dagger on his manhood and realise it’s the reason he changed his mind so quickly. He turns his head and looks at Kes.

“I presume you're the one who hijacked me back at the castle and the main reason I find myself lying in a cart in the middle of nowhere.”

Kes smiles. “You presume right.”

He then turns to look at me. “If it's my seed you're after then you’d do well to inform your henchwoman here to keep her blade free of my balls.”

I have to admit I'm more than a little surprised at how alert he is for a man who was knocked out with nightlily and I have to wonder how long he has actually been awake. I'm also impressed he remembers the speech I gave him regarding who I am and my need for his seed.

“So, you remember who I am then?” I ask.

“Apparently, you're the queen of Ardvalla,” he replies, “and, for some reason I fail to understand, you say you want my seed and, if it proves good, you intend to make me your king. Do I have that right?”

I nod. “Yes.”

He shakes his head. “Well, my Queen, it doesn't matter how many times I hear those words, they still sound crazy to me.

So, forgive me if I think you and your henchwoman here aren't exactly telling the truth.

With all the lords available to her in Ardvalla, I have no idea why the queen would need an Ellerban prince as her king.

Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get out of this sack you have me in and have a moment of privacy to relieve myself.”

Kes and I exchange glances and it's obvious there's no doubt in either of our minds that he may or may not need to relieve himself, but he definitely intends to try to escape. Kes calls two of the Khaleeni over and instructs them to remove the sack from around him.

“Of course you may be afforded a moment of privacy,” I inform him, “but my guards shall accompany you and ensure your safety. You are our guest, my lord, and we have no intention of subjecting you to ill-treatment of any kind.”

He gives me a withering look as he starts to walk towards the trees and then over his shoulder he asks, “Do you tie the hands of all your guests?”

I merely smile as I watch the muscles underneath the eagle on his back ripple as he stretches his shoulders when he walks. Just the ones who would run from me, I think ruefully as I pull my cloak tighter against the chill of the night.

I decide to prove my point about him being our guest and go in search of some bread, cheese and wine.

He seems to be particularly fond of the latter.

I’m In the process of making my way back to the cart when an unholy commotion breaks out and all I can hear is the prince’s angry voice shouting obscenities and threats into the night.

“By the gods, you’ll pay for this!” he roars. “What kind of hell’s demons are you to do this to a man?”

I pass the food and wine off to one of the Khaleeni and run towards the sound of his voice.

Moments later I find him on his knees beside the two young soldiers, who we have gently laid on the ground, and my heart leaps into my mouth at the stricken expression on his face.

It's obvious they are known to him and he feels their pain.

His bound hands reach towards the soldier nearest to him and it's clear he wishes to offer the comfort of his touch, but then he draws his hands back as if realising it would only cause more pain.

I'm taken aback at the extent to which he cares about these two young soldiers as, in my experience, higher ranking male warriors prefer to stay emotionally detached from their troops and he holds one of the highest ranks of all.

“My Lord, do you know these men?” I ask.

He looks up at me. “Know them? Of course I know them,” he exclaims. “They are my men and two of the finest soldiers I've ever had the privilege of serving under my command.”

He starts to rise to his feet and I'm so stunned to see tears running down his face, I don’t immediately realise his intent.

“By all the demons in hell, you'll pay for this!” he roars as he lunges at me.

Thankfully, Kes, Ailish and two other Khaleeni are on top of him before he reaches me and soon he is suitably restrained at my feet.

Not that it prevents him from trying to break free or from telling me how much he is going to enjoy killing me.

Then Ailish says something to him in Bawnish, the native language of the Ellerban, and he stills.

“You are Ellerban?” he asks, speaking in the common tongue.

“Yes, my Lord,” she replies.

He looks her up and down. “And you are in service to this ‘queen’?”

He says the word queen as if he still doesn't believe I am actual royalty or if I am then I am not worthy of the title.

“I am, my Lord, and happy to be so. She is a kind and gracious leader who treats her people well. What you see here, the fate of these poor soldiers, was not the work of the queen.”

She stops talking and looks at me. It's clear she’s uncertain as to whether or not to tell him it was his brother who inflicted the terrible wounds upon these two soldiers.

Their grievous condition has upset him enough and there is no way of knowing how he will react to the knowledge it was his brother who did this.

Therefore, I decide to keep that knowledge from him for the moment.

“We found them in the Dark Forest,” I inform him, “took pity upon their plight and decided to bring them back with us to Ardvalla. I have expert healers there who I believe may be capable of bringing them back to health. That is, if they survive the journey. It’s imperative, for their sake, we make it back to Valensia in the shortest possible time.

Therefore, my Lord, I would ask you to lower your voice and remain calm as we do not wish to attract unwanted attention that may delay us on our journey. ”

I signal for him to be released and allowed to stand.

He rises up before me and stands mere breaths away, necessitating me to raise my head to look up into his eyes.

Two blazing orbs of green burn into me. “We have healers in Ellerban too,” he informs me, his voice strained with repressed fury.

“There can't be a village too far away. If you really care about these men, then have some of your women take them to where they can be looked after and avail of the services of an Ellerban healer.”

“I'm sorry, my Lord, I can’t do that. Our mission is time sensitive and, for reasons I won't go into now, our presence cannot be discovered. Ailish is a practiced healer. Her grandmother was an Ellerban healer and she also has training with the master healers of Ardvalla, therefore she has skills and expertise from both traditions. She was retrieving the healing provisions when you discovered your men. We have broken our journey and intend to rest here so they may get some attention. Please, let her attend to them so that we may be on our way come the dawn.”

I motion to the member of the Khaleeni with the food to come forward.

“You should eat and get some rest as we have a long journey ahead of us. And just so you know, these women, as you call them, are the most trusted members of my own private guard known as the Khaleeni. Each one is a highly trained warrior and I would strongly advise against testing them.”

He looks at the women surrounding him and I see the moment the truth of my words sinks in. The Khaleeni are a lethal fighting force and only a fool wouldn't recognise that, and this prince is no fool.

“Fine,” he says in a low voice as he accepts the food and wine, “but I will stay here with my men and remain with them for the rest of the journey. I will see them recovered and then I’ll ask them who did this and by all the gods, I swear I will detach his head from his neck.”

Myself, Kes and Ailish exchange a knowing glance and I’m glad I decided to withhold the knowledge about his brother from him for the time being.

To tell him the truth at this point would achieve nothing as he would merely think I was lying, or he would be so crazed with the need for vengeance it would be impossible to contain him and we would need to subdue him with nightlily for the remainder of the journey.

Rendering him unconscious is not what I wish as it’s my intention to try to get to know him a little better as we travel back to Valensia.

I’m hopeful if we can get to know each other a little and he sees he is being treated well, that he will be amenable to my plan.

I'm not so much concerned about his consent to the testing of his seed, as no man has yet refused the attentions of the maidens of the harvest. However, should his seed prove good, then I will need him to agree to my proposal of marriage to become my king.

Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem as most of my suitors are lords and would be marrying up and I have yet to come across one who didn't have ambitions to be king.

However, this prince has a throne waiting for him in his own realm.

Therefore, I may have to sweeten the deal with something else.

I'm hoping, if we get to know each other, then I and my maidenhood might be enough.

If not, then I have some other ideas, but I'd prefer not to have to use them.

For my part, I am intrigued by a man who cries tears for his wounded soldiers and whose eyes hint at a terrible pain hidden within the depths of his soul.

I'd very much like to get to know him better and, despite the fact I have abducted him, I hope he will give me an opportunity to do so in the coming days and weeks.

One thing I know for certain is that he is a much more exciting prospect than any of the Lords of Ardvalla, and as I lay my head down to catch a few hours' sleep, I feel much better about my decision to abduct a prince I've never met.

He has already proven to be a far finer man both physically and emotionally than those I have encountered thus far.