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I t was all about who you slept with.

The former Lady Divine rubbed absently at her latest tattoo as she left her lover's room. The Beast Queen's son was one of the eldest and a favorite of the Queen's. He also appreciated a lusty young beauty without excessive tattoos, no matter what the current fashion was.

Della had a carefully calculated number of tattoos, just enough to appear one of the faithful. She was outwardly modest in her aspirations, just another pretty girl trying to get ahead by bearing a child of the royal line.

Behind the scenes, she had hooks in all the right places. When the time came, the Beast Queen would be in for a treat.

Smiling, she practically skipped along the stone tunnels of the mountain stronghold. Her dear sister would be in for a surprise.

***

T HE BEAST QUEEN SAT in her chair as her servant wrapped her hair into coils with copper wire.

Heavily pregnant, she looked with satisfaction at her reflection in the mirror.

The image was fuzzy, a byproduct of dyeing the whites of her eyes black.

In fact, she was completely blind in one eye, a secret that few knew.

No matter, she lived like the queen she was, surrounded by cloth of gold and gem-encrusted decor. Every delicacy was hers, and her line would live forever.

As if to underscore the point, one of her advisors came to announce, “Congratulations, your Majesty! Your youngest son's third concubine just bore twin girls,” her advisor said with a bow. “May your line live forever.”

“May your line live forever,” the servants in the room dutifully repeated.

The Beast Queen smiled and flipped her forked tongue at him in benediction. She'd nearly died of infection from the modification, but it set her apart from her minions.

She'd come from nothing, had risen so high through her own hard work, and now she had an entire mountain full of followers who would do anything she asked. There was just one thing left to do, one thing she wanted.

“We will celebrate with blood! Gather my army. I will personally lead the attack on the castle. We will drive the infidels out and reclaim our rightful heritage.”

She actually had none of the castle folks' blood, but no matter. She was powerful, and the living castle would belong to her. It would be the final crown jewel in her magnificent kingdom.

She grinned, revealing her filed and pointy (but brittle) teeth. She couldn't wait to get started.

***

W ORD CAME SWIFTLY TO the castle that the Beast Queen was on the march. The moment had arrived.

They gathered in the town meeting place, all the elders and chieftains in attendance. Zelda wasn’t a fan of leaving her fortified position to attack. Since she ruled the castle, that wasn't surprising.

Of course, some hotheads were all for it. One of the young chieftains stood up and declared, “Our power is in horse and steel. The tribes ruled these grasslands before your kind ever came here. We don't need to hide in your castle. We ride out and kill them!”

“She outnumbers us four to one when her beasts are counted,” Grandma Jun pointed out dryly. “What's your plan for dealing with them? I expect to hear better than, ‘we will simply swing at them.’”

Momentarily stymied, the young chieftain glanced at Zelda. “Better to ride out bravely than to be a coward and hide behind walls...urk!”

His foolish words were abruptly cut off as Yarbo slammed a massive fist into his face.

Yarbo watched the goblin drop like a stone and lie still, his legs sprattled. “Much better.” He looked at the young chieftain’s second. “You elected him chieftain? You might think twice about that.”

Yarbo gave the assembly a warning look. “I won't tolerate insults against my Lady Zelda.”

Ozzy growled, but didn't object. Yarbo had been closer.

Dismissing the interruption, Uncle Tank spoke up. “The young one wasn't here for the discussions, but we've already formulated a plan. It's a good one, and if we stick with it we have a chance of success.” He pointed to a map fixed to the wall. “The Redbone clan will be here...”

Zelda listened, keeping quiet. The plan was a good one, but there was no ignoring the fact that they were outnumbered. It was going to be a bloody battle, with no guarantee of winning.

Their allies poured into the valley, swelling the number of people. It was crowded, but the tribe stayed in neat groups, tightly controlled by their chieftains.

Oyan, the matchmaker elder who had been ogling Yarbo, was quick to introduce her son, who was the chieftain of her tribe, and her granddaughter, Olathe.

Olathe was tall and beautiful, with shiny black hair. She rode a fast battle ram and had a beautiful war eagle. Able to shoot a bow while riding, she was a skilled fighter, fierce and fearless. She was the one in a million, destined to be a heroine of legend.

Zelda would have liked her, if Olathe didn't make it obvious she wanted Ozzy.

At their very first introduction, Olathe looked at Ozzy and smiled boldly. “I know the fearsome and handsome Redbone chieftain.”

Zelda resisted the urge to drop a wall on her head. She decided to champion Grandma Oyan's plan. “But do you know Yarbo, Giant of the South? He's traveled a long way in anticipation of a glorious battle.”

Olathe eyed Yarbo warily. “I heard he came for you.”

“You heard right,” Yarbo rumbled. He wasn't going to give up until Zelda was officially married.

Oh, good. Now it was awkward.

“It's time to get settled,” Olathe’s father said, his ears flat with annoyance. He hadn't come here for this. “We will talk soon, Lady Zelda. Olathe.” His voice held clear warning for his daughter to follow without incident.

With one last dazzling smile at Redbone, Olathe followed her father out.

Zelda looked at Ozzy.

Ozzy raised his brows.

Zelda glowered and walked away.

Yarbo smiled.

Ozzy sent him a dark look and stretched his legs to catch up with Zelda.

They walked for a bit in silence. He valued his peace, so he figured he would let her stew until she was ready to talk.

It took quite a while, but finally she said, “I'm jealous. She's gorgeous.”

That was unexpected. He stopped and raised his brows.

“I'm frustrated because I don't want to be pushed into a hasty marriage and there’s a lot happening right now. I want time to think about this, but we're about to be descended on by a horde of cultists.”

“That's fair,” he said cautiously.

She looked at him seriously. “With that said, she will be lucky if I don't cut her head off. I don't like her flirting with you.”

He grinned. “Excellent idea! Let's both do that. I'll start with Yarbo. I don't like the way he looks at you.”

She growled in frustration. “Not funny.”

“It was a nice thought,” he said wistfully.

“We'll both have to contain ourselves, then. Why don't we settle this issue after the battle?”

“Excellent idea! I'll make sure to stock the good wine."

“Confident,” she grumbled, but she wasn't really mad.

He gave her a one-armed hug, playfully squishing her. “This is going to be fun!”