“Oh?”
Kavlalardrac jerked his bulky body up straight. “Don’t even think about it, Bandalardrac. We had enough of a problem with you when that other girl disappeared.”
“But I didn’t do it!” Ban said innocently.
“She was found half-naked in your embrace. The Gattan are much more protective of their daughters’
virtue than are we. They expect them to be virgins when they marry.”
“If Kadis is caught with me…”
“No! We won’t be able to save you. She is the Queen’s niece. And she’s not someone my dear brother would want in the family if the Gattan queen decided you should marry her.”
Shrugging, Ban grinned. “If you say so, Uncle.”
“Bah!” Kavlalardrac snorted. “Go talk to Denieen. She’s a woman with a good head on her shoulders.
The Queen’s sister never has a contingency plan in place. Marljas is already married to the daughter of the most powerful clan on Drakan, a daughter, I might add, with connections to the Medirian royal family. I think I’ll tell my dear brother to send a message to Gattan informing their king and queen how pleased he is that such a prominent Gattan has married into our family. I’ll see if Findal will offer some trade concessions that Gattan’s queen can regard as Sheala’s wedding present.”
Laughing, Ban rose and headed for the door. “I knew I could rely on you, Uncle.”
* * * * *
“Jadis, Mattis and I were girls together,” she said to her three guests. “If Jadis wanted something, she devised a plan and went after it. If her plan didn’t work, she became frustrated. Now she grasps at power through her relationship to the queen. You know, Jadis wanted to marry Krondal herself.”
Denieen smiled at her hostess. “Mattis won though.”
“Krondal is an intelligent man. It wasn’t hard for him to see past Jadis’ beauty to her cold heart. She thinks of nothing but her own ambitions. Krondal would never have been co-ruler married to her.”
“So we should ignore the request?” Wendjas asked.
Pikeen shook her head. “No, the Queen is very fond of her niece, but she is also very fond of you and your family, Denieen. Mattis might see this as a way to make both families happy. Kadis is a very beautiful girl.”
“But she has the temperament of her mother. I wouldn’t marry her if she were the last woman in the universe,” Marljas snarled.
Pikeen smiled at Marljas. His impetuousness had amused her since he was a child. Too bad he and Sosha hadn’t been compatible.
Pikeen nodded as she sipped her tea. “I didn’t think Kadis would fool you, Marljas. She’s always meek and subservient around the Queen and King and their family. Kadis has always been very careful how others perceive her. There have been mistakes, however.”
Grunting in agreement, Marljas bit into a bread square thickly spread with rich, red
kodala
meat. The Alalalakan chefs were excellent, but they didn’t truly appreciate the Gattan love of raw meat. “I rode with her one day. She beat her mount when the mare wouldn’t take a jump too high for her. Any woman who treats a beast in such a way will do the same to people.”
The door opened and Mendas Teekeson, the Gattan ambassador, entered the room. “Your family has more allies than you realize, Denieen.”
“How?”
“Kavlalardrac Hardan has just informed me that both he and his brother, King Findalardrac of Mediria, are sending messages to Gattan expressing their approval of the marriage between Marljas and Alalakan dem al’ Sheala, who happens to be related to the Medirian royal family. In celebration of the event, starting three weeks from today, all import fees on Gattan goods to Mediria will be cut in half for thirty days.”
Wendjas let out a long whistle, and Marljas’ eyes brightened.
“Well, well, well,” Pikeen murmured. “I wonder how that came about.”
Denieen laughed merrily. “Ban.”
Mendas shook his head and growled. “Bandalardrac Hardan, the bane of my family.”
Pikeen laid a hand on her husband’s arm. “Not Bandalardrac,” she said in a gentle voice, “Bakom.
Sosha told me that she never wanted Marljas, mainly because everyone in her family kept pushing her towards him. She arranged for Marljas to find Ban and her together. Marljas just didn’t get there as quickly as she had planned.”
Mendas sighed. “All this time he’s been a convenient scapegoat.”
Denieen smiled. “He hasn’t changed his ways, Mendas. He is still the most notorious rake on five planets.”
Marljas grinned a wicked grin. “Perhaps we should turn Ban loose on Kadis.”
Wendjas and Mendas smiled at his suggestion, but both Denieen and Pikeen were shocked.
“Do you want him dead!” Deni exclaimed. “Jadis would gut him herself, and that son of hers would help.
And the Queen would be forced to look the other way!”
All three men looked at each other then nodded. With his womanizing reputation, Ban was as good as dead if he so much as touched Kadis.
“Well, that means you send a message home today,” Mendas said. “As it is, the Queen and King will get the Medirian message first since it will go by way of diplomatic channels. They’ll waste no time contacting your family.”
Frowning, Denieen asked, “How long until the spring equinox on Gattan? It’s past midsummer here.”
Mendas consulted a calendar on his desk and then frowned. “It was last week.”
Marljas looked at his sister-in-law. “Kadis is already at our holding.”
She laid a hand on his arm. “Don’t worry. Your mother can handle Kadis. And the Medirians have given us the perfect way to refuse the proposal.”
Wendjas began to grin widely. “If the Medirians are going to give us thirty days of lower import fees as a wedding gift, imagine what the Alalakans will give us. It’s time I spoke with Char.”
“Just remember, Wendjas Drefeson, Marljas’ bloodsister is Char’s wife.”
Wendjas’ face brightened even more.
As Marljas grinned at his brother, Denieen’s laughter rolled around the room. “Don’t ever again complain of the Drakian ways Marljas and I adopt. You’ve been spending too much time with Chardadon. Soon, you’ll be just as crafty as he when negotiating trade agreements.”
Wendjas smiled broadly. “As ever, you’re right, Wife. Defeat across the trading table can be so much more satisfactory than a kill. One can return to defeat the same enemy again and again.”
“Just don’t let Brianna hear you refer to Chardadon as the enemy,” Marljas said with a wide grin, “or you’ll find her knife at your neck.”
* * * * *
“Shea, love, are you awake?”
Sheala pushed herself up. “Ban? Is that you?”
“It’s me,” he answered, “though I don’t know how you can possibly see me. It’s afternoon, let the sun in.” Using the light from the hallway to guide him, he crossed the room and pulled open the drapes.
Ignoring her gasp of protest, he opened the window to let in fresh air. Then he turned back to his cousin.
Sheala was hunched in the middle of the bed with the blankets pulled up around her neck.
Ban’s voice was gentle. “Are you going to spend your days in here reliving your ordeal?”
Her head turned away so Ban couldn’t see her face, she shook her head negatively.
“Then exactly what are you doing?”
“Please, Ban, I’d like to be alone.”
Ban walked to the bed and clasped her shoulder. Pain wrung his heart when she cringed at his gentle touch, but he didn’t let go. Marljas couldn’t convince her to leave her room and was at his wits’ end. If something wasn’t done, she would become an emotionally crippled hermit, and she and Marljas would never find happiness.
“Come on, I want to introduce you to someone.”
Sheala’s protests fell on deaf ears as Ban swung her into his arms and carried her out of her room.
Pushing another door open with his shoulder, Ban walked into the room and placed Sheala on the bed next to Sosha.
“Hello, Sosha,” he said gently. “I’d have liked to see you again under different circumstances.”
“Hello, Bandalardrac,” she answered in a weak voice. “Have you forgiven me my deception?”
Ban’s ready grin appeared on his face. “A long time ago, love. I got off Gattan without a scratch.”
A ghost of a smile appeared on Sosha’s face.
“Sosha, this is my cousin Alalakan dem al’ Sheala.”
“We have met, somewhat. So it is the Alalakans I can thank for my rescue.”
“The Alalakans,” answered Ban, “and Marljas.”
“Marljas?”
“He was there for Sheala.”
“Yes,” Sosha said slowly, searching her memory, “I remember.”
As Ban turned Sheala’s left hand so that her palm was visible, Sosha’s eyes widened.
“Sheala is Marljas’ wife, Sosha,” Ban said. “Do you care?”
She shook her head. “I never wanted to marry him. That was my family’s wish, not mine.”
“Then I’ll leave you two to get acquainted.”
Turning, Ban turned and walked out of the room, leaving a flabbergasted Sheala sitting on Sosha’s bed.
“Why did Marljas initiate the blood rite with you, Alalakan dem al Sheala?” Sosha asked while Sheala still stared dumbfounded at the closed door.
Sheala turned and got her first really good look at the woman Bakom had held captive for almost a year.
Involuntary tremors still shook Sosha’s body, a side effect of the drug she was taking to counteract the addiction to mithrin Bakom had fostered. Bruises, both new and faded, covered what parts of Sosha’s arms Sheala could see. Ugly scars covered the ends of each finger where Bakom had ripped out her claws.
Sosha held up her hands and stared at them. “You were lucky, Alalakan dem al’ Sheala. You spent only a few hours with that madman.”
Sheala was appalled at Sosha’s physical condition. “How did you survive?”
She smiled a sad smile. “I lived for revenge, as would any Gattan. One day, his blood will drip from my cl—knife.”
Sheala shuddered. Sosha had been ready to say claws, but she didn’t have them anymore. How would that affect her life once she got back to Gattan? Sheala blinked back tears. Sosha had suffered far more than she had.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Sosha continued after a moment. “Why did Marljas Drefeson initiate the marital blood rite?”
Sheala looked down at her hand. “He didn’t. I demanded it.”
“And he agreed? He must love you very much. Do you love him?”
Sheala nodded affirmatively, but tears began to fall.
“Why do you cry?”
“How can he love me when I look like this?”
The Gattan’s voice grew stronger. “Gattans don’t see only the physical body. One grows old. Physical beauty fades. Will you love him less when he is an old man?”
Sheala shook her head. “No. But I’m not worried about my feelings. I’m worried about his.”
Sosha glared at her. “You’re a fool. Your bruises will fade as mine have many times over.”
“I can’t bear to have him touch me,” Sheala admitted in a quiet voice.
Sheala watched as Sosha sank back against the pillows. Concern for someone other than herself stabbed her conscience for the first time in days. “Why are you able to understand me? Did you learn our language while you—were a captive?”
Sosha’s voice was bitter. “Bakom inserted a Medirian translator, a
ghena
, into my ear shortly after I was delivered to him. He wanted to make sure I understood everything that was going to happen to me.”
“I didn’t think the Medirians sold their translators to the Academy of Science anymore. I have to remember to say something to Ban,” Sheala said. “Do you need anything, Sosha?”
A weak smile answered her question. “Nothing you can give me. I envy you, Alalakan dem al’ Sheala.
Marljas accepts you. Even if he hadn’t, you have your family.”
Sheala was shocked. “You aren’t alone, Sosha. I have heard your godparents as they walked through the hallway. They come every day.”
“Yes,” Sosha agreed, “but they remember me as I was. Look at me now.”
With effort, Sosha threw back her blanket and lifted her nightshirt over her head. A tight bandage circled her torso to hold broken ribs in place. Bruises ranging in color from purple to yellow covered her body.
On the insides of her thighs, scabs covered healing cuts. When Sosha laboriously rolled over, Sheala could see more bruises covering her back, and more healing cuts on her buttocks.
Sosha shook her head. “I am damaged beyond what any man on my planet would accept. The scars will be badges of honor, but these,” she continued stretching out her fingers to display her lack of claws, “will prevent any man from offering marriage to me. My godparents know this and feel only pity. My parents will feel worse. They’ll be forced to accept the comments and condolences of our friends and relatives.
On Gattan, I’ll be a freak.”
Sheala gazed at the sad girl next to her. Spying the scissors Lorilana had used to cut fresh bandages for Sosha’s ribs on the dresser, she rose and fetched it. “I’m not exactly sure how to do this, but Brianna managed,” Sheala said when she returned to stand by Sosha. Before she had more time to think, Sheala slashed the point across her right palm. Then she held out her bleeding hand. “I would be proud to call you sister, Sosha.”
Sosha gazed at the blood dripping from Sheala’s palm. After a moment, she held out her own right hand.
Sheala slashed her palm as the door opened. Chardadon and Ban entered the room as Sheala and Sosha brought their hands together.
“One sex, one blood, sister to sister,” Sosha said and Sheala turned to her brother. “I have a new sister, Char.”
Shaking his head, Char mumbled, “What is it about this family and Gattans?”
Ban, on the other hand, stared at Sosha. He’d seen that she’d been badly treated by Bakom when they’d rescued her. However, he hadn’t noticed the extent of her injuries that night. In the light of day, her bruised and battered body hid nothing.