Marla glanced across the room to where Damin, Kalan and Narvell were chatting with the others and frowned. “The last time I got married, Galon, my eldest child was only eight years old. He’s just been confirmed as a Warlord in his own right. The situation is a little different.”
Galon grinned. “Do you think he’ll want to call me Pa?”
“He’s more likely to call you out in a duel.”
“You should be proud of him, you know.”
She sipped her wine and glanced at her future husband. “I’ll be sure to tell Damin you approve of him.”
“I mean it, Marla. You’ve done a remarkable job raising your children.”
“I’ve agreed to marry you, Galon. There’s no need to keep flattering me.”
“I’m not trying to flatter you. And I’m not just saying this because the young man in question is about to become my stepson, or because he’s very large and fights like a lion and has the power to have me thrown into the lowest dungeon in Greenharbour until I rot if he decides he doesn’t like me. Hythria has needed a strong High Prince for generations. We haven’t had a half-decent one since the Harshini left. And somehow, in a court ruled by a depraved fool, you managed to raise a son strong and clever enough to become a Warlord in his own right. Rumour has it your other son is just as promising and I’ve had enough dealings with your charming daughter, Kalan, to know just how intimidating she can be. That’s no mean feat, Marla. You shouldn’t underestimate your achievement.”
“My achievement?” she asked sceptically. “By all accounts I left my children to be raised by a homicidal maniac and the suicidal woman who eventually killed him. If there’s any kudos to be awarded here, it should go to my children for turning out even remotely sane, given the circumstances.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” he advised. “Worse things have happened to a lot of people and they turned out all right in the end. Look at me.”
Marla frowned. “Is that supposed to comfort me?”
Galon laughed softly. “I suppose not. But I did mean what I said. You should be proud. Although, Damin did make one mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“Asking the High Prince to promote Tejay Lionsclaw to Warlord.”
“Why was it a mistake? She’ll probably prove the best Warlord Sunrise Province has had since Glenadal Ravenspear.”
“But in supporting her, he let people know he’s willing to go against tradition to get what he wants,” Galon pointed out. “The whole of Hythria knows he’s nothing like the current High Prince, now.”
“I’m not sure Damin would see that as a bad thing.”
“But it’s not necessarily good for him, either. The Warlords like that Lernen doesn’t try to rule them. You know that. Your son just proved he’ll be a much different High Prince to your brother. He made enemies in this conflict. Enemies who may not have revealed themselves yet.”
Marla shrugged philosophically. “Under the circumstances, I don’t think he had much choice other than to do what he did. Besides, he’s a Wolfblade, Galon. Being surrounded by enemies comes with the name.”
The assassin smiled. “Well, look on the bright side. The truth hasn’t made its way west of the Sunrise Mountains yet. The Fardohnyans still think he’s just as bad as Lernen. All those tales of wild orgies, stealing other men’s wives,
court’esa
of both sexes in the war camp with him …”
She looked at him curiously. “How is it you know so much about what the Fardohnyans are saying about us?”
“Thieves and assassins know no borders, remember?”
She studied him with some concern. “You seem to have excellent sources of intelligence, Galon.”
“I doubt they’re as good as yours,” he remarked. “Between the intelligence network the Tirstone boys control and your contacts in the Thieves’ Guild …”
“Do you mean Wrayan?”
“Interesting man, the Greatest Thief in all of Hythria.”
“You’ve been talking to him?”
Galon nodded. “We’re likely to be doing a lot of business in the future. It pays to get these things smoothed out early.”
“Why would you have business with Wrayan?”
He raised a brow at her. “Haven’t you heard? Maybe your sources aren’t as good as I thought.”
“Heard what?”
“Franz Gillam has offered Wrayan the Wraith—Greatest Thief in all of Hythria—the position of heir apparent to the Greenharbour Thieves’ Guild.”
“And he
accepted
?” she asked, stunned to think she knew nothing about this.
“Sure. Why wouldn’t he?”
“He’s head of the Krakandar Thieves’ Guild for one.”
“Well, depending on who you talk to, he’s thinking of leaving because some young upstart in Krakandar turfed him out of a job, or he’s leaving because he’s discovered he’s not aging the way he should and if he gets out of Krakandar now and comes back to Greenharbour, people may not notice.”
Marla looked at the assassin curiously. Few people knew of Wrayan’s Harshini heritage. That sort of observation could only have come from Wrayan himself. “You two really have become fast friends, haven’t you?”
“We heir apparents have to stick together, you know.”
She frowned and glanced around the room. “Speaking of Wrayan, have you seen him this afternoon? He was supposed to be here.”
“He was out in the garden last I saw of him, but I’m not sure how long he was planning to stay. He said something about catching up with an old friend. Have you noticed Kalan was late, too?”
“No, I hadn’t. But you obviously did.”
“She scares me,” he admitted with a grin. “I like to keep tabs on her when she’s in the room.”
Marla shook her head, wondering what she was getting herself into with this man. “I expect you to make an effort to get along with my family, Galon.”
“And I expect you to make
your
children promise that if you become a widow again in the near future, it’ll be because I died of
natural
causes.”
Marla couldn’t help herself. She laughed. “I wish you’d met Elezaar. He would have liked you, I think.”
“Your
court’esa
? The one you say you killed?”
“He killed himself, actually. After Alija forced him into betraying me.”
Marla tried not to dwell on Alija too much. Her downfall had opened a lot of old wounds. For Wrayan Lightfinger, it was a bittersweet victory. He hadn’t known Alija was responsible for his former master’s death. Although Kagan Palenovar had been gone for more than twenty years, Alija’s surprise confession had staggered him. It had also driven home to Marla how ruthless Alija had been. How utterly without sentiment when it came to achieving her goals.
Ruthlessness wasn’t a quality Marla was unfamiliar with. She often demonstrated the same single-minded, merciless determination when she had to. But Alija’s crimes went beyond simple greed or power-grabbing. Marla knew why she did what she did. It was to protect her family, no other reason, and she didn’t try to fool herself into believing her motives were any nobler than that. Alija, on the other hand, actually thought she was doing good. That’s what had made her truly dangerous.
Still, things were finally reaching a point where she could relax. Damin was Warlord of Krakandar and, when the time came, would be a High Prince Hythria could be proud of. Narvell was doing well in Elasapine, the centre of Charel Hawksword’s universe, vindicating the decision she made all those years ago, in this very room, when she decided the best thing for everyone would be for Nash to die in a tragic accident so nobody ever learned the truth about his treachery.
As for her only daughter, Kalan was Lower Arrion already and had proved perhaps the most astute and intelligent one of all.
Marla was just as pleased with her stepchildren. Luciena and Xanda seemed happily married and ran the vast Mariner shipping empire together as if the gods had granted them a licence to make money. Rielle and Darvad were obviously doing well in Dylan Pass. Rodja and Selena ruled the spice trade and now it looked as if they would be adding exotic Denikan imports to their empire. Adham still showed no inclination to settle down, but perhaps in Denika he would find what he was searching for.
That reminded Marla of something else. Now this awful business with Leila was behind them, she needed to start looking for a suitable wife for Damin. He was twenty-five and needed to think about producing an heir.
The Wolfblade line must go on, Marla was determined. She hadn’t come this far to let it die out now.
“Your highness.”
Marla turned to find Wrayan standing behind her. She smiled at him and took his hands in hers. “I was hoping to catch up with you. I’ve seen so little of you lately.”
“Actually, I came to ask your forgiveness. I have to leave early. There’s somebody I have to meet and I couldn’t arrange any other time.”
“Some secret Thieves’ Guild business I suppose?”
“Something like that.”
“Did I ever thank you, Wrayan, for changing careers for me?”
He looked puzzled for a moment and then nodded. “Ah … you mean Alija?”
“You didn’t have to kill her, you know. We had enough to hang her.”
He looked at her curiously before glancing around to see who was near. “Do you think Alija was the first person I’ve killed?”
Marla looked at him curiously. She’d never really thought about it. “I don’t know.”
“Trust me, she’s not. She won’t be the last either, if I stay in Greenharbour.”
Marla slipped her arm through his and walked with him toward the doors at the other end of the hall. “Galon told me about Franz Gillam’s offer. I was a little offended to think you told him before you mentioned it to me.”
“Galon’s a professional colleague.”
She looked up at him with a frown. “Is that what you’re calling your relationship now?”
“
You
didn’t tell me you were going to marry him,” he accused. “So don’t go on about
my
relationship with Galon Miar, when you’re guilty of the same sin.”
Marla sighed. “I haven’t even told my children. Do you think I’m making a mistake?”
Wrayan shrugged. “He’s a loyal Royalist, if that’s what you’re asking. And it does get you off the hook rather neatly with the Assassins’ Guild.”
They reached the doors and stepped through into the relative quiet of the corridor outside. Marla was still wracked with uncertainty. She stopped and made Wrayan turn to face her. “You’ve read his mind. Does he love me?”
The thief smiled. “Four husbands behind you and
now
you start to wonder whether the man you’re about to marry loves you or not?”
“I’m getting sentimental in my old age. Answer my question. Does he love me?”
“Do you have any reason to think he might?”
“That’s not an answer, Wrayan.”
“But it’s all the answer I’m going to give you, your highness. I promised I wouldn’t pry, remember.”
“You promised you’d not betray any Assassins’ Guild secrets you learned in his mind. You didn’t promise anything about how he felt for me.”
“But I have learned to know when to leave well enough alone,” the thief replied. “I can tell you this much, though, if it will ease your mind. He has no agenda involving your children. Galon Miar knows what he wants and it isn’t anything to do with Hythria’s throne.”
“What does he want?”
“You … among other things.”
“Then he does love me?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Marla crossed her arms against a chill she feared came from her own guilty conscience. “You know, I used to be appalled by how ruthless Alija was. How utterly without sentiment she could be when it came to achieving her goals. But it’s recently occurred to me that I’m no better than she is. I can be just as ruthless; I had to be, just to deal with her.”
“Didn’t Elezaar and his wretched Rules of Gaining and Wielding Power have something to say about that?”
She wished the dwarf was here now. “Rule Number One. Have a reason other than the love of power to reach for it.”
“And do you?”
She thought about her answer carefully. “I only ever wanted to protect my children, Wrayan. Power for its own sake leaves me cold. I didn’t do anything harsh, or ruthless, or even very profound, until I realised the only person in the world who could protect my children to my satisfaction was men.”
“That’s a noble goal common to mothers the world over, your highness,” he assured her, “not a ruthless one.”
She shook her head, unconvinced. “How many mothers the world over have killed to achieve it, though?”
“How many have had to?”
Marla smiled sadly. “Who’d have thought my two best and most trusted friends in the world would turn out to be a part-Harshini thief-turned-assassin and a dwarf slave? Or that my friendship would cost one of my friends his life and cause the other to commit murder.”