“Anyone moves, and the princess dies,” the voice echoed. There was a tinkle of laughter that made her shudder in dread. It was so beautiful it was unbearable.
Drac, she gasped.
You will not be harmed, leika his voice came back in smooth assurance.
Do not let them harm my people.
The speaker of the voice came into full view. Saieke had never seen such a beautiful woman in all her existence. She had straight silver white hair that ran like silk and stopped at her hips in a shimmer. Her intense green eyes spoke of power and age. She had silver tipped claws attached to her nails as weapons, and Saieke could smell the poison on them.
Her black caftan flowed around her and hid her figure. She was slight and moved as if she floated on air. “I am the Mevian emperor’s geikan.”
Geikan—they were assassins of the highest order. They possessed the deadliest and most unique abilities and executed the orders of their masters with deadly efficiency.
“Truth,” the Serangite uttered into the silence.
“I have come for the princess,” she said with a smile as she appraised their battle readiness.
Saieke saw her king flinch and a councilor held his head as the pureness of her voice vibrated through the room.
“Truth.”
The sounds of swords being drawn singed and resonated within the chamber as the warriors of Nuria drew their blades. The air turned frosty as wind whipped through the room from the Boreans.
Another light and tinkling laugh grated from the assassin. She clicked her tongue and power roiled through the room and sound waves could be felt vibrating in the air with menace. “If you attack, we will kill the princess.”
“Truth.”
Saieke gasped as blood trickled down her neck as the blades were moved infinitesimally.
“Speak on why you are here, geikan,” King Ajali ordered.
Flames licked and danced in his eyes, and the heat that they generated was stifling. All of his warriors had their blades drawn and smoke curled from the feet of some as the intensity of the heat they were generating scorched the ground.
“You will allow us to leave quietly with the princess. If you oppose us in any way, the princess’s head will roll at your feet before you can even blink. It is our emperor’s wish that if the princess is not bonded to him, she is not bonded at all.”
Saieke’s mother jerked.
“Truth,” the Serangite snapped.
“The princess is blood-oathed to King Ajali and is his bride,” the high chancellor of Nuria said. “To kidnap her is to incite war.”
“It is the purview of the king to declare war of course,” came back the melodious whisper. “It is our emperor’s wish that he does so if he feels he has been wronged. Of course, we will have an allegiance by then as the princess and our emperor will be wedded by tonight. And worry not, after I am through with her there will be a blood-oath with my emperor.”
“Truth.”
The Mevians obviously did not want an allegiance between Boreas and Nuria. The fact they were willing to kill her, indicated that their true aim was to prevent the allegiance. Wedding her to their emperor simply gained the bonus of land and elixir.
She could see that King Ajali had reached to the same conclusions. She saw the knowledge in his eyes. A cruel smile curved his lips.
“Are you declaring war between our kingdoms, geikan?’ he asked silkily.
There was another melodious laugh from her, and Saieke could see the flare of triumph in her eyes. Mevia had a population of more than two hundred million, and their warrior forces were twice the size of the King Ajali’s. They also had an alliance with Avindar and they were considered to be the most powerful of the nations.
Saieke was befuddled as to why they would want to war with the Nuria, and why they were working with Darkans.
“If you kill the princess, I have no need to war with you, as she has no use to my kingdom anymore. If you take her and she is wedded to the emperor, it is the same. I can no longer form an allegiance so it would be up to Boreas to demand recompense,” King Ajali said.
Her mother glared at him, shock suffusing her features. It was a merciless statement, but it was fact. Saieke was useless to him dead, and also if she was wedded to another emperor or king. Yet he was still alert and she felt the intent in him to attack, and the green in his eyes was almost obliterated by the red flames of fire that danced in them.