she lifted them to his. How could she
explain that Malcolm had kissed her,
and not the other way around? Would
he even believe her? And how had he
known unless he had been spying on
her?
“You had me followed?” she hissed
angrily.
“Jaisyn, do not change the focus of
this conversation!” Vulcan roared.
“Answer my question and answer
correctly: did you not kiss Malcolm by
the lakeside?”
She shook her head. “I did not kiss
him, Vulcan! He kissed me.”
Vulcan approached her slowly, in
that naturally predatory way of his.
He came to a halt directly before her.
Jaisyn felt a frisson of fear creep up
her spine. In moments like this, her
husband was unpredictable.
“What else did he do to you?” he
asked softly. “Did he touch you? Did
he take you? After I took your
innocence, did you let Malcolm have
you?” His hand were now curled
around her upper arms and with every
question, he shook her.
“No!” Jaisyn yelled, staring at him
even as his gaze told her that he did
not believe a word she said. “Malcolm
and I were nothing more than friends!
After you and your army took my
only brother from me, he became my
brother! I loved Malcolm as I would
my own flesh and blood!”
A look of disdain passed over his
face and he released her abruptly.
“Your gods do not speak against such
relationships?” He headed for the
adjoining door, his back to her.
“Vulcan!” she called after him,
knowing she should let him go, but
needing him to know she had not
betrayed him with Malcolm. “I swear
to you that Malcolm and I did not
have any relationship except that
which siblings have with each other.”
He stopped briefly. “And from what
you’ve just said, it seems your religion
condones the very things that mine
speak against. You are not to leave
this room until supper. You are not to
venture further than the city until I
return. I will appoint guards to watch
your every move while I am in
Montak. When I return, we will work
out an arrangement that will work for
the both of us. You may not love me,
nor I you, but in the eyes of my god,
we are married. I will not have the
legitimacy of any of my heirs
questioned!”
With that, he continued to the
adjoining door and snapped it shut
behind him. Jaisyn stared after him,
her heartbeat gradually slowing.
She had known intuitively that her
husband did not love her but to hear
him say it stung more than she cared
to admit. And to hear him accuse her
of being unfaithful, especially as she’d
gone to him a virgin with nary a
thought of being intimate with anyone
but him—
Against her will, she loved him and
he thought her a whore. A frustrated
groan escaped her lips. It seemed her
entire life was predicated upon irony.
***
Vulcan did not bother to say
goodbye to his queen. Jaisyn awoke
from the clatter of horses’ hooves as
her husband and his warriors headed
for Montak. She heard metal and
chain screeching as the portcullis was
lowered and the drawbridge raised.
Feeling the chill of the early morning
air, Jaisyn pulled the furs more snugly
around her. Perhaps her husband
would listen to reason when he
returned from Montak. With that
thought it mind, she closed her eyes
once more.
***
It had been two days since Vulcan
left for Montak and Jaisyn was on her
knees, a towel under them to keep
them from chafing, with her head over
the chamber pot. Jane and Anne,
unaccustomed
to
being
around
sickness, had been given leave to do
whatever they pleased. Magda and
Asha remained with her.
“I must have eaten something—”
Jaisyn began, in an attempt to explain
her illness to her maids, only to stop
abruptly and retch into the chamber
pot once more. As soon as she
finished, and leaned her head against
the bed, Asha replaced the filled
chamber pot with another. Magda was
beside her with damp cloths. She
wiped the queen’s mouth with one
and her entire face with the other.
“Perhaps we should fetch the
apothecary,” Asha murmured to
Magda softly, staring at the queen
who seemed too weak to even open
her eyelids.
Magda shook her head and a small
smile touched her lips. “He would
’ave no cure for this condition.”
Jaisyn’s eyes fluttered open and she
stared at Magda in confusion. Was he
condition so bad? And if it was, why
was Magda smiling?
“What is wrong with ’er Majesty?”
Asha inquired softly of Magda.
“Absolutely nothing!” Magda replied
vehemently, dipping the cloth in cool
water and running it along Jaisyn’s
neck. The queen sighed in gratitude.
“Everything is as it should be.”
Jaisyn might have been weak but
she was certain she had her wits about
her until she heard Magda say that
there was nothing wrong with her. A
groan escaped her lips and she closed
her eyes. She was losing her mind too.
Not only did she have the stomach
ailment, but she was also going
insane. Feeling her stomach turn once
more, Jaisyn rushed for the chamber
pot, and was surprised when it settled
on its own. She leaned her head back
against the bed and drew in a deep,
steady breath.
Magda turned to Asha. “Fetch a
tankard of cool water and some bread
and cheese for Her Majesty.”
Nodding, the maid immediately
went about her task.
Magda pushed herself to her feet
before assisting Jaisyn. When the
queen was once more lying in her
bed, pillows propping her up, Magda
sat on the edge and smoothed away
strands of hair from her face.
“Don’t ye worry now, lamb,”
Magda said gently, and Jaisyn felt as if
she were a six-year-old tot once
more, with her governess looking after
her. “After we get some food in yer
stomach, ye should feel better in no
time.”
Jaisyn stared directly in her maid’s
eyes, searching out the truth before
she asked her question, “Am I dying,
Maggie?”
Magda clucked her tongue and
stared down at the queen in wonder.
She had known the instant that the
condition had come upon Jaisyn and
that had been weeks ago.
“No, lamb, ye’re not going to die.
Ye might feel like it in a few months
but Maggie will be there to help ye,
just like she helped yer mama.”
Jaisyn shook her head slowly, not
understanding.
Taking mercy on her severely
weakened queen, Magda beamed
down at her with all the pride of a
proud and happy mother. “Ye’re with
child, lamb. And if I know yer cycle,
about a month and some days. Yer
mother was the same, didn’t get the
morning sickness until a month into
the pregnancies…”
The look on Jaisyn’s face turned
from one of shock to one of horror to
one of wonder. She was not with
child. She would know. Why, she’d
seen her flux only… only… she
thought hard, and when she finally
remembered, her eyes bulged. She
was most certainly carrying Vulcan’s
child.
***
Dax, dressed in the garments of a
poor woman, with both his hair and
face covered to stave off the cold and
to conceal his foreign identity,
watched from a hidden alcove before
one of the unused doors of the castle,
as the queen, followed by an
entourage of guards, and two ladies,
walked from the stables. He had
arrived the day her husband had left
for Montak, where Kegan had staged
an uprising in a village to draw him
away. He slipped unseen into the
bustling crowd and made his way into
the castle, following the unsuspecting
party at a discreet distance.
“Ye there!” someone called, and
although he suspected that the person
was addressing him, he continued on.
He heard footsteps pounding behind
him before a hand grasped his arm
and spun him around. Dax released
his hold on the shawl that covered his
head, allowing it to fall around his
shoulders. Red hairs fanned his face
and the soldier could only stare.
“Yes, sir?” he raised his voice an
octave or two, batting his lashes
slowly against his fine cheekbone.
Catching
himself,
the
soldier
released his death grip on her arm and
inquired, “What business have ye
here?”
“I am new to the castle. I am Davia,
the scullery maid,” Dax told the man,
watching in contempt as he took the
lie at face value. Some men were
beyond stupidity.
The soldier smiled slowly, revealing
teeth that had not seen a brush in
years. Dax fought the urge to grimace
and switched his smile to one of pure
seduction.
“What say ye I get ye acquainted
with the castle?” It was obvious from
his tone that the soldier was going to
acquaint Davia with a storage closet, if
anything so grand.
“Thank
you,”
Dax
accepted,
following after the burly soldier. As he
suspected, they came upon a dark
closet, which the soldier opened and
gestured for Dax to enter. Reaching
down to his waist, Dax fingered the
deadly dagger he kept there before
stepping through. The soldier licked
his lips and stepped into the dark area,
pulling the door closed behind him.
Had anyone been outside, they
would have heard a feminine chuckle,
the moan of a pleased man, a muffled,
gurgling sound, and finally, the sound
of a body dropping to the floor.
***
Jaisyn stood before the tall mirror in
her room, staring at her belly. For all
purposes, her stomach was still flat,
but she felt as if the muscles there had
loosened slightly. She’d assumed that
it was from her lack of practice but
she now knew better. She ran a hand
over her belly and a smile touched her
lips. A baby. An innocent unmarred
by the cruelties of the world. A gem
she would give her life to protect. A
part of Vulcan. At that thought, the
smile fell. Would he be happy when
he found out she carried his heir? Or
would he think it someone else’s?
Those thoughts were passing through
her mind when a knock sounded at
the door. Pulling her thick wrapper
closed, she moved over to take a seat
on the bed and called for the person to
enter. A maid she’d never seen before
entered, red hair flowing down her
back and blue eyes twinkling. In her
hands was a tray, filled with plates of
various sweets that the cook had
especially prepared for her. Jaisyn
smiled softly and asked, “Where is
Asha?” Magda had been given a day
of rest, so she hadn’t expected to see
her, but neither had she expected this
strange woman.
The maid placed the tray on her bed
and curtsied properly, lifting her eyes
to Jaisyn’s. Jaisyn reached for a sweet
biscuit on the tray and had it halfway
to her mouth when the maid began to
speak.
“My men have your sister in their
care and will not hesitate to kill her if
you do not do as I say.” The woman
was still smiling but her words were
cold and deadly.
“What did you say?” Perhaps she
had imagined it, for this frail, almost
angelic creature before her did not
seem the type to say things of that
sort. Plus, her sisters were in Lytheria,