Jovan gazed at his brother in frustration, longing to wash his hands of the young upstart. Dravis lay stretched out on the tatty bed in a seedy inn, where they had taken a room, eyeing his older brother with ill-concealed disdain. Jovan stood by the window, and his familiar perched on the sill, munching an apple and watching the people in the street. Jovan had been arguing with his brother for almost a time-glass, trying to persuade Dravis to leave the city and seek safety in a distant town, but Dravis scorned the idea. To him, that was the same as being banished, and he had no intention of leaving Jadaya. Jovan sighed and patted his ape.
"Then what do you intend to do? Staying here only puts you in danger."
Dravis smiled. "From what you have told me, this assassin is the cause of all your woes. Not only did he rescue that damned woman, now he has killed Chaymin and Trelath, and he will kill you if you do not do as Kerrion says. You need him dead, and her too, of course."
Jovan shook his head. "You will not get close to her. Kerrion keeps her at his side all the time."
"I would like to kill him as well. All of them. His whore, his half breed sons and daughter, and that damned assassin. I could, too. My familiar could kill him while he slept, and no one would even suspect me."
Jovan glanced at the golden scorpion curled up on Dravis' chest, and shuddered. "Kerrion may be a fool, but killing him would not do you any good."
"No? He is the reason for our father's death. His whore was the one who ordered it, and that neutered bastard killed him. Lerton should have succeeded when he accused Kerrion of high treason. They should all die. That would be justice, brother. And it would do me good, because you are next in line to the throne, if Kerrion's sons are slain."
"That is crazy talk, Dravis. Even if you could kill all of them, I have no wish to be King, and have you plotting against me. I am beginning to see why he wanted you imprisoned."
"It is not crazy, Jovan. With them gone, our lives would improve vastly. You would be King, and I would have Jashimari."
"You would only start the war again."
Dravis snorted. "They have disbanded most of their army. We would overrun them in a tenday."
Jovan spread his hands. "I am not going to discuss this. It is not going to happen. I did not free you so you could kill Kerrion and his family."
"You are just going to let him blackmail you?"
"No. My spies are searching for this assassin, so is Marek. We just have to get rid of him, and everything will return to normal."
"And charge Kerrion with treason."
Jovan shook his head. "He never admitted to hiring the assassin, and there is no way to prove that he did."
"Unless we capture this assassin and make him talk."
"That has been tried before, and it has never worked. Assassins will not reveal their employer."
"I will wager that I could make him talk," Dravis muttered, stroking his scorpion.
"We will just get rid of him, that is all." Jovan rubbed his chin. "It will not be easy, though. From what I have heard, he is extremely dangerous. Even if Marek took his men past the guards, they may not succeed."
"Send an assassin."
"That would seem to be the only solution, but he would have to be very good."
Dravis shrugged. "Send two."
"Perhaps."
Dravis sat up, swinging his legs off the bed. "What if we offered to pay him a fortune to kill the Jashimari woman?"
Jovan shook his head. "He would not do it."
"Maybe not, but if we send a message, it would lead our spies right to him."
Jovan considered this, his eyes narrowed. "The only people who know where he is hidden are the King and his wife."
"And at least one servant."
"True. Who would the King trust that much?"
"Ask your spies."
"He may not be hidden in the palace," Jovan pointed out.
"Then we could send our men to capture him, and hand him over to the judges for execution. Even if he does not admit to killing Trelath and Chaymin, he is condemned for Ronan's murder, and I would enjoy torturing him."
Jovan turned away with a grimace of distaste, but nodded. For a man with such a handsome visage, his brother had an unhealthy lust for the suffering and blood of others. This, he knew, was a gift from their father, one that he was glad he had not inherited.
To Blade's annoyance, the next morning when he left his rooms, a burly Cotti soldier who glared at him from under bushy blond brows shadowed him. Although his head was shaven in the manner that Cotti soldiers favoured, the rest of him was particularly hirsute, tufts of hair poking out of his collar and sleeves. Blade did his best to ignore him, and the soldier remained silent and unobtrusive.
As usual, Kerra had risen before him and returned to her rooms to dress, doubtless finding her own protector awaiting her there. He went about his day as usual, retiring to his rooms after his morning exercise for a little privacy. The presence of the Cotti soldier, who had doubtless been told that he guarded a Jashimari lord, prevented Blade from dancing, and confined his exercise to the set routine of slow movements he sometimes used in its stead.
At lunch time, he went to Minna-Satu's rooms to share a meal with the Elder Queen and her family, which included Minna's sons on this occasion. The conversation was subdued, due to the boys' presence, and no mention was made of the situation with Dravis and Jovan. He contributed little to it while he picked at his roast lamb and mashed rengal roots, returning to his rooms as soon as he finished.
Late in the afternoon, Olan came to him bearing a message, which Blade took with a suspicious glance at the servant.
"Who gave you this?"
Olan shrugged. "A street boy brought it to the kitchens. You're the Queen's Blade, aren't you?"
"Yes, and either you're a fool, or you want me dead."
Olan looked puzzled and annoyed. "What makes you say that? I'm just doing my job, assassin. I didn't ask to serve a damned Jashimari."
Blade strode to the window and gazed out, scanning the palace walls and roofs. A raven perched in a tree in the garden, its beady eyes fixed upon him. When it met his gaze, it took off, flapping away over the wall with a harsh, almost mocking cry.
Blade turned back to the servant. "You are a fool, then. Dravis sent this message so you would lead his spies to me, and now you have."
Olan scowled, his eyes sliding away from the assassin's glare. "I just do as I'm told."
"Leave me."
Blade broke the seal and opened the letter, scanning the brief message within. His lips twitched into a smile, which widened into a grin, then he threw back his head and laughed. When his mirth subsided, he went to Minna-Satu's chambers, where the guards admitted him, as usual. To his annoyance, he found the King there, seated on a cushion beside his wife, talking to Kerra. They fell silent and looked up when Blade entered, and the absence of handmaidens made him suspect that they had been discussing him, or the situation. He stopped before Minna and bowed.
"My Queen."
She smiled. "My Lord. How nice of you to visit so unexpectedly. I had not thought to see you until supper. Sit."
Blade sank down on a cushion, shooting Kerrion an irritated glance. "I came to inform you that I have received a message from Dravis."
Kerrion looked alarmed, frowning at Blade. "What does he want?"
The assassin ignored him, pulled the letter from his tunic and handed it to Minna. She read it and paled, looking up at him with consternation in her eyes.
Blade tilted his head, watching her. "You do not find it amusing, My Queen?"
"No, My Lord, I do not."
"Do you, for one moment, believe that I would agree to such a thing?"
"Of all the people I know, you are the least predictable, Blade."
Blade stared at her, then shook his head, jumped up and headed for the door. After a moment of surprised inaction, Minna cried, "Wait! Blade!"
He turned, and she rose to walk over to him. He spoke in a low, angry tone. "I am greatly disappointed in you, Minna."
She made a vague, helpless gesture. "My Lord, you must understand -"
"That you think me a traitor?"
"No!"
"Then what?"
"That you are, first and foremost, an assassin."
Blade stepped closer, and she gazed up into his wintry eyes. Seldom had he met her eyes as boldly as he did now, his brows drawn together in a deep frown. His hand dropped to the hilt of one of the daggers in his belt, and he drew it with a faint slither of steel. Her eyes followed his hand as he raised the naked blade, holding it between them, mere inches from her heart.
"Have you forgotten the oath I swore to you? Because if you think me capable of this, then keep your side of it now."
Blade took her hand and placed the hilt of the dagger in it, closing her fingers around it. Turning it on himself, he pressed the point to his chest, holding it there when she tried to pull away.
"Strike now, if you think I would kill you."
Kerra gasped and started to rise, but Kerrion raised a hand, stopping her. Minna gazed into Blade's eyes, as if trying to fathom what lay behind the fierce hatred and bitterness that filled them, but he knew she would fail. Raising her free hand, she ran her fingertips along his cheek. He averted his eyes and released her hand, and she lowered the dagger, holding it before her as she searched for the right words.
"You are correct, My Lord. I should have found it amusing, but it is difficult to read one's death warrant without a twinge of trepidation. Dravis is a fool."
He stepped back. "I trust we will not repeat this misunderstanding."
"I have insulted you gravely, without that intention." She handed him the dagger, then turned and walked back to the cushions. "Come, My Lord, sit, have some wine."
Blade followed her, and Kerrion watched them with deep mystification. As they settled back on the cushions, the King raised his brows at Minna.
"Are you going to tell me what this is all about?"
She smiled. "Dravis has offered Blade a man's weight in gold, to assassinate me."
Kerra gasped, and Kerrion frowned, glancing at Blade. "And you thought he would do it?"
"I was discomfited by the notion, that is all. Knowing that the world's deadliest assassin has been hired to kill you is not a pleasant thought."
"Even I know Blade will not work for a Cotti." He looked puzzled. "Jovan knows this; I told them all at the meeting."
"Dravis has no intention of hiring me to kill the Queen," Blade murmured as he poured himself a cup of wine. "The note was the means by which he learnt my location, since Olan brought it to me in my rooms. He also asked me to meet him, to claim the first half of my fee, as is traditional."
"That is unfortunate, but it makes more sense," Kerrion remarked. "And had you gone to this meeting place, there would have been an ambush awaiting you. So either way he wins. You will have to move into another suite, and one of the decoys will stay in yours, with guards. Perhaps we can catch this assassin, and turn the tables on my scheming half-brother."
"The assassin will tell you nothing. It would be better just to kill him, if your men can," Blade stated. "If he needs to know where I am, he is not going to hire a poisoner, and a crossbowman could shoot the decoy through the window."
The King grunted, sipping his wine. "Well, if the bastard gets into the palace, he will die."
"Of course, if he kills the decoy, Dravis will inform your brothers that I am dead, and they will vote against your laws. Then you will have to prove that I am still alive, which will be difficult, unless I kill another one of them."
"Only if the assassin escapes to inform Dravis of his success."
"Which, if he is a crossbowman, is highly likely."
Kerrion thumped the cushion on which he sat, frowning. "Damn it, is there no end to the dire possibilities that could arise from this situation?"
"Only if the decoys and I stay indoors and keep the windows closed."
"Then do that. By god, this is becoming more and more complicated by the day." Kerrion glared at the assassin. "And I think you outsmart yourself. You think of possibilities that may not have even crossed Dravis' mind. I tire of hearing about all the things that could go wrong, and about which there is nothing we can do."
"Then I should return to Jashimari, since I have no wish to die at the hands of a Cotti assassin."
"No." Kerrion made a weary, placating gesture. "We need you here, and I will ensure your safety, I swear it."