Chapter 46: King of Blades: Chapter 4

It was three days before Llyr was fit to be questioned. With regular treatments from the healers, the blisters in his mouth and throat had almost completely healed. Guards still had to force him to eat and drink, but Coulta thought Llyr's refusals were likely more related to preferring starvation over speaking to anyone than with the pain from the blisters.

"We will speak to him alone," Shelton explained to Coulta as they walked to the dungeons.

"Because I knew him?" Coulta asked.

Shelton shook his head. "Well, that is something of an advantage, but not the reason. The royal spymaster not only directs and coordinates with our spies, but he also speaks to others' spies that get captured, so we learn as much as we can. You haven't asked for the full responsibility of that position yet, but you should be learning how to do things."

Coulta supposed that made sense. He followed Shelton down into the dungeons, remembering despite himself how it had felt to spend his first night in Ryal locked in a dungeon cell. Surely Llyr's experience was worse, and not only from the pain of his injuries. Coulta had known he was guilty of nothing, but he'd had nothing to lose if he were killed before Wildas could speak for him. Certainly Llyr stood to gain something by acting against the crown. In all the years Coulta had known him, he'd always stayed as far from the violence as he could. Even if he hadn't been sent to kill any of them, his actions were still unusual for the man Coulta had once known.

They reached the cell where Llyr was being held and Shelton took the offered keys from the guard standing beside the door. Then he dismissed both guards, who bowed and made their way to the other end of the passageway.

Shelton unlocked the heavy wooden door and entered. Coulta followed and closed the door behind him.

In the dim light from the single, small barred window high up near the ceiling, Coulta could see Llyr sitting on the thin pallet on the stone floor, chained by the leg to the wall.

Llyr looked up at Coulta and smiled sinisterly at him. "Someone I never thought I'd see again," he croaked, voice hoarse. "I see you've had an upgrade of masters, too. If only you weren't on the wrong side this time. And it's a shame you had to get here by sleeping with a man."

Coulta leaned against the wall. "Are you trying to insult me?"

"Am I?"

"No."

Shelton abruptly took over the conversation. "Why did you come here?"

Llyr shrugged. "To kidnap the queen."

"And what was Kemale going to reward you with?"

"Ryal."

"At least you're being honest," Shelton commented.

Llyr laughed – or tried to – and winced. "Why would I not be? A rescue wasn't in the agreement."

"What was to happen if Wildas chose to meet you?"

"I was to threaten to kill the queen while he wrote an abdication. Then I was to kill her and take him prisoner."

"And what about the rest of the people in the castle? The guards and the rest of the royal family. Were they expected to accept this?"

"I would have forced him to tell them to accept it."

"Do you truly believe that would have worked?"

Llyr shrugged. "Why not?"

"Some of us would not have easily accepted that. You would have been captured and prosecuted, as you are now. This was designed to fail from the start. Was he planning to attack once you had Wildas?"

"He gave me magic to contact him with when it was done. He didn't tell me what he planned, but I assumed he would come then."

"You told Anil he still hasn't regained his full power."

"He hasn't. He wanted me to distract you and make it easier for him to take over."

Shelton glanced at Coulta. "Do you have anything to add?"

He shook his head.

"Very well," Shelton said, turning back to Llyr. "We will give our report to Grand King Wildas, and he will decide your fate. I'm assuming it will likely involve death. Whether quick or slow will be up to him."

Llyr merely shrugged and rubbed his throat.

Coulta and Shelton left the cell and sent the guards back to their posts with the keys.

It wasn't until they were nearly out of the dungeons that Shelton asked, "What do you think?"

"Kemale is just toying with us," Coulta stated. "That plan was nearly guaranteed to fail."

Shelton nodded. "My thought precisely. And it means that this isn't the end of the games he will play. He's angry that I was able to weaken him and he wants to remind us that he plans to destroy us. Perhaps he meant us to catch Llyr and then fall into a false sense of security until his next attempt. We need to be even more watchful. "

When Coulta returned to his rooms he found Wildas waiting for him in his office. He barely had time to ask why he was there before Wildas quickly closed the hallway door and dragged Coulta toward the bedchamber.

"Tell me about the conversation later," Wildas said quickly. "Myri took some fertility potion and I need you to distract her from me. She'll need to get me drunk if she expects much more from me." He opened the door and shoved Coulta through. "Good luck."

The door slammed behind him and he found Myri grinning at him.

"I suppose you will do," she said with a shrug.

"What -" he began, but was cut off when she quite literally threw herself at him.

Coulta never was able to speak to Wildas about his interrogation of Llyr that day. After dealing with Myri he decided to avoid both her and Wildas for as long as possible, and was happy to let her drag Wildas to her room that night, ignoring the pleading look Wildas gave him as she dragged him away. Myri had a bottle of the aphrodisiac wine they called spiked wine in her hand.

"No, I just want you right now," Myri said to Wildas. "He'll distract you."

The door closed heavily and Coulta was left alone in Wildas's central bedchamber. Shaking his head, Coulta went to his own room to change. But the longer he was alone, the more haunted he felt by the ghosts of the people he had killed as an assassin in his former life. So he left his room.

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***

When Anil heard the knock on her door she expected it to be Wildas, who had been visiting her for the last few nights. So she was surprised to see Coulta when she answered the knock. He was dressed for bed - he was the only person she had ever known who wore loose trousers to bed along with a short shirt, instead of a nightshirt or gown.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you," he said. "I just wondered if I could sit with you for a while."

She smiled and motioned for him to come in. "I was just doing some knitting. I know it's not required of me but I wanted to make some baby blankets. Myri ordered me to rest more and not visit the stables again for some time. She's afraid the shock of the attack might make me lose the baby."

Coulta nodded as he stepped inside and closed the door. "I would offer to help, but I don't know how to knit. I can mend, but that's all."

"If you really want to, I can try to teach you. I have some extra needles."

Coulta smiled. "I'd like to try."

Anil led him to the fire, which was mostly for light and not heat, as it was still summer. "I thought you were Wildas again," she admitted as she sat down and motioned him to the other chair nearby.

Coulta brought the chair even closer. "Myri has him busy for the night."

Anil had to smile. "She told me about the tea's effects. I tried to spare you both a bit, but she claimed it made her crave him more than anything."

"Apparently I'm a worthy enough substitute," Coulta commented. "He spent the afternoon avoiding her and I spent it avoiding both of them."

"Why avoid him?"

"He was using me to distract her from him. He caught me off guard the first time, but he forgot I can hide myself with magic. Even with the soul-link he can't know for certain if I'm nearby without looking foolish in front of others."

Anil laughed. "I never thought I'd hear of men going out of their way to avoid sex."

Coulta had what could almost be called a look of fear on his face. "The tea's driven her mad."

Anil had to laugh again. "I doubt it will last very long. So, let me show you how to knit."

For the next hour, Anil focused on trying to teach him the craft of knitting, and he mostly caught on. Though he appeared disappointed to learn that his magic couldn't do much to help him not lose stitches. They were mostly quiet as they worked, until she finally put down her knitting to yawn.

Coulta set his practice piece aside and smiled at her, though it looked a bit strained. "Thank you."

"Is something wrong?" she asked, reaching for his hand.

He held his hand out for her and shook his head. "Just dreading a night alone."

"The dreams?"

He nodded, but said nothing.

"Will staying with me help?" she offered. "At least you wouldn't be alone."

He nodded again. "It may help."

"Stay. Maybe my magic can help if you have any dreams. At least I can help you relax to sleep again."

"Thank you," he replied quietly.

So they put out what was left of the fire and settled into bed together. Anil couldn't help hoping for some intimacy between them, but she reminded herself that he'd already spent time with Myri earlier, and that perhaps that was enough for him. She wasn't Wildas, after all. Coulta certainly didn't yearn for her like he did for their husband.

But she could try.

She snuggled up against him and quietly said, "If I might need to use magic later, maybe I should gain more now."

Coulta cleared his throat. "I'm not sure I can do that. I had a power share with Myri."

Anil felt a wave of disappointment and gave him a bit of space. "That's all right," she assured him and gave him a smile, trying not to let her feelings show.

Strangely, he looked as disappointed as she felt. "That's all you'd want me for?"

"I enjoy having you here," she assured him. "Being this close is enough."

The silver flecks in his dark eyes practically glowed as he looked at her intently. "I mean, you wouldn't make love with me for the sake of it, only for the magic?"

She blushed and ducked her head. "I wasn't sure you'd want that."

He let out a breathy laugh and she felt suddenly embarrassed. She turned to face away from him, her face hot. Of course he thought she was foolish. So did she.

Coulta surprised her by moving close and slipping his arm around her. He pressed his lips to her neck, making her relax. When she turned to look at him he gave her a smile that was anything but teasing. She reached up to trace the lines on his face with a gentle touch.

"They never look the same," she murmured.

"I know. I'll never understand."

She met his gaze again. "There are better times to think on it."

He smiled again. "I agree," he breathed before kissing her.

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