“In the hills,” Aza murmured, nodding. “We spent our summers there as children, to escape the monsoon. So lovely.”
Xim scoffed at Tao as if Aza hadn’t spoken. “I can’t see you farming.”
“My focus will be on the vineyards, overseeing the production of wine.”
“And heirs,” his sister put in with a wink. “I want many nieces and nephews to spoil. But first we’ll have to find you a wife.” She squeezed his arm lovingly. Her perfume enveloped them. “There is no shortage of lovelies in the kingdom, but how will I find one to enchant you long enough to commit?”
“I’ve already had this talk once today,” Tao said. “Markam cautioned me against the hazards of marriage.”
“Did he?” A funny look came over her. She shifted her attention to pushing food around on her plate with a crust of bread. She’d hardly touched her meal. “What does Markam know of that?”
Xim watched them like a brooding hawk. “A wine-maker,” he sneered. “The Butcher of the Hinterlands, of all people.”
Tao bristled at the slur as Xim lifted his goblet to the light of a chandelier to study the burgundy liquid. “I wonder, will your wine be sweet…or taste like vinegar?” He narrowed his eyes at Tao.
“My estate will never be able to produce anything to compete with what your sommelier has served us tonight, Your Highness. That is a certainty. Your wine is like silk on the tongue. In a word, magnificent.” Tao lifted his goblet in a toast.
“Hmmph,” Xim said.
Eyeing each other warily, the two men emptied their glasses. Tao’s didn’t have a chance to land on the tablecloth before it was refilled. He waited for Xim’s to be poured before he reached for his. An intricate game, politics was, but in a tedious, manipulative, unfulfilling way. Tao preferred battlefield planning, where the aim was for the greater good, not to further one man’s ambitions.
With dessert, the dancers returned to entertain them. Barely a shred of clothing covered their gyrating bodies. A curvaceous dancer, with her jeweled skin glistening and her eyes glowing with erotic promise, came spinning into his lap and kissed him.
Perhaps some bed sport was what he needed to reacclimatize to Tassagonia. Indeed, followed by a long soak in a hot tub, a massage and the remains of a good bottle of wine, all to be enjoyed without having to worry about Gorr slipping past the defenses to strike while he wasn’t looking.
Tao murmured in the dancer’s ear, “Find me after dessert,” and sent her away with a playful swat on her backside.
He stretched and leaned back in his seat, determined to enjoy himself. As he inhaled, he detected a new scent wafting over him, as fresh as dawn dew, in contrast to the spicy aroma of the entertainer. He twisted in his chair to see a woman with distinctive copper-colored hair walk up to the king and queen.
Well, well. She who thinks me a monster.
She stopped in front of the royal couple, hiking up her skirt hem to curtsy, revealing a few inches of white stockings. As she dipped low, the bodice of her dress gaped just enough for him to glimpse the swell of her breasts cradled in filmy white cotton.
That modest peek did more to fan his desire than any of the dancers in their provocative, barely there costumes. He was utterly aware of this female, who alone amongst the guests in attendance paid him no regard at all, who treated him as if he were as compelling as an ant.
That was the Kurel for you.
She rose and released her skirt, ending Tao’s casual appraisal of what was a very nice set of slender ankles.
“Ah, Elsabeth,” Aza said excitedly. “I want to introduce you to my brother, General Tao.”
Elsabeth’s focus shifted to him. The expression on her face was typically Kurel, as impenetrable as a Barrier Peaks ice cave in winter.
“Hello, Elsabeth,” Tao said dryly, with a hint of a conspiratorial smile. She’d be forced to interact with him now.
“He won’t bite,” Aza teased with obvious affection for the silent girl, “though sometimes he acts it.” Her warning glance at Tao clearly said, Be nice. “Miss Elsabeth is the royal tutor. An extraordinary one at that.”
“I believe it, Aza. We’ve actually met, this morning while Miss Elsabeth was on her way to work.”
“Wonderful!” Aza clapped her hands together.
“Elsabeth was in a hurry. There was no time to stop and talk. But,” he said dryly. “I hope I kept her from being late.”
Everyone was listening now. Elsabeth’s blue eyes bored into his for one brief, dismayed moment. And then she actually blushed. When was the last time any woman turned red around him? The camp followers certainly hadn’t seemed capable, no matter what feats his fellow officers suggested they perform.
Elsabeth explained to the queen, “I was stopped on my way to the palace for a random security inspection. The general graciously shortened the process.” She faced him. “General Uhr-Tao, please forgive my belated thanks. My gratitude is genuine.”
Her cool eyes told a different story.
She returned her regard to Aza, and her expression warmed considerably. “Your Highness, I have come to inform you of the night nurse’s arrival.”
Aza started to rise. Xim’s hand shot out and grabbed her wrist to jerk her back into her seat. His sister’s swift, frightened gasp almost had Tao on his feet, ready to intercede, when her quick glance warned him not to. It’s all right, her eyes said.
Tao’s muscles remained coiled. It was not all right.
“Leaving, Aza?” Xim’s smile was at odds with the tautness of his body. “The party isn’t over.”
“It will soon be time for Elsabeth to go home. I wanted to check on the children before the night nurse takes over.”
“That worthless Kurel will go when you tell her to go.”
Elsabeth stood with her eyes meekly downcast, but Tao wagered they were filled with fear and venom. What terror had Xim roused in his own kingdom? What hatred?
“There’s a sunset-to-sunrise curfew for Kurel-Town,” Aza said quietly, “which you imposed, Your Highness. She cannot be out after dark.”
Xim made a disdainful sound. “I suppose if we let one of them circumvent the rules, they’ll all want to.” He waved irritably. “Go then.”
When Xim made no move to help his pregnant wife to her feet, Tao stood and moved behind the king’s chair to reach his sister’s, but Elsabeth had started to assist the queen at the same time. Aza waved him away. “I’m fine,” she whispered.
“You’re lying,” he whispered back.
Stubbornly, she pressed her lips together, appearing more embarrassed by Xim’s treatment of her than afraid. As a little girl, she’d been fearless. She still was, it seemed.
“I’ll see you on the morrow, dear brother. Go, enjoy the wine.” Her gaze darted to the entertainers. “And maybe a dancer or two.” She bent down to Xim, taking his startled face in her hands, and kissed him on the mouth until his resistance melted into passion. To the delighted applause of those at the table, she smiled down at him. “Thank you, my husband, for this wonderful feast and for welcoming my brother with such generosity.”
Her eyes flicked to Tao, willing him to remain, then she walked away, holding on to Elsabeth’s offered arm. Astounded, Tao watched her go. It seemed his sister was better at politics than he was, by far.
Aza’s departure stole all the levity from the meal, and certainly from Tao.
“Help me up,”