Rahl woke up, furious, and quickly got out of bed. He dressed, berating himself for all of his actions of the afternoon. He had been kind to Kristina which had made her lose her respect for him. Then he allowed her to sleep with him. He paused for a moment, remembering; that part was enjoyable. But, he had allowed her to act as his equal. He was the master and she was the slave. He held the power, he was the one in control, and her purpose was to do his bidding. His control had slipped but no matter, he would regain that. Worst of all he had delayed his search for the Seeker. Rahl would not allow himself to fail again.
He dragged the peacefully sleeping Kristina out of bed by her hair. He threw her on the ground. In an instant she understood. He had felt the beginning of something just as she did, and he was afraid: of his feelings and of his loss of control. Now Kristina was going to pay for it. Fear would make Rahl unpredictable, and Kristina knew that any chance of a relationship with him was over.
Rahl began to slap Kristina, avoiding her face as to not blemish it, but deliberately going for old bruises. He stood up and kicked her in the ribs with his steel toed boot for good measure. As Kristina lay cowering on the floor, the door opened. A blond haired, blue eyed M'ord Sith entered the room. Kristina had seen her many times around the palace. She was Rahl's most trusted M'ord Sith. "Cara," said Rahl, "To what do I owe this visit?"
"You were right." she replied, "A loyal inkeeper in Elmira has just informed us by journey-book that the Seeker is staying at his inn. What shall we do now?"
"Take Kristina to the inn and leave her there. Then have the local squad of soldiers keep a low profile around the inn but make sure that they notify me once the Seeker leaves the city."
Cara looked puzzled. "You are entrusting killing the Seeker to her?" she asked, motioning to Kristina. "My lord, let me do it. This girl has no training."
"Quite the contrary Cara," said Rahl, "she has all the training she needs. For the past four months that she has been here I have done more with her than bed her. She is quite prepared."
Kristina knew that she had been taken by Rahl to do more than occupy his bed. But kill the Seeker? Impossible! She wouldn't be able to even if she tried.
"Make sure the horses are ready." Rahl instructed Cara.
"As for you," he said to Kristina, "you are to find the Seeker at Elmira and join his little band. I will have a Daharan soldier attack you outside the Seeker's room and he won't be able to resist helping a damsel in distress. Then you are to see of they have the remaining two boxes of Orden, if not stay with them until they get the boxes. I want you to steal the boxes, kill Richard, and return to me."
Rahl knelt on the floor next to Kristina. "You are wondering why on earth I am telling you to do this. It was prophesized and written in the ancient scrolls that the Seeker is destined to die by the hand of the daughter of the moon. That would be you as I have killed all of the other surviving daughters of moon priestesses. As for killing the Seeker, you can work out yourself but I'm sure a little poison will do the trick. And by the way, if you plan on running away as soon as Cara lets you go, think again. I gave you that potion when we were first acquainted for a reason. I will be able to communicate with you through your dreams and more importantly I will always know where you are."
He stroked her face. "You can never hide from me." he said. "And one last thing. If you fail to do as I ask, I will slowly torture and kill all of your family and friends from the islands. Then I will release a whisperer in every town in Dahara starting from the east and working my way west until you give me the boxes and the Seeker's head. All of those people will die because of you, and you wouldn't want that on your head now would you?" Krisina shook her head, too afraid to speak. "There's a good girl." he said. Rahl stood up, satisfied. The balance of things was restored. Kristina would not fail him now that she was properly motivated. But the true reason that she would obey him was unknown even to her.
Rahl led Kristina to the stables where Cara was waiting on her horse. He finished giving Kristina all of her instructions and slipped an intricate golden bracelet around her ankle. He kissed Kristina one last time while running his hands over her. Rahl then lifted Kristina on to the horse and tied her hands together, making sure to stroke her thighs as he placed her bound hands in her lap.
With a kick from Cara the horse set off at a gallop.
The two women rode for many hours without stopping for food or rest. When night fell they made camp alongside a stream. Cara tied a long rope around Kristina's ankles, binding her feet. The other end was attached to a tree so that she could not run away during the night. Kristina assured Cara that she was not going anywhere, which earned her a blow from the agiel and tighter bindings. Both women fell asleep to the wind rustling in the trees and the soft gurgle of the stream.