The moment Daine came on deck, the spectacle the Carthaki People had been making of themselves turned into complete pandemonium, as every animal great and small sounded its greeting to her. She tried not to smile, but it was hard to resist. How could she have been worried coming here, with so many friends already? Thank you, everyone! But go back to your homes now, she urged them silently. You're making the two-leggers fair nervous!
Daine and Kitten were at the very end of the delegation, where the lesser nobles stood, which was just as well because it seemed the more important you were, the longer you had to stand and bow. Still, the day was hot, and she could see nothing from her position.
When she finally could see Prince Kaddar, she had to catch her breath. Whatever she had expected, this was not it. He wore a white tunic that set off his olive skin and showed well-muscled calves wrapped with gold sandals, while a red cloak covered one shoulder, fastened at the other across his slim, hardened chest with more gold, this in the shape of a scarab. His sensitive brown eyes were painted like a woman's, but somehow this only added to his masculine beauty, with kohl accenting the almond shape. Rubies adorned his person, a button at his nose, bangles on his wrist, a large stone at his throat. Gold rings marched up his left ear, while a small circlet of gold sat on an abudance of hair that spilled over his shoulders, the color of rich coffee. He's fair wondrous, she thought, awe-struck by the display. Daine had never seen a man take this much care with his person, and it was having its intended effect.
All too soon, she was in front of him. He had seemed bored, held erect in his chair by sheer force of will while his eyes belied a desire to be somewhere else. But as she approached, he sat up straighter.
"Your Grace, you honor me with your invitation, and I will be most humbled to accept your hospitality." She intoned the words she had been taught, and swept into what she hoped was a perfect curtsy. She silently thanked Queen Thayet for practicing the motion with her until she had it right.
"Veralidaine Sarrasri," he murmured. Daine rose to meet his eyes, and her breath caught. He truly was a beautiful man, and his gaze warmed her. Kitten chirped, walking up to Kaddar to better examine his gems.
"Kitten, don't—" Daine started, but Kaddar seemed delighted.
"This is your dragon?" he asked Daine. She smiled, releasing a breath she did not know she had been holding.
"She's her own dragon, Your Grace. I just take care of her."
"But she is a true dragon? Not a basilisk, or something else?"
"No, Your Grace. A basilisk has more pebbled skin, and Kit—well, her name is Skysong, but we call her Kitten—she has scales, and wings." The subject of their conversation grabbed Kaddar's hand, turning it over in her claws as she observed the rings. She croaked, and the ruby bracelet flared to life. Kaddar made a startled sound, then broke into a wide smile.
"She does magic." Daine nodded, about to explain when one of the prince's advisors coughed discreetly. The glimpse of sweetness Daine had observed turned into resignation as Prince Kaddar sighed and leaned back in his ornate chair. "My lady Veralidaine, you must join us for a tour of Carthak's wonders. Wherever you so desire to go, we will take you. Whatever you desire to do, we shall do with you." An image of a private alcove swam into Daine's mind, cool stones against her back, warm lips pressed to hers…
Kitten peeped, and Daine hoped the heat of the day hid the blush in her cheeks. "Of course, Your Grace. And if you please, it is just Daine." Kaddar's gaze swept from Kitten, then traveled from Daine's feet up her body, before finally meeting her gaze. A warmth was growing in her belly, one she could not explain.
"I imagine you are not 'just' anything, my lady Daine," he murmured softly. "I look forward to our next meeting." Daine swept into another curtsy, then moved away to make room for another after her. She commended her legs for doing their job. After the last look he had given her, she was not certain they were going to remember how to continue standing. All thoughts of the Black Mage were scrubbed from her mind as warnings were pushed aside to make room for the image of Prince Kaddar.
"Enjoy your first meeting with a foreign head of state?" Alanna asked as Daine leaned over the rail of the barge. "They make a bit more of a spectacle than we do at home." Privately, Daine thought this was a terrible understatement.
"I enjoyed it well enough," she replied, keeping her gaze fixed in the distance. If she was not mistaken, there were crocodiles out there, large lizard beasts she had never seen with her own eyes. It was a much safer pastime than dwelling on her meeting with the prince. Alanna surveyed her young charge and pursed her lips. Daine's safekeeping was her responsibility, and it had been an easy task so far. But she had the distinct feeling that was all in the past. Standing at the rail in her gossamer blue gown, it was hard to remember the awkward thirteen-year-old that had walked mud-covered into Corus in the midst of a herd of mountain ponies. Onua had remarked that more than one young Rider had been taken to task by Sarge for expressing certain opinions about Daine, most having to do with the swell of her bum or her shapely legs. It did not help that those big blue grey eyes seemed so innocent, that Daine's full mouth looked entirely too vulnerable. Perfect for some villain to think he can take advantage, Alanna thought crossly.
The knight sighed heavily, and Daine turned to her. "Is something wrong?" the younger girl asked. Alanna shook her head.
"No, not wrong. Just…" Alanna paused, scratching her nose. Gods bless it, was this how Rebekah had felt, handing her a pregnancy charm? Alanna felt a hundred years old, and far away from the young woman who had taken a Shang warrior to bed. "Daine, I know you've heard more warnings about this court than you'll need a lifetime. And it's not even a warning, so to speak, it's just…information." Daine smiled encouragingly, certain she knew where this was going.
"I've been around animals in spring time, Alanna," she said with mirth. The knight shifted to the other foot.
"Yes, yes," Alanna replied impatiently. "That's not what I'm talking about. I know you know about sex. What I am talking about is politics."
"Politics?" Alanna nodded.
"The peace we come to broker is tenuous at best. There is a lot at play here. We are women unveiled, from a foreign land. That makes us a commodity. I'm married, so at least I have that to recommend my reputation. But you are a young woman, unmarried, and unspoken for. There is many a noble who would love the trophy of a Tortallan woman on his mantle, especially one so beloved by the king."
"A trophy?" Daine asked with a frown. "Like a hunter?"
"Yes, like that. There are a number of games afoot when political tension is high. One of them is the game of beds, and I imagine the Carthaki will use any advantage they have. Take care in your dealings, and be especially careful with—"
"The Black Mage. I know. I'm fair certain I've no worry in that quarter—from what I hear, he is interested only in buxom blonde women who have nothing 'twixt their ears." Alanna raised an eyebrow.
"And where, pray tell, did you hear this?" Daine ducked her head, realizing she should have kept that to herself. The Rider girls had not let her travel to Carthak without giving her all the most salacious gossip they could think of, much of it having to do with the Black Mage, and his legendary reputation as a womanizer. "Never mind," Alanna continued. "I was not thinking of him anyway. I was going to say be careful with Prince Kaddar." At the mention of his name, a traitorous blush suffused Daine's face, and she looked up in alarm into Alanna's purple eyes that seemed to know more than ever. "I thought so. Take care, Daine. He is a prince of the realm, and while you are free to give your love where you may, he does not have that luxury. You are turning into a young woman, and he has not been heir so long as for me to trust he knows where his duty as nobility lays."
Daine turned back to the marsh, trying to will the blush from her cheeks.
"He's a prince, Alanna," she said. "Princes like fancy women, I'm sure he will have no thoughts for the likes of me." It was hard, Alanna thought, to remember that Daine was only sixteen.
"Under all of that finery, the prince is still a man. Remember that, love." The knight patted Daine's shoulder, and moved to the front of the barge, leaving Daine bewildered and embarrassed, though she didn't know why.
Come hunt instead, sister. A pair of crocodile eyes appeared of a sudden from the surface of the marsh, and then another. It is a simple thing, and will not vex you like these two-leggers. Daine smiled, certain the crocodiles were right in that.
Perhaps another time, she replied. I'm to stay decent for the day, else I'll be in trouble.
Shouting voices to her right snapped Daine from her conversation. On another barge, a young boy was struggling with something in his arms while a slave woman berated him. The boy was crying, but it was nothing to the screeches emanating from his charge. Daine realized it was an animal, and no sooner did she register this thought than the boy opened his arms and the creature tumbled into the river.
"You see? You don't deserve any thing you can't hold on to!" the slave told the boy sharply, and turned the crying child away from the river, giving no more thought to the animal who had tumbled into it.
The crocodiles did not share her disinterest. The small creature was struggling fiercely to stay afloat, but the current kept pulling it down. The crocodiles swam lazily toward it, knowing the little animal was going nowhere.
"No, don't!" Daine cried aloud, but the crocodiles were too intent on their meal to listen. She bit her lip, then cursed, kicking off her delicate slippers and jumping the rail of the barge to dive into the river. Shouts followed her, but she ignored them as she sliced cleanly through the current to reach the little animal. Up close, she saw it was a small monkey, like none she had ever seen before, and it was wearing a monstrously oversized jewel collar. She scooped the animal from the river, then tread water as she unlocked the collar and pumped the monkey's lungs, willing him to breathe. The small animal coughed once, then screeched, panicking and scampering up Daine's arm to her head. The sudden motion made Daine lose her concentration, and she dipped momentarily under the water, inhaling a mouthful of river before gaining control again.
In the confusion, the crocodiles slipped closer to Daine.
You come to hunt with us after all, sister, the nearest one said in a silky voice. Daine struggled to get her charge under control while treading water at the same time.
"Please calm down," Daine said desperately, "I can't—" The small monkey screeched at the crocodiles, tangling its small hands in Daine's curls and pulling at her scalp. I'm not hunting with you! Daine said to the crocodiles. Please go away, you are scaring him!
They taste better when they are scared, came the reply. The crocodiles circled her in the water, waiting for Daine to release her charge. Please, Daine repeated, adding a touch of her will to the request. The crocodiles faltered for a moment, but it was hard to concentrate, and her will slipped. The nearest crocodile lashed out, and Daine shouted, throwing out her magic like a net.
Instead of catching the crocodile, Daine found herself soaring through the air, born on magic, to be dumped unceremoniously on the banks of the river. She crawled to her knees, cursing. Alanna knew better than to interfere when Daine was with the People! "Odds bobs, Alanna, I was doing just fine—"
"It seemed like a rather different story from where I am standing," came the silken reply. Daine started, looking up for the first time. Before her stood perhaps the tallest man she had ever seen. He was swarthy, with coal black hair and eyes that glinted like onyx, as unfathomable as a hawk, and just as sharp. A simple white shirt pulled against broad shoulders, and powerful legs strained against his well-worn breeches. His only adornment was a black stone hung by a leather thong around the thick column of his neck. A blacksmith? Daine wondered, but despite the simple dress, something about the man's demeanor shouted power, not just the physical kind. Quickly, she scrambled to her feet, taking care to not dump her new cargo. She cradled the monkey in the crook of one arm and tried to sketch a curtsy, but with the added weight, she was considerably more clumsy than she had been before the royal delegation.
"Begging your pardon, sir. I thought you was—were someone else. I thank you for your help, but you needn't worry on my account. See, I can talk to the animals, which is what I was doing, because I am—"
"Positively brimming with wild magic." Daine's gaze snapped up, and her breath caught at the look in his eye. She had seen it before, but she could not place where. One thing she knew, it was a powerful mage indeed who could examine her magical aura, and an educated one who even knew what wild magic was, let alone speak of it without dismissing it as an old wives tale. The man reached out and brushed a wet curl from her forehead. "What potential there is here, if you only had the right training," he murmured. Daine straightened, standing with her back stiff, and batted his hand away.
"Excuse me," she replied, a bit more forcefully than she had intended for a stranger. "I have been trained by the Lioness herself, one of the best sorceresses in the world."
"The Lioness is a knight, and a healer. Perhaps she has guided you to your power, but she has not trained you in it." Daine scowled.
"And what would you know about it?"
"A great deal more than you, I'd imagine." Daine's eyes widened, blue grey darkening like thunderclouds.
"Does your ma know she forgot to teach you manners? You may know about my magic, whoever you are, but you don't know me." The tall man grinned wolfishly, and Daine was displeased to find him attractive. He doesn't hold a candle to the prince, she thought fiercely. He stepped towards her, uncomfortably close, so she had to crane her neck to look up at him. When he spoke, his voice was soft.
"Certainly, we shall have to change that." Without taking his eyes from hers, he barked at a passerby on the dock. "You! Your cloak, now." A woman, richly dressed, startled, and before she could remove the cloak herself, the man's magic pulled it from her. It was made of fine brocade, a beautiful shade of orange with gold thread. The man pressed it into Daine's hands.
"What are you doing?" Daine asked, indignant. "I'm not even cold! Give this back this instant!" She tried to thrust the garment back at him, but he held up his hands. She may as well have been offering it to a wall of stone.
"Please, Your Excellency," the woman stammered, trying to back away and curtsy at the same time. "Accept my humble offering—" The man did not pay the woman any attention, and rather than wait for an answer, she fled down the dock, abandoning the cloak. Daine turned to watch her go, then whirled back on the man.
"What is wrong with you?" she hissed.
"The answer to that would depend entirely on whom you ask," he replied mildly. Daine grit her teeth, and tried to give him the cloak one more time.
"I do not want this. I do not want anything from you, especially if it is taken by force." The look, the one she could not name, leapt back into his eyes, and once again she found it difficult to breathe.
"A pity," said the man. He stepped back, his gaze wandering for the first time. "You may not want it, but you need it." His eyes traveled down her throat, lingering on her breasts before trailing down her stomach and her legs. Daine blushed fiercely, her breath coming shallow and her heart pounding. It seemed where his eyes went, that he brushed her with the lightest touch.
"I need nothing from you," she said.
"Perhaps you think so," he replied mildly. "But your dress is ruined, and as much as I have been enjoying it, I imagine you will appreciate my gift once your friends arrive."
"What? What are you—" Daine looked down for the first time, and nearly screamed in anger. The beautiful blue gown, as gossamer as a butterfly's wing, was clearly not meant for the water. It clung to her every curve, as transparent as if she wore nothing at all. With a curse, she threw the cloak around her shoulders, hugging it tight against her chest. "How dare you," she said, breathless with anger.
"How dare I what? Save your life? Or protect your decency?"
Daine spluttered. "You have done neither of those things!"
"A rather different story," he said, "from where I am standing." The man grinned, and before she could help herself, Daine slapped him.
Like the tide rushing out, the grin left his face, replaced by a storm. He grabbed her hand and held it fast, engulfing it in his oversized grip. "I will give you that one." His voice was low, dangerous, nearly a growl. "But should you seek to strike me again, I will forget that you are an ignorant foreign girl, far from home." As he spoke, he squeezed her hand, until the small bones ground together.
"You're hurting me," she said. He did not release her. Daine refused to give him the satisfaction of crying out, but sweat began to bead on her forehead. He was not holding her hand that hard, she knew. He was putting magic behind it. It was too much.
"Daine!" Alanna's voice called out to her. Daine turned, seeing that the barge had nearly come to shore. The scene was distinctly Carthaki, and of a sudden the heat of the day became oppressive, the sounds of the dock blaring, the smell of the marsh overpowering. She was far from home, and this was not Tortall. Daine turned back to the man and lowered her lashes.
"Please," she whispered. "Please let me go."
"So your name is Daine," he murmured. Immediately, the pressure on her hand ceased, and the pain lessened. She saw black fire entwining her fingers as he healed whatever damage he had done. He then brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, as was the custom back home. To all the world, he appeared the chivalrous gentleman. But she saw the mockery in his eyes, and hated him for it.
"Until we meet again, sweetling," he said softly, then turned to the barge and sketched a deep bow to the prince. Without another word, he walked off, and the crowds parted where he went to let him through.
"Daine!" Alanna said once more, near jumping off the barge to get to her. Daine's knees buckled, and Alanna ran up just in time to keep her from falling. "Are you alright? I thought you were talking with those crocodiles, but then you were pulled out—"
"I'm fine," Daine said, hoping her voice did not shake as much as her legs. Alanna led her to a bench, where Daine sat down gratefully, taking care to keep the cloak wrapped tightly about her. "I was fine too, until that impossible, horrible, rude man pulled me out of the river!"
Alanna's gaze shot to the barge, where the delegation was disembarking more politely than she had done, then back to Daine. "Keep your voice down," she hissed. "Goddess, Daine, do you even know who that man is?" Daine's stomach sank as she shook her head slowly, begging all the gods to not let Alanna say what she knew she would. The knight pressed the heel of her hand to her eye in frustration. "All those warnings, wasted. I haven't heard much about the Black Mage having a forgiving streak, but we'll just have to hope he does. Come, let's get you cleaned up." Daine stood up, her whole body feeling wooden, numb, as she had a revelation.
The Black Mage. Of course it had to be him. But that was not what disturbed her. She had finally put a name to the look she had seen in his eyes, that odd light she could not place. Daine had seen it once before, in Galla, when she had ran on all fours like a wolf, when her own village folk had chased her down to kill her.
The Black Mage looked at her like a hunter surveying his prey. He looked like he wanted to swallow her whole.