30
SO MUCH WAS happening, too much, and she was reeling with all that hea??d said, all that the king had said.
She stared at him now, unable to accept his utter confidence in himself at what hea??d done and what he expected others to do.
He saw nothing save what he wanted to see, would accept nothing beyond what he had commanded.
a??Surely you cannot believe that the people will affirm that you are the king.
They would wish to believe it, for it is a magical thing, this rebirth you convinced the king to believe, but the people wona??t accept it, not once they look at you, not once they are standing close to you. You look foreign, different from us.a??
a??Do you forget so quickly that you believed me an old man, that all thosea??including the kinga??have believed me an ancient relic, an advisor, some even saw me as some sort of priest?
They will see and accept, for I will continue to disguise myself and each day I will use less and less disguise.
Only you will see me as I truly am, each night, when we come together.
Aye, they will become familiar with me, you will see.
Soon, very soon, they will be shouting their enthusiasm that I am reborn and given back to them by that magician, Hormuze.a??
a??No,a?? she said. a??No. The people arena??t stupid.
They wona??t believe you are truly Sitric reborn.
Ita??s best you face up to it and escape while you still can before they discover that youa??ve murdered Sitric.
His warriors have no love for him, but their loyalty is unquestioned. They will surely kill you.a??
He was frowning at her, completely unaware and uncaring that he was naked, standing there over the dead kinga??s body as if it were naught but another pillow or a tray of food, something of no account at all.
All his attention was on Mirana. He said slowly, a??Naphta never questioned my judgment, my decisions.
You will not either. She always bent to me, gracefully and naturally, as sweetly as a supplicant worships a god. You will as well.a??
a??You were wedded to an idiot?a??
He struck her hard across her cheek and she reeled sideways, trying to grab onto something to save herself, but there was nothing, only the soft pillows in piles at her feet, the slippery silk draperies beyond her reach, the lush carpets that were thick and deep but allowed no purchase.
She sprawled onto her back on the pillows, hitting her elbow on a brazier and knocking it over.
Chunks of cold coal fell onto the pillows, blackening the bright reds and golds and blues.
He came down on his knees beside her. He didna??t touch her, but she smelled him, a musky odor that wasna??t displeasing, only different, and it came from his flesh and from his mana??s sex as well, close to her, too close to her.
She was frightened of him as she hadna??t been of the old king, for he was young and strong, he had all the vigor hea??d promised the king.
He was angry, and she saw that he trembled with his anger, that it required all his will to control his anger.
Einar wouldna??t have even tried to control his fury.
He would have struck out and maimed and killed, but not this man.
This man had exquisite control over himself.
She held very still. He said, his voice harsh, barely overlaid with a calm so naked that it chilled her, a??Do not ever again speak ill of Naphta.
You are not worthy to even say her name.
You are nothing compared to her. She was my queen, the most beautiful woman in the world.a??
a??I understand,a?? she said. a??Your wife was perfection and I bow to your memories of her. But that isna??t the point now, Hormuzea??a??
a??You will call me Sitric. Forget it not, Mirana.a??
a??Very well, Sitric. But heed my words, please.a?? Ah, she saw that the please suited him; he believed her already bending to his will. a??I did not know, nor would I have ever realized that you and the old man you pretended to be were one and the same.a??
a??But you did,a?? he said slowly, looking down at the back of his hand, where some of the nut dye had smeared. And shea??d seen it and wondered at it.
a??Nay, I merely believed you had an illness of some kind, nothing more. But listen to me, Hora??Sitric, surely there are old men back at the court who well remember what the old Sitric looked like as a young man. They will denounce you.a??
He drew back, sitting on his haunches. He was too close to her, the smell of him was too close.
He was smiling. He reached out and touched his fingertips to the red mark on her cheek.
Even his fingers smelled of the heady musk scent and she wanted to draw back, but knew it would anger him if she did. She would bide her time.
He said, a??I am sorry to bring you pain, but it was short-lived and necessary, you must realize that.
You will not question me again, Mirana. However, what you just said is worthy of my listening and my response to you will prove my greatness.
I am not a man who makes mistakes. Over the past two years I have cleansed the kinga??s court of eleven old men, all his cronies since they were boys.
I used different methods in all their deaths.
All believed them natural deaths, for they were old, after all, that, or accidents.
Now there are none left who remember him at my age, none.
Three decades is a very long time. As for the men who know him now, why I will age and they will as well and none will remember, for time erases images. I will succeed, doubt it not.a??
There was pleasure and triumph in his dark eyes, and now something more, something that made her breath catch in her throat.
He was suddenly looking at her with a mana??s lust. She didna??t want to look, but she did.
His mana??s rod was swelling from the thick black hair at his groin, jutting toward her.
Odd how it was that the hair at his groin was thick and black and wiry, yet there was no hair on his chest and the hair on his head was as black and soft as the silk pillow beneath her hand.
a??The king,a?? she said, and shuddered.
He frowned at her, distracted from his purpose, and rose to stare down at the old mana??s body, drawn up tightly in his final spasms, the muscles of his face showing his agony at his death moment, his eyes filmed, and wide with shock and pain.
a??Even in death he offends me,a?? Hormuze said.
a??You will remain there, Mirana, and I will move him. Do not move.a??
She watched him drag the kinga??s body from the small chamber. She didna??t doubt for an instant that hea??d planned this for a very long time. Old Sitrica??s body would never be found, of that she was certain. She closed her eyes a moment. What would she do?
He was gone for a long time. When he came through the silken draperies, he wore a long robe of vivid green silk, belted at his waist. He was carrying a silver tray with two silver goblets on it, goblets of exquisite design.
a??I have brought us wine that came from a land you have never learned of, Mirana.
It will calm you and make the night pass pleasantly between us.
You will not be afraid that I will savage you.
I took three slave girls last night to drain my passion.a?? He saw that she would question him, and added, a??No, Mirana, I did not let them see me as I am now, for if I had, then I would have had to kill them, and I do not approve unnecessary death.
They used their mouths on my rod and left me immediately after.
I have told you to trust me, to know that I am a brilliant man.
I will be careful not to hurt you overly.
Here, Mirana. You are now my wife, my Naphta, and my queen.
Drink to us. Drink to the king and queen.a??
She took the goblet and lifted it to her mouth. She smelled the deep cloying sweetness that rose to her nostrils like thick steam from the red liquid. There was a stench to it and she knew fear, deep grinding fear. She looked up at him. a??I do not wish to drink this.a??
He tightened. Mirana saw it not only in the thin line of his mouth, but the long sinewy muscles of his body. Even his voice was taut and stiff and hard when he spoke. a??You will do as I bid you. You are my wife now and you will never say nay to me. Do you understand me, Mirana?a??
a??I understand you very well, but I am myself, Hora??Sitrica??not this woman you believe I resemble. I can never be her. You loved her, this Naphta. I am not she. You even said that I wasna??t worthy of her. It is true. Please, look at me, listen to me.a??
a??You are just as I wish you to be. All other thingsa??those small movements with your hands, the way you will laugh, the way you will bow your head to me in pleasing submission, the way you will look at me when you wish to give me pleasure with your bodya??all these things I will teach you.
You are an apt pupil. As for her spirit, I know you have it not nor will you ever have it, but you will become sufficient.
You will obey me in all things. You will do just as I bid you.
I have a daughter, Eze, who even now carries her mothera??s expressionsa??your expressions.
You will care for her as if she were your own, and as she grows older, she will be more and more like her mother, as will you, and I will have both of you to remind me of my Naphta. That is all.a??