“So you attacked me? You never used to be so stupid, Tarja.”
“No. The attack was just a diversion so that I could warn you before Joyhinia got here. I hoped you’d listen to reason.” How ludicrous his plan seemed now. How grandiose and improbable. Jenga was right. He never used to be so stupid.
“Did you think I would turn the Defenders around against the express orders of the First Sister to face an invasion that I’ve heard nothing of?”
“You’ll hear about it soon enough, my Lord.”
“And R’shiel?” Jenga asked. “How is she involved in this? The
Tarja was very tempted to lie. By denying Sunny’s story he might be able to save R’shiel... from what? They would both be hanged as soon as Joyhinia arrived. She would not suffer either of them to live any longer.
“The Harshini are no threat to Medalon,” Tarja said, shaking his head. “Quite the opposite.”
“I always wondered about who she really was,” Jenga said, staring at his hands, then he looked up, the Lord Defender to the core. “I assume you found them, then? The Harshini who are still in hiding? You have the location of their settlement?”
“Jenga, forget the Harshini!” Tarja pleaded. “They are not the threat the Sisterhood claims!”
“Where are they hiding? Or have you changed sides again, Tarja? Have the Harshini sorcerers addled your wits? It would account for your actions tonight, at least.”
“I don’t know where they are. I only met a couple of them.”
“And based on this meeting with two representatives of their race, you have determined that they are no threat to us?” Jenga asked skeptically. “A sound military assessment if ever I heard one.”
“The Harshini are not warriors. They’re peaceful.”
“Do you think me a fool? The Hythrun follow the gods of the Harshini and are the most warlike nation in the world. The Fardohnyans keep a standing army that outnumbers our entire population! These are the followers of your peaceful Harshini, Tarja. Every Hythrun warlord sacrifices living things to your Harshini gods.”
Tarja wished he knew more. He wished he knew how to explain what he knew in his heart to be true.
“You’re wrong, Jenga,” Tarja insisted, although he lacked the words to make the old man believe him.
“Then you will not disclose the information regarding their location?”
“Not even if I knew where it was. The threat that faces Medalon is coming from the north.”
Jenga leaned back in his chair. “Perhaps R’shiel will be more forthcoming?”
“Harm one hair on her head and I will kill you, Jenga.”
Harven’s hand instinctively went to his sword, so dangerous did Tarja appear at that moment. The Lord Defender raised his hand to halt the young captain.
“It is clear where your loyalties now lie, Tarja. I never cease to be amazed at your facility to change sides. You wondered earlier if I thought you had broken your oath. I see now that any oath is meaningless to you. You have no honor. You are nothing but an opportunist. A cold-blooded mercenary who fights for whichever side offers the highest coin.”
Tarja was saddened by the Lord Defender’s words, but beyond being offended by them. “If only you could see what I have seen, Jenga.”
Jenga pushed himself wearily to his feet. He turned to Harven. “Take him back and put him with the other prisoners in the compound, but see that he’s well guarded. They probably want him dead as much as I do, but I imagine the First Sister will want that pleasure for herself.”
By midmorning, all the prisoners caught in Sunny’s trap were confined to a temporary compound erected to hold them on the outskirts of the town. Although the planking that had been hastily nailed to the fences would almost certainly fall under a concerted attack, the rebels made no attempt to escape. Ringing the flimsy compound was a circle of grim-faced Defenders who were a much greater deterrent.
Just after first light, Mahina and Affiana were pushed through the gate, looking rather disheveled, their expressions more resigned than frightened. R’shiel followed, after the prisoners had been fed a thin broth and surprisingly fresh bread for breakfast. The troopers assigned to guard Tarja stepped forward to prevent her coming near, but Harven waved them back. The young captain had been surprisingly relaxed in his custodial duties. He did not seem interested in preventing contact with the other prisoners. Much to Tarja’s amazement, the rebels did not hold him responsible for their current predicament. It was far easier to blame a conniving
Tarja was certain that this time he would not escape the hangman’s noose. His crimes against Joyhinia and the Sisterhood were far too numerous. The remainder of the rebels, he was less certain about. Many of them had been arrested for little more than being out in the streets of Testra after dark, armed with farming implements. Hardly the stuff of dangerous insurgents.
Mahina would probably get nothing more than a scolding, he judged. Even Joyhinia would not attempt to hang a former First Sister. Such an action would set a dangerous precedent. He was more worried for R’shiel. She had been identified as Harshini.
He stood up as she ran to him. He had not slept in two days, but the crushing fatigue he felt was almost banished by the sight of her, alive and well, still wearing those damned Dragon Rider’s leathers.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” she told him, as she hugged him tightly. “They asked me a few questions, but that was all.”
“Me, too. But it will be all right now.”
R’shiel looked him in the eye, clearly seeing the lie for what it was.
“Joyhinia has arrived. I saw them taking a carriage down to the docks to meet her when they brought me in.”
“Then we won’t have much longer to wait.”
As if in answer, the gate swung open noisily. A Company of Defenders entered the temporary compound, spreading out to form a semicircle of red coats and polished steel.
He kissed her. It might be the last time he would ever have the chance. She pulled away and looked up at him. He could see everything she wanted to say in her eyes. Everything she would never have the opportunity to tell him. As the last of the Defenders marched through the gate, Joyhinia walked in, flanked by Jenga and Draco.
Taking her hand they walked forward together to confront the First Sister.
chapter 61
The First Sister saw them as soon as she entered the compound. Jenga stood beside her. He had probably briefed her on the ride to the compound from the docks. Draco was just as silent and withdrawn as always. Tarja worried a little about him. Would he object to anything Joyhinia ordered? It was hard to tell with Draco.
Joyhinia scowled at Tarja and then looked at R’shiel. With the knowledge of her true ancestry, it would be hard to miss her Harshini heritage. She spared a glance for the rebels, who were slowly gathering behind him, silently and expectantly, as they stepped forward. Joyhinia must be wondering what she had to do to discredit him. The thought gave him a measure of satisfaction.
“So this is what you have come to?” she asked scathingly as they stopped before her, hand in hand. “I see you have even stooped to incest.”
“I’d not go down that road if I were you, Joyhinia,” he advised. “If R’shiel is my sister and her father is Harshini, what does that make you?”
Joyhinia’s expression darkened. Had she known the truth about R’shiel? By the look on her face, Tarja doubted it.
“I might have known you would be taken in by a Harshini slut.”
“Better a Harshini slut for a lover than a heartless bitch for a mother,” R’shiel snapped.
