The princess collapsed back against the couch, trying to catch her breath and fathom all that was happening.
Coryn and Melissa du Juliette explained how they had tracked her to the Hale and Farewell, confronted Lame Hale, and brought Jaymes back to Palanthas.
“Thank you-thank you both,” Selinda said gratefully. “What about that place-Lame Hale! He’s a slaver, right here in Palanthas!”
“He’s a dead slaver now,” the priestess noted grimly. “Someone killed him with a spell while we were trying to question him. Everyone associated with that place will be dealt with. As we learned what was happening, the knights of Kiri-Jolith were moving into that place, rounding up everyone they could catch there. Their justice will be stern, and it is safe to assume the building has been destroyed, the proprietors slain or captured.” She shook her head. “I do not envy the prisoners of the knights, if those prisoners are known to have abused a woman.”
“Why did he pick me?” Selinda wondered. “Nobody in there knew who I was; that’s one thing I liked about the place.”
“Perhaps it was nothing more than a random accosting,” the priestess suggested.
“I’m not so sure,” Coryn said, surprising both of the women.
“What do you mean?” Selinda asked.
“I spoke to some of the customers in that place and the barkeep after we took Hale and found your ring. I’m convinced he did know who you are.”
“But-how? I never revealed my identity!” protested the princess.
“That is a very good question. But the barkeep’s story has led me to believe that Hale must have been trying to lure you, personally, into the place. I suspect he used charm magic himself. He was a sorcerer, though not a follower of godly magic.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“Why did you go in there in the first place?” the wizard probed gently.
“I… I was just out walking. It felt so good to be free of my room, my guards… my husband. And I followed the inviting scent of the waterfront because it had been so long since I’d been there. At least, I thought that was the reason. And then this man, Hale, called to me as I passed on the street. I was frightened at first… but then, it just seemed like it would be interesting and fun.”
Selinda felt sick and humiliated as she made her confession.
“And once you were inside? I understand you went there several times. Why?”
“Hale… well, he seemed so friendly. A good listener…” Selinda’s voice trailed away. How could she have been so foolish? Or so lucky, she realized, considering the narrowness of her escape. “How did you find me?” she asked.
“The ring I gave you,” Coryn explained. “Because I made it, its magic has a very strong connection to me. We noticed you had been missing over a period of days, so I cast a spell to locate the ring, and the ring led us to Hale.”
Selinda slumped back in her chair, sinking into the cushions, weary and still frightened.
“There’s more,” Melissa said, looking at Coryn with a raised eyebrow. The enchantress nodded, and the priestess continued. “Did you drink something called a Red Lotus?”
“Yes,” Selinda replied. “That’s how he knocked me out.”
“There is some danger in that drink. Hale was terrified when he learned you were pregnant.”
“You mean-the drink would hurt the baby?” gasped Selinda. She dropped her head into her hands. “Oh, by Kiri! I didn’t want that! Not like this!”
“I don’t think that’s the issue. I don’t think it would harm the baby. Hale did not strike me as the type to fear someone else’s troubles, and yet he was unquestionably afraid when he learned that you were carrying a child. No, I am worried that it is something even more mysterious. The child might be a danger to others-maybe everyone-or maybe those like Hale, who do wrong. There’s no way to know exactly what the danger is.”
“He wouldn’t say why? Did you ask him?”
“He died before he could tell us,” Coryn said. “I feel certain he was assassinated to keep him from telling any more.”
“I–I don’t care,” Selinda said bravely. “I am going to bring this child into the world and see that he-or she-is raised to know righteousness.”
“What about Jaymes?” asked Coryn. “Do you intend to keep all this a secret from him?”
Selinda lifted her head. She felt her strength flowing back, though whether it was just from the tea or from something else, she didn’t know. Pushing herself to her feet, she found she could stand on her own. It gave her great pleasure to walk to her windows, to throw them open, and to admit the pleasant summer air. Finally, she turned around.
“I will tell him everything… when this crisis is over. I will not burden him with my problems while he wages war to save the nation that we all want to survive.” Her expression hardened. “I know now that he must have deceived me to make me his wife.”
Coryn looked away, almost as if she were ashamed, a reaction that surprised Selinda. But the princess continued to explain.
“And he used me to legitimize his ascension to emperor. I was the Princess of Palanthas after all, and the gods only knew how many prophecies there were proclaiming that the man who married the princess would be the one to unite the cities of Solamnia into a nation again. He used that-and me-to elevate himself, to make himself the leader of a new empire.
“At first, it was a dizzy game to me, and by the time I started to wonder how or why it was happening, it was too late. And even now, I can see that Jaymes has been good for Solamnia, even if he was not good for me.”
Selinda turned and regarded both of her friends, gratitude shining in the emotion of her eyes. “I thank you both sincerely for saving my life. I was a fool-an utter fool-driven by despair. But no longer.”
Coryn was still looking away, so it was Melissa who spoke.
“No longer a fool, or no longer in despair?” asked the priestess pointedly.
“No longer either, I trust,” the emperor’s wife said. “I thought I was reclaiming my life when I broke free from my prison, but just being free isn’t enough.”
Her hand moved to her belly, which she stroked gently. “Jaymes has another campaign to wage-and he is the best hope we have of holding this country together and moving into the future. I don’t love him-you both know that-but I have a duty to this realm. Whether it is because of who I am by birth or who I married, I do have a role to play. I am more than a woman, a daughter, a wife. I am a symbol of Solamnia. However, I will not be his wife anymore-not even in the privacy of our lives. He must know this truth.”
She drew a breath.
“But neither will I betray him,” she said.
Jaymes made his way to the main gate of the city, where the Dark Knights had tried to force their way in. He found the place garrisoned by a mixed force of city guards and Solamnic Knights. They were commanded by an impressive-looking Knight of the Rose named Sir Ballard.
“They attacked here, from the mountain road?” Jaymes asked.
“Yes, my lord. A brigade came down, reportedly from the High Clerist’s Tower. It is said to be in rebel hands, sir.”
“Yes, I’ve heard that too. I’ll be checking on it very shortly. What happened to the brigade?”
“Their leader was killed on this very platform. The rest of the Dark Knights retreated back up the road when they couldn’t gain entrance to the city,” Ballard reported, eyeing the emperor warily. “They almost forced the gate here. One man stopped them-the same man who killed their captain.”
“Who’s that?” asked Jaymes.
“It was me, Excellency,” said Blayne Kerrigan, coming forward into the light. Jaymes immediately recognized the young lord. “I closed the portcullis when I realized the men were Dark Knights. But not before a number of good men, loyal knights, were killed by black magic and treachery.”
“You saved the city of Palanthas from the Dark Knights?” The emperor surprised everyone by throwing back his head and laughing heartily. “But you’re an outlaw!” he declared. “There’s a price on your head!”
“So I have heard. If that be the case, then I submit myself to your justice,” Blayne said stiffly. “To do with as
