that you have known giants.”
“Only one, and he was considered small for his breed,” Lara replied.
“These are big fellows,” Captain Corrado said. The platform stopped, and a servant was there to open the gates for them. They stepped into a well-lit corridor. “Lady, our men are not used to the sound of a woman’s voice. Try to remain silent. And be warned that the Dominus is a stern man. Please be discreet, for your own safety.”
“Thank you,” Lara responded, touched by his concern. Then she followed him down the corridor accompanied by the servant who had helped them into the hallway.
“The master is in his private quarters,” Lara heard the servant say to Captain Corrado. “He was not certain you would arrive today.”
“The weather was good, the seas fair. I have a surprise for the Dominus,” Captain Corrado answered the servant.
“The woman?” The servant cast a quick glance in Lara’s direction.
“She is half-faerie, and Hetarian,” the captain said. “She is a gift.”
“And a fine one!” the servant responded enthusiastically. “I wish someone would gift me like that, my lord Captain.” And the two men chuckled, sharing the jest.
At the very end of the corridor were a pair of double doors fashioned from bronze. There were no guards before the door, Lara noted. Clearly the Dominus was entirely secure in his castle. The servant opened one of the doors and ushered them into a large chamber. To their left were great tall windows overlooking the fjord. Before them was a massive hearth with great andirons holding several large logs that burned brightly.
A man who had been seated in a large high-backed chair by that fire now arose to meet them. He was very, very tall, and his frame was large, yet in perfect proportion with his size. The face was handsome but severe, with a long nose, high forehead and cheekbones and thin lips. His hair was short and deep gold in color, with lighter gold highlights here and there. Thick gold eyebrows above turquoise-blue eyes matched his hair. He wore a single garment, a long dark blue robe with a round neckline. The look he gave Captain Corrado was a warm one.
The captain fell to a single knee, and taking one of the Dominus’s big hands pressed it to his forehead, his lips and then his heart. “My lord.”
“Welcome home, Corrado,” the Dominus said. His voice was deep and musical.
“Now get up, kinsman, and tell me how the voyage went.” He appeared to show no interest whatsoever in the woman by Corrado’s side, but Lara had seen the quick flick of an eye that he shot in her direction.
“It was an ordinary journey but for one thing, my lord. Have you the time to listen to me?” Corrado asked the Dominus.
Magnus Hauk nodded.
“King Arcas wished to dispose of a political enemy, and so he has sent her to you as a gift. She is half-faerie, and she speaks with the sound of nightingales,” the captain said. “Her name is Lara. She is intelligent. I have learned her history, but it is better told by her. I hope she will please you so I may tell Arcas when I see him again that she has.”
“Does Arcas think we have no women in my Dominion? Or perhaps he believes Hetarian women surpass Terahn women,” Magnus Hauk said.
“I believe it is just that he wished to rid himself of me, and thought to curry favor with you, my lord Dominus,” she said boldly.
The Dominus turned his gaze to Lara’s. His was a most powerful glance, and she almost looked away, but she did not. “Her voice is indeed sweet to my ears,” Magnus Hauk said to his kinsman as if Lara were not even there. “And she is beautiful, I will admit.” He reached out as though to grasp the neck of her gown, but Lara stayed his hand.
“My lord, I have but this one garment to my name,” she said.
“Remove it then so I may fully see what the Coastal King has sent me,” he told her. “You may remain, Corrado.”
“My lord, with your permission I should prefer to withdraw. What lies beneath that gown is a sight that should only be for your eyes,” the captain said.
The Dominus laughed. “Always the man of perfect discretion,” he answered. “Go then, my kinsman. We will speak tomorrow, and I will tell you if I gained pleasures with this woman and mean to keep her, or if I will give her as a reward to another.”
Captain Corrado looked horrified. “My lord,” he cried. “You must not allow another to have her. She has great magic, and will be of much use to you. Do not allow anyone else to gain the advantage over you.”
Now the Dominus was intrigued, and his lust was put aside for the moment. “Tell me of her magic,” he demanded.
The captain turned to Lara. “Show him, please,” he begged her.
Lara laughed softly. “My lord Dominus, I ask your permission to show you my sword, Andraste. She is a most unusual weapon, but I should not unsheathe her without your permission.”
“You have it,” he answered quietly. “Are you an assassin then?”
“No, my lord Dominus. I am warrior-trained by the Shadow Princes of Hetar. When I completed my training the sword was a gift from the great sword master Lothair. It possesses a victory spirit who is called Andraste.” Lara carefully drew her weapon from the sheath on her back. Holding it flat upon her two palms she displayed it to him.
The Dominus reached out to take the sword, but jumped back startled as a deep and powerful woman’s voice warned him off.
“Greetings, Dominus Magnus Hauk. I am Andraste, and I permit only my mistress’s hand to touch me. I drink the blood of the wicked.”
“What magic is this?” Magnus Hauk asked suspiciously.
“The magic of Hetar, my lord Dominus,” Lara answered him. “The staff I carry also has a name, and a voice.” She turned Verica to face the Dominus.
“Greetings, Magnus Hauk. I am Verica,” the staff said.
The Dominus stared hard for a moment, and then he said, “Your face is a noble one, Verica. I greet you.”
Andraste began to hum low. The Dominus had not greeted her.
But then he turned back to the sword, saying, “You are every bit as beautiful as your mistress, Andraste.”
“And far fiercer, Dominus,” Andraste replied tartly, and Lara knew her weapon was slightly offended by Magnus Hauk’s patronizing compliment.
“With your permission again, my lord Dominus,” Lara said, “I will resheathe Andraste.” She quickly did so, and at the same time set Verica aside.
“I will not take your weapons from you,” Magnus Hauk told Lara. “You have my word on it. But I would have you put them aside now. I cannot take pleasures with an armed woman.”
“I will leave you now,” Captain Corrado said bowing to his kinsman.
“Thank you, Captain, for your courtesy and kindness,” Lara said quietly.
The sea captain bowed briefly to her, and hurried from the chamber.
“You have obviously impressed him,” Magnus Hauk said. “I have never known him to bow to a woman. Our silent women are hardly worthy of such respect.”
“All women are worthy of respect, my lord Dominus,” Lara told him.
“Even in Hetar?” he asked her softly.
“What do you know of Hetar?” she countered.
“Very little,” he admitted. “And other than the Coastal Kings, Hetar knows nothing of us. Are you going to remove your gown, or must I rip it from you, Lara?”
“Are you always so impatient, my lord Dominus? I learned long ago that patience leads to greater pleasures than a hasty coupling.” She undid her gown at a shoulder, and shrugged it off. The silvery fabric slid to the stone floor of the chamber with a faint hiss.
Lara now stood quietly, and very still.
Magnus Hauk stared at the beautiful woman before him. She was the most perfect female he had ever seen in all his days. “Are all Hetarian woman as beautiful as you, Lara?” he asked her, genuinely curious.
“No,” she replied honestly. “I am unique by virtue of my faerie blood, my lord Dominus. I expect women, like men, wherever they are from, come in many shapes and sizes. Some are always fairer than others. Some are
