bloodshed, and I know my father will not die this time.”
“This emperor is a wily fellow,” Magnus said thoughtfully. “And he desires you, wife. Are you aware of that?”
Lara laughed. “Gaius Prospero is simply greedy for the finest that life has to offer, no matter what it is. It is his advisor, Jonah, who is truly dangerous. One day Gaius Prospero will discover that to his detriment.”
The innkeeper hurried into the garden. “My lady, I did not realize that you were the daughter of a Crusader Knight,” he said. “Why did you not say so when you arrived? I am honored to have you in my house. I remember the great stir you caused several years back among the Pleasure Guilds. But forgive me – the emperor has sent a message, and a litter for you.” He handed her the small rolled parchment.
“Tell the litter bearers to return to their master,” Lara said as she opened the message from Gaius Prospero, and perused it.
The innkeeper stared openmouthed in surprise at her. She was refusing the emperor’s command?
“Go!” Lara told him impatiently, and he hurried off.
“What does he want?” Magnus asked her.
“To see me privately on a matter of interest, he writes,” Lara replied.
“You don’t intend to go?” her husband queried her.
“I will go, but I will use my own means of transport,” Lara told him. “I see I have not yet instilled in Gaius Prospero the proper amount of respect for who I am and what I have become. It is time that I did that. Come, my lord, I must fetch Andraste.”
They returned to their chamber, and Lara changed from the simple gown she was wearing into her leather trousers and silk shirt. She slipped her doe-skin vest with the silver edged horn buttons on, and then calling Andraste from the shadows put the leather scabbard across her chest. The sword with its woman’s head peered over her left shoulder. Then she drew on her leather boots. “Am I suitably intimidating?” she asked her husband with a small smile.
“He lusts after you,” Magnus said. “There is nothing you can do to prevent that.”
“It is not his lust that concerns me,” Lara said. “I want him to be afraid of me, my lord husband. So afraid that he will consider well the folly of attempting to seek out Terah at any time in the near future.” She kissed him, and with a smile disappeared from his sight in a small mist of mauve.
GAIUS PROSPERO looked up from the table where he had been going over the invoices concerning new merchandise just received in his warehouses. Lara was standing before him, observing him. “I did not hear you come in,” he said. “You were not announced.” He stood up and came toward her.
Lara held up her hand, and he found his progress impeded. “You will not come any closer, my lord,” she said to him. “I returned your litter and came by my own means of transport, magic. I shall depart the same way. What do you want of me, Gaius Prospero?” She lowered her hand, but he found he still could not move toward her.
“You had no magic, or claimed to have none when you left the City,” he said. “Now it would appear that your mother’s blood flows hot in your veins, Lara.” He gave her a weak smile, for the truth be known, he found himself a little nervous in her presence now. Still he could not resist speaking with her one more time. Without Jonah hovering near his elbow. Without Vilia and Anora leaning forward to catch every word he spoke to the beauteous faerie woman.
“Why have you sought to see me again, my lord? What is it you want of me?” she repeated. “Tomorrow I mean to depart Hetar. I doubt I shall ever return.”
“You are Hetarian,” he said. “You are everything that is good about Hetar. You are beautiful, strong, intelligent and wise, Lara, daughter of Swiftsword. Return to Hetar, and I will place you at the pinnacle of power.”
“And where is that?” she asked him mockingly.
“By my side, as my empress,” he said.
Lara laughed, but it was a cold sound. “Gaius Prospero, I have power of my own. I do not need yours. I have faerie power, which is stronger than any power you could offer me. I am the Domina of Terah. I am loved by a great man, Magnus Hauk. When you killed Vartan of the Fiacre, were you driven more by your desire to annex the Outlands or your lust for me? You sought power first, and now that you have it you have decided you want me, too. Beware, my lord, for power, all power, is an illusion and illusions eventually fade away. I have a destiny to fulfill, Gaius Prospero. I do not believe you will play a great role in that destiny.”
“Foolish woman, do you not realize what it is I offer you?” he demanded, and attempted to move toward her again.
Andraste began to hum softly in Lara ear. “Show him your power,” the spirit in the sword told her.
Lara drew the weapon forth, holding it before her. “My magic is protecting you from your own folly, Gaius Prospero. Were you able to approach me I should be forced to slay you for your insolence. Listen, and Andraste will sing for you. It is a song usually heard only by those about to feel the kiss of her sharp blade. It was heard by those I fought and slew in the Winter War.”
He could see the sword’s jeweled eyes opening, and then Gaius Prospero heard the dark voice as it began to sing.
“I am Andraste, and I drink the blood of the traitor, the betrayer, the foolish who cannot see the truth! Fear me, Gaius Prospero, and pray to your god that we never meet in battle, for if we do I will sup upon your very essence!”
The color drained from Gaius Prospero’s plump face. His legs felt weak beneath him. “You have killed?” he said in a terrified voice, looking directly at Lara.
“Did you not put about the rumor that I had, my lord?” Lara mocked him. “Well, ’tis truth. I took the head of Durga, once Head Forester, from his thick shoulders when through bribery he attempted to subvert Hetar’s laws. He was my first kill. I slew Mercenaries in the Winter War who at your bidding had invaded the lands of the Tormod and the Piaras, enslaving its people, stealing its wealth. And when Adon killed my husband, Vartan, I slew both him and his stupid wife without mercy. Yes, Gaius Prospero, I wield this sword with skill, and I am not afraid to kill with it. I am not the girl you sold off eight years ago while complaining your profit was not enough. I am Lara, Domina of Terah, daughter of Ilona, queen of the Forest Faeries. I fear neither you nor the might of Hetar. You insult me with your suggestions. You betray your wife, Vilia, who has been devoted to you. As for that pretty creature you call your second wife, I know her not. But you do her an injustice asking me to stand by your side and be your empress. Both your women deserve better of you.”
“But Lara,” Gaius wheedled, “I wish only to honor your beauty with my fervent admiration.”
“Lustful man! Do you want to know what it is like to take pleasures with me? I can show you within the cavern of your mind what it would be like. But if I do, be warned that no woman will ever give you satisfaction again, my lord. Are you foolish enough to seek a moment’s pleasure for a lifetime of emptiness?” Her green eyes blazed.
He wanted her. He had always wanted her, but he had not taken her when he purchased her from her father because half of her value was in her innocence then. But now it was different. He burned to possess her. “Yes! Yes!” he gasped. “Show me!”
“If I do,” she cautioned him a second time, “you will never know pleasures with another woman again. Oh, you will couple, but you will feel nothing, Gaius Prospero. This will be my punishment for your presumption.”
“Show me!” His voice grated harshly. Suddenly he was naked and vulnerable to her. He felt her hands on him, stroking his nakedness, fondling his love rod, cupping his seed sacs in the warmth of her palm. He felt the full swell of her beautiful breasts against him; her hard nipples pushing into his chest. Felt the press of her body against his body. Yet he could not move. He was drowning in sensation as he felt her tongue licking every inch of him, sucking upon his nipples, his rod. He tasted her nipples in his mouth, and he sucked hungrily aching as his need rose like a fever within him. He felt himself being sheathed within the hot swamp of her. Gaius Prospero moaned with his desperation, for while he felt everything a man would feel while taking pleasures with a woman, Lara stood directly before him, a cold smile upon her lips. Helplessly he savored love’s rhythm as its tempo increased with each stroke of his manhood. His eyes closed with the incredible pleasure he was experiencing. Again and again he thrust, and thrust, and thrust until his crisis could not be denied. It was perfect. And then he felt himself spilling his seed in great spurts that seemed endless. He groaned, for it was almost painful. Finally it was over, and he opened his eyes to find Lara was gone. He was alone. He was fully clothed, and the front of his long tunic was soaked with the remnants of his lust. Gaius Prospero collapsed onto the marble floor sobbing.
