“Does everyone know this but me?” she asked him, hugging him as he bent down to greet her. “Will you come with me?”
“No,” Og said. “I am happy here at Shunnar. The prince has put me in charge of his stables now, and when I desire it, a wife will be found for me among the Desert peoples. Zaki has promised it. I am a small giant, and there are some large girls among Zaki’s people. I am respected, and earn my own living now. He says I am quite a good catch,” Og chuckled.
“I am so glad for you!” Lara told him honestly. “You go to the village then?”
“As often as I can,” Og told her. “I enjoy the company of Zaki’s people. The prince has promised when I take a wife I will have my own quarters within the palace, where I may bring a wife and raise children. For now I have been content to sleep in the loft above,” he explained. “Where will you go?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know yet. Where the wind takes me, I suppose.”
“Alone?”
“Nay, Noss is coming with me. She has become quite a good archer. I seem to have my father’s talents, and I have become fairly proficient with the staff. My mother gave me one called Verica. Prince Lothair has given me a sword, Andraste. I am not afraid as I was when we escaped the Forest, though Durga and Enda come this way even as I speak. They think to reclaim me, but we are free now, dear Og. A year and a day have passed. The law of Hetar is on our side now, not theirs,” Lara said triumphantly.
“When they learn your bloodline they will want you even more, granddaughter of Maeve,” Og answered her.
“Did you know?” Lara asked him.
“I suspected it when I learned your mother’s name,” he said, “but what good was the knowledge to either of us then? It could only have made your life worse. I learned long ago how to keep secrets, Lara. I will stand by your side when the Foresters arrive. They are dense men, but they have surely realized when I went missing, too, that we had effected our escape together. They will not want me back, for even if I do not tell them I know their secret, I know enough to shame them should I speak. They must say aloud before witnesses that I am now free, that I may live the rest of my life without fear for myself, my wife, or my children.”
“I met Maeve,” Lara told him.
“Did you?” He was impressed.
“She was fading, and has since disappeared entirely. Ilona is now queen of the Forest Faeries. Maeve told me she would never lift the curse, and no one else could. The Foresters are doomed. Whether they admit it or not, the purity of their blood is almost extinct,” Lara said quietly.
“Durga will never accept it,” Og said.
“He has no choice,” Lara replied. “I will send for you when the Foresters arrive, Og. Be ready.” Then taking up his big hand she kissed it, and wrapping her arms about his thick neck she kissed his rough cheek. “Be happy, dear Og. You deserve it.” She stood up. “I must return now. Kaliq was slightly injured, and I am nursing him.”
“What happened?” the giant asked, and Lara quickly explained.
“He taught you to shape-shift?”
“My mother taught me. She was here a few weeks, and passed on certain faerie magic to me so I will be safe in my travels,” Lara explained. “I must go now.” And with a wave of her hand she hurried from the stables, leaving the giant behind.
“WILL OG COME?” Kaliq asked her when she returned to him.
Lara shook her head. “You knew as much, didn’t you?” she said.
“Yes, but it was not for me to tell you,” he replied. “It is better this way, for wherever you go, Lara, you want to travel discreetly, and even a small giant six cubits high could attract unwanted attention to you. There are going to be times when you don’t want attention.”
“I feel the pull of something, Kaliq,” she told him. “What is it?”
“Your destiny,” he said.
“But I cannot go until you are healed,” she said. “Nor until Durga and Enda understand I will not be returning to them. I cannot imagine how I am going to be able to convince them.” She sighed. “And it is my problem, isn’t it?”
“The law of Hetar is on your side, Lara. A slave who remains free for a year and a day is no longer a slave,” he reminded her. “And any slave seeking refuge in the Desert cannot be taken back. They have no rights to you, my love.”
“I suspect they will not see it that way,” Lara remarked.
She was right, of course. Two days later, Durga, Enda and a party of six other Foresters arrived at the cliffs hiding the valley of the Shadow Princes. They were informed by Zaki that they would have to wait until Prince Kaliq and his brothers were willing to see them. Zaki had been warned that these men of the Forests had short tempers, and so were to be fed, watered and avoided until it was time to admit them to the presence of the princes. And at the end of three days, Durga and his companions were growing restless and angry. Not until the fourth morning did Zaki greet them.
“The princes have agreed to see you this afternoon, my lords,” he said. “When it is time I will bring you to them.” He bowed.
“You’ve known the way to them all along?” Durga exploded.
“Of course I know the way to my lord’s palace,” Zaki responded.
“And you have allowed us to remain here roasting in your wicked weather for three days?” Durga snarled. His face was burned with the sun, and he had grown angrier with each minute they had been forced to wait. “Do you know who I am?”
“You are the lord Durga, the Head Forester,” Zaki said in irritated tones, “but it would not have mattered who you were. If my lord was not ready to see you then he was not ready to see you. Nor were the others. I will return at the appointed hour.”
“Calm yourself, brother,” Enda said softly. “This is not the Forest, nor are we the masters here. Remember why we are here. We are here for Lara, and we will regain her. Tonight each man of us here will mount and seed her. She will give us a faerie child, Durga. We will make her, and we will keep using her until she does. We are close to our goal now. Do not despair, brother.”
“You think this Shadow Prince will release her to us willingly?” Durga snapped.
“That is why we went to the Magistrate’s Court in the City, brother. How many have lost slaves to these Desert men over the years, and certainly none as expensive as Lara? The magistrate was yet angry that the Head Mistress of the Pleasure Guild had forbade her sale to any of the Pleasure Houses. He owns one himself, and had hoped to have her. She would have made him a fortune. He told me that when we were finished with her he would purchase her from us. Not for what we paid, but for at least half. By agreeing, we have managed to circumvent the law of the land, brother.”
“We cannot sell her to anyone, for she will surely learn our secret if we allow her to live. And if she escaped once, she can again,” Durga replied.
“Og helped her,” Enda said. “Remember, brother, they both disappeared at Winterfest. They had to go together, and they must be here, for they are nowhere else we have searched over this year. The giant may remain here if he chooses, for he has been gone more than a year and a day. But Lara must be returned to us, and the law is on our side, Durga. Remember that.”
Zaki came at the appointed hour, and telling the Head Forester’s men they must remain behind, listened to Durga’s long-winded protest, and then said, “I have my orders, my lord. You and your brother. No one else. Will you come, or shall I return to my prince and tell him you have refused his invitation?”
“Their hospitality is legend,” Enda murmured. “I have never heard of them murdering a guest. Come, brother.”
Grumbling, Durga followed Zaki. When they reached the cliff’s entrance they were offered horses to ride. Mounting, they followed Zaki up the wide, winding path until they reached the entry to the colonnaded corridor. They dismounted, and now followed Zaki on foot, gaping at the tall marble columns, peering wide-eyed over the balustrade into the great green valley below. Here the breezes blew cooler than in the village. Then Zaki led them into a great room where Kaliq awaited them. By his side were both Lara and Og. Lara was clad in leather trousers and a silken shirt. A jeweled leather belt encompassed her narrow waist.
“I told you she was here!” Durga said triumphantly. “First I am going to beat her. We were too soft on her last
