“Be patient,” he'd said. “It'll be your greatest weapon and greatest strength while you're there.”
“My greatest challenge as well,” she'd replied. “Especially where humans are concerned.”
Brishen's eye had darkened to gold with amusement and no small amount of worry. “Just keep in mind what you're there for in the first place.”
She drew upon that advice now. Instead of baring her teeth and trying to intimidate the guard, she merely shrugged and repeated her statement. “I don't joke. I'm here to see the margrave of High Salure. I know he's a prisoner of the crown.”
If she and Brishen were right in their assumptions, Serovek would be the last person any of the Beladine would take her to see. They'd take her straight to the king. It didn't matter that she hadn't announced herself as an ambassador for the Kai regent or the queen regnant, her appearance alone at Timsiora's gate was so unusual, the guards would assume what she'd never stated.
They did exactly as Brishen predicted. Anhuset waited outside the gate as a growing crowd of curious onlookers lined the battlements above her to point, stare, and gossip. Soon, a soldier of higher rank than those barring her entry into the city joined them. He stared at her without the curiosity and distaste the others had shown. He surprised everyone, including her, when he gave a short bow. “I'm Captain Droginin, sha-Anhuset,” he said, addressing her by her title as well as her name, though she'd offered neither to this point. “I was assigned for duty at High Salure for a short time. You may not remember me, but I was one of the margrave's men who helped rescue the Khaskem when he was abducted and tortured by raiders.”
Anhuset's eyebrows lifted, and she almost forgot not to show her teeth. She noted that Droginin avoided saying “Beladine raiders.” Brigands paid by some wealthy patron to end the marriage of Brishen and Ildiko before it truly began, they had displayed a breathtaking cruelty against their captive, leaving Brishen disfigured and partially blind. She might have hated all the Beladine for the crime were it not for the fact several of their countrymen had allied themselves with the Kai and endangered their own lives to rescue the herceges.
She didn't remember this man, but he knew enough about her on sight and had no reason to lie. She returned his bow with one of her own. “Then you have my and his Highness's eternal gratitude, Captain.”
“Raise the portcullis!” he shouted, still watching her. “Lord Pangion is currently being held in the Zela,” he said. “I can't take you to him, but I'll escort you to the palace. I've no doubt the king will want to see you.”
Just as she'd hoped.
Captain Droginin walked beside her horse until they passed through the barbican where he then swung onto the back of a waiting mare. Anhuset followed him through the city toward the palace, traveling down a central boulevard lined with hundreds of hideously ugly humans. It reminded her of her foray into Pricid as part of Brishen's escort where they'd faced the same ghastly curiosity from humans as horrified by the Kai's appearance as the Kai were of theirs. That visit to a human city had been for a wedding, as was this one.
The irony wasn't lost on Anhuset.
The royal palace was a large structure, though smaller than Saggara and designed in a more blunted style that spoke strictly of function over aesthetics—built of stone to withstand siege and fire, except for its vulnerable wooden roof from which flew numerous flags with house crests, and above them all the largest, most colorful flag belonging to the Belawat royal family in residence there.
More guards at more gates, along with a crush of courtiers who made no attempt to disguise their gawking or their commentary on the Kai woman's frightful appearance. Anhuset swallowed down laughter when the more squeamish among them flung themselves against the walls as she passed them in the open-air cloisters or fell into the thorny embrace of dormant rose bushes lining the snowy gardens. The urge to smile wide and long almost overcame her, and she gained an appreciation for Ildiko's enjoyment of crossing her eyes in front of Kai nobility.
She followed Droginin down several hallways, their boots striking a tandem rhythm on the floors. Behind them, the Beladine nobility followed in a wave of chatter. They kept their distance but shadowed the two and their small contingent of soldiers all the way to a set of narrow double doors three times as tall as they were wide and flanked on either side by a pair of guards in royal livery.
“Sha-Anhuset of Bast-Haradis to see His Majesty,” the captain said.
Word of her arrival in the city had obviously reached the palace before she did for there was no hesitation or questioning before two of the guards opened the doors for her to cross the threshold. Droginin offered another bow. “This is where I leave you, sha-Anhuset.” He pivoted sharply before cleaving a path through the crowd of court butterflies waiting to follow her through the doors.
Their protests sounded loud behind her when the guards crossed glaives to prevent them from filing into the chamber, and she caught a glimpse of disappointed faces when the doors shut. This chamber was not so grandiose as the one she saw through the space made by another set of partially open doors. This was obviously the antechamber before the great hall with its elevated throne at the far end. A man heavily garbed in expensive woolens and silks greeted her with a sly and disapproving expression. His critical stare took in her riding leathers and tough woolens made to withstand the rigors of the road and weather.
“His Majesty will see you now,” he said without preamble. “Follow me.” He led her through the second set of doors and into the great hall.
It was a grand space simply for
