Leola thought, looking at her hands. She thought so long that some of the warriors sniffed disdainfully.
Leola looked up. “My lord,” she said. “I can think of but one plan.”
“Only if I am swallowed by the underworld and all the gods!” Sedrak bellowed again.
“My lord,” the warrior called Egan said, clearing his throat.
“Egan, you have spoken thrice today as displeases me, and once more shall be the death of you, friend or no.”
“Lord Sedrak,” Egan said plainly. “You see with your heart and not with your mind in this matter.”
“And your cock,” someone said jovially under his breath.
Sedrak glared. “This is no laughing matter.”
“Se—Master,” Leola said quietly. “I am…” Leola cleared her throat and straightened up. She was going to have to be stronger, braver, if she was to live as Sedrak’s queen among these men. She realized that now.
“My lord!” she almost yelled, and all voices fell silent. The men stared at her.
“I know my uncle. He is not an evil man, nor a kind man, but a calculating man, and I am his only blood. He shall not slaughter me before I am able to speak, and then I shall convince him, as I convinced your uncle, of the wisdom of this union of our lands.” She set her jaw firmly. “He shall see reason.”
The warriors gathered around the table let their mouths fall open for a moment, and then looked at Sedrak.
Sedrak growled. “I do not like it,” he said. “If he should harm you, in any way, I shall kill him by—”
Leola held her hand up. “I shall tell him,” she said, “what I need to, to make him see reason. We haven’t much time: by now the peasants have sent word to the castle, and their scouts shall be coming soon. We must depart, a small party that will not strike fear in his heart.” She inhaled, her chest cool with fear. “I shall go out front.”
In the end, it was Egan who convinced Sedrak of the wisdom of Leola’s ways. As they trotted toward the castle, and the incoming warriors, a white flag above their heads, he said, quietly enough so that Sedrak would not hear:
“I believe my lord has been bewitched, still.” He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “But I see now he shall not be disenchanted. I believe your plan shows promise, Leola Grace.”
Leola looked at him with suspicion.
“Of course,” he said with a laugh, “if your plan fails, then you shall have solved the problem, either way!” He laughed, and Leola forced a smile, still unsure if she could trust him or not.
Sedrak trotted up to her and touched her arm. He was smiling. “You can trust him,” he said. Then his face became serious. “I do not like your plan.”
Leola put on a brave face. It was what she must do, if she wanted to have Sedrak, and if she wanted all to be well. She wanted to be his queen, and she wanted peace, so she would have to be brave.
She sat up straight. “My plan will work,” she said.
Ryken’s men were over the very next ridge, their horses stomping, the riders’ unease evident in their pacing.
Two riders moved toward them. Leola sided up to Egan’s huge mount; she was riding a horse, because she didn’t dare to try to manage one of their great beasts. She inhaled sharply, then said, with as much conviction as she could muster, “We approach now.”
Sedrak growled. She looked back at him. “All will be well, my lord,” she told him. Her heart dropped through her body, and she felt hollow as she faced the approaching riders. She hoped she was right.
They began to trot toward the envoys.
Ryken was seated in the great hall, and he rose when Leola entered. He looked older, more feeble, than Leola remembered him.
“Uncle,” she said.
“What is the meaning of this?” Ryken demanded. He looked her up and down with disdain.
His eyes told a story that Leola had not wanted to believe was true, and yet somehow, in her heart, she knew that it was, all along. Her uncle did not love her; he had taken her in less out of duty and more because he needed an heir and a bargaining chip. That was lost to him the night she saved his life.
He was a weak man, and everything that Sedrak had said.
“Leave us,” she said, moved her head to look at all present, including Egan.
Ryken’s men were taken aback: Leola had never spoken up until the fated night she had been stripped bare and given herself, as far as they knew, as a whore, in exchange for her uncle’s life. A silence filled the room; the men looked to Ryken.
“My men do not obey a woman,” Ryken spat. “And we shall have our revenge upon—”
“You shall do no such thing,” Leola said, surprised by the power in her own voice. She did not feel it, not truly, but she sounded as if she did. She closed her eyes briefly, and thought of what she wanted. Then she opened them. “Tell your men to leave us, Uncle. You will regret it if I speak in their presence.”
“You will regret it if you speak at all,” Ryken said.
Leola tipped her head to the side. “Will I, Uncle? Or will you? Sedrak’s army is but half a days’ ride from here. They shall attack at dawn if no messenger arrives with the message that they must stand down. A message, Uncle, that only I can give them.”
Ryken narrowed his eyes.
“Give me an audience, Uncle. You shall regret it if you do not.”
Ryken stared at her, anger brimming from his eyes.
“Go,” he said at last.
“My lord—”
Ryken waved a hand, and then pounded the table. “Do as I order!”
The men left the room. Ryken stared at Leola as they left. Egan bowed to her
