‘You’ve prostrated yourself for quite long enough.’
He straightened, managing not to wince at the sudden lancing pain in his bruised ribs. His eyes were immediately drawn to the figure upon the ivory throne on the raised dais in the centre of the chamber. Sunlight filtered through a window set high in the arched ceiling directly overhead, bathing her in a radiant glow. His breath caught in his chest.
The White Lady wore an exquisite gown of the palest silk, so translucent he fancied he could see her curves beneath the fabric. Her platinum-blond hair was light enough to appear almost silver and framed a face so perfect the finest sculptors would have wept gazing upon it. Her skin was as flawless as the marble beneath his feet. He stood there, mouth agape, transfixed by her unearthly beauty.
Movement to both sides of the White Lady drew Cole’s attention away from the intoxicating sight. To her left, up on the dais with her, a gigantic black-skinned Sumnian stood with arms folded. To the right of the Magelord, a gangly woman of middling years cleared her throat and looked pensive.
‘Avert your eyes, maggot!’ commanded the massive warrior in an absurdly deep voice. He was head, shoulders and most of a chest taller than Cole, the biggest man the young Shard had ever set eyes on. Pink scars crisscrossed his prodigiously muscled body, which was naked from the waist up. The giant Sumnian carried a golden spear topped by a wickedly curved blade, and he pointed it at Cole before taking a single huge stride onto the first step leading down from the dais.
Cole felt very alone all of a sudden. The giant Sumnian took another step.
‘Enough, General,’ ordered the White Lady. Her voice was soft and perfectly modulated and carried effortlessly across the chamber. ‘Our guest is clearly unfamiliar with our customs.’ She turned her face to Cole and he gasped. Her eyes were a violet hue unlike any he had ever seen before.
‘In Thelassa, a man does not stare at a woman with such lust in his eyes. Not unless she welcomes the attention.’ She glanced at the massive Sumnian beside her, meeting his gaze and holding it for longer than was strictly necessary to make her point. The man’s answering smile was huge and proud. She turned back to Cole. ‘You will learn our ways in time.’
‘Heed the words of the mistress, maggot,’ the Sumnian said, gesturing again with his spear. ‘Or I will tear your eyes from their sockets.’
The White Lady lifted a perfect hand. ‘Thank you, General.’ She turned her gaze back to Cole. ‘I understand you were rescued from a Dorminian ship. What were you doing on the Swell?’
Cole took a deep breath. This was his moment. He needed to make a good impression. ‘We were sent there to mine for magic,’ he said. ‘Most of the men on board were prisoners and had no choice in the matter.’
‘You were one such prisoner?’
He nodded. ‘There were two ships. The Redemption and Red Bounty. I was on the former.’
‘My captain tells me the ships had become separated. It appears you were fleeing your captors before the Swell capsized you.’
Cole rolled his shoulders. ‘It turns out they’d bitten off more than they could chew with a few of the prisoners.’ He placed his hands together and pushed his palms outwards, giving his fingers a good crack for effect. ‘One in particular. Some men just refuse to be chained.’
The White Lady raised an eyebrow. The gesture was so ridiculously perfect that he couldn’t stop himself from ogling the Magelord with undisguised admiration. The Sumnian general scowled. ‘I warned you, maggot.’
Cole decided he’d had enough of being called a maggot.
‘My name is Davarus Cole,’ he declared. ‘I am the son of Illarius Cole, a hero of great renown. I was eight years old when I witnessed my father murdered by Salazar’s men. I swore that, one day, I would see the bastard dead. I stand before you not as an enemy – but as a friend.’
The woman to the right of the White Lady looked up suddenly. ‘Illarius Cole?’ she said. There was a strange edge to her voice, but her accent was unmistakably that of Dorminia.
The White Lady appeared not to have heard her. ‘I have three thousand Sumnian warriors under the command of brave General Zahn here. My spies in the Grey City provide all the intelligence I could possibly need. What can you offer