He was painted.
I felt something at my side, looked there and saw Seerim was next to Diandra. He had his hand on her but suddenly looked to the rise and I followed his eyes to see Lahn shake his head once. I looked back to Seerim who was nodding. He dropped his hand to take his wife’s and even in the torchlit night I saw the firm squeeze before he moved away and disappeared.
I was to have my friend.
Thank God.
My friend was to have a front row seat at an execution.
She walked tall and her step didn’t falter nor did she leave my side.
As promised.
Damn, but I owed her huge.
I looked back to the rise and noticed that Bain and Zahnin were both standing behind my throne. As we approached, Lahn sat on his. He was in king mode, I knew this the minute his blank, painted eyes left me and he sat on his throne.
I did not dally. The guard peeled off and I walked right to my throne and sat down, Diandra standing at my side.
The drums started pounding, the small ones, but the noise thumped like a giant mallet into the night.
My hands went to the armrests of my chair, my fingers curling around and I squeezed.
Then suddenly the drums stopped and the instant they did, Lahn shouted and Diandra bent to my ear to interpret.
“We are here because the new bride of Dortak took steel to her husband!”
No one said a word. The torchlight danced, the firepits crackled. My fingers tensed into my throne.
Lahn spoke. “Now, she must receive my judgment!”
I swallowed and my eyes dropped to the woman who was still bowed low to her king.
Then a whisper went through the air, I looked up and saw a warrior push through the crowd. He strode into the small clearing that was nowhere near the vast space of the ceremonial clearing of the other encampment and stopped.
It was Bohtan.
He shouted and Diandra translated, “I wish to speak, my king!”
“You will be heard!” Lahn shouted back.
Bohtan didn’t delay. “Our golden warrior queen has championed Dortak’s bride. She has a bond with the wife of Dortak and she has a bond with my wife Nahka. My wife Nahka has felt this bond constrict, linking her through our true golden queen to Dortak’s bride and, should it be your command to spare her life, she wishes to assist our queen in resurrecting the new bride of Dortak’s spirit.”
My lungs seized and my body went solid right along with them.
Another whisper went through the air as Lahn remained silent.
The girl five feet from the base of our thrones didn’t twitch but Dortak’s face twisted with disgust.
Then another warrior pushed into the clearing. My eyes went to him and I saw it was Feetak.
“I wish to speak, my king!” he shouted.
“You will be heard!” Lahn returned.
Feetak didn’t delay. “My new bride Narinda also shares a bond with our queen. She tells me she too wishes to assist our queen in resurrecting the wife of Dortak’s spirit.”
I felt Diandra’s hand curl tight into my shoulder indicating she was gravely surprised at these proceedings and I was too, especially considering Narinda didn’t have near enough command of the Korwahk language to inform Feetak of this but somehow she’d either managed it or he’d assumed it and for her, or simply because he was a good man, he stepped forward.