The Crown of the Conqueror

II

Vapour swirled, moisture dappling the marble walls and pillars. Somewhere in the haze a servant splashed more water on hot coals to send a fresh cloud of steam billowing across the sunken bath. Black hair wetly plastered across her flushed face, Luia lay with her arms along the side, panting.

The water thrashed with bubbles and Huurit surfaced, gasping for breath. Muscles taut from years of wrestling, he paddled across to lounge beside Luia. With one hand he absently caressed her breast, massaging himself with the other. Luia glanced at him a flash of annoyance and took his hand from her chest.

"I'm not finished," she said.

"I'm a man, not a fish," Huurit protested.

"Prove it," said Luia, grabbing his hair to force him back down into the water. She lifted up her legs and thrust him beneath her, trapping his head between her thighs. Huurit flailed for a moment before dragging himself free, emerging with a splash at the other side of the pool.

"Trying to drown me," he spluttered, answered by Luia's laugh. The wrestler pulled himself out of the water while Luia ran an appreciative eye over his short, wiry body.

"Do not go too far!" she called out as Huurit stalked into the steam, bare feet slapping on the tiles.

She lounged for a while longer, eyes closed, until she heard someone entering the bath room.

"Back for more?" she said.

"Hardly, mother."

Luia opened her eyes to see Urikh pacing through the vapour, a thick robe wrapped around him. He pulled off the robe and used it to make a cushion on the bench alongside the bath. He lay down, arms behind his head.

"I will be leaving Geria in ten days," he said. "I trust you can keep the city from destroying itself while I am away."

Servants came forward with towels and a robe as Luia pulled herself from the pool. She stood with arms outstretched while they dried her.

"Why this sudden departure?" she asked.

Urikh sighed and rolled over to his side, head propped up on one hand.

"Something has happened with the Mekhani," he said. "They have been attacking ships between here and Cosuan. I am assembling a fleet and taking the legion to teach them a lesson."

"Surely you have officers for that sort of thing," said Luia. A stool was put before her and she sat down, allowing one of her maids to comb her hair. "There is no need for you to leave."

"Not on the face of it, but I have to be seen to be a leader. You know, I am the only heir of the Blood who has never been a general? That sort of thing can be damaging. No, if I want to ensure the loyalty of the legions, I have to establish myself as a competent commander."

"And how will you do that, my dear? You know nothing about war. You were always bored by your father's stories, never listened to a word of them."

Urikh flopped to his back again, eyes fixed on the mosaic patterns on the ceiling.

"I learnt a thing or two from father when we took Magilnada. Besides, the whole point of going with the legion is to see how it all works, pick up a few things from Harrakil. Father chose him for me, so he must be good at what he does. I need to learn quickly."

There was an intensity in Urikh's expression that Luia knew well. It filled her with a mixture of pride and concern; pride because of his determination, concern that usually it heralded obsession.

"You have to be patient, dear. I know that already you are thinking up plots and schemes to become king. Do not deny it; I know you, I taught you! Do not be so hasty to replace your father. The empire is very fragile at the moment. Let your father establish his rule, and demonstrate your right to be his heir. If you do not, the Crown will be worthless when it passes to you."

"Ullsaard courts danger like a mistress," said Urikh. "I grew up half-expecting to hear of his death, and I have always known I have to be ready to take his place as head of the family. Now that he is king that is truer than ever."

Luia said nothing, uncomfortable with the thought of Ullsaard dying, especially now that he had achieved far more than she had ever hoped he would. The two of them sat in silence for a while until Luia chose to change the subject.

"What about Neerlima and Luissa? Will you take them with you to Cosuan?"

"Why would I?"

Her hair now bound in a long plait, Luia stood, allowing the servants to wrap a dark blue dress around her. She tightened the belt, adjusted the fall of the sleeves and sat at the end of the bench where her son lay. The servants disappeared through the curtain over the door.

"To show them the lands you now govern," said Luia. "Neerlima will be proud, and Luissa is nearly eight years old, it is time she started being seen."

"And by 'being seen' you mean on the market for a future husband? Who will ever meet your standards, mother? You once said that she would only marry a prince; now she is a princess."

"Another first," said Luia with a puzzled expression.

"What do you mean?"

"She is the first girl of the Blood to be born. Always the Blood have sired sons."

"Surely in two hundred years… Now that you say it, I realise you are right. Why do you think that is?"

A doubt crept in Luia's mind but she did not speak it; that perhaps Luissa was not the child of Urikh. There was no proof, of course, and such a thing would only harm Urikh. It was best not to speculate.

"Perhaps in previous generations, the daughters have been whisked away by the Brotherhood; like your grandmother was supposed to be."

"Pretaa was a court harlot, not a daughter of the Blood."

Urikh sat up and swung his feet to the floor so that he was sitting beside his mother. He leaned forward, elbow on knee, chin on fist, and stared into the still water of the bath. Luia feared for a moment that he was considering the possibility of Neerlima's infidelity.

"It is astounding to think about it," said Urikh. He shook his head in bemusement. "What a slender chance it is that we are here. Or that I am here, at least."

"What slender chance? You mean Ullsaard's defeat of Lutaar? No, that was not chance. For all that he annoys me with his crude ways, your father can be a great man. And do not forget, you played a large part in his success as well."

"No, not that," said Urikh. He scratched his chin, eyes narrowed. "Pretaa should have been taken by the Brotherhood because she carried the seed of one of the Blood but was not a wife. It was chance that Cosuas helped her to escape. Who can say what course would have been charted if not for that tiny thing?"

"Yes, dear, but to think of all the chance circumstance that brought us all here is to invite madness. My grandmother was rescued from Ersuan brigands by my grandfather. But for that, I might not exist. Last week it rained and I did not go to the market. The smallest thing, maybe, but who can say what might have happened had the sun shone? Maybe I would have overheard a conspiracy, or bought a dress that attracted the eye of a handsome man, or perhaps berated a jewelsmith for charging too much, leaving him annoyed so that he beats his wife when he gets home.

"Do not second-guess what has happened in the past, and do not think that chance has no part to play in the future. But chance and luck are not the same thing. The gambler relies on luck, and you are no gambler, dear. The man who plans, the man who thinks, a man like you, knows when chance favours him and seizes the opportunity."

Urikh sat up, a half-smile on his lips. He leaned over and planted a delicate kiss on Luia's cheek.

"What was that for?" she asked, startled by the uncharacteristic gesture.

"Thanking chance that I have your intelligence, and not father's," Urikh said. "Ullsaard undervalues you."

"You are wrong," said Luia. "How many other men would tolerate me? I openly defy him in front of others, and my appetite for other men is no secret. I was the same when he married Allenya, and he has had ample reason and opportunity to do away with me."

"It is only for Allenya's sake that he has not."

"In part. He loves Allenya, and lusts after Meliu like she is a bitch in heat. He keeps me around for a different reason."

Luia stopped herself. She did not want to say too much. She could not admit that in her heart she respected Ullsaard, even loved him for being the father of her son. How could she explain that it was not perversity that made her wayward, but a desire to see her husband strong, though on occasion she did get some delight from seeing him fume and splutter at her behaviour?

In the depths of the building a servant chimed the turn of Howling. Luia stood up briskly and patted Urikh on the cheek. He squirmed at the matronly gesture; he had done the same ever since coming of age, and Luia loved that it infuriated him.

"Dinner will be served shortly, get dressed," she said. "And think carefully about Neerlima and Luissa. You cannot keep either of them hidden in the palace forever. Just think on it."

Urikh nodded, lost in thought, brow creased with troubles.

He will make a fine king, Luia thought as she left him to his concerns.