“Danilynn Stahlorr?” Kari queried, and Eli nodded. “That name sounds so familiar; is she a priestess of Garra Ktarra?”
Eli nodded again and a smile crept onto his face. “Yeah, fures-rir girl that wore this blackened chain armor with green eyes on it,” he said.
That brought a stronger image to Kari’s mind. She was pretty sure Danilynn had served with the Thirty-fifth Light Division during the Apocalypse. There’d been so many soldiers in the brigade that she didn’t get to know many of them personally aside from her subordinate officers and many of the serilis-rir that also served with the unit. She remembered the priests and wizards of the unit fairly well, though, as they had helped bring down part of a mountain to crush Seril’s forces when liberating the city of Atrice early in the War. It left Kari to wonder where Danilynn would’ve gone after the War. She supposed it was possible the woman had settled down in Atrice, or perhaps at the grand temple of Garra Ktarra in the Holy City of Sarchelete.
“So, is there anything else you can tell me about the snakes or why they might have an assassin creeping around?” she asked Eli at length.
The half-corlyps shook his head. “Nothing that would be of any importance to you right now,” he said with a shrug. “I think I know enough about Sekassus to think he wouldn’t send an assassin after you unless he was really pissed off, though. So, unless you did something to him that far outshines what we did, I’d guess this snake assassin is after something else entirely. I have some things back at The Satin Palace that I can go through to see if I’ve forgotten anything relevant. You’re welcome to stay the night there, since it’s getting late. I’ll have a private room cleaned out for you.”
“How much will that kind of favor cost each of us?” Kari asked.
Eli waved off the query. “I own the place; it won’t cost us a thing,” he said, and he smirked when Kari's brows rose. “It’s a long story.”
Kari nodded but knew that now wasn’t the proper time or place to push for details on something unimportant. They finished their drinks, headed out to the darkened streets of Lajere, and proceeded back to The Satin Palace under the dancing firelight of the city’s street lamps.
6
Dark Seduction
The Satin Palace had every creature comfort Kari could think of, and Eli gave her what had to be one of the nicest rooms available. Located on the top floor, its wall to wall carpet made her feel as though she were floating when she walked across it, and the room had a makeup table with a triple mirror. Kari could see the reflection of the bed behind her, which was easily large enough for four people to sleep in comfortably, and it was stacked high with thick blankets and overstuffed pillows. All of it was a little on the gaudy side; the color scheme of the room was made up of a blend of deep purple and crimson shades, but Kari was grateful for the gesture.
Kari sat in front of the triple mirror, brushing her hair as it dried. She wondered what Eli would’ve been like to adventure with. Marissa, the bath matron, had said Eli owned the building but not the girls who worked in it. He provided them a place to work and a full-time security detail that he took a personal role in, but other than a small monthly rental fee, Eli apparently had little to do with the girls or their work. Kari was hardly surprised when Marissa had mentioned that Eli was more like what she’d expect from a half-guardian than a half-corlyps.
Kari’s eyes wandered to the reflected image of the bed, and she remembered the similar furnishing in the bedchambers of King Suler Tumureldi, her former master and lover. She recalled the scandalous reception her relationship with the king had garnered, and how the people of the shakna-rir capital of Aurun Ch’Gurra and the palace staff had taken some time to warm to Kari and her relations with the king. Many had suspected Kari of attempting to usurp the throne that awaited Tumureldi’s daughter, since shakna-rir kingdoms were matriarchal. Over time, as they learned Kari was dying and also unable to bear children—not to mention completely uninterested in ruling a kingdom—the shakna-rir people had come to accept Kari and her relationship with their monarch.
Kari put down the brush, walked over to the bed, and slid naked under the soft blankets. She clutched them tightly to herself, remembering how special her nine months with Tumureldi had been. Though she had initially gone to Aurun Ch’Gurra to investigate rumors of demon attacks, she decided to stay and learn mastery of the scimitars she had come into possession of. She’d trained with Tumureldi, learning the fighting style he’d created, but it had only been a matter of time before Suler began visiting her bedchamber for more than theorycraft.
She had never understood it; she had never thought of herself as attractive in her previous life. It wasn’t until she was told she had a simple but deep beauty by Kris Jir’tana, Grakin, and her in-laws that she began to see herself in such a light. Suler had seen that simple beauty as well, especially in Kari’s character. Still, Kari’s breathing was heavy in her ears as she recalled how afraid she’d been the first time he visited her bed. Haunted by the memories of her father’s abuse, she had expected Tumureldi to do the same to her if she failed to please him.
She thought of Grakin, then, and how his gentle and caring nature was so much like Suler had proven to be in the bedroom. As a weapon master, Tumureldi was a demanding teacher: He pushed Kari to her limits day after day and took no excuses—not even her illness—into consideration when impressing his skills upon her. He accepted no less than perfection from his sole student, and Kari rewarded his diligence by becoming as clay and allowing herself to be molded to his will. She went to him an accomplished fighter, trained by the headmasters of the Demonhunter Academy, but Suler had turned her into a weapon: A fighter with a grasp of tactics so firm that she fought virtually on instinct. As the weeks passed, they grew closer, until one night he visited her bedchamber and made his case to become more than just her teacher.
Kari’s heartbeat quickened again. She had consented only because she was afraid he would turn her away from his training if she refused. It hadn’t taken Suler long to realize she was not only unwilling but terrified of being with him, and that was when her relationship with him had truly changed. He had left her bed and her chamber with apologies, and told her that if and when she was ready, she needed only tell him so. His gentlemanly nature and the fact that he had continued to train her as though nothing had happened helped to melt away her fears, and their relationship as master and student only grew stronger.
It had taken Kari a couple of weeks to decide she wanted to be with him, and during those weeks her training continued just as it had before. When she’d told him her decision, he accepted her as his mistress—not his mate—and began taking her to his own bedchamber, much to the irritation of his subjects. Kari laughed when she recalled the fact that the only person who had readily accepted her relationship with Suler was the princess—on whose behalf everyone else was so defensive.
The room was quiet around her and Kari started to doze off in the soft warmth of the bed. Her thoughts turned to little Gwendolyn Tumureldi, the princess whose crown the people had feared Kari was trying to usurp. Kari never got a chance to meet the queen, Yesara Tumureldi, who’d been killed in an accident a couple of years before Kari’s arrival in Aurun Ch’Gurra, but by all accounts, the princess was like her mother in nearly every way. The girl was beautiful, brilliant, and innately courageous—a trait Kari attributed to her father—and even at the tender age of eight had already possessed a poise and grace that many adult monarchs lacked. Even with the entire palace staff under her command as the heiress apparent, Gwendolyn had never taken to being a brat or abusing her power. Kari recalled how the princess had looked up to her, even once going so far as to ask Kari to marry Suler so he would be happy again, and to serve as a general when Gwendolyn came of age and took the throne.