A voice came from beyond the tent flap. “My lord?”
He scowled with displeasure. “What is it?” he barked.
“The gallows are ready. The hunter’s dog is whining. Should we spear it, or do you wish to keep it in your kennels?”
He cocked his head at Maia. “Do you wish to keep Argus or not? It is your choice. I have plenty of dogs. Another wedding gift?”
“Do not hang those men,” Maia said desperately. Her stomach clenched with dread. In her surprise and panic, she had forgotten the threat to her companions.
“Hanging, beheading . . . makes little difference to me. The kishion deserves to dangle from a noose. Jon Tayt rejected my proposal and defied my invitation. He would not serve me for any amount of coin, which makes him useless to me. I will execute them both.”
Maia grabbed his wrist. “Do not harm them!”
His eyebrow crinkled with surprise. “They must die, Maia. I do not believe you are squeamish. This is another trick. You are so very good at deception. I applaud you, truly.”
She dug her fingers into his wrist. “They are my loyal servants. They obeyed me. If anyone is to be murdered tonight, it should be me.”
“That would defeat the purpose of my alliance,” he said, clucking his tongue. “Though plenty have been murdered since you entered my realm. The village on the top of the mountain. The guards on the north road. I deliberately told you to take the south road, did I not? And yet you rushed into the teeth of my men in an act of defiance.”
“You know we were attacked by the Dochte Mandar in the village,” Maia said, feeling more desperate with each moment. “Corriveaux and the Dahomeyjan soldiers are to blame for that. Not I.”
“And the watch on the north road? Hmmm?”
Maia’s face turned hot. “Your captain ordered his men to kill my protectors and bring me to his tent!”
Collier’s eyebrows lifted. “Truly?”
She wanted to pound on his chest with her fists. “Everything I have told you this evening is the truth!”
“Then show me your shoulder and prove it.”
“I am a king’s daughter,” she murmured.
“I am a king’s son,” he replied.
She knew that if she showed him her shoulder, he would discover she was not a hetaera.
An idea came to her. She wished she had the kystrel to advise her, but she did not.
She looked into Collier’s eyes. They were so blue she could drown in them. She saw the little scar on his cheek and wondered how he had gotten it.
“You are so interesting,” he murmured softly, reaching out and brushing aside some of her hair. “Why do you resist what is clearly in both our interests? You are not like I thought you would be.”
“My lord?” reminded the voice from outside.
He paused, hand still touching her hair. He raised his eyebrows questioningly.
Her voice broke, almost unwillingly. “Release them. Set them free. Promise to let them go and not to harm them or injure them in any way. Pardon their treason in writing and with your seal.” She swallowed. “Then I will marry you.”
He stared at her, his eyes glimmering with delight. “Done.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Headsman’s Noose
She walked alongside Collier through the smoke-filled camp. He had changed from his rider’s tunic to an elegant doublet, black velvet and trimmed with gold sigils of the Dahomeyjan lily. He wore ceremonial chains around his neck and a signet ring on the little finger of his right hand. The same sword was belted to his waist, but his countenance and stride completely transformed him from his former persona. He had the bearing of a ruler as he walked through the camp with firm deliberation, stopping in front of an enormous tree with two long ropes dangling from it. Two stools stood by it, and kneeling before them were the kishion and Jon Tayt. Maia’s heart raced.
She heard Argus barking and saw a man wrestling with the boarhound, who had been fitted with a collar and a leather leash.
“Let them go,” Maia pleaded, wringing her hands.
Jon Tayt’s head whipped around, his eyes bulging with fear until he saw her. He smiled, though his expression looked more like a grimace. Then he looked at Collier, his eyes showing first confusion and then sudden understanding.
“Ach,” he muttered. “Now that is a surprise.”
Maia started to approach, but Collier grabbed her arm, preventing her. “Not too close,” he urged her. “Give the order.”
“Release them,” Maia said in a voice of command. “Set them free.”
The guards stared at her in surprise, then glanced at Collier for his orders.
“You heard my lady,” he said with a curt nod.