Bonds of Vengeance by David B. Coe Page B

recently lost her mother, and for at least a moment he probably thought that he was about to lose his daughter as well.
    The knock at his door came sooner than Diani had expected. Her father glanced quickly in her direction, then faced the door again. He looked frightened and she could see his hands trembling.
    “Enter,” he called.
    She heard the door open, but couldn’t see it from where she stood.
    “You summoned me, my lord?” The first minister’s smooth voice.
    “Yes, Kreazur. I’m wondering if you’ve seen the duchess since midmorning. I expected her to return from her ride long before now. I’m . . . I fear for her.”
    “I haven’t seen her, my lord. But I doubt there’s cause for concern. She’s an accomplished rider, and she handles a sword well.” A brief pause. “She learned from the best.”
    Her father gave a thin smile. “Thank you, Kreazur. Just the same, I wonder if we shouldn’t send out a party of soldiers.”
    “I don’t think that’s necessary, my lord. I’m sure she’ll be returning shortly. You know how the duchess loves her rides. No doubt she’s simply enjoying the last few hours of daylight.”
    Sertio looked down at his hands, his eyes flicking in her direction for just an instant. Diani wasn’t certain what to do. Even if Kreazur had betrayed them, she realized too late, he would have been expecting to have such a conversation with her father. If they wished to surprise him, they would have to let him see her.
    Her father glanced at her again and she shook her head.
    “You’re probably right, First Minister,” Sertio said, standing. “Thank you.”
    The Qirsi stood as well. “Of course, my lord.” He walked toward the door. “If you need me, I’ll be in my quarters.”
    “Very good, Kreazur. Again, my thanks.”
    She heard the door open and close, but still Diani waited a few moments before stepping out of the shadows.
    “Perhaps it’s not him,” her father said, sounding relieved.
    “I’m not convinced of that. We’re going to wait a short while and then summon him again. And this time when he comes, I’ll be sitting right out in the open.”
    “Let him see a wraith, eh?”
    She grinned.
    They waited until the tolling of the twilight bells. Once more Sertio sent the soldiers for Kreazur, and once more they hadn’t long to wait. His knock came just a few minutes later.
    Diani had seated herself just beside her father’s table, facing the door, so that she would have a clear view of his face when he saw her.
    “Yes, my lor—”
    He hesitated at the sight of her, his eyes widening slightly. “Duchess,” he said, mild surprise in his voice. It was the first time he had called her that; she had rarely heard him address her mother that way. Always “my lady.”
    “You didn’t expect to see me, Kreazur?”
    “Not here, my lady. The guard who summoned me said only that the duke wished to speak with me. To be honest, I feared that you still hadn’t returned. Your father has been worried.”
    “Perhaps you thought your assassins killed me on the moor.”
    “Assassins? On the moor?” He glanced at the duke. “Are you saying there was an attempt on your life?”
    “You knew nothing of this?” Sertio asked.
    “Of course I didn’t, my lord.” He looked at Diani again. “Were you wounded, my lady?”
    She raised an eyebrow. “I’m touched by your concern.”
    The Qirsi narrowed his eyes, bright yellow in the candlelight. “My lady, I don’t understand. Are you accusing me of being in league with these men?”
    “Does it surprise you that I should have figured it out?”
    “There is nothing to figure out! I didn’t have anything to do with this!”
    He appeared genuinely alarmed, which only served to make his deception that much more galling.
    “You deny being party to this conspiracy wreaking havoc across the Forelands? You deny paying these men to kill me?”
    “I do! My lady, I have served your house since you were but a child, years from