weakness in her. No, she had made her choice and she had a god for a husband, one whose power brought her immense pleasure and, she hoped she could gain some of his power through the same magic she had used to gain the power of the Darga. She merely needed his seed to take hold within her so she could grow another child and she could tell that her body was ready now, but despite her attempts at seduction, Cerric was not being particularly cooperative.
The guards told her that Cerric was down in the cavern behind the throne room with strict instructions that no one be admitted. Calexis interrogated a few guards who had not been turned into walking corpses and she learned that Cerric had found what he had been looking for. Among the countless valuables in the treasure room that Elric had revealed were a number of weapons, each of them with jewels embedded in them and fashioned out of some kind of mixture of steel and a rare metal called silvergold. In Cerric's excitement at the discovery of the weapons, he had spoken aloud in front of the guards, who neither understood nor cared about their significance, but Calexis was very much intrigued, especially considering the way her husband had treated the sword he had taken from Elric, almost with a kind of reverie.
She entered the throne room and saw two corpse guards and the back of the chamber, guarding the entrance of the passage that led down to the cavern where Cerric was busy indulging his latest obsession. She had already tried to order them to let her pass earlier, but they were under Cerric's control and had denied her entry to the cavern. It did not matter, for she had other plans. Luckily, the Kandaran throne was fairly large and blocked the guards from seeing her as she walked up and down the rows of weapons that had been laid out through the room. She knew that Cerric had not yet inspected the entire collection of swords, axes, daggers and other implements of war, having found a cache of the special weapons in the royal treasury.
She looked over the endless rows of sharpened steel that had been fashioned into a variety of forms, thicknesses and lengths, some in scabbards and many simply naked blades. A good number of them were exquisitely made, and some were even richly adorned with precious jewels and beautifully engraved, but all of them appeared to be normal weapons. Out of idle curiosity, she picked up a pair of slightly curved short swords that caught her eye. A matching set, they were beautiful to look at, simple yet elegant. Calexis set them aside and continued looking through the weapons and then she saw something. Mixed among a pile of daggers that had been spilled onto the floor was an open blade that looked different from the others. The steel was bluish grey but when Calexis moved, she noticed a shift in its color to something more golden. She glanced over at the guards and could see that they were watching her, which likely meant that Cerric could see her as well.
She crouched down and reached for a different dagger, which lay beneath the one she had noticed. It was far more ornate, the sort of thing that one might expect her to find interesting. As she picked it up, she also picked up the other one and hid it on the underside of her wrist, while holding the first dagger out, visible for the guards to see. Making a show of it, she slid the blade from its sheath and held it out in front of her, keeping the other dagger facing away from the guards. She turned to look at them and saw that they were watching her closely.
"What do you think of this weapon?" she asked. "Is it fit for a queen?"
"What need do you have of a weapon?" asked one of the soldiers, though he spoke with Cerric's voice.
"I find them pretty," she said. "It is only fitting that my warrior husband have a warrior queen at his side. I do know how to use a blade, my dear."
"Of course," Cerric said and he laughed through the dead soldier. "If it suits your fancy, then do as you
The guards told her that Cerric was down in the cavern behind the throne room with strict instructions that no one be admitted. Calexis interrogated a few guards who had not been turned into walking corpses and she learned that Cerric had found what he had been looking for. Among the countless valuables in the treasure room that Elric had revealed were a number of weapons, each of them with jewels embedded in them and fashioned out of some kind of mixture of steel and a rare metal called silvergold. In Cerric's excitement at the discovery of the weapons, he had spoken aloud in front of the guards, who neither understood nor cared about their significance, but Calexis was very much intrigued, especially considering the way her husband had treated the sword he had taken from Elric, almost with a kind of reverie.
She entered the throne room and saw two corpse guards and the back of the chamber, guarding the entrance of the passage that led down to the cavern where Cerric was busy indulging his latest obsession. She had already tried to order them to let her pass earlier, but they were under Cerric's control and had denied her entry to the cavern. It did not matter, for she had other plans. Luckily, the Kandaran throne was fairly large and blocked the guards from seeing her as she walked up and down the rows of weapons that had been laid out through the room. She knew that Cerric had not yet inspected the entire collection of swords, axes, daggers and other implements of war, having found a cache of the special weapons in the royal treasury.
She looked over the endless rows of sharpened steel that had been fashioned into a variety of forms, thicknesses and lengths, some in scabbards and many simply naked blades. A good number of them were exquisitely made, and some were even richly adorned with precious jewels and beautifully engraved, but all of them appeared to be normal weapons. Out of idle curiosity, she picked up a pair of slightly curved short swords that caught her eye. A matching set, they were beautiful to look at, simple yet elegant. Calexis set them aside and continued looking through the weapons and then she saw something. Mixed among a pile of daggers that had been spilled onto the floor was an open blade that looked different from the others. The steel was bluish grey but when Calexis moved, she noticed a shift in its color to something more golden. She glanced over at the guards and could see that they were watching her, which likely meant that Cerric could see her as well.
She crouched down and reached for a different dagger, which lay beneath the one she had noticed. It was far more ornate, the sort of thing that one might expect her to find interesting. As she picked it up, she also picked up the other one and hid it on the underside of her wrist, while holding the first dagger out, visible for the guards to see. Making a show of it, she slid the blade from its sheath and held it out in front of her, keeping the other dagger facing away from the guards. She turned to look at them and saw that they were watching her closely.
"What do you think of this weapon?" she asked. "Is it fit for a queen?"
"What need do you have of a weapon?" asked one of the soldiers, though he spoke with Cerric's voice.
"I find them pretty," she said. "It is only fitting that my warrior husband have a warrior queen at his side. I do know how to use a blade, my dear."
"Of course," Cerric said and he laughed through the dead soldier. "If it suits your fancy, then do as you
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