There was a rush of voices through the council which was quickly silenced.
“We are in agreement” the high chancellor Azul boomed out after quickly conferring with her king.
Saieke looked at the King of Nuria in disbelief. Satisfaction and triumph blazed in his eyes and something darker that she could not identify. He would have them marry now?
“My lords,” she said voice high and clear in the chamber. “I would seek a private audience with my king and Queen to explain my difficulties in formalizing the oath.”
The silence that entered the room was deafening.
“Come Princess, whatever you must impart to your majesties can be said here. After all, my king will need to hear your reason for attempting to break an oath made by your kingdom,” the high chancellor of Nuria snapped.
Saieke looked at her father beseechingly. Her mother reached over and gripped his hands under the folds of her caftan.
“A private audience is denied. This is a matter that involves this council. Speak, Princess Saieke,” her king commanded.
Saieke hesitated as fear rushed through her. This was not at all how she imagined unveiling that she had a consort. “I cannot fulfill my oath to the king as I would not be going to him true and pure as a queen ought to be,” she muttered shakily, her hands tightly gripping the folds of her caftan.
“What madness is this?” the Nurian high chancellor demanded from his high seat.
“I do not seek to be willful, but I have a consort. My king was not aware and as such could not bear that information in mind when he spoke with King Ajali at the summit. It has been a trying time for me to inform my liege, and I feel I must do so now to avoid complications.” Saieke tried to keep the blush from her face as she lied to the most influential peers of her realm.
She felt as if a thousand eyes held her under scrutiny. She could feel the heat of King Ajali and the disbelief of the council.
“This appears to be a ploy to not fulfill your oath, which then leads us back to the belief that you are trying not to honor a blood-oath made by your king,” the High chancellor Camden proclaimed in a harsh voice.
The Nurian chancellor leaned in and conferred with his King. He held up his hand for attention. “We require proof that the princess is indeed impure. At this time, we sim
ply cannot take her word on the matter.”
“I agree,” her king snapped. She could feel the anger beneath his voice. But she heard something else that made her wilt inside. She heard fear in her king’s voice. “We will summon the castle healers—”
“No.”
Saieke bit the inside of her lips hard. The chancellor actually interrupted her king when he spoke and her King allowed the insult.
“A physician is not necessary. A member of our warriors will question her.” He held up his hand and they collectively gasped when a Serangite stepped forward.
Saieke went weak at the implication. The Serangites’ weapon of warfare was the mind. The female that came forward was petite and moved as if floating. She was slender with slightly rounded curves. She could have belonged to any other kingdom, except her eyes gave her away. They were like perfected diamonds—colorless, hard and sparkly ringed with black. They were striking and eerie. She stopped at the chancellor’s side and her piercing eyes met Saieke’s.
“Are you impure, Princess?” the chancellor asked.
“Yes, I have a consort.” Saieke responded meeting eyes with a calm that belied everything she was feeling inside. The hand that reached for the goblet of water beside her on the podium shook.
‘Truth,” the Serangite drawled.
Her queen gasped.
Saieke flinched spilling the water. They used their minds to ferret truth, implant suggestions, trap one under illusions, and to kill. If they asked the right question all she had plotted would tumble down.
“Do you currently have more than one lover, Princess?” Azul’s beady eyes squinted at her in outrage.
“No!” Saieke said.
“Truth”
“Have you ever been with more than one person, Princess?” the chancellor queried flatly, his gaze never wavering from Saieke face.
“No”