With a court reduced by half, and Kirsh actually taking an interest in what was going on, Alenor's load was considerably lessened. She still refused to reveal the location of her seal, a.s.suming an innocent look whenever Kirsh questioned her about it. He suspected Jacinta of hiding it, but the palace had been searched twice and no sign of it had been found. For the time being, everything that came out of the palace bore the seal of Dhevyn's regent, but not her queen. The laws were probably legal, but if anyone challenged them, chances were they would not stand up to close scrutiny. Alenor knew she couldn't stop Kirsh issuing any law he chose, but without her seal, on the day she came of age and became queen in her own right, she could declare every law he had issued null and void.

a.s.suming she was still queen by then...

Alenor opened the door to Kirsh's summons, wondering what his reaction would be on that day when she overturned all the work of his regency. Kirsh looked up when she entered and tossed an envelope across the desk to her without even bothering to say good morning.

"We've been invited to Bollow," he told her, as she picked up the envelope bearing the seal of theLord of the Suns.

"Why?"

"For the eclipse. It's due to take place on the twentieth anniversary of my father's sacrifice."

"Do we have to go?"

"Yes."

She studied him for a moment, but he wasn't looking at her. He was concentrating on another doc.u.ment and seemed disinterested in discussing the matter further.

"Kirsh..."

"What?" he asked impatiently.

"Did you want to take a contingent of the guard with you?"

"With us, Alenor," he corrected. "We're both going to Bollow. And don't give me any nonsense about not being well enough to travel. You'll be there if I have to carry your corpse."

"I wasn't going to try to get out of it, Kirsh. In fact, I think I'd rather like to see Dirk again. And Marqel."

Kirsh glared at her. "Then perhaps when we get to Bollow, you can ask your d.a.m.n cousin what she did with the royal seal."

"I don't know why you keep insisting Jacinta had anything to do with its disappearance, Kirsh."

"You left it in her care and now it's gone. That makes her responsible. If I could prove she's deliberately misplaced it, I'd burn her at the next Landfall Feast."

"I can't understand why you dislike her so much."

"I can't understand why you like her so much. She's disrespectful, snide and interferes in things that are none of her concern. Sending her to Bollow as your envoy was a stupid idea."

"Then why did you let her go?"

"Because while she's in Bollow she's bothering Dirk and not me. Did you want anything else? I have work to do."

"I'll start making arrangements for the trip to Senet when I get back," she told him.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"Just for a ride. Circael wasn't ridden nearly enough while I was away. She needs the exercise as much as I do."

"Enjoy your ride," he said without looking up. He was dismissing her, not wishing her well.

"I intend to," she said and then she left the room, slamming the door ever so slightly behind her.

Alexin escorted Alenor on her ride, with a small guard that kept a discreet distance to allow them some privacy. Their consideration concerned Alenor a little. Her affair was not nearly as secret as she would like. But as far as the Queen's Guard was concerned, Kirshov Latanya was a foreigner and an interloper. They would far rather have their queen in the arms of one of their own and went out of their way to make certain she could be whenever she wanted.

But the more people who knew about Alexin, the greater the danger. Sooner or later, Kirsh wouldlearn who had fathered her lost child. Perhaps Jacinta was right. Perhaps she should have sent him away. But every time she made up her mind to issue the orders posting Alexin out of Kalarada, she began to imagine how unbearable life would be without him. It was only a small step from there to find another excuse for him to stay.

She dismounted as they reached the top of the bridle path and walked a little way with Alexin to stand near the edge of the cliff. The sea crashed against the rocks below, the sound muted by distance, and the cool wind whipped the hair across her face.

"You're shivering," Alexin remarked, putting her arm around her. She leaned into the solid warmth of him and closed her eyes for a moment, pretending this was the way it really was. For a few precious heartbeats she allowed herself to be happy.

"We're going to Bollow for the eclipse," she told him after a time.

"Take me with you."

"Jacinta would say that was stupid and dangerous, my love."

He kissed the top of her head. "So is standing here with the Queen of Dhevyn in my arms less than a mile from the palace, Alenor."

She smiled up at him. "Admit it! You like living dangerously."

"I'm getting used to it," he conceded. "It would be nice to think it isn't always going to be like this."

"I know," she sighed. "But I can do nothing until I come of age. Once that happens, I can divorce Kirsh..."

"Do you really think the Lion of Senet will allow you to divorce his son?"

"I don't care whether he allows it or not."

"You misunderstand my meaning, Alenor. It's not just a case of you asking for a divorce. You're a ruling monarch and your marriage was sealed by more than just a grandiose ceremony. There are agreements and treaties signed that day that can't be overturned quite so easily."

Alenor realized he was right, but didn't want this rare moment spoiled by being reminded of it.

"Well, it may prove to be a moot point. The way Kirsh is going, he'll drink himself to death long before I'm in a position to divorce him."

Alexin didn't answer her, simply content to hold her in his arms.

"I saved him, you know," he said after a time. "When we were in Mil."

She looked up at him in concern. "Alexin, you don't need to explain..."

"I almost didn't," he admitted, determined to unburden his guilt. "Kirsh got himself cut off from the rest of us on the beach. He was surrounded. All I had to do was wait and he would have been dead."

"But you didn't wait."

"I thought about it," he told her. "Believe me, you've no idea how tempted I was. But I could never kill a man-or allow him to be killed-just because I was in love with his wife."

Hadn't Dirk warned her about that? She felt incredibly guilty for placing Alexin in such a predicament. And a little relieved he'd not acted on his first impulse to let Kirsh die. Alenor wasn't sure she could be happy if it came at the expense of Kirsh's life. She didn't hate him that much.

"So we are doomed to unhappiness because of your honor."

Alexin bent his head down and kissed her. She closed her eyes, lost in the sheer bliss of an embrace that-for a moment at least-banished all her other woes.Finally he broke off the kiss and smiled at her sadly. "If I had any honor, Alenor, I'd not be here with you now."

"I'm inclined to agree with you, Captain."

Alenor jerked free of Alexin's embrace to find Kirsh standing behind them on the bridle path, leading his horse and Circael. Behind him were the remainder of her guard that had been watching the path, and behind them stood Kirsh's Senet-ian Guardsmen with drawn swords.

"You look surprised, my dear," Kirsh remarked. "Did you think I'd forgotten about your little indiscretion?" He turned to his own captain and beckoned him forward. "Arrest Captain Seranov and his accomplices. I'll see to it the queen gets back to the palace safely."

Sergey saluted and stepped toward Alexin.

"Kirsh! Please! You can't do this!" she cried as her happiness disintegrated into her worst nightmare.

"Oh, yes I can, Alenor," he reminded her. "The penalty for adultery with the queen is death. Did you know that?"

"And what's the penalty for the regent's wh.o.r.e?" she cried.

"Show some restraint, Alenor, you're embarra.s.sing yourself."

Alexin didn't resist when Sergey arrested him. Nor did the rest of the Queen's Guard. Every one of them knew Kirsh had the law, if not right, on his side, and they were too well disciplined to do anything but accept their fate stoically. Alenor wanted them to fight. She wanted them to protect their captain and defy Kirsh, but their honor and their oath prevented it. d.a.m.n all men and their stupid honor!

"Kirsh! Please!"

"Stop making a fool of yourself, Alenor," he told her, and then he turned to Sergey. "Take them down to the garrison. And don't let the Queen's Guard get their hands on them, particularly Captain Seranov."

"What are you going to do to him?" Alenor begged, unable to hide the edge of panic in her voice.

He turned back to look at her. "I'm not going to do anything, Alenor. He's coming to Bollow with us, where I intend to hand Alexin Seranov over to the Lion of Senet and then you and your lover can explain to my father whose child you were carrying."

Kirsh's punishment went beyond simple vengeance. Antonov wouldn't just kill Alexin. He'd more than likely kill her as well. And Kirsh knew it.

Her vision was blinded by tears as they led Alexin and the escort away. Kirsh watched them leave, and then turned back to Alenor. "Tidy yourself up, Alenor. You look a wreck."

"Don't do this, Kirsh. Please... don't do this..."

"Why not?" he asked bitterly. "What makes you think you can be happy when I..." He didn't finish the sentence, but Alenor could guess what he had been going to say.

"You're doing this because of Marqel, aren't you?" she asked. "If you can't be happy then n.o.body can! You're not a man, Kirsh; you're a selfish, spiteful little boy!"

"I'm your husband, Alenor, and I just caught you in the arms of another man. Perhaps you should be more worried about that than insulting me."

"You won't get away with this, Kirsh. When I explain to your father why I took a lover-"

"He won't do a d.a.m.ned thing," Kirsh predicted. "Marqel is the Voice of the G.o.ddess, now. She'sbeyond any harm you can do her."

It was a bitter realization for Alenor. The reason Kirsh had kept her secret-to protect Marqel-no longer existed. Oh, what a fool I've been! What a fool for thinking Kirsh no longer cared she had come to Avacas carrying another man's child. What a fool for not listening to Jacinta and sending Alexin away as soon as he returned to Kalarada. And now her own stupidity and selfishness were going to cost Alexin his life.

That it might also cost Alenor her life didn't seem important right now.

She searched Kirsh's face for some hope of understanding or compa.s.sion, some remnant of the boy she had loved as a child.

"Do you hate me so much you'd condemn me to death, Kirsh?"

He didn't answer her. He just turned away and gathered up his reins before swinging into the saddle.

It was then that Alenor realized that Kirsh didn't hate her at all.

He hated himself.

PART THREE.

A MOMENT OF DARKNESS.

Chapter 49.

Tia's most lasting memory of Bollow was sitting in a tavern with Dirk Provin on their way to Omaxin, berating him over his foolish gambling habits after he'd won all that money playing Rithma.

When she and Reithan reached the spired city a week before the eclipse was due, the memory rushed back, but her thoughts didn't disturb her as much as she expected they would. They were just memories, she realized, of a time when she was younger and more foolish. They couldn't hurt her. They didn't even bother her that much.

Tia couldn't explain why she felt older, why she felt more accepting of her own mistakes. Perhaps that was the difference between love and infatuation. She could admit to herself now that she'd been infatuated by Dirk, but she loved Misha. When she needed strength to deal with her own troubles, all she had to do was recall what he had endured these past few months. It made her angst seemed trite and insignificant. If Misha had freed himself of a poppy-dust addiction, Tia could deal with a few unfortunate reminders of an old boyfriend.

The lakeside city was crowded to overflowing. Dirk's decision to hold a ma.s.sive ceremony honoring the G.o.ddess's eclipse on the twentieth anniversary of Antonov's sacrifice of his youngest son worried Tia a great deal. She was certain now that Neris must have told him about the eclipse, but couldn't remember her father ever hinting at such a momentous event. She was angry at Neris for that. If therewas something as important as an eclipse due, why had he entrusted the information to Dirk Provin, rather than his own daughter? She felt betrayed. Knowing about the eclipse would have been almost as useful as knowing when the next Age of Shadows was due. They could have broadcast the information across Senet and Dhevyn months ago and there would have been nothing divine attached to the event at all. It would have simply been a natural phenomenon n.o.body could make any political or religious mileage out of.

But Neris had only confided in Dirk and now things were as bad as they had ever been. There was a sacrifice planned, she'd heard when they pa.s.sed through Avacas, but who was to be killed had not yet been announced. Everybody of note in both nations had been summoned to Bollow to attend. Almost every Sundancer and Shadowdancer had been recalled.

All to attend a ceremony Dirk Provin had masterminded to further his own political ambition.

Tia still refused to believe he was doing this for any other reason.

Because the city was bursting at the seams, a tent city had sprung up outside its walls to cater for the overflow. It wasn't just those who could not afford an inn who were accommodated there. Quite a few n.o.blemen had brought entire entourages with them and had set up luxurious camps in between the more humble dwellings of their neighbors. A rather large contingent of Senetian soldiers patrolled the city and the tents surrounding it to keep the peace. Their job was relatively easy. Other than the large number of pickpockets and other petty criminals that such a large gathering usually attracted, the air in Bollow was more festive than tense. The G.o.ddess was sending a sign. Nothing like it had been seen since the end of the Age of Shadows. There was a whole generation who had never seen the G.o.ddess at work so visibly and everybody was determined to make the most of the occasion.

The markets had been moved outside the city walls as well, to clear the plaza in front of the temple for the ma.s.sive crowd expected for the ceremony. Reithan and Tia found a place to sleep in a large tent run by an enterprising merchant who had turned her tent, which was usually home to a dozen or more seamstresses, into temporary accommodation. She had sent her workers home and would probably make more in the coming week than she'd made in the previous year, renting out floor s.p.a.ce to travelers who couldn't find a bed in the city. Once Reithan had handed over the outrageous fee the woman was asking, they headed into the city proper to find out what was going on.

They pushed and jostled their way through the gates into a city that had a carnival atmosphere about it. The flow of people through the streets was severely hampered by the numerous performers who had flocked to Bollow to take advantage of the large crowds. There were enterprising hawkers selling relics, too. One was offering a lock of the late High Priestess Belagren's hair. By the look of the sack he carried, filled with tiny jars containing a small snippet of badly dyed auburn hair, he was expecting to do quite a brisk trade. Tia smiled as she declined his offer of a lock of Belagren's hair for the amazingly low price of ten copper dorns and wondered if she should tell the man the High Priestess Belagren had been a blonde, not a redhead.

"Do you think we should head for the temple first?" Reithan asked, looking around with a shake of his head. He'd never been to Bollow before. Tia wasn't sure what impressed him most, the city's elegant (if declining) architecture, or the madhouse atmosphere of the streets.

"It's likely to be where all the action is," she agreed, grunting as she was pushed aside by a hurrying pa.s.serby. "Maybe it's a little less crowded near the temple, too."

They shoved their way forward toward the center of the city, walking on the road. The sidewalks were too crowded. Several times they were almost flattened against the pillars shading the footpaths by carriages forcing their way through the throng, the coachmen yelling and cursing the pedestrians as they pa.s.sed.