Shasta prayed they were doing the right thing. How many men had already died in the fight to reclaim her father's crown? Too many lives were counting on her, and not just those of her soldiers. She would not fail them. Tomorrow she would walk into the lion's mouth with her head held high, and if it cost her life, at least she would die knowing she'd fought for her people to her last breath.

Shasta realized with some surprise that she wasn't even afraid. Talon had once said that she had been born for this, and now Shasta felt like she understood what her guardian had meant. She was ready for whatever tomorrow would bring.

Chapter Twenty-Eight.

The morning wind was chilly with the promise of snow as Shasta stood before the castle moat, directly in front of the palace entrance-or rather, what had used to be the palace entrance. Kumire had replaced the ornately carved oak doors with a rough-hewn drawbridge that made her wince every time she looked at it. She shivered, but only partly due to the cold. Talon put a warm hand at her waist and Shasta gave her a grateful look.

At Talon's insistence, Shasta was wearing her silver armor once more, and it gleamed icily in the winter sun. She wore a sword of her own at her belt but had left off the helmet. Her hair was arranged in an elaborate swirl of ringlets that tumbled down over the shoulder guards and chain mail in an incongruously feminine manner, so that Shasta appeared at once both dangerous and elegant. On one side of her, Bria stood with her hands still bound. On the other were Talon in her dress uniform and Lyris, wearing Erinda's cap and split skirts. The priestess kept her head down.

"Chancellor Kumire," Shasta called out, her voice ringing against the castle walls. "Your wife has presented your invitation to negotiate the terms of your surrender." She waved a hand at Bria, who stepped forward. "I will accept this invitation on the condition that I am allowed two attendants: my maidservant and my personal bodyguard. I await your answer."

There was silence for several minutes. Finally a man's voice responded from one of the turrets. "His Excellency Kumire Fickettis of Mondera will agree to these terms. We will lower the drawbridge, but only you, your attendants, and Lady Fickettis may enter the castle. If anyone else attempts to approach, the drawbridge will be withdrawn immediately."

Though the disembodied voice did not say anything else, Shasta grasped the implied threat. If Kumire thought she was trying to breach the castle he would pull up the bridge, whether or not she had finished crossing it.

"I understand." She called back over her shoulder to the soldiers who were looking on with disbelief. "Soldiers of Ithyria, you are not to come within fifty paces of the drawbridge until I am inside and it has been raised completely. Is that understood?"

General Harneth's shocked protest sounded from her elbow. "Your Highness, with all due respect, this is madness. You cannot possibly-"

Shasta challenged the general with a hard stare. "Trust me."

With a painful screech, the drawbridge was slowly lowered on heavy iron chains. The ground vibrated beneath their feet as it struck the edge of the moat. Shasta took a deep breath. "Let's do this," she said.

The moat was wide, but she forced herself to go slowly. It wouldn't do for Kumire to think she was afraid. She didn't realize until she finally set foot on the stone floor of the palace that she'd been holding her breath the entire way. She hadn't expected that Kumire would really raise the bridge in the middle of her crossing, but that didn't stop her vivid imagination from envisioning what it would be like to topple into the moat, or worse, to be crushed by the huge groaning wheels as the massive drawbridge was retracted.

She heard another loud squeak as the bridge was pulled back into place behind them and closed with a reverberating bang that made her skin crawl. A man dressed in a red royal guard uniform gave a mocking salute to the Princess. "Follow me, Your Highness. His Majesty awaits."

Their footsteps clicked loudly through the stone corridor as they proceeded to the great hall. When the doors swung inward, Shasta's brow twitched. Bria hadn't been exaggerating. Kumire sat on her father's throne, the royal crown drooping low on his forehead and a velvet cape draped around his shoulders. Doing her best to pretend she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, Shasta entered the room and stopped a few paces from the base of the dais.

Kumire's smile was predatory. "Princess Shasta." He had a bundle in the crook of one elbow, and on closer inspection Shasta realized it was a baby wrapped in blankets. With his free arm Kumire gave a grandiose flourish. "Welcome to my palace."

"Your palace?" Shasta repeated disdainfully. "If I'm not mistaken, Chancellor, we are here to discuss the terms of your surrender to me."

"Insolent girl, have you no respect for the crown of Ithyria?" He pointed to his head, where Soltran's crown was resting lopsidedly. "He who wears the crown is king. You will address me as 'Majesty.' Or 'Excellency,' if you wish. I've always liked the sound of that as well." His eyes slid to Bria, whose gaze was fixed on the baby in his arms. "Well, little wife, you finally managed to do something right. I don't know how you did it, but..."

"Please." Bria took several steps toward him and held out her arms, her gaze still on her daughter. "I did what you wanted, so please...give her to me."

Kumire gave a cruel little chuckle and appeared to consider her request for a few moments longer than necessary before he shrugged. "I suppose you've earned it. Take the thing if you like." Bria removed the baby from his arms and backed away quickly, anxiously examining the child to be sure she was all right. Kumire snorted. "Women. All the same. Throw a mewling brat in their arms and they turn into mindless fools." He turned back to Shasta. "Now, where were we?"

Shasta kept her face carefully composed in spite of her swiftly growing temper. "I believe we were going to discuss your surrender, Chancellor."

She was not at all surprised at the crafty look that crossed Kumire's face as he stood. Her eyes flickered over to where Bria was carefully laying the baby into a cradle by the wall.

"Ah yes. Well, I'm afraid, my dear, that there's been a slight change of plans. I have decided not to surrender after all. Why should I, when you've walked so willingly into my waiting arms?" He snapped his fingers. Shasta did not have to look around to know that the back of the room was beginning to fill with Kumire's men. She heard a soft shing as Talon drew her sword and spun to face the amassing enemy.

Doing her best to feign wide-eyed shock, she said, "But I thought..."

"You thought I was going to bow at your feet and beg forgiveness? Really, Princess, you are gullible. Still, I'm overjoyed that you're here. You've just made things so much easier." He stepped down from the dais and drew a knife from the folds of his cape. "Now, you can tell your little boy toy over there to put down his sword and we can do this the easy way. Or you can continue to resist me and we can do this the fun way."

Shasta couldn't maintain the innocent facade any longer, and she bared her teeth in a grin. "I always did like a bit of fun."

Kumire's eyes lit and he drew the knife back, but Shasta held up a hand. "Just a moment, Chancellor. You're not the only one with a little treachery up his sleeve." She reached out and snatched the cap from Lyris's head. The priestess looked up, her dark eyes blazing. She slowly brought her fingers up in front of her face as holy blue flame licked at her fingertips. Shasta exaggerated a sigh. "So hard to find good help these days."

Kumire dropped his arm and took a step back as he realized he'd been fooled. For the first time his confidence seemed shaken. But it only lasted for a moment. Then the chancellor's brows drew together and he gave a screech. "Kill them!"

Lyris whirled as Kumire's men charged from the back of the room. With two flicks of her wrist she dissolved most of them in a torrent of blue fire. Another wave poured through the doorway. Lyris ran forward to intercept the newcomers and forced the soldiers back out of the hall. A clash of blades ensued as Talon collided with the few who'd escaped the priestess's wrath.

Kumire bellowed furiously and drew his arm back again. With a cry of horror Talon ran forward, but she was cut off by an enemy's blade. She drew the man into a deadly embrace, her sword piercing him right through. As he fell, the knife left Kumire's fingers and shot straight for Shasta.

"No!" several horrified voices cried out at once.

A blur passed before Shasta's eyes. The pain she expected never came. Instead, she found herself staring at Bria's crumpled form on the floor, Kumire's knife embedded squarely in the center of her chest. It had happened so fast that it took Shasta a moment to comprehend that Bria had thrown herself in the path of the blade meant for Shasta herself. Forgetting everything else, Shasta ran and dropped to her knees beside her friend.

"Bria!" She drew the wounded woman into her arms.

A guttural roar erupted from Talon's throat, and Shasta looked up to see her guardian wrench her sword from the body of the man she'd just impaled and lunge at Kumire. The noise was too much for the baby, who awoke and began to scream loudly at this unpleasant interruption of her nap. The hall filled with the sound of metal on metal as Kumire met Talon's charge with his own sword. Back and forth they went across the tiled floor. Kumire was not a soldier, but he had been raised as a nobleman's son and had studied swordplay since childhood. This was not a heavy, crushing encounter like those on the battlefield. This was a gentleman's duel, graceful and lethal.

The baby's cries must have attracted his attention, for Kumire ran to the wall and pushed the cradle out in front of him. Talon hesitated and Kumire grinned. "What's the matter, boy? Don't tell me you're worried about one squalling infant."

He stroked the cradle's hood; it was a large old-fashioned thing with four long carved legs and a high bassinet, and it rolled on small wooden wheels to make it easily portable. Shasta recognized it from childhood. Nurse had tended many a newborn in that cradle, from Shasta herself to the children of the kitchen staff.

Bria moaned in Shasta's arms, and the Princess gave her a comforting hug. Talon wouldn't let any harm come to the child if she could help it, but Shasta couldn't see how her guardian could get to Kumire when he was using the cradle as a shield. As Talon stood there indecisively, blood staining the blade of her sword, Kumire pulled another dagger from his cape and threw it. Talon dodged. Kumire reached into his cape again and this time produced four small throwing knives, one blade pinched between each of his fingers and thumb. His eyes glinted.

"It ends," he hissed, and flung out his hand repeatedly, releasing all four one after the other. Shasta gave a shriek.

Talon leapt into the air with her arms out and twisted into a cartwheel. Shasta watched in astonishment as the first blade passed harmlessly beneath her guardian's body, the second and third narrowly missing as she turned, and when Talon landed she snatched the fourth out of midair. A feral smile curved her lips. "You're going to have to do better than that, Your Majesty."

Shasta gave a sigh of relief that turned into a gasp as Talon darted forward. Kumire tensed and ducked behind the baby's cradle. Talon suddenly dropped and skidded feet first across the floor between the wheeled legs. She sent the cradle hurtling across the tiles behind her, and Kumire was suddenly left without a shield to hide behind. Talon rolled as the chancellor stabbed frantically at the floor with the point of his sword, and swung her legs in an arc to knock him off balance. Kumire fell to the floor and the crown went flying from his head to roll across the room.

Shasta put her hands out to stop the careening cradle and took hold of the legs to prevent it from tipping over. The baby was still crying angrily, and her screams combined with the renewed clanging of swords as Talon and Kumire both regained their footing. Kumire leapt onto a table along the wall, vases and plates of fruit tumbling in every direction as he kicked them away. Talon bounded up to join him. Her sword flashed in her hand as she relentlessly forced Kumire backward. The chancellor jumped down. Talon followed.

Shasta leaned over Bria and kept a firm grip on the cradle as the fighters passed right by them, Talon pressing the chancellor back toward the dais. She heard a shout from the back of the room. Lyris ran back into the hall with her fingers ablaze. She must have finished with the soldiers in the castle. Shasta reached out and caught the edge of her split skirts, and when Lyris's dark eyes met hers Shasta shook her head.

"This is Talon's fight," she said. "You have to let her finish this."

Lyris caught sight of the knife in Bria's chest then and moved to join them on the floor, but Shasta indicated the cradle.

Lyris lifted the crying infant into her arms and brought her down so that Bria could see with her own eyes that her daughter was unharmed. The baby quieted once she felt herself held, and Shasta flinched at the sound of metal striking the floor. Talon had finally succeeded in knocking the sword from Kumire's hand. With her blade at his throat, she pressed him down into the throne. Rage burned in her eyes and venom infused her deep voice. "Now it ends," she decreed, and a trickle of blood darkened the edge of her blade as she drew it slowly across Kumire's throat.

"Talon," Shasta said quietly, and her guardian turned to look at her. "Kill him if you must, but make it quick. Traitor or not, we will not stoop to cruelty in order to serve justice."

Talon pressed her lips together, but she nodded.

"Look out," Bria wheezed as Kumire produced yet another dagger, this one from his sleeve.

Talon stumbled backward off the dais as the blade tore through her jacket and shirt and grazed her ribs. She hissed and fell to one knee as the edges of her coat began to darken with blood. Shasta felt her stomach turn over. With a squeal that was almost girlish, Kumire lunged. Talon lifted her sword, and Kumire howled as it pierced his ribs at an upward angle. Shasta saw the end of the blade appear over Kumire's shoulder as it exited his body. Talon yanked her sword out and the dagger fell from Kumire's hand, and he slumped to the floor.

Talon stood slowly and lowered her sword, the blade dripping crimson dots of blood onto the tiles. "He's dead. It's over." She dropped to one knee beside her fallen sister. "Oh, Bria, I'm so sorry I didn't believe you."

"Shh." Bria waved a hand feebly. "After how I betrayed you, I wouldn't have blamed you if you'd executed me on the spot." She winced as the words cost her a ragged, painful breath.

"Hang on, Bria," Shasta pleaded, alarmed by her friend's steadily graying skin tone. Experience on the battlefield told her that it would be unwise to remove the blade until they had something to stop the bleeding. As it was, the blood had already stained her entire bodice and crept down onto her skirt as well. Bria was losing too much blood, too quickly, and even as she said the words, Shasta knew it was hopeless. "We'll get a healer, just stay with us, please."

Bria's eyes had already begun to glaze over, and she reached out feebly for the baby in Lyris's arms. The child was now dozing contentedly, sucking one tiny fist, and Lyris held her up so Bria could see her clearly. Though she was too weak to take the baby, Bria's face lit at the sight of her daughter.

"Princess, I want..." She gave a little cough, and flecks of blood appeared on her lips.

"Don't try to talk," Shasta said, but Bria shook her head.

"No, please. I want you and Talon to take care of her for me. Don't let her..." She coughed again, and the fluid accumulating in her lungs made a deep bubbling sound. "Don't let her grow up to be the fool her mother was. Promise me."

Shasta met Talon's eyes helplessly. Talon took her little sister's hand in her own. "We promise, Bria. We'll take good care of her."

Bria smiled faintly. Her eyes rolled back and her body convulsed once, weakly. And then she was gone. Shasta bent over her, sobbing.

After a minute Lyris spoke softly in her ear. "Your Highness."

Shasta straightened, sniffling, as the priestess leaned forward to gently place the baby in her arms. Shasta stared down at her tiny, perfectly formed features, chubby cheeks crowned with a dark swirl of hair. The infant peered up at her sleepily with eyes the color of warm amber.

Through her tears, Shasta looked up at Talon. "Bria never told us the baby's name."

Only days later, the castle was so transformed that few would have known Kumire had ever even been there. The first thing Shasta had done was to order the moat filled and the gardens replanted. The original palace doors were retrieved from the lower levels to be restored to their proper place at the castle entrance. Shasta's chambers had to be cleared of the gifts that had been left in her sitting room over the past moons. Several baskets of fruit had gone bad and filled the rooms with a sickly stench that took a long while to fade.

Most of the provincial viceroys were discovered half starved and locked in their rooms. The three who had refused to acknowledge Kumire's claim to the throne had been chained to their bedposts and badly beaten, for while Kumire had needed them alive, he was apparently not above torture to get what he wanted. Shasta called a special conference to explain what had happened and bestow special thanks on those who had preserved her throne under such terrible conditions. Even the viceroys who normally supported Mondera were outraged to learn that Kumire was directly responsible for the assassination of both the King and their beloved Crown Prince.

Archduke Fickett was the only one to refuse Shasta's offer of clemency. When he heard the news of his son's death, the malicious old man's heart stopped on the spot, as if his body had finally realized that it was truly over. Shasta commanded that Kumire and his father be buried as nobility in the Rane family cemetery behind the palace temple. They might have been traitors, but they were still her blood relatives.

She was thrilled to find Nurse still alive and well. The old lady had managed to stay out of Kumire's way for the most part, helping Bria to give birth and tending to the baby. When she found out that the infant was to remain in the palace, she wasted no time in setting up the nursery again, even though Shasta insisted the cradle be kept in her own chambers during the night. The baby spent more time in Shasta's rooms than in her own as Shasta grew more and more fond of her. Talon, too, seemed enchanted by her tiny niece.

"Have you thought of a name for her yet?" Shasta asked one night as she joined her guardian on the low couch of the sitting room. Talon had the baby cradled in one elbow and was dangling something shiny before the infant's eyes. Shasta groaned. "Really, Talon, a diamond necklace is not a child's toy." She took the jewelry from Talon's hand.

"It's not like you don't have hundreds of them," Talon retorted with a grin. "Besides, she likes the way they sparkle. Don't you, hmm?" She tickled the baby's cheek with her finger and was rewarded with a giggle that made both women smile. "I really can't think of what we should call her." Talon narrowed her eyes. "But something tells me you have a thought on the subject."

Shasta laughed as the baby wrapped her little fist around her forefinger. "There's really only one name we can give her, you know. Bria. For her mother." Talon inhaled, but Shasta wasn't finished yet. "Talon, for her-father." She winked and Talon blushed a little. Shasta reached out and took the baby into her own arms, cuddling her close as the dark lashes fluttered softly into sleep. "And Shastis. Because I intend to make her my heir."

Talon's eyes flew wide. "Shasta...are you sure?"

Shasta nodded. "I've thought long and hard about this. She's ours, Talon, yours and mine, as surely as if we had created her ourselves. She carries both our blood in her veins. Bria was your sister. And Kumire, hateful as he was, was my cousin. That makes this child the last living member of my family...and yours, unless you plan on having children yourself one day." Talon made a revolted face, and Shasta laughed. "That's what I thought."

She carried the baby to the cradle by the bed and laid her carefully among the satin blankets. She felt Talon's hand at her waist and leaned back contentedly into her lover's strong arms. "We've both lost people we love to Kumire," she said softly. "And now we're going to make our own family together. You, and me," she looked back down at the sleeping infant, "and our daughter."

Talon pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I can't imagine anything better," she said fiercely.

"Oh really? How about if I just marry you and make you my king, hmm?"

"You know we can't do that."

"The rest of the kingdom thinks you're a man," Shasta prodded. She knew full well that was not the reason for her guardian's discomfort, but she couldn't resist teasing her. "No one would ever need know that the King of Ithyria was actually a woman."

Talon looked uneasy. "It's one thing for us to be...you know, together. But..." She blushed a little.

They'd talked at length about whether they should hide the true nature of their relationship from the general public, but because they couldn't even look at one another without their feelings showing blatantly on their faces, there had been no shortage of whispers among the soldiers and palace servants already.

"People are used to me sleeping in your room and shadowing your every move, so those who choose to turn a blind eye have plenty of excuse to do so. Really, I don't care if the whole kingdom knows. I don't even care if they find out I'm a woman, if it comes to that."

Shasta nodded. "Me either. Talon, we can tell them if you want. You know I'm not ashamed..."

"I know." She acknowledged that with a tender smile. "But many of the government officials are not going to be very accepting. It's scandalous enough that the new Queen is carrying on a love affair with her bodyguard, let alone the fact that said bodyguard is actually a woman. We just won a war, Shasta, but the kingdom still needs a lot of healing. Too many issues all at once for the public to deal with. We should leave things the way they are for now."

Shasta grinned. "Ironically enough, I think even the most conservative of the nobles would prefer that we remain unmarried, even knowing we're...involved...than to see an Outlander on the throne of Ithyria. It's almost a socially acceptable alternative that you be my..." She struggled for the right word. "Well, I guess you'd be considered the royal concubine." She laughed at the consternation that appeared on her guardian's face. "Sure you wouldn't rather be my husband?"

"I..." Talon faltered.

Shasta knew that look, the one that Talon always got when she was worried about hurting her feelings. "Tell me."

"It's not that I don't want to marry you." Talon's blush deepened, and so did her voice, at the admission. "Goddess, Shasta, if you were anyone else...I mean, if you weren't the future queen...I'd keep this masculine disguise the rest of my life if it meant I could marry you. But if we were to marry, now, with you being who you are, they'd make me..." Her faintly desperate tone sent a flash of guilt through the Princess, and she planted a kiss on Talon's shoulder.

"Shh, Talon, it's all right, I was only teasing. I know perfectly well how much you'd hate every minute of wearing the crown. You're a soldier at heart and you always will be." She laughed at Talon's very obvious sigh of relief. "No, I have special plans for you, my love." Her hand drifted around her lover's neck and she tugged her head down. "Very," kiss, "special," kiss, "plans." And then another kiss, this one longer and deeper and full of promise.

The coronation ceremony was attended by all twelve Honored Mothers, even the one from Mondera, who made it a point to apologize sheepishly to the Princess for her failure to appear at the battle along with the others. The palace and grounds were packed with people, the vast crowd spilling out of the gates and into the southern moors. A coronation was always a momentous occasion, but when it simultaneously marked the end of a war it was a truly historical event indeed.

For all its pomp and circumstance, the coronation itself was a surprisingly brief ceremony. Qiturah herself placed the crown on Shasta's head amid thunderous cheering that shook the walls of the palace. Then came several hours of lesser ceremonies, as Shasta's first acts as Queen were to hand out various promotions and awards to those who had helped her win back her crown.

She named Talon captain of her personal royal guard, which had been Vaughn's former position, and Shasta took particular pride in fixing the new bars to her lover's collar. Though she knew she would always be Talon's first priority, with her new rank Talon would now have duties and responsibilities that extended far beyond just one person. Shasta didn't care if the entire kingdom was whispering about the new Queen and her handsome young captain of the guard. For now it was a scandal of minor proportion. Talon was a soldier and Shasta a politician, and this arrangement allowed them both to do what they loved.

Shasta appointed new viceroys to each province whose former head of state had been killed in Kumire's rebellion and did the same for each provincial guard that had lost its general. On Talon's recommendation, she appointed Jen Crossis as viceroy of Mondera and granted him the title and properties of a true nobleman of the court in spite of the fact that he'd been born the son of a foot soldier. Shasta couldn't imagine anyone more worthy of the position or more capable of serving in it.

Roald the cabinetmaker and his wife Syanne were not forgotten. For their generous hospitality during the darkest days of Shasta's life, she bestowed upon them the titles of Duke and Duchess of Aster, titles normally reserved only for members of the royal family. With them came land and wealth and a position at court that was to be envied among the nobles.

The guard barracks on the palace grounds were dedicated to the memory of Captain Vaughn. Shasta had a life-size statue of their beloved friend and mentor erected in front of the barracks entrance, and it was such a good likeness that it brought tears to her eyes when it was finally unveiled.

The long, tedious string of minor ceremonies involved speeches and vows and other such time-consuming traditions, so Shasta was surprised that most of the audience remained throughout the day. Many laid picnic blankets on the grass of the moors and cheered for each and every individual promotion and honor, though Shasta was certain they couldn't possibly hear or see what was going on from such a distance. Flags were waved from the turrets to indicate that the audience could applaud, and they did so just as enthusiastically for the last man as they had for the first.

And then, as the sun began its downward trek through the sky, Shasta stepped forward atop the castle walls. She raised the metal cone she'd used on the battlefield, and Talon and most of the others beside her had to plug their ears as she spoke through it.

"People of Ithyria, I am Shasta Talia Soltranis of Rane, daughter of King Soltran Novaris and now Queen of the twelve Ithyrian provinces. I thank you all for being here today to bear witness to this long-awaited triumph. Today I retake my father's crown."

A roar went up from the crowds, and they rose to their feet in a wave that spread across the moors. When they were quiet again, she continued speaking.