“Awful creature. You’ve stolen my dignity.” But he was smiling when he said it.
“I doubt you’ll miss it,” she answered.
“Possibly not, if it means more mornings like this one.” Before he could say anything further, the door tone sounded.
“The Speaker is here, my queen. Silence commands your presence to discuss the next leg of your joint offensive.” Tam’s voice sounded like usual, as if he couldn’t care less what had gone on in here overnight.
He’s got ice in his veins. If this woman sent me out of her bed in favor of another, I’d break the place apart with my bare hands.
“I’ll be there shortly. Offer him a drink.”
“Or whatever Skullfaces eat,” Jael said, as she switched off the intercom.
“I doubt we have anything he would find tempting. I’ll take the first san-shower. I want you to come to Entropy with me, so you’ll need to be quick.”
“I’ve made do with a cupful of water and a chunk of pumice. I won’t keep you waiting.”
She smiled, and the brightness of her eyes wrapped a fist around his heart. There was an actual pinch as she turned away. The feeling scared the hell out of him. Jael ran his fingers through his hair once she disappeared from view.
What the hell.
Every instinct told him to get the frag away from her. She’d destroy him when she turned, as everyone did. Don’t hope. Just focus on finding a way out of this hellhole. He clutched fast that voice of reason and pushed to his feet. He was poised to leave when she emerged, damp and lovely. It would seem odd if he retreated, so Jael pretended visceral terror didn’t have him by the throat as he slid past her to take a lightning shower. As he washed up, he was haunted by the visual of water droplets beading on her skin, sliding down her shoulder, over the ridge of her collarbone, and—
Stop.
He shut that part of himself down by focusing on the meeting Silence had requested—commanded, rather. In Dred’s shoes, he would shut down that peremptory behavior straightaway. To his surprise, she had left him in her quarters unattended; though she didn’t have many personal belongings, she’d left them all in his care. The punishment for transgressions against the Dread Queen would be swift and fierce, no doubt, but maybe this was a taste. Or maybe she trusts you. Whatever the reason, Jael touched nothing of hers as he rinsed out his skivvies, then put them back on damp. From life on the march, he knew he’d soon get a fungus if he carried on that way, but maybe if he charmed the right person later, he could acquire a spare set of togs.
When he stepped out of her quarters, he found Dred arguing with Tam and Einar—but not about what he expected. Neither man looked particularly put out at his appearance. In their shoes, he would’ve started the conversation with a ferocious punch. They’ve been in here too long. Hm. But you were locked up for turns, too. If Bug solitary didn’t make you grateful for every snippet of attention, nothing will. In truth, that loneliness broke and reshaped him, and he was still figuring out where all the pieces went. Sometimes he fancied he could hear them jangling around his innards.
Tam was saying, “That’s imprudent. I counsel against it.”
“I don’t care,” Dred answered flatly.
Well, that’s plain enough.
He propped himself against a wall to listen as Einar put in, “Seems to me, she’s right, Tam. I know I don’t have your brain for murky business, but if she constantly comes to heel like a bitch, then Silence will treat her like one.”
Ah, so that’s it.
He asked, “So you’re refusing to go see Death’s Handmaiden, then?”
“That’s the size of it. She can pass the message along through her Speaker, or she can bloody well come to me herself.” At this moment, the woman he’d spent the night with was nowhere in evidence. She was 100 percent the Dread Queen.
Her boots rang with imperious intent as she strode toward the hall. Unwilling to miss a moment, Jael followed her, and he knew the precise moment Tam realized he’d lost this argument. He wondered if it was the first one. A look over his shoulder caught Einar grinning, as if he found it entertaining to see the spymaster thwarted. Jael reckoned it didn’t happen often, as the man was good at making others dance to his tune.
“I greet you, Speaker.”
“You have kept me waiting. I am the Handmaiden’s—”
“And I am the Dread Queen. In my presence, you will take a knee or lose your head.”
The Skullface spluttered but under the glittering ferocity of her green eyes, he gave the demanded obeisance and stayed low. He quieted, seeming to realize her tenure as a supplicant was done. Jael enjoyed the hell out of the show, as did the rest of Queensland. The men rumbled with quiet pride, seeing the Speaker humbled.
When the hall quieted, she went on, “Pass a message to the Handmaiden. She may convey her desires through you, or come personally. No longer will I leap to her summons when there is so much preparation at hand. Does she mean to help me crush the Great Bear or not?”
“That is what she wished to discuss with you, my queen.” The courtesy sounded as if it choked the Speaker, but he finally seemed to remember with whom he was dealing.
“The Handmaiden discusses nothing, as you well know. She conveys her wishes through you. If she has not done so, you may return when she has. Or do you have a message for me, after all, other than, You must come to Entropy.”
A clash of wills followed, and Jael wasn’t surprised when the Speaker dropped his eyes first. “I do. But it is for your ears only.”
Jael’s gaze swept the crowded hall and decided that was a wise precaution. Only a fool of a general revealed his whole battle strategy to every grunt in the army. Generally, it was best to parcel information out on a need-to-know basis, keeping the enemy from making use of spies and traitors.
Dred offered a regal nod. “Rise and whisper to me, Speaker. None but my most trusted advisors will be apprised.” As she said that, her eyes met Jael’s, and the intensity of the connection felt like a silent, secret message.
This time, I won’t leave you in the dark.
Or maybe that was wishful thinking. She could be thinking about sex or food, and he happened to be standing in her line of sight. He’d never been as good at reading cues as he wished; sometimes he saw treachery where there was none, and at others, he failed to miss all the signs of imminent betrayal.
The hall fell quiet as the Speaker rose and whispered in her ear. Jael sensed the thundering hearts, the anticipation, because each man knew this scheme signified a change to everything inside Perdition. If the Dread Queen took down the Great Bear, Queensland would rise—in strength, prestige, and territory. Dred listened with a flat expression for long seconds.