Blood-Bound [ Lore of Penrua: Book I ]

29

Her anger quelled by Eovin's threat, Mhera sat in her corner of the tiny hidden room again, her arms around her knees. The pendulum of her emotion had swung back toward despair. There was no sound from the room beyond. She could hear Matei's breathing, too close for her comfort.

The tense silence stretched out for many minutes as they waited, listening for sounds from the outer library, but they heard nothing except for Eovin's pacing. At last, Matei spoke. The sound of his voice in the darkness so startled Mhera that she jolted.

"I will explain," he said.

"Don't," Mhera said. "Uncle's guards are coming. They will find me and they will take you back where you belong."

"Mhera."

Something in Matei's tone gave her pause. She turned her head toward him. There was no light; she could see nothing but inky blackness. Still, she knew where he was by the sound of his breathing, the sound of his body in the dark. She whispered, "Tell me," and her voice sounded small, like a child's.

"I am sure you realized when you tried to run that you cannot."

Mhera placed her hand over her heart, remembering the sharp pain that had brought her to her knees.

"We are connected, my lady. What happened in the prison ... it is called blood-binding." His voice was gentle now; it was almost as if he cared for her pain. "You cannot run from me. We cannot be parted, except in peace. You must remain; you have no choice. If we separate—if you were to run, or be taken from me—we will weaken, and we will die. It's literal, Mhera; it has nothing to do with your uncle or any sort of punishment."

Mhera shook her head, disbelieving. The sincerity in his voice offended her. He was convincing, that much could be said, but she could no sooner trust his word than trust a snake not to bite. He was saying this only to make her obey him. Only to keep her where he needed her until he could achieve his goal—whatever it may be. "I don't believe you. You'll take me and hold me for ransom. You worked some spell on me to keep me near you."

"I couldn't hold you for ransom even if I wished to—which I don't. Sending you back would undo me. The same bond that chains you to me ties me to you. It works both ways."

"Liar. You don't intend to send me back. You never would. You'll kill me."

Matei said, "No, my lady. Why would I do such a thing?"

"Why did your queen kill him?" And at last it came out, the root of her hatred, the root of her fear. Koreti. Dear Koreti. "Why did Prince Koreti have to die? Malice. There does not need to be a reason, as was proven to me and mine when I was just a girl. You need no reason to kill me when you hate the Starborn as you do."

Mhera was crying now. She clenched her shaking hands tightly together. If he wanted, he could kill her now, even in the darkness. His strong hands had held her fast in the prison. They could choke the life out of her. But she went on now that she had begun, heedless of her own fear. "You rebel against the empire, against order, against peace. It is all blood and death."

"The queen. Rhodana. You think she killed your prince." Matei's voice was incredulous.

"I know she did. That is why Uncle executed her."

"She never called herself the queen, you know. She never wanted a crown. She preferred to have her feet on the ground, her hands in the dirt."

"Don't speak to me of her. Don't." Mhera put her face in her hands.

"She was a leader, Mhera, not a warmonger. She wanted peace."

"You don't—"

A sound came from without: a loud knock, then Eovin's voice calling, "One moment!"