Kushiel's Chosen

fleshy, and yet there was a suggestion of leanness about him, as if he were pared to the bone by a hunger that had naught to do with sustenance of the body. "Whether or not you have is yet to be known." He looked at Kazan men and gave a slow smile. "So. Pirate."
    Kazan bowed and flashed an answering grin. "Zim Sokali. I return to your service.”
    "So you do, pirate. So you do." At that the Ban laughed, and bade us both to sit. Presently servants came bearing pots of strong tea, which they served in small silver cups, and a platter of sweets, a confection made of almond paste. When they had left, his lady wife came to give us greeting and see if there was aught else he desired. She was ten years or more younger than he, with fair hair, pale eyes and the broad, slanting cheekbones that marked her as being of Chowati blood, those invaders who had long since been assimilated into Illyria. By that alone I guessed him to be a shrewd ruler, who knew well how to unify his people.
    Vasilii Kolcei, the Ban was named; his wife was called Zabèla. She kept her eyes downcast until he dismissed her with thanks, exhibiting a modesty proper to Illyrian women. And by this I guessed her a shrewd ruler's wife, for there was naught of the demure in the strong lines of her face.
    Over cups of strong tea, Kazan Atrabiades laid out the history of our acquaintance for his lord, offering an explanation of who I was and the trade he sought to make for me, of how his men came to be pursued by Serenissiman war-galleys into Epidauro's harbor, and what had befallen us when we turned aside to flee the kríavbhog's wrath.
    "So," the Ban said heavily, looking at me. "And now Kazan Atrabiades is freed of the blood-curse, but not the blood-price the Serenissimans have laid on his head. And you, young D'Angeline, spurned by Kriti, come begging Epidauro's aid."
    "For Kriti and Hellas, the gain was not worth the risk, Zim Sokali," I said, keeping my voice steady. "Can Illyria say the same?"
    He stirred, causing the hounds to lift their heads and settle back with sighs. "I was a boy when the Serenissimans began taking our coast, piece by piece, and my father wrote to the King of Terre d'Ange to seek his aid in alliance. Shall I tell you how he replied?"
    "No." I shook my head. "I have heard, my lord, and I am sorry for it, grievous sorry. But that was then, and this now. Will you spite the present to avenge the past?”
    "It is dangerous." Vasilii Kolcei sipped his tea and stared into the fire. "The Archon of Phaistos spoke truly. Epidauro has stood against Serenissima; it cannot stand against Serenissima and Terre d'Ange both, if you fail. And where we are strong, the coast of Illyria lies weak and vulnerable, garrisoned by Serenissiman soldiers. What price will they pay for your failure, if we are named a treasonous vassal?"
    "We can fight," Kazan said fiercely. "Zim Sokali, the islands are stronger than you know, stronger than the Serenissimans reckon. What have I done for eight years, if not that?"
    "You have done that, yes, and preyed upon the Serenissimans like a hawk upon a rabbit warren," the Ban said grimly, "until half of Illyria and all of Epidauro, and every merchant and galley-captain on the seas knows your name, Kazan Atrabiades. And now you come seeking... what? Asylum? A return to my service? It is no easy boon you ask. Epidauro crawls with Serenissiman spies; I cannot shut out the traders without violating the terms of our independence. If you had come in stealth, it would be an easier thing. I can only be grateful that the furor you aroused covered word of the lady Phèdre's arrival, for it seemed to me that the Doge's emissaries had more interest in her than in you, Atrabiades."
    "Not the Doge," I said. "His son, Marco Stregazza."
    Vasilii Kolcei shrugged. "It is the same. They have held elections, in Serenissima; the Consiglio Maggiore has voted. Marco Stregazza is elected Doge. He will be invested, in a week's time, and his father will step down." He gave a thin smile. "It is the will of Asherat, so they say. And your Queen will arrive in Serenissima to observe the ceremony and exchange vows of goodwill with the new Doge."
    The world reeled around me, and I grasped the arms of my chair with desperate fervor, willing myself to keep focus. Marco elected Doge! And Ysandre but a week away, riding all unwitting toward certain death. All my wondering, all my uncertainty; it came to this.
    I had a week's time, and no more.
    Kazan, seated