Queen of the Darkness

make a difference. And there are other—frustrations—for her at the moment. You didn't hear the tussle this morning? I'm surprised since your house is barely a half mile from ours. I was sure all of Maghre heard her shouting this morning."
    "At you?"
    "No, thank the Darkness. At Sundancer." After thanking the maid who brought the tray, Khary poured the coffee. "Morghann wanted to go riding this morning. Maeve, who's the Healer in Maghre, had said it was fine. Jaenelle had said it was fine as long as Morghann felt well enough."
    "But?" Daemon said, the coffee cup halfway to his lips.
    "Sundancer didn't think it was fine. He said that since mares in foal weren't ridden, he didn't think a human mare in foal should ride."
    "Oh, dear," Daemon said—and then laughed. "No wonder you wanted to get out of the house."
    The door opened. Morghann scowled at the tray, then at Khary. But she smiled at Daemon.
    Setting his cup down, he rose to give her a kiss. In the months since he'd come to Kaeleer, he'd learned the value of these little gestures of affection—and he'd learned to take pleasure in them.
    Khary, he noticed with some amusement and a good dollop of sympathy, had also risen but had wisely not tried to approach his wife.
    A maid appeared at the door. "Would you be wanting a cup of that herbal tea Maeve made up for you, Lady Morghann?"
    "I suppose," Morghann growled.
    Giving Khary a quick glance, Daemon put on his best smile. "Darling," he said to Morghann, "I'm so glad you joined us."
    "Why?" Morghann said darkly as she took a seat.
    "Because Jaenelle's birthday is in a couple of months, and I wanted your advice about a gift."
    As they discussed ideas, Morghann became involved enough not to notice she was drinking a Healer's tea instead of coffee. She even nibbled a little piece of nutcake— which meant the men could have some without having the tray dumped over their heads.
    At the end of an hour, Morghann rose. "I have some correspondence to take care of. I'll see you at dinner?"
    "I look forward to it," Daemon replied.
    She kissed his cheek—and then gave Khary a more generous kiss.
    Khary waited a minute after the door had closed behind her. He lifted his coffee cup in a salute. "That was very well done, Prince Sadi. My thanks."
    Daemon lifted his cup in response. "It was my pleasure, Lord Khardeen."
----
    5 / Kaeleer
    Morton took a couple of steps away from the landing web and froze, unable to take his eyes off the bodies lying in the snow.
    What in the name of Hell had happened?
    He felt a mild hum from his Ring of Honor, almost like a question. That snapped him out of his shock enough to create an Opal shield. He almost activated the shield in the Ring, then hesitated. That would summon the other boyos—and alarm Karla. He didn't want to do either of those things. Not yet.
    He tried probing the area, but didn't pick up anything that would lead him to believe he was in danger. But he did sense the presence of several living people.
    His first reaction was to rush forward to help the survivors. Then his training kicked in. Whatever had happened here was more than he could handle alone. And now that he'd been here for a minute, something more than the slaughter felt wrong about this place.
    He took a step back, intending to catch the Winds, head for the nearest village, and bring back help.
    As he took another step back, an Eyrien came around the corner of a building and saw him.
    "Lord Morton?" the Eyrien called.
    Morton didn't recognize the Green-Jeweled Warlord Prince. He tensed, ready to catch the Winds and run.
    "Lord Morton!" The Eyrien raised a hand and hurried toward him. "Thank the Darkness, you got Yaslana's message!"
    That name was enough to catapult Morton a few feet toward the Eyrien. "What happened here?"
    "We're not sure," the Eyrien answered, stopping a few feet away. "Yaslana found tracks heading away from the Dark Altar. He took some of the men and followed them." He looked over Morton's shoulder, his face stamped with concern. "Didn't you bring any Healers?"
    "No, I—"
    It happened too fast. A blast of the Eyrien's Green-Jeweled power shattered his Opal shield at the same moment three arrows pierced his body. The Ebony shield in Jaenelle's Ring of Honor snapped up around him. Two more arrows hit the shield and turned to dust.
    He used Craft to remain standing and cursed himself for a thrice-times fool for not activating the shield in the first place. But there was nothing they could do