Shadowdance 01 - A Dance of Cloaks

her stunning looks and her beautiful black hair, which she kept cropped short around her neck. Two daggers hung from her belt, wickedly sharp.
    “Let me be the one in the shadows,” Zusa said, smiling. “That way you are safe, for no assassin can hide beside me.”
    Alyssa gestured for her friend to sit. Zusa refused, but Alyssa took no offense. It was just one of the skilled lady’s many quirks. The woman had rescued her years before from an attempt by a former lover to take over her family line, and then helped protect her estate from Thren’s plans. She owed her life to Zusa, so if Zusa wanted to stand instead of sit, she was more than welcome.
    “Did you hear everything?” Alyssa asked.
    “Everything of worth. The old man is scared. He tries to be the rock in a storm, to survive by doing nothing until it passes.”
    “Sometimes a sound strategy.”
    Zusa smirked. “This storm will not pass, not without action. Not with
his
cowardly action. You know what Bertram wants. He wants you bedded and yoked to another man. Then your womanly passions may be safely ignored, and he can rule through your husband.”
    “Bertram has no desire for power.”
    Zusa lifted an eyebrow. “Can you know for sure? He is old, but not dead.”
    Alyssa sighed and drained her cup.
    “What should I do?” she asked. She felt tired, lost. She badly missed her son. She’d sent Nathaniel north to Felwood Castle, to be fostered by Lord John Gandrem. John was a good man, and a good friend of the family. More important, he was far away from Veldaren and its guilds of thieves. At least there Nathaniel was safe, and the training he received would help him later in life.
    “Bertram’s question … are there any you have taken a fancy to?” Zusa asked.
    Alyssa shrugged.
    “Mark Tullen was attractive, though his station is probably lower than Bertram would prefer. At least he was willing to talk to me instead of staring down my blouse. Also, that noble who runs our mines, Arthur something…”
    “Hadfield,” Zusa said.
    “That’s right. He’s pleasant enough, and not ugly … little distant, though. Guess that’s just a product of being older.”
    “The older, the less likely to cavort with other women.”
    “He’s more than welcome to,” Alyssa said. She stood and turned away, trying to voice a silent fear she’d held on to for years, a fear that had strangled her relationships and kept her unmarried. “But any child we have … that is who will become the Gemcroft heir. Too many will shove Nathaniel aside, deem him unfit, unworthy. I can’t do that to him, Zusa. I can’t deny him his right. He’s my firstborn.”
    She felt Zusa’s arms slip around her. Startled by the uncommon display of emotion, she accepted the hug.
    “If your son is strong, he will claim what is his, no matter what the world tries,” she said. “Do not be afraid.”
    “Thank you,” Alyssa said, pulling back and smiling. “What would I do without you?”
    “May we never find out,” Zusa said, bowing low.
    Alyssa waved her off, then retreated to her private chambers. She stared out the thick glass window, beyond her mansion’s great walls, to the city of Veldaren. She found herself hating the city, hating every dark corner and crevice. Always it conspired against her, waiting with poison and dagger to…
    No. She had to stop thinking like that. She had to stop letting the thief guilds control every aspect of her life through force and fear. So she sat at her desk, pulled out an inkwell and a piece of parchment, and paused. She’d sent Nathaniel away to protect him, to be fostered with a good family. Not so long ago her father had done the same with her, and she remembered her anger, her loneliness, and her feelings of betrayal. Gods help her, she’d even sent Nathaniel to the same person she’d been sent to. Once more she understood her father in a way she never had before. He’d hidden her because he loved her, not to get her out of the way as she’d once thought.
    Still, how angry she’d been when she returned…
    No, she would not let history repeat itself. Her decision made, she dipped the quill in the ink and began writing.
    My dear Lord Tullen
, she began.
I have a request for you involving my son, Nathaniel…