A Kiss of Fire (A Kiss of Magic #2)(105)

“Do not do this Georg,” she said softly. “He is not worth the trouble that will rain down upon you now.”

“My loyalty goes to whomever pays the right price. Perhaps if the raja hadn’t been so stingy, he might have bought my loyalty. As it is…he did not,” Georg said, his smile disrespectful and indolent.

“Now come,” Vich invited her, bending to grasp her arm and pull her to her feet. “Come quietly and no further harm will come to you…or to your girl.”

That was when she saw Mariah dragged in from the room connected to the one they were presently in. She was in tears, and, like Ariana, in her nightgown.

“Will you allow me to get dressed?” she asked trying to pull away from his grasp. He held firm.

“No. We have yet another guest to acquire before we can leave and we have already stayed too long. Sneaking into the temple was no easy trick I assure you. Sneaking out will be no easier. See that neither of them makes a sound,” he instructed Georg.

“They won’t be able to speak a single word unless I allow it,” Georg promised.

And he was right. She tried to speak, only to fail. She couldn’t get her mouth to form the words. She couldn’t raise her arms to see her hands. She couldn’t focus enough to call her fire. Terror infused her as she began to fear for herself and the life of her child.

“Great Raja,” Georg said suddenly. “She’s with child.”

Vich stopped short in his progress toward the door and whirled about. “What did you say?”

“She’s with child,” Georg repeated.

“And you’re only just learning this now?”

“I didn’t think to look for the information. And the girl never thought about it,” he said, nodding to Mariah.

“Such a circumspect maid you have,” Vich said. “It makes no difference. Once Sin is my prisoner he and his entire line will be destroyed. This only gives us more bargaining power in the end.” He continued on to the doorway and walked through.

Arianna stood weakly as a sick feeling of dread overcame her. She was helpless! They were going to use her to get to Sin! She couldn’t allow that. She had to do something.

But there was nothing she could do. Georg held her captive, her hands tied behind her back as she was herded out of the door side by side with Mariah.

Who was this other guest Vich wanted? One of his wives? All of his concubines? They were all in the room already, being ushered out along with her.

Fatima. The answer came to her as clear as a song. In case Ariana wasn't enough, he would secure their mother as well. And being a non, Fatima was as helpless as they were under Georg’s control. Sin was being put in a hopeless situation. By the sound of it Vich was aware he hadn’t the power needed to defeat Sin in a head to head battle…so he was resorting to hostages to defeat his enemy through his feelings of love and loyalty.

And it was going to work.





Chapter Thirty


Ariana walked quietly beside Mariah, trying to think. All she needed was for Georg to lose focus…to break his concentration. Then she could burn through her bindings and attack the guards holding them prisoner. She would go after Georg first, so he could not regain control of her. Then she would simply set fire to anyone and everyone working alongside Vich. Georg could not be vigilant all of the time. There would have to be a moment when he lost focus.

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Georg whispered in her ear.

Of course. Her thoughts were opened to him like a book. There was nothing she could think that he wouldn’t be privy to. She had very powerful walls that could keep out most Jadoc or Aspano majji, but Georg was not just any Jadoc. He was quite powerful by the feel of things. But then, he had been carefully placed hadn’t he…probably playing down his ability and inserting himself into a position of little note and power. Lindo wouldn’t look twice at a kitchen servant or stable boy. She couldn’t recall if Mariah had told her what it was he was supposed to have done there at the temple.

No matter. Apparently being a spy was occupation enough in Ariana’s book. Occupation enough to get her in the predicament she was now in. She tried thrusting up walls of defense against him, but to no avail. He had total control of her mind and all of her bodily functions. That meant he had control of her fire if he wanted it. That was a frightening thought. Her power was no small thing. True, it took skill to wield her majic, a skill he didn’t have, but he could access the more rudimentary functions. He could have her form a fireball and throw it. The aim would be difficult, since he would not be seeing from her perspective, but some things didn’t need aiming and fire could be one of them. He could cause plenty of damage without aim. They could burn the entire temple down.

How did you get in here? she thought in her mind. How did you get past the guards and the troops installed around the temple without anyone knowing?

“That was easy,” Georg said. “There’s secret tunnels leading to and from the temple. The raja had them built in case escape was ever needed, and he thought the raj didn’t know about them. But he found them a little over a year into living here. No doubt they were how he would get you out if the temple was besieged.”

She didn’t know about that. Sin had never told her about the tunnels. She would have thought they would be something he would mention to her, given the precariousness of their situation. But he had left guards in charge of her safety and perhaps they knew of the tunnels. These guards were the ones who had the responsibility of spiriting her safely away to Saren. No doubt they would know of such tunnels. But why wouldn’t Sin tell her of them? Had it just slipped his mind? And why were they not protected?