A Kiss of Fire (A Kiss of Magic #2)(84)

“Bring Lindo to me,” he said.

The guard nodded and hurried away to do his bidding.

Lindo arrived a short while later, and by then he had read the letter over a dozen times. He handed the letter over to Lindo and the other man read it quickly. Lindo ignored the sentiment and aimed right for what he felt was important.

“She levels a serious accusation at your brother. But can we trust the word of a Saren woman who was bent on escape? One who didn’t want to be here?”

“She wanted to be here,” Sin said sharply. “She says as much.”

“If she wanted to be here then she would have stayed,” Lindo said simply.

“It is not so simple,” he said with a sigh. “We can trust her words. If she says an attempt was made on her life, I believe her.”

“Are you…are you certain? This is your brother and heir we are talking about. She says herself she had no proof.”

“But she is also right. There is only one person who would feel threatened by her enough to order her death. Vich knew she was mine. Knew we had become lovers. Hells, we didn’t exactly hide it. He knew I had every intention of making her my wife. It was only a matter of time before she would conceive a son…”

He trailed off as he thought of all the things that might have been. If only they had been different people, this all would have been so much easier. Then again, if they had been in any way different, their passion would never have burned so brightly.

“So what do we do now?”

“Now we find out what my brother really thinks of me.”

“You want me to read his thoughts?”

“His entourage has two powerful Jadocs, one of whom rivals you. I do not know if you will be able to read him.”

“I will if we can separate him from those Jadocs. But how will we do that? Your brother is cunning. If he is thinking murderous thoughts toward you, he will not allow himself to go unprotected for even a second. Not with me present in the room.”

“I could order him separated from his Jadocs.”

“Then he would know you suspect him and he will school his thoughts.”

“I have an idea,” Sin said suddenly. “He may not expose himself to me and to you, but he will not be afraid of exposure to our mother, who has no majical ability.”

“Will your mother play along? This is her son we are talking about.”

Sin grimaced. “My mother knows the kind of man my brother is and, while she prefers not to take sides, in this she will take part. If only to prove Vich’s innocence.”

“You will tell her why then?”

“I will. She will have to bring him alone to a place where you can observe his thoughts, and she will have to ask him questions that will incite poisonous thoughts…if indeed he has any.”

“Then she should ask him to walk about in the gardens. We can hide in the copse that hid Ariana’s rescuers so well. She can bring him to the point just before it. She should send him a note, rather than ask him to join her in person, so that no Jadoc can read her mind and put Vich on his guard against her,” Lindo said.

“A good idea. Very well…let’s do it.”





Raj Vich walked out into the frigid gardens with impatience. His mother’s note had been enigmatic and strange. She had asked him to come and meet her in the gardens alone. It was much too cold and miserable to be out in his opinion, so it was clear his mother wanted to meet clandestinely for a reason. What that reason was was beyond him.

He saw her pacing before a stand of trees and he hurried up to her.

“Well, what is it that has you calling me out here in this godforsaken place?” he demanded of her irritably.

“A warning,” she said.

Vich’s brow raised. “A warning?”

“Your brother knows you sent Mordol to kill the Saren woman.”

Vich felt his stomach drop. That was impossible! How would he know that? “I am certain you are mistaken,” he said cautiously. “I know nothing of which you speak.”

“You did not send Mordol to kill the Saren woman?”

“No Mother, of course not.”

“Then you have no designs on your brother’s throne?”

Designs? Of course he had designs. He had been the one to arrange that little meeting in the wilds between Sin and the bandits. They had been commanded to shoot first and give no opportunity for either to escape them. For all he had known, the Saren woman was already breeding his brother’s child. And with that would come the end of his inheritance. As long as Lindo, the Jadoc who was always in Sin’s pocket, was around, there was no way of getting close to him. His daily rides with the woman alone were the only opportunity to gain advantage and see them both killed. But they had failed him. The only thing in his favor had been that none of them had survived to be questioned. That and the fact that Sin was laid up with an injury that allowed Vich to exercise his rightful role as leader of his people. His brother was weak…allowing a woman to rule his head. He did not deserve his crown. He proved that with every action he took. The only thing he’d managed to do of any worth was to gain land for them. But he had settled for too little at too great a price. Had it been Vich in charge, he would have brought the Sarens to their knees and taken everything they had wanted. They would have gained the entire Triagle Territory…doubling their country’s size, and done it at little to no cost to the Kiltian people.