Page 11 of What Fury Brings
“I am not amise, Auntie. I have only been biding my time for personal reasons. Now, may I have your blessing in this task?”
Lemya raised a brow at her tone but let it slide. “All right. I only wanted to be sure this is truly what you want. Which son of Atalius will you take?”
“Prince Andrastus,” Olerra answered.
“The king has five sons. Why Andrastus?”
There were many reasons why Andrastus. “He’s said to be a timid and loyal thing, which makes him the perfect candidate for housebreaking. He’s the second-born prince, so I’m less likely to start a war by taking him.” Though she knew to expect some repercussions from Atalius once he found out. “He’s also rumored to be very pretty.”
“King Atalius may still come for his son. He is a proud man. Stupid, but proud,” the queen observed.
“We will be wed as soon as he’s on Amarran soil. The marriage will be consummated immediately so he will be soiled goods. No other woman of noble birth will have him, and he can be of no further use to his father.”
“No noblewoman in Amarra would want him after that, but you forget that other kingdoms’ ways are not our own.”
Ah yes. Other kingdoms and their backward ideals. In Amarra, a differre man was only as valuable as the seed he could give a woman. Once that seed had resulted in a child, it could be of no further value to a separate woman. Mothers with children born of the same father? Ludicrous. It wasn’t done. Sure, men could be shared for the purposes of pleasure. They were bought by the dozens from the common classes to fill harems. But when it came to marriage, fidelity was demanded of men.
But Olerra had heard tales of kingdoms that encouraged men to put their seed in as many women as possible. It was a sign of prowess, even. As if a man should be proud of what his cock could do. Losing his spend wasn’t difficult. Pleasing a woman in bed was. Which should he be prouder of?
Olerra knew her aunt wasn’t truly arguing with her. She was simply poking holes in Olerra’s plan to see if she was strong enough to handle the onslaught.
Olerra said, “It is important that Atalius suffers the consequencesfor coming after our land. He hates Amarrans and would rather die than see one of his sons wedded to one. We have the might to withstand him should he make hasty advances, and he won’t know for some time that it’s me who has taken his son, despite the threats I made when I spoke with him. Why come back and kidnap a son when I could have traded the king for one? And once we’re married, there’s hardly anything Atalius can do about it.”
Lemya nodded. “Very well. You have my blessing in this. If it’s what you truly want.”
“It is.”
“Who will you take with you on your prince heist?”
“Just Ydra.”
“Are you certain? Even the lowliest of noblewomen are permitted a retinue of three guards.”
“The fewer the better. I will prove myself.”
Lemya pulled Olerra into her warm embrace before kissing the top of her head. “You have nothing to prove to me, niece. I love you no matter what. You know that, right?”
“I do.”
“You must do this only if you wish to rule. If you don’t—”
“I do wish it.”
“Very well.” Lemya was silent for a moment. “You needn’t marry the Brute right away. The five hundredth anniversary of the Goddess’s Gift is approaching. What better way to celebrate than with a royal wedding?”
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
“That’ll give you three months to break him once he’s on our soil.”
“Child’s play,” Olerra said.
“Let me know what resources you need and they’re yours. Otherwise, happy hunting.”
Olerra cracked her knuckles as she left the queen’s quarters. It wasthe only thing she could do to get her attention off the sensation of her sinking stomach.
There was a reason she’d put off courting men for so long. A reason why she was still a virgin.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want a man. She’d felt a yearning for a man for the first time when she was thirteen. That yearning only grew stronger the older she became, but she’d resisted her impulses because it was the only way to keep her secret.
