Horns for the Harem Girl by Lynn Red Read Free Book Online Page A

anymore. “He didn’t... well, he stopped, if you catch my meaning.”
    “He... did?”
    Helena nodded. “He said so many things about his needs and desires, and then I told him that we couldn’t do, er, what he wanted, because the king would know. And anyway, I’m just a commoner, so none of the things he said make much sense.”
    “What did he promise you?”
    “Oh, nothing,” Helena faked a laugh. “I’m sure it was just chatter to try and get into my gown.”
    He stole my heart with a word. And I know I stole his, because he told me. And when people look like that? They’re not lying .
    “Likely,” Maret said. “But... if he didn’t do anything, then I don’t see what wrong you’ve done.”
    “Me either. That’s why I was so confused about your upset. We just met in the tunnels and he put some sweet nothings in my head. I’m sure they were just that now, sweet nothings.” The look in her eye said she didn’t believe that though. Maret noticed, but kept quiet as the girl kept rambling, as though she was trying to convince herself she’d done nothing wrong.
    “He was so dashing, so charming,” she said. “I felt like a princess at a ball. Even though I was in a dusty tunnel underneath the palace, and the prince was just rubbing me in all sorts of ways that felt both good and bad at the same time.”
    She coughed. “Mostly good. All good, honestly.” She flushed and cleared her throat again. “Right, yes, well anyway.”
    In the common room, the lower servants had begun laying out the morning’s food. “Is it tarts?”
    Maret smiled, despite herself. “Yes, as usual. Date and plum, I’m sure.” She blinked a few times and then waved her hand in front of her face, dismissively. “Go on, child, take your food. I’m sure everything will turn out fine as far as all that goes. But listen to me, and listen closely.”
    “Yes?”
    “If the king catches wind of this, never admit to anything. Not that you saw Arad, not even that you know who he is. In this kingdom, child, there are jealousies and intrigues older than even me. Do you understand?”
    Helena nodded, even though she didn’t. Not really, anyway. She hesitated just long enough that Maret asked her what was wrong.
    “It’s just that... oh, I don’t know. I guess I’m only a simple country girl and all.”
    “Nothing of the sort, speak your mind.”
    “Well... I mean they are father and son. Why would the king not want Arad to be happy?”
    Maret smiled. “You’re not simple, not in the least. But you have to remember that at court, things are not always as pleasant as they are outside of it. Father and son are related, yes, but they are also in conflict. If the son were to gain more influence than the father has, he would threaten the stability of the kingdom, of the empire.”
    “But Arad wouldn’t—”
    “And now you show your simplicity,” Maret said sharply. “This is a dangerous world, sweet. Blood in this world is thinner than many things – oil in particular. If something were to come between the king and his heir, why, the king would simply... choose another. Sons vanish all the time in the deserts. Kings, too, have a way of being sucked under the sands. Make no mistake – there isn’t room enough for two wills in Salomana. Make certain you don’t find your way into the middle of a war.”
    With a heavy gulp, and wide open eyes, Helena stood and wrapped a silk shawl about her shoulders. She opened her mouth as though to say something, but managed only to flap her jaws like a fish brought up into a boat.
    “Go get some food in you, child,” Maret said. “As I said, I’m sure everything will be fine.”
    As soon as the young woman was out of the room, Maret finished, “Fine for... someone, anyway.”
    *
    T he message came when she least expected it.
    Arad seemed to have a particular ability to work in just that way – at the moment of greatest surprise, he tended to appear. Or in this case, his man Crane