Hell’s fire, Mother Night, and may the Darkness be merciful. What had possessed Hekatah to leave Hayll and go to Zuulaman? Why would she choose to travel so near her time? She’d been aware of the difficulties he’d been having with the Queens who ruled those islands. Had she gone thinking she’d be an honored guest, that the Queens would try to sway her in the hopes that she, in turn, could sway him to agree to something that would be of no benefit to the people he ruled? Now she was a hostage—and their unborn child with her.

So tempting to declare war on the Zuulaman Queens. He wouldn’t need to gather the Dhemlan Warlord Princes to do it. He wouldn’t need anyone or anything but himself to annihilate the Zuulaman courts. But Hekatah was so vulnerable right now, unable to use her own power until after the birthing. They would kill her the moment they felt his presence anywhere near their islands.

He had to find another way. There had to be another way.

They had issued the challenge, drawn the line. Did any of them realize that, by doing so, they had invited him to step onto a killing field?

Did any of them realize what would happen if he did?

Andulvar Yaslana prowled the sitting room in Saetan’s suite, too edgy and angry to remain still—and a little uneasy about the way Saetan did remain quietly at the window, watching Mephis and Peyton play in the enclosed garden bounded by the walls of the family wing. Anger needed sound and motion, unless it ripened to the point where it had a killing edge and needed to be quenched on a killing field. That was his kind of anger. Eyrien anger. But Saetan’s stillness had a different quality to it. Always had, even before he’d made the Offering to the Darkness and came away from it wearing Black Jewels.

“What are you going to do?” Andulvar asked.

“Wait to see what Zuulaman wants,” Saetan replied quietly.

“They made it clear enough,” Andulvar growled as he picked up the trade agreements and dropped them back down on the table.

Turning away from the window, Saetan walked over to the table and stared at the agreements. “Either they really didn’t think this through, or they intended something else all along and these agreements are just smoke.”

“They’re holding your wife hostage,” Andulvar pointed out. And as far as he was concerned, Zuulaman could keep Hekatah. Saetan was better off without the bitch.

“My wife is a Red-Jeweled Priestess from one of Hayll’s Hundred Families,” Saetan said. “If they lay a hand on her, they’ll not only have me to deal with but Hayll as well. Zuulaman is enamored with Hayll, so they won’t do anything that will make the Hayllian Queens turn on them.”

“There’s still those agreements.”