“You make it sound as if you are leaving me,” he told her.

“Nay, I will not leave you while you remain in your mortal body, Magnus, but there is something Kaliq and my mother have spoken about with me that I must share with you. Because my faerie blood is stronger than my mortal blood, I will live far longer than any mortal and for most of that time I will remain as you see me now,” Lara told him. Her beautiful eyes filled with tears as she spoke. “I may even outlive our children.”

“But I will grow old as mortals do,” he said softly. “I have wondered for some time about that, my love. Do not fret yourself over it. I am a mortal man who has had the supreme good fortune to fall in love and be loved in return by a beautiful faerie woman.” He leaned forward and kissed her lips most tenderly. “I regret none of it nor will I in the years to come. How can I as long as you remain by my side?” He gently brushed the tears away that had begun to slip down her cheeks. “Now put this unhappy truth from you, my love. I am content by your side and will always be. You must think of the days ahead for they will be very important for us all.”

Lara nodded and swallowed back her bout of sadness.

Lady Gillian returned, carrying a tray with a carafe of light wine that she informed them was from her vineyards in the Outlands. There was also a plate containing delicate rectangles of dark bread and a board of buttery cheese. “I did not think this was a time for sweet treats,” she said with a small smile as she set the tray down on a table.

“Remain with us,” Lara invited their hostess. “You must be a part of the negotiation with Lord Jonah, for you are an important part of Hetar’s society.”

“I was,” Lady Gillian amended modestly. “Now it is Lady Farah’s place.”

“Nay,” Lara corrected her. “Lady Farah will never have the respect that you have earned over your tenure as headmistress of the Pleasure Guilds. You were, if memory serves me correctly, the youngest woman ever elected to that position. Even now in your retirement you are looked to, especially by the women of Hetar. And you are one of few Pleasure Women to ever own her own establishment.”

“You flatter me,” Lady Gillian said with a small smile. “I have simply worked hard.”

They sat drinking the lovely fragrant wine and nibbling upon the bread and cheese. A knock came upon the door, then a serving woman stuck her head into the room.

“Your guests are even now arriving,” she said tersely. “Shall I show them directly in, my lady Gillian?”

“Aye, and be sure no one sees them who should not,” Lady Gillian said.

The serving woman nodded briefly, and her head disappeared. Several minutes later the door opened and two cloaked figures entered quickly as the portal closed quickly behind them. Lady Gillian herself took their garments and carefully put them aside on a small bench. Silently she bowed to her two guests.

Jonah turned and stared at Lara and her husband. “Why should I help you?” he said without any preamble.

“Because without our help you will never rule Hetar,” Lara said candidly.

“You do not believe I can make an arrangement with the Twilight Lord?” Jonah replied. He looked straight at her.

“Kol of the Twilight would immediately see the darkness about you and the deceit in your heart, my lord,” Lara answered him. “He would slay you himself. If he can take Hetar he will put one of his puppets upon the throne here and you will not be alive to enjoy the fruits of your many years of scheming.”

Jonah barked a brief laugh. “You mince no words with me, Domina, do you? Will you help me if I help you?”

“If Terah comes to Hetar’s aid, my lord, it will save your skin. That is all the help we will give you. As for your ambitions, they are yours to fulfill,” Lara told him.

“Terah wants no part of Hetar, my lord,” Magnus Hauk now spoke. “We will trade with you as we always have, but no more. How you govern, how you come to the manner of your government is not our concern. We do not wish to conquer Hetar. We offer only to aid you so that you may save yourselves from Kol and his darkness. So that the balance between the light and the dark may be maintained.”

“And you are certain that between us we can defeat the Twilight Lord? What if we fail and he wreaks an even harsher vengeance against us?”

“United, we cannot fail,” Lara said in positive tones.

“And the emperor?” Jonah demanded of her.

“Your hands will be free of his blood,” Lara told him. “His punishment has already been decided in the magic kingdoms. He will be no impediment to your own climb to power, my lord. And his demise will not be laid at your door, which should only enhance your reputation as a good and loyal servant.”

Jonah’s dark eyes narrowed speculatively, then he looked sharply at Lara. “Will the magic kingdoms help me?” he asked her.

“Your ambitions and your fate are in your own hands and those who would support you, my lord. We do not make it a regular habit to interfere in the ways of mortals,” Lara said. “You will plot your own course.”

“But will you hinder me?” he wanted to know.

Lara laughed softly and shook her head. “Those of the magic realms will return to their own places and I will be back in Terah. What happens in Hetar after we defeat Kol and his minions is not our business.”

“I must be certain I understand you,” Jonah responded. “Terah, along with its magic allies, will help Hetar stave off the Twilight Lord and the forces of darkness in exchange for nothing? This is neither reasonable nor possible. There must be something that you want from Hetar in exchange for your aid.”

“Are you so stupid,” Magnus Hauk burst out, “that you cannot understand the terrible danger we all face from the Twilight Lord? He must be defeated! And as he has begun his hoped-for conquest of us all here in Hetar, it is here we have rallied to destroy his aspirations! This creature and his minions threaten us all, my lord. There is naught the magic kingdoms desire of Hetar in return. What do you have that you could possibly give them? You are a mortal land peopled by mortal folk. As for Terah, you already know our price. You will leave us to ourselves, for if you do not my ships, with sailors who know how to sail, will sweep across the Sagitta carrying my armies, who know how to conquer-and they will conquer Hetar. If I am forced to do that I swear to you that I will set my wife and her sword, Andraste, upon you, my lord. Now do you understand? And now will you let the gracious lady Vilia go to that pompous fool, Gaius Prospero, before it is too late? There is no time left to any of us to bargain, Hetarian.”

Jonah looked astounded by the Dominus’s words and stance. Magnus Hauk had always seems a quiet and reasonable man. But standing before him now, the Dominus of Terah, his turquoise eyes flashing anger, appeared every bit a strong and fierce ruler. I have misjudged him, Jonah thought, irritated with himself. I have looked only to the faerie woman. Why did I ever consider that she would have wed a weak man? “My lord Dominus,” Jonah replied, “I apologize for my hesitation but it is, as you well know, our way to negotiate. You are correct when you say there is no time left to such civilities. My wife must go at once to the emperor if Hetar, if all of us, are to be saved.”

“I can transport you immediately to the young empress’s quarters,” Lara told Vilia. “Go to her first and then together you must go to Gaius Prospero.”

Vilia nodded.

“Do not fail us,” Jonah warned his wife.

Vilia glared at him, her look almost scornful. “Have I ever failed you?” Then she turned to Lara. “I am ready.”

Lara smiled, and then she silently made a little incantation. Prepare, oh Shifra, for your guest. Then do what you know is best. Waving her hand over Vilia she sent her to the emperor’s palace and into the privy chamber of the young empress.

“I have been awaiting your arrival,” Shifra said by way of greeting.

“You knew I was coming?” Vilia didn’t know whether to be surprised or not. She felt a tiny stab of jealousy. The girl was as beautiful as ever with her red-gold hair, no longer loose, but dressed in a number of bejeweled braids and heavy curls. Even in my prime I was not so beautiful, she thought.

“Of course,” Shifra said in her soft sweet voice. “Now we must hurry for the hour draws near when the emperor retires into his own privy chamber to drink Razi and forget his troubles. Even I cannot console him in these terrible times. If we do not catch him now he will be too drunk and filled with dreams to make sense. Come quickly!” She led Vilia from her own rooms and down a connecting corridor to the emperor’s quarters. The guards at the door stepped aside to let them pass, surprised to see the empress with the emperor’s former wife.

Gaius Prospero was signing some papers at his large desk. His eyes lit up seeing Shifra, but his look turned to one of shock at seeing her companion. “My love, what is it?” he asked Shifra. “Vilia,” he acknowledged the other woman curtly.

Shifra went immediately to Gaius Prospero and settled herself in his lap. Instinctively he put his arms about her and kissed her lips. “My dearest lord and husband, Lord Jonah’s wife has come to speak with me this day. Her words are wise and in the best interests of Hetar, I am absolutely convinced. You must hear her out, for my sake. For the sake of any children I may be fortunate enough to bear you,” Shifra said.

“You know I will do whatever pleases you, my dove,” the emperor murmured, kissing her ripe lips again. Then reluctantly he turned his gaze to Vilia. “You have my ear,” he told her. “Say what you need to say.”

Vilia spoke in quiet but urgent tones, telling Gaius Prospero of Terah’s offer; explaining the great dangers that Hetar faced, for until now the emperor had refused to believe the Wolfyn were anything more than just raiders. Even the frantic Squire Darah had been unable to convince him of the peril that they all faced. Besotted by his wife and drunk much of the time now with Razi, Gaius Prospero had almost lost his grip upon reality. The loss of his ships, of half of his armies and now the prospect of a terrible future had turned the once powerful, ambitious ruler into a weak and frightened man.