Abaddon's Call

Chapter Four

Alena arrived promptly, escorted by a Kaulu to her husband, at the appointed time. She waited some twenty minutes for Trild's appointment to finish before he granted her entrance to his study. As the Kaulu representative, she knew his work was important, more important than her.

They spoke shortly, and she was given leave to clean herself up in the bathroom.

There was the outer study, a bedroom, and a bathroom in the rooms assigned to Trild. The office was not yet set up, occupied only by a desk and chair for Trild to sit upon. The bedroom had a wonderful bed, a rug on each side with slippers sitting, waiting. There was plenty of space for her things, not yet unpacked.

The rooms were not the glory that she would live in once Trild's position returned to Blackwater to help raise the next generation, but they were better than her previous home by leagues. The rooms were quite to her liking, but that did not lessen her fear of spending her first night with her husband.

Alone.

Trild walked her to the small dining room where the other representatives gathered. Everyone was introduced to her easily, but Trild avoided the Pan representative. It almost seemed an afterthought when he turned to the Pan representative.

"And this—" Trild started.

Lord Pan turned and scowled at Alena. A second later, she shuddered out a breath and raised her right hand. He shook Alena's hand as a waft of comfort washed over her.

"Lord Gray," she said as if warmly greeting her neighbour.

It wasn't lost on Alena that they had never met before. She understood it was magic at work, and seeing the physical similarities between the representative and Lord Pan, she also understood why the spell was needed.

"Yes, Lady Alena, was it? That's a Riverend name, yes?"

"Yes, it is," she responded with a little curtsy. "I hail from there."

"Lord Trild," Gray said as he held his hand out.

Trild's nose twitched. He reached out and took Gray's hand.

"Lord Gray," he muttered.

After they all sat, Lord Pan entered, and they stood to greet him. He took his place at the head of the table, and then everyone sat.

The Lord of the Seven was said to have a soft spot for women, but only women who were well at hand. Alena knew she could barter favour with him simply by being a polite guest, but she found herself questioning every breath.

Each family was said to have table rules, and Alena knew Pan had always been quite formal and strict.

"Alena, was it?" Lord Pan asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Just Luk is fine here, dear," he murmured. "I hardly expect service from women out of sight of mage eyes. You're Muther's girl, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Shame about your father, damn shame," Lord Pan said. "Kaulu's last shield, dead. Younger than Theon, even."

She realized he sounded disturbed by that. Her father and Theon had been contemporaries, they had worked together on several occasions against Jasor Salord, but her father became a shield five years after Theon.

Her grandfather wouldn't permit her to read anything on magic, so she had made do with her father's history and that of other sword and shield pairs.

Her father had served five years before he returned one night quite suddenly, screaming and half-mad. His sword had only ever visited cloaked. While the man continued to visit cloaked, he never took her father out again. He had never been the same again, no longer laughing or much cognizant of the world around him.