Read The Devil's Concubine for Free Online Page A
Authors: Jaide Fox
Talin had,
for, from what he’d heard, the princess had been less than delighted to come--nothing short of bloodshed--his--would appease them, but he wisely kept that opinion to himself.
Perhaps, he thought hopefully, she would be mollified at least a little that the king had put himself out to please her and it would stave off the battle of wills that was sure to erupt from the king’s arrogance for a time.
There was going to be hell to pay, though, when King Talin discovered he would
have to jump through hoops before she was completely satisfied that he’d been punished enough. He only hoped that he could complete his task and make himself scarce before all hell broke loose.
“We must wait upon that a little, though,” King Talin continued after a few
moments. “The man children are preparing for war. It will be difficult to retrieve her belongings before they have abandoned the castle.”
The carpenter’s brows rose. “The man children are warring?” he asked with
interest.
“Aye.”
“If I may be so bold as to ask, Sire, with whom?”
“Us,” Talin said dismissively. “Finish up and move along. This will do for now.
I must go to the dungeon and see if the princess has cooled her heels long enough to feel more reasonable.”
Stunned as he was by the announcement that they were at war with the kingdom
of Anduloosa, the last remark was enough to galvanize the master carpenter. “Cooled her heels?” he muttered when he was certain the king was out of earshot. It was all well and good that King Talin’s temper seemed to have improved, but it wasn’t likely to last once he reached the dungeon and discovered just how mistaken he was in his belief. “More
likely she is thinking of ways to murder him in his bed.”
Turning to his crew, he gauged their progress and decided they were close
enough. “Make haste and finish. We do not want to be here when the king returns. I
assure you, his mood will be foul, most foul!”
THE DEVIL’S CONCUBINE
Jaide Fox
21
Chapter Five
The first thing Talin noticed as he descended the stairs into the dungeon was an
ominous quiet. More accurately, he became aware that there was no noise, as he’d more than half expected, no curses, no wailing--not even so much as the scurrying of tiny
rodent feet or the flutter of an insect. He did not, in fact, notice until he was halfway down that the silence was not the quiet of peace, but rather the pregnant pause before a storm of staggering magnitude.
Reaching the bottom, he held the torch high and glanced around.
No one was in sight and he frowned, wondering which cell Reyhan had placed the
princess in. He glanced back up the way he had just come and then around the open area at the foot of the stairs. No one magically appeared to show him the way, but as he
glanced down the narrow corridors leading off to the right, left and before him, he saw a flickering light at the end of the one on his right.
The interrogation room.
If that numbskull had taken her there, he decided angrily, he was going to take the
hide off the fool!
Shoving the torch he’d carried down into a holder on the wall, he stalked down
the narrow passage, coming to an abrupt stop at the other end as if he’d just struck an invisible wall.
He felt much as if he had, and that the concussion had not only knocked the wind
out of him, but rattled his brain in his skull at the same time and scattered his wits.
Princess Aliya knelt on the opposite side of the room, her arms chained to posts
on either side of her.
She was also the next thing to naked.
Like a sleep walker, he woke to find himself staring down at her, having no
memory of crossing the room at all.
Saliva pooled in his mouth as he studied her stunning perfection, nearly strangling
him when he recalled the need to swallow. He had thought from the moment he saw her
that she was beyond compare, but he had not dreamed that the gown she wore hid as
much of her
for, from what he’d heard, the princess had been less than delighted to come--nothing short of bloodshed--his--would appease them, but he wisely kept that opinion to himself.
Perhaps, he thought hopefully, she would be mollified at least a little that the king had put himself out to please her and it would stave off the battle of wills that was sure to erupt from the king’s arrogance for a time.
There was going to be hell to pay, though, when King Talin discovered he would
have to jump through hoops before she was completely satisfied that he’d been punished enough. He only hoped that he could complete his task and make himself scarce before all hell broke loose.
“We must wait upon that a little, though,” King Talin continued after a few
moments. “The man children are preparing for war. It will be difficult to retrieve her belongings before they have abandoned the castle.”
The carpenter’s brows rose. “The man children are warring?” he asked with
interest.
“Aye.”
“If I may be so bold as to ask, Sire, with whom?”
“Us,” Talin said dismissively. “Finish up and move along. This will do for now.
I must go to the dungeon and see if the princess has cooled her heels long enough to feel more reasonable.”
Stunned as he was by the announcement that they were at war with the kingdom
of Anduloosa, the last remark was enough to galvanize the master carpenter. “Cooled her heels?” he muttered when he was certain the king was out of earshot. It was all well and good that King Talin’s temper seemed to have improved, but it wasn’t likely to last once he reached the dungeon and discovered just how mistaken he was in his belief. “More
likely she is thinking of ways to murder him in his bed.”
Turning to his crew, he gauged their progress and decided they were close
enough. “Make haste and finish. We do not want to be here when the king returns. I
assure you, his mood will be foul, most foul!”
THE DEVIL’S CONCUBINE
Jaide Fox
21
Chapter Five
The first thing Talin noticed as he descended the stairs into the dungeon was an
ominous quiet. More accurately, he became aware that there was no noise, as he’d more than half expected, no curses, no wailing--not even so much as the scurrying of tiny
rodent feet or the flutter of an insect. He did not, in fact, notice until he was halfway down that the silence was not the quiet of peace, but rather the pregnant pause before a storm of staggering magnitude.
Reaching the bottom, he held the torch high and glanced around.
No one was in sight and he frowned, wondering which cell Reyhan had placed the
princess in. He glanced back up the way he had just come and then around the open area at the foot of the stairs. No one magically appeared to show him the way, but as he
glanced down the narrow corridors leading off to the right, left and before him, he saw a flickering light at the end of the one on his right.
The interrogation room.
If that numbskull had taken her there, he decided angrily, he was going to take the
hide off the fool!
Shoving the torch he’d carried down into a holder on the wall, he stalked down
the narrow passage, coming to an abrupt stop at the other end as if he’d just struck an invisible wall.
He felt much as if he had, and that the concussion had not only knocked the wind
out of him, but rattled his brain in his skull at the same time and scattered his wits.
Princess Aliya knelt on the opposite side of the room, her arms chained to posts
on either side of her.
She was also the next thing to naked.
Like a sleep walker, he woke to find himself staring down at her, having no
memory of crossing the room at all.
Saliva pooled in his mouth as he studied her stunning perfection, nearly strangling
him when he recalled the need to swallow. He had thought from the moment he saw her
that she was beyond compare, but he had not dreamed that the gown she wore hid as
much of her
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