Empire of Avarice Read Free Page B

voice was there, one she was familiar with.
    “Ah, there you are Princess. Your father wishes for your
company in the audience chamber.”
    Amne breathed out in relief and saw, over Mercos’
shoulder, Teduskis standing in the doorway. Mercos swung round, his face ugly. “Why
don’t you go away and leave us to finish our business, whoever you are?”
    Teduskis strode into the room, his hard face
expressionless, but his eyes like flint. Amne had never seen him like this and
was rooted to the spot. Before she or Mercos could react, Teduskis’ right hand
was swinging up in a fist and it crashed full into the face of the palace guard
captain. Mercos’ head snapped back and he staggered a few steps before losing
his balance and sat down hard on the carpet. He put his hand to his now
bleeding lips and sat there, holding his face.
    “Princess? Best get dressed quickly. I’ll watch this man
while you do.” Teduskis turned his back on Amne and glared at the bleeding
Mercos. “Try anything like that again, you weasel, and I’ll slice off what lies
between your legs and feed it to you. I don’t care who or what you are. Understand?”
    Mercos looked up at Teduskis with pure hatred.
    Amne was shocked. Teduskis had always been courteous,
funny, gentle. She’d never heard him speak like this to anyone before. Maybe
father was right. Teduskis had been with father in the army and his reputation
as a tough warrior had been surely a piece of fiction to tell to her and her
two younger brothers. But maybe it had been fact. She’d never believed it
before. But now? Maybe it was true. Hurriedly she slipped back into her normal
dress and as she hooked it over her shoulders, vowed to herself to have dresses
made for her that very sevenday. Already she felt shabby. As a princess, she
ought to look her best. She looked down at Mercos, who was examining the blood
on his hand with distaste. “If you ever speak to me like that again, I will
tell my father, no matter how important you think you are to our family. Favours
can be ignored, you know.”
    Mercos growled, his already thickening lips making
whatever word or words he wanted to say unintelligible. Teduskis glared at him
one last time. “Palace guard, eh? Well go start guarding the palace. You didn’t
do a decent job for the last emperor, did you? But I doubt you’ve ever actually
had to do any proper guarding before; you’re just fit to parade around the
imperial piss-pot. You’re not proper soldiers. Give me half a day on the parade
ground with your pretty boys and they’ll be crying for their mammas.” With that
he followed Amne out of the chamber, leaving a fuming Mercos to get back to his
feet.
    “We’ll see about that,” he muttered thickly, and stomped
out of the chamber, heading for his quarters, his mind racing with thoughts of
vengeance.
    Back in the audience chamber, Astiras Koros had returned
his two young sons to their mother and was once more waving to the crowd
outside. Shouts of delight wafted through the curtains into the chamber, and
the Empress sat on a couch with Argan who was rubbing his eyes. Rousa was once
more fussing over Istan who had reverted back to his habitual crying. “Best get
these two to bed,” the Empress said. “They’re tired, poor things. It’s been a
little too much.”
    “Where am I going to sleep?” Argan asked. He was very
tired.
    “Your new bed. Rousa, have you found where the sleeping
chambers are?”
    The nurse shook her head. “But there’s a whole company
of servants hovering in the next chamber waiting to serve you.” Rousa smiled
evilly. “They’re scared half to death you’re going to order their execution!”
    “Now why would they think that?” the Empress asked. “Silly
lot; let’s start organising them!”
    As the woman and children left via an adjoining door to
the next chamber, the door to the passageway opened and Amne came in, her face
flushed. Teduskis followed her in, noting the arrangement of the