In the Flesh Read Free Page B

stretched to the tearing point, his hands a dark purple from supporting his large frame.
    Reaching him, she used both hands to lift his slumped head and gasped. Aside from her husband, she had never seen features so finely crafted. Each line and plane had been etched by a master hand to create perfection.

    Sadly, his face was the only part of him not covered in blood, or cut or burned or whipped. The rest of him—a warrior’s well-honed body—was gravely, perhaps mortally injured.
    She listened closely for sounds of life, and caught his breathing—shallow and erratic. The sounds of a man dying.
    “Take him down.” She stepped out of the way.
    Smithson growled. “Give me Gordmere first.”
    “No.” Brenna raked his massive frame with a look of pure disgust. She’d never in her life met so vile a creature. “Once the prince is safely in my transport, I will release Gordmere.”
    The exchange was completed within moments, a perfectly healthy Gordmere exchanged for a man who had only hours left to live. The antigrav-craft lifted off and navigated carefully out of the cavern.
    “Send out a call for troops,” she ordered. “I want that place destroyed.”
    The distance to the palace was quickly traversed, but the prince’s condition seemed to worsen considerably over the journey. Afraid to move him further, Brenna left him in the craft when they landed. She wanted to present a live captive, regardless of whether he died shortly after or not. Running against the clock, Brenna hurried from the transport bay in search of her husband. The fastest route was through the seraglio , so that was the path she chose.
    Rounding a corner, she skidded to a halt at the sight of the king. She was about to speak when she realized he wasn’t alone. He was with her . Sapphire.
    As Brenna registered the intimacy of his pose, her eyes widened. Gunther stood in the doorway ofthe concubine’s room with her cheek cupped in his hand. Bent over her possessively, his lips clung to the mätress ’s with obvious affection. When he lifted his head, the torment on his handsome features was clearly visible.
    He loved her.
    Brenna collapsed against the cool plaster wall, shocked by comprehension. She could not win his heart, because it was no longer his to give. He was taken.
    Something inside her cracked, then broke completely.
    Sending the concubine away would not be enough. As long as Sapphire drew breath, she would be a threat.
    Straightening and moving away before she was seen, Brenna reminded herself that she was queen and had unlimited resources. She could, and would, deal with this threat once and for all.
    Everything she needed was right at her fingertips.
     
    Sapphire entered the queen’s receiving chamber, admiring as always the beauty of natural light flooding the room from the domed skylights above. As the palace computer slid the door closed behind her, she prostrated herself just inside the threshold, her forehead touching the cool tile floor. “Your Majesty, I am here as you ordered.”
    The queen’s regal voice echoed across the vaulted ceiling and down the long, narrow chamber.“You may rise, king’s mätress . Come and sit at my feet.”
    Moving as she was bade, Sapphire walked the massive length of the throne room toward the beautiful Queen Brenna. Golden, like her husband, the queen was the day to Sapphire’s night. Tall and blessed with a willowy gracefulness, the queen stood a head higher than Sapphire and possessed none of her generous voluptuousness. However, it was not the blonde’s figure that had discouraged the king’s passion but her frigidity. As Sapphire approached the monarch, she swore she felt a radiating chill even through the queen’s warm velvet robes.
    Once she reached the end of the room, Sapphire took a seat on the bottom step of the royal dais and waited.
    “We both understand our respective positions well, mätress , so I will be brief. Sari needs an heir. I have discussed this with the king