Free The Flame Priest (The Silk & Steel Saga) by Karen Azinger

obey…but the stiff-backed queen slowly sank to her knees, her face a cold mask. Despite the bent knee, her posture screamed of unrelenting pride.
    His anger exploded. “Speak or I will have you killed.” He would break this woman in death if not in life…but before he could issue the command, she broke her stony silence.
      “Why?”
    The single word lanced him like a bolt of ice.
    Danly teetered on the edge of rage. One word had saved her from oblivion. Mollified, he reined in his anger and barked a laugh. “You ask why? Isn’t it obvious, mother?” He resumed his seat on the throne. Throwing one leg over the arm, he toyed with the scepter. “Women are not meant to rule. No real man will long bend the knee to the weaker sex…but then you have never been a true woman, have you, mother? It is passed time you learned. Stripped of the crown all that is left to you is your sex. You kneel before me, devoid of power, nothing more than a woman. How does it feel to be merely female?”
    Cold eyes stared back at him. Even on her knees, the woman seemed indomitable.
    A killing rage rushed through him. “Answer me, woman! Your king commands it!” Gripping the scepter, he took a step toward her, murder in his stare.
    The queen glared, her voice a knife in the dark, “Who designed the plot? Where is the one who defeated me?”
    Danly gaped in shock, amazed that she did not know. A bark of laughter erupted from him. “Even now you do not know? He weaves his plots so deftly that even in victory his identity is disguised!” He shook his head, his voice incredulous. “You sat beside him on your royal council. Madam, you are too easily deceived! Small wonder you lost the throne.” He laughed, the irony of the moment gripping him. Recovering himself, he spoke to the guards. “Where is the noble councilor? He should be here to witness the triumphant crowning of his king.”
    The guards shuffled, but no one answered.
    Danly spied the captain who had first brought him news of the victory. “You there, captain, where is the councilor? He should be here in our hour of triumph.”
    Blanching, the captain bowed low and stuttered a reply, “Y-your m-majesty, I last saw him at the…Queen’s Tower. I had orders to wake you and bring you safely to the Throne Room. I assumed he would be here awaiting your triumph.”
    Puzzled, Danly gestured toward the captain, “Well go and fetch him! It is past time our dear councilor rushed to our summons for a change. Tell him that the king demands his presence in the Throne Room.”
    The captain bowed low and made a hasty exit.
    Turning his attention back to the captured queen, Danly said, “While we wait for our advisor, you will entertain your king.” Reclaiming his seat on the throne, Danly struck a regal pose. “It is time to put aside your stiff-necked pride and beg for your very life.” He extended his booted foot. “You may grovel before us, begging for our mercy…or you will take a turn on the rack.” He thought he spied shock in her eyes. Pressing his advantage, he said, “Yes, Madam, torture. Lanverness will resume the practice. A king must be strong in the face of his enemies, something you never understood.” Thrusting his right foot forward, Danly said, “You may kiss our royal boot and beg for your life. If your pride will not allow it, then you will go to the dungeons and beg after a turn on the wheel…or perhaps we should order one of the guards take you here on the steps, a reminder that you are nothing more than a mere woman.”   His voice turned to a sneer. “Grovel well, mother, and avoid the pain.”
    A deathly stillness settled over the room.
    The queen remained on her knees, cloaked in stern dignity. “Anger and cruelty will not avail you.”
    The woman’s haughty arrogance was impossible. Danly exploded out of the throne. “I said grovel!”
    Footsteps approach from behind. Confused, Danly turned.
    From the shadows behind the throne, a dark figure