Free Radiance (Wraith Kings Book 1) by Grace Draven

said.  For some reason she chose not to dwell on, a discordant internal note thrummed inside at her at the idea of Brishen having a mistress.
    One black eyebrow rose.  “What about them?”
    “Do you have a dozen or so?”  Ildiko raised her chin at the twitch of laughter that played across his mouth.  It was a perfectly legitimate question.  Her cousins’ husbands each had a mistress and a bevy of bastard children.  Her uncle, the king, kept a prima dulce named Annais, for which Queen Fantine was eternally grateful.
    Brishen lost the battle not to smile.  “A dozen?  I doubt I could deal with one.”  He shifted into a more comfortable spot on the saddle.  “Besides, I have a Gauri wife to comfort me.  Why take a mistress?”
    His answer puzzled Ildiko.  “But that isn’t the role of a mistress.”
    “Isn’t it?  I think we all seek companionship, wife.  Sometimes it’s physical; sometimes it’s much more.”  An odd flicker danced in his eyes, and like his grin before, his smile faded.  “Loneliness is an empty void.  We look for that friend in the light.”  His glowing eyes squinted a little, deepening the laugh lines at their corners.  “Or in the case of humans, in the dark.”
    Brishen stopped his horse for a second time and tugged Ildiko’s reins to halt her mount as well.  He must have given an unseen signal because the Kai riding with them widened the space around them to afford more privacy.
    “What is it?” she said.  “What’s wrong?”
    His gaze pressed down on Ildiko.  Not the smothering weight of a too-heavy blanket in summer but more like an embrace that invited affection.  Not for the first time, she desperately wished she could read his eyes, see past the luminescence to the equally bright soul behind it.
    “Will you be that for me, Ildiko,” he said.  “That beacon in the void?”
    Ildiko’s heart cracked.  Loneliness had been her most constant companion, the silent shadow that hovered over her for years.  If there was one thing she understood, it was the emptiness of the internal void.  Her reply might not make sense to him now, but she’d explain later when they were alone.
    She reached out, fingers tracing the herringbone pattern of his chainmail sleeve.  “The void is vast, like the sea at night and no land in sight.  I’ll be the beacon, Brishen.”
    He captured her hand and kissed her palm.  His lips were cool on her skin.  “My parents will loathe you, wife.”  Ildiko felt all the blood drain from her face.  Brishen’s smile returned.  “Don’t be afraid.  That’s a good thing.  They’ve hated me since birth.  They only like those they can crush.”
    He looked as if he’d say more but was interrupted by sharp cries and excited yips from the other Kai.  Ildiko tried to understand the rapid stream of unfamiliar words flowing between the soldiers, but all she could catch was “Haradis,” and “gate.”  She turned to Brishen.  “What are they saying?”  His reply birthed a legion of butterflies in her belly.
    “Beyond that slope is Bast-Haradis and the capital.  Welcome to my kingdom, Ildiko of the Kai.”

 
     
    CHAPTER TEN
     
    Brishen escorted Ildiko down the long corridor that lead to the throne room.  She held onto his arm, her fingers digging furrows into his skin, even through his vambrace.  It was the only sign of her anxiety, besides her ashen pallor.   She wore a serene expression, and her steps were sure and steady in the hallway’s darkness.
    Ildiko had grown quieter the closer they got to Haradis and gone completely silent when they topped the ridge that looked down on the dimly lit city nestled in a small valley ringed by gently rolling hills.  She’d answered his questions with nods or shakes of her head, and every once in a while a short yes or no.  He could smell the fear rolling off her.
    “You’re not alone in this, Ildiko,” he reassured her for the dozenth time.  Before their trek to the