Free Oracle by Kyra Dune Page B

hair
falling across her bare shoulders. One of many images he would store away in
his mind to comfort, or perhaps torture, himself after their inevitable
parting.
         “I didn’t
risk the High Priest finding out about us merely for the sake of play,” she
said with a touch of irritation. “I came here to find out whether or not you
are a man of your word.”
         “What
word is that?” It was so hard to concentrate on what she was saying when all he
could think about was the glory hidden behind the thin sheet.
         “The one
you gave to me when we last spoke.”
         A cold
feeling swept through Mark. He knew exactly what she was referring to, but
chose to keep up the facade in the weak hope of dissuading her. “You mean about
me fathering the next king of Hyacinth? The offer certainly still stands.”
         “No,” Daniella huffed. “About Charles. You can’t be so ignorant
as to not know he’s here with my father’s pet knight.”
         “I had
heard something of that, yes. But I didn’t think much of it.” On the contrary,
Charles being at the castle had been a heavy weight on his chest ever since he
first learned of it.
         “Well
you’d better start thinking something of it,” she snapped. “Surely you can
guess at why he’s here.”
         “He means
to make a bid for the throne.”
         “Exactly.
And with both the Duke and my stepmother siding with him he could very well
win. That would be a disaster.” She gave him a pointed look. “Something must be
done about it.”
         Mark knew
what was coming and would have given anything to avoid it. “Are you suggesting I should do something about it?”
         “Perhaps.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Tell me, how far are
you willing to go for me.”
         “To the
ends of eternity and beyond,” he said without a moment’s hesitation.
         “Stop
with the nonsense, already. This is serious.”
         If only
she knew how serious he was. “You are the princess and I nothing but a lowly
servant. Thus I am yours to command, as always.”
         “Then let
us get straight to the matter,” she said. “I want you to murder my cousin in
the bloodiest manner you can devise and leave his body in the central courtyard
for the birds to have at.”
         It was as
he had expected, but to hear her state it so plainly took his breath away. Ever
since first coming to the castle to work in the kennels, Mark had held the
truth of his past close to the vest. A certain kind of mannerisms and a few
well chosen hints dropped about and he had managed to convince everyone he was
a rogue come to the castle to hide himself from those who would have his head.
It wasn’t long before he had everyone believing him to be a dangerous, stone
cold killer.
         It was
Mark’s attempt at reinventing himself, for in truth his past held neither
mystery nor excitement. He’d never killed a man or even been in any kind of a
real fight. He was no rogue, no bandit, no assassin, only a farmer’s son with a
good eye for dogs and a desire to better his circumstances. But he’d never
expected to make actual acquaintance with the king, or to be promoted to kennel
master. And never in his wildest dreams had he imagined his faux persona would
draw the attention of the princess.
         Mark was
in over his head here and he knew it. But then he had been in over his
head ever since the first moment Daniella cast her
gaze his way. He’d dared to touch the fire and somewhere deep inside he’d
always known it was bound to burn eventually.
         “I’ll
take care of it.” He spoke the words with a nonchalance he most certainly did
not feel. “When?”
         “I
haven’t decided yet.” Daniella twisted the sheet
around her fingers. “I expect at some point today he will make his case before
the High Priest. Let him. I would hear how that must play out before anything
else is done.