Free The Prince Deceiver (The Silk & Steel Saga Book 6) by Karen Azinger

that your lords let a queen rule alone.”
    “And why is that
strange?” Her queen took his pawn, gaining access to his castle.
    “When a royal
line narrows to a single queen it takes a perilous risk.” He shot a pointed
glance across the chessboard. “I hear you have but one living heir.”
    Liandra gave a
terse nod, disliking the turn of question. Her hand stole across her empty
womb, mourning her lost daughter.
    “Another reason
women should never rule.” He fondled the fallen pawn. “Kings sow their seed
across many women while queens risk their life at every childbirth.”
    “True, yet it
does not lessen our ability to rule.”
    He shrugged.
“But it risks your royal line.”
    Anger spiked her
voice. “Unlike Ur, our court is not mired in assassins and duels.”
    “That is your
loss, for such trials winnow out the weak, ensuring only the strong and the
worthy wear the crown.”
    “There is much
more to ruling than knives and assassins. We value intelligence and honor in
our monarchs, not cunning and deception.”
    "Spoken
like a queen instead of king."
    His words struck
like an underhanded cut, yet the queen refused to be baited. Liandra fixed her
gaze on the board. Crowded with pieces, the game was becoming tricky, feints
within feints, plots within plots, so different from their first game…almost as
if she played an entirely different opponent. For such a young man, the prince
was laden with unexpected mysteries. He played a deep game, a complex game.
    “Is Navarre not an ally of Lanverness?”
    His question
ambushed her, drawing her attention from the board. “Why do you ask?”
    “Because the
royal line of Navarre is so very fecund. They say the fecund shall inherit the
earth.”
    “Yet Navarre remains a small kingdom while Lanverness prospers beyond all telling.”
    “If you are
truly allies then why does Navarre not share their magic.”
    “Their magic?” Startled, she met his stare across the chessboard.
    “How else can
the seaside queens bear so many tuplets and live? Yet they do not share this
magic with you?”
    Magic! His
reply spiked her with doubt. It was widely known that the royal line of Navarre
was exceptionally fertile...but she'd never considered magic as the key to the
riddle. 
    “You have but
one heir. Navarre’s magic could strengthen your line, giving you multiple
children with a single birth." He gave her a barbed look. "Spare
children can be very profitable. Surety for your throne, alliances by marriage
to spread your influence to other kingdoms, security for your borders. So much
to be had for the getting of a gaggle of children. After all, why conquer kingdoms
when you can gain them by marriage?”
    His words
ambushed her. Flustered, she stared at him, desperate to discern his intent.
    He moved his
castle, threatening her king. “Check.”
    So the
conversation is merely a distracting diversion. Liandra forced her mind
back to the game. Dark pieces surrounded her king, threatening to hand her a second
defeat. While she’d focused on building a subtle attack, he’d slowly surrounded
her king, trapping him in a corner. Liandra studied the board. In three moves,
he’d checkmate her king, winning the game. Refusing to accept defeat, she
scrambled to mount a defense. Out of necessity, she moved her king, evading the
check, but he moved his queen, tightening the noose.
    He flashed a
wolf’s grin. “The outcome is evident.”
    Refusing to
concede, she studied the board. Evading would gain her nothing, so instead, she
decided to attack. Her father had often said that the best defense was a good
offense.  Liandra reached for her monk, moving the malachite cleric the length
of the board in a diagonal attack. “Check.”
    Annoyance
flashed across his face. “You peck at me like a hen, when you know the game is
over.”
    “We know no such
thing.” She continued to attack, every move checking his king, driving him
backwards. None were killing blows, yet while she attacked,