Blood Succession (Knight Protector Book 4) by Rachel Ford

Author:Rachel Ford [Ford, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-10-15T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen – Terese

Rumors quickly spread about Aria’s plans to end the kaladorn system. Aside from the obvious reaction – the near-constant fighting in the senate – the first signs of panic was the influx of visitors.

Noble men and women found every excuse, and none at all, to call. Aria was swamped with requests for audiences, most of which turned into pitches for the preservation of slavery. Some were subtle – generous gifts, given with remarks about how they owed the prosperity that allowed them to offer such tribute to the crown’s benevolence in gifting them the kaladorn in their service. “It’s no wonder the men of the North live as they do. Their lower classes exploit them, and so everyone suffers as a result. Even their queen, as I hear it, lives in squalor. Our ancestors, mercifully, were wiser than theirs.”

Some were less subtle – direct pleas, or angry remonstrations. Terese wondered how many of the red-faced men who had thundered veiled threats at their queen would have dared try such a thing with Agalyn. Then, she knew the answer already: none. If they had, Agalyn would have taken their tongues, or worse.

She started limiting access to her time – which pleased High Protector Vespasian exceedingly. It made his job that much easier.

But as the weeks rolled by, and they heard nothing from Queen Ilaria, Aria started to get restless. That did not please Vespasian, because it meant she wanted to get out of the palace more. Not even the gardens could restrain her wanderlust.

The high protector warned her that she was making herself a target. “You must know the general feeling about your proposed laws, my lady. Already, two attempts have been made on your life. Wandering around the city with no purpose just makes it easier for the next attempt to succeed.”

Aria wouldn’t be dissuaded. She would, however, compromise. She traded her open chariot for a closed and unmarked carriage, where she could travel in something like anonymity. Augustus found these outings exceedingly dull and made excuses to get out of them as often as he could. Eventually, Aria stopped asking him to come. She’d mention when they were departing and where and leave it to him to be there if he so desired.

But Terese didn’t miss them. She needed the break from more serious endeavors, for starters. She’d been plunged with no warning into a world of the most serious kind, where every bit of advice she offered could mean life or death for someone, somewhere. It was a pressure she never anticipated, not since her days at the academy where she dreamed some day she might be a commander, or a general.

She could have used the time however she chose, of course, the way Augustus did. It wasn’t just the breaks that she liked. She liked spending time with Aria. The other woman was like no one she’d ever met before. Not because she was smart, or beautiful, or quick-witted; she was all of those things, but so were many people.

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