Daughter of the Yellow Dragon: A Mongolian Epic (Fractured Empire Book 1) by Starr Z. Davies

Author:Starr Z. Davies [Davies, Starr Z.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pangea Books
Published: 2021-09-12T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Charms of the Runt

Mongke Bulag – Fall 1464

Picking out the gathering tent had been simple. Bayan easily spotted the large round structure towering over the rest of the gers in the capital. His escorts did not slow until they reached the door. Berkedai dismounted and gazed up at Bayan as he hesitated in his saddle.

“Come,” Berkedai said. “Let’s not keep the Khan waiting.”

Bayan licked his lips and followed Berkedai’s lead, dismounting as he fought to smother his fear. Would this be his death?

Berkedai stood at Bayan’s shoulder as Yungei opened the door into the gathering tent. Bayan’s heart thudded against his ribs.

Grinning at him, Berkedai nudged Bayan’s shoulder playfully. “Let’s go, hudin khankhuu.”

Bayan shot him a scowl before straightening his back, taking a breath, and crossing the threshold.

The gathering tent was bigger on the inside than it appeared. Along the outer walls, rows of benches sat empty. Silks and sheer cloth looped along the ceiling lathes and around the lattice walls. Gems shimmered in the light of the copper pots burning brightly.

At the head of the room, Manduul Khan sat atop his throne, examining Bayan in a way that made Bayan’s skin crawl. Two other men sat on the steps of the dais near Manduul. They wore black lacquer armor and heavy, rich furs. Manduul wore some of the richest white furs Bayan had ever seen, and he was happy he had taken time to acquire new clothing. His old clothes would have been rags compared to the striking hues of white fur, black dyed leather, and golden accents each of these men wore.

Bayan struggled not to trip over his own feet as he approached his uncle with Berkedai and Yungei at each of Bayan’s shoulders.

Manduul was older than Bayan had expected, but the two men with him were younger, perhaps in their twenties or early thirties. One of them had big eyes only dwarfed by the bushy eyebrows that hung over them, but his face bore a welcome, jovial smile that Bayan couldn’t help but return. The other had a jaw that looked chiseled from stone, and a scar from his eyebrow to his cheek that reminded Bayan more of a fissure in a mountain than an actual scar. Unlike the first man, this one didn’t smile. He watched Bayan with a critical yet impassive eye.

Berkedai and Yungei were all business now, standing at Bayan’s sides like they were his personal guards and not the Khan’s men. Bayan’s gaze flicked momentarily to the two men sitting on the dais. They were clearly guards of some sort. Or Lords.

Two women were present as well—the Khan’s wives, most likely—and a young girl of about ten. Both of the women studied him in very different ways. The woman with the hooked nose appeared curious by his presence, though a bit cold. The woman with the heart-shaped face examined him just as critically as Manduul Khan’s two guards. Though she smiled warmly at him, her eyes seemed uncertain of him. A feeling he shared.

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