A Kingdom Lost (Katya & Starbride #3) by Barbara Ann Wright

Author:Barbara Ann Wright [Wright, Barbara Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: lesbian, Fiction, Fantasy, Princess, Adventure
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2014-04-13T22:00:00+00:00

*

Katya nearly slept through the report to her father. He finally ordered her to bed, but she couldn’t sleep before she washed the smell of the barn from her skin.

She scrubbed herself as well as she could with a bucket of water colder than a Fiend’s heart. She couldn’t help but be reminded of the few times she’d bathed with Starbride, and the one time she’d been so tired that Starbride had bathed her. Such thoughts almost made the water seem warm.

When she finished, she fell into her bedroll, but someone cleared their throat outside her tent. Katya rubbed her temples. “Who else has died?” she called. “Because that’s the only thing I’m coming out for.”

A mostly shaven head appeared in the tent flap. “Then I will come in,” Redtrue said.

Katya shot upright. Since she had a tent to herself, she slept only in her shirt. She fought the urge to clutch the blankets higher, glad she hadn’t yet put out the lantern.

Redtrue glanced at Katya’s clenched fists. Half her mouth quirked up. “Do you fear I’ve come to seduce you?”

“I…didn’t… What can I do for you?”

“What did you do for Starbride?”

Katya’s mouth worked for a few moments. What was it about Allusian girls that left her speechless? Redtrue’s smile said she was joking, well, mostly. “If I call for Brutal, he’ll haul you out of here by what little hair you have left.”

Redtrue burst out laughing. “I merely wanted to test the resolve of your affection. I have my answer. I have contacted my pyradisté again.”

“What news?”

“I wish I had him here so I could give him a good, hard smack. He insists I am not real. When asked if he wrote down the instructions I gave him, he says yes, but isn’t sure he should be listening to a ‘dream.’ He thinks himself insane.”

“Wonderful. And this is progress?”

“Tsk. When I finally do speak to Starbride, I will ask her if you were always so gloomy before you left your home. I convinced him that if he is insane, he loses nothing by doing as I say, as he cannot become more insane.”

“Hmm, did he say he’d look for Starbride?”

Redtrue shook her head. “He says it is difficult to move about in your Marienne. These corpse Fiends you’ve spoken of can sense his abilities. I…fear for him.”

Katya let the silence linger. She feared for everyone. And if Roland’s corpse Fiends could sense Starbride somehow… “I hope you urged him to be cautious.”

“The great lover does not wish to give up caution in order to find her dearest lady?”

“The pyradisté can’t find her if he’s dead.”

“Ah, and here I thought you might care for his well-being.”

“You’re one to talk!” Katya said. “I’ve seen how you treat someone who shares your bed, let alone complete strangers.” Spirits, she must have been tired to give her brain leave to speak whatever it wanted.

Redtrue’s mouth fell open. “What happens in my bed is none of your business!”

“But the well-being of my guards is.

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