Page 68 of What Fury Brings
“I didn’t ask her to do that,” he said, getting defensive at her tone.
“Of course she did it!” Ydra was shouting at him now. “She is an honorable woman, the best I’ve ever known. You are hers, and that means she will always protect you. No matter what that entails. How could you be so stupid as to strike Glenaerys?!”
“It was an accident. She set me up.”
“Obviously, but you played right into her plans! She wanted you dead to weaken Olerra’s claim to the throne, but now she’s gotten something even better. She made Olerra look weak when she stepped in to saveyou. You’ve set us back.”
“Her generosity made her look weak?”
“Saving you made her look weak.You’re a man. And not even an Amarran. The nobles whose favor we did garner might be lost after this. And it doesn’t help that Glen got to show strength by beating the shit out of her.” Ydra rubbed her temples. Her tone was absolutely livid as she said, “She is a better woman than you deserve.”
“I never asked to be here!” he thundered.
“Well, you’re here now! So get your shit together, Brute. Screw up this badly again, and I will kill you myself! I’d do it now except that would render her sacrifice useless, and I love her too much for that. There are guards everywhere in the house in case Glen tries anything while Olerra is weakened. So don’tyoutry anything. Now stay out of trouble for one godsdamned moment.”
She slammed the door behind her.
It did not, however, lock this time.
He was free to roam her home, it would seem, which was why she’d bothered to mention the guards.
The first night, shame and anger kept him in the room.
The next day, he decided to explore to keep his thoughts off Olerra.
Ydra’s home was rather large. There were many wings to the manor and so much staff. Ydra must be wealthy. Since he knew she worked in the army, like Olerra, he assumed the wealth was inherited. He suspected, then, that her parents were no longer around.
He found the library quickly and located many books on Amarran history and politics. He pulled them from the shelves to make a stack to read later, since he didn’t know how long he would be there.
The floors were decorated with exotic fur pelts. Some wildcat and bear varieties. He wondered if Ydra was the huntress or if it had been someone else in her family.
Sanos continued his perusal. As he reached higher levels of the manor, he heard noises. There were soldiers along the hallway, but they didn’t prevent him from entering the room where the most sound emanated.
Inside he found five boys talking animatedly over some kind of game board.
“It’s my move. Give me the dice!” The first boy rolled, and everyone cackled at whatever number he received. “No,” he groaned.
There was a guard in the room, who eyed Sanos carefully.
Then the boys noticed his appearance.
“Who are you?” one boy asked. Then, seeing his armband, he said, “You’re Olerra’s!”
“We love Olerra,” another boy said. “She plays games with us.”
They were all in their younger teen years. So young, yet far too old to be Ydra’s children.
“Are you… Ydra’s cousins?” Sanos guessed.
The first boy scoffed. He pointed to the armband that Sanos had initially overlooked.
It was made of pure gold and had a rectangular emerald within.
“I don’t understand,” Sanos said.
“We’re part of Ydra’s harem,” another boy said, this one even more youthful-looking than the last.
“She—you—” Sanos felt as though he wanted to throw up.
