Read Online Secrets of the Stonechaser (The Law of Eight Book 1) by Nicholas Andrews - Free Book Online

Lahnen the Corrupt, and now for opening the gates of the capital, both of which have given us great victory while minimizing our losses. What would you have of me?”
    The former watchman saluted and bowed his head. “My Eternal, when your coronation has come, I would be named a Dume-General, to forever protect your divine person and mete out swift death to your enemies, and to lend my wisdom to your decisions concerning the welfare of Yagolhan henceforth.”
    “Then you shall have it,” Qabala said.
    Lukas kneeled. “I thank you, my Eternal. Allow me to present this gift.”
    He gestured, and one of his men came forward and emptied a sack at her horse’s feet. Her horse shied away a bit as a number of heads tumbled onto the cobblestones, some indiscernible through the coagulated blood.
    “Once your signal went up, my people inside the castle acted swiftly,” Lukas said. “The prime minister and his loyal councilors also welcome you to our fair city.”
    Qabala sniffed at the acrid stenches pervading the air, and glanced back at the smoke. “Hardly fair at the moment, your Constancy,” she said, using the formal mode of address for one who held the position of Dume. “If the castle is secure, I wish to be conveyed to my new chambers so I may make myself more presentable. There are battles yet to fight, and I must ensure the city is firmly in hand before that time.”
    “Of course.” Lukas Kord led her procession through the gates of the Aeternica. Her own soldiers were already inside, and stood at attention as she passed through the bailey.
    Qabala dismounted at the steps of the main keep. “Have those heads spiked and set on the ramparts,” she told Falares. “Then see that my things are brought to the royal chambers.”
    Lukas and a tail of sabres escorted her to the great hall, where the throne sat empty upon a red-carpeted dais. “Shall you take your rightful place?” he offered.
    “Not yet,” Qabala said. “I merely wish to gaze upon the thing I have fought for, for so long. When I hold godstone in hand and have my love Nerris by my side, only then will I sit the throne.”
    “I heard tell Nerris Palada was the man sent to end King Lahnen’s life, and even now leads your forces against his son,” Lukas said.
    “You heard true,” Qabala said. “When he brings me the head of the last of the Y’Ghans, he will remain with me as my consort and Dume-General.”
    “It will be an honor to serve with such a man,” Lukas said. “I am most eager to meet one of the Thrillseekers.”
    Would Nerris consent? Not for the first time, she wondered what she truly meant to him. She sensed, even while they were making love, that he held something back. But she needed Nerris. Because she loved him, yes, for the legitimacy his name would bring to her regime, certainly. But also for her task to come. No matter what, she must make him hers.
    That night, Qabala lay in bed, dressed only in a linen shift. Sleeping in the same room where Nerris had killed King Lahnen gave her a perverse kind of pleasure. The Y’Ghan family sigil painted on the doors to her chambers had been blotted out. There would be time enough to have her own sigil added, but it would have to wait until later. She glanced through reports from her men and new officials, asking her for appointments which would be necessary to return the occupied city to a state of normalcy. Meeka’s petite form stirred beside her, naked under the down-filled coverlets.
    There was much to do before she set out to spring the trap she had devised for Prince Lahnel. The men had been given their leave to pillage and rape this day, reward for a well-fought campaign, but on the morrow they must be put back on their leashes. She was not Lahnen the Corrupt, to grant her friends the highest favor and forget the plight of the rest of the people. She had shown them her ire when crossed; now it was time to extend her hand and help them to their feet again.
    The door opened and