Tressana.
It could hardly be anybody else. Her Grace, the Queen of Jaghd, was taking advantage of the masked dinner party to test Blade. Blade wondered if he'd passed the first part of the test. He was also determined to turn the tables and do a little testing of his own, now that he knew the woman he was dealing with.
Before Tressana could move, Blade was picking her up. She was less than half his weight, so he could pick her up as easily as a child. In fact he managed to hold her with one arm while with the other hand he tore at her trousers until she was naked from her neck down to her knees. The effect was strange and incredibly erotic. Blade found that he was completely ready, and decided not to wait any longer. After all, he was manhandling a queen, and if he didn't keep her too busy moaning to call for help things might become too lively for comfort.
He thrust into her, supporting her with one hand under her tight buttocks and the other across her back. She gasped at the first penetration, stiffened, then started heaving herself back and forth so furiously that Blade nearly dropped her. At last he pulled her hard against him, her lips nuzzling his ribs, while she twisted and jerked her hips without moving the rest of her body.
Blade found it easy to outlast Tressana, although it was hard to keep her from shrieking out loud when her release came. He managed to keep one hand over her mouth until her spasm passed, and then she went so limp he was afraid he'd suffocated her. The limpness lasted only until she realized that Blade was still inside her and still good for more. Then she threw her arms around his shoulders so fiercely that she drove all the breath out of him. For a woman of her size, Tressana was incredibly strong. She began to move again, and Blade was willing to let her do all the work she could. Making love in this position for long was a strain even for someone of his size and strength. Also, he was beginning to have to think about controlling himself.
Blade didn't lose control until Tressana had writhed and twisted twice more. By then they were both so slippery with sweat that Blade had trouble holding the queen, and she was holding on only by digging her fingernails into his skin. He didn't even feel the pain. He felt nothing except the woman in his arms and himself deep inside her, until his own release came like an explosion.
Blade stayed on his feet even after that, but he could no longer hold Tressana. He half-lowered, half-dropped her to the ground. Her knees buckled so that she would have fallen if he hadn't put his arms around her and held her against him.
Then she started shaking violently. Blade wondered if it was cold, fear, or anger. He hoped it wasn't anger, even though he knew he could take Tressana and a good many Jaghdi with him if the worst happened. Then he heard a small snort, after that a giggle, and realized that Tressana was fighting desperately to control her laughter.
Blade decided to help her. He gripped the bottom of the hood with both hands and ripped. The black cloth came apart and Tressana's blue eyes blazed out at him. Her face shone with sweat and her hair was damp and tangled as if she'd been using it for a mop, but those eyes held him. Then she grinned, the grin turned into another giggle, and the giggle turned into wild laughter. Before she could be overheard, Tressana snatched the torn hood from Blade and stuffed it into her mouth to muffle the laughter. Then she collapsed onto the grass and lay there writhing and rolling back and forth, completely out of control as she laughed herself weak over the success of her own joke.
Blade would have felt more like joining in the laughter if he hadn't heard the note of hysteria in it. He hoped it was just the aftermath of their lovemaking that was unbalancing her, not anything more serious. As the laughter died away, he knelt beside her and started sponging the sweat off her body with her trousers.
Suddenly she sat up and kissed him on the nose. «What was it that told you who I was, Blade?»
«I saw the scar on your knee,» he explained.
«There hasn't been anyone telling you about what I like in bed, has there?»
«No. No one talks about it, that I've heard.»
«And they won't, if they value their necks.» The edge in Tressana's voice was as sudden as a sword being drawn. She sat up and stretched her arms over her head, then stood up and finished wiping herself off.
«Well, Blade,» she said when she was done. «You've been tested, as I'm sure you know.» Blade was silent. She frowned. «You don't want to know if you passed the test?»
Blade shrugged. «If I have, you'll tell me. If I haven't, you'll kill me. You'll do both in your own good time. Asking you won't change that. It would simply look as if I hoped for favor. I won't do that.» He smiled. «You're fond enough of having men eating out of your hand as it is.»
She understood the figure of speech and didn't seem to like it. For a moment Blade wondered if he shouldn't drop into fighting stance. Even a woman half his weight could do an embarrassing amount of damage if she took him by surprise. Then she laughed.
«Oh, Blade, I think you've just invented another test for yourself and passed it as you did the first one. You don't beg. I don't suppose you know how, in fact?»
Blade shook his head. «I don't. Part of it is simple pride. The rest is knowing that most of the things you have to beg for aren't worth having in the first place.»
That silenced Tressana for longer than Blade had expected. When she spoke again, her voice was shaky. «Perhaps. And perhaps I am too fond of having men at my feet.» She giggled. «Of course, I really prefer them in a few other places.» She grabbed Blade's right hand and pressed it against those «other places.» Then she knelt down and pressed herself against him so that his limp penis dangled between her breasts. When she felt that it was going to stay limp, she frowned and stood up.
«Nothing, Blade?»
He chose to make a joke of it. «Even if I did come from Elstan, I would not be made of iron.»
She smiled. «Very well. I'll forgive you. Sometimes.»
Blade didn't bother asking what would happen the other times. He suspected he could guess. He also knew he'd done a good enough night's work. He was or soon would be where he could start doing what the Keepers and Jollya expected of him. The job might be dangerous, but he could be sure that he wouldn't be bored while he was doing it. That was more than you could say for nine out of ten spying jobs.
Chapter 12
Like other royal favorites before him, Blade never actually moved into Queen Tressana's ballroom-sized bedchamber. In fact, it was several more days before he even moved into her own building. Nonetheless, by noon of the day after the party half the people he met seemed to know of his new status. He doubted if anyone knew the details. Tressana would be more ruthless than usual in guarding the secret of how she had disguised herself and how Blade had discovered her identity. But everyone seemed to have the general picture. Blade felt several pairs of eyes following him every time he went for a walk.
Apart from the looks and a few cautious words of praise, no one made a fuss over Blade's new status. He understood why. Royal favorites came and royal favorites went, and sometimes men who'd passed their first test displeased Tressana so quickly that they were never moved close to her at all. Many people around Blade feared Tressana's displeasure if they hailed him too enthusiastically too soon.
Those who didn't fear Tressana undoubtedly feared Curim. Curim's looks alone would have let Blade know he was in Tressana's favor even if nobody else had done or said a thing. The captain of the Men's Guard didn't wave a sword and shout threats against Blade's life, limb, and manhood. He didn't have to. He simply looked through Blade as if he were part of the air and just as invisible. Sometimes he glared when he thought Blade wasn't looking. He no longer tried to pretend that he and Blade were at least united in not wanting to be Tressana's victims. He was still a victim, while Blade was Tressana's new favorite. They had nothing in common any more.