Time to clear the air

You want to talk to Ceno anyway. “Very well,” you whisper back, “Where shall we meet?”

“My tent,” he replies, “Now if at all possible, and preferably alone.”

“About what happened in your room with Thea, Ceno, it can't happen again -” Ceno's eyes drop only momentarily before he nods in understanding.

“Just meet me in my tent.” He is as persistent as he was when you first met him, and you smile at the pleasant memory; what he tells you next wipes that smile from your face. “I think you might have a traitor in your ranks.”

You stiffen in surprise at his quiet warning. Ceno knows of the traitor? Does he know who she is? More than ever you want to meet with Ceno, but as a queen, it is not all that easy to slip away and meet with single men, even if they are princes. With this in mind, you quickly turn to your adviser, “Laoda, how long until the first shots are fired at the city gates?” Your presence would certainly be expected at the formal commencement of the assault on Athenapolis.

“Not long, now that the blockade is finished,” she replies, “The Amazons are the last army to arrive after all, and our ships were needed to complete the encirclement. Thanks for holding back your troops by the way. I was witness to the first stages of the war and from what I saw, I don’t think our forces would have lasted long, not against so many drakes.”

The bitter reminder of your mother's last battle is a hard pill to swallow. Your fleet didn’t have any real protection against Riders as of yet, just a few ship mounted scorpion ballista. Enough to take down a wing or two, but not enough to take on a full-scale aerial assault. One of the few times you were thankful you listened to Atheas and delayed long enough to mitigate this vulnerability. “Can you give me a specific time?” you ask her wanting a bit more detail, “I have important business in the Deni camp.”

“Ah, I see.” Laoda smirks smugly as she realizes what you are asking. “As I understand the Lord Marshal's plan he wants to wait until the sun sets,” said Laoda, “Raxius wants the first shots to be fireballs, he believes that the morale of people of Athenapolis will suffer if they see the blazing firebombs raining down on their city.” You've seen similar missiles launched at Amazon galleys, and the sight is terrifying. “If your Majesty doesn’t object, I would like to accompany you to the Deni camp. I need to finalize a few things with Resia and I can give you further advice on your dealings with the young prince.”

“I welcome your company,” you tell her, “But I feel that I can handle Prince Ceno. This is not official business, and Ceno and I are well acquainted.”

The priestess smiles knowingly before adding in a hushed voice, “I wasn’t offering my services in matters of state, my Queen.”

The erotic image of Laoda's slender body sandwiched between you and Ceno almost makes you knees buckle. You honestly weren’t planning on doing anything sexual with Ceno, especially not once you learned that he might know who your traitor is. That and the Deni camp wasn’t the most private place to be and it is not far the Amazonian camp. Still, the merchants of Deni knew of your people's customs and were surprisingly respectful of them, in fact, a large number of your new recruits came from the small city. They probably wouldn’t mind if you and their prince got “reacquainted.”

There are a couple of different issues to consider before you invite Laoda to join you. Out of all the citizens of Accor, Laoda and the Daughters of Aphrodite are the last people you suspect of treason; they benefited far too much from the goodwill of your mother to try to have her killed. Letting Laoda know about the traitor in your ranks could make her and her order very valuable allies. Perhaps just as important, the way her soft body leans against yours and the scent of her hair, you cannot help but wonder at the erotic skills she could teach you and Ceno - if you chose to take this private meeting with the prince of Deni in that direction.