“What am I to do?” he asked Nidhug one evening when he had escaped to her castle seeking refuge from the gaiety. “I cannot betray Cinnia.”

Nidhug sighed. “You love her, I know,” she said, “but it is not healthy for a man to be without a woman. Cinnia is certainly in Ahura Mazda’s bed, and has been since he took her. He takes pleasures with her, and she with him. But he can only possess her body, Majesty. He will never have her heart. There is no sin, therefore, in you taking a mistress until your queen returns. Just do not give her a child.”

“Who?” Dillon said. “The daughters of the noble and those of wealth have been brought to me to choose another queen. I only called a Summer Court in order to silence Dreng and his constant bleating.”

“The summer is almost at an end,” Nidhug said. “Among those females is one who will give herself to you in hopes of becoming your queen. Seek her out, Majesty.”

Dillon nodded, and then he said, “If I take that woman to my bed, is there any law in Belmair that would force me to wed her?”

“Nay, my lord. Not if there is an agreement,” the dragon answered. “I would not betray my child. Oh, the parents or the guardians of she you choose will be at first hopeful, and then when they realize you have no intention of wedding anyone they will become angry. But if there is no child, there can be nothing to hold over you.”

“You have been with my uncle too long,” Dillon said. “You are beginning to speak with the cold heart of a faerie.”

“There is much wisdom in your uncle,” Nidhug replied.

“Where is he?” Dillon asked her. “I have not seen him of late.”

“He was not needed here in Belmair. Queen Ilona called him home,” Nidhug said in a tight voice. “It is better.”

Dillon reached out and patted the dainty clawed paw. “Do not love him, I beg you,” he told the dragon. “A faerie love will break your heart.”

“It is too late,” Nidhug answered the king softly. “But he will be back, Majesty, for you see while he has my heart in his keeping, I have his in mine. Now go and find a nubile young mistress for yourself,” she advised him.

Dillon announced that the king’s Summer Court would be coming to an end in several days. A great feast was planned. Now Dillon prowled among the young women, who were delighted to preen and flirt with the handsome young king. They knew that sooner or later he must take a new wife, a new queen. And they also knew it would probably be one of them. Each did her best to attract Dillon’s attention.

Alban’s two nieces, Alpina and Carling, were intelligent young women with much charm, but he had too much respect for his friend to consider them seriously. Dreng’s granddaughters, Lina and Panya were a pair of delightful minxes who kept him constantly amused with their antics. But Dreng, he knew, would not countenance his taking either of them for a mistress. The other young women were for the most part typical Belmairan virgins, and they bored him although he never showed it.

Only one woman attracted both his attention and his lust, and that was Sapphira, Duke Tullio’s niece. Was it, he wondered, because she was Cinnia’s twin in appearance? Or was it because of the slight air of danger that surrounded her? His wife exuded light. Sapphira was darkness, and the truth was he was fascinated by her. He wondered if Cinnia were here if that would be so.

On the night of the last great feast of the Summer Court they danced together, and Dillon asked bluntly as he twirled her about, “Are you a virgin?”

Sapphira never missed a step, nor did she show any sign of shock or fear. “Why?” she demanded of him. And she smiled into his eyes.

“Because I want to take pleasures with you,” he replied low.

“When?” she wanted to know.

“Tonight. After the feast has ended,” he told her.

“Will you wed me, Majesty?” she inquired coolly of him.

“Nay,” he responded without any hesitation. “I am not ready to remarry. I want a mistress for my bed.”

“Then you are asking me to be your mistress?” Sapphira said.

“Aye, I am.”

“I will ask my uncle and my mother. They will give you my answer.” Sapphira curtseyed to him as the music ended, and turning, walked away.

Dillon’s heart was pounding. What had ever possessed him to ask Sapphira such a question? And yet she had not been shocked or dismayed. Was it as Alban had said? Did she believe that by giving herself to him she would eventually become his queen? He watched the sway of her hips beneath the violet silk of her gown as she walked, and felt his cock tightening with his desire for her.

Sapphira felt his eyes on her as she left him, and she smiled a little cat’s smile. She was shortly going to reap the benefits of a long and most boring summer. She found her uncle first. “I must speak with you, sir,” she said, and walking on found her mother. “Mama, my uncle and I must speak with you,” she said. “I will meet you in our apartments. Please do not delay.” Then Sapphira walked away.

“Girls!” the lady Margisia exclaimed, rolling her eyes to the other women with whom she had been sitting and gossiping.

“She was just dancing with the king,” one sharp-eyed woman noted. “You don’t think he has approached her, do you?”

“I doubt it,” Margisia replied. “My brother says he does not think the king will ever marry again, for he loved Queen Cinnia deeply.”

“Your daughter looks just like the queen,” another lady spoke up. “We have all noticed it. Do you not think he might wed your daughter for that reason if no other?”

“I had not really considered it,” the lady Margisia lied smoothly. Then she arose. “I see Tullio has already left the hall so I had best join my daughter and my brother and see what this is all about. Good night to you all, and may you all have a safe journey home, my dears.” Then she left them.

“That daughter of hers is a sly boots,” one of the remaining women said, and the others nodded their heads in agreement.

“Do you think the king has approached her?” another asked.

“Well, if he has it was not with marriage in mind,” the first lady answered. “He has been celibate, I am told, ever since the queen was stolen away, and I must say I admire him for that. But he is a man, and we all know men need to take pleasures or they become almost impossible to live with. Look at how he has behaved for most of the summer until a few days ago. We did not see him during the day, and he would make but a brief appearance each night, and then disappear. The girls have been so disappointed although several have actually made good matches while being here. The king comes from Hetar, and we all know how carnal Hetarians are. I think he wants Duke Tullio’s niece for his mistress, ladies. But we shall soon see if that is it, or something else.”

In the apartments that had been assigned to them, Sapphira sat with her uncle and her mother. “The king wants me as his mistress,” she told them bluntly.

“Oh, my darling, how wonderful!” the lady Margisia cried, clapping her hands.

“It is an arrangement that does not please me at all,” Duke Tullio said. “It must be marriage or nothing, Sapphira, and I am shocked by your words, Sister.”

“Uncle, listen to me,” Sapphira answered him urgently. “The king is not ready to wed again, but if I can go to his bed, I can make him love me. I look like Cinnia. If I must I will be Cinnia to him. And sooner than later he will want to wed me.”

“You are being foolish in your ambition,” her uncle said angrily.

“Nay, Brother,” the lady Margisia said. “My daughter is being wise. The king desires her enough to have asked her to come to his bed. And as long as she pleases him no other woman will attract him. Think! If your niece becomes queen of Belmair, Dreng can no longer lord it over you. The king did not ask his granddaughters or Alban’s nieces to warm his bed. He asked your niece, my daughter. This is a good thing, my brother. We should rejoice in this incredible bit of good fortune.”

“Is this Hetar that you would have your daughter behave like a common Pleasure Woman, Sister? Our women marry. They do not spread themselves for any man but their husbands. You would risk Sapphira’s greatest marriage value, her virginity, on the gamble that King Dillon might wed her? What if the queen is found and returned?” Duke Tullio asked his sibling. “Do you seriously believe the king will choose your daughter over Queen Cinnia? Or if she is not found, and the king grows weary of Sapphira and sends her away, what happens then?”

“Even if Cinnia is found he cannot take her back,” Margisia said.

“She is unclean, and will be driven into the wild to die as those few who have returned from the Yafir have. No matter what the king may say, Belmair will not accept a woman who has been with the Yafir. This is Sapphira’s big chance, Brother. I beg you do not forbid it!”

“Please, Uncle!” the girl begged him.

“Do not tell me that you love him, for I will not believe you,” the duke said.

Sapphira laughed. “Nay, Uncle, I do not love him. And he certainly does not love me. But I love the thought of the power being his mistress will offer, and if I can eventually persuade him to marry me then my power will be doubled. And when I give him a son…” She smiled archly. “If I give him a son then no one can stop me!”

Duke Tullio shook his head. His niece’s behavior went against everything he believed in and held dear. When his wife had died he had asked his sister to become his hostess, for he had no intentions of remarrying. She brought with her her undisciplined daughter, a charming but spoiled girl of eleven. Sapphira was now eighteen, and as determined as ever to have her way. “If I cannot stop you from this precipitous, rash behavior, Sapphira, at least let me make certain provisions for you with the king for your future well-being.”

“I do not need them,” the girl said confidently.

But then her mother spoke up. “Nay, Daughter, your uncle is right. The king will put a greater value upon you if Tullio negotiates strongly on your behalf. You do not want to be at his mercy for everything. You will need an allowance, and servants, and your own horses and a carriage. You must have beautiful gowns and jewelry that bespeaks to everyone the king’s devotion and respect for you.”

“Oh,” Sapphira said. “I had not considered such things, but you are correct, Mama. Yes, Uncle, you will arrange these things for me with the king.”

“I will indeed, Niece,” the duke replied. Foolish women, he thought to himself. What they wanted was negligible in the grand scheme of things. He intended arranging a binding agreement with the king that would give his niece both a wealthy husband and a large dower portion when Dillon tired of Sapphira, which he certainly would. After a certain amount of time had passed a man needed more from a woman than just a lush body and a willingness to enjoy pleasures. He needed a woman with whom he might speak with on a variety of subjects. His niece was not that sort of woman. She was totally involved with herself to the exclusion of everything else. She had avoided her small education as much as possible, and was quite ignorant if the truth be told. But she was beautiful and proud, and she looked enough like Cinnia to be her twin. For a brief while that would be enough for the grieving king.

Duke Tullio sought out the king in his apartments. He found Dillon taking his ease out upon a small, tiled terrace, lounging upon a double couch, garbed in a silk robe. The duke bowed respectfully. “We must speak together, Majesty,” he began. “My niece tells me you wish her for your mistress, my lord. Is that so?”

“It is,” Dillon replied.

“Before I give my consent to such an arrangement, Majesty, I need to assure myself that Sapphira will be taken care of beautifully. She must have an allowance, clothing, jewelry, servants, horses, a carriage.”

“Of course,” Dillon said.

“And there is more, Majesty,” the duke continued. “By allowing this, my niece loses her greatest value to a future husband-her virginity. She must be compensated for it. An agreement must be drafted that will guarantee her a wealthy husband and a large dower portion when you grow tired of her and send her away.”

Dillon refrained from smiling at this. Here was a perfect example of how close in nature the Belmairans and the Hetarians were. Taking Sapphira for a mistress was to be a financial and commercial venture. “You may draft your paper, Duke Tullio,” Dillon said, “but know that I should never just cast your niece off when our liaison ends. However I realize that you and your family will feel safer if Sapphira’s future is set in stone.”

“I thank you for understanding, Majesty. My sister worries about her child as I am sure you know your own mother worries about you,” Duke Tullio responded.