“I have, it is true,” Gaius Prospero answered him. “Oh, very well, Jonah, you shall have your way in this matter, for you are right. My passion for Shifra had blinded me to sensible behavior.”

“I would not be the cause of any breach between you and the young empress,” Jonah said softly.

“Nonsense!” the emperor chuckled. “Shifra will see reason.”

Shifra, however, did not see reason until her husband promised her a golden footstool studded with gemstones to replace Vilia’s silk-clad back. “But it will not be nearly as dramatic and meaningful as my suggestion,” she pouted.

“Even people like us must occasionally compromise, my darling,” the emperor told his young wife. “Vilia is quite thrilled to be carrying your train.”

“I shall bear the emperor’s scepter,” Jonah told Vilia afterwards when he returned to tell her of his success with Gaius Prospero.

She sniffed. “This young wife he has taken will cause Gaius Prospero more trouble than Anora and I together.”

“And is not that to our advantage, my dear one?”

“I suppose it is,” Vilia admitted. “As long as he is besotted by her he will make mistakes, he will not pay attention and eventually he will bring about his own downfall.”

“Precisely!” Jonah said.

“But when will we move to attack Terah?” Vilia wanted to know. “The longer we wait the more dangerous these Terahns become to us. Or so the people must believe.”

“Our most advantageous time will be late next spring when the seas are favorable for our vessels to cross the Sagitta. Terah may be primitive, but it is a magnificent land. However, it is not like Hetar. Its people live along seven fjords which are arms of the sea. The fjords, called Dominus, Silk, Jewel, Ocean, Star, Green and Light, push up into the land. On either side of them are great green cliffs. And beyond those cliffs is a territory so vast even the Terahns do not know how big it is. And it is cut in two by a range of mountains called the Emeralds. Who knows what lies on the other side? If the Dominus knows, he certainly never shared that information with me.”

“And the faerie girl, Lara, is his wife still?” Vilia wanted to know.

“She has become a great lady,” Jonah replied.

“A child raised in the Mercenary quarter? A halfling with a faerie for a mother?” Vilia said scornfully. She had not liked the sound of admiration in Jonah’s voice.

“You have not seen her in many years, Vilia. She has grown in beauty, as well as magical skills. Like you, she is beloved of her people. She is wise and the Dominus depends greatly upon her, my dear. But she will not use her magic against Hetar unless Hetar strikes out at Terah. I think you know as well as I do that Terah presents no real threat to Hetar, Vilia. This war the emperor plans is but a means to an end for us. And when he fails and the young men of Hetar are killed, the people will turn against him and cry out for a new leader,” Jonah said. “They always do. Remember when he blundered into the Winter War with the Outlands? It took him five years to regain the trust of the Hetarian citizens. But this time he will have no second chance.”

“But the High Council was stronger then,” Vilia reminded her lover. “And they had always governed Hetar well. What if the people demand a return to the High Council? Remember, Jonah, that you are called the emperor’s right hand. You are very much identified with him and his policies. How can you gain the trust of the people under those circumstances?”

“You must leave that to me, my dear,” Jonah told her softly. “I will not fail.”

Vilia looked into his face and then she smiled. “No,” she said. “I do not believe that you will, my darling. Now tell me, when is this coronation of Shifra to take place?”

“Are you so anxious to see her crowned then?” he asked.

“Nay, but I am eager to be wed to you and if that cannot take place until she has been crowned then aye, I am impatient to have it over and done with, my darling,” Vilia told him with a small smile. “You see, I would like to have a child. Your child. Your heir, my darling. And I do want his birth to come as soon after our marriage as possible. I want us to have an heir before Shifra may give the emperor a son. I want people to think Gaius was a fool for casting off a fecund wife to marry a barren girl.”

She had surprised him and briefly, Jonah was speechless. He had always intended to wed her, for her family connections were important to him. But he had not stopped to consider that he would eventually need an heir. But of course he would! “Vilia, my dear!” He took her into his arms. “This is most generous of you and I thank you for considering this. Yes! We must have a child.” Jonah’s mouth took hers in a hard kiss.

His reaction to her determination delighted Vilia. She had not been certain at all how he would take her plans. She knew that she might prevent conception for she was now in her thirties and had not borne a child in almost twenty years. And she did not intend to spend the rest of her life out of the limelight. She had been born for greatness, as her mother had promised her from birth. Vilia kissed him back and then, pulling away, said, “I will do whatever I have to so you may attain your goals, my love.”

“Is it safe for you?” he asked, finding he was actually more concerned for her well-being than her family ties. “I should not want to lose you, my darling Vilia.”

“I married Gaius when I was thirteen and had our son, Aubin, when I was fourteen,” she answered him. “He is a man now and my daughters are wed. But I am still young enough to be seeded and bred, my love. I could give you our son-for it shall be a son-by late next year.” Vilia smiled at him, pleased by his caring.

“Then I shall convince the emperor that Shifra’s crowning must be done before the coldest months set in, in order to bring the people into The City to see it. I shall then plan our wedding for the week after. Our union will be a great event which will be remembered far longer than the crowning of that insipid girl,” Jonah said.

“And when you overthrow Gaius Prospero, my love,” she purred at him, “when will I receive my coronation?”

“We will be crowned together, my dear,” he told her. “I would not have it otherwise. And it will be a far grander affair than either of our predecessors has had. That I promise you, my clever and fertile Vilia.”

Vilia smiled up into his face. She had known from the first time she had seen Jonah that he would be great one day. By binding them together with a child, Vilia instinctively understood that this man, unlike Gaius Prospero, would never cast her off. Jonah looked at the larger picture. He looked ahead. And while he enjoyed pleasures, he enjoyed power far more, as she did. They were really the most perfect couple. Perhaps even as perfect as the Dominus and Domina of Terah.

True to his word, Jonah cajoled Gaius Prospero into an immediate coronation for Shifra. And in the next few weeks he also negotiated a marriage contract with Vilia’s uncle, Cubert Ahasferus. The wealthy magnate was a canny man not easily brought to a settlement.

“She’s a wealthy woman in her own right now,” Cubert said slowly as he sat with Jonah over goblets of wine from the Outlands vineyards. “What can you offer her in exchange for her fortune and her blood ties?”

“What can any man offer such a woman?” Jonah replied carefully.

Vilia’s uncle smiled broadly. Then he said softly, “Power. You are no fool like our beloved emperor, who believes as all old-fashioned men believe that women are of little use but for pleasures. You appreciate my niece’s intellect.”

“Of course, she will have a certain amount of respect as my wife, and aye, I do value her wisdom,” Jonah replied quietly.

Now Cubert Ahasferus laughed aloud. “You do not fool me, my lord,” he said. “You have ambition. Do you think I cannot see it?”

“The emperor once had ambitions,” Jonah answered.

“To be emperor, to take pleasures with beautiful women.” His companion sneered. “But you, my lord, see beyond the end of your nose. You want more, and if you would wed my niece I must be certain that when you get what it is you want she will share equally in your glory. Guarantee me that and I will draw up the marriage contracts between you,” Cubert Ahasferus said.

Jonah considered his request and then he said, “How is it possible for me to do such a thing, my lord? Anything we put in writing, no matter its innocent intent, could easily be misinterpreted as treasonous. Such a covenant between us could endanger not just my life and Vilia’s, but the entire Ahasferus family, as well.”

“You are cautious and right to be so,” Cubert Ahasferus said approvingly. “Your reputation proceeds you, however. It is said you rarely give your word, but when you do that word is as good as gold. Take my hand and swear to me a blood oath.”

“Whose blood would we swear upon if indeed I decided to take you up on your proposal?” Jonah asked curiously. The answer stunned him.

“Swear to me on the life of your unborn child,” Vilia’s uncle said.

“What child?” Jonah replied, hiding his surprise.

Cubert Ahasferus smiled again. “Why, the one you will put in her belly, dear boy,” he said. “I know you will keep your word to me if you swear on his young life. You will not endanger your heir. He will, I suspect, be your one weakness.”

“Nay,” Jonah said. “I have no weaknesses.”

“But you will swear, will you not?” came the reply. “You will give me your blood oath and Vilia will be yours along with all her wealth and the favor of the Ahasferus family. We have many friends, my lord, but then you already know that.”

Jonah was silent for a short time as he considered what Cubert Ahasferus had proposed to him. He wanted Vilia. She was as pleasant a bed companion as he had ever enjoyed. He wanted her wealth. He valued her advice. Her connections were important to him. When he became emperor he would crown her his empress. Did all of that not make her his equal? If it reassured her family to have him swear a blood oath on the life of his unborn son that she would be that equal, then where was the harm in it? He considered the suggestion from all angles, but it always came back to the fact that without Vilia Prospero, born Ahasferus, his plans would not come to fruition.

“I will have my secretary write up the contracts with the necessary dower portion. Did you know that my niece has a quarter share in our trading company?” Cubert Ahasferus said.

“Aye, I knew,” Jonah replied. But he had not. He could see he was going to have to speak to Vilia about keeping things from him. “Have the agreement drawn up between us, and set a day for the signing. If I decide to accept your terms I will swear my oath on that day, my lord.” He arose from his seat. “I must leave you now. I hope you will forgive me, but the empress’s coronation is in just two more days. I have a great deal to oversee for the emperor.”

“Of course, of course,” Cubert Ahasferus responded jovially, offering Jonah his hand. “I will have the contracts ready the day after the coronation.”

Jonah shook the pale white hand, which was surprisingly strong. “Excellent!” he said and hurried off.

Jonah had hardly departed the chamber before Vilia entered the room by means of an inside passage.

“Were you listening?” her uncle asked. “Of course you were.”

“I heard it all,” Vilia replied. “Did I not tell you he was clever?”

“Let us hope he is not too clever,” Cubert Ahasferus said. “Will he sign? Will he swear the blood oath? And are you sure he can get you with child?”

“I am certain,” Vilia said. “And he will both sign and swear. Gaius never loved me, Uncle. He loved the support my family gave him over the years. Jonah, for all his coldness, does, I believe, love me.”

“Perhaps,” her uncle agreed, “but do not be blinded by your love for him, Niece. This man you are taking as your second husband is as cold as ice. Were there a better opportunity, he would seize it and cast you aside, Vilia. Make no mistake about that.”

“But you will protect me, Uncle, will you not?” Vilia murmured.

“Aye, Niece, your family will protect your interests first and foremost,” Cubert Ahasferus said firmly.

Vilia smiled. “Then I have naught to trouble myself about, Uncle.”

“You are taking part in the empress’s coronation, are you not?” he asked.

“I will carry her train,” Vilia said.

Cubert Ahasferus snorted. “What presumption!” he grumbled.

“Uncle, had not Jonah intervened I should have served as her footstool as she sat upon her throne. And Jonah, the emperor’s footstool. But my clever lover convinced Gaius that such an honor could undermine his authority to speak for the emperor. I understand that our soon-to-be empress was not pleased and the footstool upon which her dainty feet will now rest is an expensive concoction of gold and jewels,” Vilia said.