Selene stood in the center of the Great Hall of Castle Mouldour, the rapid pounding of her heart the only sign of her inner tension.
She was risking her future, her very life, by being here, and yet she had nowhere else to go, no other course of action to take.
She took a deep breath as she heard footsteps in the outer hall, and then her uncle stood in the doorway. He was an impressive man, tall and brawny, with broad shoulders, and legs that looked as solid as tree trunks. A full beard and a mustache covered the lower half of his face. She could tell by the look in his frigid blue eyes that he wasn't happy to see her.
"Selene." He muttered her name as he stepped into the room.
She dropped a curtsey. "Uncle."
"Where's your father?"
"He's dead."
Bourke's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. With his brother's death, the throne became more secure. "And your sister?"
"She married Hardane of Argone a fortnight ago."
"You know that for a fact?" Bourke asked, obviously worried.
"I was there."
Bourke stared past her, unseeing, as he absorbed this information. Kylene's marriage to Hardane was an event that the Interrogator had assured him would never take place. Now it was an accomplished fact.
A wedding. A wedding night. Children . . . twins. Bourke grunted softly. The twins that had been foretold by prophesy. The twins who would steal his throne, his power.
"Why have you come here, Selene?"
"I need a place to stay."
"And you want to stay here?" Bourke looked skeptical.
"No. I want a place of my own, land of my own."
"I have no land to give away."
"Perhaps we can make a trade."
Bourke snorted disdainfully. "What would a mere woman have to trade?"
"My sister for Kildeene Castle."
Bourke's eyes glinted with interest. "How do you propose to get her away from Argone?"
"I know a way. Do we have a bargain?"
Bourke nodded slowly.
"I'll have your word, Uncle."
"You have it."
Selene smiled. At last she would have a place of her own, land of her own. She would have no need of a man to rule her. She would take her pleasure where she could find it, and answer to no one.
"There's a secret entrance that leads from Hardane's bedchamber all the way to the river on the west side of the keep," she said. "Unless your men are complete fools, they should be able to slip into the castle unseen, take Kylene, and make their escape without being caught."
Bourke studied his niece thoughtfully. They had more in common than mere kinship, he mused. Selene was a woman who knew what she wanted and was prepared to do whatever it took to obtain it, even if it meant betraying her own sister, as he had betrayed his brother to obtain the throne of Mouldour.
Bourke grunted softly. It was too bad they shared the same blood, he thought with regret. Selene would have made a fine queen.