What he did care about was the way her eyes flashed from human to animal. Back and forth, almost uncontrollably as if they had done something to her.
A growl rumbled in his chest. “Who is this?”
Abdul swept the long train of his tunic to the side and strode toward the captive woman. “You wanted a way to encourage the people to trust. This is, perhaps, the most dangerous Beastkin woman we’ve ever encountered. To show them that this one can change would go a long way in convincing them that your intentions are to protect Bymerians.”
“And how am I supposed to convince them of that?”
His advisor ignored Nadir for a moment, moving in front of the captive woman and tucking a finger underneath her chin. To her credit, she stared at Abdul with just as much hatred and anger as before. He hadn’t managed to intimidate her.
A smile spread across Abdul’s face, but it wasn’t a nice one. “There are ways to break a mind. We’ll work with her, tame this creature, and you can show the rest of Bymere that Beastkin can change. We can train them to be more than just animals.”
Fire burned in Nadir’s chest. It seared his bones and sizzled in his veins until he was little more than rage. Forcing his words to remain steady, Nadir replied, “We are not animals, advisor. Or perhaps, you have forgotten that a Beastkin sits upon the throne.”
“By choice of the people.” Abdul looked over his shoulder, finger digging into the woman’s neck. “And that choice can change just as easily as it was made.”
Nadir didn’t want to admit that he was correct. It was hard enough to have his secret out in the world. People still flinched away from him in fear when he walked the streets. As they should. He was a dragon, after all, and could easily destroy the entire city if he wanted to.
But he didn’t want to. The fact was an important one that he needed his people to understand fully and completely. Unfortunately, he couldn’t convince his people of that without the support of the council.
His fingers curled around the arms of the chair he sat in, squeezing so hard he was surprised the fragile wood didn’t shatter under the force of his rage. Pushing himself to standing, he flicked his fingers at Abdul.
“Move.”
Abdul stepped back just enough so that it appeared he respected Nadir’s authority. But not so far that he couldn’t overhear everything Nadir would say to the Beastkin woman. Let him. Nadir didn’t care if his advisors heard the words he was about to let slip off his tongue. They no longer ruled here, although they liked to think they had him pinned down.
He let the thoughts fall away from him and stood in front of the Beastkin woman. Not a single clue marked her body to hint at what she might be. Her eyes, though changing back and forth from human, could have been anything in their golden hues.
She stared up at him just as defiantly as all the others. Perhaps she hadn’t heard their sultan was a Beastkin man as well. Or perhaps, like so many others, she simply didn’t care.
“What is your name?” he asked.
“Tahira.”
“What do you turn into, Tahira?”
She glared at him and remained silent.
Nadir noted the thick metal around her throat had rubbed the tender skin nearly raw. Red tendrils spread out from it, and he wondered if that might mean it was infected. “You are safe here,” he tried to reassure her.
“Safe?” she spat at him, anger simmering until her eyes were nearly red. “I’ve never been safe in Bymere. Neither has any of my people.”
“You are now.” He hoped. Nadir realized he couldn’t quite promise that, and in fact, it was likely still a lie. He was the only Beastkin they tolerated, and that was because he was useful. Blowing out a slow breath, he shook his head. “Or will be. So why don’t you tell me what you turn into?”
“You’ll find out someday, boy king.”
He likely deserved that, but it wasn’t particularly an answer that helped him. Glancing over at Abdul, he nodded at the woman. “She’s not an easy one.”
“There are ways to break a person.”
“And none of them you will use on her.” Nadir looked back at her in time to catch her expression of surprise before it shifted back to anger. “We’ve done enough to this poor woman.”
Her cracked lips spread into a smile. “You have no idea what goes on behind closed doors, little sultan. You think you’re a man? You haven’t seen a single thing of what your advisors do when your eyes are closed or your back is turned.”
He’d suspected as much. There were a hundred things he’d uncovered and he’d likely find another thousand more. But here was a chance for him to start making amends. In an exaggerated sweep, Nadir bowed low to her and quietly murmured, “I know, huntress.”
The honorable word was only given to women who had proven themselves to their sultan and to their country. He only knew of a handful, and they all lived in Falldell where the greatest assassins were trained.
Glancing up, he saw her face turn white. In horror or shock, he didn’t know. Neither mattered.
Nadir nodded at one of her guards. “Have her placed in the other Beastkin woman’s quarters for now. Tell the concubines to wash her and dress her.”
“Sultan?” Even the guard was surprised he’d place her with the women who were considered the nation’s flowers.
“They’ve dealt with two Beastkin women before,” he replied, amused. “They’ll know how to deal with her as well.”
Truth be told, he wasn’t so confident his concubines knew what they were doing. But he’d give them the benefit of the doubt and hoped they knew how to do something with the woman. Unlike Sigrid and her people, they enjoyed making other women look like delicate little flowers. They were good at that, and their skills were far beyond his own.
His advisors thought they were going to catch him with this. They thought he wouldn’t spend the time to encourage the Beastkin woman to be more human than animal. That he wouldn’t work with her or put forth the effort.
He was curious what she turned into. That would help him perhaps understand her mind. As far as he knew, the Beastkin were different personalities depending on the creature they had inside them. He’d observed that with Sigrid and her friend, Camilla.
Gods, he hoped he was right.
Waving his hand, he gestured for the guard to take the woman away.
She glared at him. Tahira, the woman who had no fear in her eyes. He’d have to remember her as something like this. She might be a little more frightened in the coming days.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked the guard. “Another prison?”
“Something like that.” The guard’s voice was amused, and Nadir’s lips twitched in a small smile.
At least there were a few Bymerians who were more curious about the Beastkin than the others. This guard in particular seemed to see the women as something more than just an animal. Men? It was a little harder to look another soldier in the eye and think them stronger. But women pulled at the heartstrings. They were bringers of life. They deserved respect no matter what they were.
Nadir turned back to the table and again took his time reseating himself. The advisors hadn’t moved from their places around the table, so he assumed there was more that they wanted to tell him. As if he had time for this foolishness.