of fisticuffs.Whatyoure saying in essence is that you will accept Cattaniasproposition if I decline yours, he grimly stated.Thatis the toll of it, Imcael haughtily agreed. Think on it,Nephew, and be quick about it. Yea or nay, Ill have your answerforthwith.Rohyrstared at him as if he were seeing him for the first time. Imcaelstared back with ill-concealed belligerence. Rohyr tightly grippedthe armrests of his chair. Remembrance of Dylens warningexacerbated his sense of betrayal. Never had he thought that Imcaelwould willfully disregard their familial bond for the sake ofpersonal aggrandizement. It was extortion, pure and simple, and noless injurious than overt treachery.Hefought down the urge to throttle his uncle. He was Ylandres swornprotector and that entailed keeping the realm free from foreignencroachment. Whether he could stomach Imcaels methods was besidethe point. And he could not deny that Imcaels proposal was morepolitically palatable than Cattanias. He willed his revulsion atthe prospect of mating with a virtual stranger to subside totolerable resignation to the demands of duty.Verywell, Uncle, I accept your proposal, he bitterly acceded to thedismay of the others. But it will cost you, he snapped whenImcael smiled with nauseating smugness.TheHeruns smile faded. What do you mean?Rohyrtook little comfort in his uncles discomfiture. First of all,Tyrde and I will bind by handfasting; there will be no fane rites.Overriding Imcaels indignant protests, he swept on. Tyrde hadbest expect nothing more of me than what is legally and officiallydue him. Our relations will be restricted to the getting of heirs.Imcaelscowled. That is unseemly! And coercion isnt?Thisisnt coercionPardonme, Uncle, but I fail to see how it can be deemed otherwise, Rohyrbrusquely interrupted. Furthermore, you shall inform Tyrde that,once we wed, he will take the name Essendri, as will any and allchildren I sire on him. I wont permit a child of mine to bear adifferent name or take another upon espousal. Henceforth, it will beEssendris who rule Anju, not Kardovas. Do I make myself clear?Thecorners of Imcaels mouth twitched upward before he appeared toforce them down. Rohyr frowned. Had Imcael almost smiled? Withoutwarning, the latters mental shields slammed down.Theking curiously regarded his uncle. Why did Imcael suddenly guard histhoughts? Had he misconstrued Rohyrs reaction for a mind-probe?That was absurd since Rohyr did not make it a practice to intrude onthe innermost thoughts of his kinsfolk or friends. For Imcael tohurriedly shut him out meant that he was concealing something.Itwas tempting to break through those shields and find out what Imcaelwas hiding. But that was the way of despots and Rohyr refused to setfoot on so treacherous a road. Once one made it a habit to attainones desires by dint of the extraordinary gifts of which one wasguardian, it was extremely difficult to break the habit and return tobeing less than godlike.Thatsense of entitlement doomed the Ferrendas more than twelve centuriesago and had much to do with the Dimaris ill-fated Velarusianventure some four hundred years back. Now all that remained of theformer was a cadet line of little consequence while the latter couldonly wage futile campaigns to regain lost territory and prestige.Rohyrdid not care to follow their examples. He