Chapter 1: Chapter 1
The heavy oak doors of the great hall boomed shut behind the last servant, and the echo rolled across the stone floor like distant thunder. Lord Aldric Vane stood at the head of the long table, one hand resting on the gilded arm of his chair, and watched his brothers settle into their places.
Percival was already pouring himself wine from the nearest pitcher, his smile easy, his eyes scanning the room with the practiced laziness of a man who missed nothing. Cedric sat heavily, scraping his chair against the flagstones, and reached for the bread without ceremony.
"You've outdone yourself, Aldric," Percival said, raising his cup. "The tapestries alone must have cost a small fortune."
Aldric inclined his head, letting the compliment settle. "A man's home should reflect his standing. And his victories."
He gestured, and the double doors at the far end of the hall swung open. A procession of women filed in, each one dressed in silks that caught the firelight, their movements measured, their eyes lowered. They arranged themselves along the far wall in a silent, colorful row.
Cedric stopped chewing. He stared openly at the nearest woman, a dark-haired beauty with a thin silver chain at her throat.
"What is this?" he said.
"My harem," Aldric said simply. "Taken from the southern lords who thought they could hold the passes against me. Their daughters. Their wives. Their finest treasures."
Percival set his cup down slowly. "You keep them here, in your own home?"
"Where else would I keep them?" Aldric moved around the table, his boots echoing on the stone. He stopped beside a woman with auburn hair and gently lifted her chin with one finger. She did not flinch. "They serve well. They learn quickly. And they remind me every day of what I have conquered."
Cedric tore a piece of bread but did not eat it. "And you brought us here to show them off?"
"I brought you here to share them." Aldric smiled, a thin expression that did not reach his eyes. "You are my brothers. My blood. Why should I keep such pleasures to myself when my own kin might enjoy them too?"
The fire crackled in the great hearth. One of the women shifted her weight, the silk of her dress whispering against itself.
Percival leaned back in his chair, studying the line of women with renewed interest. "All of them, taken in battle?"
"Every one." Aldric turned, walking slowly down the row, naming them as he passed. "This one, the daughter of the Warden of Grayhold. This one, the wife of a merchant prince who thought his gold could buy him safety. This one." He paused before a tall woman with dark skin and a scar along her jaw. "She was a captain of the eastern host. Led her men well. I made her watch them fall, then I gave her a choice."
"What choice?" Cedric asked.
"To join my household, or to join them." Aldric shrugged. "She chose well. They all do, eventually."
Percival's fingers tapped against his cup. "And you trust them? In your home, so close to your own throat?"
"They have no weapons. No allies. No family left to run to." Aldric returned to his chair and sat, the leather creaking beneath him. "Where would they go? What would they do? I am their whole world now. Their only world. They know this, and they accept it, because the alternative is worse."
Cedric set down the bread.