Page 22 of Dark Destiny: The Fates' Bargain

Now his chair was being pushed by Daniel, his personal Guardian as he had grown to think of him, and Areana walked beside his chair. In one hand she held a laminated sheet that told her how to deal with his bodily functions. In the other she carried a tablet like it was a live grenade and she'd beentold to defuse it following instructions in a manual written in a language she barely understood.

"Well," she said, pressing the tablet to her chest. "I suppose it's time to see our new home."

"Our new home," Navuh repeated. "What a charitable way to refer to a dungeon cell."

"It's a very well-appointed apartment that has hosted many important guests. Even Annani's daughter stayed there for a while."

"What had she done to deserve that?"

A ghost of a smile lifted Areana's lips. "She fell in love with a former Brotherhood member."

"Ah, right. I remember that story. No wonder they put her in a cell."

"It's not a cell," Areana insisted. "It's a nice apartment."

"It's a cell with better furniture and lighting, but it's still a cell."

Areana shook her head, but she must have realized that it was pointless to keep arguing and remained silent.

Navuh thought of Daniel, pushing his chair, in his unremarkable civilian clothes, with the sidearm in a holster that he would never have cause to draw against a paralyzed man in a wheelchair. It was such a waste of resources to assign a Guardian to him, but perhaps Daniel could make himself useful in other ways.

What if he could pay the Guardian to handle the bathroom visits and save Areana the trouble and him the humiliation? Theproblem was that Navuh didn't have any money to pay Daniel with.

"Do you have any money?" he asked Areana.

She looked surprised by the question. "I have a credit card."

"What about cash in hand? Didn't either of our well-to-do sons give you money?"

She shook her head. "But if you want to buy something, I can get it for you."

"I need cash so I can tip Daniel for all the good work he's doing."

"I don't need your money," Daniel said from behind him.

"I'm not talking about a few miserly dollars. I want to pay you to take me to the bathroom when I need to go and save my mate the trouble. You look like a strong fellow, and I don't weigh much now that I've lost so much muscle."

"I will do it for free for Lady Areana if she asks for my help. You don't need to pay me. I'm being paid very generously as it is."

"It's very gallant of you to offer your services for free, but I would prefer to pay for them."

"You don't have any money," Daniel reminded him.

"I have a credit card," Areana said. "I can order food and buy things. Kalugal gave it to me and placed no restrictions on my spending. I would be more than happy to order food for the three of us together regardless of whether you help my mate to the bathroom or not."

"That's very kind of you, but I can't accept your generous offer," Daniel said. "I will assist whenever you need me, though."

Navuh said nothing, but inside he was seething.

Their son was providing for his mother because he could not. Because he was a captive, a prisoner, an invalid in a wheelchair who needed to be taken to the bathroom. He couldn't even buy Areana a cup of coffee.

But it wasn't his fault that he was in this situation, now was it?

He hadn't put himself here. He'd been on top of the world, perfecting his war machine and building an army of unstoppable soldiers, until Areana had decided, in her infinite and misguided compassion, to smuggle Tula off the island rather than let the female surrender her child the way every harem lady had done before her, including Areana herself. If she had left well enough alone, none of it would have happened. He would still be on his island. He would still have his legs, his army, his throne.

She had done this to him, and she knew that. Given the guilty expression on her face, she also knew exactly what was going through his mind.

"Shall we?" Daniel said, interrupting the moment, then engaged the wheelchair's brake.