The king’s private quarters were a demonstration of luxury. Gold and silver were embossed on every wall, with marble columns carved as nude statues holding up the vaulted ceiling. Plush velvet furniture sat about the room, flanking glass tables, crowded bookshelves, and exquisite potted plants. Dozens of lit candles illuminated the room now that the sun had gone down, and the multiple skylights showed stars through their glass panes. The room was large enough to hold the king's entire harem comfortably, and Esther didn’t doubt the randy older man had entertained the fantasy, if not actually going through with it.

King Azurous moved to the middle of one wall, where an alcove holding a collection of wine bottles stood. “Do you know why you are here?” he said as he poured two glasses.

Esther’s eyes continued to roam the magnificent room and settled on the oversized bed against the far wall. “I have an idea,” she replied coyly.

The king turned at her tone and smiled as he traced her gaze. “Oh,” he laughed. “Don’t worry, we will get to that, but we have more pressing matters first.” He closed the distance to the beautiful woman quickly and handed her a glass of red wine. “How would you like to be queen?”

Jace had explained the plot of this quest, so Esther had prepared for this question. She didn’t flinch as she took the drink and downed half of it, her eyes never leaving her host’s face. To his credit, his gaze didn’t wander far from hers either. “Aren’t we moving a little fast,” she said. “We’ve only just met.”

“When a man finds a treasure of great value, he doesn’t hesitate. Only a fool would fail to realize what stands before me. I am no fool.”

“Nor are you single,” Esther countered. “What of Queen Vashti?”

The king frowned slightly. “We are not well matched. It doesn’t take an inquisitor to see that. Under such circumstances, our people have ways of dealing with a situation like this.”

“A royal divorce could take a long time,” Esther said, trying to tease out the king’s plan.

“A painful process no one in the kingdom wants,” Azurous agreed.

“Then . . . what?” Esther asked.

The king’s face darkened further for just a moment, and Esther recognized the murderous intent. Azurous's face brightened forcefully, and he took a long sip of his wine. “Enough of that talk,” the king said. “I’ve said too much already. Just be assured, if you agree to be my queen, your wait will not be long or unpleasant.” He set his glass down on a side table without turning his face from Esther. He reached forward with both hands to gently hold her bare upper arms and pulled her close to him. “So, what is your answer? Will you be my queen?”

This was not her first proposal. There had been hundreds. But this one was different. None of the others had been kings. Prior to these recent missions, Esther had been spending a lot of time with Vithium. The monk was unique among players in that he could actually give her a decent challenge when they wrestled, provided she removed most of her equipment and, usually, all of her clothes. He didn’t actively try to pull her away from Jace, and he was content to play second fiddle. But he didn’t rule a kingdom.

{Esther,} Gracie said in her head. {You aren’t seriously considering this, are you?}

The rogue tried not to let her expression change as the operator spoke in her head. Gracie had been quiet since Esther entered the castle, but she understood why she would speak up now.

“Being your queen sounds lovely,” Esther replied. “Perfect, even. But before we agree to anything, I first need to be truthful with you.”

The king released her arms and took a few steps back, caution evident in his eyes. “What is it.”

“My primary reason for being here is to warn you. Your life is in danger. Queen Vashti is plotting to kill you.”

Azurous laughed. “Oh, is that all.” He reached back for his wine glass on the table beside him and drained the rest of it. “Now you are starting to sound like Kai Morte.”

“It is true,” Esther insisted, taking a step toward the king and dipping into her mana pool to charm him. “I heard two of the eunuchs discussing it.”

The king grew suddenly serious, either from the result of the vampire’s spell or from her words. “That is exactly what my inquisitor said,” the king confirmed, his jovial skepticism morphing into concern.

“The one your wife banished?” Esther asked, taking another step toward him.

The king nodded, pausing as he tried to think the threat through. “They would speak of this plot in your hearing?” he asked. “That seems awful careless of them.”

Esther grinned mischievously, striking a seductive pose. “Though I am used to having every eye in the room on me, I can, at times, be quite difficult to see.” The candles cast patchy light throughout the room, offering many shadows for the skilled rogue to slip into. Even without her hat or other stealthy equipment, Esther suddenly disappeared from view.

The king came to sudden attention, his inebriation forgotten for a moment as he looked about his room, but the dangerous woman had already Shadow-Stepped behind him. Her slender hands snaked around his waist and caressed his chest as she leaned in over his shoulder and whispered. “I can get close to anyone without them knowing. The eunuchs had no idea I was there.” She dumped more mana into him, and he relaxed.

“How do they plan to do it?” he asked, his pulse quickening from the woman’s touch.

“Poison,” Esther said. Her left arm dropped to the slit in her dress and produced the vial Gromphy had given her. “I have an antidote that will protect you from any-”

She didn’t finish as the king knocked the cylinder from her hand and turned to face her, suddenly serious. “Nothing passes my lips unless Enrique tastes it first,” he said. All evidence of Esther’s enchantment had fled his face.

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{That is a hard no,} Gracie advised. {He is hard-wired to refuse any attempt to drink anything. The game won’t, uh, I mean, the realms won’t allow it. You need another way.}

Esther spotted the vial on the floor. It had hit a rug and didn’t break. Though, if what Gracie told her were true, it wouldn’t matter.

“Why would you have that?” The king asked, a bit of agitation creeping into his voice. “Did you expect to find a plot to kill me? Or do you always carry around expensive antidotes?”

Esther wasn’t clever enough to come up with a lie on the spot, so she spoke the truth. “I’ve told you I’m an adventurer. That wasn’t a lie. My uncle, Jace Thorne, heard of the assassination attempt, and we have come to save you.”

“So you have no intention of becoming my queen,” he said harshly. “You joining my harem was just a ploy to get close to me. You are no better than Vashti! How do I know that you didn’t didn’t just try to have me drink the poison?”

Control slipped out of Esther’s grasp, and she needed to reign him in. She closed on him again, wriggling her body as she approached. “Jace wants to save you,” she said. “I enjoy a good adventure. The idea of being your queen . . . intrigues me.” She had used her mana sparingly up till now, letting the king’s infatuation with her do most of the work, but now she gave him a full dose. “I’m always looking for a better offer.”

Her spell took immediate effect. “Jace wouldn’t mind?” he asked hopefully.

“He gives me quite a bit of freedom. I can live wherever I want.” She looked over at the bed. “Sleep wherever I want.”

The king closed on her, placing his hands back on her upper arms.

“I might be called away on a mission or two,” Esther said. “But then I would always return and tell you the most amazing stories.”

“I like your stories,” he whispered, falling further under her charm, their faces growing closer, his wine-drenched breath warm on her cheeks. “I enjoyed hearing of your battle against the giant . . . especially the ending.”

Esther smiled at him. “I do some of my best work naked.”

“I’m sure you do,” he said and leaned in to close the deal.

“Only,” Esther said, pulling back slightly. The king granted her a moment of autonomy and hesitated to hear her objection. “I might have to visit Enrique first.”

The king’s puzzled expression didn’t need words.

“You said nothing passes your lips without him tasting it first,” she whispered. “How, then, could I do this?” She attacked him, their lips locking together and her tongue breaking the seal of his mouth. She exercised her Grappling skill and used the rest of her mana to give him the most intense kiss of his long life.

Azurous turned to putty in her hands, and his legs went limp under her power. She kept him in a state of helpless bliss for several seconds, the king unknowingly falling irrecoverably under the vampire’s control. When she finally ended the kiss, the king was nearly breathless and could form no words. Esther carried him over to the bed and laid him down gently. The high slit in her dress allowed her to straddle him as she sat just above his waist.

The king’s eyes glazed over as he beheld the beauty above him, his hands pawing at her upper body in a vain attempt to remove her dress. The clothing had no straps, buckles, or zippers, so even sober-minded, the king would have likely failed in the effort. Esther playfully captured both wrists and pinned them back against the soft bedspread. “Be a good boy and let your new queen play a little,” she said in a whisper. The king smiled deeply and lay unmoving.

The woman unbuttoned his vest and shirt and pulled them wide to reveal a muscled torso with sparse graying chest hair. Esther bent over, starting at his navel and slowly working her way up, kissing and nibbling his body exquisitely. Under normal circumstances, this would drive anyone crazy, but as a vampire and with the king fully her thrall, each tiny bite sent a shiver through the man’s body like a bolt of lightning.

Eventually, she made it to his chin, climbed the slope, and kissed him on the lips again, his moans of pleasure urging her on. She moved down his face, her smooth cheek brushing against his beard. She stopped briefly at his ear to nibble on the lobe before finding her way to her favorite part of anyone’s body: his neck.

The vampire was done playing around and bit down hard, extending her fangs into his jugular and drinking deep. The king’s body stiffened suddenly but then relaxed as Esther’s hands massaged away the tension, stroking his chest and arms. She drank just enough to refill her mana pool, taking only a few levels from the king, and then cast another Charm spell with everything she had. She accumulated so many criticals that she was pretty sure she could make him do anything she wanted all night long. Some entertaining ideas crept into her head, but she knew Jace wanted her to complete the mission, and, besides, Gracie was apparently watching. Though, from what Esther understood, the operator couldn’t actually see what was going on . . .

The woman shook her head and moved her mouth back to Azurous’s ear. “Tell me how you plan to kill Queen Vashti.”

The king answered in a low voice without hesitation. “Tomorrow, at the festival, the queen and I will be sitting on a public stage, observing the parade. Across the street, two archers will be stationed at different windows. They will each shoot an arrow at us. I will have a ring of Piercing Immunity. She will not. It will look like someone tried to kill us both. No guilt will fall on me.”

Esther nodded. “Can you tell me more about the archers? Where exactly will they be? What do they look like?”

“I . . . I . . .” the king strained. “I don’t know. The information was kept from me on purpose.”

Esther sat up and leaned back. “Did you catch that, Gracie?”

{I heard it,} she replied. {And it complicates things. Jace will need to know.}

“Then you can tell him,” Esther said, reaching down to stroke the chest of her new plaything.

{He’ll want to talk with you too,} Gracie said. {The plan is going to change. Can you get out of there? Since you are talking out loud, I assume the king is unconscious. I can’t see anything, but I noticed you processed a lot of mana.}

Esther nodded. “He isn’t going anywhere for a long time,” she said. She looked over at a pair of double doors that opened to an outdoor balcony. They were on the third or fourth floor, but that wouldn’t stop her. “I think I can get out . . . if I have to.”

{You have to.}

Esther frowned and climbed off the bed. She caught sight of the discarded vial still lying on a rug. She walked over to retrieve it. “Can’t I just pour the antidote down his throat now?” She looked back at the peaceful king, lying on his back with his mouth agape.

{No,} Gracie replied. {He is hard-wired to refuse any drink or liquid that his cupbearer hasn’t approved. If you try that, it will wake him up and undo all of your magic. You’ll just have to knock him out again. Now, hurry up. I’ll let Jace know and tell you where to meet.}

Esther heard a few distant clicking sounds and then a profound silence that let her know Gracie had switched to monitoring Jace. The woman walked back to the bed and looked down at the handsome king forlornly. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I have to go.” She leaned down to whisper into his ear to give further instructions, spending half a dozen criticals. “Fall asleep, and have the most restful night of your life. When you wake up, you will remember spending a fabulous evening with me, doing things you’ve never dreamed of.” She kissed him again. “I won't be here when you wake up, but you won’t be alarmed and will rest in the confidence that you were amazing.”

His level drain would heal by the morning, and Esther thought for a moment if she needed to do anything else to seal the deception. On impulse, she hastily removed the king's pants. It wouldn’t make sense for him to wake up mostly clothed. With a flicker of motion, she changed her outfit, donning her armor and skirt with her swords hanging from her hips. She got a notification that part of her outfit had failed and reached up to feel that her hair was still done up in fabulous braids with silver and gold woven through. She undid this with a snap of her fingers, and her hat then successfully nestled over her head. With one last reluctant look around the room, she moved in a flash toward the double doors and disappeared into the night.