Spymaster

The Jinn Spymaster of Valdis Maj has been working in secret for years, but that’s all about to change.

It’s a turbulent time in the Kingdom of Valdis. There is a new face at the King’s court - a hardened warrior looking to settle down in one place after a lifetime of wandering. He has earned the respect of the King and is asked to liaise with the spymaster. What he doesn’t expect is that the spymaster is a woman. A very intriguing, very beautiful woman. Something about her speaks to him on a very basic level. He wants her. But, more importantly, he wants her in his life...forever.

Isolde is a very good spy, but she has never found one man who can make her weak in the knees and also earn her respect. When she meets the general, she suspects he might just be the one. It will take two wild dragons and multiple assassination attempts on their liege lord to throw them into danger - and prove their attraction isn’t just a fleeting thing.

They might just have a shot at a real, life-long bond... If they both survive the trials ahead.

The spymaster of Valdis Maj put down the latest report on the Jinn mercenaries who had been granted leave to settle in what had been a wasteland to the north of King Alric’s domain. They were expanding their camps into full-fledged towns and developing a network of roads and supply lines over the river that had been the previous border of the Kingdom of Valdis, into the farmland to the south.
King Alric had appended that wasteland to his kingdom, expanding his border to the north. The wasteland had been empty and barren for so long that no other kingdom wanted to claim it. There was no problem in Alric annexing the wasteland, now that he had folks ready to settle it and make it livable. He had taken on responsibility for the land with the proviso that the Jinn mercenaries would settle the land and administrate the area.
The Jinn had always been wandering nomads with no permanent homes, for the most part. Only recently, times had changed, and the Jinn were now happy to have land of their own within the boundaries of a peaceful kingdom run by a good leader. A long-awaited prophesy had come to pass for the Jinn, and they were finally finding homes all over the lands. Many were settling in Draconia, near to the Jinn Queen and her King-Consort—Arikia and Prince Nico of Draconia—both of whom were black dragon shapeshifters.
Many other Jinn were settling in other places. The drifting mercenary groups now had their own place to the north within the new borders of Valdis, and the Jinn spymaster of Valdis Maj, the capital city, had big decisions to make. The nature of being a spymaster—especially in such a large city and kingdom as this—was to remain hidden. Nobody knew for certain, outside of a small circle of trusted allies and agents, exactly who the spymaster was.
A meeting with King Alric had broadened that circle of trust, and now that the King was betrothed to the Jinn black dragon shifter, Lady Zallra, the time had probably come to widen the circle even more.
Prince Nico of Draconia was the exception to the rule that spymasters’ identities need be secret. He was openly known as the Prince of Spies and had been the spymaster to his brother, King Roland of Draconia for most of his reign. Being known as the spymaster didn’t seem to hinder Prince Nico’s effectiveness at all. Perhaps being known as the Jinn spymaster of Valdis Maj wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
However, caution was also in the spymaster’s nature. If her identity was to become more widely known, she would start the process slowly.
Making her decision, she put the candle lantern in the appropriate place by the window. It was the signal to Jimnel that she would meet with him. And at this meeting, she knew she would also be meeting with General Brighton.
Stepping back, she looked at the candle lantern that illuminated one particular colored panel in the masterwork of stained glass that graced this most visible of windows. She had just set the wheel in motion. Only time would tell where it would take them all.