“Lord Bron.” The queen’s voice came from outside the fog of his pleasure so he ignored it. “High Duke!”
Aeron’s kiss deepened. Her mouth slid against his, instinctively finding a sweet rhythm with his mouth. Her body slid next to his suggestively.
A hand bit into his arm and shook him hard. “Bron, control yourself, son.” Bron jerked his mouth from his wife. The king glared at him. In their shared language, he said, “Make her finish it. Now.”
Aeron’s mouth moved along his neck and jaw, trying to entice him back to her kiss. Bron fought her spell. He kicked the crystal toward her foot. It hit the side of her slipper. Taking her arms, he lifted her and dropped her foot lightly on the crystal. It shattered like glass.
The laughing crowd cheered, some of them making sounds of disappointment that the show was over. Bron ignored them.
“Bron?” Aeron looked down at her foot and then to him. Confusion filtered through her gaze. Her eyes began to clear of the crystal’s influence. She swayed weakly and he had to hold on to her to keep her upright.
The Queen announced, as was customary, “Welcome to the family of Draig, Lady Aeron. I hope you will enjoy your new home.”
The marriage was complete.
“Follow me,” the king snapped to his nephew.
Bron had no choice but to follow his uncle from the platform into the surrounding forest. When they were away from prying ears, Bron said, “My king, I can explain.”
“I know what you have done,” the king said.
“King?” Aeron repeated, her words mumbled. “I needed to speak to the king. It’s important.”
King Llyr frowned. Leaning over he plucked a green plant with a yellow center from the forest floor.
“I must speak to you, king,” Aeron continued to mumble, her words slurred and unsure. Bron pulled her next to him.
The king walked to her, lifted the plant between two fingers and he rubbed them beneath her nose, crushing the little buds.
“I…” Aeron blinked as she inhaled the plant. Instantly, she passed out.
“Get yourself under control,” the king ordered now that Aeron was quiet.
“Do not look at me like that, son. I know what you have done and I suspect the council knows as well. You took her last night. That is why she responded to the crystal the way she did,” said the king. Bron lifted his chin, careful to keep a hold on Aeron as she slumped against him. “I won’t have our family name soiled by an unhappy marriage. There are those who wish to see our line ended. After my sons, you are my heir. I will not grant the Var the pleasure of seeing our family name tarnished.”
“Yes, my king.” Bron answered, ashamed that the man knew his secret.
“Take her away from here before she awakens,” King Llyr ordered. “I do not know how she will react now that the crystal is broken. The effects might linger for hours or days or even years. A man can well handle a doting wife, but not one who follows him around like a lovesick solarflower after the sun. The traditions are in place for a reason. Get her to your home and make this right with the gods. Or, better yet, take her to the north cabin. There is no reason why you must return home so quickly. Your brothers can manage without you. Whatever duties arise in your absence will be secondary to this problem.”
“Yes, my king.” What else could he say?
The king sighed. “I may be king but I am still your uncle and the only father you have left in this life. I understand the temptation of our brides and you were made to wait a long time for yours. Such will be taken into account when considering your honor. Go. Take her. Figure this out. I will tell your brothers you are well and will return home in your own time. The fewer who discover this lapse in judgment the better. The groom will bring your mount from the stables and meet you near the twisted tree where you boys used to practice throwing knives.”
“Yes,” Bron whispered. He lifted his unconscious bride in his arms and moved to take her through the forest.
6
If the rocking didn’t stop she was going to be sick. Why didn’t the pilot use the atmospheric stabilizers? Aeron moaned, blinking heavily. Bright light invaded her lids, blinding her to her surroundings. The rocking continued, a steady back and forth, back and forth, back and…
“Blast the stars,” she moaned, jerking up as nausea rose in her throat. Consciousness came as she was sliding off the back of a giant horned beast. Rough terrain passed by her vision. Her arms flailed, but she didn’t find anything to hold on to. A startled scream escaped her lips. Nothing made sense.
A hand grabbed hold of her waist to keep her steady, jerking her upright. She gave a shorter, softer shout of surprise. A voice soothed, “Easy.”
It took her brain all of two seconds to place Bron’s voice. It took her body exactly two seconds after that to react to it. Desire shot through her like an electrical shock. She became aware of his hand on the side of her gown. The material offered little protection from his heat. Her sleep-hazed mind refused to focus and concentrate.
The rocking wasn’t a ship, but a giant beast of a creature they rode on. Bron sat behind her, his chest near her arm. His spread thighs gripped the beast as her legs fell to one side. The wide back of the animal made it easy to regain her balance. Bron pulled her hip and she slid next to spread legs.
Awareness shot through her like a comet and it took her a long moment before she could speak. “What’s happening?”
As if to answer, the animal hissed its long tongue. Aeron jumped back, pressing tight into Bron’s chest. She drew her legs up in a defensive gesture. His grip tightened on her, steadying her once more.
“What is this thing?”
“It’s called a ceffyl. It’s harmless,” he assured her. “My brother, Alek, breeds them. This one is completely domesticated.”
The creature hissed again. It was perhaps the ugliest thing she had ever seen.
“I’ll take your word for it,” she said, not able to fully relax. “Make it stop.”
Bron reached around her for the center horn. He gave it a gentle tug. The beast stopped moving. Aeron pushed off its back. Bron’s hand slipped from her waist. Her unsteady feet landed on the ground and she stumbled before catching herself.
They were on a wide red-gray path. Mountain peaks grew in the distance, creating a spectacular view. Their jagged tops reached toward the sky like the tops of hand-carved spears. The higher the peak, the grayer they became until there was no red tint left in the earth at all. The air felt thin as she took a deep breath and then another. She couldn’t tell if it was the elevation or the memory of Bron’s hand on her waist that made her so weak. Regardless, at least the rocking had stopped.
“Hey, easy,” Bron said, dismounting. His hand gently touched the small of her back as she leaned over. The ground swam beneath her and she closed her eyes tight. “Try to slow your breathing.”
“Where… am… I?” she gasped.
“We’re about a day’s ride from the palace,” Bron answered. “We’ll be at the north hunting cabin soon. Everything you need will be provided for you there.”
“No, that’s…” She frowned, trying to piece together the events of the last day. She’d spent the night alone in a tent. She remembered walking through a fog. It was impressions more than solid memories—Bron’s eyes and lips, a glowing stone, the sound of laughter, and dizziness, so much dizziness. What was she now doing in the mountains? She should be by the festival grounds, or on the ship heading away from this planet.
“This is all wrong. I’m not supposed to be here.” She looked at his confused expression, stepping away from him. “I need to speak to the king. I need to get back to the Galaxy Brides’ ship—oh, no, the ship! I missed the ship.”
Aeron looked at the sky, but only saw the narrow streaks of clouds in the green tinted heavens. Undoubtedly her sister had gotten back on the luxury craft without her. Riona would have been stupid not to. There was no telling how Aeron would get off the planet now. The travel arrangements we
re Riona’s specialty. What did Aeron know of making shady deals with space captains and pirates? For who else would give a ride to a Federation analyst who had abandoned her commission and would most likely have a galactic report issued on her name? Federation protocol when they located her abandoned ship would have been to issue a watch for her. She doubted she warranted much of a capture reward, not like a field agent gone rogue, but she did have knowledge of sensitive intergalactic information. She was sure she could work out her job situation with her supervisors when she returned. It would be a mar on her record and there would be quite a bit of explaining to do, but in a few years’ time, life would be back to normal. Either that, or they’d no longer require her services and she’d be exiled to some dive fuel docking station as a landing control technician.
“Did you leave something behind? Whatever it is, I will have it replaced for you.” Bron made no move to touch her and she was glad for it. “You will want for nothing.”
“You speak as if you expect me to stay here with you.” A strong breeze came up behind her, sending a chill over her as it molded her long gown to the back of her body. She lifted her arm to keep the hair from her face.
“Of course you will stay with me. You are my wife.” His entire body tensed.
“Wife?” She shook her head in denial. “No, that can’t be.”
His expression dared to disagree.
“I’ve made a mess of this, haven’t I? I wasn’t supposed to get married. Maybe I drank too much wine?” She frowned, trying to figure out her situation more than talking to him. “Regardless, I don’t think it is wise to continue on. It is better to stop matters right now, instead of letting it drag on unnecessarily.” She turned her full attention to him. “I apologize for not making my position clear during the ceremony. I have no excuse for what I have allowed to happen. But, now, I am thinking clearly and I need you to understand that I cannot stay here, with you, as your wife.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way, but your leaving is not an option.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You are my wife, decreed by the gods to be so, and—”
“Wait.” She held up her hand, stopping him. Memories of a conversation began to clear. “We did discuss this. You said if I did the ceremony we’d talk about getting me back to my home. I did my part.” She mimicked his pose, not liking his heavy-handed tone.
“We are discussing it and your home is my home.” Bron dropped his arms and motioned to the animal. “Now that you understand clearly that you are my wife and that you will live with me, we may discuss the ore or whatever else you like.”
“This is not a discussion,” she countered. “You are dictating to me.”
“We will be at the cabin soon. Come.” He turned his back on her. “After we are settled, you may ask your questions about the ore.”
“No.” She refused to move. If he thought she was going to just listen to his orders like some soldier in his personal army, he was sorely mistaken.
“Aeron,” he paused, softening his tone. “My lady, come. We cannot stand out here all day. I would sleep and bathe. It has been a long ceremony and neither of us is of the temperament to—”
“No.” She shook her head, keeping her arms locked across her chest. “I refuse to go with you. You go sleep, and bathe, and find your temperament. I’m going back to the palace. I’ll talk to the king and get this marriage terminated. After I tell him why I have come to this planet, I’m sure it will be easily done.”
At that a small smile lifted the corner of his mouth. Blast it all, but he was a handsome man. Her scowl deepened.
“And you know the way back to the palace?” He arched a brow in challenge. Now that she studied him there was something to his demeanor, a familiar arrogance that came with the promotion of rank. Whatever he did, this man had power and respect. The knowledge made her nervous, like when she had to face a Federation Military officer or one of the Human Intelligence Agency directors. She hated giving her reports for that very reason.
“I’ll manage,” she said, not as forceful as before.
“Without a ceffyl? By foot? You have knowledge of our wilderness?” His expression only grew more confident.
“You are… This is…” She hesitated, looking around the rough terrain wondering if she had the courage to manage it alone. “This is kidnapping.”
At that he laughed. “You agreed to marry me. I cannot kidnap my own wife.”
“Well, it’s a wifenapping, or some kind of napping,” she countered. “My sister will contact the authorities if I’m not returned to the palace.”
He appeared completely unconcerned. “Galaxy Brides? They assured us your contracts were in order. You contracted to be a bride, I chose you, you chose me, it is done.”
Blast!
He was right. Riona had forged contracts in her name to be a bride. She thought briefly about turning her sister in, but then, it would be hard to prove when she had taken the ride on the Galaxy Brides’ ship. And, no matter how frustrating Riona could be, Aeron would never get her into legal trouble. Riona had been doing her a favor.
“No,” she countered, “the Federation Military.”
“They have no jurisdiction here,” he dismissed, completely unmoved by her threats. If anything, he seemed slightly amused by them.
“But they do over me,” she answered. “I work for them. It’s my job. They’ll miss me if I don’t return. They probably have someone coming to find me even now.”
“Perhaps, but they have no jurisdiction on this planet, and they won’t wish to compromise their ore deliveries by creating an incident. We have dealt with the Federation in the past. Our negotiations with them are clear. They need what we have too much to risk upsetting us.” He motioned her to follow. “Come. The cabin is close and will be stocked with food.”
Aeron considered her options but still didn’t want to follow him. Aside from his highhanded manners, she didn’t sense danger in him. In fact, if their night of passion was anything to go by, he was more in danger from her. Just thinking of it made her want to touch him again. She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. There was really no reason why she shouldn’t. The damage had been done.
Bron sighed. “If we went back to the palace, there wouldn’t be another ship for quite some time. Even if I was inclined to let you go, there is nowhere for you to go. The king is celebrating the marriages of his four sons. He will expect us to have given the marriage a solid try before he would even consider dissolving it. You are recognized as my wife, so it falls to me to take care of you. No one will take you in. You will have no place to live but with me.”
“Why would the king care about your marriage?” she asked, wishing the details of what had happened were clearer. Instead her mind gave her images of sex with Bron, glowing crystals and the feeling of being completely under his spell.
“He is my uncle,” Bron said. His eyes narrowed. “So you see, our marriage is not so easy to terminate. The king will not go against the will of the gods, nor will my uncle go against my desire to have a wife. We have the customs for a reason, to be sure we understand the will of the gods. The crystal glows, a woman freely removes the mask, signifying her acceptance, the couple show intent before the council of elders by breaking the crystal. Once the crystal is broken, the binding cannot be easily undone.”
A flash of memory filtered through her mind. She frowned, rubbing her temple. She remembered meeting the king. He’d been a stern man of very little humor. In fact… “The king drugged me, didn’t he? I remember the king doing something to me when I tried to talk to him.”
“It’s a plant that grows in the forest. When a person breathes in a high dose of the fresh pollen, it renders them unconscious. Even small children know not to fall down in the yellow fields,” he explained. “It is not dangerous in small doses, so long as your enemy is not nearby. The king only wished to help you relax. You were, ah, showing your agreement to the marriage quite enthusiastically.”
Aeron
remembered just how enthusiastic she had been. Considering her situation, she wasn’t left with much choice. The king had drugged her when she tried to speak. Galaxy Brides had no incentive to come for her, and the Federation would probably do little to help her, especially when she’d disregarded their order when they told her not to worry about warning the Qurilixian people.
“Fine. I will go with you to the cabin, but only because I have no choice at the moment. This conversation is not over.” She began to walk, not wanting to crawl back on top of the large ceffyl beast. Though she intended to let the matter be, she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “And I asked you if the mask could be removed without signifying marriage and you indicated it could.”
“It could,” he affirmed warily. “Eventually.”
“So you admit you tried to trick me into removing your mask?”
“I did not trick you. You asked. I answered. Should the night have passed, I could have removed my mask by my own hand after the dawn and we would not be married.” He paused, grabbing the ceffyl by the horn and tugging gently to get it to walk. “You removed it before. The marriage is done, Aeron, and you are my wife. The matter has been discussed at length. Let us speak of the ceremony no more.”
Aeron frowned at his back. She considered running. But to where? Who would help her? The Draig king had drugged her. Galaxy Brides was on their way back to whichever spaceport they came from. Riona was undoubtedly with them having a great laugh about Aeron’s marriage to a primitive male on the edge of nowhere.
A hollow feeling formed in the pit of her stomach. She was trapped. Here. On this primitive planet about to be attacked by the much more advanced Tyoe with a man who did not love her, could not love her. They had just met. Logically, his interest in her was purely procreational. Oh, and even better, Bron seemed to have the impression that he could dictate to her exactly what she would and would not talk about.
His Highness the Duke Page 7