The Consort (Tellaran Series)

by Ariel MacArran

  Utar swallowed and gave a nod.

  “You said that Sechon tried to kill Princess Saria,” High Priestess Celara reminded, looking deeply distressed. “Have you proof of that as well?”

  “Oh, I have proof all right.” Kyndan’s gaze narrowed on the elder. “I was banished on the charge I altered the records to hide that Tellarans murdered Princess Saria. And those records were altered—by you, Sechon. You were there when I asked Mezera for the sensor logs and in that moment I gave you the perfect opportunity to get rid of me. You diverted the records and altered them. I sent what I got—the altered copy with the ship’s energy echo erased—to Mezera with my findings,” he said with a nod to the war leader, who regarded him round-eyed. “And I can’t blame you for accusing me of treason, Mezera. I looked guilty as hell. But a treasonous consort was the perfect distraction to keep you—and anyone else—from discovering that Sechon was the one responsible for the sabotage of Princess Saria’s ship.”

  “Why would I harm Princess Saria?” Sechon demanded. “She is like my own daughter!”

  “She’s actually your grand-niece, isn’t she? You were once Second Imperial Daughter and High Priestess Celara was Third,” Kyndan said with a glance at that lady, frowning as she leaned on her jeweled cane. “Taking a place on the Council of Elders means you’re out of the running, Sechon, but through you, as Second, your eldest daughter, Helia, has the best claim to the throne.”

  “But Empress Azara has two daughters,” High Priestess Celara said with a frown. “The succession is assured.”

  “Oh, but it’s a lot less assured with only one heiress. The original plan was that Alari was going to Az-litha, not Saria—remember? Plans were already in the works to make Alari regent because of her mother’s illness.” Kyndan met the elder’s gaze. “I doubt you were going to tell Jazan that you intended to murder his new mate. I’ll bet too that when the time came you would see to it that Jazan wasn’t on-board that ship. You needed him as warlord and even with Alari dead Jazan would still hold that right, remaining in full control of the military until the new First Daughter—Saria—took a mate. Isn’t that right, Mezera?”

  “Yes,” Mezera said, with a frown at Sechon. “And you were very careful to remind me I was to hand over control to Jazan two days after he and Alari were mated, Elder.”

  “Well, yes! I wished the transition to go smoothly for Alari’s mate.” Sechon looked at Kyndan. “As I did for you, if you recall, Commander.”

  Kyndan snorted. “You know, at first I must have seemed like a gift from the gods to you, Elder. Alari’s disgraced by marrying me, out of the succession for sure with a Tellaran mate, and there’s no warlord to deal with. Even better, now there’s only Saria left, only one unmated daughter in your way.” He regarded Alari. “You’ve never been off Az-kye.”

  She frowned. “No. I was First and not permitted to go until I took a mate.”

  He looked at Saria. “But you were.”

  Saria blinked. “But I wanted to go!”

  “I’m sure you did,” Kyndan said. “And you might even have thought it was your idea to ask but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t.”

  “No, I—” Saria frowned and she sought the elder’s gaze. “No. You came to me the morning after Alari and Kyndan left the palace and suggested I might go in her stead. That if I asked, Her Majesty would allow it.”

  “Sechon said that I should,” the empress added slowly. “That it would do well for Saria to undertake her duties early if she was to become regent.”

  “And just like that, Sechon arranged for Saria to take her sister’s place on the sabotaged ship. Now,” Kyndan held up a hand. “Things went off course a bit when Alari was made regent instead of Helia after Saria disappeared. The empress herself told me she had been counseled not to restore Alari’s claim to the throne.” He glanced at the empress. “By Sechon, right?”

  The empress stared at Sechon. “You did counsel me so.”

  “Sister?” High Priestess Celara asked, her frown deepening.

  “It was I who begged Alari to become regent!” the elder exclaimed impatiently. “You were there yourselves!”

  “And by doing so,” Kyndan agreed sardonically, “you convinced everyone, including me, that you genuinely wanted Alari to take the throne.”

  “Of course I did! She is my regent.”

  “Right.” Kyndan’s nostrils flared. “So the empress is dying, Saria is dead, and Alari is shamed by her disgraced Tellaran consort, harried by rumors that her rule is cursed, rumors I’m sure you helped along. Not quite enough to push Alari off the throne—not yet. But with me banished by her own command, Alari is unmated and without a child of her own. Finally, your daughter Helia is within striking distance of the crown.”

  “This is absurd!” Sechon spat. “I have devoted my life to the service of the Empire.”

  “Frack, yeah.” Kyndan folded his arms. “Because your daughter, Helia, was supposed to rule it.”

  “Think you I could have managed such a wide-reaching plot?” Sechon asked. “It would be impossible!”

  “Alone, sure. But Jazan’s clan was already in your pocket. You suggested the empress add all those clan leaders when I arrived for the peace talks, to delay open trade and keep their smuggling business going. Besides, Helia wanted Alari’s crown for herself as much as you wanted it for her.” Kyndan smirked. “Oh, don’t worry, the Az’anti were proud to come to the aid of their regent and the Empress Azara. Helia is being held very securely at my sister’s clanhouse as we speak.”

  Sechon’s lips thinned.

  “So Alari’s rule is very shaky. She has to depend on you—her mother’s most trusted advisor. With Saria dead and me gone, you can finally maneuver Helia into being named to the succession, you know, just until Alari takes a new mate, has a child of her own. Not that you were ever going to let her live that long. And when Alari succumbs to the same mysterious illness her mother did, her heiress—your daughter—Helia would have been crowned empress.” Kyndan’s jaw clenched. “When I rescued Princess Saria, I also tracked down and captured the Tellaran smugglers you’ve been working with. Those smugglers have been providing you with qulcyne, a Tellaran poisonous compound that Az-kye healers would almost certainly mistake for an organic illness—one impossible to treat with Az-kye medicine.”

  “Poison?” Alari rounded on Sechon. “You poisoned my mother?”

  “She’s been poisoning both of you,” Kyndan said tightly. “Certainly couldn’t have you conceiving with me. This would keep you from getting with child too—until it killed you. Easy enough to explain away why you might feel ill, Alari, what with the strain of losing your sister, becoming regent, having your consort betray you. But you would have started getting much sicker as soon as your mother succumbed and you were crowned empress.”

  “How could she have poisoned us?” the empress asked. “Our food is prepared in the palace kitchens or by our own attendants. Are they all her creatures?”

  “The tea,” Alari breathed. “She gifts tea to so many—she even sent some when we were at the Az’anti clanhouse.” She frowned. “Could it be? She often drank it with me.”

  “But didn’t share the antidote chaser,” he said. “It’s a slow poison. She wanted both of you to look sick, to give the healers plenty of time to make their best efforts to curb suspicion. And as for proof, that compound will be in both your bloodstreams and in tea she gave you.”

  “But”—Alari sought his gaze—“Kyndan, you drank it too.”

  He gave a nod. “That’s why she had to get rid of me quickly. Mother and daughter suffering the same mysterious symptoms? That could happen. The empress and both of us? No, that’s way too suspicious.” He threw Sechon a cold smile. “You blundered there, Elder. I usually drink caf. I even had my father send more from the Sundragon when he came to Az-kye. I didn’t drink enough of the tea to get sick. I might never have caught on—if you hadn’t forced me away from Alari.”

  “You were my mother’s own si
ster!” the empress cried. “I thought you my friend!”

  “Yeah, I thought she was my friend too, Your Majesty. An Az-kye who could see me as an honorable man, even though I was Tellaran.” Kyndan’s smile was bitter. “You played me very well, Elder.”

  Sechon gave a faint smile. “Not well enough, it seems.” She glanced at Saria. “That Tellaran ship . . .was something I did not anticipate.”

  “Yeah, those Tellarans are always fracking things up, aren’t they?” Kyndan glanced to where other Tellarans bearing equipment had quietly gathered in the doorway. “Rescuing people you need dead.”

  Alari looked at her sister, whom Sechon intended to kill. Her mother who had suffered so greatly by the elder’s hand, the world and empire beyond that he had conquered though not with bloodthirsty cruelty. Perhaps he would be merciful to her people . . .

  She swallowed. “Commander—”

  “If this is about the ten creds, you can get it to me later. Over here!” He waved to the Tellarans in the doorway. “Your Majesty, these men are medtechs I’ve brought to treat you. I give you my word, they will do their best to heal the damage that poison has done.”

  “It is not too late then?” the empress asked shakily. “I might yet live?”

  One of the men already had a medscanner out and was checking the readings. “Before we start any kind of treatment I’d like to have her moved to someplace a little”—he took in the soaring throne room with wide eyes—“uh . . . quieter.”

  The empress hesitated. “What of my people?”

  Kyndan glanced at Alari. “I didn’t save the Az-kye from Sechon to see them destroyed.”

  Azara glanced at the elder, at the medtechs and her daughters. “I did not believe a Tellaran could ever show himself worthy . . . I was mistaken; you are indeed the equal of a warrior, Kyndan Maere.”

  He inclined his head. “Well, I’m sorry for believing what I did about you too. I’m glad it wasn’t true.”

  “Sir—” one of the medtechs prompted.

  “Right.” Kyndan stepped back as servants were summoned to carry the empress. He gave permission for Mezera, Saria and the high priestess to accompany her.

  The elder clasped her hands before her. “Had I known what you would bring us to, Alari, I would have thrown you to the rocks myself.” Sechon’s lip curled. “Imperial Regent Alari, last ruler of the Az-kye. She who let a great people be crushed beneath the boot of barbarian conquerors. Generations will curse your name.”

  “Hey, do me a favor, Utar.” Kyndan scooped up one of the swords Alari’s honor guard had dropped when stunned and tossed it to him. The warrior caught it deftly. “Get her”—with a dark look at Sechon—“out of my sight for a little while.”

  “Elder?” Utar indicated the door. With a final cold look, Sechon swept past them.

  Kyndan turned toward her and Alari lifted her chin. The silence of the soaring space echoed around them as they two, Tellaran and Az-kye, faced each other before the empty throne of a conquered Empire.

  “So, you have made me your slave after all,” Alari said at last.

  “Hardly,” Kyndan scoffed. “You’re Regent of the Az-kye Empire.”

  Alari sent a meaningful look at the wall of windows behind the throne, at the night sky above. “Your battleships surround my world, Commander. Sechon is right. I am a defeated ruler.”

  He threw a dismissive glance that way. “Once I’m sure the situation is stabilized here those battleships will be on their way back to Tellaran space.”

  Alari blinked. “You have conquered us.”

  “I did what I vowed to do in Lashima’s temple. I protected my mate.”

  Alari searched his face. “I do not understand.”

  “You would never have listened to me if I’d tried to warn you from Tellaran space and for Sechon to pull this off at all she had to have help. That meant you were here, surrounded by enemies and dependent on your worst enemy of all. You needed me, and the only way I could come back to the Imperial world was pry myself a way in with a Tellaran armada.”

  “Why would the Tellarans withdraw?” she demanded. “We are defeated.”

  Kyndan gave a short laugh. “Not defeated, more like stunned by a sucker punch. My lockout isn’t going to last forever and that’ll leave all those Tellaran ships smack in the middle of Imperial territory and surrounded by very, very angry Az-kye. Believe me, getting those cruisers here is a hell of a lot easier than keeping them here. It would cost oceans of Tellaran blood to hold this territory—if it even proved possible, which I doubt. But the Tellarans are getting something even better for their efforts.” Kyndan’s mouth quirked upward. “Soon the whole Empire will know exactly who just saved their collective butts from the traitors to the throne. There’s a lot to be said for the value of Az-kye obligation.”

  “So now we are in the Tellarans’ debt,” Alari said, her voice sharp.

  Kyndan folded his arms. “Yup.”

  “What will you have of us then?” Alari asked tightly. “Our servitude?”

  “Well, those peace accords I was originally sent here to get, for one. I convinced the Council that saving the rightful heirs and getting a treaty pushed through quickly would be a whole festering lot smarter than fighting a war against the pretenders. And they’re eager to open trade, of course.”

  “‘They’ are?”

  Kyndan raised his eyebrows. “In case you missed it, I just saved your throne. The empress just apologized to me. Restored my name, praised my honor, declared me as worthy as any warrior . . . for frack’s sake, Alari, weren’t you paying attention at all?”

  “But you—you said you wanted me off the throne.”

  “Well, hell, yeah.” In a swift move he caught her against him and gave her a quick smile. “How else am I gonna kiss you?”

  She saw a flash of blue eyes then his mouth was on hers, hot and demanding. She softened against him instantly, her arms going around his neck to return his kiss.

  When he broke away a little breathless, she searched his eyes.

  “I released you from our vows,” she said thickly, tears suddenly stinging her eyes as she drew away a little. “I was unbound. I thought—Were you not, Kyndan?”

  His face clouded. “Yes,” he said fiercely. “And the worst of it was that Sechon’s manipulations took you from me and there wasn’t a godsdamned thing I could do to stop it. I didn’t even realize what Sechon had done till I was out of Az-kye space. I left you alone, surrounded by enemies and completely unprotected because I was too blinded by worrying about being Az-kye or Tellaran. What I should have been concerned with was being the mate I promised to be, the one you deserved.”

  He touched his forehead to hers. “The mate I will be now. If you’ll have me, Alari.”

  Tears blurred her vision. “Of course I will have you.”

  “I miss what we had. I miss being bound to you but being unbound never changed how I feel, not for an instant.” Kyndan’s fingers whispered over the skin of her cheek. “I love you, Alari. All that matters to me is that we’re together.”

  “I love you too.” She closed her eyes briefly. “I never stopped loving you. Being unbound was torment.”

  His smile was rueful. “I know we can’t get back what we had. I know it won’t be the same, Alari, but we can still be married the Tellaran way.”

  Alari’s brow creased. “Then you do not wish to be mated the Az-kye way?”

  “Mated the—?” Kyndan went still. “Wait, you mean it’s possible for us to be bound again?”

  “Of course,” Alari said, surprised.

  His blue eyes were riveted. “Bound . . . the same way?”

  She could not help but laugh at his intent expression. “Yes, Kyndan.”

  On no one, Az-kye or Tellaran, had she ever seen a grin as wide as the one that now spread across Kyndan’s face.

  “Oh, Princess,” he said huskily, pulling her close again. “What are we waiting for?”

  The peace accord celebrations rivale
d even the festival of Ren’thar. The air was turning cooler but one would have thought it springtime for the excitement on the Imperial world.

  In the eastern park of the palace grounds, pavilions were set up, bright with streamers, their colors mingling in the breeze as Alari watched the guests, both Tellaran and Az-kye, stroll the grounds.

  “It is going very well,” Saria said, coming to join her. She looked over Alari’s lilac dress and shook her head. “I did not think to ever see you in colors.”

  “Nor I you,” Alari said with a nod at Saria’s crimson gown. “You may be the only First Daughter who has dressed so since the Xar dynasty.”

  “Yes, well I have your mate to thank for that,” Saria said, smiling. “But we all have much to thank your mate for.”

  Alari’s gaze went to where the empress stood talking with the Tellaran ambassador. “Do you think she was disappointed?”

  “When Kyndan named his reward? I think our mother would have your heart happy.” Saria giggled. “But I do think the court as equally scandalized by the new wearing of colors as they were to hear their former regent would now be a Tellaran artist.”

  “I will still be Az-kye,” Alari reminded. “And the Dethara Academy is one of the finest schools of art in Tellaran space.”

  Saria took her hand as she had when they were girls. “I will miss you.”

  “I will come home to visit as often as I can,” Alari said. “And I will be the artist I longed to be.”

  “You are still Second,” Saria reminded.

  Alari laughed and put her hand over her heart. “And I do beg you, Sister—choose a mate soon so I may be just an Imperial Daughter!”

  But Saria was not smiling now. Alari followed her eyes to see a warrior, his gaze hot on her sister for a moment before he turned away to speak to an older man.

  “Do you know that warrior?” Alari asked.