by J. C. Owens
Emperor Demarin had never married. Both Taldan and Zaran had been born from a favorite concubine in his harem. In fact, there had never been an empress in the history of Anrodnes. The emperors ruled alone.
There had only been their bondmates, their Chosen. Some were famous, their loyalty and love for their emperor things of legend and song. Some had faded away into history as mere footnotes, nothing truly known of their life or their relationship with the one they had been essentially forced to bond with.
Naral had a difficult time imagining anyone at Taldan’s side. He was so self-sufficient. So remote. There were a select few that he allowed close. Beyond them, his world was closed off. Beyond the borders of the capital, Persis, few had ever seen him. When he became emperor, portraits would be sent to every city, every major town, to display the new ruler. Taldan himself did not travel beyond the city limits, and Naral had always been concerned by that fact.
It was not that Taldan was uninformed of what occurred elsewhere. He had a network of informants that traveled the vast reaches of Anrodnes constantly, keeping fingers on the pulse of the country. Naral just felt like his friend had never truly lived. He existed in a world of learning and theory, experimentation and discovery.
It was not life. The imperial heir had never traveled to the ocean, seen the waves in a storm, felt the power and been awed by its terrible beauty. He had never seen the mountains, or pitted his strength against their slopes, arriving breathless and triumphant upon their peak and staring down at the world beneath as though he were more than mortal.
He had not gone swimming in the beautiful lakes of their region, cool water sliding over his skin, a relief from the summer heat. He had never scuffed through the leaves of autumn, reveling in the color and sheer variety of shades and shapes.
Naral shook his head ruefully. His friend had studied samples of every tree in existence, knew more about them than any forester, yet he did not understand the greatness of them, had never experienced a forest, it’s cool, mysterious depths and the sense of life and age it exuded.
Before he became emperor, Demarin had known every inch of Anrodnes, had fought in battles in his father’s name. He had experienced a great deal before the day when he was crowned, and his freedoms ended.
No one knew the origins of the tradition, but now, in respect to safety, once made emperor, a man never left the capital again. Like a spider in the middle of a vast web, he was expected to rule from Persis.
Naral had never understood it. Never wanted to. Such a life of constriction seemed more like a prison sentence than a sign of power.
Taldan took the role of imperial prince to such extremes that he was already imprisoned, as though he had become emperor long before his time. It was difficult to watch, difficult to accept. Naral had spent half his life trying to persuade Taldan into experiences, but the prince held no interest in the outside world.
Time was running out. Naral knew that the day of the crowning ceremony would be the end of all hope for Taldan to ever be free. Just once, he wanted his friend to travel with him, see the wonders that lay beyond the rigid, human made constructs of Persis.
Perhaps the right bondmate might aid the cause, be a new voice in Naral’s quest. They would have to be strong, confident, with the life experience to balance Taldan’s lack. That person could not be Raine Yoldis. With his background of abuse and gentle nature, Taldan would run roughshod over him, without anything of respect.
There were several better prospects to be had, and he was impatient for the following week when the twelve would be narrowed to the six. Then Taldan could begin to spend time with each one, make his own decisions. There was a prince from Sarna, possessing an ancient bloodline to rival Taldan’s own, along with an impressive intelligence. A bard of considerable fame, whose sexual nature and ability to see the world with such clarity just might bring Taldan to do the same. The heir to a shipping dynasty, who had traveled the world, holding the ability to captain any vessel of his father’s vast fleet. He had the worldliness, a wealthy enough background to feel comfortable amid the empire’s elite, along with an amusing and lively personality.
Those four he felt the most confidence in.
More than anything, he wanted Taldan to find someone to hold his heart, for him to understand what love was, when he had never encountered it from his father and the frozen, expressionless mask he always wore. Those who had raised the imperial heir had been ordered to give him no affection in order to “toughen” him up. Cold, emotionless logic had been praised above all else, certainly above love and friendship. It had worked, despite all Naral had secretly done to counter it. It worked so well that Taldan was not complete, a shell of humanity.
All that intelligence, power, personality, molded into something almost inhuman. A machine of productivity.
A perfect emperor perhaps, but never a whole man.
Naral wanted more for him. Wanted more for Zaran as well. Zaran, he had high hopes for. As the second prince, he would be the voice of the emperor once his brother gained the throne. Then Naral would ensure that Zaran truly lived. The younger prince had been confined here in the capital city, kept safe, in case his brother never made it to the throne, but now, now he had a chance to move beyond this gilded prison.
If he could not save Taldan, then he would at least damn well see Zaran free.
He thanked every god in existence for his own childhood, secure, loving, safe. It was the foundation that kept him sane in the viper’s nest of the court. He knew what the reality was beyond the ornamental gates of the city, having come from the far north, his father ruling the northern territories in the emperor’s name. He was the closest confidante of Emperor Demarin, having fought beside him when Demarin had been the imperial prince. They had formed a lasting accord that Naral personally thought seemed more like an unbreakable friendship, though Demarin would certainly never vocalize that thought, perhaps couldn’t even understand the concept.
Naral’s father, General Rhodnar, had always been a generous, outspoken, intense man, and he loved his three sons and two daughters with that same intensity. His mother, tiny, ruling the household with effortless ease, did not spare discipline but followed it with gentle advice and loads of love. Naral admired both of them, and after having come to court when he was fourteen and meeting Taldan as a potential companion, he had realized how very fortunate he had been in his parents.
He only wished the same for his two princes.
Taldan spoke, pulling Naral out of his worried thoughts. “I told Isnay to make sure Raine is one of the six,” Taldan mentioned absently, signing his name with a flourish and wiping the quill down with careful strokes.
Naral’s head jerked up. That was exactly what he had been waiting to ask about. He had imagined that they would be waiting until the following week so that they could legitimately send both Parsul and Raine back to their country, tails between their legs.
He wanted both of them gone.
“But…”
“I think that, in the end, I will invite Raine to remain here and study. He seems an intelligent young man, and given his background, would no doubt be grateful for the reprieve from his family. In the future, perhaps I will make him someone of importance in Odenar, perhaps even governor there in Lord Parsul’s place. His gratitude could be of use in creating unbreakable loyalty and binding the territory closer to Anrodnes.”
“You are not considering Lord Raine as a Chosen then?”
Taldan frowned and leaned back in his chair, seriously pondering the matter for some time. “At this point, no. That could change after I spend time with him, but he seems too tentative for my liking.”
Naral relaxed. It seemed his choices had hit the mark of what Taldan might seek in a bondmate.
Prince Zaran had been correct in his own assessments, and together, they had already come to know which three would be the final candidates. It seemed like this Choosing might finally be brought to a satisfying conclusion, without any further con
fusions and frustrations.
He hoped.
Then he could focus on the security issue that Odenar had presented. If necessary, he would travel there himself to see the situation, or at least send his most trusted men in his stead. Either way, this would swiftly be dealt with. Anrodnes did not hesitate to crush those that tried to disturb the order and peace that had been hard won.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Raine
Raine was so wonderstruck that he couldn’t even walk. He was standing in the grand bazaar of Persis. He had read about it, imagined it, but never dreamed that he would actually be here.
The smells—an array of foods and spices, the scents of the fish market, flower stalls, sweets, perfumes. The sounds—hawkers calling their wares, the shouts of delivery drivers maneuvering their carts through the tightly pressed crowd, the cacophony of voices of people going about their day, an array of languages most of which he had never heard before. The sights—brightly colored flags and pennons denoting the various grouped types of stalls, the wide array of ethnic clothing on the customers, vivid bolts of cloth for sale, vegetables and fruits that he could not name, fish he had never seen before.
It was wondrous and overwhelming. He wanted to see everything at once, wanted to wallow in this place that seemed to embody all the diversity and advancement that Anrodnes represented.
Isnay was patient, his small smiles and frequent explanations understanding and almost fond. This man he had known only a few days felt more like a friend than he had ever known. He did not scorn Raine for his peculiarities. He did not attempt to put him down as a newcomer, a stranger to the immensity of trade that happened in this massive city. Certainly Odenar had its own trade centers, but nothing like this, nothing that showcased so many ways of life and business, so many representatives of the many countries and ethnicities that comprised Anrodnes.
Odenar did not encourage strangers to settle within their borders. Here, it seemed everyone was welcomed, encouraged. There were so many conversations around him, several just in his vicinity in which the speakers were obviously not versed in each other’s language, yet were laughing at their mistakes and continuing to try. It was a complex mosaic of people and trade, with no visible borders of prejudice to hold them apart.
He wandered, with Isnay at his shoulder, watching in fascination, stopping to listen to foreign languages, their sounds strange and yet beautiful even though he could not understand a word of it. Skin colors ranging from the black of black down to heavily garbed people that gave occasional glimpses of faces that were pure, colorless white, so pale that he could see veins stand out beneath their skin.
He knew he looked like the bumpkin he was, standing staring, getting in people’s and occasionally a cart’s way.
Everything was so beautifully different from all he had ever known. For the first time, he was free of his heritage, free of Parsul. No one here seemed to know anything about Odenar, and he was thrilled with that fact. It gave him a clean slate that was heady, as though he could shed the past and become someone better.
They wove in and out of the crowd until Isnay stopped to buy them fresh fish wraps along with a handful of juicy dates. They sat on the edge of a massive fountain and people- watched, Isnay providing occasional commentary on anything that Raine didn’t understand.
Raine polished off the food in record time, hungry from the excitement and long walk. He watched as people frequented the same stall that Isnay had purchased the food from and watched as coins changed hands.
He froze as a realization struck him. At home, as a member of the ruling family, he didn’t travel much, and everything in the city surrounding his home meant that bills for purchases were simply sent to the family’s staff.
“I have no money here.” He straightened up, panic getting a foothold as he turned to face Isnay. “I cannot go to school. I cannot pay for anything. Dear gods, how foolish can I possibly be not to have realized this?”
Isnay laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. “If you are accepted to the college, your tuition will be free. That is one of the most important changes that the imperial prince has brought in. Free education for all.”
“But I have to live somewhere, pay my way. I don’t even know how to…” He drew in a sharp breath as he realized how completely unsuited he was to trying to make his way in a strange land with no family, no monetary support. His life till this point had rendered him untrained, knowing little of monetary matters. What in the world had he been thinking?
“Raine. Stop. Look at me.” Isnay grasped his shoulders and made him face him. “We will take this a day at a time. If you become the Chosen, all of this will be moot anyway. You will have your own pay in that position.”
Raine tried to control his panic. “We both know I am never going to be chosen, Isnay. I don’t suit the position at all, and there are far better candidates in the mix. Not to mention Lord Naral’s dislike of me. It won’t happen.”
“Look, you can stay with me for the duration, and I’m sure you can make yourself useful enough to earn your keep. It might not mean living the way you have been raised with, but it will be sufficient if you are not wildly spending.”
Raine stared at him, shocked into complete silence. Finally, he managed to find his voice enough to speak. “Why? Why would you take me into your own home? You hardly know me at all, Isnay. I could be a terrible person.”
Isnay burst out laughing. “The fact that you are even saying that points to the opposite. I believe you are a good man who has been in frankly appalling conditions for your whole life. If I can give you a chance, see you grow into who I think you could be, then I will have been well served.”
Raine blinked away tears and hesitantly touched Isnay’s hand that lay upon his shoulder. “You are the good man, Isnay, never doubt that. I will do anything I can to help you, to pay my way. I’m a decent scribe if nothing else. As for spending, I have never had much of a need for things.” He flushed a little. “Except perhaps for books.”
“Well, you have the entire library at your disposal.” He tilted his head and grinned. “If you became the Chosen, you would have access to the royal personal library, even if your husband didn’t let you view his private collection.”
Raine nearly drooled at the mere thought before shaking his head ruefully. “Not much chance of that. I believe I can make do with the wonders that exist in the main library. There is far more knowledge stored there than in all the libraries of Odenar combined.”
Isnay urged him to his feet. “I believe that your brother should be gone from Persis by now. We can return to the palace if you wish or continue on.”
Raine stood in silence, the reality washing over him in waves.
His brother was gone. On a ship bound home.
He sat back down abruptly, horrified to find tears rising.
“I’ve never been alone before. Never been allowed to be.” He stared at Isnay helplessly, feeling adrift and overwhelmed.
Isnay smiled, dark brown eyes warm and compassionate in a way that Raine had never encountered before. He was a nuisance, a disgrace, an embarrassment. People weren’t compassionate; they were impatient, cutting and often cruel.
How could a relative stranger care more than his own family?
Isnay squatted down in front of him. “We don’t have to fix everything today. One step at a time. I’ll guide you through this and in time, you will forget you were ever a stranger here.”
Raine drew a deep, quivering breath, shoring up his courage. This was unfamiliar, frankly terrifying now that reality had reared its ugly head, but he was strong. Had had to be. With Isnay and his own determination, he could find another path, be more than he had ever hoped for.
He nodded sharply and rose to his feet.
“I think I’d like to return to the palace, please. I have notes I would like to finish. Even if I don’t return to Odenar soon, I will surely return sometime, and my research could make a difference.”
Isnay grinned
and clapped his shoulder. “That’s the spirit.”
* * *
Taldan
The week wore on, and Taldan tried to ignore the nagging knowledge that the candidates would be once again cut down, this time to six. Then his own work would begin, and he had to fight back impatience. He couldn’t expect Zaran and Naral to make the final decision.
So he was trapped into continuing this useless farce when he had so much to do, so much to accomplish before his coronation. He had been groomed to be emperor since his birth, had studied every aspect of what such a title meant. He had spent time with each department of his father’s staff, learning from the top to the bottom what went into the role.
An emperor trusted no one. That had been drilled into him from his earliest memories. The emperor ruled alone. He expected those around them to be after their own interests, expected them to only be loyal to their own desires.
Yet was that true? His father might say that he trusted no one, might say that he ruled alone, but Taldan knew for a fact that he had those he listened to. His Chosen supported him implicitly.
He paused, considering the matter. Perhaps, in the end, having a bondmate, if chosen carefully, might aid him. They did not need to be close, but in a working context, there could be advantages.
He frowned, pulling a notebook toward him and beginning to compile a list. If he was going to be forced into this nonsense, then he was going to ensure that he picked the candidate most likely to be a useful member of his entourage.
He pulled out the notes that Naral and Zaran had compiled at the beginning, sorting out those that had red notes attached. These were the ones that they had recommended. For the first time, he felt compelled to glance through the other files, the ones of the twelve current candidates.
Taldan settled down before the fireplace, picking up his glass of wine and beginning to read.