Claimed & Seduced

by Shelley Munro

  She was a miracle. Most women of his acquaintance would have run screaming in the opposite direction. He grinned. His woman carried a knife and a blaster.

  “This way.” He gripped her arm and squeezed. “Try and hide your face from Ellard. I don’t want him to see the bird. The soot isn’t sticking.” Grata, if his parents saw her face, they’d have a fit.

  “Once we get to the castle I’ll slap a healing plaster over it and tell everyone I hurt it when we crashed. We have more important things to worry about.”

  Pride filled Jarlath, and he wanted to tell her how great she was, how he’d prefer to face this situation with her rather than anyone else. He didn’t. Instead he upped his pace and led the way, only pausing to dodge opportunistic men roaming the streets. Finally, the castle gardens came into sight.

  Jarlath slowed, frowned. “There should be guards on all the entrances. I can’t see a single one.”

  “They can’t all be trapped inside.”

  “How the devil could they let that happen?” Jarlath didn’t understand. The magical trap imprisoned Ellard too, which didn’t make sense. “Why were the guards at the castle instead of out on the streets? Ellard said rioting went throughout the night.”

  “Something to find out,” Keira said.

  Jarlath led the way through the gate and into the royal garden. Someone had ripped plants from the beds, tossing them left and right. The fishpond was a weird yellow color. His mother’s precious purple fish from the planet Halibut were floating on the surface, baring their bellies in a macabre display of death.

  “Ugh,” Keira said. “They’re gonna honk soon.”

  “Shush, the culprits might still be skulking in the vicinity.” Needing her touch again, he took Keira’s hand and tugged her down a side path into the part of the garden where he and Ellard practiced with their weapons. “This way.”

  “Can you hear that low whine?” Keira whispered.

  “Yeah. It seems to come from the castle. That’s the entrance now. I’ll com Ellard and tell him to meet us.” He pushed a button. “We’re almost at the entrance.”

  “Be there in a few.” Ellard disconnected the call.

  Stress weaved through Ellard’s voice, and Jarlath frowned. Ellard was always calm and faced everything lobbed his way without flinching. Fear slithered in Jarlath’s belly and his feline snarled, echoing his uneasy instincts.

  “If the Cawdor leader is responsible, I don’t know how he managed to get such a powerful spell. This is the work of more than one wizard. If he’s responsible, he’s been planning this attack for some time.”

  “I know. We should have noticed.” Jarlath halted in front of an unobtrusive door. This was magical, and he’d been wrong to suspect Keira of duplicity when she hadn’t put a foot wrong. They should have recruited their own wizards instead of running them all off Viros during the magical purges. “Do you know about the magical purges? No? Before I was born, those with magical powers were forced to leave Viros. The ruling felines at the time worried the wizards were becoming too powerful. There was a lot of posturing and speculation. They feared civil unrest and made a preemptive strike. My father has left the law standing, although there are a few businesses that sell charms now. I’m thinking they made a big mistake and should have come up with a different solution. Hindsight.” He shrugged. “This is it.”

  If their attackers didn’t come from the House of Cawdor… He couldn’t think of anyone else… No. It had to be from Gramite because of the crow shape in the sky.

  Jarlath caught Keira’s worried expression and winced at the sight of her new crow tattoo.

  “The Cawdor leaders have always been sneaky.”

  “You don’t like them.” Keira’s thoughts shadowed his.

  “I told you before. Besides I heard what Ellard said. If Xavier is gone, then Razvan would grasp the opportunity to step into his place. I could see him attacking in this manner. He’s sneaky and clever with it. Never trust his word. Never.” She frowned at the door and couldn’t see a barrier. “There must be some way through.”

  Jarlath grasped her wrist. “Don’t touch it. Not until Ellard is able to tell us more.”

  “It’s calling to me,” Keira said, and she stretched out her hand.

  “Don’t touch,” Ellard shouted. “Two of our soldiers have died after contact with the barrier. It stops the heart.”

  “At least we can hear him.” Keira cocked her head. “Really, I need to touch.”

  “No,” Jarlath snapped, but she reached out and made contact before he could snatch her hand away.

  The instant her fingers connected the invisible barrier turned solid. The door came into sight and Keira twisted the knob. It opened and she stepped through.

  Jarlath jumped through after her, and the door clicked shut and vanished.

  “How did you do that? What the fukk?” Ellard’s weapon cleared his holster and jabbed her in the chest seconds later. “Move away from the prince.”

  Jarlath shoved the weapon away and stepped in front of Keira. He snarled at Ellard, his canines bursting into prominence. “Don’t pull your weapon on Keira. Step away.”

  Ellard ignored the order. “She wears the mark of the crow,” he spat. “She’s part of this plan to take over Viros.”

  “Keira is a Virosian citizen and has lived here since her marriage. She hasn’t done anything wrong,” Jarlath said.

  “She’s dazzled you, put you under a spell.”

  Jarlath knocked Ellard’s weapon out of the way again. “Are you listening to yourself? Keira opened the barrier. You can get out now, plan a counter attack or at least stop the violence in the lower city. Why are the soldiers locked inside the castle? You can’t tell me they were all required here. Why weren’t they out in the city?”

  Ellard stiffened, his expression going hard. “My father ordered the soldiers to protect the king and queen. You too. You’re the royal family and must be protected.” He didn’t take his focus off Keira.

  A laugh of disbelief burst from Jarlath. “One or two soldiers would suffice to protect my parents. The entire squad was unnecessary.”

  “It is not my duty to question—”

  Keira darted around him and snapped her fingers in front of Ellard’s stubborn face. He blinked at her in shock. “Confess. It was a bad decision and you know it.”

  Jarlath bit back his laugh and drew her against his side. He kissed her right on top her tattooed cheek.

  “You slept with her,” Ellard said, his tone accusatory.

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but I intend to share her bed tonight and every other night in the foreseeable future.”

  “I wager your parents don’t know,” Ellard shot back.

  Anger unfurled in Jarlath, propelled by his spitting feline. He had his hands at Ellard’s throat and was shaking him and baring his teeth in fury before the thought formed.

  “Jarlath, release him.” Keira’s soft voice pierced the red mist fogging his mind. Her touch on his shoulder eased his fury. “Let him go.”

  Jarlath thrust Ellard away, pushing so hard his friend fell on his butt. Ellard’s weapon clattered to the floor. “Apologize.”

  Ellard scrambled for his weapon, his glare on Keira the entire time.

  “Apologize,” Jarlath gritted out and took two warning steps toward his friend.

  “Sorry.” Ellard’s tone and expression said the opposite, but Keira grabbed Jarlath and halted his attack.

  “Leave it,” she said. “We have more important things to deal with right now.”

  Jarlath forced himself to relax. His teeth clicked into hiding, but his claws remained prominent. He sucked in a deep breath then another. She was right. “We’ll see if we can help the soldiers to exit the castle. Do you mind helping, Keira?”

  “I’ll help if I can.”

  Jarlath placed his hands on her shoulders and tipped up her chin. “Thank you.” He smoothed his thumb over the tattoo of the black crow on her cheek. It was cute,
but he knew the Cawdor mark would cause suspicion. “Cover this up before anyone else sees it and jumps to conclusions.”

  Ellard snorted but wisely remained silent.

  “We’ll try the main entrance,” Jarlath said. “I’d like to keep this exit private in case we need an escape route at a later date. Has anyone missed me?”

  “No. They think you’ve remained in your suite.”

  “Cowered,” Jarlath said in disgust. None of them knew him, and the idea they thought him capable of hiding in safety while others were in danger rankled.

  Keira squeezed his arm. “Put a cover on my cheek, and we’ll get started.”

  He and Keira followed Ellard through the narrow passages until they reached the servants’ quarters and the two kitchens. Last time he’d walked this way, they’d needed to dodge servants and the clang of pots and voices filled the air, but now the hall echoed with their rapid footsteps. They found a medical box, covered her tattoo and tended the worst of his wounds before hurrying onward. Not a voice sounded as they hurried past the kitchens, but when they neared the main hall, he started to hear evidence of the residents.

  “My father suggested everyone stay at a central point for safety,” Ellard said. “The servants are in there and the soldiers, the senior officials, those of high-ranking families and your parents are in the main hall.”

  “Yet they left me in my suite,” Jarlath said.

  “I told them you were safe there, and it wasn’t a good idea for the king and the heir to shelter in the same room.”

  “Good thinking,” Jarlath said, even though the statement irritated him afresh. He wasn’t a coward, although it might appear this way to the people of Viros. To them he was the dutiful prince who attended social functions and hid in the castle at the first sign of trouble.

  The chatter in the main hall fell silent when they entered. The scent of kafe and breakfast pastries told him his parents were treating this like a summer camp—a mere inconvenience and something to laugh about later once things returned to normal.

  He watched his mother, his father until the silence alerted them to his arrival. He bowed stiffly, the gesture one of reflex.

  “Jarlath, I thought Ellard said it was safer for you to—what on Viros are you wearing?” his mother demanded. “You look like a commoner. Go and change right now. I won’t have you dressed like a low-class male while in my presence.”

  Jarlath stood his ground. The city was under siege and his parents worried about appearances?

  “Who is this woman?” his mother asked.

  Jarlath drew Keira against his side, felt the tremor that sped through her limbs, but she didn’t recoil. Pride suffused him as she stood tall.

  “Keira Cloud, my mother Queen Bryna and my father King Hazan.”

  “Cloud? The woman accused of murder?” Queen Bryna asked.

  Keira’s chin lifted, and Jarlath couldn’t have been prouder. Neither did she try to defend herself, despite the accusation and the flurry of whispers at the queen’s words.

  “What are you doing with the prince?” His father’s gaze went from him to Keira and back. It was obvious from his expression he came up with a conclusion, and while it was right, his parents’ attitude irked him.

  Ellard stepped into the fray. “We’ve found a way out of the castle.” He directed his words to his father and studied the mass of soldiers. “We need soldiers out on the street to stop the rioting and looting. We’ll need all of you. Meet me at the front entrance.”

  “Wait!” Danion Tetsu, Ellard’s father and security head, shouted. “We require top security here in the castle. The soldiers must remain in case our enemy decides to strike against us here. The most important thing is to keep the king, the queen and the heir safe. Stay.”

  Jarlath cursed under his breath. In other words, they wanted to save their own skins. He’d noticed several of the upper class, cups of kafe in hand. Most of the women on his perspective wife list stood with their parents.

  Disgust swirled in his gut as he returned his attention to Ellard. “I’m not staying here and neither is Keira. You do what you want, but we’re going into the lower city.”

  Keira studied him with approval—a balm to his mental unrest and confirmation he was making the right decision.

  “Why?” Ellard demanded.

  “I need to check on the people, find some way to stop this attack. We can’t do that without knowledge, and we won’t find it here.”

  Ellard’s shoulders slumped for a sec before he nodded in acceptance. “Let me talk to Father, persuade him we need a force outside the castle.”

  “Five mins,” Keira said. “I want to find a magic shop and purchase some protection spells.”

  “You let her speak for you, Jarlath?” his mother scoffed. “I taught you better. Return to your suite and spend time perusing the list of prospective wives I gave you. Several are here.” She gestured at the nearest woman, a beauty with a leopard tattoo defined on her cheek and marking her as unmated. “You can speak with them, learn if you will suit. And change your clothes. The next time I see you present yourself in proper attire.”

  “Prince Jarlath,” Ellard said. “Perhaps you will wait for me in your suite. I will report to you there momentarily.”

  “All right,” Jarlath said while he struggled to stuff down his words of protest. He caught Keira’s arm and tugged her with him.

  “She can stay with the servants in the other room,” his mother ordered. “There’s no need to give a woman of her reputation ideas above her station.”

  “I heard she killed her husband and slept with the judge to get off the charges,” a haughty voice called out.

  “It’s true,” another woman said. “I heard it from the prosecutor’s wife.”

  “She’s stolen the Cloud inheritance,” a male voice added his opinion.

  “Ran them off the farm at blaster point,” someone else said.

  “That’s enough,” Jarlath thundered. “There will be no more dispersions against Keira’s character in my hearing.” Militant silence fell, and he urged Keira to the door. “We’ll grab a few things from my suite and wait for you at the front entrance,” he told Ellard. “I don’t want to spend more time here than necessary.”

  The sec they stepped from the great hall, voices burst into a discordant chatter. Insults grew louder and more disturbing, and Jarlath knew Keira heard each word dagger thrust her way.

  “Don’t let them get to you,” he murmured and rubbed her back. He wasn’t sure if the action was more for him or her, but the physical contact seemed to soothe them both.

  “But it’s all true,” Keira said.

  “You slept with a judge?”

  “No! Not that. The other things. I fired a blaster at Marcus’s children.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I was angry. Marcus was sick for a long time. He wanted to see his children before he died but they refused his summons. They didn’t visit the farm until after his death when they thought they’d receive everything Marcus owned. They showed little concern while he was alive yet professed their love and outrage once he died. I understood they didn’t approve of me, but surely they could have put their ire aside for one visit? Marcus died thinking his family didn’t care about him and that angered me.”

  “I know, sweetheart. You know the truth. Don’t let them get to you. Come to my rooms with me, and we’ll grab more weapons and supplies.”

  In his suite, Jarlath packed a bag and used Lynx’s code to replicate another set of clothes. “Grab some snacks from the chillbox. We might have need of them if we can’t get back to the farm.”

  Keira opened the chillbox. “What are we going to do for transport?”

  “We’ll find another flymo or something faster in the castle garage or as a last resort we can take my cambeest from the stables.”

  Ellard clattered into his rooms, interrupting their packing. “You’re really going out there?”

  Jarlath closed his bag and straig
htened. “I can’t stay here and do nothing while someone threatens our city.”

  “You might as well admit what we all sense,” Keira said in her usual straightforward manner. “That was a crow projected up in the sky. The House of Cawdor is declaring war.”

  Chapter Nine

  Keira noticed neither of the men argued and her gut twisted. Jarlath hadn’t mentioned anything but now that the crow tattoo had formed on her cheek, he must wonder if she had a part in the attacks. Ellard certainly did, if his glowers were any indication.

  She spoke before Ellard could spit poisonous suppositions. “I have nothing to do with this. I hate Razvan.”

  “What do you know of Razvan?” Ellard asked.

  Fodo crap. She sucked in a swift breath and prepared to lie through her teeth. “Not much. Just that he’s unpredictable.” Keira couldn’t look at Jarlath. Maybe she should tell them about Razvan appearing in the flames. She hesitated. No, it would only increase their distrust. She’d make damn sure she didn’t stand near a fire in the future. Razvan wouldn’t surprise her a second time.

  “How?” Ellard persisted. “How do you know he’s unpredictable? Have you met him?”

  “Before my marriage. I haven’t seen him since.”

  “This is wasting time,” Jarlath said. “We should start restoring order. Find a way to stop this attack. Information is the key to beating our enemy.”

  “I haven’t managed to contact the lower guard station,” Ellard said. “We have fifty men stationed down there, and they’ll be a big help in restoring order.” He trailed off, anxiety taking over. “Mareeka is there. I want…need to make sure she’s okay.”

  “You didn’t tell me your girl is a soldier,” Jarlath said.

  “I’ve told you now,” Ellard said. “Move. Don’t stand here gossiping.”

  Ellard clomped down the stairs and Jarlath followed. Keira trailed the two males, and tried not to let her impressions of the beautiful surroundings overwhelm her. She’d never visited the House of Cawdor’s aerie fortress, but her mother had told her of the balls she’d attended and raved about the sky views. Their house—the one provided by Xavier Cronan was big and roomie, full of valuable carpets and paintings and other gifts, but this—the House of the Cat castle rated a dozen levels above her mother’s abode.