Chapter Nine
“You can’t be serious.” Camden gaped at his parents, torn between heartbreak and betrayal. “You can’t possibly believe that Sage planned this.”
Nikhil frowned at him, looking displeased. “Of course we can. Don’t you think it’s a strange coincidence that the first time he got out of Patala you were attacked by vampires? It’s more than clear that he got tired of staying here under lock and key and decided to escape.”
“And he enlisted vampires to assist him? He got shot because of this sudden need to escape?” Camden threw his hands up. “All-powerful Varuna, do you even hear yourself?”
Zaire fidgeted on the throne, as if he was uncomfortable for some reason. “Look, Camden, you don’t have to convince us to address this threat. Our people, your guards, have been taken prisoner. The vampires are clearly aware of the potential of naga blood. It’s a serious situation, which we will investigate regardless.”
“But my mate…” Camden rubbed his arms, shivering as his panic began to turn into a freezing cold. “Y–you have to help me,” he said, his teeth chattering. Shaking himself, he focused on the bond that still existed between him and Sage. He couldn’t afford to lose it, not now, not when Sage needed him. “We need to contact the draechen,” he added a little more steadily.
His parents shared a look, and although Camden didn’t know exactly what it meant, he didn’t like it. Finally, his mother left her throne and stepped to his side. “We’ll send someone to Draechenburg to notify the emperor,” she said. “Now go get some sleep. You look terrible.”
“I’m fine,” Camden said automatically. “Have our men found any trace of the vampires?”
“There’s nothing, child,” Nikhil answered. “And before you even suggest it, we won’t allow you to leave Patala. It seems obvious that, in spite of having samples of naga blood from the guards, they wanted you anyway. Likely, they realize your life essence is more powerful than that of normal naga.”
Camden didn’t want to hear that, and he really didn’t care. “I’m not afraid. I can’t just wait here for something to happen.”
“You can and you will.” Zaire got up as well, his voice like steel. “We won’t put you in danger again, and we’re not going to lose you like we did your brother. Listen to your mother, and remember, it’s what your mate would have wanted.”
“But he isn’t here now.” Camden shook his head, knowing further insistence on his part would be useless. “He sacrificed himself for us, and you’re still so eager to believe the worst of him.”
“We’ll find him, son,” Zaire said. “I promise you that. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Camden didn’t know if he believed his sire, but he nodded just the same. “With your permission, I’ll retreat to my quarters now. I don’t feel well.”
“Go.” His mother kissed his cheek, her eyes shining with concern. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“Thank you, no,” Camden answered, forcing a smile. “You have other priorities right now.”
Fortunately, they didn’t read his despair in his voice, and his fear that they would insist on keeping him company. He knew that they wouldn’t leave him unsupervised for long, not with the threat of the cold looming over him, so he needed to move quickly.
Bowing lowly, Camden left the throne room. Mercifully, he didn’t run into Talbot, something which seemed kind of a miracle given that the man had taken advantage of Sage’s absence to haunt Camden’s life like some sort of specter. If he hadn’t known any better, he’d have thought Talbot had something to do with the entire kidnapping thing.
Then again, he truly didn’t know. Perhaps Talbot truly was involved. From his experience in Draechenburg, Camden had learned that sometimes, the most obvious explanations proved to be correct. But even if that was the case, Camden had to play by the vampires’ rules now.
The nagas’ secret was out, but now, that had become his only weapon. To get his mate back, Camden would have to surrender himself to the vampires. If his mother had been correct in that his blood was very strong—possibly because of his twin’s demise—he would prove to be a temptation the vampires couldn’t resist. Of course, his parents would never agree to a plan that would involve him being bait, and Camden didn’t want to take any chances with his lover’s life. No, he had to give the vampires what they wanted and hope that after that, they’d let Sage go. Nothing, absolutely nothing was more important than Sage and their bond. Camden knew that now, and he knew that he’d been stupid to ever consider the rules of his people before Sage’s wishes. If he hadn’t… If he’d refused the date, they wouldn’t be here right now.
But it was too late for regrets. Finding resolve in his guilt and despair, Camden rushed to his room. Once there, he locked the door behind himself and hastened to put a small bag of supplies together. For his mate, he had to escape the place that had been his home his entire life. And he would do it, too, because there was no other way.
The guards didn’t question him when he left the room again. His pack was too small for it to be considered suspicious. It got harder after he left the royal wing, but Camden couldn’t exactly jump out the window. His best chance was to play it cool and look like he was on an important mission. He’d learned that people tended to leave him alone when they thought he was busy with some task from his parents.
It worked like a charm, far better than Camden had expected. Or, at least, it did until Camden exited the main palace. At that point, guards stopped him, shooting him an apologetic glance. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. By orders of Their Majesties, no one is allowed to leave the palace.”
Damn it. They always thought of everything. Well, Camden wouldn’t be deterred by his parents’ commands, not anymore. “I see,” he replied, turning on his heel and pretending to comply. When he had the soldiers off guard, he shot into action. Since they were in naga form, he couldn’t shove them to the ground just like that. But legs had their advantage as well, and as a prince, Camden had also benefited from some training.
Camden stepped on the tail of one of the guards, making him hiss in pain. He supported himself on the other naga’s shoulders and used his legs to kick the second guard. As the man fell, Camden landed on the other side of his first target and head butted him. The entire thing must have lasted maybe ten seconds, but it left the two soldiers dazed, fallen, and out of his way.
Naturally, there were other people around, and they had noticed, so Camden didn’t wait around for a reaction. Shouldering his bag, he opened the gates of the palace and fled into the city, disappearing into the crowd.
* * * *
Draechenburg, Germany
Elina Eretar pressed her hand to Hareem’s shoulder, offering him a seductive smile. “I’m so honored by your attention, Your Majesty. I was so worried that you’d send us away after that unfortunate incident.”
Hareem didn’t even bother to smile. Instead, he reached for his wine and took a sip of the drink. Why was he doing this again? Right, because his people needed an empress. Otherwise, their attention would fall onto Taryn, and he couldn’t allow that.
He felt like he was drowning in the void, with no way out, no hope and nothing to look forward to. His bond with Taryn was still in place, but the werewolf refused to listen to him, and had basically locked him out. Sometimes, Hareem still caught glimpses of what Taryn felt or did, whether he wanted to or not, and the pain and abandonment his mate experienced were like daggers piercing his heart.
In a way, it was why he’d picked Elina as his guest to dinner. Out of all the females at court, she was perhaps the ideal political match. She was Joyceropt Eretar’s niece, connected to the family of the treacherous noble, but not closest kin. This meant that marrying her would pacify some of the still-unsettled people in the draechen community. It wasn’t that Hareem planned to reward treachery, but this move would give him leverage over the draechen nobility and provide him with a female to give him heirs. And if he wanted to be perfectly honest, h
e didn’t want someone nice for an official mate. If he had, he’d have picked Lieutenant Zager’s sister, who was quite an outstanding woman. But Hanna deserved better than what he could offer. As Elina, or whoever married him would learn, Emperor Hareematek was barren inside, as cold as ice and as ruthless as winter itself.
“Lord Joyceropt’s actions were regrettable,” he finally said, “but life must go on. And I’d rather not talk about him now. As you’re aware, he’s been dealt with and won’t be a problem again.”
A flash of something akin to fear passed through Elina’s eyes. She did indeed know that Joyceropt was currently rotting in the Draechenburg dungeons and would likely never see the light of day again. However, her ambition was stronger than her loyalty toward her family. “Why don’t we talk about why you invited me here today?” she suggested.
This was it, the moment when he had to suggest them getting married. He didn’t plan of giving any explanations regarding Taryn, since he didn’t trust anyone outside his brother—and even that faith was shaky. His twin’s betrayal had hurt him more than he’d wanted to admit, as he’d always hoped that, in the end, she wouldn’t outright try to hurt him. But regardless, he had to explain his thought process to Elina, and to give her the details of what it would mean to be empress. Because his wife wouldn’t have the power his mother had been granted. She’d just be a figurehead, a tool for him to use. If Elina didn’t like that option, she could always refuse.
He knew Taryn was aware of his plan because of the pang of harsh sorrow that flowed through him. Unable to control himself, Hareem reached out to the werewolf. “Sweeting, I’m doing this for both of us,” he said. “It’s you I love.”
Taryn didn’t reply, but his emotions were answer enough. There was so much pain, self-loathing, misery and confusion that it almost choked Hareem. He physically shook himself, trying to get a grip, to go through with what needed to be done.
Focusing on Elina once again, Hareem opened his mouth to propose. Overlords, it was so stupid, a mockery of what a real mating should be like, but it had to happen anyway. Their laws demanded it.
He leashed his dragon, who protested against the wrongness of it, but the words simply refused to come. It was a huge relief when a knock sounded at the door, saving him from a situation he himself had created.
“Yes?” he called out, already sensing who was on the other side.
Karein slipped into the room and bowed. When they were in private, he never acted so formally. In fact, their relationship had become closer than before, and unexpectedly, Hareem had started to see Karein as the one person he truly cared for and had faith in, other than Taryn. He almost thought that Karein had interrupted the dinner on purpose, since he disagreed with Hareem’s decision to take an official mate.
As it turned out, he was wrong about that. “Your Imperial Majesty, I need a word in private with you,” Karein said. “A messenger has just arrived, and he requests your immediate attention.”
Hareem didn’t ask where the messenger had come from. Instead, he turned toward Elina and kissed her hand. “Duty calls, my lady. We’ll resume this conversation at a different time.”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” she answered, curtsying.
With a final smile thrown his way, Elina left his quarters. Hareem had the urge to say “good riddance,” but he had other priorities right now, other than his failure of a love life. Judging by Karein’s expression, whoever had visited didn’t bring good news.
“Well? What is it?” he asked his brother, waving him closer.
“We’ve just received an envoy from Patala,” Karein reported. “The naga have been attacked by vampires. Sage was taken prisoner, and Camden is missing. Apparently, he fled the palace to go look for his mate.”
For a few moments, Hareem didn’t speak. He had suspected something wasn’t right when Camden’s sire had attacked Sareltae and he’d tightened the guard to prevent any further interference in his affairs. He had hoped he was only being paranoid, but apparently not.
“They were here,” he told his brother, keeping a calm facade when, inside, he was screaming. “The vampires were here.”
“Probably, yes.” Karein’s voice was tight with leashed anger. “I have no idea how they eluded our senses, but it’s likely that, at one point, at least one bat breached Draechenburg. I apologize, my emperor. The fault is mine. I should have felt the intruder.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” Hareem replied, frustrated by the change in attitude. “It’s not your fault. Likely, only one vampire was ever here, and someone very powerful. He or she would have taken all the possible precautions to prepare for meeting with you. Not to mention that, at the time, you had other concerns.”
Karein frowned. “You shouldn’t be making excuses for my stupidity. I know I failed in my duties to protect Draechenburg.”
One thing was certain about Karein. He became impossibly stubborn when he thought he was right. “Look, that doesn’t matter right now,” he said. “You can self-flagellate for perceived failure later. Now, I need you to be at the top of your game. Where’s Rachen?”
Karein blinked at the non sequitur. “Last time I checked, he was loitering around the guest wing, keeping an eye on our sprite guest.”
It was probably a good thing that someone paid attention to Alwyn Cyraltin, because Hareem certainly didn’t. “Summon him, and bring the naga messenger here. We need to have a little conversation about how we’ll handle this.”
Karein slipped out of his quarters to fulfill the given command. Hareem got up and entered his balcony. The chilly air welcomed him, clearing his mind. As he gripped the railing, he reached out to Taryn once again, wanting to know that the werewolf was truly safe. Taryn didn’t reach back, but he was nonetheless there.
Forcing himself to focus on the matter at hand and not on how much he missed Taryn, Hareem gazed out into the distance. A part of him had expected this. The caste system was obsolete and couldn’t hope to control the shifter population, not without extreme measures which Hareem couldn’t in good conscience command. How could he weed out and imprison ninth caste members when his own mate was a werewolf? Naturally, the people closest to him, like Karein, understood, which was why the incursions of the Chrysalidian Wyverns had temporarily stopped. But this meant that those people out there who had just been waiting for draechen to slip up would take advantage of the chance. Chimeras belonged to that category, and so did vampires.
Outside, a knock sounded again. Hareem returned to his room and called out, “Enter.”
Three men stepped into his quarters, Karein leading the way, followed by his twin brother and a hooded man, presumably the naga messenger. He seemed familiar to Hareem, even if his garments masked his face and body. Only when they closed the door did the man remove his hood, and Hareem’s guess was confirmed as his eyes fell on Prince Arlen Isaiat.
“You surprise me, Your Highness,” he admitted. “I didn’t think naga royalty would ever set foot in Draechenburg again.”
“And we wouldn’t have,” Arlen replied, “but I firmly believe that the only way to help my brother now is by cooperating with you. While we have our own means to track Camden down, you are powerful in your own right and might possess information we don’t. My parents don’t trust you, but my sister and I insisted.”
“Fair enough,” Hareem answered, sitting back down on his couch. “Now, tell me. What exactly happened?”
“Camden and his draechen were out with another naga,” Arlen answered. “My parents have been pushing for Camden to take another mate, one belonging to our species, and Camden was looking into the possibility with an old friend of his.”
Hareem narrowed his eyes at the naga prince, already hating the beginning of this story. It was yet another thing he had expected, that Lieutenant Zager would be treated like a concubine, not a true mate. Sadly, it was the fault of Hareem’s own people, as they had created the precedent for this abyss between them and the rest of the shifters.
H
e didn’t address the matter just yet, instead gesturing for Arlen to continue. “Anyway, when they left Patala, they were attacked by a group of vampires,” the naga prince said. “Lieutenant Zager stayed behind to stall while my brother and his companion escaped. According to Camden, he was shot and incapacitated by the vampires. Camden believed him to be in grave danger, so much so that he escaped Patala to go look for him. Likely, the fool wants to trade himself for the draechen’s safety.”
“Do you truly think he is a fool?” Rachen inquired. “Perhaps you should reevaluate your standards then. Lieutenant Zager sacrificed himself for your brother. Why wouldn’t Prince Camden want to do the same?”
“Precisely because his mate wouldn’t want him to be in danger,” Arlen snapped back, shooting an angry glance toward Karein’s twin. “It doesn’t make sense for Camden to put himself in that position after Sagenamadeen risked his own life to prevent it.”
It was so obvious that Arlen hadn’t loved like that before. Hareem could understand it, though. He’d many times been tempted to do exactly the same thing, to throw all caution to the wind, abandon his rank, and just run away with Taryn. He’d have undoubtedly done so if he’d only been a prince, not an emperor. Right now, he was forced to fight for the throne so that he could make the world a safer place for Taryn and their unborn child. The fact that he’d pushed Taryn away seemed counterintuitive, but it was a sacrifice Hareem had been forced to make for Taryn’s own safety.
“One day, Prince Arlen, you’ll find that mate bonds don’t follow logic,” he said, suppressing a sigh. “None of your rules, or ours, can tame them. Your parents were the fools to even attempt it, and now, they are paying the price.” Arlen was glaring at him now, obviously not appreciating Hareem’s words, so Hareem decided to change the topic and focus on what truly mattered. “But I won’t debate this any further. You said that Sage was shot, right?”
Naga's Concubine [Chronicles of the Shifter Directive 4] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove) Page 13