“What is it? Is it Auri? Belnus?” Kindara’s voice held her fear.
“Your warrior friend sleeps, though fitfully. And the male has wakened and eaten. He rests.” Rathan hesitated.
“What is it? There is something you’re not telling me.” Kindara threw back the blankets he’d so carefully tucked around her and stood quickly. “Tell me!”
“The girl healer.”
“Bronwen? What happened?”
“She has apparently been taken.” Rathan did not understand it himself—unless he had a breach in loyalty.
“By what?”
“We do not know, yet. We have also had a report of a missing prisoner.”
“A prisoner took Bronwen? Who is he? Why was he a prisoner? Where would he take her? My gods, she’ll be terrified! Do you demons always just take women when you want them?”
“I do not know about him. Other than that he is the warrior king—one of them. There are two of them, twins. He will be found; she will be found. I am sorry, pet. This trip is not yielding the results I had hoped, and it is only the first night.”
“We have to find her, demon. She is even more sheltered than my daughter. She has spent most of her days in the lab studying. Out there,” Kindara waved a hand toward the nearest window. “Out there she is helpless.”
“We will find her. She will not be harmed. He probably saw her and realized she was a Dardaptoan healer and took her for the value she represents. Even in our world where medical supplies are abundant, your kind are valuable. Even more so that she is a young female. He probably just took her. But he will protect her with everything he has. It is the warrior way.”
“You respect him, don’t you? So why was he prisoner?”
“Politics, pet. He trespassed into lands that were not warrior. My people could not let that pass. Let them get one foothold in, and they will demand more. My people were holding him until I could speak with him on the morn.”
“Instead, he gets free and takes her. Demon, does everything you touch turn to hell?”
“Fates conspiring to keep us apart. Or gods and goddesses. I must deal with this escape and send my people to find your friend.”
“I need to be with Auri. And need to tell Belnus. He and Bronwen are very close. Cousins through the way. He will hold himself personally responsible.”
“I am sorry.”
It was if the deities were against them. Rathan was beginning to feel the same. Why did this have to happen to the girl, now of all times? And to the warrior woman Aureliana?
He had envisioned taking Kindara to his home, and instilling her in his court, with a little lab in a tower for her to do her research. He had not expected threats to her friends. If the two other Dardaptoan women had now been fated to be injured or taken, what was next? A threat to Kindara herself?
Rathan hurried her to Aureliana’s chambers, stopping her just outside the door. “Do not speak of the spawn yet.”
“Why? Do you think there is a threat? I won’t have the babe threatened here. I will take him or her and return to my brother where he can keep us completely safe. Tell me.”
“I do not know the threat level here. I am ashamed to say I half neglected my court chasing down proof against my brother this last century. I do not fully know the atmosphere here; yet. I will know more within a few hours. I still must track down my niece Cerridwen. And my younger sister Danae should be back by now, but is not. I will not stop until I find them all.”
“And the babe?”
“I will take extra precautions with your safety and the babe’s from here on out. You know I would not have left you at ??? if I had known Renakletos would harm you. Never would I cause you pain or damage. Or your friends. I will make this up to you.”
“Just see to it that you find Bronwen. I will take care of Auri.”
****
He fought to contain the flames growing within him. How dare they question his authority? “I am the king of Demonkin or have you all forgotten that?”
“Renakletos has ruled in your stead for one hundred and nine years, Rathan. Now you have returned and expect to just resume your reign? While we understand what was happening, I am afraid the demon of our kingdom might not. And you’ve brought back four of this strange race of beings. Our people are bound to be questioning your decisions, your ability to lead.”
“Do you question, Agmendias?”
“Of course not. You and I have been friends since the turn of the first century, Rathan. I know you and your capabilities. If you say these people can benefit ours, I believe you. But our people might not.”
“Have they lost all loyalty to their king, then? In a mere hundred years?”
“Of course not. But there are some factions who have managed to seed some doubt.” Phelius cautioned him with both tone and expression. “Now that you have returned, you can work to dispel those notions. In a few years you can choose a mate, have an heir. Get the realm back on a more even keel.”
“That will be happening shortly anyway.” Rathan threw his head back, exposing his horns in full glory. He did not want to reveal it, but the time had come. He was king and no one would question that again. “The healer Kindara carries my spawn. She is my chosen mate. She is your queen.”
“That’s wonderful.” Phelius smacked Rathan on the back. “You’ve waited long to find her. And she is a remarkable female. You have my congratulations, both on the mating and on the spawn.”
Rathan knew his cousin meant what he said. Phelius was one of his most trusted friends. He was not the betrayer. Rathan had unshakable confirmation of that. They had been together in the month before the trouble—searching the uncharted territories of a realm no peoples had even thought to name.
But it could have been one of the other three men in the room. He looked at each of them to judge their reactions to his news. But each was well over a thousand years old--some more than three times that—and they hid their reactions well. Extremely so.
“When can we expect the arrival of the heir?” Agmendias asked, once the felicitations were over.
“Sometime in the summer. I am not sure of the Dardaptoan race’s reproductive requirements.” Rathan made a note to study everything he could find on Dardaptoan birth. He would do what was necessary. He would set Phelius the task of studying the Dardaptoans, while Kindara worked the task of studying the demons.
“Excellent. So you will be filling your court and calling your first session within the week?” Agmendias nodded his approval.
“Provided all goes well with my mate’s kin. And we find the missing girl healer.” Rathan glared at the older male. In his stead, Agmendias had been charged with keeping the peace between the two Kinds. It was abjectly clear that he had failed in that duty. “I also aim to find out why one of the warrior twin kings was held in my castle for more than a fortnight. We are allies with the warriors. A trust we cannot afford to have destroyed. I will be sending an envoy to their castle forthwith to convey my apologies and gifts of reparations.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“Have you found her yet?” Kindara met the demon at the door to the suite one of the maids had led her back to. She knew it had to be the demon’s. It smelled like him, and was decorated in bold colors that reminded her of him.
“We are looking, my love. I will be sending an envoy in moments. I just need to decide whom I trust the most to handle these negotiations diplomatically. My sister…was last seen in this warrior king’s hall.”
“Did he take her, too?”
“He or his brother. Danae was sent on a mission two days ago. She should have contacted me or Phelius. Or Ren. And has not. I wait two more days for word from her. But your Bronwen, the story is different. She can be purchased back or taken. Honor demands they not just release her. Any more than I would have been able to release the warrior king without some type of compensation.”
“You trade in prisoners? In people? Is that why your brother has still not left in search of his daugh
ter? You will trade her back to him later?”
“It’s not as barbaric as you’re making it. Tell me, how is the warrior woman?” He led her into the suite, guiding her to the small couch beneath the first of six large bay windows.
“Improved. So far as we can tell. There are no signs of infection and the skin around the injuries is looking better. But she still hasn’t wakened.” Her puzzlement was clear for him to hear in her words.
“But she is healing. Mayhap she has been granted rest from your goddess.” He sank down beside her and pulled her closer. He rubbed a hand up her spine and down again, the gesture meant to relax and sooth.
“I think it best she stays unconscious. For her sake, and because once she learns of Bronwen, she will fight to find her. Auri needs to be kept calm and quiet so that she has a better chance of healing.” She relaxed against him, her movements stating that she wanted his comfort and that she felt comfortable with him.
The ease with which she accepted him and his touch thrilled him. Soon, she would see him as an integral part of her life.
“We will retrieve your healer and my sister while Aureliana rests. I will send Phelius. He can speak with the healers of the warrior kind while he is there. He has compiled books of all the healing skills of our people for you to read. To study. You can do that at the warrior woman’s side.” Safe, in his keeping, while he set about restoring his reign. He had much to do; and he did not trust her safety to those around him.
Had he suspected his realm was in such disarray he would have insisted she stay at her brother’s side. Now, even if he sent her back to her world, she faced danger. Demons could enter her realm at will with just a few simple words to open a portal, even inside her king’s home. It would be nothing to just open the portal, take her, and disappear into one of the seven realms forever. Take her and the spawn away from him.
It would devastate him to lose her. To lose their spawn.
His arms tightened around her.
“What is it?” She tilted her head up, looking out of tired, worried gold eyes. “What else is the matter?”
“I am so very sorry for all that has happened.” He brushed a kiss against her forehead. She did not pull away from him. “I thought Relaklonos would be safe for you and your friends; instead it poses more danger than Colorado. I can promise you that it will not be this way forever. I will flush out the traitor amongst my court and provide you and our spawn—our babe—a safe and beautiful home.”
She stilled. “This is not my home, demon. My stay here is temporary. You know that.”
“I understand you have responsibilities, my pet. But so do I. We must divide our times between our worlds; teach our spawn to live a full life in both.”
****
Kindara thought on his words for several long moments. What did she want to do? The babe was a reality, and one she must accept. And like it or not, chances were good the babe would be male. Demon, like his father. Could she keep a demon child from the one male who would protect and teach him? Could she do that to her child?
No. Her child deserved his heritage. And he or she would have it. And that meant the demon and she would spend hundreds of years together. Could she do it? “Let’s just worry about finding Bronwen and healing Auri. Then we’ll find the things I need while you work on taking care of your kingdom. That’s all we can do. We’ll work out what to do about the babe later.”
“The babe is what I will think of every moment of every day. When I am not thinking of you, my pet.” His hand slipped lower, toyed with the sash of green satin that tied her fresh tunic at her waist. Kindara’s breath caught as the white material parted. Her nerves heated as the demon’s hand skimmed the skin of her side. “When I am not with you, you will be thinking of me. Won’t you, pet?”
She should have pushed him away. Kindara knew it, but the man—the damned demon—had hands that burned her. And he used them well.
He pulled her up, then turned her to recline against the window seat. He pushed her tunic the rest of the way down her arms, using the sleeves to pin her wrists behind her. Kindara arched, knowing what position he wanted her in. He’d had her in it before.
His eyes heated, burned the red fire she recognized as Incubian lust. She smiled.
This was what she needed—this would make her forget for a little while. She pulled her hands free, jerking the white satin, causing one sleeve to rip at the seam. She didn’t care; she wanted to touch him. To grab him and put her mark on the golden flesh she knew waited beneath his shirt.
He was not Iavius, but he was hers. And she would have him when she could. Her hands sank into the black silk and she curled her fingers into claws; she ripped his shirt free of his trousers and over his shoulders.
“Pet?” His whispered word held indulgence and lust. Strong heat that evoked an answering flame inside Kindara. “Be gentle, my love. We must take care.”
“I don’t want gentle, demon. I want to forget.” Kindara stood, then straddled him. “Help me forget.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Auri was propped up in the bed when Kindara entered her chambers two mornings later. Kindara stopped in the door frame and stared at her friend. “You’re awake.”
“I’m awake.” Auri moved with deliberation, rising up farther in the pillows. “Was I not supposed to be?”
“I’ll admit it, for a moment there I doubted you’d ever wake again.” Kindara sank to the seat beside the bed.
“How would you have explained that one to Aod?” Auri’s nonchalant tone belied the pain that Kindara read on her face. “So what exactly happened? I remember fighting the demon warrior. I remember tasting something not Dardaptoan and remember you sewing me up like a damned pillow.”
“That was pretty much it. I used an embroidery stitch so it would look pretty. The demon warrior carried you to the castle here and you fed from him. He helped Rathan hold you while Bron and I sewed you back together again. I’m not sure where he is now.”
“Why? Why did he attack like that?”
“Apparently his daughter was kidnapped.”
“Poor child. Has she been found?”
“I don’t think so. But apparently there is no big rush to retrieve the missing or taken in Relaklonos…” Kindara leaned in to check the stitches holding Auri’s skin in place over the wound in her back. She hesitated before continuing. “I have something to tell you…”
“Ok. Shoot.”
“Apparently Relaklonos is divided into seven semi-warring feudal kingdoms. Rathan is king of them all, with the other kings vying for his seat. Rathan’s advisers had one of these kings—a warrior—as hostage for a few weeks. They were debating how much he was worth to trade back to his people. He escaped yesterday morning. He…Bronwen was taken by the king of warriors. Rathan is working to buy her back.”
Aureliana would have jumped from the bed if Kindara had not blocked her. “Stay. Rathan is getting her back.”
“How? Has he organized parties to intercept this warrior bastard? Are you sure she’s still alive? What is he doing? Have you contacted Aodhan or Theo?”
“He is sending his cousin to the warrior king’s home. They will trade her back or purchase her back. Apparently they cannot release prisoners here without some sort of face saving measure. But Rathan assures me she will not be harmed or killed. And he will get her back for us.”
“You trust him, don’t you? Despite everything that has happened, you’re beginning to depend upon him. Are you sure you should?”
“I think I have no choice. Not anymore.” Kindara brushed a hand over the spot she knew the babe rested. He was so tiny, but the healer and mother in her knew where her babe slept.
Aureliana’s eyes narrowed and she stared at Kindara for several long moments. “Kinney…what do you mean?”
“I’m carrying his child, Auri. A babe. A babe who will be king of this world.” Kindara was inexplicably nervous. Auri was the first person other than Barlaam that she’d told. Her friend knew her
best of all, and would understand the situation from her vantage point.
“Holy goddesses, Kinney! Are you crazy? He’s a demon! Can we even have demon babies? Is it possible?”
In four hundred years, Kindara had never seen Auri as shocked as she was.
“It is. Barlaam confirmed it before we left. And…and I feel it. There’s a babe.” Kindara’s eyes welled as she remembered telling Aureliana about the first babe she had carried. Carried and lost. “I will not lose this one, Auri. I…cannot.”
Auri’s eyes filled. She’d held Kindara for days after Cormac and Dhar Rydere had found her, found Iavius’s body. Held her while she miscarried Iavius’s babe. “You won’t. Kinney, you won’t.”
“Barlaam agrees. So does the demon. Said they rarely ever lose one. There’s a strong, very high chance of a successful pregnancy.”
“And after the babe is born? What will you do then? With the demon?”
“Somehow split our time between Colorado and Relaklonos. It will take years, possibly decades to study the medical practices of Relaklonos and the seven realms. Then even longer to create possible medications for our people. My time here could be justified…”
“That is not what matters, Kinney. Your time doesn’t have to be justified. It’s your time. And you deserve it.” Auri draped an arm around Kindara, her move slower and more deliberate than usual to accommodate the fresh stitches. “I think after all that has happened to you, you deserve time for yourself that is not devoted solely to our people. Iavius and Erastine would have wanted that. You deserve to be happy.”
“Happy with an arrogant demon who expects everything to go his own way?” Kindara thought of the first time he had touched her, thought of the heat in his eyes. Then of the moment he’d told her of the babe, the tenderness on his face. She thought of the way he spoke of Josey and Mickey and the rest of the Taniss women. How he’d hugged Jade back at the Taniss vacation cabin. The tenderness with which he spoke of his younger sister and Renakletos’s young daughter.
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