Moments. Hours, if they were lucky. But not the days he’d spoken of so lightly, as if his responsibilities didn’t exist.
Fyd!
Chapter 38
Kass sat on the window seat in what had once been her mother’s suite in Veranelle and gazed at the giant orb of Psyclid hovering in the night sky, its glow blurred by Blue Moon’s mist into hazy shades of green, blue, and white. Scattered here and there, touches of gray and black. Storm clouds. Not all with a silver lining. Yet what would life would be without them?
Dull. Boring. Stagnate. A never-ending cycle of insipidity.
But now at last, her personal storm clouds had dissipated, scattering bits of shining silver over her world. Though not without lingering showers to delay her private reconciliation with Tal. Her husband. They had arrived home earlier that day to find Torvik Vaden and the rest of the Hierarchy waiting with bated breath for their report of the mission. But since that report also included news of their marriage . . .
Kass’s lips turned up in a smile of pure female satisfaction. That announcement had brought an abrupt end to the Council meeting. Veranelle rang with the news of the wedding. And the added surprise to the Regulon rebels that a princess walked among them. Kass would never forget the sheer exuberance of the impromptu celebration in the dining hall tonight. Hugs from Zee-Zee, Dorn, and Mical that left her breathless. The misty smile on B’ram Biryani’s face as he supervised the transfer of her belongings to the queen’s suite, rooms hastily vacated by Tal’s aides to make way for the new Honored Dama Rigel.
Yet in all that time, not a moment of privacy. Until now. Her wedding night. She was bathed and scented and dressed in a shockingly transparent nightgown she had borrowed from her mother’s wardrobe without a single qualm. Well, maybe one. She’d had no idea her mother owned a garment this blatantly sexy.
Dimi! Would he never come? How long was a girl supposed to wait?
For Tal Rigel, forever.
Kass growled at her wayward inner voice. But wisps of gray gathered on the edge of her clear horizon. Because, after all, what could possibly be dire enough to keep Tal from her bed on their wedding night?
Blue Moon was under attack.
Liona Dann was throwing herself at his feet.
K’kadi, in a playful mood, had disappeared the bridal chamber.
Jagan had set a monster to guard the connecting door between Tal’s suite and her own.
Or . . . something more awful came to mind. Had Tal, confronted by Ryal and Jalaine, lied, exaggerating his attachment to Psyclid’s princess royal to seize the opportunity to bind Psyclid to the rebellion? Was it possible he had not given up all that he was for her, but for the power he could seize when he toppled the Empire?
The snick of a latch. Kass froze in place. That had better not be an aide come to make excuses. Or K’kadi laughing over his prank. Or Jagan towering in rage.
Or, worse yet, S’sorrokan, the ambitious.
Dushá minya . . . ?
He was here, yet the wisps of gray refused to go away. Like the krall, they slithered closer, threatening the moment that should have been pure joy. Kass bit her lip. It had been a very long time since she truly believed she was a princess who would live happily ever after. And even now, with Tal standing in the doorway, she knew both dream and reality could be blown away like lightning blighting a tree. She had assured herself that, together, they could make a better world, but . . .
Kass slipped off the window seat, standing stiff and proud as Tal crossed the room toward her. She held up her hand. He stopped, a quizzical but unalarmed look on his handsome face. Under that shiny blue robe, he wore not a stitch, but still she couldn’t quite believe . . .
“Did you mean it, Tal, when you said you loved me? Or was that just to please my parents? S’sorrokan’s diplomatic agreement to a marriage of convenience?”
Tal rocked back on his heels, crossed his arms over his chest. “A wedding night game, Kass? I could ask you the same. Loved me since you were twelve? Nonsense. You had to be spinning a tale.”
“I most certainly was not!” Fists clenched at her sides, she glared at him.
“What about Killiri saying you applied to Fleet to learn how to fight?”
Lips thin, amber eyes gone to ice, Kass returned, “It is perfectly acceptable to have two reasons for doing something. Particularly something so contrary to my culture.”
Tal nodded. But still looking more like a thundercloud than a man on his wedding night, he declared, “I wasn’t lying when I said your situation prompted me to look more closely at the Empire, to see flaws I could no longer accept. And I wasn’t lying when I said you haunted me. Believe me, Kass, the woman who had the power to eject a long-time mistress from my bed with no viable replacement in sight, should never question my motives.”
Kass studied her bare toes, tweaked the folds of her wispy white gown. She could accuse Tal of making that up, except that’s exactly what everyone had told her. Because of Kass Kiolani, Tal had been celibate for many long months. She should have remembered that.
Kass looked up, held out her hand in appeal. “Tell me what we have is real, Tal. I need to hear you say it.”
He closed the distance between them. Every cell in her body felt the essence of him, so overwhelming he seemed to be swallowing her whole. Tal seized her hand, but stopped short of enfolding her in his arms. Standing military straight, he said, “I, Tal Rigel, vow that you are real and I am real. Our dreams and reality have become one.” He offered a wry smile, shook his head, and added, “But I can’t possibly tell you it’s going to be happily ever after. We both know that. We’re destined to fight each other, fight the Hierarchy, fight Mondragon, fight the Regs, maybe Killiri as well. Only if Omni and your goddess smile on us will we win through.”
Of course they would. Had K’kadi not shown them triumphant? They had each given up the safety of the known for the challenge of building a new world of their own. Time to burn the last clinging threads. Out with the old, in with the new.
“Meanwhile . . .” Kass purred, winding his arms around her neck.
Tal grinned. “Meanwhile, we’re going to find out just how long my aides and Biryani are willing to let us go without offering the latest reports, enticing tidbits of food, vast quantities of celebratory lunelle—”
Kass placed her fingers over his mouth. “Shut up and kiss me, Captain.”
Heat. Light. Sparks flew. Her gown and Tal’s robe hit the floor. With Kass’s teleportation skill more than a bit distracted, their bodies grazed the bed curtains as they flew by, bouncing off one of the bedposts. The bed teetered alarmingly, even as they thudded onto the embroidered covering so hard their breaths whooshed out in unison.
Tal recovered first. “I’ve done my share of maneuvering women into bed, but believe me, wife, I’m nothing compared to you. Well done, Kiolani!”
“Rigel,” she corrected, struggling to keep a solemn face.
Tal laughed and flipped himself on top of her, taking his weight on his elbows. Their eyes met, promises exchanged. My soul, my love, my life. Without you I wouldn’t be what I am.
My soul, my love, my life. Without you I would be lost, my people would be lost.
And, suddenly, everything was new. Even the love they’d experienced as soulmates could not compare. Born for each other, they’d reached across space, across cultures, across war, jealousy, ambition, and hatred to find each other.
Each thrust was a promise, a prayer. Bound together for life, their grand crescendo of passion sent sparks flying, enveloped them in burst of fireworks, reverberating claps of thunder rocked the room . . .
Wha-at?
When Kass was finally able to breathe again, the fireworks were still sparking, bits of fading light drifting slowly toward the rug.
K’kadi.
“You know,” Tal panted, “we really have to do something about that boy.”
~ * * * ~
Author’s Note
A vocabulary of the
words used in Rebel Princess can be found on my website, http://www.blairbancroft.com/
Blair’s books:
Blue Moon Rising series
Rebel Princess
Projected Titles:
Sorcerer’s Bride
The Bastard Prince
Royal Rebellion
Regency Gothics
Brides of Falconfell
The Mists of Moorhead Manor
The Demons of Fenley Marsh
The Welshman’s Bride
The Regency Warrior Series
The Sometime Bride
Tarleton’s Wife
O’Rourke’s Heiress
Rogue’s Destiny
Other Regencies & Historicals
Lady of the Lock
The Courtesan’s Letters
The Temporary Earl
The Harem Bride
A Season for Love
A Gamble on Love
Lady Silence
Steeplechase
Mistletoe Moment
The Last Surprise
The Captive Heiress
Airborne—The Hanover Restoration
Regency Darkside novellas
Belle
Cecilia
Holly
Juliana
Contemporary Mystery/Suspense
Florida Wild
Death by Marriage
Orange Blossoms & Mayhem
Shadowed Paradise
Paradise Burning
The Art of Evil
Limbo Man
Contemporary Romance
Florida Knight
Love at Your Own Risk
Rebel Princess Page 30