Children of the Sun

by Linda Winstead Jones

  He opened his eyes and looked into Diella’s face, and he saw Rayne.

  “A man like you need not save his seed for any woman.” Diella’s voice—Lilia’s voice—drifted to him from Rayne’s face. “You’ll make more before you are reunited with the woman you have chosen to bear the child.”

  “True enough.” He caressed her breast through rough fabric.

  She leaned into him and laughed hoarsely. “I knew we were meant for this, my prince. I knew all along.”

  He hated the sound of a voice that was not Rayne’s coming from this woman who looked like Rayne, who felt, beneath his rough hands, as he had always known his chosen would feel. “Say another word, and I will break your neck.”

  Rayne opened her mouth to answer and then closed it again. His answer was a simple nod of her beautiful head.

  ***

  The Anwyn soldiers who had escorted Sian and Ariana to The City and the Palace of the Anwyn Queen tried to take them to their assigned quarters before they were presented to the queen herself. Sian could understand why. After so many weeks of travel, he and Ariana were not fit for being presented to a queen or anyone else, but these difficult times called for a setting aside of common courtesies.

  Ariana laid her hand on the big man’s arm and insisted that she needed to see her cousin immediately. Tryndad apparently saw the determination in her eyes, and quickly acceded to her wishes.

  They walked along a fine stone corridor, flanked by large men. Sian had always heard that the Anwyn men were of a size. Though he was tall by most standards, some of them stood a full head taller than he. He could only imagine what size they might be when they were transformed into wolves which would run beneath a full moon.

  Sian knew a little about the Anwyn people, but not much apparently. He had certainly not been told that they preferred to pass the day more naked than not.

  Ariana, who had once been so proper, seemed not to notice.

  Raised voices reached their ears, and Tryndad tensed. His step increased, and soon they were all running down the corridor toward the alarming sounds. Sian and Ariana had to run hard to keep pace with the long-legged Anwyn soldiers, and soon they found themselves in one of the largest and most magnificent rooms Sian had ever seen. It was fashioned of fine stones, and sported columns which were true works of art. At the other end of the large room was a dais where two thrones sat, side by side. They were both empty. A petite blond girl was surrounded by yet more Anwyn soldiers, and she was obviously hysterical.

  He was a little disappointed. She didn’t look much like a queen.

  When the girl saw Ariana, she sobbed and broke away, running from the guards who were now as agitated as she.

  “Ariana, thank goodness you’re here!”

  Ariana tensed. “Giulia, dear, what’s wrong?”

  Giulia? Not the queen, then.

  The blonde threw herself into Ariana’s arms and sobbed. Ariana wrapped her arms around the girl and did her best to soothe her. “What’s wrong?” she asked again.

  Tryndad and the other soldiers rushed toward an exit at the rear of the room, their visitors and the sobbing girl forgotten.

  Giulia lifted her head and sniffled. “Someone took Keelia!”

  “What do you mean, took her?”

  “Took her! We were laying out our clothes for supper tonight, since we had a feast planned to celebrate your arrival. Keelia said we wouldn’t feel like celebrating for a very long time, so we might as well enjoy this night. We were examining a selection of gowns which were laid across my bed, because I could not decide what to wear, and a man wearing a mask came up behind Keelia and grabbed her!” The girl’s voice was quick and very young, excited and verging on breathless. “He told me if I screamed he would kill her, and then come back for me and the rest of my family, so I was still and quiet. I thought the guards would stop them before they got far, or that Keelia would escape from his grasp. There are guards everywhere!” The small girl stomped one slipper-clad foot. “Why didn’t they see anything?”

  “A good question,” Ariana said calmly as she cast her eyes at Sian.

  He sighed tiredly. “I have another good question for you. How does one go about sneaking up on a psychic as extraordinary as the Queen of the Anwyn?”

  ***

  Ariana stood at the window of the palace room she shared with Sian. Sunset was not yet here, but the sky had begun to turn brilliant with color, and it would be followed on this coming night by a full moon. She and Sian had been here for four days. Four days, and there was still no sign of Keelia and her kidnapper. Ariana could not believe that her cousin had been harmed. If the intruder had planned to kill Keelia, he could have done so in Giulia’s room. He could’ve killed her in the hallway and left her body for someone to find. That would’ve been easier than escaping with a reluctant captive.

  She felt sure Keelia was safe somehow. The Anwyn Queen had a part to play in the war with Ciro and his Own. As with the village Ciro had destroyed, Ariana felt things would be different if only they had arrived sooner. If only she had been able to ask her cousin about Sebestyen’s twins, the crystal dagger, and how Ciro could be defeated.

  If only...

  Sian crept up behind her and wrapped his arms about her in a gesture which spoke of love and comfort and protection.

  “Tonight the Anwyn will change,” Ariana said. Most had already moved beyond the walls of The City, walking into the hills where they would truly be wild and free when night fell and the moon rose. A few still made their way toward The City gates, leaving their human wives, as well as the children who had not yet reached the age of transformation, behind, well armed in case the hideously transformed Caradon attempted to attack. So far the creatures had not come near The City, but the Anwyn couldn’t be too careful. “It’s quite a sight if you have never witnessed the change.”

  “It will last for three nights, correct?” Sian asked, knowing full well the answer.

  “Yes.”

  “When that is done, we will take the Anwyn army to our assigned meeting place.”

  Ariana nodded. “If Lyr hasn’t arrived when the time comes for us to leave, I’ll have to post a messenger on the trail. As there’s only one road fit for horses leading here, that won’t be difficult. Maybe we’ll meet him on the way down the mountain.” Or maybe she would not. Ariana closed her eyes. Would nothing go as it should?

  She turned and looked up into the face of the man she now called husband. “What if we haven’t found Keelia by then?”

  “As pleasant as it has been to stay here, to eat well and bathe in hot water and sleep in a soft bed, we can’t remain much longer. We can’t wait. Merin and his men will be waiting for you when the next full moon rises.” His eyes twinkled. “You could stay with your cousin Giulia while I...”

  “Don’t even suggest it,” she interrupted.

  He wasn’t serious, though perhaps somewhere deep in his heart he hoped she would find a safe place and remain there. He knew, as she did, that her part in this was not done. There were souls to be snatched from Ciro, and if she could heal Arik... what a triumph that would be.

  Not for the first time, Ariana asked herself—why couldn’t Aunt Juliet and Uncle Ryn be here? They would know what to do. Juliet might even know where her eldest daughter could be found.

  But they were not here, and Sian was right. In three days, they would leave The City whether Keelia had been found or not.

  “I’m not pregnant,” she said, the words coming quick and low.

  A light of something unreadable lit Sian’s purple eyes. “Hmm,” was all he said.

  “Are you... relieved?” Had he released his reservations about creating a child? She wanted his baby so desperately, and yet she did not want to force a child upon him. While they were in The City, she could fashion another potion to prevent conception, if that’s what Sian wanted. Should they wait until the world was once again a safe place?

  He leaned down and kissed her forehead very quickly. �
��I am relieved, and also oddly disappointed.” His jaw hardened. “Don’t think this means we aren’t getting married as soon as possible. Isn’t there someone here who can perform a ceremony?”

  “The Anwyn people say words before the queen.” A queen who was mysteriously missing.

  “Who performs the ceremony for the queen herself?”

  “A priestess of some sort, I have been told.”

  “Can’t she—”

  “I don’t think it’s allowed.”

  Sian sighed in evident disgust. “Then I suppose we will wait.”

  In her mind, Ariana imagined the wedding ceremony she wanted. Her parents and all her siblings would be there. She’d wear a beautiful dress, and Sian would be dressed entirely in black. He’d wear his hair down. There would be flowers and candles, singing and dancing.

  It was a nice idea, but given the current situation, that dream wedding was as likely as Ciro surrendering before he ever marched on Arthes.

  “Shall I prepare a potion to make sure I don’t conceive until the time is right?”

  Sian considered the proposal for a moment. “When will that right time be?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “When Ciro is dead, and his soldiers are all gone,” Sian said sharply. “When Emperor Sebestyen’s sons have been found, and one of them is safely on the throne. When I can wrap you in a bubble of perfect and reliable shelter, where no one and nothing can ever touch you.”

  Disappointment welled up in Ariana’s heart, hearing those words. Those conditions. Sian was still afraid.

  Then he smiled at her and stroked her cheek with one finger. “Since that day will never come, I must say no to your potion, love. We’ll take our chances. We will love with great conviction no matter what this war brings, and we will embrace hope as fiercely and completely as we embrace one another.”

  All she could say was, “I love you so much.”

  With her tucked close at his side, Sian turned to look out on The City, as Ariana had been doing when he’d found her. “We’re still getting married soon.”

  “Yes, love.”

  “While we’re waiting here, your lessons will resume. We should not waste a moment. Your magical efforts in fighting the creatures that attacked us were dismal.”

  “If you insist.”

  “I do.”

  The sun disappeared, and darkness fell. A large and brilliant full moon lit the sky, hanging before them like a gem against velvet the color of Sian’s eyes when he was angry. The war had just begun, Ariana knew that very well, and yet tonight their opponent suffered one small defeat. No, one significant defeat. While the demon’s darkness reached for all that it could possess, hope survived. Love conquered fear.

  In the darkness, a perfect and noble and wondrous light continued to shine.

  Prince of Fire

  Chapter One

  Shaking, trembling to her bones, Keelia lifted her head and studied her own hands—pale hands which were pressed against a chilly gray stone floor. Tangled strands of red hair fell past one cheek and pooled against the rough stone. A hint of panic welled up inside her, but she did not reveal that panic in any outward way, other than the tremble which she could not control.

  Her mind raced, but her body remained very still. Without moving from the spot where she found herself, Keelia gathered her composure. No matter what had happened, she would show no fear. No weakness. The gentle shaking of her body ceased as she quieted her mind and took control, searching for the memory of how she had come to be here.

  She remembered standing over Giulia’s bed studying an array of several ornate gowns in the style her little sister preferred. Her mind had not been on the simple task at hand. Ariana was coming, and there would be a celebration of sorts, even though Keelia’s psychic powers had warned her that there were not many celebratory times in the near future for the Anwyn or the humans in the lands below the Mountains of the North. An unspeakable evil was coming. No, that evil was already here.

  She and Giulia had been studying the gowns, and Keelia’s mind had been drifting, and then... and then, someone had grabbed her. Someone had dared to grab her, and then he’d done something to her throat and everything had gone black. Until now. She turned her head and studied the cave in which she had awakened. It was no ordinary cave but was a prison, a cell with bars built into a slender natural doorway. A narrow cot had been placed against one cave wall, but she had not awakened there. Whoever had brought her here had simply dumped her onto the floor. A chamber pot was discretely stored beneath the cot, and a crude wooden table sat near the rear wall. This was not a temporary facility, but one in which a prisoner might expect to remain for a long while.

  An unwanted lump formed in Keelia’s throat. How much time had passed since she’d been taken? Hours or days? Who had taken her? Who would dare? She was rarely confronted with mysteries of any kind, but at the moment she grasped no answers to her questions.

  “Ah, the queen awakes,” a deep voice rumbled from the shadows beyond her prison.

  Flaming torches lit the segment of the cave beyond the bars, but not well enough. Not nearly well enough. Keelia narrowed her eyes and attempted to focus, and finally caught sight of the man who spoke. He lingered just beyond the circle of illumination cast by the nearest torch so that all she saw was a shape, a distant and unclear silhouette. The shape was male, like the arrogant voice, but she could sense little else.

  Her powers of telepathy were usually quite sharp. Though they were far from all-encompassing, those abilities were strong and reliable. At least, they had been until recently. What had once been clear was now muddy. Indistinct. Dreams continued to come even when the visions did not, but she occasionally misinterpreted even them, until she found herself questioning everything that came to her. Something was interfering with her gifts. Her mother believed that if Keelia would search diligently for her mate and settle down, she would know a calm that had thus far eluded her and the visions would become clear once again. Keelia suspected there was something darker at work here, perhaps the very evil she sometimes dreamed of.

  It was true that in the past few months she had not been able to interpret the meanings of her visions well, as she should, but even when her powers were not at their best she could still reach into a person—any person—and know something of their thoughts. Were they scared? Angry? Well-meaning? Frustrated? It was a finely honed instinct she had relied upon all her life, and she needed it now.

  Keelia reached for this man who had dared to kidnap her, and received nothing in return. Not hatred, fear, or self-satisfaction at a job well done. Not arrogance or anger. It was as if he were a complete blank. She had sensed nothing of him as he’d snuck upon her either, which was alarming.

  Accustomed to being able to understand the people around her, Keelia was more afraid of the emptiness than of her imprisonment in this cell. It was as if someone had taken away her very sight or her hearing or her sense of touch. Without her gifts she was not herself, and she felt horribly lost.

  “Who are you?” she asked sharply, refusing to show fear to her abductor. “What do you want? Are you a coward who always hides in the shadows?” Maybe if he moved closer she’d be able to read something of his thoughts. Maybe if she could see his face, she could reach deeper and understand his intentions.

  She did not fear death. If this man had wanted her dead, he could’ve killed her there in Giulia’s room.

  “One question at a time, My Red Queen,” the man said, stepping forward so that the flickering flame of the torch illuminated his face.

  Keelia’s heart reacted fiercely to the sight of that face, skipping a beat and racing and thudding so hard she was afraid he would hear it. This was not possible. He was supposed to be nothing more than a dream, a figment of her imagination, a fantasy she called upon when her fertile time came and demanded that she find physical satisfaction. This man, this face she knew so well, he was of her own making, her own imagination. He was not real.

/>   She closed her eyes tightly, wondering if she was caught in some kind of nightmare. No, the stone beneath her was real, the pounding of her heart, real, her inability to see into her captor... real. She opened her eyes, wondering if perhaps she had made a mistake. Maybe her abductor favored the man of her dreams only in some small way, and in her panic she had imagined that he was her dream lover come to life.

  Her eyes flickered over him, from head to toe. No, it was not her imagination, not at all. The man who had kidnapped her had long dark blond hair oddly streaked with auburn. That distinctive ginger streak she had caressed in her dreams originated at his temple and shot back to eventually blend with the thick waves of the more ordinary blond. He was much taller than she, but a bit shorter than most Anwyn males, which had always suited her in her fantasies since, like her mother and sister, she was petite in size, and did not care for being completely dwarfed by the men in her life.

  Her kidnapper wore plain brown trousers which fit loosely over long legs and were tucked into soft boots, and a worn leather belt which held a scabbard and dagger. He wore nothing else but a wide silver bracelet which graced his right wrist.

  Keelia had been waiting a long time for her mate to come to her. All Anwyn mated for life, and while the males had to move beyond The City to find their destined mates among human females, as queen, she should have known for the past ten years or so who her mate would be. She was the powerful Red Queen who had been promised to her people, a queen who—according to prophesy—would be like no other. She’d been trained from birth to rule, and her mother had gladly abdicated when she and the priestesses judged it was time. Juliet, now the revered Queen Mother, had had the duties of queen thrust upon her. Keelia had been well prepared. At the age of fifteen she’d taken the throne with no doubts about her ability to lead, without even a hint of uncertainty. She’d not expected her king to immediately appear before her, but neither had she expected to be made to wait so long. She was twenty-five years of age, and still, her mate’s identity remained a mystery to her. There were few mysteries in her life, and she had often wondered if this loneliness was the price she had to pay for her other abilities. Perhaps she would never have a true mate and know the love that came with such a union.