by Gwynn White
“Don’t try me.” Lukan slapped his hand down onto his desk. “Instruct Saskia to implant the second device into Tao.” His tone turned patronizing. “No doubt these are not the only blue ice crystals in your possession. Take a third with you, even if it is no more useful than that stuffed animal over there.”
Lukan picked up a glass paperweight and tossed it at a stag’s head mounted on the wall. It hit with a crash, tilting the head into a crazy angle. “Have Saskia stick the fake device into Lynx. Then you are to program Tao’s device to my informa. I want the pleasure of watching his signal as he lives out his life in his prison.”
If Felix needed any further confirmation that Lynx was pregnant, this was it. He wanted to laugh at Lukan. Clearly, his nephew thought he was being so clever, hiding that fact when everything he’d said and done since the pre-coronation meeting had raised red flags. But all mirth failed as Felix remembered his daughter.
“It will be done.”
Lukan’s eyes took on a strange distant quality, far from the meeting. “You can then take them to their new home.”
Felix’s allowed his eyebrows to quiver. “New home?”
“Must you repeat everything I say?”
“Only when I seek clarification, sire. Are they to be imprisoned together?”
Lukan grunted, then pulled his informa out of his pocket. “There is a trapper’s cottage in the forest, about twenty miles from here. I found it a few months ago when I needed to escape from—” Lukan cleared his throat.
Either Mott or Axel must have driven his nephew to seek refuge in the forest. Whatever the provocation, it had to have been worse than usual if Lukan had failed to find his usual solace in his archive.
“It exists,” Lukan grunted. “That’s all you need to know. Morass is there now, getting rid of the current owner. You will take my brother and my wife there. As much as they might despise me, I still care enough for them not to wish them to be lonely.” Lukan brushed his thumb across his informa and spoke a set of coordinates.
Felix’s informa vibrated in his pocket; Lukan had sent him the address of Tao and Lynx’s new home.
“Put up your receivers to read Tao’s tracker. And as for my wife . . . I am relying on you to convince her that the tracker in her neck is not only potent, but lethal.”
Felix snorted doubtfully. “Given how willful she is, that might not be enough, sire.” He pulled out his handkerchief, furious with himself for his stupid lie, and at Lukan for putting him in this invidious position. If Lynx had a shocker, it would all be so simple.
“Of course it won’t be enough,” Lukan said with irritation. “That is what makes her so exceptional.” He sighed, his obvious love for Lynx leaching from every pore.
If Felix didn’t despise Lukan so much, he might have spared him some pity. But not while Malika’s life hung in the balance. His daughter’s plight spurred Felix’s thoughts. “I can garland the forest at the fifty-mile radius with Dreaded. If those don’t stop Lynx, then lethal tripwires will.”
Lukan rubbed his eyes, looking far older than his twenty-four years. “No matter what happens, you cannot kill Lynx. That I won’t tolerate.”
Now Felix’s irritation flared. Just because Lukan loved the Norin bitch didn’t mean they could risk mollycoddling her. Still, he wasn’t in a position to argue. “Of course. My tripwires within the target area will be debilitating, but not lethal.”
Lukan’s voice dropped to a mere whisper. “I don’t want my brother to die, either. No matter what he has done.” It firmed up. “But outside the area is a different matter. Anyone else who stumbles upon the place must die. The wolves will take care of the rest.”
He straightened from his slump and flashed Felix an inimical glare. “As far as the world knows, my brother and my wife are on their way to Kartania. Make sure no one ever discovers that is not so, or say goodbye to Malika.”
Felix’s anger flared. “I fully understand your intentions, sire. You do not need to threaten me at every turn, especially when I am cooperating in every way with your elaborate plots and schemes.”
“Report to me when it is done. That will be all for today.” Lukan waved imperiously at the door.
Felix hissed. Not even Mott had treated him with such disrespect. Slowly, he heaved himself to his feet.
“I now have a meeting with my brother’s wife.” A slow smile spread across the emperor’s face, reviving him.
Despite everything, Felix couldn’t resist a fake flourish as he swept into a low bow. “Your wish is my command, sire. Enjoy your meeting—as much as I’m sure Princess Kestrel will.”
He didn’t bother waiting to see Lukan’s expression. And as for Lukan’s commands? They could wait, too. Felix had a precious daughter to check up on.
Chapter 17
Still bootless, Axel and Stefan followed Asp to a large, rectangular tent in the center of the camp. The raider parted the tent flap, and Axel stepped inside with Stefan at his heels.
It took Axel’s eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light, cast by a couple of burning torches. Thankfully, no fire danced in the fire pit; the air was fetid enough already, exacerbated by the breath and body heat from the thirty or so raiders squatting on cushions. There didn’t seem to be any spare seats for Stefan or Axel. Ignoring the pain in his back, Axel stood tall, refusing to acknowledge the slight.
“Warlord Avanov. Alive, I see, and . . . somewhat paler than usual.” King Thorn’s voice hooked Axel’s attention.
He found the king’s face amid all the feathers and braids. Would Lynx hate him if he said that, en masse, Norin raiders tended to look alike? Probably. He hoped he would have the chance to tell her so he could incur her wrath. It would be fun kissing it away.
Stop it. Focus.
Axel thumped his heart with his fist. “Alive thanks to you and Teal, sir. I am not ungrateful.”
As much as Thorn may want to kill him, Axel doubted the king would risk doing so with fifty airships standing by to attack Norin. That didn’t mean the king couldn’t thwart his goal of a speedy return to Cian to find Lynx. He would need all his persuasive powers to prevent that happening.
“Then let’s put that gratitude to work.” King Thorn fixed Axel with icy blue eyes. They may have intimidated most people, but Axel had spent too much time in Lynx’s company to be chilled. “Tell me about the Dmitri Curse.” That was the last question Axel expected Thorn to ask.
Even Stefan started.
It took Axel a moment to mask his shock—and to scramble for an answer. Speaking about the Dmitri Curse outside of his own family was punishable by death.
He didn’t care.
Lynx had vanished, and Lukan was responsible. He would do and say virtually anything to be on an airship back to Cian.
“Apart from her refusal to swear allegiance to Lukan, I think it’s another reason Lynx disappeared. Lukan married her against the advice of both the living and the—” Axel paused.
Admitting that the dead meddled in the affairs of crown princes and Norin princesses in Chenaya didn’t seem like the kind of thing that would win him passage back home. A straight jacket and a trip to a mental asylum, maybe. Even talking about the curse was probably going to stretch Norin incredulity to its breaking point. But no discussion on Dmitri was complete without mentioning it.
He kept his voice factual. “After Thurban invaded Norin, his brother Dmitri cursed the Avanov bloodline. He said a Norin princess would bear a son who would kill her emperor husband and destroy the empire.”
Axel ignored the rustle of voices and startled faces of his audience—including Stefan’s.
Thorn’s chin bobbed in Stefan’s direction. “Zarot, you know about all this?”
Stefan thumped his chest. “It’s not widely known, sir. In fact, if I weren’t friends with Axel, I would probably be like every other person in the empire—clueless. The Avanovs guard their secrets well.”
Thorn turned back to Axel. “Lynx is one of dozens of Norin princesses who
married emperors. Why would Lukan target her? Did she experience something?”
Another strange question. Did Thorn know about Lynx’s vision in the maze? Axel tried to read Thorn’s face, but a cool mask covered all clues. As much as Axel wanted to gloss over the supernatural bits of the story, it would make his fantastic tale sound even more implausible.
Thorn would also doubt him if he knew the truth. Axel grimaced at the thought. Lynx’s father believing him was suddenly more important than he ever could have imagined.
“The day before the wedding, Lynx had a very frightening vision in which she learned that she would be the mother of the boy who destroys Lukan.” Breath held, Axel waited for Thorn’s reply.
“Could it be that her vision was a fabrication? Before my brother Bear was murdered, he spoke of the Dreaded. Could Lynx have seen one of those?”
Axel’s eyebrows spiked. Bear was dead? A chill trilled down his spine. Had his and Lynx’s clandestine conversation in her room contributed to Bear’s death?
“I am sorry to hear about your brother.” Dismay bled into Axel’s voice.
No reaction from Thorn.
“But that is not possible. My father, who creates the Dreaded, would never generate a vision telling a Norin princess she would have a son who destroys the empire. You Norin are dangerous enough. No one in their right mind would consider further empowering you. My father may be conniving and manipulative, but he is very sane.”
“So her vision was real, then?”
“Lynx was convinced. Lukan must have been, too. He arranged for Lynx to be shot with a poisoned quarrel rather than risk her conceiving that son.”
Thorn leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Which you took?”
“Which I took.”
“Why?”
This question was becoming tedious. Axel resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “I don’t think that’s the issue, sir. Getting Colonel Zarot and me back to Cian is, so I can find her—and thrash Lukan for ever thinking that I’d tolerate him harming her.”
Face still expressionless, Thorn scrutinized Axel. His inscrutability was enough to make Axel fidget—almost, but he hadn’t grown up in the Avanov palace for nothing.
“Lynx says she loves you. Is this mutual?”
All his carefully crafted control blown away, Axel swallowed his surprise with a loud gulp.
Heron, sitting next to Thorn, hissed in a breath. Thorn squeezed his knee, and the raider fell silent.
Axel suppressed a sigh. It was one thing for a thousand people to witness him jumping in front of a poisoned quarrel for the woman he loved, but it was altogether another matter admitting to that love in words—especially in front of her dubious father and her ex-boyfriend. But now was not the time for reserve.
“Yes, it is.” Axel glanced at Heron before settling on Thorn. “Lynx may have married Lukan, but all three of us know that she and I are the obvious choice for each other. Lukan hates that.”
“Interesting.”
Unexpected disappointment shafted Axel upon Thorn’s noncommittal answer. In reality, though, what more could he expect? No Norin would be excited about his daughter falling for a Chenayan—let alone an Avanov. Axel would just have to prove to Thorn that he was worthy of Lynx’s love.
Thorn pointed at Axel’s ruby. “That stone next to your eye. What does it do?”
Axel considered Thorn’s question. If he answered, and Lukan learned of it, he could be charged with treason. Over thirty Norin sat in this tent. Any one of them could betray him. But then his oath of allegiance had been to Mott, not Lukan. It died with him.
Axel scanned the many faces, and hardly surprising, he saw no love for Lukan there. Still, Axel was under no illusions of what fealty meant to the Norin; they would never understand, or condone, disloyalty to their leader.
He took a deep breath. “Something good came from my shooting. I was not at the High Council meeting that would have proceeded Lukan’s coronation, and I wasn’t at the coronation, either. I have sworn no allegiance to him. Right now, my only loyalty is to the empire. Like it or not, Norin is part of the empire.”
Thorn snorted. “Fine words, Avanov. They don’t answer my question.” He pointed at Stefan. “An emerald for him, a ruby for you, jaspers for the guardsmen. Seems so simple on the face of it—stones to denote rank. I’m not buying it. So, I ask again, what does your ruby do?”
“I’ll give you the same answer I told Lynx when she asked that question. My ruby does absolutely nothing. As you observe, it denotes rank and, in my view, looks pretty.” He cracked a derisive smile. “A healthy sense of self-preservation stops us Avanovs from implanting mind-controlling technology into our own bodies. We reserve that for the high-born with their emeralds and sapphires, the priestesses with their moonstones, and the guardsmen with their jaspers.”
Another whoosh of sound reverberated through the crowd. Thorn silenced them with a glare.
Axel waved to Stefan. “Tell King Thorn what your gemstone does.”
Stefan pulled a rare smile. “You would implicate me along with you? Lukan learns of this, and I won’t live long enough to annoy you by marrying your sister.”
If Stefan was willing to share something so personal here, he must have grown comfortable among the Norin.
Axel smiled and gave a dismissive hand wave. “I’m in as deep as you are. Your emerald and the guardsmen’s jaspers are what interest the king.”
There was a collective shuffle as every raider, including Thorn, leaned forward.
“My so-called ‘emerald’ was embedded at birth,” Stefan said, bitterness weighing his voice. “It’s an ice crystal the Avanovs use to track me. No matter where I hide on this planet, they can find me, using the gemstone.”
Shock, disbelief, and confusion replaced anticipation on the Norin faces.
Stefan pushed on relentlessly. “As for the guardsmen’s jaspers, you’ve seen them in battle. You might not understand how the technology works, but you know what they can do. Enhanced speed and strength. They also program loyalty to the emperor. Simple devices with diabolical power.”
Axel chose that moment to add, “The Lord of the Household has long desired to embed ice crystal trackers—Lynx calls them ‘leashes’—in every person in the empire. Mott always refused. Who knows where Lukan stands.”
A clamor of voices filled the tent with thirty raiders all shouting questions at once. Axel kept his eyes fixed on King Thorn.
The king shot to his feet. “Silence!”
Absolute and immediate quiet descended, with Axel’s grunt of admiration loud in the stillness. All Axel could hear was the rustle of the tent flap in the wind and the crackle of burning torches.
Disbelief, sorrow, and despair dulled Thorn’s eyes. “And you support this?” he asked Axel, voice pleading for understanding. “My daughter loves a man who would stand by and watch this happening? Tell me it isn’t so.”
Axel flinched, but he quickly regained his composure. But how to answer the king when, in truth, he had never had a problem with the advantage the guardsmen’s jaspers gave him on the battlefield?
He cleared his throat. “Sir, I doubt you lose too much sleep about the murghi you use to shoot my troops with. Having experienced it, I can tell you firsthand that it is a cruel and barbarous way to die. Three days of pure agony. How does that compare to a speedy death at the hands of an enhanced guardsman?”
Thorn hooded his eyes.
Encouraged, Axel continued. “If I ever find myself faced with those two options, I know exactly which I would choose. But you use murghi because it gives you certain advantages in the field. You would be a fool not to. Like you, I have no problem using any help I can to win a military objective. The trouble is, my soldiers are being mind-controlled without their consent. I acknowledge that this raises serious moral issues.”
Stefan chose that moment to step forward. “Axel has never supported the tracker next to my eye. And growing up, he listened daily to his sister berating h
im on the evils of our system. Now, the woman he loves has added her voice to the protest. My friend is not so stupid—or heartless—that he can’t see when change is needed.” He exchanged a smile with Axel filled with camaraderie, affection, and history. “If anyone can destroy the ice crystals trackers, it will be him.”
None of the Norin stirred until Heron raised his hand and looked questioningly at Thorn. The king nodded.
Eyes and face defiant, Heron said, “Colonel, you claim your friend is not heartless, yet he oversaw the death and maiming of sixty-six of our people. How does that work, Warlord Avanov?”
Trust Heron to bring that up. Axel hid all visible signs of irritation, but still, his voice was short. “Mott wanted to ensure Lynx and Kestrel showed up at Tanamre. He commanded me to send fifteen guardsmen to your camp to do their worst. A bloodbath for both sides.” Axel paused. “I argued for thirty guardsmen—fifteen to kill an equivalent number of your raiders while the other fifteen acted as a deterrent to you Norin against attacking my troops. I was overruled. The result wasn’t to any of our liking.”
He took a breath. Heron wasn’t the person he needed to impress.
For Thorn’s benefit, Axel added, “No matter what you think of me or my methods, I have never supported the needless waste of human life. If men must die, then each death must count toward the greater good.”
Thorn grunted. “My daughter is right. You are no snowflake. But I see and hear truth in everything you say. Avanov, two issues confront us: the whereabouts of my daughter and the threat the ice crystals present to my people. You claim to love Lynx, thus I assume that, as extraordinary as it may be, you seek acceptance amongst her people. What do you intend to do find her? And how will you protect her tribe from Lukan and Felix’s ice crystals?”
Almost for the first time in his life, Axel was speechless. Thorn was offering him conditional acceptance in his tribe! But at a potentially exorbitant price: Axel’s loyalty against Lukan and his father.