This wasn’t entirely true. After her sudden departure, and disobeying his orders to stay put, she doubted she’d have any sway with him at all.
The man seemed far from reassured, but the docking alert sounded, and he had to focus on his task.
As soon as the ship was secured, Aurelia released her chest harness and moved quickly to the lower level for departure. The captain joined her as the air lock doors were opening. He didn’t say anything more to her, not that he could with her darting through a gap barely wide enough to get through. As soon as she reached the base of the short ramp, a brisk chilling breeze told her she was home.
Anxiously scanning the landing port for her father, she saw a contingent of royal guards and his private conveyance, but she didn’t see him or Axton.
Then, she heard her name, the familiar voice gruff with emotion. She hadn’t turned fully when strong arms enveloped her.
“Thank the gods you are safe.”
Despite having clearly heard her father’s voice, when she looked up, she met eyes identical to her own and a similar smile, tipped up in relief.
“My sentiments precisely, Sister,” Axton said as his gaze traced her face. A scowl darkened his fair features. “Your face is bruised. Those Voltarrean brutes hit you?”
“No—”
“I knew they couldn’t be trusted.”
“But, Axton, you don’t understand—”
Her father’s gloved hand cupped her face, the thumb tracing the fading bruise left by the Ophig. “They will pay for this,” he muttered angrily.
“It’s not what you think, Papa. Being taken by force, brought to a Napsalese barge, and put up for auction was horrible—”
“I’ll kill them!” Axton roared. “Blow their planet to bits. They will rue the day they dared lay hands on an Aeldorian High Princess!”
She raced to cut in front of her brother as he strode toward the door in a towering rage. “You must listen. The warlord rescued me. This wasn’t Voltarre.”
“Our reports say otherwise. A scout was spotted leaving our airspace then their premier ship rendezvoused with the slavers.”
“Your reports got several details wrong.” She appealed to her father who seemed much calmer than her brother. Axton had already determined Darios’ guilt and wasn’t listening.
“This is too public a forum for this discussion.” He waved his hand toward the waiting vehicle. “We need to get our princess home where she can have privacy to recover from this ordeal and fill us in on what has occurred. Afterward, you can carry on with your plan for vengeance.”
“Papa!”
It took only a few minutes to travel the short distance to the castle. Her father watched her carefully, the entire time, and Axton treated her solicitously as though she might break or fall apart. Once they were inside, in the privacy of the family residence, she started right in with her explanation.
“Voltarre didn’t do this. Ophig mercenaries attacked my caravan then bound, drugged, and kidnapped me.” Her hand crept up to the cheek Ryker had struck, still tender to the touch. “They sold me to the slavers along with three Voltarrean women who suffered the same atrocities, except some were beaten more severely. That’s why the Atagan was near the slave barge, not for nefarious purposes, but on a rescue mission. They saved me and two dozen other females that day.”
Some of her brother’s rage had cooled when he cupped her shoulders and turned her to face him. “Aurelia. If you were drugged, how can you be sure? If they are innocent of these crimes, why not bring you home immediately? Or at least send us word. Of course, we would think the worst.”
“As I said, some of the women were beaten. A few were critical. One of the captives was the warlord’s brother’s wife, who is carrying his heir. We were all exposed to contaminants and toxic gases on that dilapidated ship. The priority was to see us safe and cared for. They couldn’t risk everyone to make a detour for me.”
“I don’t like the sound of contaminants and toxins.”
At the sound of a new voice entering the conversation, Aurelia peeked around her brother. His wife stood by the fireplace, quiet until now.
“Sidrah, I didn’t see you standing there.”
“You were otherwise occupied. But, Sister, I’m concerned. Are you recovered, or do we need to call one of our physicians?”
Aurelia came close to snorting in disbelief. Despite the solicitousness of her question, her tone was as flat as ever, her expression constricted, with a slight crease in her brow and a wrinkle in her near-perfect nose like she’d just caught a whiff of something foul.
Her sister by marriage rarely acted out of concern for anyone other than herself, which led Aurelia to believe her worry was for what she might catch, rather than a sister she didn’t want. And while she put on a show for her brother and the king, currying their favor, the future queen saw nothing to be gained by being more than civil to the spare heir.
“Their healer treated and released me, but you are kind to be so concerned, Sidrah.”
Was her tone too sarcastic? She couldn’t tell.
Her gaze shifted from Axton to her father. Neither appeared to have found anything amiss, but when she glanced at her sister by marriage, she noted the set of her mouth in a hard line. She hadn’t missed the mockery in her comment.
For the millionth time since they’d married, Aurelia puzzled over what her brother could have found appealing in the woman.
“We should have our physicians give you a complete examination to ensure you are fully recovered,” her father was saying, drawing her attention back to him.
“Of course, Papa.”
“Why didn’t you contact us, Aurelia? We were very worried.”
“There was a storm causing interference with communications. Darios tried to send word.”
The two men exchanged glances and shook their heads. “We received nothing,” Axton advised.
“Which is what they feared.”
Into the silence that followed her observation, there came a knock on the door. Axton excused himself to answer it and Aurelia watched as he left.
Since they were children, he’d always had a temper, though his fuse had been much shorter back then. As an adult, it didn’t ignite as quickly, but when it did, it was smart to duck.
Today, when he saw the fading bruises on her face, he’d been livid on her behalf. This wasn’t the behavior of a murderer. But then who?
Moving closer to her father, she said in a hushed tone, “Papa, can we talk in private?”
“Certainly, Aurelia. But what do you need to say that your brother can’t hear? Did they treat you poorly? We need to know—”
“No, it’s nothing like that. Darios and his family were very welcoming, and he was only concerned for my safety. Which is what I wanted to talk to you about.”
She cast Sidrah a fleeting look. Where she usually had a bored air about her, for once she seemed to have a keen interest in what they were saying.
Aurelia lowered her voice to a whisper. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about what happened, and many things simply don’t add up. How did the Ophigs get past our security undetected? They came specifically for me. How did they know where to find me?”
“All good questions, daughter. Ones I intend to find answers to.”
“Those answers will have to wait,” Axton announced as he strode back into the room. “It seems the Voltarrean Warlord has arrived and is demanding an audience, as well as the return of his bride.” His eyes drilled into Aurelia. “Something you forgot to mention, Sister?”
Chapter Fifteen
UNABLE TO SIT STILL, Aurelia paced before the dais in her father’s receiving room. She missed Darios—even after such a brief separation—but she didn’t expect this reunion to be pleasant.
When the doors were thrown open and he strode in, flanked by Cogar and Iyo, the three of them were an intimidating sight. Darios, however, through his bearing, taller than the other two by inches, his signature red cape c
ontrasting with his bronze skin, and the way he practically oozed self-assurance, took her breath away.
His gaze homed in on her, immediately, neither glancing at or greeting her father or brother, which was their due. Instead, he headed directly to her, his men hanging back as he approached.
Axton stepped between them before he could reach her.
Her father moved to stand shoulder to shoulder, with his son, shielding her from a perceived threat, and rightly so. Though a large man by Aeldorian standards, Axton was dwarfed by Darios, her father more so. And even if she didn’t recognize the heat of anger smoldering in his gold-flecked brown eyes, she could feel it radiating off him in waves.
With this inauspicious start to their meeting, Aurelia felt compelled to do something before things got out of control. She gripped her brother’s arm and pleaded softly, “Let’s sit and discuss things calmly, please.”
But the warlord’s deep voice drowned out her own.
“You can’t mean to keep me from my affirmed wife. No matter our differences, we have always agreed a marital bond is sacred.”
“You mentioned this marriage in your arrival demand, Lord Darios, but my daughter remembers no such vows.”
His fiery gaze settled on her and, for a moment, he simply stared. “She is mistaken.” His statement rumbled like distant thunder in the room. Then he extended his hand to her. “Come here, Aurelia. Your place is now at my side.”
She pushed between her two protectors and faced him without fear, but she couldn’t contain the ripple of nervousness that set her insides to fluttering.
“Darios—” she began, while taking another hesitant step toward him.
“Do not move any closer.” Axton caught her upper arm and pulled her back. “Obviously, you are the one mistaken, Lord Darios. Aurelia tells us the Ophigs were behind this, and it was you who rescued her. We are grateful for your intercession. Of course, your men will be released. Our apologies for that. You must understand how it looked.”
“We will discuss your unprovoked attack on one of my ships in a moment. First things first.” The warlord’s gaze, which had shifted momentarily to her brother, moved to her once again. His proffered hand didn’t waver when he ordered, “Come to me, bride of my heart.”
Beside her, she heard her father’s sharply indrawn breath before he demanded, “Aurelia, is this true?”
“How can it be? He is of Voltarre,” Axton answered for her, sounding perplexed, but not half as much as her. He seemed to have some insight, at least, into what was happening here.
“Am I missing something?” Her gaze darted nervously between Axton and Darios, expecting them to come to blows at any moment, then to her father who had a stricken expression on his face.
“Think, Daughter. Did you speak vows with Lord Darios?”
“We became close during our time together and spoke of a future. I was feverish for a while, but I would recall a ceremony with an officiant and witnesses if there had been one.”
The king groaned and speared his fingers through his thick snowy-white hair.
“What’s wrong? I don’t understand.”
“A ceremony or an officiant, even witnesses aren’t necessary on Voltarre,” her father explained. “A spoken vow is all it takes to bind a couple together, and once said, it cannot be denied. Such a denial could too easily be deemed false by their truthsayers. This is their way, Aurelia, and to them, binding means until death.”
Her mind raced through their interactions over the past few days, of which many were emotionally charged and intimate.
Bride of my heart.
That had struck a chord with her father.
The first time she’d heard those words came rushing back.
“This connection between us, does it always burn so bright and happen this quickly?”
“When you find the one meant for you, and only you? Yes. You are the bride of my heart, Aurelia.” He caught her hand in his and laid it flat over his chest. “I feel it here. Do you feel the same?”
Her reply had come while gazing into his deeply expressive eyes. “Yes, Darios. I do.”
“I do,” she repeated aloud. A knot formed in the pit of her stomach along with the dawning realization that she’d missed something of great—no, of huge, possibly epic—importance that night.
“Then it’s true?” her father asked.
“I, uh...well, yes...but I—” While she stammered her response, Darios’ head tilted ever so slightly in challenge. The knot twisted tighter when she had to admit, “I thought it a romantic euphemism...at the time.”
Axton snorted without humor. “No insult intended to the overlord, Sister. But does he look the romantic hearts-and-flowers type to you?”
Darios stood with his arms crossed over his broad chest, patiently waiting. At least that’s how it appeared on the outside, but she sensed he wasn’t quite so calm underneath. A muscle jumped in his cheek, above his clenched jaw, as if straining to keep his emotions in check.
With anyone else, a simple touch would reveal what she could only guess at. Anger, most certainly, but what else? Regret? Heaven help her, she hoped not.
As she watched him, struggling to make sense of what had taken place, his left brow rose a fraction. In that simple gesture, without saying a word, he beckoned her to him.
After three times, in all, she didn’t push him further.
When she moved, Axton’s grip on her arm tightened. She glanced up at him. “It’s all right, Brother. He won’t hurt me.”
“Are you certain?”
A low growl rumbled through the room, which made her brother tense.
“I am absolutely certain,” she replied, squeezing his restraining hand but also pulling it free from her arm.
She approached, and when she was close enough, this time Darios’ clasped her upper arm and hauled her into his side. She reached up and covered his long fingers with her own. “I know you are angry—”
“Angry doesn’t come close to describing how I feel.”
“I’m not familiar with many of your customs. Not having many truthsayers around, we have a public ceremony when wed, with hundreds if not thousands of witnesses.”
“I understand that—now.”
She laid her palm against his chest. “You thought I made vows and left you within hours. No wonder you look like you want to shake my teeth loose.”
“It is one of the many things we need to discuss—but later, when we are alone.”
“Daughter,” her father interrupted, choking on the word and sounding distressed.
She spun quickly, to see if he needed assistance. His skin had become a more pronounced shade of pale, and his eyes had taken on a glazed appearance.
“Papa, are you ill?”
“He doesn’t cause you pain?”
She followed his gaze to her hand clasped in Darios’ firm hold, their fingers entwined.
“Isn’t it amazing?” she asked, her voice low and husky with awe. “Except for Axton and mother, he is the only other person I’ve ever been able to touch without being overwhelmed by an onslaught of everything they’ve felt in the past.”
Aziros staggered back and sat heavily on a bench by the wall, knowing, like everyone else in the room the significance of this.
“He isn’t one of us. It is difficult to fathom how this is possible.”
“We are different, Father,” she agreed, “but also the same. You better than anyone know that.”
“No!” Axton exclaimed. “This marriage cannot stand. He came with a battlecruiser and four other ships, prepared to make war on our people.”
“Four?” she whispered in an aside to Darios. “That was a considerable show of strength.”
“I came for my bride, and to retrieve my men. I didn’t plan to leave either here without a fight.”
He didn’t lower his voice a decibel and her brother and father weren’t deaf. Her grasp tightened, hoping he would correctly interpret her urging for tact and calm heads.
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“Someone is pitting us against each other, don’t you see, Brother? The Ophigs gained access to the Northern Sector. They aren’t the smartest species in the galaxy so, we have to wonder how. Certainly not on their own. Someone gave them access and told them of my location. Then, they moved on to Voltarre and took three of their women. Of course Darios would give chase, and you would suspect it was them behind my abduction. Everything fell into place, whether planned or not, and the dust cloud that has been the bane of my existence for too dratted long hasn’t helped matters one darn bit.”
What she said, which was plenty, took a moment to settle then, her brother asked, “But who would want you dead?”
“The Ophig we captured believes you hired them to kill her.”
“Me!” he exclaimed, his deep voice rising a full octave.
“A little tact goes a long way, my lord,” she muttered to him under her breath.
“Why sugarcoat the truth?” he replied, not bothering to modulate his tone the least little bit in discretion. Aurelia sighed, as another headache began pounding in her head.
“But...it’s not... I’d never...” Axton sputtered in shock. “’Tis a lie,” he finally managed. “She is not only my sister, but my twin. Losing her would be like cutting off my arm.”
“Aeldorian twins are known for their treachery,” Darios suggested. “Your history is filled with it.”
With her brother glaring daggers at the warlord, and him being less than helpful smoothing things over, she felt it best to keep them apart. Getting in between them, she caught Axton’s face with her hands and dragged it down close to hers.
“I don’t believe you’re behind this, Axton, but someone is trying to make it look like you are. Until we find out who, I am not safe here, which is another reason Darios didn’t promptly bring me home.”
“She has been through quite an ordeal, and I will not risk it happening again.” Standing directly behind her now, he settled his hand at her waist in a blatant show of possession. “I am not letting her out of my sight, or that of my guards. We’ll be returning to my ship, tonight.”
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