Rebel's Honor: Book One in Crown of Blood Series

by Gwynn White

  Not that any of it mattered, because, flirt that he was, Axel had a girlfriend.

  And Lynx was on a mission of honor. She just needed some breathing space before she hefted that burden again. It was not lost on her that she had to swallow her pride. Lukan would probably never hunt her down to put things right between them.

  And she had still made no headway with the gemstones.

  She cleared her throat to steady her voice. “You, Axel Avanov, while more than a stranger, lack the vital ingredients needed to be my friend.”

  Axel ran one of his beautiful hands through his dark hair and then mocked, “Dragon’s nostrils, Princess, before I allow myself to be hurt and offended, let me guess: you need a girl who will sit and dissect my cousin’s extraordinary behavior with you?”

  Lynx glared at him over her goblet and then took a risk born of desperation. “He’s not the only one whose behavior troubles me. How can I trust you when you’re so obviously a committed part of the Avanov machine? You wear your ridiculous ruby and your general’s uniform with pride. What does your stone do for you, Axel? Make you into some kind of superhuman? Or is that reserved for priestesses and ordinary guardsmen? And if that’s not weird enough, that zombie, Count Felix, is your father.”

  Axel’s jaw dropped, then his head darted from side to side, eyes scanning the crowds. No one seemed close enough to stop him from replying, “Princess Lynx of Norin, queen of indiscretion. Must you always open your mouth just to change feet?”

  He leaned in closer to whisper, “I’m not in control of my parentage, but that doesn’t mean I’m not smart enough to take full advantage of the benefits it offers. And you’re right, I am part of the ‘Avanov machine,’ as you call it. My father and his brother are the most powerful men in the world. When my father dies—which he will, despite your claim that he’s already a ‘zombie’—I will inherit his money, his chunk of the planet, and more power than even he can imagine. Does that worry me? No. Not one bit.”

  Axel grimaced at a couple who joined them against the wall. “Come. I want to dance.”

  He grabbed Lynx’s goblet, dumped it on the floor, and pulled her into the swirling dancers. Lynx leaned into him as he held her hand and clasped her hip, drinking in his smell, reminiscent of the plains of home, fresh air, and running water. She couldn’t even remember what Lukan smelled like.

  Axel’s breath fluttered against her ear. “There are some things you don’t speak about in Chenaya, Princess. Gemstones are one of them. Not unless you want the emperor to set the date for your execution. You got that?”

  Heart racing, she leaned back and asked as nonchalantly as possible, “Why?”

  Axel’s shoulders sagged, and a look of exasperation settled on his face. He pulled her close his chest and whispered, “Why’s it so important?”

  “Somehow, the she-witch used her gemstone to zap me with lightning.”

  “Electricity,” Axel corrected.

  Lynx’s eyes widened with excitement, which she quickly quelled. It wouldn’t help to let Axel know what she was up to. She rolled the unfamiliar word on her tongue. “E-lec-triss-i-ty.”

  “You got it. Although we usually say it with a bit more speed.”

  She pinched the firm skin on his hipbone, hard, making him wince. He grabbed her hand, holding it in his. While she didn’t resist, she didn’t let the delightful sensation shooting through her core deflect her from her mission.

  “So, Axel, electricity . . . what is it? Where does it come from, and how does it work?”

  And how can I use it to protect my family from you and your guardsmen? And overthrow your empire while we’re at it?

  She cleared her throat. “There’s so much information—knowledge—you Avanovs are hiding from the rest of us.”

  Axel snorted a laugh. But she noticed that he danced her into a crowd cheering a fire-eater. With shrieks of delight at the man’s antics drowning out their conversation, Axel said, “You don’t know the half of it, my Lynxie.”

  Eyes steeled, she glared at him, ignoring the wobble in her belly at the possessive my before her nickname. “So start talking.”

  “Nice try.”

  Maybe by playing hard-to-get, she could taunt him into telling her. “Then we have nothing more to say to each other.” Lynx stopped dancing and drew her hands away from his.

  He delighted her by grabbing her fingers. She pretended to stiffen but didn’t resist as he pulled her against him.

  A triumphant smile quirked when he leaned in to whisper, “Electricity predates the Burning. And ballrooms are not the place for that kind of discussion.”

  Predated the Burning? Impossible. Nothing survived the Burning. She and Axel definitely needed to talk. She took his hip again and allowed him to lead her around the dance floor. “Then, where?”

  “Somewhere very private, for all I want to tell you. The best place would probably be your room.”

  Lynx sucked in a startled breath, and her knees buckled, making her stumble over Axel’s feet. “My room?” she squeaked. “Are you sure that’s safe? For me?”

  He grinned at her while fighting for balance. “You’ll have to trust me on that.”

  Hmm . . . maybe Axel was playing with her as much she was leading him on. Disturbing thought. “Which brings us back to my problem with you.” She steadied herself by gripping his shoulder. “I don’t trust you.”

  He shrugged. “The information you’re asking for comes at a price. Your trust. Is it worth it, Lynxie?”

  Was it worth it? Should she risk having Axel Avanov in her bedchamber in exchange for vital information?

  It would at least satisfy one of the oaths she was bound by. But what of the other? Was it even possible to fulfill two totally conflicting oaths?

  Maybe if her father knew what gave the guardsmen their strength, he could counter it—if she failed in her promise to marry Lukan and Mott sent his troops to Norin.

  Then a second problem hit her. Would Axel be happy talking to her in the sitting room? If not, the armchairs next to her enormous bed? Or, girlfriend notwithstanding, would he want to—

  She pushed the thought aside. This wasn’t a tryst. Despite Axel’s flirting, his girlfriend need have no fear that Lynx would poach her man. Meeting privately with him was nothing more than a desperate attempt to find information needed for her to survive in the Avanov palace and protect her family. “My room. What time?”

  “Three o’clock.” He glanced at her wrist, sans watch, and clicked his tongue, as if he hadn’t approved of the she-witch destroying it. “The bells will ring three times.”

  Lynx kept her face expressionless. “Don’t be late.”

  “My father’s spies are everywhere. So, as much as I hate to do it, I’m going to abandon you now in case he thinks we’re plotting some nefarious activity.” Sardonic smile in place, Axel’s hands dropped to his sides, and he skipped away from her. A flippant bow followed.

  “You need to brush up on some of the dance steps, Princess. I’m sure my foot will be bruised in the morning.” He sauntered away, leaving her alone on the dance floor.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The palace bells had not yet finished chiming when a knock sounded on Lynx’s bedroom door. Axel was prompt, which was more than she could say for his cousin. She welcomed him to her room with a cautious smile, but he didn’t acknowledge her.

  Without waiting for her to close the door, he pulled an unlit candle on a solid brass holder from under his cloak and strode to the sconce on the wall, the only lighting in the room. Deftly, he lit his candle and dumped it on the closest table. Then he killed the flames in the sconce with his fingers, swirled out of his cloak, and draped it over the wall mounting. If that wasn’t strange enough, he pulled her across the room, farthest from the sconce he seemed to dislike so much.

  “My,” she said, “you do like to make an entrance.”

  “Don’t ever linger in front of a candle sconce if you can help it. And never hold a private conversa
tion in the vicinity of one.”

  Lynx laughed. “Have you seen someone about this phobia? Surely there’s some remedy a healer can give you?”

  “Cute. That was your first lesson in electricity. Dramatic, but I needed to make a point.” He cocked his thumb at the sconce. “Even though I neutralized this one before I came here.”

  “‘Neutralized’? Isn’t that a euphemism for killed?”

  “That works.”

  “Okay. You have my attention.” Lynx tossed the cushions from the armchairs onto the floor and grabbed the candlestick from the table. She put it down, too, where it cast a circle of golden light. She sat, crossed her legs, and patted the cushion next to her. “Care to explain?”

  Axel stood over her, smiling. “As you know, I love your legs. But is the floor really necessary? You are in civilization now.”

  She flung a cushion at him, scoring a direct hit on the side of his face. “Sit. Speak.”

  “How can I possibly disobey, Princess?” He laughed, plonked down next to her, stretched his long legs out, and rested his head on his hand. “Happy now?”

  The candlelight softened the planes of his face, making him look less like an Avanov and more like the friend—or lover? —she longed for. Despite her determination not to flirt with him, her face betrayed her by grinning at him. “I’ll be happy when you start talking, General.”

  “Do you remember that sword-sharpening exercise of mine on the train?”

  The image of his forearms flashed through her memory. “How could I forget?”

  “Stefan sent Saskia to sort through your dresses to get her out of your hair—”

  “That was kind of him,” Lynx interrupted. “He’s a bit of an enigma, our Colonel Zarot.”

  “Do you mind?” Axel flicked her arm playfully with his fingernail. “I’m in the middle of a fascinating story.”

  Lynx gave him a mock bow. “Please, my lord, continue.”

  “That would be good, if you actually meant it. Anyway, Stefan went to the guard car, where he sent the duty officers off to inspect something that didn’t need inspecting. Do you know why he did that?”

  Lynx shrugged. “Like I said, he’s an enigmatic man.”

  “No. Well, a bit.” He smiled fondly as if thinking of something specific about Zarot. “But that’s not the point. He wanted to make sure none of the guardsmen overheard Bear’s pathetic attempts at warning you about life in the palace.”

  Lynx folded her arms across her chest. “I knew you were listening.”

  “Of course I was listening. Understanding was the problem.” He rolled his gorgeous golden-brown eyes. “You were speaking Norin.”

  Lynx leaned back and studied Axel’s face.

  It was surprisingly open and sincere.

  “You have no idea how many questions this conversation raises. How did you hear us? We were talking so quietly. Does your ruby enhance your hearing as well as your speed? Because, clearly, the jasper does something to the guardsmen’s hearing if Stefan had to get them busy while we spoke.”

  It took Axel a moment to reply, and she wondered if he would deny the power of the stones.

  “Lynxie,” he said in an amused voice, “where was the guard car on the train?”

  “At the back. Why?” she asked, bristling at his patronizing tone and smile.

  “Nothing can enhance human hearing enough to discern Bear whispering to you through a steel dining car, a steel salon, and half a dozen steel sleeper cars on a moving steam train.”

  That sounded logical. No wonder he was mocking her. A blush scorched her face. “I knew that.”

  Axel laughed, and he reached up to cup her cheek. “Sure you did.”

  Remembering his girlfriend, Lynx pulled away.

  Axel didn’t stop her. “You—and the rest of the world—think all technology was lost in the Burning.”

  “It was. And the vile stuff that survived was destroyed as part of The Treaty of Hope.”

  People still spoke about some of those technological horrors, but the stories were always so embellished and far-fetched, Lynx didn’t know what was myth and what was truth.

  “You’re wrong, my Lynxie. While he was signing the Treaty of Hope, Thurban’s scientists were searching for manuscripts and weaponry. A lot of them didn’t survive the aftermath of the Burning, but enough returned to Cian with incredible treasures. Since then, my family have built on that technology—all for a very specific purpose.” Serious eyes locked on her face. “Does the Dmitri Curse mean anything to you?”

  Those machines had almost destroyed the planet, yet the Avanovs had salvaged them? Still owned them?

  “No. Never. What is it? A weapon from before?”

  He sniggered. “Hardly. But I guess you could still call it a weapon—of sorts.” He cleared his throat. “What I’m going to tell you never leaves this room. Got that?”

  Got that? Poor Axel! Those words didn’t even form a promise, let alone an oath. She nodded. “Of course.”

  “Thurban had a brother—Dmitri—who was a seer of some kind.”

  Lynx raised her eyebrows skeptically.

  “Yes, weird as that sounds, he could see the future.”

  “Handy,” Lynx said, wondering what all of this had to do with gemstones and electricity.

  “Trust me, it didn’t turn out so well for Dmitri. Thurban flayed him after the invasion of Norin.”

  Lynx’s voice was brittle as she asked, “And why would he do that?”

  “Dmitri tricked him into signing the Unity with Norin—and then proceeded to curse the Avanov line. He prophesied that a crown prince would marry a Norin princess who would deliver a son to destroy his father and the Chenayan empire. Or that’s what every Avanov is told, virtually from birth. Since then, every crown prince has done everything possible to convince the family he would never destroy the empire. That includes trying to wriggle out of marrying his Norin betrothed. Every one of them failed in the marriage department. Dmitri said that if the Avanovs destroyed Norin or reneged on the Unity, then the Free Nations would muster an army to slaughter us. No one has dared taken Dmitri up on that, so, the curse has some bite.” Axel brushed her face with a gentle hand. “It’s why the Avanovs don’t like you Norin much. We can’t get rid of you, but we can’t bear to keep you alive, either.”

  Lynx’s breath stuttered. That explained so much. And it opened so many possibilities. If true, could she be the woman prophesied about? The idea sent a thrill coursing through her.

  Then, it struck her that Axel may not fancy having his empire destroyed.

  It was time to rein in her emotions. She dropped what she hoped was a neutral expression over her face. “Does that include you?”

  Axel’s face hardened to granite. “I didn’t support sending fifteen guardsmen into Norin.”

  Lynx wanted to believe him, but the pain of loss was still too raw. Voice icy, she asked, “How does this all fit in with gemstones and electricity?”

  Disappointment flickered across Axel’s face—could he have expected anything else? His face cleared, and his voice became businesslike. “In a quest to prevent that Norin princess and her son from ever rallying an army, my family have used that technology to create the finest military surveillance system in the world. It keeps the conquered at our feet.”

  Lynx bristled. “That is precisely what the Treaty of Hope was supposed to prevent.”

  “Foul play, I know, but that’s how it is.” Axel hopped up and strode across the darkened room to his cloak, hanging over the sconce. He pulled a second sconce, identical to the one on her wall, from a pocket inside the lining and tossed it to her.

  She caught it in midair.

  “Have a good look at that and tell me what you see.”

  Holding it in the faint candlelight, Lynx turned it over in her hands, studying every angle. She looked up at him and shrugged. “Can’t see anything.”

  “Maybe some light would help.” Again, his hand vanished into his cloak, this time ap
pearing with a black metal tube. He tossed that to her, too. “Hold it and see what happens.”

  It fit in her palm, and as her fingers closed over it, a beam of brilliant white light burst from the front. Lynx gasped, dropping it as if it had burned her. It hadn’t, but she’d never seen anything so incredible. Or unbelievable. The light vanished. She looked at Axel.

  “It uses the heat from your body to create light, but it won’t hurt you, I promise.” Kneeling in front of her, he picked up the tube and wedged it in her hand. She closed her fingers over it, and the beam flared once more.

  “This is amazing, Axel,” she whispered in awe.

  “I rather like it, too. See, not everything from before the Burning is bad.”

  She looked up at his face, just inches from hers. They smiled, locked together in the wonder of her discovery.

  “Now look at the sconce again,” he said.

  With more confidence, she held the sconce under the beam, noticing the tiniest flare of light reflecting back at her. She leaned in closer for a better look. “Is that . . . glass?”

  “Ice crystal. That’s what the emeralds, sapphires, jasper, and the moonstones are made from.” He touched the ruby next to his eye. “This is real. And so are the diamonds. Everyone else? They wear ice crystal embedded with tiny—” he paused, scratching the stubble on his chin, “brains. Well, not really, but . . . okay, it’s like a . . . man-made intelligence powered by body heat.”

  Even though Lynx was finally getting her answers, they made no sense to her. They would mean nothing to her father, either. She looked at Axel blankly.

  He sighed with frustration.

  Lynx figured that, for him, it must be similar to communicating with someone who spoke a foreign language. She gave him what she hoped was an understanding smile.

  He responded by stroking her face with a gentle finger. “Look, you’ve already come a long way from candles to—”

  “I’m not a child!” Lynx swatted his hand away. Difficult as this was, she had to grasp it all.