Chapter Six

I grabbed a couple of towels on my way out of the bathroom and into the bedroom – the place where I had found so much pleasure, which had led to my undoing. Lady Athena, would that I had exercised more control over myself and passions, but oh Lady Aphrodite, I thank you for those moments of bliss.

Walking swiftly across the bedroom, I struggled to wrap a towel around my body and dry myself at the same time. I only succeeded in tangling myself up in the soft, blue material.

In a fit of temper that Phillipus would have recognized, I invoked Hestia and threw the towels to the floor, kicking them for good measure. The towels landed with a soft thump onto the carpeted floor.

Warm, damp hands landed on my shoulders and I jumped. "Those evil towels," Kal murmured.

He wrapped a soft towel around my back, tucking it under my arms and over my breasts. His hands slid down, gently rubbing the towel against my wet skin.

Tears leaked again. Damn him. I didn't want his humor or his kindness. Affection from Kal made everything worse.

"Is this what you do when you're with your sklava? Treat each fallen queen as if she still has some remnant of her power?"

Kal pressed his lips to my shoulder and sighed. "I freed them. My Hunter's Moon gift to them and to you."

"You freed them?"

My heart twisted, this man had me crying again. "Really?"

Kal turned me to him, his hand smoothing the towel soft down my spine. His gaze fixed on my mouth and a muscle jumped in his jaw.

"You may never be queen or Empress, Diana."

His hand stilled and his gaze flicked up, the shine to his eyes telling of his own pain. He let out a slow breath and began a slow stroke over my waist, my hip. "And I will always curse my mother and Kara for robbing you of that but I can make it, and keep it, just…us."

I wanted to believe that. Everything in me didn't want to share Kal with anyone else. Then reality reasserted itself. "Until the new Empress orders you to remove the threat of yet another aikaterine."

"Sons deal with that threat, not brothers."

"That's not the law, Kal."

The fire in his eyes flickered, finding a rekindling fire in my gut, reminding me why I'd hunted him in the first place.

Strength of will surged around him. "It will be."

A smile twitched across my mouth. "You're sure you can persuade the Empress into doing what you want?"

Kal snorted. "Kara isn't strong. Not as strong as the occupant of the Sky Throne should be." His hand framed my jaw, his thumb playing with my lip. "Not like you." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "My mother has done all of the Empire a disservice by denying you."

"Flattery?"

"Maybe…" But the hardness to his face, the barest touch of a smile on his mouth said that he wasn't humoring me. He stepped back. "As you said, it's time to welcome the new day."

I snatched up another of the towels from the bed and rubbed it hard over my hair. The action diverted me.

Without bothering to dress or cover my body, I walked over to the window to stare down at the lawns. Kal's bedroom overlooked the grand lawns where all the state functions were held.

Even as early as this, the lawn was a buzz of activity. Workers scurried to arrange the platform for the dignitaries, for the Empress and the hunting aikaterines.

A smile quirked my mouth and then faltered.

Everyone would witness my humiliation.

My hands stopped and I let the towel drop to the floor. Donna would see me standing before practically every queen in the Empire, clad in Kal's colours.

"Diana, you have to dress."

The towel wrapped around my body joined the first one on the floor.

I turned. Kal was holding up the most beautiful gown that I had seen. And as Amazon Princess, I had no end of treasures and beautiful things at my disposal.

It was sheer shimmer and softness – as blue as Kal's eyes and made of a fine silken material. As he brought the robe to me, near the window, the rustle of soft cloth suddenly was too loud in the room. I looked from the robe to his face and then back out of the window again. I was suddenly unwilling to dress and go down.

"None of it feels quite real."

"I know," he said simply. No apologies. No explanations. No endearments. I did not want to like Kal, not now, especially not now.

Then he added, "Years ago I didn't plan on facing the dawn like this."

As I took the gown from him, I rubbed my fingers over the impossibly smooth material. It had to be Terran silkworms that had spun the threads for this gown – no other material in the Empire was as soft. Then, what Kal had said suddenly sank into my consciousness and I stopped to look at him. "Years?" I repeated questioningly.

"A young Princess, only just eligible to attend, looked at me with fire in her eyes."

Puzzled, I glanced up from trying to put on the silken gown.

A smile tugged at his mouth. "Me?"

"You."

"Really?" It made struggling into the stupid gown easier.

Kal stepped forward and helped to adjust the fabric over my body.

"Nice to know I made an impression."

"I planned more." His finger traced a path over my stomach, warming my skin.

"And now, I finally have you."

His blue eyes shone and I beat down the insane need I had to jump him again.

He teased a finger across the curve of my belly and sensed my stiffening. He lifted an eyebrow. "What?"

"All this time, I've wondered about you. And I'm annoyed that Artemis snared you first!"

Kal's soft laughter tightened the knot in my stomach. "I know," he said.

I smacked his arm and he winced.

My eyes narrowed. "What happened with Artemis?"

The hand idly stroking my stomach stopped. "Why?"

I smirked. "I want to know."

I moved to the table and long mirror set in front of the windows.

"She did not share my bed or any other part of me."

"I don't believe you. Wayne said…"

"I know what Wayne said, it's what he and everyone else believed. Yes, she snared me first, but her heart was set on Hal. I was only the means to make Hal jealous and get him to concede defeat immediately. Artemis was afraid that Hal would escape her. She offered to help me snare you in return for my help with Hal. How could I say no?"

"Shame I don't quite see it that way."

Taking a brush, I dragged it through the tangles of my hair. "Perhaps, I should have made the same deal with Wayne."

I smiled at him though, through the mirror, enjoying the swift rise of anger in his gaze.

Kal eyes met mine in the mirror. "Ever since I saw you all those years ago, I've known that you are the one for me. Your eyes issued me a challenge but you were too young then, and not fully an aikaterine. Artemis was the only one who knew how I felt. As queen of her own province, I could approach Artemis easily for help in learning more about you. She told me when you train, where I could catch glimpses of you on the island. I've sometimes used the inter-stellar monitor to see you…and then, when the last Cosmic Science Delegation came to Themyscira, I tried tell you how I felt, but you know what happened next…"

It had very nearly caused an inter-planetary breach of peace. I thought back to the incident that Kal spoke of.

We had just finished the dinner that had been hosted by my mother and her council to felicitate the Science Delegation, of which Kal had been the leader. The last course was to be served – sweet dishes from every planet in the Empire. As the Empress' only son and as my mother's eldest daughter, it was natural that Kal and I were seated next to each other.

Just as the servers were serving me, Kal turned to talk to me and the dish of wattillappam, a Themysciran delicacy, over turned on me. I was unharmed, but was equally unprepared for what happened next.

Kal had moved with amazing swiftness, and lifted me in his arms, moving quickly away from the table. I was so stunned that I only lay there looking into his blue, blue eyes with his firm mouth mere inches from mine. I noticed then that he even had a cleft in his chin, the man was maddeningly attractive. I could feel the strength of his powerful arm muscles as he held me.

"Let me go," I had whispered without meaning it.

Kal bent his head toward me, his breath soft on my lips. He ran his hands soothingly along my back. "No", I whispered again. His touch was gentle, relaxing, and I wanted to let him continue, but I knew I must not. Certainly, not in front of my mother, her Council, the Cosmic Science Delegation…

"Yes," he had whispered back. "I have been wanting to kiss you ever since I first saw you." His head came down then and gently, ever so softly, he touched his lips to mine. He smelled fresh, yet distinctively male. As his lips nibbled delicately at mine, he slowly pushed his tongue into my mouth. Tentatively, I touched it with my own. We played like that for the rest of the kiss, then, he slowly, reluctantly, broke the kiss.

I had stared at him and slowly brushed my lips with my fingers. I had been nearly incoherent and speechless, "You, you kissed me."

I winced now. Back then there had been wonder in my voice. "That was my first kiss."

"I can do more than that," Kal had assured me. And he bent his lips to mine once more. He threw every bit of himself into the kiss. It was hot, it was reckless, it was powerful, it was sweetso sweet. . . .

Young and never before having interacted with a man, I had felt caught up in a maelstrom of sensation that I had never experienced before. My body felt hot, my face felt flushed, and my thoughts were whirling. This man, this strong, powerful man, was holding me and doing things to me that felt wonderful. . . .

What was he doing to me? I had never felt so light, so floating. My fingers had taken on a will of their own, and I tugged at the long hair at the back of his neck to pull him closer to me.

Kal had tasted so wonderful. He had tasted of peaches and honey . .of man. It was a sweet kiss, the only kiss I had ever tasted until then and I had forgotten where we were. But not the onlookers who were aghast (Donna shared this with me later that night).

It had been scarcely seconds since Kal had carried me away from the table and begun kissing me on his way out of the door. But Phillippus, alert as ever had already raised the alarm, and I felt my mother's fury before I heard her voice. Even in the midst of the tumultuous sensations that Kal's kiss had evoked in me, I shuddered at Hippolyta's outcry, "Cease and desist, Kryptonian spawn! Unhand my daughter immediately and prepare to die painfully. Diana, drop him at once!"

Drop Kal, I thought bemusedly? My mother, my Queen, though she was and had to be obeyed, was surely mistaken – it was Kal who had to drop me, he was holding me.

Still, somehow, Kal got the message and I was lowered gently to the floor.

Phillipus had already closed our borders – the incident was viewed as a Kryptonian assault on an Amazon Princess. It took all of the Kryptonian contingent's diplomatic skills to soothe matters, not the least being the promise that Prince Kal would no longer enjoy diplomatic immunity on Themyscira. And Kal certainly did not help by claiming that there was no state intention in the incident – it was personal – that made matters worse – a Kryptonian Prince's personal assault on the body of an Amazon Princess?

It did not bear thinking about…

I was jolted out of my reverie by the light touch of Kal's hands cupping my shoulders as he stood behind me.

"I know I shouldn't say this…but you look stunning, Diana."

I gripped his fingers, wanting to draw warmth from him as I drew courage to meet the assembled royals and Donna.

Donna. How was I going to explain my decision to Donna?

"Time to go, Kal."

"One final piece," he said, placing a glittering golden torc around my neck to lie flat against my breastbone.

Kal's insignia – a red and gold pentagon hung from the centre at base of my throat.

My blood cooled instantly – last night, it had all seemed so right, so perfect to me. In the cold light of the morning, my blood turned to ice in my veins.

As if understanding what I was going through, Kal gently bent and kissed me.

Fire burned fast through my chest, stomach, limbs, the heat I'd grown used to, the need to kiss and cling to Kal throbbed low in my belly.

A wicked smile pulled at his mouth. "And there's no time for that, Diana." He let out a tight breath and his fingers slid across my stomach to play just above where I ached for him.

Hades take him. His mouth parted and his tongue teased my earlobe.

"Much as I would like to indulge you…."

I took a deep breath, fighting down the urge to let him. He fixed his cape and offered me his arm, "Shall we?"

I slipped my hand into his, the warm, tight grip of his fingers keeping me steady.

"Shouldn't I be walking behind you?"

"Yes."

The doors to the bedroom opened onto the corridor beyond. "Am I going to?"

"No."

I blew out a slow breath and a smile lurked on my mouth. "All right."

Kal led the way out of his apartment and into the great circular room beyond. He turned to another set of doors. They opened onto a brightly lit stairwell, leading down at least four levels. "The secret staircase out to the gardens," he said, his boots clicking against the twisting, marble steps.

I padded quickly beside him, my sandal covered feet chilled.

My heart thudded. I was Kal's sklava. Everyone would see that, treat me as little more than chattel with legs.

"Diana, relax," he murmured, giving my fingers a quick squeeze. "This will soon be over, and then you'll never wear these robes or the collar again. I promise."

I willed down the tight knot of nerves.

Kal was a man of his word. I knew that too well.

The knowledge that I was still the daughter of a queen, for however short a time, helped to ease the tension. I said a quick prayer to Athena and to Hera for the courage and the strength to live through the next few hours.

Kal stopped at the bottom of the stairs, an arched wooden door the only exit. I lifted my chin and steeled myself for what was to come.

Kal pressed a gentle kiss to my lips, "Ready?"

My spine straightened and I ignored the sudden twist of shame in my gut. I was his sklava, but that put me in Kal's bed. The remembered taste of his lips, the heat of his skin, the press of his mouth…

Yes, I could live with the momentary humiliation, put it behind me and have a happy smirk on my face. "I'm ready."

A smile eased over his mouth and I had to resist the urge to lock my lips on to his full lips and taste him again. "You're the most unsubservient sklava they're ever going to see."

I lifted an eyebrow. "Worried?"

"Proud," he said and pulled open the door. Cool air washed over my bare shoulders and I held down a shiver, though goose bumps ran riot.

It was the hour before dawn.

Lamps swayed in the breezes, pooling golden light over the trampled grass, and row after row of seating set before the royal dais. Kal's seven sklava already stood at its base, their blue costumes glittering in the flickering light.

Their unnatural calm irritated me. Was that who I would become in the end? All my fire would be extinguished.

I willed down the pain in my gut and pulled my eyes away only to notice that some of the younger princes gathered under the sheltered areas were looking at me hotly.

Kal growled, the sound carrying on the dark air. Suddenly the flattened grass seemed of vital interest to the small knot of men and I didn't hold down my little smirk. "You're scaring the children."

"The children don't get to think those thoughts about you."

"Only you do?"

A red hot glow lit his eyes and the breath hitched in my chest.

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

I rubbed at his chest before my gaze lifted. "Youth has its attractions…"

His fury had an undercurrent of amusement and the corners of his eyes crinkled with humor. "The dawn isn't going to change you, is it?"

"Would you want it to?"

Kal followed the worn path and his warm gaze slid to me. "Ask me that in a hundred years."

I snorted. "So soon?"

Kal's gaze narrowed, but he stayed silent.

The breeze freshened, promising another cool day. I wanted the ceremony over and done with so that I could crawl back into a warm bed, preferably with a certain naked prince.

"Diana!"

Kal's hand tightened around mine, his sudden reflex half tugging me behind him, but I fought it.

I willed my feet to cling to the cold earth. "No," I muttered. "I need to see her."

Donna pushed aside a chair and stood before me, breathing hard.

Her hand lifted to snatch the torc away from my neck, but a look from Kal had her fingers curling away.

The pain in my sister's eyes twisted my stomach into a tight knot.

She held herself very still and met Kal's gaze. "May I talk with my sister?"

Kal gave a brief nod.

Their short exchange pierced me and the sudden weight of my new status pressed heavy. I was no longer a queen. Kal controlled my life, what I did, who I spoke to, who I met. I may never meet my people – my mother or my sister ever again.

My gut cramped. I'd not only lost the dignity and fire of being a queen.

I'd lost who I was.

I'd lost everything.