Chapter 28
Quynn found it impossible to sleep after Amyr left, so after pacing her cottage for what seemed like hours, she decided not to waste the night worrying about herself and about Taeron, so she headed to the ship. Light was not an issue for her. With a snap of her fingers she could create a ball of light to hover above her. As she sorted through the wires, she tried not to think of Taeron and what he had done. She wasn't stupid. She knew the ramifications, but she had convinced herself that those oft-mentioned gods knew what they were doing in regards to her Calabrian brother. She certainly had no intention of invoking any deities, not when she had thought there was something mystical about Jeshed. He turned out to be just a shape changer from another world.
Thinking of Amyr gave her a headache as well as a heartache so she did not spare him a single thought. She wished Carrinda were there so that she could go to her cottage and tell her what had happened, but Carrinda left with Mordrad on his trip to Ergas. That call for help perplexed Quynn because they had recently been on that planet and alleviated the problem. Mordrad had been paid very well for it, as he usually was. The man would do anything for credits. Perhaps Taeron had misunderstood him, but the likelihood of Taeron getting his facts wrong was about as likely as Stryfe forgetting any detail in his reports to the emperor.
Finished with the wiring, she crawled out of the panel in time to see Mordrad's ship landing. As she headed towards the instrument panel to test what she had done, she noticed Carrinda leaving the vessel and heading towards the cottages with several men. Even that was a bit much for her to handle, so Quynn came to the conclusion that they had been hurt and she would treat them there. Her fingers ran over the smooth panel, touching the sequence that would start the craft, but it remained dead. Frowning, she crawled back into the wiring panel and stared at the work she had done and concluded that one of the wires must be bad. Blowing out her breath, she began pulling them until she found one that was frayed. After splicing it, she rewired the panel and crawled back out.
Hearing a muffled noise that sounded like someone was in pain, Quynn moved to look out one of the portside windows of the craft and she was surprised to see two of the men returning with the Teralonian women, heading towards the craft where she saw Mordrad waiting. Princess Dijana walked between the men and Quynn saw from the green tunic Taeron had given Sharisse, that she was thrown over the shoulder of one of the men, her hands tied, a cloth thrust in her mouth. Because she was dangling limply, Quynn realized that she was unconscious. She started towards the door to demand what was going on, but hearing Mordrad's voice stopped her.
"Did Quynn hear you?"
"She is gone." Carrinda laughed. "I think she might actually be reaping the benefits of being that Calabrian's wife."
Mordrad snorted. "I doubt that. She probably got a good look at Jeshed and decided to ride the dragon's new form. Either way, we will have to think of a good excuse for the disappearance of the women."
"We don't need an excuse." Quynn had never heard Carrinda's voice with this hard edge and she was shocked by how they were talking about her. "The representative from Teralon was willing to pay whatever you asked to get them back. It's not as if you were selling them on the slave market. You are simply returning them home as Princess Dijana requested."
"And that interested party on Calabria?"
"He is not offering enough for Quynn. When he matches our price, we will sell her to him."
Mordrad laughed. "My dear, you are ruthless. I thought you and her had become good friends."
"It is business. And the prince?"
"There is only one man with enough credits to purchase him, and we will have to wait until we have completed the other Calabrian transaction before we approach the emperor with news of his precious son's return from the dead. As for Taeron, the bidding is still open and the price is climbing. After his display against Ryanwin, the competition to procur him is quite fierce and we stand to gain a fortune when we sell the warlord. You will have to heal him before he leaves. His master will want to breed him and it will be impossible in the shape he is in."
Carrinda's husky laugh disgusted Quynn as much as hearing them talk about them as if they were animals. "I have every intention of healing him and enjoying him before he leaves."
"My dear, you will have as much success with him as you did the prince. Those Calabrians mate for life. Even without the blood bond he will not want to lie with you."
"I shall enjoy the challenge and his eventual capitulation."
Mordrad chuckled. "They do all succumb in the end."
One of the men returned to them. "They are aboard and we are ready for takeoff."
"Good. Stay behind and inform Quynn that we had unexpected trouble on Ergas and that we will be gone a few more days. That will give us time to deliver the women to the Teralonian representative."
Quynn wished she could confront them, to stop them until she had a chance to consult with Stryfe on the prudence of the women returning to their people. After what Taeron had done, she doubted it was wise for them to return without her brother marrying the princess. But there were too many for her to handle on her own, and she was concerned about the interested party on Calabria that wanted to purchase her. If she did try to stop them and was captured, they would transport her with the other women and sell her to the Calabrian. It was very unlikely to be her father. If he knew she was here he would be leading men and brandishing swords, not haggling over her price.
She hid in her ship until Mordrad's had taken off, and then she ran to the castle. She was out of breath when she finally reached it, and the guards at the gate barely glanced at her before letting her enter. She hurried in and up the stairs, skipping some as she went. Not wanting to see Amyr, she went to Stryfe's room first, but her brother was not there. Knowing him, he was groping some woman. Who was he to blame Taeron for his behavior? He whined and complained about being a lowly scribe but he had as many women climbing on him as Amyr did. She did see Jeshed on the bed with Yori cuddled against him, the former snoring and the latter fast asleep.
Having no choice, she crossed the hall and didn't bother knocking before throwing open the door. She heard a grunt and looked down to find Stryfe lying on the floor, a bottle of wine in his hand that had spilled out around him. She didn't need to imagine him passing out in that spot. Taeron was sprawled on the bed and Amyr was unconscious on the mat where Taeron usually rested.
Of all the ridiculous times to get drunk! She wondered if Taeron and Amyr had drank even a cup or whether a sip of the potent wine had been enough to knock them out. Calabrians! Looking from one man to another, her eyes rested on Amyr and she could not resist waking him first. Crossing the room, she kicked him as hard as she could in the backside. She was expecting some sort of shout of pain, but he did no more than grunt and turn on his side away from her where he began to snore loudly.
A cup flew across the room and Quynn ducked to avoid it before it hit Amyr on the side of the head. She turned to see Taeron flop back down on the bed, but Amyr stopped snoring.
Disgusted, she went to Stryfe who she did have some experience in getting out of a drunken state. They had done their share of partying during their years at the academy. Her father – well her stepfather – had taught her a particularly nasty move to use as self-defense which just happened to work wonders on drunken pilots who needed to get up.
"OW!" Stryfe bolted up, eyes wide and bloodshot. "What in blazing hells did you do that for?"
"They took the princess and her sister! Get Taeron and Amyr up!"
"Who took them?"asked Stryfe, as he rubbed his face with his hands.
"Mordrad is selling them to some Teralonian."
Stryfe stared at her for a moment in silence and then he jumped to his feet. "I did not think this business with Teralon could get any worse! I don't suppose there is any way of stopping them?"
"I finished the wiring, but I haven't started the ship,"she told him. "Stryfe, what have you not told us about the treaty with Teralon?"
"I have no intention of breaking the emperor's confidence. Suffice to say, Taeron mating the wrong female is the least of our problems now. They were not to return to Teralon without an army led by Taeron."
"I don't suppose the emperor could have told Taeron that little detail."
"Taeron? Taeron would have insisted on taking the army and subduing Teralon without taking the bride and Queen Neria wanted a warlord for her daughter. Anyway, Trey wanted to …. Why are we talking about this? I'll get these guys up and bring Jeshed and Yori. Get the men on the ship and get it ready to take off. We have to cut them off before they get to empire space."
Quynn was hoping to have a little longer to adjust to her new role as mother and, yes, wife, but it appeared she was not going to get it. She dashed down the steps, ignoring Lady Sarranda's query about why she was in such a hurry. The Calabrians stayed in tents near the landing field, and some of them were already up, so after catching Danlaer and telling him to get the men on the ship, she dashed back to the ship. First she searched through ship and found her battle pilot uniform, and praying that it still fit after four years and one baby, she managed to squeeze into it. It fit like a second skin from head to toe and she felt somewhat uncomfortable in it after the years of wearing gowns and tunics. But there were sensors in the specially designed fabric that would sync with the ship and make it more responsive to her commands. When she left the Cinq Kingdom, it was the latest innovative technology and Quynn had taken it for testing, never dreaming that she would not be returning. Now she was going to do the testing she never had with a ship that had vines growing up the insides of the walls.
Keldar was the first to arrive, and when he saw her in the all black suit, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open before he abruptly turned his back. "I am sorry, Lady Quynn. I did not know you were unclothed."
"Shut up and go check the fuel supply." She turned to see Danlaer standing at the entrance, his back to her holding his arms wide to keep the men from entering. "What are you doing? They need to get in here. Do they have their things? We are not returning."
"My lady," gasped Danlaer. "I cannot allow them to see the prince's mate as you are."
Quynn glanced down, seeing nothing amiss. Maybe her breasts were bigger than when she had come to Calabria, but the uniform accommodated the change. Frowning, she resisted the urge to throw something at him, a fireball came to mind. "Get them in here. If you would rather, I still have magic and I can burn out their eyes. Will they comply then?"
She hadn't expected a murmur of discussion as they decided which was worse, seeing her in a skin tight suit or having their eyes burned out. Apparently Calabria had a long way to go in viewing females as anything more than breeding partners or whores. Finally they came aboard, but each man studiously avoided looking at her as they shuffled past, falling over each other to get away from her. What did they expect Amyr to do?
"What in the name of the gods are you wearing, wife?" She had expected him later rather than sooner. Amyr stood in the entrance, his face a mask of pure rage. "Who has seen you in that … that … garment?"
The Calabrians had avoided looking directly at her, but Danlaer hung his head. "I humbly beg your forgiveness, my lord prince."
"Stop pandering to that oaf and see that they are all secured." Quynn took the pilot's seat and after running her fingers over the panel, she was pleased that the systems lit up. She was making the connection from her suit to the ship when she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder.
Turning, she wasn't surprised to find Amyr looming over her. "You will put something on! I will not have the men seeing you in such a state of undress!"
"I am not undressed,"she pointed out. "I am completely covered." She saw Stryfe herd a red-eyed Taeron as well as Jeshed and Yori onto the ship. "Tell him to back off. I have a job to do and he is getting in the way with his possessive ranting."
"Possessive ranting! I will not have other men look upon my female!"
"I would listen to her," warned Stryfe.
"I am the only man who should see her..." Quynn didn't give him a chance to finish. Amyr was too dull-witted to realize that he was standing too close to her. What she did to him made the other men wince with sympathy and Amyr fell to the floor with a moan of agony and she heard Yori whimper. "Does anyone else have an objection?" She did not have time to worry about their feelings.
Stryfe strapped in Taeron who was clearly still befuddled with alcohol and probably didn't know what was going on, then he went to Amyr who was on the floor, his hands between his legs.
"Are you bleeding?" Stryfe asked him
Amyr's answer was an indistinct groan.
"Get him strapped in. We need some speed to clear the planet and atmosphere. They have a head start on us."
Keldar leapt aboard and secured the hatch before turning back to her. "The fuel pods are full, but I saw a kink in the line that was keeping them from feeding the reactor."
"A kink!?" Quynn was outraged to realize that she could have returned to Calabria.
"What is wrong with Prince Amyr?" Keldar rushed to help Stryfe put him in a seat and strap him in. "Is Lord Taeron sick?"
"I will explain later. Get ready for take off." She activated boosters to lift the craft from the ground and it protested before breaking free of the vines covering it. She moved it up over tree level. "Are you all secure?" She looked over her shoulder to see the men watching her with varying degrees of terror. Well, Taeron's head was bobbing and Amyr was sitting with his legs pressed together. Maybe she did not need to hit him that hard, but it felt damn good.
She entered the sequence and put her hands on the controls. The ship shot forward and she ignored the shouts of fear and gasps of surprise as the craft climbed rapidly until it sliced through the atmosphere and broke free of the planet's gravity. Once in space, she put it through routine maneuvers to test its response to the systems. Danlaer and Keldar sat on either side of her as co-pilots watching her actions carefully, and when she was finished, she flipped the ship a few times which made them laugh. Predictably, Taeron vomitted. Fortunately, he turned his head to the side and managed to do it in Amyr's lap.
"Sis, I think you planned that!" Stryfe was laughing. Her co-pilots did not dare laugh at the crown prince's distress.
"I think you must have made some modifications to the systems," commented Danlaer. "We have two of these ships in the emperor's fleet and they are not capable of what you just did."
Quynn chuckled. "I have a few more tricks up my sleeve. I pilfered a few things from Mordrad's ships so we have some interesting ordinance." After setting a course for empire space, she turned to look at Keldar. "What can you tell me about that kink?"
He scratched his head and seemed reluctant to speak, but then he said, "It was more of a knot."
"A knot?" rasped Amyr. His voice was little more than a wheeze. "Are you saying it was deliberate?"
"Staefyn," muttered Taeron who was barely conscious and when his head drooped forward, Quynn guessed he had blacked out again.
Amyr slammed his hands on the arms of the seat. "This is incomprehensible! Do you know the planning that had to have gone into everything you have accused my stupid younger brother to have done?"
Quynn glanced at Stryfe, ignoring Amyr. "If I had gone in the direction of the wormhole, I would have run out of fuel before I reached it."
"Why did you go in the opposite direction?" asked her brother. She knew he was gathering information for the archives. She didn't care.
"I knew that L12 would be the first place they would look for me and I wanted to get as far away as possible. I was hoping Chaela would hide me on Teralon."
"I am sorry that I cause you such..."
Quynn snapped her head to glare at Amyr. "If you are looking for absolution, you are not going to get it from me. I have to be your wife, but I don't have to like it." She looked back at Stryfe, but she noticed that Danlaer and Keldar looked uncomfortable, probably because of how she had spoken to their precious prince.
Closing his eyes, Amyr rubbed them and turned his attention to Taeron.
Quynn looked back at Stryfe who seemed to want to say something, so when he nodded to the corridor to the crew quarters, she told Danlaer to scan for Mordrad's ship, then unbuckled and followed Stryfe. When he determined that they were far enough away, he pulled her close and whispered in her ear.
"The night of your flight from Calabria, Staefyn left as well and headed in the direction of the wormhole with the explanation that he was going to meet his sister who was coming from Bayman for the ceremony. I didn't want to say anything in front of Amyr. I think he is beginning to believe us and I don't know how he will take knowing that Staefyn was positioning himself to be your savior."
Quynn shook her head. "That cannot be true! Staefyn was in love with a woman in the Guerani hills."
"Staefyn never brought the woman to the emperor. He kept putting off their meeting, and at first Trey accepted his excuses because Staefyn is so modest, but his patience was gone and when Taeron and I were preparing to leave, Trey was sending men into the hills to discovering the identity of the woman."
Her heart seemed to drop into her stomach and she found it difficult to breathe for a moment.
"Sis?"
"She does not yet realize how I feel about her." Staefyn's words came to her, the words he had spoken as she waited to hear if she was going to be allowed to marry Amyr. Now she remembered the intense look in his eyes, the lingering kisses he had placed on her hands. Her head was spinning as she thought of Mordrad's remark about the interested party on Calabria that wanted to purchase her.
"I am going to be sick."
"Lady Quynn, I found their signal!" Danlaer's voice drew her back to the control room and she quickly took her seat. They had been traveling at the highest speed she thought the ship could handle after being idle for so long, but she was surprised that they had caught up so soon.
She swung into her seat and strapped in, and as she synced her suit to the controls, she checked the screen and saw that Mordrad's ship was heading in the direction of the planet they had left behind. When it drew nearer, she slowed her speed and was not surprised when she saw that they were being hailed.
Quynn pressed the button to communicate.
"Quynn, I am very disappointed that you decided to leave without saying goodbye." Mordrad made a clucking noise. "After all that we have done for you?"
"Well, after what I overheard this morning I realized that I had overstayed my welcome." Quynn wondered if Mordrad had entertained other offers to sell her but kept her near because of Jeshed. Now that she could not summon a dragon his need for her had diminished greatly.
"Then you must know I cannot just let you leave. I have received a … what was it called my dear?"
"A bride price, I believe is what he called it."
"A bride price!" Amyr's shout of outrage made Taeron snap awake and groan.
Quynn ignored him. She supposed she would have to tell him once she dealt with Mordrad about his brother's peculiar fascination with her. She had no proof that Staefyn was the interested party, but all the evidence seemed to point in his direction. "What did you tell him?" She wanted to know if Staefyn knew about Amyr, but more importantly, if he knew about Yori. Her son was safe in Jeshed's care back with the men in the quarters, but she doubted Staefyn would be pleased to find himself the stepfather to his brother's son.
"We did not tell him anything. Do you think such a man can leave empire space without explanation? The Teralonian representative, a pleasant man named Kai, handled the transaction. I don't think your new master would appreciate the addition of your husband and child to his house, so we will find a use for them."
"Kai!" Taeron jerked off the restraining straps and stumbled to the panel. "What have you done with the women?"
"Ambassador Kai met our ship and he has since departed to take them back to Teralon. And don't worry, warlord, we did not let slip the trick you played on Princess Dijana. Come back to Norvana. Carrinda will cure you and teach you things Kai's blood thrall could not even dream of."
Taeron shouted with rage that Quynn did not even think her level-headed brother was capable of. Amyr shot out of his seat and before anyone could guess his intent, he slammed Taeron's head on the edge of the control panel. His imperial guard sagged unconscious to the floor.
"Was that really necessary?" asked Quynn with annoyance as it took Danlaer, Keldar and Stryfe to drag Taeron's unconscious body back to the seat to strap him in. "Could you not have used your powers on him?"
Amyr shook his head. "I am not yet skilled enough to calm him quickly, and I sensed he was losing control. Having gone through what he is going through now, I thought it prudent to put him down before he destroyed the ship." Amyr raised a brow at her and rubbed where she had hit him earlier. "In answer to your question, yes, it was necessary."
When he turned his back to return to his seat, Quynn caught herself smiling, but then she remembered Mordrad. "I have no intention of returning to your planet, and you surely know that I have no intention of allowing you to sell me."
"Sell you? I have already sold you, Quynn. I merely have to deliver you."
"Who has purchased my wife?" she heard Amyr demanding of Stryfe who made some incomprehensible sound.
"What were you planning to do with Yori?"
"I had not planned that far in advance. After you had gone, Carrinda was going to adopt him. She has always wanted a child but has been unable to conceive."
Quynn grew cold with fury. "I would never let my child be raised by a duplicitous whore like her."
"Quynn, I thought we were friends," said Carrinda, her voice filled with patently false dismay.
"You were just waiting to find a way to make a profit off me."
"We have been making a profit off you and your dragon since you came into our lives," Carrinda told her, her voice now devoid of any hint that they had once been friends. "We could have continued as we were, but Jeshed ruined everything. So when I saw that Sharisse was a blood thrall, I sent messengers back to Teralon seeking her master. Such creatures do not like to lose their possessions. Warlord Kai was willing to bleed Teralon dry for the price we demanded. Unfortunately, I don't think it was a happy reunion with Sharisse. He was displeased that another man marked her."
"Taeron will kill him," Quynn predicted. She glanced back at her unconscious brother and hoped he stayed that way for a while. It would take days to reach empire space so she knew he would wake up before then...
"I can keep him that way," Amyr told Quynn and she realized he must be reading her thoughts.
She frowned at his intrusion, but she asked, "How do you plan to do that?"
He did not respond but she guessed what he would say. Taeron would end up in a trance. It was probably the most humane thing to do for him when his blood bond would make his waking hours a living hell, especially coupled with the knowledge that Sharisse was in Kai's power again.
"Prepare to be boarded," Mordrad told her. "I tire of this discussion."
"He has activated a tractor beam," Danlaer told her.
"Too bad for him," she muttered, then said aloud. "Mordrad, I suggest you strengthen your shields because I am sending you a parting gift." She entered a launch sequence. "Anyone not strapped in is getting plastered to the ceiling now." The ship exploded with a burst of speed and she directed it straight to Mordrad's ship after dropping a missile loaded with a lethal amount of plasma. She expected him to attempt to stop her, so she spun and rolled the ship to avoid the energy burst form his guns before she hit secondary boosters and the acceleration of the ship made it shake. Were it not for the shields, the ship would have incinerated, but the shields held for the several minutes that she maintained hyper speed. The next time she saw her grandfather she would give him a big kiss for his rigorous attention to safety in the design of the ship.
Upon slowing, she checked the tracking screen and did not see Mordrad's ship. The missile would have detonated to overload the systems on his ship so he would not be able to repair it for at least a couple of days. By that time she would be closer to the Calabrian binary system and he could not dare follow her there.
After modifying the speed, she unstrapped from the command seat, and ignoring the gaping looks from her co-pilots, she first checked Taeron's pulse to make sure Amyr had not killed him, and finding it strong, she left to check on the men in the cabins, but especially to see how Yori and Jeshed fared. They were still strapped into seats and seemed relieved that their flight through hyperspace was over. They both looked exhausted so she assured them it was safe to nap and that they would be in flight for a several days. Quynn wasn't sure what would be waiting at the end of that flight, but she had no where else to go now.
Worried about the wiring, she was about to remove the panel from the wiring cluster, but she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Stryfe. "It is Staefyn, isn't it?"
She shrugged off his hand. "I have work to do. I don't have time to tell you all the sordid details..."
"I know you, sis. There are no sordid details. But when we return, you can damn well bet that Staefyn is still playing the perfect little prince. His father has no idea that he has a poisonous snake positioned at his heel."
Quynn put her forearm against the panel and leaned her head against it. "I do not want to believe it. I never noticed Staefyn, not when my heart belonged to Amyr. But he was there, watching us and wanting me. He tried to tell me that day when Amyr and I made our oath, but I didn't listen. I was just too happy that Amyr and I were finally going to begin our life together."
"You cannot blame yourself for what he has done," Stryfe told her. "His obsession with you is only part of the puzzle. The emperor told me before I left that something happened to him in the Guerani Hills that changed him. I was going to investigate when I returned from escorting Taeron."
"So it is my brother."
They turned to see that Amyr had come upon them deep in the bowels of the ship. Quynn found it difficult to meet his gaze. "I think he is the man that purchased me from Mordrad."
"Then he just lost a fortune on nothing because I will not give you up."
"I think I will go check on Taeron," said Stryfe. He probably suspected they were going to argue and she couldn't blame him for fleeing. At least on the control deck he wouldn't be able to hear them shouting.
But Quynn was tired and heartsore for everything she had lost. She had loved Carrinda like a mother and to learn that she was just using her to gain profit hurt terribly.
Amyr moved closer to her. "I am not very good at it yet, but I can take away some of your pain." He did not wait for her to agree before putting his hand on her cheek and he swept away a tear with his thumb. "Yori told me that your thoughts and feelings are shielded from him when you use your fire magic."
"Are you training me now?" Quynn forced a laugh and she reached up to move his hand from her face, but she liked how his hand felt under hers. She liked his touch. Had she lost her mind or was he using Guerani sorcery on her?
His head lowered to hers. "I told you to use your power to shield your thoughts."
What was the use? She wanted him to kiss her, to help her forget what role she played in Staefyn's apparent descent into insanity. Amyr did not disappoint her. His kiss was gentle at first, but Quynn was a woman of fire, always had been in his arms. The fire he created in her was what brought her back to him and she could not deny it now. His hand dropped from her face as he urgently sought the enclosure for her suit, and she would have laughed if she didn't find the tunic he was wearing equally frustrating. Soon enough and yet too soon, they managed to rearrange clothing so that they could do what they both wanted.
He shoved her back against the wall and pulled her legs around his waist, and when he joined them, she nearly shrieked with equal parts of pleasure and relief. Quynn remembered the palace in the Guerani Hills where Amyr was going to take them for their honeymoon, or what they called the mating initiation. In the trance he had made love to her with gentle caresses and honeyed words. Now they were rutting like animals in a moldering dark recess of a derelict ship, vines still clinging to walls. But she cried out with pleasure as their movements became more frenzied until they both finally found release.
For several moments he leaned into her as his erratic breathing calmed and then he sighed deeply. "I have just given you a daughter."
Her body jerked in shock. "How could you ..." And then she burst into laughter, whether in hysteria or joy, she did not know. "You prick!" But her heart was not in the insult, not when he had given her such pleasure and a child on top of it. "Will you always know before me?"
Amyr lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "Yes."
She wasn't sure what she saw in his gaze, but it made her happy. "Are you using sorcery on me?"
"The same sorcery you use on me." He leaned in to gently kiss her lips, swollen from his kisses. "Taeron will wake soon. I need to get him trapped in a trance."
"I need to check the wiring." Quynn felt giddy, especially when she felt the rapid return of his need. "I suppose it can wait a few more minutes." She frowned at him. "Hey, I hit you pretty hard. How is it you can still do this?"
Amyr chuckled seductively in her ear. "I am a Guerani healer. You think I cannot heal myself?"
Sliding her arms around his neck she pressed her body against his. "I will just have to think of a better way to chastise you."
"I look forward to whatever you can come up with." His lips moved down her neck and her body tingled, alive with anticipation, but she realized what he was going to do and grasped his hair to pull back his head. "Not yet, Amyr. We don't have time for your mating cycle to run its course."
His deep groan of disappointment almost made her relent, but Taeron had confided in her his own misgivings for what he had done with Sharisse. The mating cycle lasted almost a month after the initiation, which was usually the ingestion of the female's blood. The cycle would happen again after the birth of a child, so that made Emperor Trey's large household easier for her to understand.
"When this is all over,"he assured her, "I will bond to you again, Lady Quynn of the house of imperial Lord Duo Maxwell."
Quynn smiled. "I look forward to that day, Crown Prince Amyr of the house of Emperor Trey."
