Chapter 38
"Are you getting out of bed today?" The voice seemed to be coming from far away, so Apolo chose to ignore it. He was too tired to rise from his pillows even though he was sure he had slept through two, if not three, cycles of the suns. After returning from Duo's healing trance, he had not even had the physical strength to take advantage of the females that had helped him to his pillows. As a consequence, his own healing was dependent on rest which he needed to continue.
"Hey!" His body was being shaken. "Get out of your pillows, Apolo, or I am going to have to take some action that you might not appreciate."
Apolo did not open his eyes. The last person he wanted to see was Duo Maxwell after what had happened in his trance. He could not help the remorse he felt at putting Duo into a trance that included the female he desperately missed. Apolo had not meant to put him in a trance because he had not been trained to help another in such a manner, and his mistake had almost cost them both their lives. Duo had conjured the woman in a world of his making, and the Trynity in his trance did not really exist, but at the end, just before she disappeared, Apolo heard her words. Duo thought that she was talking about being swept away by the water, but Apolo knew it was because she needed him. In another part of the galaxy very far away she was giving life to his son and daughter. In that moment she had reached out to him just as Shamara had reached out to Trey. He could never tell Duo. The truth would irrevocably hurt him and he would not thank any of them for keeping it from him.
Suddenly he felt ice cold and his eyes flew open to find Duo standing over him with a bucket, and he found that he was soaking wet. "By the gods!" Apolo blinked his lashes rapidly to disperse the water and he glared at Duo who was grinning down at him.
"That got your attention," said Duo as he handed off the bucket to Ardan who was standing nearby.
Apolo let out a long breath and then said, "I need more rest."
"Well, you can't have any more rest. The emperor did appoint you to command Waescop's holdings, and Lords Baerot and Faelan are eager to do something other than watch over females." Duo leaned in. "Between you and me, I think they wouldn't mind watching the females a few more days, but I want to get back to Edgeland Fortress."
He didn't want to ask because he feared he knew the answer, but Apolo did anyway. "What is your sudden hurry to return?"
Duo sat on a stool nearby and signaled to Ardan who came forward to offer help to Apolo who needed it to leave the pillows. Despite the healing sleep the ancestors had put him in, he felt dizzy and was glad that Ardan was there to steady him. When he recaptured his equilibrium, he was able to move away from Ardan to find fresh clothing and he was glad to see that there was extra water to use for washing.
"I have a few reasons. First, I want to return to my duty of protecting Arora."
Despite his weariness, Apolo smiled. "You know as well as I do that she does not need your protection."
Duo scratched his head and then he shrugged. "Maybe not, but I made an oath and I want to prove that I can honor it. And I am eager to return to my training. After my fight with Gowaen – Lord Gowaen – I know how much I have to learn."
A long, warm bath in scented water would be nice, but Apolo knew he would not be able to enjoy that until he returned to Edgeland Fortress. He doubted Duo had that in mind. "You mentioned another reason," he asked as he peeled off his clothing before reaching for a drying cloth.
When Duo did not answer, Apolo looked at him and he saw that he was troubled. If he were not so weak, he would reach out with his senses to read his thoughts even though he knew that Duo disliked that intrusion. Since he couldn't do it anyway, he waited for Duo and hoped that he was being honest with him.
"I know that the Trynity in the trance was created from my thoughts, and I also know that she has surely washed her hands of me, but I owe it to what we shared to try to return to her." Apolo did not look at him as he changed his clothing, and he tried to shield himself from Duo's feelings, but they were so intense that Apolo could not block them. Duo's anxiety over what he had lost was even more acute than before and Apolo blamed himself.
Sighing, he turned to look at him and he saw the pain in his brilliant blue eyes. "I am sorry, Duo, that I put you in that trance. I should not have ..."
"Don't apologize, Apolo. I appreciated being with Trynity even if it wasn't real and it didn't last as long as I would have liked."
Apolo wanted to tell him that losing Trynity in the trance was a message from the gods that he should move on with his life, but Duo would not want to hear it, not when he did not want to give up on Trynity, not when he did not believe in the gods. "Don't ask me to put you into another trance to spend more time with her," Apolo said with a forced smile.
Duo grimaced. "I know it wasn't real, and I don't want that again. I want to return to her, to tell her that I am sorry for what I did. If I can't do it, I don't want to experience another one of your fantasies. It was too real, and yet that Trynity wasn't quite right." He snorted. "I might have wanted her to prance around nearly naked and wear skimpy dresses, but she wouldn't have done it."
"I do remember her as more sober than what I observed in your trance," Apolo told him. He was relieved that Duo did not want to experience another trance with her because he was afraid of what might transpire. Would she appear with the children she had birthed, and would Duo begin to question why his subconscious had created them?
"Truth be told, Apolo, I would rather not experience another of your trances. My body might be healed, but I don't think I feel better." He pointed at him. "You didn't fare well either. I broke your nose."
Apolo reached up to touch his nose and he winced when he felt pain. Duo was right and Apolo felt the bump where his nose had already begun to heal while he was sleeping. Even if he had any power, he could not heal what his body had already done on its own.
Duo snorted with laughter. "You were too pretty anyway, Apolo. Maybe that bump on your nose will make you look a little more dangerous."
"How long have I been asleep?" he asked Ardan who had listened to their exchange without comment. Apolo could see that he felt near worship for Duo which Apolo could understand after Duo had liberated him and the warriors that he served with from the command of that rotten bastard Gowaen. And while Duo did not encourage the man, Trey would not be pleased that his terran friend had gathered a following, especially not one as sizable as Gowaen's army. Even if his warlords would accept a terran into their number, they would not accept one so young who had not even mastered basic attacks.
"Two days, my lord," Ardan told him.
"You have to be starving," said Duo. "I am, even though I ate a couple of hours ago."
Apolo glanced at him. "When are you not hungry?"
Duo rubbed the back of his neck. "If I could get a steak, a baked potatoe or two ..."
"As I recall from my short time on Earth, even that did not fill you up." Apolo was dressed now and ready to face the day, and he knew that he probably had a lot of work to do. "Ardan, would you find Lords Baerot and Faelan and bring them to me as well as a female called Zacha. You might find her ..."
"I know of her, my lord," interrupted Ardan and by the sour look on his face, Apolo knew the other man had run afoul of her.
"She's been making demands for the care of the women," Duo explained. "And she's kept a tight rein on them."
Ardan shifted anxiously. "My lord, we – the men of Lord Gowaen's house – hoped to claim females. Lord Gowaen did not allow us …"
Apolo waved his hand. "I will speak to the female when you have brought her here along with the warlords."
His expression brightened and he bowed quickly before hurrying from the room.
"Now you have him excited," Duo remarked as he headed to the door, pausing only to retrieve a sword that Apolo recognized as the blade Arora had given him. "I have some work to do. If you need me, I will be training."
He passed Taress who entered the room carrying a tray, but Apolo was less interested in the food and drink than he was in the attractive female. Her thickened belly did not detract from her beauty, and while he did not want to take advantage of her, the sultry look in her dark eyes issued him an invitation he would not refuse.
"Close the door, Taress," he told her after taking the tray from her and setting it aside.
She did as he asked, and when he bore her down to his pillows, she was as submissive as any other female, probably expecting him to take what he wanted and she would benefit from his status as commander of the men. So he surprised her with his gentle touch and disoriented her with his care for the needs she didn't know she had. Her pleasure sent healing waves through his body, and when he finally left her long after ignoring the knocks at the door announcing Ardan's return, she was the one lying sated and content among his pillows.
He strode out of the room and found Ardan waiting with Faelan and Baerot, the latter standing near Zacha who looked away from Baerot to frown at Apolo and although her lips were pursed, he was not surprised that she spoke first as Faelan and Baerot bowed to him.
"I have much work to do, Lord Apolo. You could have sent for me after you finished dallying with your female."
Before Apolo could respond, Baerot snapped at her. "Show more respect for the emperor's governor and imperial guard, female!"
"I have a name," she all but snarled at Baerot, and Apolo was taken aback by the vehemence and glad she had only directed irritation at him.
"You have given me no reason to use your name," retorted the warlord. Then he added resentfully, "You have not used mine."
Apolo glanced at Faelan and saw that he was amused by the exchange. "I called you three here so that we may discuss the dispensation of the females."
"Dispensation!" huffed Zacha.. "Do you intend to hand them out to the men as rewards? What will become of them when they tire of them?"
Apolo opened his mouth to respond, but Baerot spoke first. "Lord Apolo has the right to determine what happens to the females and you do not have the right to question him."
Sensing that the two might begin an argument that would probably escalate further, Apolo moved towards them and put one hand on Baerot's shoulder as he put another on Zacha's. Both of them balked at his touch, but he did not allow either of them to move away as he attempted to calm them. "If you two will allow me to speak for myself, I will tell you my plan."
He looked at Zacha first. She was seething with indignation that Baerot was dismissing her as a useless female, mostly because she wanted him to consider her as a worthy mate. As for Baerot, his feelings were in turmoil. He was attracted to Zacha, but he did not want a mate that would argue and fight him on every issue.
"Zacha, I have been told that you are keeping the warriors from the females."
She lifted her chin defiantly. "If they are not going to purchase them..."
"Females are not to be purchased," Apolo interrupted her, and he looked at Baerot. "Have you not read the emperor's decree to the females?"
"He has," interrupted Zacha before he could respond which earned her Baerot's scathing glare. "And I have heard Lord Waescop's men claim that the pretender will not live long to see his decrees followed. How can we trust the pretender?"
"Do you have a choice?" asked Apolo. "The emperor is not a pretender. I am his imperial guard, have been so since we were both children. My sister is his mate to whom he has been bonded for nearly as long. Do you not think I would recognize the brother of my heart?"
Her brows wrinkled in consternation, and then Apolo was surprised to see tears glisten in her eyes. Her voice wavered with emotion as she spoke. "I am afraid to believe that he will free us, to prevent the warriors from using and discarding us."
Baerot took a step towards her, and Apolo let his hands drop away from them as the warrior placed his gentle hands on her shoulders. "I would not discard you, Zacha, if you would consent to be my mate."
Stepping back to stand beside Faelan, Apolo watched as Zacha raised her face to Baerot, her eyes widened in wonder. "You would take me as a mate, Lord Baerot? I have only birthed females, three who were left in the Wastelands. How can you believe I would give you a male child when no man has wished to purchase me in many years."
"The emperor cares deeply for his mate and for his female offspring. I have seen Duo Maxwell's affection for the first princess, and I know I can feel the same for you, Zacha, and for any child the gods give us, be it male or female."
When she burst into tears and Baerot folded her into an embrace, Apolo glanced at Faelan who met his gaze and shrugged. Apolo was not surprised that Baerot had developed strong feelings for the female after spending the last few days working closely with her, but the gods had surely had a hand in the love that had developed between them so quickly.
Clearing his throat had the effect of breaking them apart, and Zacha wiped furiously at her tears. Apolo moved to stand before them. "After first sunset, you will exchange oaths before all the men and women, and I will announce that the warriors may present themselves to females respectfully and that any female that does not wish to accept a mate may refuse him. The warriors already know the penalty for harming females and will not force any."
Zacha's eyes were wide with surprise. "You believe they will comply with the emperor's edict?"
"We fought a war to ensure it," Apolo told her after giving Baerot a warning look to allow her to speak when it appeared as though he wanted to reprimand her again for her boldness. "They risked their lives to enforce the emperor's will and would not violate their oath. You may inform the females of what to expect and that they should not be afraid of the warriors."
Now she bowed her head respectfully to him. "Thank you, my lord. I shall spread the word immediately. She turned to leave, but Baerot's voice stopped her."
"My lord, I wish to bond with my mate after I give her my oath."
Apolo blinked in surprise and Zacha gasped, her hand flying to her chest where her heart was beating rapidly. Bonding was a deep commitment, one that had been forbidden for a very long time.
"The emperor has not ruled on whether he will discard the interdiction against bonding," Apolo warned him.
"My lord, I know that Lord Wattan is bonded to his mate and most of the warriors of his house have bonded mates."
Apolo frowned at Baerot. "Have you discussed this with Lord Vaan?"
"I am no longer of Lord Vaan's house," Baerot reminded him. "I have my own house, and I wish to begin it with a bonded mate."
"Do you know what will happen to you when you bond with Zacha?" Apolo could not bond with a female, but he was aware that the effects of bonding could be debilitating if the male were separated from his female. During their childhood, Trey's bond had not affected him, but when he came of age, his feelings for Arora had become so obsessive that he had taken his sword and challenged his father, an act that a sane man would never have done. His separation from her had been miserable, and because Dax had taken his memories of Arora, he did not know why he needed to use the terran drugs to make his life bearable.
"I know," said Baerot. "I spoke of this with Madex on many occasions after observing him with his mate. I could not have imagined why a man would do such a thing." The look he gave Zacha was both affectionate and fiercely possessive. "But now I understand."
"You think I want one such as you bonded to me?" asked Zacha with a saucy toss of her dark hair and defiant lift of her chin.
Baerot ignored her. "Will you allow me to bond with her?"
"I doubt I can stop you," Apolo said with a sigh and then he added, "The emperor will not be pleased if you are unable to lead your men should he call you to battle."
The other man grinned and he slipped an arm around Zacha's waist to draw her against him. "I intend to put a child in her tonight."
She snorted and pushing against him, she spun out of his embrace. "You are very sure of yourself."
Apolo reached out with his senses and found that Baerot would probably do as he boasted because he found that Zacha was ripe for conception. Trey would might be displeased by the likely consequence of Baerot's actions and Apolo's acquiescence, but he would not deny the warrior the joy of bonding with a female. Apolo suspected that the next few days would be exhausting as he oversaw the oaths of many men and women.