sChapter 2

Most of the afternoon Quynn spent getting ready for the ceremony that would take place that evening. All she had to do was to agree to exchange vows with Amyr, the second proper step towards marrying Amyr, the first being the agreement between houses which included a marriage contract between the heads of the houses. She did not care what her father worked out with the emperor, not even enough to wonder what either of them could want from the other since they were closer than most brother. Once she and Amyr exchanged their promises to make good on the agreement between their houses, they were as good as married because the promise was binding. The exchange of vows on the morrow at the Calabrian court was a formality, yet one that could not be avoided because the imperial nobility would be angered to be excluded from the ceremony that would join the emperor's house with that of his imperial guard, the most trusted of his warlords.

"Then you and Amyr will perform the bonding ceremony in the plaza below the palace," her mother explained that afternoon after Quynn tried on the beautiful shimmering green gown that Taeron's mother had made for her. Lady Larya was the governor of the first moon, Dagmaeus, and while she was an exacting administrator, she enjoyed designing clothing for which many imperials paid dearly. Quynn had never felt such a fabric before and her mother told her that it probably came from a frontier market. Although contact with frontier worlds was rare, Lady Larya had allies among the unsavory individuals who would trade there from the days when the emperor had banished her to the space pirate satellite after she had attempted to kill him. The Calabrian woman was tenacious, ruthless and clever enough to have fought and worked herself to her present position. Lady Larya might be reviled by the imperial nobility for her past, but Quynn respected her as much as she did her own mother.

As Quynn admired how she looked in the lovely floor-length gown, Trynity sat on a chair watching silently for a moment before she said, "You must be absolutely certain that you want to spend the rest of your life with Amyr before you perform the bonding ritual."

Her serious tone startled Quynn. "You're scaring me, mom. What is this ritual?" Amyr had not told her of any unusual traditions, but then he had given her few details about how their marriage would proceed.

"After exchanging vows, you and Amyr will pour water from the sacred hills into a chalice and after both of you add drops of your bood, you and Amyr will drink from the chalice."

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Mom, you did not really do that with father, did you?" She could not see her sensible, intelligent mother submitting to such a barbaric ritual.

She frowned, then laughed. "Trey has only a grudging respect for me, Quynn, and he has never forgiven me for not telling Duo that I was pregnant when we were on Calabria, so he demanded that I perform the ritual when I returned to Calabria to be with your father. I argued that it was unhealthy and that I believed it caused sickness in the males, but he told me to choose between bonding and the wormhole."

"And you chose the ceremony." Quynn was not surprised that her mother would choose a primitive custom over leaving the love her life behind. "Did father get sick?"

"No, and neither did I, but I am sure there is something in the water that adversely affects Calabrian males. I need more time to study its effects, but I am still an outsider to these people so they are not eager to share their customs with me. I doubt even they know what is happening, but they view the ingesting of some organism in the water that seems to increase testosterone levels as some marriage gift from the gods. I was hoping to learn more before your marriage, but I have run out of time." She patted Quynn's hands. "Do not worry about Amyr. My understanding of the sickness is that it makes the males unusually amorous and excessively attentive to the needs and safety of their mates, and if there is more to it, I have yet to discover it."

Trynity's brow was wrinkled and Quynn knew she was thinking about this puzzle that had her stumped. She would eventually analyze it until she had unlocked its secrets.

Quynn laughed. "If this wedding were on Earth, I think a few glasses of champagne and some revealing lingerie would do the same thing as this bonding ceremony." She wished she had the foresight to bring some with her when she returned. The only garment on the ship was the battle suit that she had agreed to test. The skintight uniform had electronics embedded that communicated with the ship which would make it easier to pilot in battle conditions. Covering from neck to feet, is design would probably put Amyr in the proper frame of mind for a wedding night, but it was difficult to get on and off, so it was not conducive to a romantic night.

Her mother put her hand on her cheek and smiled at her. "I don't think Prince Amyr needs to be more amorous with you. I have seen the way he looks at you. After the ceremony you will spend several weeks at Guerani Palace in the mountains with Amyr until the sickness has eased. They call it a mating ritual."

"That is quite the honeymoon!" Quynn felt herself blushing as she imagined spending that much time with a randy Calabrian male.

"Are you absolutely sure that this is what you want?" She squeezed Quynn's hands to reassure her, probably hoping that Quynn would confess some lingering reservation about marrying Amyr.

Her mother's doubt bothered Quynn, but she refused to let it affect her. "Mom, I know that you grew to love pops, but I see how happy you and father are, how deeply you love each other even after everything that has happened, and I want the same."

"I will pray to the gods that Amyr is the man who can make you that happy." She released her and headed to the door. "You should get some rest. These celebrations can last all night."

Long after her mother left her, Quynn gave up trying to rest. She paced her room instead of lying on the comfortable pile of pillows and cushions that served as a Calabrian bed, and then she decided to go in search of Amyr. Surely he was done speaking to her father, and she felt the need for a little reassurance of his feelings for her. Quynn was sure they could overcome anything together. The people who didn't trust Amyr didn't know him like she did.

As she came closer to the wing where her father's office was located, she spied a group of men with their heads together. She recognized them as important men from the tribes her father ruled. They dressed in dark colors with head wraps, and while they did not wear their weapons in the governor's palace, Quynn knew they disdained the imperial long sword for two curved short swords. No doubt the chieftains that had come for the ceremony were closeted with her father and these clansmen had accompanied them. She didn't hear much of what they discussed in such hushed whispers, but she did hear Amyr's name mentioned and the name of another, Dilan. Quynn didn't know who Dilan was, but their tone when saying his name was not pleasant. When they saw her, they bowed respectfully, then politely excused themselves. Her father was busy, so Quynn retraced her steps to her room to do as her mother suggested. Her head was beginning to ache, so she thought a nap would do her some good.

Stryfe was waiting in her room. "Hey, sis, Mom said you were in here."

She went to her bag and pulled out a bottle of pain reliever. "I suppose I'll have to learn to do without this once my supply runs out."

"Don't worry. Mom cultivates some leaves that make a tea that is even more effective. She's become quite the natural healer." Stryfe sat on the edge of her bed. "I can't believe that you are going to be married tomorrow."

Quynn popped the pills in her mouth and sat beside him after swallowing them with a mouthful of tepid water that she poured into a cup from a pitcher left that morning by a servant. Cold running water from a faucet was something else she would have to learn to do without. Along with forms of entertainment that did not include twirling swords. And food that wasn't recently crawling or slithering. Or being able to voice her opinion in public without worrying about offending an imperial warlord with her audacity.

She was grateful that Stryfe had come to speak to her. They were twins, born to her mother after she had been separated from their father. While her father had made his life on Calabria, her mother had married another man to help her raise them as she spent the years in medical school and then building a practice on Mars Colony. She and Stryfe had not known that her husband was not their father until he had died and Lord Duo had come back into her mother's life. Now they had another half-brother as well as a twin brother and sister. The Calabrians thought it was the will of the gods that Lord Duo be given a second chance with the woman he loved, and maybe it was, but her mother knew that she was genetically predisposed to having twins, having had a twin brother of her own that had been killed with her mother during the war. If Calabrians considered the bearing of twins a sign from the gods, perhaps giving them to Amyr would improve him in the eyes of his people. Was she really thinking about having children already? How did she go from piloting advanced spacecraft to this?

Sighing, she looked at her brother. "Are you happy for me, Stryfe? I don't think that Taeron approves of my marriage to Amyr."

"Maybe Taeron is too close to Amyr. You have to admit that he has probably seen the worst of your husband-to-be those months when we were finishing our military duty."

She remembered the bits of conversation she had heard in the hall and realized that her brother probably knew what they had been talking about. Since coming to Calabria, he had spent many hours in the imperial archives and had already absorbed much about their history and culture. "Have you heard of a person named Dilan? I heard some men in the hall talking about him."

Stryfe shifted uncomfortably, then after a pause he told her, "They were probably talking about Prince Dilan, the half-brother of Lady Arora."

"I've never heard of him," said Quynn, her brows drawing together in a frown.

"He isn't spoken of very often. Dilan's mother, the courtesan Lady Xuxa, convinced Emperor Zeno that Dilan was his son, so after Trey disappeared, Dilan was named crown prince."

"Did Trey kill him when he returned?" asked Quynn curiously. She didn't know much about Calabrian history and was embarrassed that she did not know these details about Amyr's family.

"Well, Trey told me that he expected to fight Dillan to regain his position, but Zeno reinstated him immediately upon his return and repudiated Dilan as Dax's offspring. Trey did have to fight to take Lady Arora away from Dilan who had a claim to her as head of his house, being Dax's oldest offspring. Dilan wanted to take Arora as his mate."

Quynn's nose wrinkled with disgust. "Although they were brother and sister?"

"Such things are not uncommon among the Guerani," he told her. "Valerya was Dax's sister and the royal family of Bayman continued for many generations with marriage between siblings until Dagan's mother was poisoned by his half-sister, precipitating his marriage to Princess Shamara. Some ancient civilizations on Earth practiced ..."

She raised a brow and he realized that he had gotten carried away with his explanation. Stryfe was well suited for his position in the imperial household. "Anyway, Trey killed Dilan," he finished.

"What does any of this have to do with Amyr?"

Stryfe shrugged. "Taeron can probably explain better than I. He is a Calabrian male, so he has some insight that I do not." She suspected that Stryfe did not want to discuss it and since he was the emperor's scribe, she did not press him.

"I suppose Taeron is with Amyr." Seeing him before the ceremony might be bad luck, but Quynn was hoping to find them together. She wanted to see Amyr more than Taeron anyway.

"Taeron was in the garden alone when I came up here," said Stryfe, disappointing her. "I would guess that Amyr is holed up somewhere praying for guidance from the gods."

Quynn wondered if she should be doing the same, but since she was new to this whole business with gods, she would not know how to go about it. After the Guerani had discovered that their "gods" had actually been parasitic entities from beyond the frontier that had taken residence in their bodies, Quynn wasn't sure why the Calabrians stuck to their beliefs in higher beings that took an interest in their lives.

Stryfe walked with her down to the garden to find Taeron, but before they reached it, an attractive serving girl distracted her brother and he quickly excused himself to flirt with the giggling young woman. Quynn didn't feel comfortable asking these questions in front of her twin brother anyway, so she was glad to leave him behind. She didn't like that she was starting to feel doubts about her marriage and she did not want Stryfe to realize it and hurry to tell their parents, or worse, report it to the emperor.

Sitting by himself rubbing down the sword he had carried since having it presented to him by Lady Arora upon completing his training, Taeron didn't seem surprised to see her when she came upon him in the garden. Even if he was surprised, he would never show it. Her Calabrian half-brother was the very definition of stoic and Quynn sometimes wondered if their father's initial rejection of him had made him seem indifferent.

"If you are looking for Amyr, he is with his parents."

"Last minute advice?" she asked flippantly.

Taeron's eyes met hers but he was not smiling. "Last minute warnings and threats, more likely."

Her resolve was beginning to crumble. She wished Amyr were with her to give her a little more courage. "I wanted to ask you something."

"My opinion?"

She frowned at him. "I don't need to ask to know your opinion."

"Then listen to me when I tell you it is not too late. Give Amyr more time; give yourself more time."

Now he chose to speak with passion and Quynn clenched her fists at her side as if she could fight off her own doubts. "I want to marry him now! I don't want to waste any more time. My mother was cheated of her happiness for many years, and I will not let the same thing happen to me."

"The gods will determine what is right."

Quynn was afraid of that. "I did not come here to discuss my decision to marry Amyr. I want to ask you about Prince Dilan."

Taeron's brows drew together. "Who have you been speaking to?"

So he was bothered by the mention of the dead prince? "I wasn't speaking to anyone. I overheard some men in the hall…"

"Rumors! They are spreading rumors and lies!" Taeron stood, the sword clenched in his hand and she had an inkling of what those he had killed felt before he sliced that long blade through their flesh. "There are many who would use any excuse to disinherit Amyr."

"You don't seem to be his fan either," she pointed out with a wary glance at the sword.

Taeron shot her a dark look, then sheathed the sword behind him. "I am not a fan of your marrying him yet. He is not ready for any responsibility, not of the responsibility of governing and certainly not the responsibility of marriage. He doesn't know anything but the bounty given him by his birthright, and many would like to take that birthright away from him."

Quynn reached out to put her hand on his arm. "Tell me what you know."

Taeron sank back down on the bench. "The attempts made on Amyr's life were done in the name of the emperor."

"Trey wants his own son killed?" Quynn was shocked.

"No!" Taeron denied immediately. "The assassins claimed to be doing what the emperor will not. They believe that Trey is saving the honor of his house by claiming Amyr as his son when many believe that Dilan sired him."

"Dilan!" Quynn couldn't believe that she was ignorant of such an important detail about the man she was going to marry.

Taeron looked at her, then took her hand and drew her down on the bench beside him. "Dilan took Arora away from Trey and he had her in his keeping long enough for many to raise questions, especially when Amyr was born within time for either Dilan or Trey to be his father."

Quynn felt heartsick for Amyr. "What does his mother say?"

"She would never deny her son, but many have pointed out that Trey was not with her when Amyr was born. He was caught in battle and could not return to the palace in time."

Quynn knew that it was important for a Calabrian male to claim his mate's child by assisting at the birth. It was so important that the child be born into its father's hands that she knew her father had been with her mother to perform the duty over her mother's objections. Apparently he had done well despite the added complication of twin babies.

"Some have suggested," continued Taeron, "that Prince Amyr has sprung from a bad seed, that his wastrel behavior is reminiscent of Prince Dilan."

Quynn hoped the emperor's disdain for his son did not stem from a belief that he was not his father. "What do you believe, Taeron?"

"I believe that the emperor is disappointed in his son's behavior because Amyr has taken advantage of his position to glut himself on pleasures while shirking his responsibilites. Do I believe that he is Dilan's son?" He raised a brow and met her gaze. "I do not. But his actions make many question the truth and until he proves himself capable of thinking of someone other than himself, there will always be suspicion that he could not be a seed of Trey's house." He squeezed her hand. "Does this change your mind about marrying him now?"

Quynn drew her hand away. "No! This only makes me more determined to help him gain respect."

"Marriage to you is not the answer, no matter how much you or he might think it is. He must earn it on his own."

She shot to her feet. "How can you say such a thing? Amyr wishes to marry me because he loves me and I love him! I should think you would want to see him happy."

Refusing to listen to any more of his arguments, she left him in the garden, but she heard him say, "I would not sacrifice the happiness of my sister for his selfish needs."

Returning to the wing of the palace where she could find her room, she saw Amyr waiting, leaning against the door to her room. He straightened when she approached, and saw the appreciative gleam in his eyes as he took in the elegant gown she now wore. Most of her hair was pinned up except for a few curls that dangled around her neck. When she came even with him, he slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her against him.

"You are very beautiful, Lady Quynn."

She grew warm in his arms. "In my culture, it is bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony."

Amyr lowered his head and touched his lips to hers. "I'd like to do more than see you."

She didn't admit that she felt the same. "You can wait one more day."

"Can you?" He gently pushed her against the wall, and Quynn could barely breathe as he leaned into her. At the moment she didn't think she could wait another minute to be with him.

Suddenly she detected the fragrance of a rose, and she smiled as Amyr brushed her cheek with the soft petals of the flower he must have plucked from her mother's garden. Reaching out to take it from his hand, she gasped when her finger was pricked on a thorn.

The flower dropped to the floor, and Amyr turned her hand, first kissing the pulse at her wrist, then the palm of her hand before sucking the pricked finger into his mouth. Quynn felt her knees give away from the heat radiating through her. She must have pulled his head to hers, because they were soon kissing so deeply that she was oblivious to anything but the touch and feel and smell of the man holding her. He had somehow managed to work her gown up so that she could feel his hands on her bare thighs, his fingers caressing, touching her as she had not allowed any other man to touch her. Quynn didn't care about anything but her love for him. If Amyr's needs were a little more basic, she understood when hers were becoming more earthy as well.

"My lord." In her haze, she heard Taeron's growling voice.

When he reluctantly released her, Quynn shivered as the silky fabric of her gown slithered down to cover her again and Amyr turned to look at Taeron. "I have no need of your protection now, Taeron. I do not appreciate your interference. When you were my sister's imperial guard, you were the protector of her virtue, but I do not need you to be the protector of mine." Taeron's lowered his head in mocking obeisance. "I fear you have little virtue to protect."

Amyr stared silently at his oldest friend for a moment as Quynn quickly straightened her clothing and steadied her breathing in an effort to regain some composure. She was not oblivious to the tension between the two men and hoped that she was not responsible.

Taeron spoke again. "You may be assured, my lord prince, that I will not dare to interrupt your pleasures again."

"See that you do not."

"You cannot fault me now for stopping you from making the mistake of dishonoring my lord father's house."

As Amyr ran a hand through his dark hair, Quynn looked at him quickly to see if she could find the resemblance between him and the emperor. She was disheartened to note that he looked more like his uncle Apolo than he did his father. Were the rumors true? Should she care if the emperor did not?

"The banquet will begin soon," Taeron said. "Your lord father asked me to bring you to him." Taeron looked at Quynn. "Your parents have sent for you as well."

Turning away from his guard, Amyr smiled down at her. "When next I see you, we will be exchanging vows."

She smiled up at him, looking into his eyes. "I love you, Amyr."

He brushed his lips across her forehead before turning away.

In a daze, she watched him leave with Taeron, and then she hurried into her room to check her appearance. Once she had fixed her hair and cooled down her flaming cheeks, she made her way to the private apartments of her parents. She found her mother finishing the nursing of her youngest brother while her father rocked the baby's twin sister who was fussing. Two women stood nearby waiting to take them to the nursery. Stryfe stood back with a smile on his lips, but his eyes were on one of the women who glanced at him with a shy, but knowing glance. Her brother enjoyed clinging Calabrian females, and even though he wasn't a warrior, they also seemed to enjoy his company. Stryfe had no interest in settling down, certainly not when the women of Calabria were so eager to please.

As she watched her mother smile down at the baby, Quynn imagined herself holding Amyr's child to her breast, stroking its dark hair with her fingers as her mother did to her baby brother. She mused about how her life had changed in the last two years after losing the man she believed was her father. Wracked with grief, Quynn had devoted her life to her military service and she had not given any thought to anything but being the best pilot in the kingdom, imagining how proud her father would have been. Although she had spent time training Calabrian pilots after her arrival, Quynn came to realize that she would not be displeased to never pilot another spacecraft again and that her stepfather, the man she had always thought was her father, would be proud of her decision. Nothing seemed more important now than making her life with Amyr and raising their children. He filled her life and her heart with joy.

Raising her head when the baby finished, her mother noticed her arrival, so she propped him against her shoulder and patted his back gently until he belched and then handed him over to one of the waiting women. "I see that you are ready, Quynn and you look very lovely."

"Let's get this over with," announced her father as he carefully handed her sleeping baby sister to the other woman.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm," Quynn remarked dryly.

Duo took her hand and put it on his arm to escort her. "I am sorry I cannot be more enthusiastic, Quynn, but I want you to know that you will always have our support. Unfortunately, I doubt that once you are married to Amyr, you will want to ask us for anything, no matter how much you need to."

Her mother took her other hand and curled it around her arm. "You're too proud to hear us say 'I told you so."

"You won't have to," she said with conviction. Quynn had no doubt that she would be happy with Amyr. She loved him and she was sure of his love for her.

Yet as she walked with her parents, she realized that Amyr had not told her that he loved her.