Chapter 13

"This was supposed to be a short jaunt over to Teralon." The pilot of the shuttle, Danlaer, was standing beside his copilot, Keldar, both men staring at the useless navigation system as the ship drifted, now without fuel, it's hyperdrive burned out.

"Get Lord Taeron married, get him back to Varoonya and take Prince Staefyn back to Calabria." Keldar sighed deeply and shook his head. "I should have taken the assignment hunting canyon beasts in the sacred hills instead."

I would rather be hunting canyon beasts, agreed Taeron silently. Instead he was trapped on a ship which could not be controlled, speeding through frontier space with two women, one who whined about her tragic destiny to die in space and the other who blamed him for their dire circumstances. He would rather be staring down a charging canyon beast than spend any more time than necessary with either of them.

In the three days by Calabrian time since they had lost control of the navigation system, he had seen enough of Princess Dijana to know that he could not live with the woman. If Stryfe hadn't convinced him to be more patient towards the wailing Teralonian princess, he might have denounced his vow to her after the first hour, consequences be gods damned. As for her sister, the very thought of her undermined his composure, and when they were in a room together, he lost all ability to think at all as embarrassing urges seized control of his body. Even now he shifted uncomfortably because his mind had conjured an image of her long legs and shapely backside.

Danlaer put his hand on his shoulder. "At least you could be passing your time more enjoyably."

Taeron raised a brow. Just what did he mean by that?

Keldar chuckled and was about to make a remark, but he closed his mouth and nodded toward the corridor leading to the passenger cabins. Taeron guessed who had arrived even before he heard her voice.

"Scribe! What are you doing here? You should be recording the failure of these useless Calabrians to repair this vessel!" By the gods, she did nothing but harp at him, and yet her voice made the unruly response of his body even worse.

"Yes, what are you doing here scribe?" Danlaer's voice was laced with ill-concealed humor and Keldar outright chuckled. A sweat had broken out over Taeron's brow that the men had no doubt seen.

Taeron glared at them before turning to look at Sharisse. He shouldn't have, because his blood heated even more at the sight of his wife's sister. She had not changed from the shapeless tunic that reached her knees, and yet when she moved, he could not help but notice where the colorless fabric clung to her. He shamed himself by imagining what it would be like to remove the ugly layers to find what was hidden beneath.

Why could he not feel the same desire for her sister, the woman he was pledged to spend his life with? Taeron had not spent more than a few moments with Dijana, but it was enough to know that he would not be able to perform as a mate with her. She was beautiful enough with lustrous, thick dark hair, sparkling blue eyes and flawless skin that any man would want to touch. Her sister could not be less like her with her ragged cropped hair and sallow skin. Where Dijana was curvy and soft, Sharisse was angular and thin. She was not beautiful at first glance, and yet Taeron saw only beauty when he met her clear green gaze. Her long lashes were thick and tipped with gold, gold like the strands of her hair. He should not be thinking of the hidden beauty of his wife's sister. Why did the gods give him this exasperating attraction for that unpleasant female?

Any man would envy him for the woman he should be accepting as his wife, but Taeron did not want her. How could he when the women he had been surrounded by his entire life were full of vigor? His mother had once tried to kill the emperor himself and managed to convince both him and his wife to allow her to live. Larya had fought to earn everything that had come to her, and while her methods were questionable, Taeron was proud to be her son. And his second mother, the emperor's wife, was a model for every woman on Calabria. Lady Arora had led the imperial palace guards against an assault on the palace, repelling a force twice the size of her own, and when she driven them back, she returned wearily to her chamber to give birth to Amyr. She had made a crown prince love her and because of her, he had changed the lives of all the women of Calabria. His father's wife had come into Taeron's life much later, but she was another such a strong and daring female. She had been a warrior on her world, and while she had become a nurturing healer, she was still bold enough to challenge the emperor when she believed he was wrong. Those were the women around whom he had grown up. Taeron did not want a mate the mewled and complained. He wanted one that would challenge him, like the woman who was glaring at him now.

"I cannot believe that Lord Taeron is as bumbling a fool as this debacle is proving him to be!" she snapped.

"We are having a hard time believing it as well," spoke up Danlaer with a glance from her to Taeron and back again.

Sharisse regarded Danlaer with annoyance for a moment and then approached Taeron who resisted the urge to back away lest he do something very foolish, like seize her, grasp her backside and hoist her onto the useless navigation panel where he would …

Keldar cleared his throat and Taeron felt the color rising to his cheeks. He could not read his thoughts, could he?

Sharisse was suddenly nose to nose with him, and she poked her finger into his chest. "I hope that you have been recording every moment of this fiasco because I want every man, woman and child in the Calabrian system to know what a buffoon the hero of Varoonya really is."

He realized that he had not said a word and he felt like a fool when she gave a sniff and turned on her heel to leave. As she marched away, Taeron found it difficult to breathe as he watched the movement of her hips and just as difficult to tear his eyes away. By the gods! If he did not reign in these wayward urges he was going to have to do something he had not done since his youth when one of his mother's pretty serving women had smiled at him and given him a provocative glance, and since his mother had caught him in the act, he was not about to risk shaming himself on this ship. Having to sit through one of his mother's instructions was bad enough!

"Well, you had best get your pen out and get to it, scribe," advised Keldar before both pilots burst into laughter that suggested they were not talking about a pen.

Taeron raised his hands in a silent prayer for the strength to endure before stalking down the corridor, but only after he was reasonably sure that Sharisse had ducked into the cabin she shared with her sister because he was in no frame of mind to be caught with her in the narrow corridor. Stryfe suddenly exited the cabin so quickly that Taeron imagined Sharisse seizing him by the collar of the fine tunic he wore and tossing him towards the exit.

His brother was frowning until he saw Taeron, and then smiled. "Brother, I have spent the morning with Princess Dijana and I am sure that I have convinced her that I, Lord Taeron, am not an idiot."

"You are an idiot."

He seized Stryfe's arm and marched him down the corridor to the cabin that had been his, but now his brother occupied, just as he wore his clothing. Taeron was annoyed to wear his brother's garments, not because they were not as fine as the clothing Larya had packed for him, but because Stryfe's clothing was tight and the seams threatened to burst if Taeron moved too fast. Now that he was playing a different role, he was also using the much smaller cabin that had been assigned his brother. The lack of comfort didn't bother him, but seeing Stryfe stretch out on the thickly padded bed provided for Taeron annoyed him as did the piles of scrolls that filled the other cabin, some for his brother to read, others for him to write his reports. Taeron had no use for them and since the women had come aboard, Stryfe had paid little attention to his duties.

"Ah, the comforts of being the hero of Varoonya!"

"I stand by my statement, you are an idiot." Comforts? There had been few comforts in the years he had fought on Varoonya.

The smile faded from Stryfe's face. "I am sorry, brother. I see you standing there unscathed and I forget what you have gone through." He knew that Stryfe was sincere. Even before they had discovered they were blood brothers, Stryfe had befriended him and now two brothers could be no closer than he was with Stryfe. Only Amyr had known him better, and they had grown up together.

"I was responsible for archiving the accounts of the war," continued Stryfe. He shook his head. "When I read the reports arriving from the planet, I feared the next would contain word of your death. I know that the conditions were horrific on Varoonya, that between the ceaseless attacks of the thralls and the harsh climate and terrain, you had little rest and certainly no comfort. It is a credit to your command that those men that were sent back to Ulfynaeus for medical care begged to return to your side once they were healed."

Sighing, Taeron sat on the edge of the bed and with his elbows on his knees, he put his face in his hands. He did not want to remember those days on Varoonya, fighting for his life, struggling to keep his men alive, battling to free the people oppressed by the evil creatures that had enslaved nearly the entire populace of the planet. The Varoonyan overlords had manipulated the gentle, agrarian people, manipulating them by enthralling them and turning them into soulless creatures that would do their bidding or die trying. In truth they had died the moment their masters had enthralled them because they could only be released by their master's death and too few had outlived them. Taeron had slain every Varoonyan lord he could find, ending the life of the prince on the point of Amyr's sword. Only one remained and Taeron would never give up the hunt for warlord Kai.

And yet fighting against an enemy he could see was far easier than the one skulking in the shadows, pretending friendship while waiting to strike. "I pray that Staefyn does not undo all that I have accomplished on Varoonya."

"I will not believe that Staefyn had anything to do with the malfunction of the navigation system," Stryfe told him. "While you were away, I got to know him well enough to say now that he would not wish to cause harm to anyone. He is beloved of the people and has no reason to feel threatened by you."

"Nothing you say will convince me otherwise," muttered Taeron. He had been betrayed by Amyr to whom he had a personal bond. It would not be so difficult for another of Zeno's blood to do the same to him. But Stryfe was right in that Staefyn had never seemed to resent him when they were growing up, not as Amyr openly had when his successes were lauded by the emperor, probably in contrast to Amyr's failures. Taeron had never sought Trey's approval. He had done all that he could to earn the recognition of a man who seemed unable to give it, and Taeron had worked that much harder to show Lord Duo that he could be proud of him.

"They probably think we are dead," commented Stryfe.

Because of the hyperspace capabilities of the craft, they had been out of range of the communications satellites before they could contact any of the worlds in the emperor's dominion. Staefyn had been very careful in executing his scheme to be rid of Taeron.

"I think it may strain relations between Teralon and Calabria," said Stryfe with a sigh. "This marriage was supposed to have strengthened Teralon, and now Balak will retaliate."

Taeron grunted dismissively. "They are not capable of fighting Calabria. Nor did they seem overly concerned about the safety of their princess. If they were, they would have waited for us to land on the planet so that I could join with her in formal ceremony. I am insulted by their disregard, both for me and her."

Where had that speech come from? They were words his mother would have said, not Taeron after having grown up with the scorn and disapproval of the imperial nobility. He hadn't allowed himself the luxury of feeling personal insult, not after driving the Varoonyans off Teralon when Balak had been grossly discourteous to the commander of the army that had liberated his people. The only reason he could imagine for the rudeness of the Teralonians was that they had not forgotten or forgiven the second battle on the planet, the one he had slept through in the arms of two Teralonian whores that he did not remember.

"They must believe me to be a coward," he muttered aloud at the memory.

"I had thoroughly described the event in the report to the emperor which he sent on to Teralon," Stryfe told him. "You are no coward!"

Taeron shook his head. "Perhaps not then, but I freely admit to you brother that I was afraid to claim my bride and put it off. I was afraid that what has come to pass would come to pass, that I would not want her."

Stryfe rubbed his shoulder in a comforting manner that reminded Taeron of his father's wife. Lady Trynity had done this more than once to him and he often saw her giving this comfort to her husband. "I do not understand your reluctance, Taeron. Princess Dijana is beautiful."

"You are right, she pleases the eye, but I do not find her appealing," he told Stryfe. How could he describe the instinct he felt that she was not right for him? Stryfe would think him demented if he admitted his attraction to the unpleasant female that had accompanied her.

"I find her very appealing," said Stryfe.

Taeron turned his head to look at him. "You have not dishonored her, have you?" Since coming to Calabria, Stryfe had not felt constrained to follow their practices concerning women. In that way he was like Amyr.

Stryfe chuckled. "I am not about to end my life on the point of your sword!"

Taeron stared at him silently for a moment, wondering if Stryfe's careless disregard for females might save him from the marriage he did not want. "If you were to dishonor the female … "

The smile faded from Stryfe's face and he interrupted him before Taeron could finish. "Brother, those are hardly the words I would expect to hear from a man of your honor."

Taeron jumped to his feet and he began to pace. "I cannot take her as my mate!" He thrust his fingers into his hair to grasp his head. "I know that I must, but I cannot lie with her."

"You have lain with plenty of women," scoffed Stryfe.

When Taeron turned to look at Stryfe his brother's jaw dropped.

"You haven't?"

"Why should you believe otherwise?" demanded Taeron. What man of any honor would mate with a female to whom he had not given a bond? The emperor had forbade all such practices, making offenses punishable.

"But...but all the women...and being with Amyr..."

"Amyr did as Amyr wished," snapped Taeron irritably. "The emperor rebuked him many times for his dishonorable behavior, but that did not stop him." He gave his brother a pointed look and Stryfe lowered his head. His brother did not understand, nor did he care about the Calabrian code of honor.

Stryfe did not respond for several moments and Taeron hoped he was reconsidering his own behavior with women. Finally he shook his head. "I am sorry, Taeron. Your culture is so different from my own, from the culture of our father. I do not even think he realizes how his refusal of your mother's claims affected you."

"I saw on your planet, how males and females interacted, but you must have realized that is not the way on Calabria. Once we have taken a mate and formed the bond, it is irrevocable, and it is far too easy to be tricked by the wrong female when distracted." His hands dropped to his side. "I have always thought that when I made my bond it would be with a woman that I loved, not one that I am obligated to take as my mate." He hoped that he did not sound resentful of the honor the emperor had given him, even if he felt it in his heart.

"Hey, brother, just watching my parents gaze at each other makes me want the same," Stryfe commiserated. "And I have spent enough time in the imperial household with the emperor to know that what he feels for his wife is deep and joyous. I am sorry that you do not feel that you can love Princess Dijana."

Taeron took the seat on the edge of the bed again. "I do not wish to bond with Princess Dijana, and yet I cannot break the pact without good cause. I have given an unbreakable oath that would not only shame my father should I break it, it could also mean my life."

"I am not going to sacrifice what little honor I have to get you out of this mess," Stryfe grinned at him. "Beside, you really don't want to face me in honorable duel do you? Who would be left to write about it?"

"I cannot do it!" Dijana paced the large cabin, her hand clenched into fists at her side. "I will not marry that oaf!"

"You are all but married to him already," pointed out Sharisse as she lay on her side on the large bed that had been provided for the use of the new couple. Just the sight of it and imagining what she must do sickened Dijana. She could not do that with the man she had sent out of the chamber. His silly grin told her that he did not take anything seriously. Beyond a cursory inspection of the navigation that elicited no more than a shrug, he had done nothing about their desperate circumstances. He was more interested in flirting with Sharisse, and finding them lying on the bed together moments ago irritated her as much as his spineless brother had in the control room.

"We are not mated until...until..." She made a sound of disgust. "I cannot even say it in connection with that idiot."

Sharisse smiled. "I think you might be able to consider it with his handsome scribe."

The scribe. Dijana's stride caught and she almost stumbled over the corner of the bed. That man was infuriating! Despite being the son of the most respected of Emperor Trey's warriors, he wielded a pen! Had he said even more than a handful of words in the days that they had been together? Did he return to his cabin to write would he could not say?

But her sister had the right of it. He was handsome, with his dark hair and midnight blue eyes. But he was certainly vain because his clothing was too tight drawing attention to muscles that might have been impressive on a warrior but were wasted on a scribe, further proof of his excessive vanity.

Lord Taeron was an attractive man as well, but Dijana knew she was not destined for the hero of Varoonya. Her father was disposing of her in a way that would exonerate him, because when Lord Taeron learned what had happened during the Varoonyan occupation, he would not just reject her, but he would probably end her life as her father expected. Balak could then complain to the emperor and Trey would have to appease him by returning autonomy to Teralon. Dijana was a pawn and nothing more, a means for her father to regain what he had lost in having to accept the emperor's aid in ridding Teralon of the pestilence of Varoonya.

Shortly before boarding the transport that would take her to the Calabrian warlord, Dijana had gone to her father one last time to beg him to break the pact.

"Please do not make me do this!" she had cried, falling to her knees before him. She had done this another time when it potentially meant her life and death and he had not been swayed. What made her think the outcome would be any different this time?

She did not care that the entire court had witnessed her plea. They stood silently watching her with as little sympathy as the man that looked down on her with contempt. If she didn't know any better, she would have guessed that her father had summoned them to witness her humiliation, as if he knew that Dijana would break down with the cowardice that had overcome her.

Balak had glared down at her, the disgust easy to read in his eyes and in the curl of his lips. She had hoped that the queen would return to see her off, but the woman had not even sent her a message wishing her well. Queen Neria had washed her hands of Dijana long ago, relegating her upbringing to others. She had born her husband an heir and after birthing a spare female, she left the court for the palace far from her husband's side.

"You will do as I say!" thundered the queen's consort, the commander of her winged warriors. Then he leaned forward to say for only her to hear, "I have no desire for you to offend me with your presence any longer! You disgust me, and I pray that Lord Taeron rids me quickly of the abomination that is the shame of our people."

Dijana did not bother looking at Avar when she knew he would be just as glad to hear of her death. He would be even more glad to bring it about himself. His wife looked as if she would speak, but Avar grasped Princess Chaela's arm and jerked her away before she could utter a sound. Dijana had wanted to scream in frustration at the unfairness of their condemnation, but it would do her no good. She was a freak in their eyes; she was a freak in her own eyes.

"You are not going to cry!" Sharisse said with frown.

"I am not crying," sniffed Dijana as she wiped away some moisture from her eyes. She had lived through too much to crumble now.

"You are my sister. I love you and I would do anything to help you." Sharisse moved to sit near Dijana and she brushed back Dijana's hair before kissing her cheek. Dijana suffered it in silence although she felt the insincerity. Sharisse had never liked her, and she could afford to pretend that she cared now because she would soon be rid of her. "I am certain that Lord Taeron would not be averse to taking me as his wife.

Dijana stared at her, the coward in her grasping for any chance to live, even this half-life she had been allowed. "Do you believe we can continue in this lie?"

"My father only wants you gone. While he expects Lord Taeron to kill you, that does not have to be the only outcome." The words hurt to hear aloud even though Dijana knew they were true. "As we discussed, I will take your place and live as Lord Taeron's mate on Varoonya or Calabria, and by the time I have given him a child, he will not care."

"What will become of me?" she muttered. The future seemed bright for her sister but not less dark for herself.

"I will convince Lord Taeron to allow you to stay with us. Perhaps he can provide a place for you far from his people where you cannot..." She didn't finish and Dijana was glad because she could not bear to think about what she had become, what she had brought on herself. But going to Varoonya was very much the death sentence that her father had intended and she told Sharisse as much.

"Then you should try harder to make the scribe desire you as his mate so that he will take you to Calabria with him. We know that his family is very important to Lord Taeron and he would never intentionally cause his brother pain. If he grew to care about you, Lord Stryfe would be your shield and you can live out your life, such as it is, as his mate."

"Lord Stryfe!" Dijana sputtered with indignation. "How could a scribe protect me?" A scribe who had difficulty putting two words together when they were in the same room. Not that she hadn't noticed how tall he was, how he walked with the arrogance and self-confidence that she associated with powerful Calabrian males. Although he was human, Stryfe was a distracting male. If this was how scribes were on Calabria, she wondered how brutish the warriors were. Lord Taeron could not be a good example!

"You prefer the scribe," Sharisse goaded her.

Dijana looked at her. "He shows me no interest."

Sharisse laughed. "You are so naive, my sister! I have never seen a male watch you with as much interest as he has, except perhaps..."

Dijana did not want to be reminded of that Varoonyan bastard so she interrupted her. "Are you so sure that Stryfe would betray his own brother like that?"

"He thinks you are me," Sharisse reminded her. "As I said, we shall continue as we are and once you have made him mindless with desire for you, then we shall tell the truth. By that time neither men will care, certainly not my Lord Taeron."

Dijana cursed whatever god had put the fool notion in her head to lie about her identity in the first place. Lord Taeron was going to be offended enough, but now...

"Don't think about it," Sharisse warned her. "Or you will be unable to do it."

"I will be unable to do it anyway," snapped Dijana. "I know nothing of men and seductions. That is your area of expertise."

Sharisse laughed softly. "How difficult can if be to seduce a man who spent his days locked away with pens and ink and scrolls?"

A light was blinking at the communicator and Dijana stepped over to it, pressing the button to link with the pilots.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

"I thought you might want to be forewarned. There is a vessel approaching and I doubt they are going to be offering to help. Lord Taeron insists that you remain in your cabin."

Dijana was about to snap that she could take care of herself, but Sharisse hurried to respond. "Thank Lord Taeron for his concern. We will remain in the cabin."