Chapter 45

On Norvana Taeron would have stopped her, and if he had not taken his medicine, he probably would have ripped off Amyr's limbs for daring to touch his mate, but now he stood over them watching serenely as she scratched at Amyr, slapped, kicked and jabbed him but Amyr merely burst into laughter at her efforts and Taeron thought he might have to remind Amyr to respect his mate. Then again, the woman rolling about with him, trying ineffectually to beat him had a lot to learn, first about how to administer a proper beating and second how to behave as a proper princess.

Suddenly Roehan's wings flew out behind him and he quickly darted to her, and seizing her around the waist, he drew away so quickly that Taeron was impressed although Dijana was even more furious. The beautiful female was glorious in her fury and Taeron wished she were not at odds with him because he would like nothing better than to take her someplace private to tame her.

"Your behavior is undignified," he heard her father snarl in her ear. "You don't give a gods damned about me, but I am ashamed that you are my daughter at this moment."

Taeron thought she was going to scream at him, but instead she burst into tears, and when she reached out for Chaela, Roehan turned her away and brought his wings around to hide her as he turned her in his arms and held her close to his chest. Although Roehan had been deprived of the chance to be her father, Taeron suspected that he would do his best to make up for his absence in her life. He hoped the warrior would not interfere with their relationship, but when Roehan raised his head to glower at him, Taeron knew he was hoping in vain. They had suddenly become adversaries.

"What is your decision?" demanded Neria of the elders with only a glance at Dijana and her father, and in that glance Taeron had seen the brief look of regret in her eyes. If Dijana would let her, Neria would prove her love, but Taeron felt Dijana's pain and knew it would be a long time if ever that she forgave her parents for something that was beyond their control.

Despite the tender glance she had given her daughter, the tone she had used on the elders was as harsh as any battlefield commander. She expected to be obeyed or the consequences would be unpleasant.

"If Princess Dijana is sincere in her desire to reject Prince Taeron..." Jaleila began and Taeron held his breath, disbelieving that they would side with Dijana. He had not agreed to Stryfe and Amyr's plan to completely humiliate her just so that these sanctimonious elders whose allegiance was suspect could leave her without a mate to protect her.

Fortunately, Neria was his strongest ally as well as the bane of his existence. "Your duty is to do what is best for Teralon, not what is best for an overwrought female who is not thinking straight," Neria reminded them with a hard edge to her voice.

Taeron doubted any of them would ever forget what she had done in this chamber. Yes, Dijana was overwrought. He regretted allowing her to attack Amyr, especially since it had undoubtedly earned him Roehan's enmity, but he doubted subduing her would be easy and he had already broken some of the stitches Amyr had given him. And he thought she might benefit from giving Amyr his badly deserved beating for the unkind things he had said to her on Norvana. He would have a difficult time claiming the woman weeping beneath the gold tipped wings of her father. She bore little resemblance to the female he had fallen in love with, but his heart ached with every whimper he heard muffled within the golden warrior's wings.

"Speak up!" demanded Neria impatiently.

The elders exchanged worried looks and then Ayrael pronounced the words he wanted to hear. "It is in Teralon's best interest that she acknowledge Prince Taeron as her husband."

"Never!"came the muffled sob from beneath the feathers hiding her from their view. Taeron wasn't surprised by her reaction.

The elders looked at Neria.

Neria returned their gaze without blinking. Taeron knew how it felt to be on the receiving end of that look.

"We acknowledge her marriage to Prince Taeron." Deryn spoke quickly to appease the queen.

"No!" Roehan raised his head now and faced not only the council, but his mate with defiance. "My daughter deserves the same right as every female on Teralon, the right that my queen was denied. Lord Prince Taeron may present himself for consideration to court her like all males of Teralon. She must be given the right to choose her own mate."

Neria stared at him without speaking and Taeron wondered if she was going to order his death, but her eyes shifted to Taeron, then back to where Dijana was still hidden in her father's wings.

Before she could speak whatever she was thinking, Jaleila blurted, "We will accept her sire's condition." When Neria spun back to glare at the elder, Jaleila raised her chin but she was visibly trembling with fear. "He has the right as her father."

Taeron did not know what this meant for him, but he doubted a courtship could be difficult. Dijana was his mate and they both knew it. If it took a courtship to bring her back to his arms, he would do whatever they expected. Now he willed Neria to look at him, and when she did, he nodded in agreement.

So she huffed in exasperation, glared briefly at Roehan as if to tell him there would be consequences for his interference, then she nodded regally. "Very well. Then after my marriage to Roehan on the morrow, we shall announce to all that we will begin the courtship celebration," she announced. "I expect you to attend the banquet this evening when I will announce your retirement from your duties."

The three elders hung their heads. Banishment to their estates was not such a bad sentence. Trey had exiled his opponents to the unsettled moons where they had made a new life, but the moon circling Teralon was an uninhabitable ball of ice, so that was not an option. If they were guilty of all that Neria suspected, Taeron thought they deserved a public execution, but she seemed to know what was best. Trey had warned him that he would have to learn diplomacy, that the migth of his sword would not always be the best course of action for Calabria no matter his personal feelings. If he had crushed Meridon, much of the good that had come to pass on Ulfynaeus would have been lost, and when Trey had forgiven Lord Rendael of house Caron, he had swelled his army considerably. Rendael was given his life and Trey became the most powerful man in the binary system.

"I won't do it!" sobbed Dijana. "I won't consider that oath-breaking bastard as a mate!"

Her words stung, but then Taeron did not think winning her back would be easy. In retrospect, he probably should have tried some type of diplomacy before carrying her off to a trance where he ended up using his sword anyway.

Stryfe had helped Amyr up and the latter was wiping the blood from his cheek as he leaned in to Taeron. "My father is going to love this story."

"Especially the part about her tackling you to the floor, princeling," said Stryfe with a laugh. "I had better save the story until after you have been named Taeron's imperial guard or he might not consider you worthy."

Taeron looked at Amyr. "Perhaps I will make it your duty to teach my mate to defend herself. I imagine she will enjoy nothing better than to spend day after day pommeling you."

Without waiting for his response, he went to the elders and nodded respectfully although it was galling to do so knowing what they had allowed to happen to Dijana. "I thank you for your decision."

"We thank you for your patience, lord prince Taeron." They moved away although they cast apprehensive glances at Neria, as if they expected her to either swoop in on them or use the chakrams hanging from the ornate golden sash crossing her body. Further inspection of the woman revealed that the bangles on her arms and wrists were smaller version of the weapons, that the hoops in her ears appeared to be sharpened as well as the golden circlet in her hair. The woman was armed to the teeth!

Having no choice, Taeron dragged his feet to Dijana's mother. He did not need to worry about her weapons unless he could not pleasure her daughter and he doubted Dijana would ever admit that his considerable experience in that regard had made him eminently qualified.

"I regret the lengths I had to go to forestall her objections," he told her honestly. Taeron doubted there would have been any other way when he felt sure the council had been intimidated as much by Roehan as by Neria.

"You pleasantly surprised me, my lord prince. You set a trap and she stepped into it unaware."

His conscience was bothered by her words of praise and by the fierce look he received from Dijana's father, he found Neria's praise reprehensible. "I regret that it was necessary," he said more to Roehan than to Neria. Dijana did not emerge from the feathers hiding her to give her own opinion.

Neria crossed her arms over her chest. "The entire affair was, is and no doubt will continue to be, disgraceful." Her eyes drifted downward. "Please tell me that my daughter was mistaken in her innocence."

"Neria, for the love of the gods," hissed Roehan in disgust.

Unlike Apolo, at least Roehan tried to curb his wife. "The bonding makes breeding of primary importance to males," he explained to her although his insides were churning with embarrassment. "My mother must have told you what it means."

"So she did, but I have seen no evidence of it in you. When I discovered who you were and that you had bonded with my daughter, I expected you to behave as some slathering rapacious beast, but aside from that day before the emperor when you whimpered and sobbed like..."

Gods! "My father's wife, the healer, has given me a medicine to aid me in suppressing those urges," he interrupted her.

She sniffed. "You have no reason to take it now."

Taeron glanced past her to Dijana who was still weeping in the protective circle of her father's wings. Her father's glare warned him that he had better have an infinite supply. "I will continue until she asks me to stop."

Neria's disgust was evident. "You will wait until the suns collide for that to happen. My daughter needs guidance."

He raised a brow. "Is that not what your mother's sister said of you?"

She gasped and for a moment he was afraid she would launch one of her chakrams, but then she blew out her breath and then laughed. "By the gods, my lord prince, but you are right. I am beginning to believe the effusive praise that your mother subjected me to on your behalf." She sighed and glanced at Dijana and Roehan. "I have preparations to make. Tonight we celebrate and on the morrow I take a husband and you will begin your courtship."

Taeron heard a muffled sound from within the feathers which he assumed was Dijana's emphatic rejection. He would never believe that the beautiful woman hidden beneath her father's wings had stopped loving him, not if she felt even a fraction of what he felt for her. Even with the medicine, she was at the very core of his existence, the part he had long been missing.

He was about to bow to Neria again, but Amyr's hand on his shoulder stopped him. "I will send my men to you for orders. In the meantime, I will need time to rest to recover."

"I shall visit with you later to discuss plans for our departure for Calabria."

Our departure? Taeron blinked and he was speechless. He was hoping to put this female behind him with hyperspace speed once he had convinced Dijana that they needed each other.

Neria's smile told him that she knew exactly what he was thinking. "Emperor Trey invited me to return when I was able to take back my rightful place so that we can discuss our future alliance." She raised a brow. "I would not dream of leaving that barbaric planet before my daughter is settled comfortably in her new home."

He was going to be sick.

"I think my prince is unwell," said Amyr coming forward to take Taeron's arm. "He needs rest."

Neria's brow arched. "See that he gets it without involving my daughter with your Guerani trickery."

Amyr chuckled. "I don't think he would be getting much rest that way."

The enraged growl that came from beneath the feathers made Taeron smile and he allowed Amyr to lead him away as if he were an invalid. He thought that might be the only way to escape Neria.

Once in the corridor with the chamber door closed, Amyr remarked, "I thank the gods every day for my wonderful mother by marriage."

"Shut up!" snapped Taeron. His future with Dijana would be forever marred by that overbearing female.

Darlac and his men were alert when he exited the chamber, and Stryfe explained to them what had transpired as they walked back to the chamber that had been provided for him. At least Amyr was mollified by the magnificence of the accommodations, telling him that he had stayed in the rooms once when he had visited Chaela shortly before her marriage to Avar. He also remarked that the females had been very accommodating to which Stryfe agreed and Darlac snorted derisively.

"If only I had known what kind of a bastard Avar was," Amyr said angrily as he and Stryfe cut away Taeron's tunic and undershirt that was sticking to the reopened portion of his wound, "I would have ..."

"What?" Taeron looked at Amyr. "Raised a sword to him? Your father would not been pleased to have his son shamed in combat. And you never would have been able to guess his intentions towards Chaela and Shamara. You Guerani are not predisposed to see the evil in men's hearts, or women's for that matter. That is how my mother was able to manipulate Lord Apolo so many years ago to engineer the capture of your mother. Your duty for the gods is to heal and protect."

"Then I had better do what the gods intend for me." Amyr sighed as he surveyed the damage to the wound. "Taeron, this wound is not a pinprick. Stop acting as if it were not there."

He turned away to thread a needle and Taeron had to look away as he stitched the flesh even though Amyr had used his magic to make him impervious to the pain of his ministrations. Afterwards he gave Taeron a healing tea that also alleviated the pain and allowed him to rest.

When the evening meal approached, Amyr ordered him to stay in bed and that he would give his apologies to Queen Neria. With a grin, he told him that he would entertain Princess Dijana. Then he ordered Darlac to prevent Taeron from leaving the bed, so he had nothing better to do but to go back to sleep listening to the men from the second moon talk about past battles on Varoonya.

He fell into a deep sleep that he suspected was aided by a trance that sent him to a serene memory of childhood when he sat in his mother's lap as she made chains with flowers to hang about his neck. Her loving embrace comforted him and he did not awaken until the following day.

As Amyr removed his bandage, he told him that Dijana had not attended the queen's banquet either and it had been a glum affair in which the elders were discharged from their service, and despite her words thanking them for their years of devotion, no one doubted they were disgraced. Her announcement that she would marry Roehan between first and second sunset was met with polite acceptance. Taeron wondered how many of her people knew that Dijana was not Nyko's daughter and if Balak was just too stupid to see the resemblance between her and the warrior. Then again, Roehan had spent the last twenty years in the northern palace sharing Neria's imprisonment albeit as her guard. Perhaps Balak really did not know. He had seemed shocked to learn the truth, and thinking of the dagger that he had planted between the usurper's eyes now gave Taeron a euphoric pleasure that made Amyr chuckle as he finished applying a fresh bandage.

Taeron caught Stryfe's gaze and saw that he was troubled. "What ails you?" Had his brother run out of ink? Did someone disturb his scrolls? Or had some female rejected him which was unthinkable when his brother had a glib tongue that could persuade even the meanest female to do whatever he wanted.

"Jeshed," he said.

Taeron frowned as he realized that he had not seen Jeshed in human form in days. "He has not come down from the skies? Perhaps he is exploring the lands." Taeron hoped that he had not lost his ability to shift back to human. He liked his new brother, regardless of how he came to be. He had much to teach him before Larya sank her hooks into him.

"He is flying erratically," Stryfe told him. "Amyr cannot reach him."

"His thoughts are jumbled," agreed Amyr. "I don't know why, but he seems to be frightened and confused. He doesn't know why either and he doesn't know what to do about it."

"He may come to me." Although he could not be certain that the shapeshifter would respond to his human brother, Taeron tried to rise, but Amyr pushed him back down on the bed. He glared at his Guerani guard. "Let me do this one thing. I am starting to feel anxious for Jeshed and I won't be able to rest until I know he is unharmed."

Disgusted, Amyr quickly checked his bandage before finding a fresh undershirt while scolding him not to distrub his wound with any bowing and scraping no matter who they ran across in the corridors. He sent Darlac ahead to ask permission to climb to the roof because they had learned that the roof of the palace was reserved for ceremonies. The servants were preparing it now for Queen Neria's marriage to Roehan. Darlac returned to relay a stern warning from the queen not to disturb the floral arrangements.

Stryfe laughed outright. "She sounds like a bride on earth."

"A bride who can snap your neck and cut off your limbs if you disturb her floral arrangements," commented Amyr grimly.

They came to the roof of the palace and found an army of females rushing about to decorate with flowers and ribbons. Taeron thought their efforts silly. He preferred the simple exchange of vows that served as a Calabrian wedding, followed by the bonding ceremony and then the banquet. The women were chattering about music and entertainment, and he wanted to be as far away from them as possible, but he forced himself forward with Amyr's unneeded help and he went to the edge of the roof.

As he looked out over the lands, he was disgusted by the acrid stench of burning flesh and the dark blemishes that marred what had been a beautiful green valley when he had brought his army out of the treacherous marshes. He had yet to thank Neria for forcing the imperials to fight both winged warriors and the poisonous, man-eating beasts that inhabited the swamps. Granted, the creatures did give his men some entertainment when not fighting, and the beetles and slugs they found were delicious, even more so when dried in their pouches. He would have to remember to have some when he returned to his chamber because he had found little to entice him to eat from the queen's table.

Turning his attention to the sky, he searched for the dragon and he was about to give up when he saw the gigantic creature flying aimlessly over the far hills. Could he call him? If Amyr could not, then how would he be able to reach him? But watching the dragon now, Taeron grew even more anxious. Jeshed seemed to behave like a mindless beast.

"Jeshed!" He called out aloud, hoping that his voice might carry on the winds to him. Jeshed did not react, so he called for him again.

Although the dragon was so far away he could hardly see him, Taeron was relieved to see it make a wide turn and head in their direction. As he drew closer, the females began to scream in terror and fall over each other fleeing down the steps to the palace. Taeron almost screamed in terror the moment he realized what the mighty winds from Jeshed's wings was going to do to the floral arrangements.

"Save the flowers!" shouted Amyr as if giving orders in battle, and Darlac and his men sprang into action along with Stryfe and Amyr. Taeron considered all the undignified things that Shamara had made him do as her imperial guard made watching Amyr dive after bouquets of flowers immensely pleasing.

The dragon paused above him, his wings flapping, causing the men to curse as the flowers were damaged beyond saving. A large wooden arch to which the women had been affixing flowers toppled over and Amyr dropped the armful of flowers he had rescued to dive towards it. But it flew over the edge and Taeron glanced over the edge of the palace to watch as it exploded when it made contact with the ground.

"By the gods, we are all dead now," remarked Amyr.

The winds died down and the human form of Jeshed dropped from the sky and landed neatly before Taeron who handed him a tunic he had brought with him in case Jeshed responded. Jeshed slipped it on to cover his naked body. The last thing Taeron wanted was Queen Neria ogling his brother.

Jeshed ran a hand through his white hair. "Quynn is gone," he announced.

"We know that," said Taeron, and then he realized that Jeshed had never been separated from her, so he was as anxious as a child who had lost sight of his mother in a crowded marketplace. He put his hand on Jeshed's shoulder to calm him. "We received word that she left to return the injured to Ulfynaeus. She will return to transport us to Calabria."

"She did not tell me she was going," insisted Jeshed petulantly.

Taeron was about to tell him that Quynn probably assumed that he would learn of her departure through them, but he realized that Quynn would not do that to Jeshed, that she understood Jeshed's need for her mothering more than anyone. She would not be free of those duties until Larya undertook them and gods help Jeshed when that day came.

Amyr came to him, his arms filled with flowers and when Taeron frowned at him, he tossed them aside. "She did not tell me she was headed out either, Jeshed. She would not do such a thing unless she had a good reason."

"I am afraid," Jeshed admitted.

Taeron could see that Jeshed's admission affected Amyr. If Jeshed feared for Quynn, then perhaps he sensed something that they could not. He could not find the words to reassure Jeshed when he was starting to worry about his sister.

"My sister can take care of herself," Stryfe said. "She may not be an imperial guard, but she was the top cadet of her class in every category. She has brains and she knows how to use them. And now she has fire at her fingertips."

Amyr took a deep, calming breath. "My wife is safe. You are right, Stryfe. Even if she encounters danger, I believe her capable of finding a way out."

Taeron was amazed that Amyr could control the fear that was probably mounting quickly inside him for the safety of his mate.

"We have to believe that Quynn is not in danger," Taeron told them calmly. He could see that even Darlac and his men were agitated by a possible threat to Lord Duo's daughter. "We cannot leave Teralon until Queen Neria is ready to depart, and that will not be until she has stabilized her rule. The emperor gave me orders to remain until that has happened." Taeron wondered if Trey was laughing about the invitation he had given Neria to return to Calabria.

"Taeron!" They all turned to see Chaela burst through the doorway to the steps leading to the royal living chambers. She looked horrified as she saw the wreckage Jeshed's wings had wrought on the site of the royal wedding. "I heard the women screaming. Is the dragon here?" She looked around disappointed, and then her gaze fell on Jeshed.

Taeron glanced at Jeshed who was staring at her as well, and then he turned and leaped over the edge of the roof. Chaela dashed after him, but she stopped to watch as the dragon flew away.

Taeron wondered what had made him behave so oddly and then he knew exactly why.

"Lord prince Taeron! What have you done?" Queen Neria's outraged voice came from the entrance to the palace.

Taeron glanced over the edge of the roof and wondered at his odds of survival.

"Don't try it," muttered Amyr. "You will break every bone in your body. Chaela and I don't have enough Guerani power between the two of us to heal that."

With a sigh, he turned to see Neria standing with her hands on her hips, her wings outspread. "Lord Prince Taeron, you have much to answer for!"