Chapter 58

They were not attacked during the night and after taking their first meal with food the men had harvested during the night, they headed out before second sunrise. Arora was content to ride among Meridon's men, cloaked in black along with Shamara who also hid because her father would guess that his mate had returned if he saw her. For part of the trip Taeron rode beside Arora and Amyr knew Taeron was telling her how her husband was feeling. When she brought up the ballad he had sung, Taeron shot Amyr a dark look before turning his attention to his mother, and he leaned closer to hear whatever she said so Amyr was not privy until Taeron left his mother's side and joined Amyr at the head of the returning army along with Darlac.

"Your mother wants me to sing for your father tonight."

Amyr glanced at him. "You do not wish to?"

"After Stryfe told him of the courtship, he said he would like to hear the song, but I have not had the chance to perform for him." Taeron told him. "I am honored that your mother has asked me."

They rode in silence for several minutes before Taeron spoke again. "Shamara told me that you saw Quynn and that Kai is abusing her."

"I tried to reach her last night," he admitted to Taeron, his voice low so that his mother and sisters could not hear. "He let me see her sleeping soundly and she appeared to be unharmed."

"Your mother believes he can be helped. What do you believe?" asked Taeron.

Amyr was torn between believing that Staefyn was helping and that he was mocking him. The Staefyn that helped them was not the same Staefyn that had tried to kill their mother or sent Varoonyan gliders after their ship in an attempt to shoot them down in space. He had purchased Quynn as if she were chattel in opposition to the dictates of their father who forbade slavery among the worlds over which he had dominion. His mother wanted to believe her son could be reformed, but after everything Staefyn had done or sanctioned, Amyr could not, would not trust him.

When they reached the gates to the city, Taeron instructed Amyr to wait with Chaela and an escort until he had a chance to inform their father of their arrival. Arora and Shamara entered the city along with Darlac's men, disguised in dark clothing, wearing hooded cloaks that hid them well. Amyr did not envy Taeron the task of informing the families of those that had lost their lives in the battle against warlord Kai's thralls, but Taeron already had experience in such matters after returning from Varoonya.

As he waited with Chaela, he felt her anxiety for what she would say to their father about what happened on Teralon, so he reached out to take her hand, to reassure her that he would stay by her side if she needed support. She held Yori before her on her horse, but when Taeron returned with the news that the emperor would meet them, Chaela handed Yori to Amyr because she did not want their father to think that she had brought Kaerwen home. Stryfe had agreed not to tell the emperor because they all agreed that hearing of it from the scribe would be a poor way for him to learn of his grandson's death.

As they moved through the streets on their horses, men stopped working at their shops, children came to them as close as they dared, their eyes round with awe, and women jostled each other to draw the notice of any of the unmated males in the escort. More than one pretty female came to press flowers into Taeron's hands and he took them politely with the gift of a smile that made the females who dared touch the lord prince nearly swoon with joy. Amyr marveled at Taeron's tact, and he remembered with shame how he would not have hesitated to seduce the females of such low station.

At the foot of the steps leading up to the palace, Amyr and Chaela dismounted after Taeron who sent the escort on its way with words of thanks and praise for their protection. Amyr could see that Taeron's words pleased them and he wondered if he ever could have commanded the men with the effortless skill that Taeron did.

He expected Taeron to mount the steps, but he waited and put out his arm to prevent Amyr from advancing. Amyr was about to ask him why they waited, but then he was stunned to see his father step out of the palace. The emperor of Calabria did not often appear in public, so his appearance brought all action beneath the palace to a standstill, all conversations and all movement in the busy plaza stopped as everyone, man, woman and child alike turned to face the most powerful man in the binary system.

Emperor Trey moved slowly down the steps, the dark cloak he wore over his ornate tunic rippling out behind him, the metal of his long sword glinting behind him as the jewels in the hilt caught the sunlight. Amyr thought that his father knew how to make an entrance, and he was causing a stir now as he approached him.

"What have you brought to me, my lord prince Taeron?" his deep voice asked.

Taeron dropped to a knee before him and bowed his head. "I present to you Prince Amyr for your consideration as my imperial guard, and I return Lady Princess Chaela to you."

Amyr dropped to his knee now, wondering as he did if he had ever shown his father this respect, and he saw Chaela do the same. As he knelt with his head bowed, he waited anxiously for his father to speak and he suppressed the urge to take Chaela's hand.

Then he felt a hand on his head and feeling Yori stir beside him Amyr glanced to the side to see that his father had put his hand under his son's chin to raise his face up to him. Looking from his son to his father, Amyr was surprised to see that his mossy green eyes were glistening with unshed tears as he looked down at Yori.

But then he looked at Amyr. "Is this what you want, my son? I would return you to your position if you but ask."

Amyr did not have to think about his answer. "I would be honored to serve Lord Prince Taeron." He hoped that his father was not disappointed in his decision.

But the emperor's hand moved from his head to caress his cheek. "You have become wise, my son." Then he glanced briefly at Taeron before facing Amyr again. "I have heard much of your actions on Teralon, Amyr." He then held out his hand to Taeron who handed the emperor a sword and scabbard that Amyr had never seen before. The stones were from both his father's and Lord Duo's house, and now his father presented held it out to him.

"You know that I cannot confirm you as Taeron's imperial guard although you may continue to act as such. That is for your mother to do. However, I can and do proclaim you warlord."

Amyr had not expected the honor, and he turned to see Taeron grinning with the pride he should feel after having trained him so diligently. He looked back at his father. "I am honored."

Trey leaned down to touch his forehead to Amyr's. "I am honored, my son."

Yori chose that moment to raise his innocent face to the emperor. "Are you my other grandfather?"

Trey lifted his head to meet Amyr's gaze and Amyr said, "You know that this is my son. You may deny him or not, father, but I will not."

"You are in a position to know." His gaze went to Amyr's hands, and when he reached out to take one, Amyr felt how sorry his father was for how he had treated him and how proud he was of the man that Amyr had become. When he released him, he reached down to scoop Yori up to ride upon his hip before he looked at Chaela.

"You are welcome to return to my home, daughter." He stepped to look around her, oblivious to her trembling body. "Where is Kaerwen hiding?"

Chaela could not speak, but tears filled her eyes as she stared at her father holding Yori. Trey seemed to realize the reason for her sorrow because he gently handed Yori over to Amyr and he took Chaela into his arms where she wept against his chest before he lifted her and turned to walk into the palace with her. The considerable crowd that had gathered watched in silence as the emperor climbed the steps with the sounds of his daughter sobbing muffled against him. Amyr sensed their approval for their emperor.

"Very moving, princelings."

Amyr saw Stryfe leaning against a pillar on the topmost step. He followed Taeron up to greet the scribe. "Was I sufficiently humble?"

"Not so many months ago I would have said it was impossible for you to be humble." Stryfe looked at Taeron. "I received a message asking to meet you and Amyr, that you wished for me to research the archives for something."

Taeron frowned. "Are there any females in that wing of the palace?"

Stryfe laughed and clapped his hand on his shoulder. "Females? In the archives? What would they want there?"

"Then I would rather be in your dusty archive than passing through the hall before the receiving room," grumbled his brother.

Stryfe laughed and turned to lead them to a side door. "Not feeling up to another ambush from Keilana of house Caron?"

Taeron exchanged a look with Amyr before he said, "Not today." After hearing what Caron had almost done to his mother, Amyr did not want to see anyone from that house either.

They headed in the direction of the archives which were set far from the receiving hall and the living quarters. As they went, Amyr pointed out the rooms of the palace to Yori, remembering aloud some innocuous escapades when he was a small boy that had angered his father. He would rather Yori waited until he was older before he heard the other stories that had infuriated and disappointed him. Yori had not been happy to leave Jeshed at Ulfynaeus so he was missing him as much as Amyr who thought the shapeshifter nursemaid would be useful now to take Yori somewhere comfortable to nap. As they looked at the scrolls that Stryfe brought out from the many shelves behind his work area, a table set by the windows to catch the light of the suns, Yori soon grew bored and curled up on a pile of discarded parchments, and because he was still exhausted from travel, he fell quickly asleep.

Taeron and Amyr were of little help to Stryfe being that neither had learned to read well, Amyr because of his laziness and Taeron because he preferred his training. They were joined a few hours into the search through years of dry accounts of the imperial family's activities by Shamara and Arora who had entered the palace with Darlac's help, both still clothed in black. His mother hugged him and Amyr was glad that she was not disappointed for his choice not to take back his position as crown prince.

"What am I looking for again?" asked Stryfe with exasperation as he rolled up another scroll.

"Anything that might have interested your predecessor enough about Staefyn to record," Arora told him.

"Mother, don't you remember anything?" asked Shamara as she set aside a scroll.

"Nothing more than I would have expected. I was very close to Apolo before he reached the age when he realized the delights of female companionship other than his sister's. Amyr was the same, so when Staefyn withdrew from me, I was not surprised." She tapped a rolled scroll against the palm of her hand. "Staefyn might not even know how he was trapped by that creature."

"I have found something," Stryfe announced as he studied a scroll. "Several years ago Prince Staefyn's personal guard reported that he demanded frequent visits to the Guerani Hills, but the scribe attributed it to spiritual guidance."

Amyr snorted. "I doubt there was anything spiritual in the guidance Xuxa was giving him in the hills."

His mother frowned at him. "Did you ever speak to him about females? You certainly led enough females in Taeron's direction that I cannot believe you did not take it upon yourself to train your little brother."

"Mother!" exclaimed Shamara in shock. "You knew about his dalliances?"

"Who did not?" she asked wryly.

Amyr suppressed the urge to laugh at the aggravated look on Shamara's face. "Staefyn was not interested in females," Amyr told his mother with a shrug. "In fact, Taeron and Staefyn seemed to compete to see who could dampen any pleasure I could find. There was one particular female..."

"Your mother does not wish to hear about any of your particular females," Taeron interrupted him.

"There are a few scrolls dedicated to his exploits in those areas," Stryfe said with a smirk. "I think my predecessor had a prurient interest in the development of the crown prince. I think it best that Quynn not read them."

"I don't have any secrets from her," Amyr said. Quynn was not pleased about his past, but Amyr could do nothing to change it.

"If he was not interested in females, perhaps he had been bonded as a child," suggested Shamara. "Mother, you and father were bonded as children but he did not feel its effects until he had come of age."

"Now I have to read about the antics of the imperial children?" Stryfe threw up his hands and stomped into his backroom, and Amyr exchanged a smile with Taeron as they listened to him grumble about reading the accounts of runny noses, upset stomachs and the regularity of bowel movements.

His mother took the opportunity to take Taeron aside so that she could plan her surprise for her husband, so that left Amyr with Shamara who was frowning at him. "What did I do wrong now?"

"I remember how cruel you were to Taeron and Staefyn. You forced them to follow you everywhere when you were children."

"I did not force them to do anything," Amyr argued. He remembered it quite differently. Taeron and Staefyn were younger and he had been infuriated to have to spend any time with the sniveling brats. If Amyr hadn't been so demanding of Taeron's time, Taeron would have been Staefyn's friend and Amyr would never abide that, first because Staefyn liked Taeron and so Amyr wanted him to himself and second because of Taeron's link to Lord Duo.

"You were very selfish," remarked Shamara, reading his thoughts.

"You think I am no longer selfish?"

"Yori has changed you."

Amyr glanced at his sleeping child and knew that she was right. Until he accepted responsibility for his son, he had not thought of anyone but himself.

"I found something," Stryfe announced with triumph as he held a scroll. "There is an account of a visit to the Guerani hills that the boys took with Apolo when Amyr was but ten and Taeron and Staefyn were eight."

"That would have been the year that Cerisae was born," commented Arora. "I wanted the boys to go to the second moon, but Apolo invited Amyr to go with him in the hope that his powers would manifest in the sacred hills, so Shamara, Chaela and Ginaesa went to the second moon with Trey's mother and Apolo took the boys so that I could devote myself to my newborn."

"I was always glad to get away when you presented my father with another screaming baby," remarked Amyr which earned him a jab in the ribs from his sister.

His mother smirked at him. "You will be with Quynn when she brings your children into the world and then you will have no escape from screaming babies."

Stryfe cleared his throat. "After all the dust I have had to breathe in, the least you could do is listen. If these accounts were digitally recorded, I could have had this done already with a simple search."

"What did you find?" asked Taeron impatiently.

His brother looked at him. "The scribe wrote that Apolo took you boys into the forest hoping that the Guerani spirits would speak to Amyr. Lord Apolo stumbled across a group of females from one of the clans at a pond who were washing clothing and he stopped to questioned them about their clan."

Amyr laughed. "They were not doing the laundry and he did not stop because he wanted to question them. They were bathing. I remember that day well. Taeron and Staefyn were angry because Apolo did not want to leave, and I had to go with them."

"So my brother was lying to the scribe and leaving my sons unsupervised so that he could cavort with naked females?" Arora made a sound of exasperation. "I am not surprised!"

"Since I was in charge, I made them follow me. Taeron did as I asked, but Staefyn was a pestilence even then, demanding to go this way and that way, and finally I decided the gods could help him find his own way." When his mother glared at him, Amyr shrugged. There was nothing he could do now to change the past.

"When I realized Staefyn wasn't following me," Taeron said, now thoughtful as he remembered the incident. "I told Amyr that I was going to look for him and he had a tantrum."

"I did not have a tantrum," argued Amyr and seeing Taeron's raised brow he felt his cheeks heat. "Well, I supposed I did call Taeron and Staefyn a few unkind names, but I was older and they should have listened to me."

Arora looked at Taeron. "You found Staefyn?"

"I thought I had been looking for hours and I was worried that I became lost, but I heard him crying and I saw that he had slipped and fallen into a gully."

"That is not in the account," said Stryfe with a sigh. "I shall have to rewrite it now. The scribe reported that the boys became separated and that Prince Amyr returned to Lord Apolo without them. Lord Apolo then located Taeron and Staefyn using his Guerani senses."

Taeron was frowning, his forehead wrinkled in deep concentration for several moments before he said, "I do not remember what happened after I discovered where Staefyn had gone."

Setting aside a scroll that she had been looking at, Arora went to Taeron who held out his hands to her. When she took them, everyone watched her close her eyes and after a moment her brows drew together before she opened them. "His memories have been blocked. We cannot know when Staefyn did it, but I am quite sure my brother did not do it to cover up for his own foolish behavior."

"He would have blocked my memory instead," commented Amyr with a chuckle. "When I went back to the pond to tell him that I lost those two brats, he was getting a thorough bath by the four lovely young women. At the time I didn't understand why he would want to bathe, but now ..."

"That is quite enough," his mother cut him off. "I know my brother well enough. As for Taeron, if the three of us who are Guerani..."

"Four." They had not noticed that Chaela had entered the archive. Her eyes were puffy but Amyr could feel that she was at peace.

Their mother went to her to hold her in her arms. "You see, you had nothing to fear from your father."

"He understood why I went with Avar when he offered me a choice, and while he sensed that all was not well, he would not interfere in the life I had made on Teralon. I fear that he blames himself for not acting on his intuition regarding Avar, but he could not have known the outcome." She reached up to wipe the tears from her lashes. "Will I ever cease to cry?"

Arora kissed her forehead. "The pain will ease, Chaela, but it will always be there. Kaerwen was a part of you that was cruelly taken away."

Taking a deep breath, Chaela stepped away from her. "I left father beset by males demanding that the lord prince consider females of their houses." She smiled at Taeron. "He asked me if I would like for him to put forth my name."

When Taeron looked stunned, Amyr put his hand on his shoulder. "Now you will have a permanent place in our house."

"Chaela," warned her mother. "Do not tease Taeron."

Chaela stretched up to kiss Taeron's cheek. "I love you dearly, Taeron, but as a brother. I doubt the females vying to be your mate have the same feelings." She looked at her mother. "What were you about to do to him?"

Arora explained what they had discovered and Chaela was willing to help and while they wanted to find out exactly what happened to Staefyn, Amyr did not think it would absolve him of guilt in what he had done since then. Shamara warned Taeron that they would have complete access to his memories, but his only request was that they not disturb his memories of Dijana. Both Amyr and Chaela had offered to do so when they left Teralon, but Taeron would not give up hope that Dijana would come to her senses.

So they went to the farthest corner of the archives where they would be assured of privacy, and with Stryfe watching and listening carefully, they sat cross-legged on the floor in a semi-circle around Taeron who held out his hands palm up. Arora took Chaela's hand as Shamara took Amyr's and while Arora took one of Taeron's hands, Shamara took the other. Even before he took Chaela's hand to complete the circle, Amyr could feel the air crackling around them and when he curled Chaela's smaller hand in his own, he was almost thrown back by the force of the power that flowed between them. Taeron's head lolled back, and for a moment Amyr was afraid for him, but his mother warned him not to break the circle, that Taeron was unharmed.

Amyr did not know what he expected, but the intrusion into Taeron's memories was more painful than he could have imagined. Together they paged through the thoughts and feelings that made Taeron who he was, the pain and the rejection were barely tempered by the love of his mother, the emperor and his wife. Because the memory they sought was long ago, they dug through his childhood and Amyr was disgusted to see himself in Taeron's eyes. He had threatened him again and again to have him sent away in shame if he did not do one menial task after another, and each time he did, Taeron was so terrified of losing his family that he did not question Amyr.

His mother sent a calm warning to him, so Amyr began to look upon this experience as his punishment for all that he had done to an orphaned boy whose father rejected him and whose mother was an outcast. Taeron's memories of his mother were heart-rending because Larya's love for him was so overwhelming that when they were parted for his return to the imperial palace after his visits, he had difficulty dealing with his grief at losing her, fearing that he would never see her again. Having overheard whispers about Taeron's mother, Amyr had never been sympathetic to Taeron but now he was drowning in compassion for him.

So when they finally came to the day they sought, Amyr wasn't surprised to hear himself calling Taeron a foolish bastard to his back as he hurried away to look for Staefyn.

The words had hurt Taeron deeply, but he hurried in the direction where Staefyn had disappeared and he began to feel panic for Staefyn when he could not find him until he remembered one of Apolo's lessons on tracking. Soon he found signs of Staefyn's passing and when he came to a deep crevice that had once been a stream bed, he saw Staefyn's footprints in the mud and he saw with horror that the edge had dropped away.

"Staefyn!" He waited for several tense moments, angry at the birds for making noise and the insects for buzzing in his ear. But he heard Staefyn whimpering and he was relieved that he was still alive.

"Staefyn!"

"Taeron? Is that you?" Staefyn stopped sobbing long enough to call out to him, but he sounded so far away.

"I will go get help!" But as he looked around, Taeron had a sudden fear that he would never be able to find this place again.

"Don't leave!" cried Staefyn and he began to weep.

Taeron's heart ached and he did not know what to do, but he could not leave Staefyn alone. He was probably hurt and a canyon beast might find him, so Taeron made the decision before he put too much thought into it because there were so many reasons why it was the wrong decision. "I am coming down to help you."

Staefyn continued to cry, each sniffle more wrenching than the last, but Taeron managed to calm his own fear as well as ignore Staefyn's. Crawling to the edge of the unstable crevice on his belly, he could not see below, but he reasoned that there was a bottom because Staefyn was there. He saw exposed roots of a tree nearby, so he scrambled to it and he concentrated on climbing down, his progress slow as he searched for stable hand and foot holds. As he climbed, he spoke to Staefyn, telling him that he was on his way, and the sound of his voice seemed to soothe the younger boy so he told Staefyn about his last trip to the first moon, how his mother had taken him to the mountains and he saw snow and stepped on ice.

Taeron realized that the sound of his voice served to calm him as well, especially after he once slipped. He had wildly thrown out his arms as his body bumped against the tree and he had managed to seize a handful of flimsy roots that had impossibly held his weight. He had been telling Staefyn about a horned animal larger than any man and almost as large as a canyon beast that his mother's guards had cornered. As he dangled in the air hanging onto the roots, he managed to regain his composure after the panic of believing he was going to die when he heard Staefyn ask if the warriors had killed the beast. After taking a calming breath he told Staefyn that his mother had told them to direct the proud animal away and that they would leave its territory.

By the time he finished speaking, his feet touched the bottom of the dark crevice and after giving thanks to the gods for sparing him, he called out for Staefyn. He heard a rustling sound and then another body slammed into him. Taeron held Staefyn and as the young prince sobbed in relief to have been rescued, Taeron looked for a way out of the crevice. He could barely see the light from above and he doubted that he would be able to climb up the tree roots alone. Doing so with Staefyn would be impossible. There were only two directions to go, so Taeron oriented himself by the tree roots, and taking Staefyn's hand, he headed in what he assumed was the most logical direction given what he knew about the land above.

They stumbled in the dark and Staefyn frequently cried out and threw himself against Taeron in terror, but Taeron pushed back his own fear when he heard rustling noises or something furry brush against him as he felt along the moss covered side of the crevice. Finally after walking for what seemed hours to a small child, they both saw the narrow opening at the end of the dark tunnel. Taeron kept Staefyn from running away by tightening his grip and he was glad when they found themselves above a small enclosed canyon. One of the mountain streams spilled over the edge of the canyon into a small pool from which steam rose before it continued on its way out.

Carefully they climbed down the rocky side of the canyon and Taeron did not ease his vigilance until they were both standing on the ground. The waning light of the first sun fell on Staefyn and Taeron laughed to see that he was dark brown from head to foot from mud and there was a beetle on his head.

"You are filthy!" he said as he plucked up the beetle and after taking a bite, he handed it to Staefyn who popped it in his mouth.

"So are you!" he said after a couple of chews.

Taeron looked at the steaming water. He knew that there were many such pools in the hills, that hot water came from below and while some were so hot that nothing could live in them, he hoped that the cold water from the stream flowing from the waterfall would make it comfortable enough to bathe. He did not want to return to Amyr if he looked anything like Staefyn.

Pulling off his boots, he walked in bare feet over the muddy bank of the spring and was encouraged that his feet were not burned.

"What are you doing?" asked Staefyn although he had taken off his boots as well and he hurried to catch up, hiding behind Taeron, holding his arm with both of his hands.

"I am going to take a bath." He tested the water with his foot, and finding it pleasantly warm, he waded further in.

"This feels good," Staefyn said and his grip on Taeron's arm eased until he had released him and despite his warning, Staefyn dived into the water. He did not breathe until Staefyn resurfaced several feet away. "It's not deep," he shouted to Taeron.

Taeron did not need any more encouragement. He dived after Staefyn, and they swam in their clothes for several minutes before he suggested they take them off and dry them as they stayed in the water. So they removed their sodden clothing and Taeron arranged them over a rock to dry as Staefyn splashed in the water. He found a few things on the ground to eat and took some to Staefyn, and after their hunger was momentarily satisfied, they played in the water. Taeron chased Staefyn above and below the surface, and when he caught him, Staefyn chased him, but Staefyn could not catch him and they finally stopped when Staefyn stomped out of the warm spring pouting.

Taeron had seen him go and he laughed before diving beneath the water and gliding like a fish until he needed air, and then he broke the surface. Turning to call out to Staefyn, daring him to catch him and intending this time to let him do so, he was unpleasantly surprised to see that a woman stood at the edge of the spring. She wore tattered clothing, and around her lined face was tangled black and gray hair that she had tied back with a filthy scrap of cloth. She carried an old wooden bucket in one of her hands and in the other she had a pot. Taeron could see that she had come to wash her cookware in the spring, but when he looked around, he could not see where she had come from.

Staefyn was approaching her without a care and he even heard Staefyn call out to her despite the many warnings they had received about speaking to strangers in the hills. There were clansmen who had refused to go to the moons and while they kept to themselves, they had not made an oath to the emperor and could not be trusted.

Taeron was suddenly very afraid for Prince Staefyn.