Chapter 86

They had no way of knowing what was happening on the Wasteland plains between the two armies except what little Yori could tell them from "what the ancestors tell me." Quynn had seen much that could not be explained in her own system, but she had a hard time believing that the spirits of long gone Guerani roamed Calabria watching out over their descendants. Yori tried to explain to her that they were all tied together. Alive or long gone, Guerani spirits touched each other, were linked in some nebulous consciousness. Whatever the reason for their existence or Yori's belief in their existence, Quynn chose to believe whatever they told Yori.

Since waking that morning, Dijana paced anxiously, wringing her hands, and now she was wearing a path in the stone of the garden, turning her gaze to the sky as if she expected winged warriors to appear and save her. But none did and Quynn thought it likely that Dijana's mother had been thoroughly warned of the sharp-shooting Varoonyans on the lookout for them. If they tried to assault the palace from the sky, they would be under heavy fire from the thralls armed with crossbows.

A noise at the door made Quynn turn from watching Dijana and she tensed as she usually did since Dijana's arrival a few days ago, expecting each time that Kai was coming for the Teralonian princess. When he did, Quynn would fight him knowing that Yori could protect and heal her if Staefyn could not. But the door opened to reveal Vaedra carrying a tray of food.

"Have you had any news?" asked Quynn with a glance towards Dijana who had seen the serving woman's arrival.

Vaedra shook her head. "Prince Staefyn has not returned, nor has Lord Kai."

"I suppose that has Xuxa ill-tempered." Neither of her powerful lovers were there to slake her lust for control over them. As an afterthought she asked, "She has not harmed Lady Keilana, has she?"

"They do not speak." Vaedra seemed relieved and Quynn guessed that she had grown protective of the house Caron female.

"What of Princess Cydeara?" asked Dijana.

Vaedra pressed her lips together and after casting a furtive glance at Dijana she said, "I have heard her making plans to escape back to Varoonya now that she has done what the warlord demanded."

Dijana did not seem relieved, rather she appeared to be even more alarmed. Did she think Cydeara would be a buffer between her and that Varoonyan creature? For whatever reason, Kai had become obsessed with claiming Dijana, and Quynn had noticed that Kai's desire for her had become proportionate to his hatred of Taeron. If he had wanted Dijana so much, he would have taken her when he left Teralon. Since he had opportunities to take her after fleeing Varoonya and did not until Taeron had gone to make her his wife, Quynn suspected he was using Dijana in his twisted revenge against Taeron for ruining his plans to rule Teralon and ultimately ousting Prince Rangyar to rule Varoonya through Cydeara. Taeron had become a thorn in Kai's backside that was embedded so deeply that he could not remove him. Dijana was a means to an end. He would use her to lure Taeron to his death.

"How does she plan to escape?" asked Quynn. "She is trapped on Calabria and as much a prisoner here as we are."

"She has learned of your ship."

"My ship!" The ship was hardly in pristine condition, but Quynn had grown attached to it and the thought of the Varoonyan woman stealing it outraged her. But there was nothing she could do to prevent it because she had not been allowed near it since landing. It would be too bad if Cydeara tried because there were security codes her grandfather built in that would prevent theft. Although she knew little of Cydeara, Quynn had already decided she would like to see her receive the nasty surprise Ivan Stryfe had wired into the pilot's seat.

Lowering her head as if she expected Quynn to beat her after delivering bad news, Vaedra ducked out of the room without offering any further information. Turning, Quynn saw Dijana starring at the platter of food, her face greener than the offerings on the platter. With a sigh, she walked over to her and she reached out to take one of the multi-legged creatures that had been baked and seasoned.

"If you don't think about what it is, it is actually tasty," she told Dijana.

Yori had been in the garden with Dijana, but now he hurried into the room. "I am hungry! Did she bring sand slug?"

Quynn smiled down at him and offered what she had chosen. "I have seen these in the garden." The garden was both beautiful and functional because the flowers attracted what they were now going to eat.

When Yori bit down on it, Quynn was afraid that Dijana was going to vomit when her hand flew to her mouth. "I am sorry, Dijana, that they did not bring any fruit or nuts," she told the other woman. "You are going to have to eat what they offer."

Although she clearly did not want to touch anything on the platter, and Quynn could sympathize with her after having gone through the same experience a few months ago when Kai had brought her to Guerani Palace. Knowing that she would not soon be rescued and that she must eat for the sake of the child she carried made it easier to stomach Calabrian fare. Soon enough she ceased to yearn for a juicy steak and accepted the crunchy, slimy or squishy creatures brought to her when Staefyn was not there to see that she was served at least some fruit.

Yori chose a shapeless mass from the platter and held it out to Dijana. "This is good."

She hesitated as she stared at what he held out to her, and she probably recognized it as sand slug since she had been on Calabria long enough to see everyone eating it. But Dijana had not eaten since arriving two days ago, and now as she took it from his hand there were tears in her eyes. When she raised it to her lips, Yori reached out to grasp her free hand and Quynn suspected that he calmed her enough to put the food in her mouth. Quynn knew it had the consistency of a thick custard with a thin crust that was either sweet or spicy depending on how it had been prepared. She had never actually seen a sand slug slithering about and having seen everyone else enjoy it almost to excess, Quynn found it easier to eat than most food appearing on her plate since coming to Guerani Palace.

The moment Dijana bit into it, Quynn wasn't surprised to see her initial gag followed by uncertain chewing and then relief that the food was palatable. The secret to eating the creepy crawlies, Quynn had found, was to pretend they were something else, so she often thought of sand slug as a cream filled pastry. Dijana ate another offered by Yori, but she balked at eating anything with its appendages still attached. Quynn and Yori finished those off although Dijana watched them eat the crunchy creatures with curiosity. Soon enough she would be eating them and Taeron would be in their debt for modifying her eating habits.

When they had finished the meal, Dijana began to pace again and Quynn went into the garden to sit on the bench. Yori sat beside her, so she put her arm around him and he rested his head against her bosom as he put his hand on her belly.

Quynn did not bother trying to talk to Yori since she knew he was communicating with his unborn sister. Instead she looked at Dijana who had followed them. "You should rest. All this worrying is tiring you out."

Dijana stopped before her and Quynn marveled again at the changes in Taeron's wife. She had heard that pregnant women glowed, but Dijana was radiant. Her hair had been pretty before, even when it had been crudely cut to fall just above her ears, but now it was a glossy gold that fell in thick waves over her shoulders. Having seen the braid that hung from Kai's belt, Quynn could imagine what Dijana's hair had been like before he cut it off. Her skin was clear with a pale golden tone offset by her emerald eyes. She had become so beautiful that Quynn felt dowdy compared to her.

"I remember the fighting on Teralon," she told Quynn. "Particularly the bodies left on the field, first the Varoonyans and later my own people. The Calabrians ripped through them with no difficulty with their long swords and swift movements. What is happening now that they are fighting each other? I don't want to imagine Taeron's body left on the field, burned on those awful pyres, but I cannot stop myself!"

Quynn had tried to put those thoughts out of her mind so she did not appreciate hearing Dijana voice them. She had been with the Calabrians when they rolled through the Teralonian rebels in the marshland and had marveled at their skill. There was a good reason for the high price a Calabrian could garner on the slave markets in the frontier worlds. The battle in the Wastelands would be long and bloody, especially when it included thralls that would fight with no concern for their own mortality.

"You must trust the gods," Yori spoke up.

"I must," agreed Dijana and Quynn wondered if Yori had somehow calmed her without touching her. Was that possible? Her son's power amazed Quynn and yet he was just a small boy, not even five years old.

Taking a seat on the other side of Yori, Dijana took his hand and soon she appeared to be serene. Quynn leaned down to kiss the top of his dark head, glad that he had eased Dijana's anxiety, and when he looked up to smile at her, she saw magic glowing in his golden eyes.

That night Yori awoke them both when he suddenly gasped and bolted up. Struggling to sit, Quynn realized that Yori was trembling. Dijana stirred on the other side but she did not awaken, so Quynn drew Yori to her. "Did you have a bad dream?" she whispered.

"Grandmama is hurt," Yori told her. He moved restlessly in her arms and Quynn felt a moment of panic about Amyr but she quickly realized that Yori would have felt it had something had happened to his father.

"If she heals herself, or if another heals her, I can help," Yori surprised her by saying, "but she does not stop fighting."

If Lady Arora could not stop fighting, that meant she was surrounded, that she was probably separated from her brother and from Amyr. Quynn wondered what that meant for her father if he fought with the emperor, although she knew she should not worry about him because he had been fighting battles such as the one waged in the Wastelands long before she came to Calabria. And where was Amyr if he did not help his mother? Was he with Taeron? Was he able to protect Taeron and could he protect himself?

"Mama, papa is not hurt," Yori whispered to her, easily reading her thoughts. She had probably shouted them in his head. "I don't think Taeron is hurt either if my father has not used his powers to heal him."

They stayed awake for hours until Yori announced that he had to help his father and Quynn watched anxiously as her young son looked as though he were concentrating, his eyes glowing with intense magic until he finally sagged against her, exhausted. He mumbled that his grandmother was safe before he fell asleep and Quynn did not wake him for more details.

The following morning she awoke long after second sunrise, and since both Yori and Dijana were sound asleep, she carefully left the bed and dressed quickly and quietly. She had no way of knowing what had happened on the battlefield, but she sensed that the fighting had ended because Yori had fallen into a contented sleep. That surely meant that his Guerani relatives were still alive.

The first sign that all had not gone well on the battlefield were the servants standing aimlessly in the corridors. Then she heard muffled shouting coming from the direction of Xuxa's chambers. Quynn had never gone in that wing of the palace before, but now she approached warily until she saw Vaedra cowering in the corridor near a set of ornate double doors to the chamber that had been meant for the emperor.

Seeing her, Vaedra hurried to her and grasped her arm. "My lady, do not go in there! Lady Xuxa is enraged!"

Ignoring the hand that Vaedra had clamped around her wrist, Quynn approached the door until she could hear Xuxa clearly. "Kill that useless female!"

Since they were all useless females in Xuxa's mind, Quynn wondered which of them she wanted dead.

"As I recall, marrying her was your idea." Quynn recognized Staefyn's voice and she was surprised that he was not at the battle. How long had he been at the palace? Did he fight at all? "You should not be surprised to learn this day that most men honor the oaths they have given."

"Then you should have forced them to give you their oaths!" she shrieked in a voice that made Quynn cringe and Vaedra shudder.

"And you expected me to lead an army of oath breakers?"

"You worthless bastard! You never expected them to fight for you!"

"They were fighting for me," he surprised Quynn by saying. "I never expected them to fight for Kai."

"Then when they return for that female, I will hand over her lifeless body!"

"I made an oath to Keilana..." started Staefyn but she cut him off.

"You had no intention of honoring your marriage to that insipid slut!"

"I will protect the females of my house."

Xuxa's mocking laughter chilled Quynn's blood. "The only female you will protect is me, certainly not that worthless female."

Quynn heard footsteps approaching the door and she stumbled back, but not before the doors were thrown open and Staefyn stood in the doorway. There was a flicker of surprise mingled with alarm in his eyes when he saw her, and after a wary glance over his shoulder, he stepped into the hall and slammed the doors behind him. He was wearing black, a long sword at his side but it did not look as though he had fought at all. Quynn got beat up worse fighting Stryfe for food at the table when they were growing up than Staefyn had now. She would guess that the bruise on his face was fresh and delivered by the abusive harridan to whom he was bonded.

Taking her arm and Vaedra's, he quickly guided them away from the room and did not speak until they turned the corner. "Get Keilana and meet me in your room."

"What happened?" she demanded. "Did you even fight, Staefyn? I did not realize that you were a coward in addition to being a traitor."

"This is Xuxa and Kai's war," he told her. "I am only a means to an end. They all planned to kill me once I had taken my father's throne, Kai, Xuxa and those cowards of house Caron."

Quynn narrowed her gaze on him. "You knew about Kai?"

"As did you, yet you never told me his plans."

She felt remorse, but it was fleeting when she reminded herself that she was his prisoner, not his confidante. "Since when does the all-knowing Prince Staefyn need the help of an ignorant human female?"

Staefyn snorted. "You are far from ignorant, Quynn. Now do as I say. There are thralls in the palace that probably have orders to kill us. I will distract as many as I can until you can return to your room."

He left her then before she could ask him anything about the battle, and since he seemed anxious about Keilana's safety, she hurried with Vaedra to find Staefyn's wife. Keilana had just bathed and had not even dressed when Quynn burst into her room without warning. Dropping her clothing in surprise, she cried out and stumbled back until she realized who had interrupted her. Quynn was horrified to see her shriveled and scarred body before Vaedra hurried forward to snatch up the tunic she had dropped to cover her nakedness. By the gods, Quynn hoped the men of her house died horrifically on the battlefield for what they had done to her!

"Lady Quynn! What are you doing here?"

"Hurry and dress. You must come to my room!"

"What is happening?" she asked as Vaedra slipped the tunic over her head as she quickly pulled on matching pants.

"I do not know yet. I overhead Xuxa ordering Staefyn to kill you."

Keilana gasped in shock.

"He won't do it," Quynn assured her and Keilana seemed to understand why because she pushed her feet into her shoes and hurried from the room with Quynn.

When they got to the end of the corridor, Quynn heard the sounds of booted footsteps approaching and the jangle of weapons, so she seized Keilana's hand and with Vaedra they ran in the opposite direction. The sound of breaking wood as they smashed in doors made them run faster to reach Quynn's chamber in another wing of the palace . They had to change directions two more times when they almost ran into thralls that Quynn feared were looking for Keilana.

They finally reached the room where they found Staefyn waiting. He barely spared a glance for his wife. "You are safe! When I got here and you were not here already I feared they had taken you prisoner."

She gave him a wry smile. "I am already a prisoner."

Yori and Dijana had been sleeping undisturbed by Staefyn, but now they both stirred and Yori saw Staefyn or felt his presence because he scrambled out of bed and hurried to him. "Did you help papa heal grandmama? I was not strong enough!"

Staefyn tousled Yori's hair. "Why would I do such a thing?" But Quynn saw his wink and she was surprised to realize that Staefyn must sent have his healing powers to Amyr.

Dijana stepped forward and Quynn saw that she was close to tears. "What of Taeron? Do you know if … if …?"

Crossing to her, Staefyn put his hands on her shoulders and she tried to twist away, but he held her before him and peered down into her eyes. "He is not dead, princess, but he has received a grievous injury. He will be cared for and soon he will be pounding down the door to my palace to reach you."

"Xuxa was very angry. Tell us what happened in the Wastelands," demanded Quynn.

Staefyn released Dijana and turned to look at her. "House Caron turned on the thralls. The battle was fierce, and I watched long enough to see that Kai's men were defeated before returning to the palace where I was greeted with loving words from my bond mate."

She had remained quiet, but now Keilana spoke. "The warriors betrayed my house?"

Looking at her now as if she were an interloper instead of his wife, Staefyn said, "The warriors of house Caron gave an oath to my father and they kept that oath. The moment your father laid his hand on my mother and threatened her life, he broke his oath to the emperor and the warriors of his house could no longer honor their oaths to him."

She clenched her fists at her side, probably understanding more about Calabrian oaths than Quynn did. Some day she would have Stryfe explain it to her although that would probably take more time than it was worth.

"What of my brothers?" Quynn wondered if she really cared about the bastards having seen what they had done to her, but they were all that was left to her as family.

"They are dead," he told her bluntly with the merest flicker of a glance at her. "Killed by their own men."

Keilana gasped and Quynn hurried to hold her when she looked as if she were going to faint.

"You are a heartless bastard!" Quynn snapped at Staefyn.

"Heartless bastard?" His brows lifted. "I should think that she would appreciate the news since they regularly beat her. They would have done much worse if her vile father had not planned to use her to bring Taeron into his cursed house."

Keilana pushed Quynn away and she took a step towards Staefyn, and now she was shaking with anger. "How...how do you know these things? Have you used your sorcery to read my mind?"

He gave her a grim smile. "Not all that difficult, female, but I also sifted through the black thoughts of your brothers. I will spare you the details of their ultimate plans for you, but I will tell you that you should be rejoicing in their deaths."

"I would rather rejoice in yours!" she cried out furiously. "You have played me for a fool! You are bonded to that horrid creature and yet you made an oath to me! Then you used your sorcery in a loathsome attempt to fool me into believing that you … that we ..."

Staefyn snorted derisively. "Why are you complaining, female? Did I not give you pleasure?"

"Staefyn!" exclaimed Quynn, now angry for his flippant treatment of a woman who had been used cruelly by her own family.

He turned his attention back to her, dismissing Keilana with one last contemptuous glare. "I married her only because Xuxa demanded it, just as Taeron would have married her only because my father demanded it. Why would Taeron do otherwise when his heart belong to Dijana? He never would have had any feelings for that house Caron bitch and she knew it. I can feel nothing but disgust for a female that would use any male, let alone the brother of my heart, so callously."

Quynn could see that Keilana was wavering between venting anger or tears and so she stood stone still, her eyes burning as she glared at Staefyn.

"I heard you tell Xuxa that you honor your oaths. You made one to her," Quynn reminded him sharply.

"And I am honoring that oath now. Xuxa wants her dead, and while I have little use for the female, I did give her my oath and I must protect her regardless of what Xuxa wants or what I may wish to do. Bar the door after I leave and do not open it to anyone but me."

"What are you planning to do?" demanded Quynn, lunging to grasp his arm before he could slip out the door.

"I am gathering what few men house Caron left behind and we will defend the palace against Kai." His gaze moved over the women in the room before resting on Yori. "If I fail, you must protect them until your father and Taeron get here."

"How long will that be?" asked Keilana.

He ignored her and reached out to put his hand on Quynn's cheek. "Yori will keep you safe. Taeron will wait only long enough to be healed before launching an attack on the palace. Gods willing he can catch Kai in the mountains before he returns." His hand dropped away and he left without acknowledging Keilana.

Quynn realized that Vaedra had slipped out after him, but she could not waste time bringing her back. With Dijana's help, she pulled as many of the furnishings as the two women could manage against the closed door while Keilana walked out of the room to sit in the garden. What she and Dijana were able to do seemed inadequate especially when the door to the garden could not be barred. They had no way of knowing when they would be rescued and they had to eat something. Even Quynn was squeamish about catching bugs in the garden, having tolerated the food thus far only because it had been prepared. She had been horrified and repulsed when she was on Teralon and she saw the imperial warriors feasting on the repulsive creatures they found in the marshlands, had refused flatly anything Amyr offered her. She hoped that her husband and brother came soon because she needed to provide nourishment to her child as did Dijana.

After she was satisfied with what they were able to do although the mountain of furniture was unlikely to keep even a couple of thralls from breaking through, Quynn went to the garden where Keilana had remained without helping them. She sat staring at the hands in her lap and she did not look up when Quynn sat beside her. Quynn could not imagine what the other woman had endured from the men of her house, but she could understand how alone she must feel now.

"I do not want your pity," Keilana said without raising her head. "Nor do I wish to hear any word of sympathy. Not that you would believe otherwise, Prince Staefyn was right about my brothers. I am glad that they are dead."

Although Keilana did not wish to hear it, Quynn said, "I am sorry, Keilana, for what has happened."

Now Keilana raised her head to look at her. "Sorry that my husband cares about you more than me? Sorry that he is more concerned about Princess Dijana than he is for his own wife? Sorry that I have no place to go? There are no males left of my house, so the emperor will reward it to a worthy warlord. I think we both know who that will be. What will become of me? If that heartless bastard is killed, I will have nothing! If that heartless bastard is allowed to live, I will still have nothing! He does not want me, cannot feel anything for me, is bonded to another!"

Quynn felt guilty for regretting speaking to her at all.

That night her bed was quite crowded with Yori and Dijana, and she was surprised when Keilana chose to sleep on the floor. She was disquieted to imagine that Keilana was accustomed to going without comfort, that this was not the first time she had lain curled in a ball on the floor. Dijana slept restlessly, probably still worried about Taeron after Staefyn told her that he had been wounded in the fighting. She did not sleep until Yori comforted her telling her that strong healing magic had been used on her mate. Quynn's own worries were abated as well because she was sure that Amyr had been the one to heal her brother.

Trapped in the room with Dijana, Taeron's wife, and Keilana, his rejected bride, Quynn was sure that the following days would stressful and she was not mistaken. Two women could not be less alike, and while Dijana had no prejudice against Keilana, Keilana surely felt bitterness towards her. In her place, Quynn would. Keilana could hardly blame Dijana for what had happened with Taeron. His love for Dijana had grown so deep on Norvana that he had sacrificed his honor. Such a love could not be denied. And yet Keilana could be justified in her bitterness after Taeron's very public rejection of her led to marriage to a man that was bonded to another woman and who cared even less for her than Taeron. They did not speak to each other as Dijana sat in the garden on the far bench and Keilana sat in the room on the floor, her back against the wall, hugging her drawn up legs. Quynn had never seen a more miserable pair. If anyone deserved to indulge in self-pity it was her after spending months imprisoned in this palace forced to witness the hell in which Staefyn lived.

So she stayed with Yori and did not converse with either women because she did not want them to think she was choosing one over another. Taeron was her brother and she loved him, so she wanted him to be happy, and she had grown to care about Staefyn as another brother. She worried about him now as she sat with Yori in her lap, waiting for the inevitable attack on Guerani Palace by Kai and the remaining thralls. Her young son should not be comforting her, and yet she needed his touch to keep her calm when every sound from the corridor made her worry that Kai was coming for Dijana. If he came for Dijana, he would not stop at taking her, and if he got past Staefyn, he would not balk at killing her and the emperor's grandson after the defeat of his army.

As they sat together, Yori told her what he had been doing during the many days that they had been separated. He spoke of Jeshed as often as he did his father.

Quynn realized that she did not really know Jeshed very well since he had become a man, and yet now she could call him brother as well. Yori certainly loved him as an uncle and based on his stories, Quynn realized that Jeshed had endeared himself to not only Taeron and Stryfe, but to Larya and Quynn's father as well. She remembered the woman that had placed the bracelet on her wrist and wondered where she had gotten it, where she had come from and if Jeshed had any memory of how he had come to be in the bracelet. Was he a dragon or was he a person? Yori told her that when Staefyn took him from Edgeland Fortress, Staefyn had trapped Jeshed with a collar like her own. She knew that Staefyn had done it to keep Jeshed from following him and that he could have done worse, but she was heartsick to think of how Jeshed felt to lose the ability to shift when she knew how it had affected him after becoming a man.

The first sun was starting to set when Yori suddenly became still in her lap and Quynn thought he might be sleeping, but when she looked down at him, she saw that his eyes were open and he had the blank look that she had come to associate with a trance. Quynn knew that she could enter his trance by taking his hands, and she was about to do it when there was pounding at the door.

"Open the door, Quynn!" It was Staefyn.

She carried Yori to the bed and then went to the door with Keilana and Dijana who had come back into the chamber upon hearing Staefyn's voice. After the three of them managed to move all the furniture out of the way, Quynn jerked open the door. "What has happened?"

Then she gasped and fell back when Staefyn stumbled into the room, his face bruised and bloody.

Looking up she was horrified to find Warlord Kai standing in the doorway, a sword in his hand.