The Bound Prince

by Michelle M. Pillow

  “Am I to be arrested and tried?” Sam asked. The men actually looked shocked by the question.

  The king sighed. “You should speak with Falke.”

  “Where is…” Sam hesitated, finishing weakly, “my crew? Have they been arrested?”

  Tori and Ulyssa came down the platform to her. They frowned at the men, before taking her by the arm. Leading her toward the doors, Ulyssa said, “No, no one has been arrested. Your crew is just fine. They’re settling in as we speak.”

  “Where are you taking me?” Sam asked.

  “We’ve prepared a suite for you. You might want to clean up and relax a little,” Tori suggested.

  Sam walked in silence as she was led through the mazelike halls of the Var palace. By the time they stopped at a door, she was sure she’d never find her way out again. Tori let go of her and pushed open the door.

  “I stayed in here when I first arrived. It is one of the best guest suites in the palace,” Tori said. Pointing up, she drew Sam’s attention to the domed ceiling of tinted glass. “I fell in love with that crystal chandelier.”

  The crystal shards hung down like raindrops, lighting the large oval room. Sam nodded in silent appreciation. This room was much more tasteful than the one at her father’s palace.

  “Let’s see, food simulator is over here,” Tori said, showing her where the button was hidden on the wall next to a long banner with the Var royal symbol of an upright wild cat. “We often eat together in the main hall. You’re welcome to join us if you prefer.”

  Sam hardly thought she would prefer.

  “Behind those purple curtains is the bath,” Tori said.

  “It’s a water bath,” Ulyssa warned. “They can be frightening if you’ve never had one before.”

  “No, I have,” Sam answered, frowning slightly.

  “What? Am I the only person in the Universe who’d never taken a water bath before coming here?” Ulyssa shook her head.

  “Don’t mind her. She had a small incident. She thought she was melting from getting wrinkled in the water,” Tori laughed.

  “Stayed in too long?” Sam asked.

  Ulyssa chuckled and nodded. “I thought I was withering away. The worst part was that Kirill saw me freak out.”

  The curtains around the platform tub were floor to ceiling. Next to the tub and across from the front door was a fireplace. It was designed to heat the whole room at once, including the bath with the couches in front of it, or the side opposite the bath, which Sam guessed was a bed hidden by more purple curtains.

  “And that, as you’ve probably deduced, is the bed,” Tori said, confirming her thoughts. “The lights don’t turn off, but if you pull the curtains, it’s very dark.”

  Sam nodded and thanked her. Tori and Ulyssa smiled, saying goodbye as they left. When she was alone in the large suite, she looked around, numb. Walking over to the food simulator, she ordered a coffee and took it over to the couch before the fireplace to sip it. Her legs curled beneath her, and she looked around in the silence. What was she supposed to do now?

  32

  Falke looked up from his place in the king’s royal office. The office was much like the rest of the palace, with the same beautiful tile work on the walls and the same medieval castle feel to the structure. A large barren fireplace was dwarfed by the even larger sidewall. Long banners hung on either side of it. A lengthy, woven rug of red and blue lay on the floor. Next to the rug were large, deep chairs, where Falke now contemplated in brooding silence. On the side opposite from where he sat, there was a long, empty stone desk, more chairs, a couch, and additional rugs of tile patterned designs. Seeing his brother, Kirill, in the doorway, Falke sat forward, his back rigid.

  Kirill nodded and closed the door behind him. “Ulyssa and Tori have taken her to a guest suite.”

  Falke nodded. It was as he’d requested. He remembered their last encounter with shame. At the time, he thought she enjoyed it as much as he, but as she didn’t wake up the next morning, no matter how much he shook her, Falke realized he must have unleashed himself too hard upon her. That night was a blur. He’d watched her in the decontaminator, the lasers skimming over her body, and he’d nearly lost his mind with desire. Jarek’s medical unit said she was fine, just sleeping, but Falke wasn’t so sure.

  He’d sat by her side, watching over her, until they arrived home. By then, she’d tossed and moaned softly in her sleep. Knowing she was pregnant with his child, he did the only thing he could think of. He asked, well more like commanded, Ulyssa and Tori to look in on her. He also instructed that nothing was to be said about the baby.

  Kirill crossed over and took a seat in the chair next to him. “You might as well ask. I can see your mind working.”

  “Did she,” Falke took a deep breath. “What did she say?”

  “Naturally, we needed to intimidate her a little,” Kirill said. Falke’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t worry. All is fine. She held up rather well and even insulted Reid.”

  “Why?” Falke demanded. He knew Reid had a bad habit of coming on to every female within fifty feet of him, even those belonging to his brothers. He would never push the issue with taken women, but he definitely flirted and charmed them. Falke was no charmer and didn’t need Reid pointing this flaw out to Sam. “What did he say?”

  “Easy, brother,” Kirill said. “I truly have never seen you out of sorts like this. Not even when I said I would make peace with the Draig did your eyes flash with such fire.”

  Falke placed his hands in his hair, pushing the locks back from his face in a rarely seen act of complete frustration. “It is because I’m not the man she would have.”

  Kirill blinked in surprise. “She loves another? One of her crew perhaps? Rick? Or that Evan?”

  Falke shook his head. “No, I have no reason to believe that. They are close, like brothers to her.”

  “Can it be?” Kirill asked, amazed. “That you feel...”

  Kirill didn’t finish, and Falke frowned. “Just because you don’t see my emotion, brother, don’t assume that it hasn’t been there. I feel very deeply. It is the Roane way to hide it.”

  “But Taura always…” Kirill whispered. She was Falke’s Roane mother and the late King Attor’s first half mate. As if a great epiphany just hit him square between the eyes, he said, “Sacred cats, Falke. I understand now. I’m sorry. We always assumed your behavior wasn’t an act. I feel like a fool for not realizing it before. With Taura’s stoic, reserved behavior coupled with our father’s obvious disdain for pleasures of the heart, I... You never let on, never once complained, never said anything to... Sacred cats, I’m sorry, Falke, truly. I never realized.”

  Falke shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He cleared his throat and grunted, “Fine, fine. Let’s end the conversation there.”

  Kirill hid his grin at the gruff comment, but not before Falke saw it.

  “For what it’s worth, our father was wrong about loving one woman. It has brought me a peace I’ve never known,” Kirill said. “And the people do not see it as a weakness, but a strength.”

  “What did Ulyssa say about it?” Falke asked. “Did she discover anything?”

  “I haven’t spoken to her alone since Sam awoke, so you know as much as I. Tori said the baby’s well, as is Sam.” Kirill sighed. “Why don’t you go to her and see for yourself?”

  “I... No.” Falke shook his head, standing. “I’ll go and rest. It has been a long journey.”

  “She carries your son, brother,” Kirill said, seriously.

  “She carries much more than that, Kirill. She carries my heart,” Falke whispered, stepping from the royal office to go to his wing of the palace.

  33

  Sam jumped up in surprise, spilling a fresh cup of coffee down her shirt as someone knocked on the door. She looked for a towel and found a thick blue one by the bath. Dabbing at her shirt, she set the coffee cup down on the rim of the tub and walked over to answer the door.

  When she opened it, she expected to
see one of her crew, or perhaps even Falke. She wasn’t prepared for the tall, stately woman with long, willowy limbs. The woman’s gown of gold shimmered as she moved. Her long, golden brown hair fell in shiny waves down her back, the color mimicked by the hazel-gold of her almond shaped eyes.

  Dropping her arms down to her sides, Sam said, “Hello.”

  “Hum,” the woman made a small sound as she looked Sam over from head to toe. Sam was too stunned by the inspection to move. The woman’s head tilted to the side, eyeing the coffee stain. Finally, finishing her inspection, she looked Sam directly in the eye. “I am Taura.”

  Sam stared blankly at the woman, thinking, Okay, and that means what to me?

  “Falke’s mother,” Taura stated, her voice very reserved.

  Sam wasn’t sure she believed the claim, unable to fathom how such a slender woman could give birth to a giant like the commander prince. Like a fool, she stood in the doorway staring.

  “May I enter?” Taura asked, sounding exasperated by the rudeness.

  Sam stepped back and motioned.

  Taura nodded graciously and entered. Looking around the room with the same intense inspection she’d given Sam, the woman sighed. “Do you speak?”

  “Yes, yes,” Sam rushed. “I speak.”

  “I was beginning to wonder,” Taura said with a ghost of a smile on her features.

  “I’m confused,” Sam allowed.

  “How so?” Taura asked. “I am Falke’s mother. You have caught the interest of my son. I am here to inspect you.”

  Sam felt a rush of pleasure, even in light of Taura’s disturbing words. “Did Falke say that I caught his interest?”

  “No,” Taura answered flatly. “I had to hear it from Quinn. He’s such a good boy. Someone has been stealing my solar flowers from the garden, and he’s been nice enough to investigate it for me.”

  Remembering her manners at long last, Sam asked, “Can I get you something? A drink of some sort?”

  “No,” Taura stated.

  “Would you like to sit?” Sam asked.

  “No,” Taura answered. Her eyes again moved up and down over Sam’s slender frame, giving nothing away. “You’re a lot smaller than I’ve pictured.”

  “So I’m told,” she mumbled. Taura raised a brow, and Sam asked, “Is this visit about me kidnapping your son? I swear there was nothing to it. I mean, it was an accident. We needed to get a wild beast for this Scavenger Hunt contest. I’m sorry if you were worried—”

  “Why would I worry? I foresaw it,” Taura answered. “I’ve known about it for nearly twenty years. As to the wild beast, well, in a way I’d say you succeeded very well in capturing what you sought, wouldn’t you?”

  “You knew I would kidnap your son,” Sam allowed, disbelieving. “Did you tell Falke this? Warn him? Did he know I was coming?”

  “Why would I tell him?” Taura asked. “It was my premonition, not his.”

  “Falke has premonitions?” Sam inquired.

  “No,” Taura sighed, looking vaguely disappointed. “I’d always hoped he would develop them. But, being only half Roane, he inherited the burden of great emotions instead.”

  Sam studied the woman’s face and thought that the last thing she’d ever say to describe Taura was ‘great emotions’. If she had to guess, she’d say the woman was cold, that she felt hardly anything.

  “You don’t believe me,” Taura said, nodding as if she knew this for a fact. Sam didn’t believe her, so she said nothing. “Sometimes you need to look with your heart and not your eyes, dear girl. Many things inside us are just there, buried inside us, hidden away from the world. Roane are especially passionate with emotion once they decide to feel, like Falke for his people. Sometimes it takes us Roane a while to allow ourselves to feel something, because we guard ourselves exceedingly well, and then we hide it remarkably well once we do. When we open ourselves up, we let other’s feelings in. It’s a difficult burden to carry. We love deeply, hurt deeply. Being Roane is bad enough, but Falke has it worse. He had to swallow his passions deep inside because of his Var father. Despite King Attor’s faults, Falke loved him, still loves him. That is what love is. Love despite faults, not because the person lacks them.”

  Sam didn’t know what to say. She was too busy thinking of Falke, trying to see if there was some subtle hint in him that she might have missed.

  “I know Falke,” Taura said. “I don’t know you.”

  “What do you want to know?” Sam asked. She had a strange urge to hug the woman. Taura had done the one thing she hadn’t been able to do for herself. She’d given Sam hope, hope in Falke, hope that what she felt wasn’t one sided.

  “You are Ticara,” Taura said, nodding to Sam’s marking.

  “Half,” Sam answered.

  “You are a healer? You have that gift?” Taura asked. Sam nodded. The woman smiled as if understanding something. “That makes sense. Fate would choose a healer for him. How else was he to mend his fractured heart? I feared the damage his father inflicted on that poor organ might forever keep him from finding anything pure.”

  “I’m hardly pure,” Sam said.

  “Mm,” was Taura’s quiet answer, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. “I’ve seen what I’ve come to see.”

  Sam watched as Taura turned to go. The door was still open, and Sam was amazed to find that they hadn’t moved from the entryway.

  Taura paused and eyed at Sam. “Just remember, dear girl, fate is never an accident. You were meant to take him with you.”

  The woman walked away, moving so elegantly she seemed to glide down the hall. Nervously, she shut the door. What had just happened? Did Falke’s mother just give her permission to take her son away again? Or did she refer to the original kidnapping?

  Sam turned around, and before she could take one step, someone knocked behind her. Sighing, she opened the door. Evan stood there, biting his bottom lip.

  “Don’t slam the door on me,” he said quickly, raising his hands.

  Sam burst forward and hugged him. She felt his sigh against her. His hand stroked the back of her hair.

  “That bad, Captain?” he asked.

  Sam nodded.

  “Well, come on,” Evan said, and Sam looked up as he pulled her from the room. “I’ve come to take you to the dining hall to eat. I drew the short straw.”

  Sam punched his arm lightly, not wanting to laugh in her misery. “Seriously, Evan, I just want to stay in the room.”

  “Sorry, Captain,” Evan said. “You’ve got a baby to feed.”

  Sam frowned. “So are you still mad?”

  “We were never really that mad, Sam. We were hurt,” Evan sighed. “Once we calmed down, we realized you’d never hurt the baby on purpose, it’s not in you. You were just doing what was right for Falke.”

  Sam smiled weakly.

  “What’s on your shirt? Did you spill your coffee again?” Evan shook his head. “Quick, go and change and then come on. The guys are anxious to make up with you.”

  34

  The hall was filled when they arrived. Sam looked around. There was still no Falke. She saw Taura at the head table, next to Ulyssa and King Kirill. Quinn and Tori were on the stately woman’s other side. Evan led her forward to the crew. She smiled, as they all hugged her. They were her family and no apologies were needed. Sam began to sit down, and she stiffened when she heard a voice behind her.

  “We’d be honored if you’d join us.”

  Sam turned. Jarek was there, or was it Reid? “Which one are you?”

  Jarek grinned and pointed at his neck where the black tattoo peaked up. “Jarek. See the tattoos?”

  Sam nodded.

  “Come on,” Jarek said, grabbing her arm and dragging her with him. “You don’t have a choice.”

  Jarek stuck her between himself and Reid. Reid grinned at her and winked, saying, “I can’t wait until you fall asleep, my lady.”

  Sam blushed. Reid laughed.

  “Is that what you call charm?” Jar
ek asked.

  “Think you can do better?” Reid countered.

  “My lady, your beauty far outweighs that of a supernova. Your eyes sparkle like the heavens and make my heart fall like a shooting star,” Jarek told her gallantly.

  “And though the evil Rfod is just behind that door, Mina, he will never tear us apart,” Sam finished. “The Space Pirate’s Mistress by Siggy Ahl. Considering the girl gets her head bitten by a giant snake in the next scene, that’s not very romantic, Captain Jarek, oh sorry, Prince Jarek.”

  Reid laughed. Jarek frowned, mumbling, “It usually works on the ladies.”

  “You should try harder,” Sam teased.

  “Naw, it’s just a good thing the ladies I go for aren’t as smart as you,” Jarek laughed, winking audaciously.

  The meal was served, and Sam did her best to eat in silence. Falke’s family didn’t make it easy. If Reid and Jarek weren’t trying to best each other with their barrage of different come-on lines, someone else was asking her a question. By the last course, she genuinely liked Falke’s family. The only blight on the evening was that Falke wasn’t there to share it with her.

  “Where is Falke?” Sam asked Jarek, when Reid got up to charm some woman who came in the side door.

  “I wondered how long it was going to take you to ask me that,” Jarek answered. “He’s in his room.”

  “Oh,” Sam said.

  As if reading her worried thoughts, he continued, “Alone. Sleeping. He stayed awake with you the whole time you were out.”

  “He did?” Sam asked, surprised. “Why?”

  Jarek merely smiled and didn’t answer. Instead, he said, “If you wish to see him, I’ll take you.”

  Sam hesitated then nodded. “Is he very angry?”

  Again Jarek didn’t answer her question. “Come on, I’ll take you.”

  Sam was nervous, but her desire to see Falke outweighed everything else. She walked silently beside Jarek through the mazelike halls. Then, suddenly, they stopped at a door. Jarek nodded at it with his head and turned away.