Royal Captive

by Shannon West

  Bastion smiled down at him and raised his hand to his lips to kiss it. “Sounds perfect,” he said. “I like the sound of that.”

  ****

  On a Tygerian ship bound for Laltana

  “How much longer will it take us to get there? We’ve been on this ship for two weeks already,” Blake said. He knew he was irritating Davos, but he couldn’t seem to stop asking.

  They had left Tygeria the night before, only two days after Blake had given birth. Mikos and Ryan were with them, along with a full contingent of soldiers, and they were set to rendezvous with Anarr and his husband Renard just outside Laltana’s solar system. Derrick and Rhaegar, as well as Vannos and King Stefan were all on their way to join them as well. Renard had put his family, the Lycan Balenescus, on alert and Stefan had pledged more of his army, if needed. Stefan’s move was almost unprecedented in his planet’s history of non-intervention and isolationism.

  “Can you see, nobyo,” Davos said, sounding irritated, “that no matter how many times in a day you ask me the same question, my answer will be much the same? It will take us at least another week or two to get there.”

  “Why can’t we take another of those wormholes to get us through more quickly?”

  “We already traversed one wormhole. It’s not like we have access to all of them, nobyo. I know this has been explained to you before. Laltana is at the very edge of our known universe, an unimaginable distance away. It’s going to take a while. If you had stayed at home like I wanted…”

  “Davos, how long have you known me?”

  “What?”

  “How long have you known me? Shouldn’t you know by now that there was no way in hell I was going to let you all go without me?”

  “You just had our child, Blake.”

  “Yes, and we’re both fine. I have physicians for both of us traveling with us, and the one thing I guess you missed in school is that babies are entirely portable!”

  Davos huffed out a breath. “It’s unseemly for you to be dragging the baby around the universe in this manner. This mission is no place for you to be. What if we have to fight?”

  “You’re not going to fight until I have Larz safely on board this ship, I can tell you that. And I hardly think I’m dragging the baby around the universe, as you so colorfully put it.” Blake looked down at the sleeping child in his arms and adjusted the angle of the bottle. “Isn’t that right, Rakkur? He has his whole family around him—well, most of us anyway—and it’s not like it’s his first trip in space. He traveled to Tygeria inside me before he was born, you know.”

  Davos rolled his eyes and resumed pacing back and forth. They were on the observation deck of the ship, a place Blake loved to visit whenever he could. It helped soothe his mind, and he liked to claim that the baby enjoyed looking at all the stars. He said it mostly to annoy Davos.

  He made the remark now and Davos stopped to glare at him. “Might I remind you that an infant can only see about twelve inches in front of his face? That’s logic, Blake, in case you don’t recognize it.”

  “He can see the stars,” Blake replied. “He told me so.” Because, after all, what could Davos possibly reply to that?

  Davos simply shook his head and continued to pace. Really, Blake wasn’t sure why he came down here at all. Davos only tried to pick a fight when he did. Larz’s abduction had taken a toll on them both. They’d held it together while Blake was expecting, but since the baby’s birth, some of the repressed emotions they both felt had been coming to the forefront.

  Blake gazed back out at the stars, and willed himself to calm down. The stars were so immensely far away they didn’t seem to move at all as the ship hurtled toward them, but were fixed in the sky like a beautiful painting. Blake said they helped him calm his racing mind, but Davos said he had found no such peace. He had told Blake that all he could think about was what Larz had gone through in the time he’d been missing. Just the night before he’d told Blake his mind had been dreaming up all kinds of disturbing images of his child being forced to have sex with a cruel, older man, and one bent on revenge.

  Blake watched him stop his pacing and stand by the large, trapezoid wheelhouse window that was used for observation. His brow was furrowed and he looked almost feral at whatever thoughts were plaguing him.

  “You don’t know,” Blake said softly, and Davos whirled to look at him.

  “What?”

  “I said, you don’t know any of the things that are going through your mind. Not any of them. You’re just borrowing trouble.”

  “Are you reading my mind, now, nobyo?”

  “I don’t have to. I know exactly what you’ve been thinking and worrying about since we got the news about Larz. It’s written all over your face. You think this king is abusing Larz sexually. You think our son has been raped and forced to submit, but you don’t know that. The reality could be much different. Much better.”

  “Or much worse.”

  “No. I’m telling you, you’re just borrowing trouble.”

  “No!” he shouted, turning to glare at Blake. “I’m being realistic and trying to prepare myself. And I’m worried about you and how you’ll react to whatever we find!”

  Blake shook his head. “It’s not only that. You were trying so hard to make Larz into your own image before all this happened, like you did with Mikos. You think he’ll be different now. Damaged. You think you’ll be embarrassed by him.”

  “That’s not true! How can you even say that to me?”

  “I say it because I remember what you said when you found out about Derrick and Rhaegar. You told me I had made all your sons soft, except for Mikos. You told me things would be different with Larz and Nicarr. You said that it was one reason why all the other boys except for Mikos had mated with more dominant men and allowed those men to fuck them. I know that you equate weakness with allowing yourself to be fucked by another man, Davos. And I know that you think I have that same deficiency.”

  Davos looked shocked for a moment and then he came over to sit beside Blake, falling heavily in the seat beside him and putting his head between his hands. “Will you never let me forget that argument about Derrick, Blake?” He raised his head and turned to look at him. “I regretted those words the second they came out of my mouth. They were stupid and untrue, but I was too stubborn to take them back. I felt like you sided against me, and I left to go after Derrick, thinking we’d have time to work things out when I came home. I know I’ve apologized since then for the way I spoke to you that day over and over, though I never said you were weak!”

  Blake lifted one shoulder. “It was implied, though, wasn’t it?”

  “No! I’ve told you how brave and strong I think you are! I’ve always respected you. I love you more than my life, Blake.”

  “I know. And I love you too. But you have some ideas—some beliefs I don’t like. Those beliefs are what caused you to chase after Derrick and Rhaegar and get yourself lost in Tveir. They almost caused me to lose both you and Derrick forever. I won’t allow you to do that with Larz. He thinks the sun rises and sets in you. If you look at him the way you looked at Derrick…I’m not going to let you hurt him by thinking less of him. Especially if he’s been a victim. I love you, Davos, but I’ll take him and the other children and go back to Earth before I’ll let you hurt him that way. Are we clear on that?”

  Davos jumped to his feet with his fists clenched. “I will never allow you to leave me or take my children away from me. Is that clear?”

  Blake gazed up at him without flinching. “I think you should go now. You’re frightening the baby.”

  Davos hesitated a long moment, and then turned and swept away, almost, but not quite, slamming the door behind him. Blake sat still, feeling a little stunned. Where had all that come from? He’d been so angry at Davos, so hurt before he left to chase after him three cycles ago. Then all that happened on the alternate universe, in Tveir, and Blake had clung to him as his safety net in that sea of confusion and doubt. He’d thou
ght he was over the anger, the rage he’d felt when he returned home and found Larz still gone. His beautiful child still missing and all because Davos had wanted to make a point of some kind by sending him off to that training camp against Blake’s express wishes.

  If not for that… he’d have his son safe at home where he belonged. He had pushed it all aside and buried it deep, because he had to concentrate on the baby he was carrying and on keeping the remainder of his family intact. But now, with this news about Larz possibly being located, some of that old anger and resentment had reared its head again. He loved Davos and always had, almost from the beginning. But this anger was eating him alive and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. All he knew was that he wanted his child back safely in his arms again, and until then he couldn’t really think straight.

  Blake blew out a sigh and rocked the baby in his arms, remembering another baby he’d held the same way, once upon a time. He crooned the words of an ancient Earthan lullaby to him. The same one he used to sing to that other child.

  “My bonnie lies over the ocean, my bonnie lies over the sea,

  my bonnie lies over the ocean, please bring back my bonnie to me.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Laltana, near the Lityba battlefield

  Bastion had told Janos to leave things to him when it came to getting back to their own army, but in the broad light of day, Janos had to wonder just how he planned to achieve that goal. They sat beside the stream as the sun rose in the sky, soaking small pieces of the bread in the water from the stream and chewing on it thoughtfully. Taran had brought a small pouch with him, containing a bit of food and a few pieces of ragged clothing. Bastion had left most of the food for Janos and Taran, who sat beside him, all of them feeling a little overwhelmed and exhausted. He had been down to observe the Athelonian camp earlier and came back reporting that he was amazed at all the damage. Both cannons had been destroyed and lay in a heap of twisted metal near the back of the camp. Most of the nearby tents had been destroyed, he said, and a few bodies still littered the ground. There was more movement near the officers’ tents, but no sense of general alarm or panic. Maybe they seemed just as exhausted by the events of the night before as they were.

  “From what I can tell, they’re still picking up the pieces. We may not have intended to destroy half the camp, but the explosion seems to have done that and has worked to our advantage. I say we head north, then circle back around once we’re away from the Athelonians and head straight for Wirlo. We may run into the army on the way.”

  “If they retreated,” Janos said, shaking his head, “we won’t catch them. They’re probably all the way back to Wirlo by now to shore up our city’s defenses against the cannons.”

  “I think that must be what happened,” Bastion agreed. “Without you and the top generals to lead them, they may have panicked. If so, we’re on our own. I wonder why the Athelonians didn’t chase after them right away to finish what he started?”

  “It’s what I would have done,” Janos agreed. “But their leader is Prince Farish, who is still young and inexperienced, but has been trying to make a name for himself in Athelon for the past few years. It was no doubt his idea to use the cannons. He knew we would have no defense against them, and he’s counting on the same for Wirlo. His hubris made him celebrate his victory a bit too soon. He had plans to execute me this morning, I think, and he would have no doubt used torture and taken pictures of the execution. He would have sent them to Wirlo for wide distribution. He wanted to demoralize my people.” He turned to Bastion and touched his arm. “And he would have succeeded if not for you.” He smiled over at Taran as the boy cleared his throat loudly. “And you, too, of course, Taran. You both showed great courage.”

  Taran preened a bit, and glanced at Bastion. “See? Your king appreciates me.”

  “He doesn’t know you well enough yet. Give him some time,” Bastion said, getting to his feet. “Come on, you two. We need to be on the move. Let’s head up over the hill and then circle around north, like I said. We might not intercept the army, but we might be able to find a homestead nearby or on the way and get them to help us.”

  Janos’s eyes lit up. “There’s a small outpost not too far from Lityba. Maybe a day’s walk from here. It’s probably abandoned since news came of the Athelonian advance, but we should be able to at least find shelter. Maybe food. If we’re lucky, we might be able to find a way to send word back to Wirlo.”

  “That’s our plan, then. We have to get going before they decide to search around for you. They’ll have found the tent by now, and know that you had help in getting away.”

  They got to their feet and spent a few minutes trying to erase any sign of their presence by the stream before striking off to climb up and over the hill. Bastion took Janos’s hand as they went, causing Janos to look up at him, but though he felt his face get hot, he didn’t pull away. They passed the corpses from the battle, still lying in piles along the top of the hill. The whole area smelled of blood and death and Janos noticed Taran making a sign with his fingers, a superstitious ward against evil, as they walked quickly by the bodies.

  “I wish we could start the funeral pyres to burn the bodies,” Bastion said, glancing at the carrion birds circling overhead. “But that would only alert the Athelonians.” Janos squeezed his fingers comfortingly as they passed them.

  Once on the other side of the hill, Bastion said he felt as if he could breathe again, and they set off down the other side, heading for the northern road. Janos kept pace with him, as did Taran, though Janos figured Taran, as a camp runner, was used to a lot of walking. Taran would be of an even lower standing than a foot soldier, so he would be used to traveling long distances each day. Janos feared he wouldn’t be able to keep up, though so far, he’d done well enough. He noticed that Bastion made stops now and then so “Taran could rest,” as he’d whispered to Janos, though Taran had outpaced all of them so far. Janos knew he was doing it for his sake.

  As for the Athelonians, they saw no sign of them, and around noon of that day, they stopped in the trees for some shade. Nearby were a few of the ancient monuments that were scattered all over the planet—originally natural rock formations that some race, ancestors to the current Laltanans, had stacked up in places and made strange markings on their sides facing north. They were so old, nobody knew the name of the people who had left them there. They were massive boulders that had probably been quarried in nearby Lityba and transported here. Along with the upright stones, occasionally there was a sarcophagus or two as well. Janos remembered reading in his lessons that they were probably some kind of burial sites, and the theory was that the stones were meant to act as sentinels, to keep the graves safe.

  The ones close by were almost six meters high and many meters thick. There were four of them, sitting in a row like soldiers on guard. They were some distance back in the woods, however, so they didn’t bother investigating them. Bastion was lying on his back near the road, and sat up after a moment, pointing back at Lityba Hill. Smoke was drifting up in the air in large black columns.

  “They’re burning the bodies,” Janos said, pointing back down the long road. “They’re probably searching for me, too. We might need to find a hiding place here in the trees in case they send out some LVs to search the nearby roads, looking for me.”

  “Good idea,” Bastion agreed. “They won’t spend much time on a search now, but we should stay off the road for a while and see. It’ll give Taran a chance to rest too.”

  “I don’t need to rest!” Taran exclaimed, loudly, jumping to his feet to prove it, but Janos took his arm and pulled him back down.

  “Settle yourself, Taran. Bastion really means me. He thinks I need to rest, and he’s trying not to hurt my feelings by saying so.”

  “No, I…”

  “Yes, you are, and it’s thoughtful of you, but I’m fine, really. I’m stronger than I look, you know. The guards at the prison camp I was in on your planet made us work on the roads busting u
p rocks every day. And after I came home, I had to do strength training to rebuild my body.” He grimaced. “Doctor’s orders.”

  Bastion stiffened. “I hate the idea that you had to work so hard it made you physically ill, I promise you I’ll track down each and every one of those men who hurt you and personally make them pay if they haven’t already.”

  Janos reached over to him and wordlessly squeezed his hand. Then Taran got to his feet and pointed back toward Lityba Hill.

  “Look there,” he yelled in excitement.

  Two dust clouds had come into view on the road behind them and were getting larger as the LVs producing them sped closer and closer. They didn’t seem to be searching, exactly, but they were definitely coming steadily in this direction and would arrive in only a few minutes if they kept to their current course.

  “What could they be doing?” Bastion wondered out loud. “They’re going too fast to be searching carefully.”

  “They’re using scanners!” Janos said with alarm, getting to his feet in a panic. “Oh gods, they’ll find us!”

  “What do you mean scanners? What kind of scanners?”

  “They pick up noises, talking or even breathing in the area they scan, and they can detect any kind of metal. Like the ones on our terugas, and…” He looked at Lar’s wrists and neck cuffs. “Oh…” he said feeling alarmed. “Your cuffs and collar!”

  “Hurry,” Bastion said, pulling both Taran and Janos to start them moving toward the back of the copse of trees they were in.

  “We can’t hide from them!”

  “I think we can, actually, or at least it’s worth a try. These rock formations, I think they’re buried deep in the ground so they’ll stand upright, and they’re thick enough stones that they’ll shield the metal enough to disrupt the magnetic field. We need to dig a hole behind the thickest ones and put our metal items down low in the hole.”

  “But we can’t hide from scanners!”