His Highness the Duke

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Watching her body was almost as wonderful as feeling it. Her legs wrapped his waist, forcing him harder into her. He gave her what she wanted. It was what he wanted, too. His finger found the sensitive nub guarding her sex. He encircled it with fast strokes as he pushed her onward, hammering his violent need into her slick core, leading her to her pleasure and pushing her over the trembling edge.

  She closed her eyes. Her hands grabbed hold of his arms and squeezed tight. Her breath caught in her throat and she began to shake. Bron pumped faster. Her body seized hold of him as she came. The feel of her climax was too much. He growled as he joined her, liberating all the pent up frustration in one hot jet of release.

  As he slowly came down from the height of pleasure, he pulled himself free of her. Staring deeply into her eyes, he stretched next to her on the bed. He pushed a strand of hair from her forehead. Bron didn’t know what to say, so he stayed quiet. She didn’t seem to mind the silence as she settled next to him. He slid an arm over her waist in possession and protection.

  He closed his eyes and was content to listen to her breathe.

  “How old are you?” she whispered. “The Galaxy Brides’ uploads said your people lived for five hundred years.”

  “Worried that you are married to an old man?” He gave a soft laugh. Out of all the things he thought she might want to know about him that was not one of them.

  “No,” she answered, not moving. “If what the upload says is true, you will live long past my death.”

  “Here, wives live as long as husbands,” he answered. “Usually. Scientists believe that it has to do with the radiation from our sun. Spiritualists believe it is the will of the gods. I believe it is both.”

  “Usually,” she repeated, sighing deeply, “but not always.”

  “You worry I will not keep you safe?” he asked. The words hurt, even as he was the one to lay voice to them. She really did not have much faith in his honor, or his abilities as a husband. How could he blame her? He should have stopped the joining on the wedding night. He should have been stronger. Bron knew the blame fell fully on his shoulders, regardless of the actual physical position they’d been in. The gods were not pleased with him.

  “Sleep well,” she whispered, refusing to answer him. “We have a long journey in the morning.”

  10

  Aeron wasn’t sure what to say as the ceffyls carried them toward the palace. Perhaps it was best she said nothing. Her eyes turned to the skies, wondering when the Tyoe might attack. She was unclear as to the attack timeline, but had gotten a sense that it wasn’t in the too distant future. Then she looked around the landscape, to each hidden curve of path, to each tree and shrub. Were enemies hiding even now? Waiting to attack two unarmed travelers? Were these Var going to capture them on the ground? Were the Tyoe going to bury them alive?

  She glanced at Bron who rode his own mount. They had left Alek and Kendall without a ceffyl, but the brothers had determined speed was a necessity. Bron had changed his clothing. Clearly a supply had been stored at the cabin for the men. He wore a clean green tunic with gold embroidered edges. The tunic was designed like a long shirt that hung to his knees and split at the sides, opening to reveal his thighs as he sat astride the fearsome beast. He’d given her a similar overtunic in blue to put over the undertunic she’d been given the morning after the ceremony. The only thing she could say about it was that at least it was clean.

  Nothing about this planet felt safe. It was primitive. The people were primitive. She desperately wanted the safety of a spaceship with monitored life support systems and loud warning alarms if security was breached. She wanted her small metal room, food simulator, and laser decontaminator. She wanted air control systems that monitored for airborne viruses and… Viruses. She hadn’t thought about that until now. Her fear grew. What if this primitive planet had primitive diseases that were attacking her on a biological level? Nothing was safe. Planetary attacks. Space attacks. Biological attacks. And she was—

  “Aeron?”

  Aeron jolted in alarm, letting go of a small scream. She grabbed her chest. Her heart beat hard in her chest as she looked at him.

  “What is it? Do you hear something?” He tilted his head, listening. The question was laughable. As a shifter, his senses would be much more advanced than hers.

  “I was—” She gave a self-depreciating shrug. In truth she was working herself into a fearful mess. “I was thinking.”

  Overthinking a situation wasn’t a new problem for her. She would think about an issue until it was analyzed from every direction. If she wasn’t careful, she would think herself into a nervous, certifiably insane wreck.

  “About?” he prompted. Bron sounded hesitant to even ask. She couldn’t blame him.

  “I miss my quarters.”

  “You mean your home? On a ship?”

  Home. No, she’d never really thought of her quarters as home. She supposed that was what it was, but in her mind home was a place that no longer existed.

  “Tell me about it.”

  “I can’t,” she whispered.

  “Because I do not have the Federation’s permission or clearance? I assure you, I can be trusted. I am your husband. Your secrets are mine. However, if you gave your word before we met, I will not ask you to dishonor yourself by breaking it. If you say you cannot tell me, I will believe and trust you.”

  “I can’t because there is no home to speak of,” she corrected. “I doubt the Federation cares if I tell you which ship base I was assigned to. As for clearance, I’ve already broken protocol by coming here and telling you about the Tyoe. I was kidding myself to think I could go back there after doing this. I would be lucky if they just imprisoned me for treason.”

  “Then why take the risk?” he asked.

  “The will of the gods, of course,” she answered, trying not to smirk. He stiffened visibly. “Sorry. I was trying to lighten the mood.”

  He relaxed some.

  “I have my reasons. Thank you for not prying into them.” Her words purposefully cut off any inquiry. Thinking of it made her think of her sister. She wondered where Riona was. It wasn’t like they were close, or that she knew where her sister was on most days, but she couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to Riona after the ceremony.

  He nodded and to her surprise he didn’t push the subject. “Do you think you can handle a faster gait?”

  Her backside was a bit sore, but the idea of getting to the palace faster did have merit. “Yes. I can ride faster.”

  Bron made a low noise and both beasts instantly picked up their pace. The sound of their hooves resounded over the countryside. Gritting her teeth, she held on to the center horn and gripped the beast with her legs. This was going to be a hellish day.

  Aeron could not feel her butt or the backs of her legs. No, actually, it was worse than that. Her toes were tingling. Her fingers were numb from gripping the center horn. Her back was jarred and felt as if someone spent the last three hours throwing rocks into it. Her neck was stiff, her head pounded, and any energy she had to smile at the Draig soldiers had been left on the side of the pathway.

  The path led them from the mountains and along a practice field of soldiers behind the royal palace. The shifter men, all of them burly and fierce, stared after her. A few smiled but most silently watched as if judging her. She had kept her eyes down, wishing she looked more presentable. Next to her, Bron looked handsome and regal. She looked like some piece of spacedrift he’d taken pity on.

  Wrought iron gates lifted high over the entrance leading into the side of a large mountain. From the distance, the mountain looked like any other, but Aeron soon detected a palace entranceway camouflaged within the red stone. Wide domes allowed light inside the tunneled path of red rock. Then, entering a front door of thick oak, they came to a series of passageways.

  Bron spoke to the guard in the gruff Draig language. She held back, trying not to draw notice to herself as they were let into the palace. Bron led the way t
hrough the passageways. The mountain castle was as picturesque as she would have expected a castle to be. It was clean and decorated with tasteful paintings and sculptures. Tapestries hung on the walls, alongside banners with the emblem of the royal dragon.

  The main hall of the Draig palace had steep, arched ceilings with the center dome for light. According to Bron, the banners along the walls were of the royal family crest, one for each color of the family lines—purple for the king and queen, green for Prince Olek, red for Prince Zoran, blue-gray for Prince Ualan, and black for Prince Yusef. Each had the silver symbol of the dragon. Lines of tables reached across the floor for dining. The red stone floor was swept clean, and the hall was empty but for a couple servants. Upon seeing the new arrivals, they quickly left them alone.

  “Aren’t we going to get cleaned up first?” Aeron asked, looking at her male-cut long tunic smudged with travel dust.

  “First we must greet the king and queen. It’s customary.” He followed her eyes downward. “You are beautiful.”

  “I see the affection of the crystal has not faded,” Queen Mede interrupted as she entered the hall. She smiled at her nephew. “The king will be relieved to hear as much. He would have come to greet you but he is in a meeting.”

  The woman’s smile appeared kind, but her eyes were sharp as she took in everything around her. She was immaculately dressed. A slight glint of liquid gold filtered in her gaze as she glanced over Aeron’s clothing. Her smile fell some as she looked at her nephew. To Aeron’s surprise, Bron actually looked sheepishly away from his aunt like a silently scolded child.

  “You have come to assure us the match is well made?” the queen asked when no one spoke. “I admit I did not expect you to set it right so quickly, but I am pleased to have been proven wrong. It gives me much hope that my own sons will soon set right their marriages. You must excuse them from not coming to greet you.”

  “Is all well with the princes?” Bron asked.

  Mede lifted her hand, refusing to elaborate more. “That story is still being written. I’ll let your cousins’ tell it once it is finished.”

  Bron nodded. Aeron found herself very curious as to what the queen meant by that. She bit the inside of her lip, keeping herself from inquiring.

  “I will have the guest wing prepared.” The queen paused, glancing at Aeron’s clothing. “The tailor is very busy with the princesses at this time, but I will send him to you. There is no reason he cannot tend to my niece as well.” Mede sent a sharp look at her nephew.

  “We thank you, my queen,” Bron said. “There has been little time to see to such things at the cabin. In fact, I come back so quickly to speak to the king about an important planetary matter concerning the mines.”

  Mede stiffened. “He is in the office. You know the way.”

  Bron nodded. Aeron made a move to follow him from the hall. Mede caught her arm. “I will show you to the guest wing where you can relax.”

  “But…” Aeron tried to protest. She did not want to be left alone with the woman.

  The queen was insistent. “Let the men deal with their business. I would have us get better acquainted.”

  By the time she turned to look after Bron, he’d disappeared. Aeron wished he would have waited for her. She wanted to hear what he said to the king, to make sure he told the man everything he needed to know. With little choice since the queen was looking at her expectantly, she dutifully moved to follow behind the woman.

  Aeron didn’t speak. What could she say? The woman was royalty, daunting in and of itself. She was also Bron’s aunt. Suddenly, the full power of her new husband became all too real. He was related to royalty. Royalty! Even on a primitive planet it was an impressive position of power and responsibility.

  Aeron glanced around the palace interior. Here it didn’t feel so primitive. She saw hints of technology within the design. To the untrained eye it would be impossible to see, but she’d seen many technology specs in her works as an analyst. On occasion, it had been her job to analyze spec transmissions to make sure there were no hidden codes within them or anomalies in the blueprints.

  The halls seemed endless, as if to purposefully create a maze to trap people inside. Finally stopping at a door, the queen gave a short command. The door slid open. Yes, the Draig had more technology than the outside of the place would let on. Inside was a home within the palace, an entire suite complete with kitchen and bathroom. It was one of the most stunning places she’d ever seen. The richness of it reminded her of the spa advertisement chips she collected but never traveled to.

  Gray marble tiles contrasted the natural red of the stone walls. Water cascaded down the entryway wall on both sides of the door. The gentle sound of water was somehow soothing. Light colored plants grew within the rock beds beneath the miniature waterfalls. The room was open, with a circular couch around a fire pit. Overhead a dome ceiling allowed light from outside to enter. The queen pushed a button, drawing back the oversize curtains to dim the light to a more comfortable level.

  An opened doorway led to a kitchen. She recognized the appliances within it from her time at the cabin. Plants hung from the ceiling, connected by a yellowish vine with blue tinted leaves. The vine was strung about the room like a natural garland. An opened door revealed the bathroom close to the kitchen. Steam rolled from a tub, as water churned inside it. She wondered if it always ran, or if the bath had been somehow ordered because of Aeron’s current unpresentable state.

  “Riding ceffyls is not for everyone,” the queen said, after giving her guest ample time to stare at her surroundings. “Or so I am told from women who come to this planet.”

  “That’s right, you were born a shifter, I mean Draig,” Aeron said, before she could stop herself.

  “Yes,” the queen smiled. “I am Draig.” The woman let her eyes shift briefly. “It is good Bron told you of our gifts. Some men think to protect their wives and wait to tell them of it. As if being a dragon-shifter is something to be ashamed of.”

  “I think the rarity of the shifters in the universe is what can frighten people. It is fear of what is unknown,” Aeron said softly. The queen kept looking at her like she should speak, but she was unsure what to say. “It seems a common enough theme amongst the alien cultures I’ve heard about.

  Mede hummed thoughtfully.

  “There is not much known in the universe about the Draig even in the Federation files or in Galaxy Brides’ down—” Aeron continued, only to stop as the other woman perked up at the mention of the Federation.

  “You come to us from the Federation?”

  Aeron nodded. There was no point in hiding the fact since she’d come here to warn them. “Civilian analyst. It’s why I came to your planet.”

  The queen moved toward the couch and sat. She gestured for Aeron to do the same. Aeron was slower to follow but did obey the silent command. After Aeron was settled, the woman said, “I thought you came to our planet to find love, not to analyze us.”

  “No.”

  “But you were on the Galaxy Brides’ ship,” the queen reasoned. She kept her gaze steady.

  “It was the only ride we could find.”

  “We?” the queen prompted.

  “I traveled with my sister. She knows how to get around the universe better than I do.” Aeron tried to relax, but her back remained stiff. She looked at the fire pit. Its barren depths provided little to merit her full attention.

  “I see. But you came here, met my nephew, and plans changed? Now you are Lady Aeron, the High Duchess of Draig, wife to the High Duke.” The queen looked at her as if such a title should please her greatly.

  Aeron didn’t move. What could she say to that? She never really thought of herself as titled, of having power. The very notion of it caused her to shiver in worry.

  “I see,” the queen repeated, this time not as hopeful. “You have not decided to stay.”

  “I’ve been given little choice in the matter,” Aeron corrected. She didn’t want to speak badly of Br
on to his family, but she also refused to lie.

  “We all have a choice,” the queen said. “I would ask you to consider yours very carefully, especially if you are thinking of leaving him. Surely you must already see how much Bron cares for you. It’s obvious how deeply he feels.”

  Obvious? At that, Aeron’s eyes shot up to meet the queen’s. “You mean because his crystal glowed? That has to be a chemical reaction, some kind of biological indicator. I don’t think it means love.”

  Queen Mede pushed forward from her seat, leaning toward Aeron. “I do not know how it works, or why. I don’t question it because I know it does work. Qurilixian men, and we rare females, are given a crystal when we are born. It is our guiding light. When you were paired by the crystal, your lives became joined in such a way that can never be undone, not that I can imagine wanting to undo such a wonderful gift. You exchanged part of your souls. By crushing the crystal, you assured that the exchange would never be reversed. In a way, you are now his guiding light.”

  Aeron frowned. The woman seemed so sure of her words. “You said Qurilixian men. All Qurilixian men? The entire planet does this?”

  “The Draig,” Mede clarified. “Yes, all Draig. I do not consider the Var to be true men. They are our enemy and their ways very different from ours.”

  Aeron merely nodded.

  “Do you understand what I am telling you, Lady Aeron? Do you know what breaking his crystal means for Bron?” the Queen asked.

  Aeron shook her head in denial. She listened intently to every word.

  “It means he put his every chance at happiness on you. He gave his life to you, part of himself. There will never be anyone else for him as long as he lives.”

  Aeron felt tears entering her eyes. As long as he lived? That was hundreds of years more. Her life was severely shortened because of their physical joining. “And what if I do not live?”

  “Then it will be a very sad affair. There will be no other in his bed or his heart. There simply can’t be.” The queen smiled kindly. Aeron found she liked the woman, even if she was a little bit intimidated by her power—both regal and physical. “It is why he will do everything he can to protect you. I know my nephews. They are like my sons. They can be overbearing and impossible at times. They will spin you in circles with their ways until you want to hit them over the head with the nearest rock. I can relate. I have thrown a few rocks at my husband. I may be Draig, but that only makes my situation worse. My husband treats me like a rare flower that needs constant guarding. In truth, shifted, I can hold my own against him.”