How much time had passed since he’d seen them last? A few years, since he’d come here to arrange the engagement. He’d met Alcharr then and, after a period of arguments, had begun their secret relationship. Yane wondered what his family would say if, or rather when they found out about that.
“Greetings, Mother, Father.” He bowed his head in front of his parents. “It’s nice to see you are well.”
“Greetings, Yanentah,” his father, Enyas, said.
“I see you’ve finally arrived,” his mother, Tarah, added.
Why did his mother always need to point out the obvious? It wasn’t like he’d been away on a vacation. Okay, so he had enjoyed himself the night before with Owen, but that was hardly relevant for the conversation. Besides, he’d sent them a message as soon as Alcharr arrived in Tanarak announcing their imminent arrival and the issue with the wedding.
Thankfully, Alcharr intervened, greeting Enyas and Tarah in the formal way of their people. Yane’s parents turned on their courteous, polite faces. “I have to admit I was surprised when I received the note from Yanentah,” Tarah said.
Alcharr smiled tightly. “The fault lies with me. I just considered it easier and faster to speak to Yanentah directly. This way, he will be here by the time my family arrives, and he’ll get to talk to Valderr, get to know him a bit.”
The king gestured them inside while servants fussed around their carriage to take their bags. Yane almost laughed. He had very few belongings, personal items having little value in Tanarak, since the humidity always ruined most things.
“I can understand that,” the king said. “I’m sure your brother is very anxious about the wedding.”
Yane struggled to control his temper. As if they cared. Valderr and he were just tools used in a larger game, a game that now seemed to be more ruthless and evil than ever before. He scanned his father’s face, trying to detect any sign that the man knew about the issue with the crystal. He couldn’t. Enyas was the same as always, but that didn’t reassure Yane at all. Even if Alcharr claimed his father was most likely responsible for the arrangements, Yane didn’t feel convinced.
Trying to push his mind away from his glum thoughts, he asked, “Where’s Ciera?”
He hadn’t seen his sister in a while, either. Even if they didn’t get along, she was still his blood, and he missed her. “Oh, that’s right, we didn’t tell you. She’s with Dorien, her fiancé. You remember him, don’t you?”
“Fiancé?” Yane repeated. “When did this happen?”
Unfortunately, Yane did indeed remember Dorien far too well. In fact, he recalled more details about him and his naked body than he would have liked. He and Dorien had once been great friends. In fact, they’d grown up together and shared their first sexual explorations with each other. Yane had lost his virginity to Dorien, and the other way around. But once his nymph power emerged, he’d no longer been considered adequate company for the young noble, and he’d been relegated to a fighter against the wyrms.
Of course, his mother knew about their friendship but not about their intimacy. As such, she continued, undeterred, “Since they’re getting along so well, we’ve decided to make it a double wedding. She’s probably taking care of the arrangements as we speak.”
Yane froze. “D–Double wedding?” he stammered. “You can’t be serious!”
Tarah turned to glare at him. In one single look, she managed to convey both disappointment and anger. Given that he was a nymph, Ciera would be the one required to produce heirs. As a fine, upstanding member of dryad aristocracy, Dorien would be an excellent match for the princess—never mind that his sexuality could be considered questionable. At this point, Yane couldn’t say anything about it. Ciera’s situation didn’t seem much better than his.
“My apologies,” he mumbled. “I didn’t mean to be rude. I just thought that it might be a bit soon.”
After all, Ciera hadn’t been seeing Dorien when Yane last visited Anethone. But his mother just turned her back on him again. “Keep your opinions to yourselves. Ciera loves Dorien, and that’s what matters.”
Yane shared a look with Alcharr. In the circumstances, they didn’t know whose wedding would be sabotaged. Would both couples be attacked? What in the world was going on?
From then on, the day just worsened as they received explanation as to their duties in the future ceremonies. Yane saw Dorien and Ciera, and naturally, his sister’s fiancé didn’t look too pleased to see him. For her part, Ciera didn’t seem as cold as Yane remembered her. She actually hugged Yane and congratulated him on the marriage, wishing him happiness. When Yane looked into her eyes, he realized she was being pushed into wedlock, too.
That night, the eagle family arrived. Yane was nervous, since he’d never met Valderr before. Their wedding had been arranged behind closed doors as a requirement for the treaty. Yane’s opinion had never even been taken into account. The eagle king hadn’t even brought Valderr with him upon his last visit.
All dressed up in his royal attire, Yane stood at the door with Alcharr to his right and his father to his left. Ciera and Dorien were also there, the meeting with the eagles apparently important enough to draw them away from the wedding preparations.
Unlike Alcharr and Yane, the eagle delegation arrived by air. Even at night, Yane spotted them coming in the starry sky. From the distance, he couldn’t tell how many soldiers guarded the convoy, but it seemed a heavy group. There was also a flying vehicle, which Yane guessed held the royal family.
Indeed, the guards landed first in the courtyard of the palace, framing a perfect square and bowing in front of the waiting dryads. The vehicle hovered a bit further in the sky then came down and stopped on the ground. Its doors opened and King Amadeus stepped out, followed by a young man—Valderr.
The two eagles made their way toward Yane and his family. “Welcome, King Amadeus,” his father said. “I trust you had a safe trip.”
“Greetings,” Amadeus answered. “Yes, thank you. As always, it is a pleasure to fly over your beautiful city.” He gestured his second son to come forward. “This is Valderr.”
The poor young eagle looked so pale Yane felt bad for him. Valderr’s eyes traveled from the dryad royals to Alcharr and seemed to fix on his brother until Amadeus gave him a not-so-gentle nudge. “It is very nice to be here,” he said in a small voice.
Yane took his cue and stepped in. “I am Yanentah,” he answered. “I’d love to show you around.”
Thankfully, there were no objections. In fact, both Amadeus and Yane’s parents looked pleased. Valderr seemed surprised but nodded, perhaps reassured by Alcharr’s presence.
As they were led inside, Amadeus turned his attention toward Alcharr. “I am glad to see you obeyed my instructions, son,” Amadeus said. “I’m certain that soon, we might be able to celebrate your wedding.”
“If you say so, Father,” Alcharr answered. Yane wondered if he was the only one who could detect the barely restrained anger in Alcharr’s voice.
“That would be delightful,” Tarah added. “In fact, my daughter is getting married as well, and we thought it would be great if we had a double wedding.”
It was only because Yane had been watching Amadeus that he detected the slight flash through the man’s eyes. “Is that so?” he said pleasantly. “How wonderful. I suppose congratulations are in order.”
From then on, Yane tuned them out, finding the conversation about tablecloths and chairs tiresome. He did, however, notice the furtive looks Dorien gave Valderr when he thought no one was looking. In Yane’s opinion, Valderr also did some looking back. Interesting. Perhaps this wasn’t so hopeless, after all. Yane’s friend might still be in there, under the layers of aristocratic training.
For the moment, he needed to make his escape. He could hardly investigate under his parents’ watchful eyes, and he’d already figured out today that whether they were involved or not, they wouldn’t slip up.
“Mother, Father, with your permission, I promised to give Valde
rr a tour.”
“I could go with them,” Alcharr offered at once.
It was not unusual or in any way improper. In fact, they were technically fiancés, and as such, should have chaperones with them during their walks. So, their parents waved them off and directed their attention to more interesting issues.
Immediately, Yane pulled Valderr to the gardens. As soon as they left the palace and reached a private spot, he stopped. “Okay. They can’t hear us now.”
“Thank the gods,” Valderr answered as he collapsed to his knees. “I don’t think I could have withstood it for much longer.”
Alcharr knelt next to his brother and hugged him. “I’m sorry for leaving you, but don’t worry. We won’t let this wedding come to pass.”
As they spoke, Yane noticed an odd flash of light float above them. He watched as it went lower and lower down until finally, it hovered in front of Yane’s face. On instinct, Yane reached out to touch it. As his hand connected with the flash, a scroll appeared in front of him. With airy letters, it spelled out the name of an inn located in the city outskirts and a room number.
“What is it?” Alcharr asked as the scroll began to fade. “What was that?”
“A message from Kyllian,” Yane answered. “We have to go see him.”
“Who’s Kyllian?” Valderr asked. “And you can’t leave. Our parents will figure it out.”
Valderr was right. They couldn’t exactly abandon him in the middle of the gardens to search for the wizard. One of them could go, but if their absence was detected, they’d be in trouble anyway.
“We’ll sneak out after everyone turns in for the night,” Alcharr suggested.
Yane nodded. “It won’t be long now. Dinner should be served soon. We’ll be fine if we meet again at midnight.”
Or so he thought. Who knew if his parents had changed their habits in the time he’d been away?
At any rate, they didn’t have much choice. They made arrangements to meet there again in a few hours. After that, they lingered a bit in the gardens, showing Valderr around like he’d said, then returned to the palace. As it turned out, they reached the dining room just in time for a slightly strained and frustrating meal.
The dishes were just as perfectly cooked as Yane remembered them, but the arrival of the eagles had changed little of his parents’ attitude toward him. When the dinner ended, Yane gladly retreated to his room.
He couldn’t rest, of course, and he hoped his parents would also turn in soon. The hours seemed to drag on until finally the clock rang for midnight. Yane went to the balcony of his quarters and looked outside. Guards roamed the premises of the palace grounds, but it was dark, so Yane had confidence that he would be able to go past them unseen.
Without allowing himself to hesitate further, Yane jumped from his balcony. His water element helped him land, and as soon as he reached the ground, Yane made his way into the gardens. As dryads, the royal family had placed a lot of attention into the greenery, and it surrounded the entire palace in a maze very few could hope to navigate through. Alcharr was one of those few, simply because years back, he and Yane had used the deep labyrinths as a refuge to consummate their first time together—and not only on that occasion.
With practiced ease, Yane made his way to the established spot. As he reached his destination, he found a hiding spot next to a large bush and waited. He didn’t have to linger there for too long. He heard footsteps approaching but, much to his dismay, realized they didn’t belong to Alcharr.
“Where are you, Yane?” Dorien whispered. “I saw you. Come out.”
Yane sighed in irritation. He had no choice but to come out of his hiding place. Some things never changed, and Dorien was quite capable of shouting his name in the gardens and alerting all the guards in the process.
He stepped forward and met Dorien head-on. “Hello, my dear friend. It’s been a long time.”
“Quite. What are you doing here?” Dorien asked, suspicion thick in his voice.
Yane didn’t appreciate the tone. “None of your business. What about you? Do you always go around sneaking in the gardens at night?”
As they glared at each other, Yane sensed someone else approach. “No,” Alcharr said. “He only does so when he wants to spy on Valderr.”
Even with the thick night around them, Yane still saw Dorien’s face flush. “It’s not like that. I was merely—”
“You were spying on my little brother.” Alcharr growled. “Fucking pervert. I should kill you.”
Yane felt surprised at Dorien’s gaffe. The man had never been a Peeping Tom and always respected the privacy of others. “Look, I know he’s off-limits,” Dorien said. “I just wanted to see him.”
He sounded so disheartened, so upset that it broke Yane’s heart. Alcharr, however, didn’t seem convinced. “My brother has enough on his plate without you watching him like a creep.”
He looked ready to attack, and Yane wondered what he could do to prevent his current lover from murdering his former one. Dorien didn’t help the situation. “Oh, please. As if you weren’t drooling over Yane all throughout the dinner. I wanted to tell you to close your mouth or at least control some of the panting.”
Yane gaped. To his knowledge, Alcharr never let it show that they were lovers when in public. Dorien was more perceptive than he’d thought.
The dryad laughed. “No more smart replies, hmmm? I bet the king will be very interested in finding out that little piece of information.”
“You wouldn’t do that, Dorien,” Yane couldn’t help but say. “We were friends once. We are still.”
Dorien crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah, right. You left to be a great warrior, whereas I got left behind to cater to the whims of these fools. Thank you for nothing.”
“Do you even know what Yane has to do every day?” Alcharr sneered. “You selfish son of a bitch.”
Yane wanted to scream. At this rate, Dorien wouldn’t even have to reveal their liaison. The guards would surely appear any moment now. But Alcharr was furious, and whenever the eagle got angry, he didn’t let go easily.
Thankfully, a soft voice came from the darkness. “Wait, please wait,” Valderr said. “Don’t fight. Someone will hear.”
Alcharr and Dorien stepped away from each other as Valderr approached them. The young eagle fidgeted, obviously uncomfortable with the attention.
“It’s okay, brother,” he told Alcharr. “You don’t have to defend my honor. And I’m sure Yane is not upset with Dorien for that inappropriate comment.”
The words were delivered in a gentle tone, but the reprimand in them was clear. Dorien rubbed his eyes, probably realizing his unreasonable attitude. “He’s right. I apologize, Yane. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Yane acknowledged his friend’s words with a nod. “It’s okay. I’m not upset.” But Alcharr clearly was, and Dorien’s next observation didn’t help.
“So, you two are meeting in secret. You do realize tomorrow you’ll have to wed Valderr?”
He sounded quite upset, and it occurred to Yane that maybe Dorien could help. “I realize that, but we can’t marry people whom we don’t love. As for tonight, we have a meeting. Could you cover for us?”
Dorien looked doubtful. Yane supposed it wasn’t easy to let go of the compulsion to obey the orders of the royal family. “I don’t know…”
“You can spend some alone time with me,” Valderr coaxed. He seemed to be trying for seductive, and it sort of worked, because Dorien’s eyes immediately focused on Valderr, all serious thought forgotten.
“Okay,” he whispered. “I like that idea.”
“No,” Alcharr snapped. “No way.”
“Calm down, brother,” Valderr said with a smile. “I’ll be fine.”
And he sounded so sure of it that even Alcharr’s anger seemed to falter. He took a deep breath and glared at Dorien. “All right. But if you touch him or hurt him in any way, you won’t see the next morning. Got that?”
Dorien nodde
d. “You really want to stop this wedding, don’t you? What are you planning?”
Yane smirked. “If you play your cards right, Dorien, you might just find out.”
In his room, Kyllian waited for Yane and Alcharr to come. He knew it would take a while, or it might even be impossible. The two men would have to escape the palace to visit him. If they didn’t arrive in the next few hours, Kyllian intended to go there himself, although, truth be told, he preferred not to. He didn’t want to push his magic. It would be needed tomorrow.
At last, about a half hour after midnight, a knock sounded at his door. Kyllian already knew who it was. He hastily let Yane and Alcharr in and gestured them to sit. “Sit down,” he said without preamble. “We have some planning to do.”
“I take it you found out something.”
Kyllian nodded. “Yes, and you won’t like it.”
Earlier that day
Kyllian slipped through the narrow alleys, scanning the markings of the shops. In this area of Anethone, the buyers came for specific services that could be found no place else. Kyllian was looking for a particular one, but alas, quite a long time had passed since he’d last been here. Dryads weren’t exactly a welcoming people, and Kyllian preferred to avoid them.
Still, as a rule, wizards knew many useful individuals all over the world, some of whom they helped and would help them in turn. Sandros was one of these men.
A blacksmith and an architect quite respected for his participation in creating the infrastructure of Anethone, Sandros had been allowed to live here even if he wasn’t a dryad. Kyllian had never been exactly sure about Sandros’s parentage, other than the fact that the man had some wizard blood. For all he knew, he could be half wyrm or something equally as strange. But Sandros kept to himself, and everyone respected his lifestyle because of his skills.
For Kyllian’s part, as much as he admired the man’s craft, something else urged him to look for the man. Sandros was one of the few real seers left on Uli and the only one who’d actually care enough about the situation in the dryad kingdom to help.
Hyacinth, Scarlet - Craving Owen [Tides of Love 2] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever ManLove) Page 12
