Devoured Innocence

by Michelle Marquis

  Gypsy decided to press him a little. So, without directly asking, she settled for, "How many people know this secret?"

  “Only three.”

  Since he answered, she pushed onward. “You, Megolyth and who else?”

  “I’m sorry, Gypsy, I can’t tell you. If I did, that would reveal the secret. You’d figure it out and I’m not sure you should know. Anyway, it’s late and you should probably get home to your triumphant husband.”

  “Gypsy grabbed his sleeve. “Oh, no you don’t, you son of a bitch! I know you want to tell me. Besides, why do you care about protecting Megolyth’s secret, especially now?”

  “Because, it’s not his secret I’m trying to protect.”

  They both fell into a weird, sullen silence. Gypsy racked her brain, but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what this secret could be. Finally, she was so exhausted she couldn’t think any more. All she wanted to do was to go home and lose herself in a dreamless sleep. She took Desmond’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Okay, I give up. Are you going to tell me or not? Because if you’re not, then I’m going to head home and try and get some sleep.”

  Desmond’s brow wrinkled but he didn’t say a word. Gypsy let go of his hand and got up to leave.

  Then Desmond said, “Megolyth and your mom...”

  Desmond didn’t say any more. Gypsy didn’t care. He didn’t need to. She was already stunned. There was only one end to that sentence and it wasn’t good. She couldn’t believe it. Her mother would never cheat on Gavin.

  “How? Megolyth had to have lied to you. How could that even happen?”

  Desmond’s shoulders slumped like he’d just dropped a boulder he’d been carrying. “It was a long time ago. You were a child and Gavin was thought to have died on that jungle campaign. From what Megolyth told me, Harlan was so consumed with grief and loneliness it just sort of happened. I never told anyone because I wanted to protect Harlan.”

  Gypsy exhaled a deep sigh, then leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. “Wow, that is quite a secret. I don’t know how you held it for so long. Thanks for trusting me with it.” Oddly his revelation really did make her feel better.

  Desmond got up from the bench and put his hand on her back. “It wasn’t about trust. I’ve always trusted you. I kept that secret from you to preserve the image you have of your mother. Harlan is the kindest, most compassionate person I’ve ever met and you are so very lucky she’s your mom. I didn’t want you to think less of her because of everything that’s happened with Megolyth. I don’t know why I thought you’d be that shallow.”

  “It’s okay,” she said as they started down the stairs. “Do you mind if I ask you a completely unrelated question that’s been bugging me for almost half a year?”

  “Sure, in fact I would prefer to talk about anything that’s unrelated to what I just told you.”

  Trotting down the steps in front of him, she called back, “How does Rakon know someone like the Grand Duke Augustus von Goth?”

  Stepping off the bottom step onto the sand, behind her he replied, “Oh, that’s easy. Who do you think supplies the Grand Duke with soldiers greedy enough to submit to torture, just for some extra pay?”

  “I’ve heard it’s a lot of extra pay.”

  He gave her a skeptical look. “You’ve been tortured by him. If you had just been in it for the money, how much would you do it for?”

  “Hmm…if it wasn’t for the training, I don’t think there is enough money.”

  He held the door open for her as they walked outside. “Yep. That’s how I feel. And you know how much I love to make money. But everyone has their limits.”

  Chapter 30

  Desmond sat alone on the bottom bleacher of the military training arena. It was much larger, newer and better maintained than the Academy arena. Like the one the nobility used, or more accurately didn’t use, it had a frosted dome over the top that was raised up on thick metal rods. The design created some really nice airflow, while keeping the suns off of the combatants. When he arrived, some junior soldiers were sparring with swords at the far end. He didn’t know them. The only cadets he knew were the few he’d trained during the war with Triumvirate. Those young men were probably in their second or third year by now.

  The two young males laughed and joked as they practiced the defenses that might save their lives one day. Momentarily, he resented them because neither seemed to have a care in the world. But in truth, he envied them. Neither had seen enough arena fights or real battles to know that one day they would get the beating of a lifetime. Maybe that match would be today or next month or maybe it would be years from now, but someday they would be paired with someone younger, stronger, faster and better. The outcome wasn’t going to be pretty. If they were lucky they’d survive with a few scars. If they weren’t they’d be dead.

  He spotted Gypsy coming in through a side entrance and a less morose feeling came over him. One of the main reasons he’d shared her mother’s secret with her was that he was sure Megolyth would tell it to her during the match. That’s what Desmond would do. It would be such a shock it would cause just enough of a distraction and hesitation to allow him to kill her.

  She came over to join him. They sat silently watching the young males spar. When the men finished and left, the arena became deathly quiet.

  “Where’s Kharon?” Desmond asked.

  Gypsy gave him a satisfied smile. “You were right. He was in a really good mood this morning. So good, I suggested he not come so Gavin wouldn’t ruin it. Kharon agreed and said he had some other things to do anyway. I think those two need some time away from each other.”

  Isn’t that the truth? This month is going to be hard enough without those two assholes arguing about everything. Hopefully they’ll leave most of Gypsy’s training to me.

  “How’s Gavin?” Desmond didn’t really care but felt compelled to ask.

  “Krull said only two ribs are cracked. The rest of him is just banged up. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how hung over and foul he is this morning. I dropped in early to see how he was doing. I even got an apology. Then he tried to get up and his mood went to shit. He’s still in a lot of pain so he growled something unintelligible then roared at me to stop fucking around and go find you. He said he’d be here in an hour or so.”

  Desmond’s chest tightened at no mention of his wife. “Krull’s back?”

  “Yeah...uh...so is Khalee,” she offered uncomfortably.

  The double doors banged open and Gavin marched in. His face was bruised with dark green and purplish blotches. The pain in his side was obvious with every taut, deliberate movement.

  Krull came in behind him.

  “So much for having an hour of respite,” Gypsy groaned.

  Krull followed Gavin up to where they were sitting. The old bastard had to take short, quick breaths because his ribs hurt so much. This day just got a little better. Desmond was glad his father was suffering. He more than deserved the pummeling Kharon had given him. When the vicious wretch reached Gypsy he turned to Krull and gestured at his side.

  The doctor patiently reached into his pocket, took out two pills and gave them to Gavin who took them with a swig from his canteen. What? No flask today? Ha! Are we a little sick too?

  Gavin stomped down toward the arena floor. “Come on, Gypsy, let’s get started. Your brother can join us in a moment.”

  Desmond stood up to follow them but Krull blocked his path. “Could I speak to you for a moment?” he asked in Kirillian.

  He stopped and stared at the doctor. This must be about Scarlet and it was not going to make him happy. Instead of speaking he just folded his arms and waited.

  Krull’s blue eyes softened. “Sit.” He gestured back to the bleacher bench.

  Desmond sat down heavily and Krull sat next to him. He tried to curb the anxiety churning his gut. He already knew what Krull was going to say.

  “Scarlet wouldn’t come back with us.”

  “I figured that,”
he replied. At least their conversation would be mostly private. Gavin was the only other person in the arena who spoke Kirillian and he was currently busy making Gypsy miserable.

  “Your wife doesn’t feel safe to return with Hazen until the issue of Megolyth is resolved. She asked me to tell you she loves you and will be back if or when things stabilize.”

  All Desmond could manage was a nod. He stood. “Is that it?”

  Krull rose to his feet as well. He studied Desmond’s face with benign interest. “I know this is none of my business but I’d just like to add something of my own. Scarlet loves you, but the instinct to keep her offspring safe will always come first. That is the way it should be. There is still plenty of messenger activity with the Queendom. Send her a message tonight and, if possible, every night until she returns. You don’t have to say much. Ask how she and your son are. Let her know how you are doing and about your day. Keep her involved in your life. Most importantly, tell her you’re thinking of her. It won’t seem significant but it will mean a lot to you both. Don’t sacrifice your relationship because it is painful and inconvenient. I’m only telling you this because I wish someone had told me the same thing a long time ago.”

  The doctor turned and exited the arena, letting the doors bang closed behind him. Down below his sister was weathering their father’s physical abuse and verbal insults. Despite his tyrantical training pretense, Desmond could see right through Gavin. The old man was scared and that alone worried Desmond more than anything.

  Walking across the black sand toward Gypsy, thoughts of Scarlet swirled in his mind. It was good she and his son were safe in the Queendom. Even though he missed her terribly and being at their home alone was almost unbearable, she was right to stay behind. He needed to focus on what was before them or none of this was going to matter. Because if Scarlet had returned, and Gypsy lost, his wife would end up with Harlan as Megolyth’s property and his son, Gavin’s grandson, would be put to death with the rest of them, for no other reason than his lineage.

  The entire time Desmond had been the emperor’s sparring partner, he had loathed every second of every interaction with him. But he’d endured, spoke rarely and listened often. Looking back, he realized it was the best thing that could’ve happened, given the circumstances. He knew everything about the emperor—all of his strengths, weaknesses and dirty tricks. Desmond understood Megolyth’s combat mindset. He had mastered the emperor’s strange, foreign fighting style and could often predict his attack strategies. Now it was time to make that knowledge pay off.

  Regardless of his deep fear, Desmond believed Gypsy could defeat Megolyth, but it was going to be hard, really hard. It was going to be the most grueling, vicious fight anyone had ever seen. The stakes were so high on so many levels, for so many people. If Megolyth wins, his arrogance will inflate, the empire will return to being misgoverned and would eventually fall back into civil war. Not that any of it would matter to Desmond. Because if Gypsy lost, his head—along with that of Gypsy, Gavin and Kharon—would be sitting on pikes adorning the Imperial City gates.

  About the Authors

  Michelle Marquis is the pen name for author, Michelle O’Neill, who uses a pen name so she doesn’t have to be responsible for herself.

  Michelle has won several awards including the Editor's Pick from Bewildering Stories for her urban fantasy short story, "The Werewolves Next Door" and two Recommended Reads, one from Fallen Angels Reviews and one from Two Lips Reviews, for her science fiction erotic romance The Hungry Planet.

  Michelle is a huge fan of science fiction, erotic romance and horror, and most of her stories reflect those themes. For more about her and her books please visit her website at http://michelle-marquis.blogspot.com

  Lindsey Bayer lives in Florida, and splits her time between caring for her daughter and writing.

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