“Oh, no. It’s my cousin, Timendum, who wants the throne. He’s Thasali and gives the plan legitimacy.”
“Or Timendum is the general’s stalking horse,” Rouden said after a few moments. “How much support would this general have without Timendum’s backing?”
Amyar mulled this over a little while. “Well, Eppon is well liked by the men who work under him, from what I can tell, but soldiers in our military are very loyal to the crown, whoever wears it.”
“So with Timendum on his side, the general has the endorsement of a royal for his coup, but Timendum is a fool. If Eppon is more ambitious, he could succeed in pushing him out, given time. Are you sure you heard a real plan and not just a few Thasali talking cachu? What do you know of the strength of your mother’s position?”
“She seems very powerful to me, but I really know little about it,” Amyar said, sounding apologetic. “One more thing, when I overheard Eppon and Timendum talking the night before the negotiations, there was a third man, someone called Lerion.”
“Do you know who he is?” said Rouden as he finished the last of his fish.
Amyar was embarrassed at his lack of knowledge. “No. I didn’t recognize his voice. He may have traveled with the soldiers, but from the way they talked, this Lerion seems to be one of the main plotters.”
Rouden closed his eyes and leaned back. “A thought comes to me now. If Lerion is with the Matriarch’s secret security service, then this plot may be more difficult to stop.”
Amyar felt a knot of hopelessness form in his stomach. His mother’s security service was good at what it did. If elements within the service turned on her, her reign would not last long.
They didn’t speak for several moments. Amyar was surprised at how much he enjoyed the fish. It occurred to him that he could relax here. Despite the anxiety he felt at the moment, he could see himself liking a place like this. He felt much less restless. Maybe it was the fact that his life had been prescribed and written for him before he was even born that had made him so restless within the walls of the palace. He was unlikely to ascend the throne, but he was still a Thasali prince expected to always look handsome and appear at the right occasions.
The desire to get out on his own and see more of the world had grown stronger with each passing day. His kidnapping and then being spirited away from a rebel hideout to a remote cabin really wasn’t what he’d had in mind, but the scenery was wonderful. He laughed.
Rouden regarded him with curiosity. “What’s so funny?”
Shaking his head, Amyar said, “Life can take some strange turns when you leave the path laid out for you.” His gaze landed on Rouden who seemed to be brooding.
“I doubt your general could have foreseen us taking you hostage,” Rouden said. “That must be giving him fits. I wonder how it affects his plan? I wonder if the general, like us, wanted to use you as a bargaining chip.”
Amyar was incredulous. “Bargaining chip? I understand rebels would think I could be useful, but the general?” He shook his head. “He knows I’m not the heir. He’s got other things on his mind.”
Rouden pulled out a bottle of wine from a corner of the cabin. He filled their now empty water glasses with the dark blue liquid. “No, you’re not the heir, but you still have value. You admire Eppon, don’t you? Most people who come into his orbit do, sooner or later.”
“How do you know this?” Amyar took a sip of the wine. Unlike last night’s wine, this one was curiously sweet.
“Backwater rebels we Tansharians may be, but we do have spies, a few highly placed ones, who get the best information.”
“I was never that interested in all the politics, you know? Spies. Palace intrigue. Double dealing. If my mother hadn’t been born royal, I’ve no doubt she would have found her way to politics somehow. And yes, to answer your question, I admire Eppon a great deal. Or I did. We have to get word out about the plot. Their plan won’t be good for Tanshar or Thasali.”
Rouden drained his glass and refilled it. He offered the bottle to Amyar, who emptied it into his glass. The wine was starting to make his head light, but his heart was heavy. His family was under threat. The man he admired may be a traitor. He didn’t know where he was, but he was starting to like Rouden very much. He wasn’t supposed to like someone like Rouden.
“If Eppon fails, he and his followers will be tortured and punished. But if he succeeds, just imagine what he’ll have. Riches beyond my imagining, certainly, for a start. And the power. So much power,” said Rouden.
“I have to get back to Resedna,” Amyar said. “We have to get a message to the Matriarch.”
“You won’t get there on your own.”
“Will you help me? I doubt your rebel friends are pleased with you right now.”
“I’ve got some ideas, something I’ve been thinking about for a while now. I’ll help you if you help me when the time comes.”
“I don’t have a choice, do I?”
“No, I don’t think you do.”
Chapter Twelve
Complications
They agreed to head out the next day, and that night Rouden held Amyar in his arms as they drifted off to sleep. His skin was soft, like most royals. The temperature had dropped. Rouden told himself they needed each other’s heat to get through the night. He tried to forget that this was all his fault. When he told Wyke who Amyar was, Rouden thought they would use the prince to their advantage, but no one would have to die. He was in denial that Tansharians could be just as brutal as Thasali.
As the rays of the first sun broke through the dawn, Rouden realized his cock was wet. Something warm was wrapped around it. Through hazy, half awake eyes, Rouden saw that Amyar was sucking it, and it was getting hard. Rouden decided to feign sleep.
For someone who doesn’t have harem training, this prince is a good cocksucker, thought Rouden.
It was so good. Amyar ran his tongue up and down Rouden’s shaft. He nuzzled his nose in Rouden’s balls. This tickled Rouden, and the jig was up. He let out a giggle and then stifled it, but it was too late. His eyes were open, and they locked with Amyar’s. Neither one of them spoke. Amyar stopped, his lips poised expectantly over Rouden’s cock.
Rouden nodded and closed his eyes again. The warmth returned to his cock as Amyar wrapped his lips around it, taking as much as he could of it into his mouth. Then he pulled back to the tip. Rouden’s cock was now fully hard. He felt Amyar’s breath on his sensitive skin. Amyar’s tongue touched it briefly before he took it all in his mouth once more.
A wonderful thought ran through Rouden’s mind. He was being serviced by a prince. He served them as part of their harem. He loved all the sex. He loved the life full of riches beyond his wildest dreams that he was able to access.
Then he didn’t. He left.
But whether he topped or bottomed, it was at their service.
Amyar moved faster on Rouden’s cock. Waves of pleasure started to build within him. He hadn’t orgasmed with someone else since his break up with Mattix. This felt so good. He came. Amyar snuggled closely and drifted back to sleep.
Rouden pulled him in tighter and remembered how wrong this was. Amyar was Thasali. Rouden was a rebel, even though he was no longer sure of his place anymore in the battle for independence. He could see himself falling in love with the handsome prince with green eyes flecked with gold, but he wasn’t sure how that would ever work.
*~*~*
When they awoke, neither one mentioned their early morning tryst.
They set out for Rouden’s parents’ cabin on the other side of the mountain just after the suns had fully risen.
At least Amyar isn’t one of those royals I saw more than I’d like to remember at the harem —soft and flabby, thought Rouden.
Amyar had clearly taken physical fitness seriously. The prince had no trouble keeping up with the blistering pace Rouden set as they hiked up and over the mountain. Rouden knew his family would be surprised to see him, especially when they saw who he’d brough
t with him. He knew it was a risk to visit them, but he couldn’t think of anyone else he would be able to trust. They needed to figure out a way to get a message to the Matriarch. They needed supplies and any information his younger brother could give them.
Ingus Vasser, Rouden’s younger brother, had made a name for himself within the rebellion as a spy. If anyone knew what was going on in Tanshar at the moment, it would be Ingus.
The Vasser family home was a stone structure built partly into the mountainside, like many of the homes in the area. The practice of building houses this way dated back to when Tanshar was still a Corceus family possession. Rouden had been told it was a defensive strategy.
There had been many attempts to paint Tanshar as another willing, happy domain of Corceus and then the Thasali royal family. The truth was told in whispers around family tables. Rebellion was not new to Tanshar.
It was midday when they reached the Vasser home.
“Did you build it?” Amyar asked as the house came into view.
“It was built by my family long before I was a glimmer in my parents’ eyes. Vassers have lived here for several generations.” Rouden was proud of the home, even if he hadn’t built it. He hadn’t been able to visit for months, but he had lived in it for many years. He could point to the stones he had placed as part of repairs over the years.
Rouden stopped and whistled, two staccato, high-pitched sounds followed by a longer and lower sound. He listened for a few moments before he heard an answering whistle, two quick low sounds followed by a long high one. It was safe to go in. Rouden opened the door and smiled.
“Come on in. Quick.”
They hurried through the door which Rouden shut after them.
“Father,” Rouden said as he placed his pack on the floor.
Siddik Vasser looked up from the table he was sitting at and smiled. “Rouden. What are you doing here? Is it over? Is it safe for you to be here?”
“You tell me.” Rouden knelt down next to his father and embraced him. His father’s skin was rough from years of hard work in the harsh light of the suns. Rouden didn’t care. He had missed his father so much.
“Can’t say. Your brother hasn’t returned yet. He’s been gone a couple of days. I expect him soon, though.”
Rouden stood again and motioned toward Amyar.
“Who’s this?” Siddik nodded in Amyar’s direction. “Doesn’t look like one of yours, despite the rebel clobber he’s got on.”
Rouden took a deep breath. He hadn’t thought how he’d introduce Amyar to his father. With no other plan, he told his father the truth.
“Father, this is Amyar, a Thasali prince.”
Amyar nodded at Siddik. Rouden’s father remained seated, giving Amyar what Rouden knew was his appraising look. Amyar shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
“That explains a lot. Thasali troops have been going door to door. Wyke was here, too.”
Rouden stared into his father’s eyes. He was older than he remembered him. His hair, what he had left, was greyer. His skin was losing its color.
“The story behind this can wait. I’m not even sure I want to hear it,” Siddik said finally. He put his hand on the chair next to him and angled it toward Amyar. “I am Siddik Vasser, Rouden’s father. Have a seat.”
Amyar glanced at Rouden. He nodded for the prince to sit down. Rouden knew that tone. His father’s statement was not a request. It was not to be disobeyed.
“So Amyar, did he have the good sense to feed you before he dragged you here?” Rouden’s father asked as he motioned in the direction of his son.
“He’s been well fed, Father. Fish, wine, jerky, bread. But we need food, supplies, if you can spare them, and information,” Rouden said.
Siddik raised his eyebrows. “Oh, is that all?”
“I know it’s a lot to ask, Father, but we really do need it.”
Rouden hoped his father wouldn’t think less of him for bringing Thasali royalty into his home. Father had no love for the royal family and had told Rouden more than once that if he were a younger man, he’d be on the front lines of the current rebellion.
Before his father could answer, Rouden heard a whistle coming from the back of the house. Ingus had arrived. Rouden and his father replied with their own whistles. A few moments later, Ingus came into the front room with his characteristic shuffling walk. He wore a hooded jacket and even when he took his hood down, there was a sense that his face was still shrouded. He came right over to Rouden and hugged him tightly.
“You’re the answer to my biggest question,” Ingus said.
“What question is that?”
“Where did you get to?” Ingus released Rouden and sat across from their father. He didn’t acknowledge Amyar. “I heard whispers, rumors of what happened to you. I sifted through everything that came to me and couldn’t find the answer. And here you are. This should be good.”
“Gus, you haven’t said hello to our guest yet,” his father said before Rouden could answer.
Ingus looked Amyar full in the face for the first time. “Thasali, yes?”
Amyar nodded.
“I think it’s time for you to tell us the story now, Rouden. And you should eat,” Siddik said.
They ate and washed it all down with fresh Tansharian water while Rouden told his story about the negotiations, how they broke down, and how they had kidnapped Amyar.
There was a gleam in Ingus’s eye, almost as if he knew of Rouden’s betrayal, first of the prince, then of his fellow rebels, but Rouden kept going. His father nodded sympathetically when Rouden explained his rationale for helping the prince escape.
“I owe him my life,” Amyar said.
“Is that why you’re so taken with him?” Ingus asked.
“That’s not the only reason.” Amyar exchanged a look with Rouden, who smiled briefly.
He had feelings for Amyar that he wasn’t quite sure what to do with, and now there was no doubt the prince shared them. But they had more pressing matters to deal with.
Rouden cleared his throat. “What news do you have, brother?”
Ingus told them that large numbers of Thasali military had pushed into Tanshar and instituted martial law. “This was far more than what arrived with the negotiation team. Everyone was so focused on negotiations, no one was paying mind to the troops amassed on our borders. We’re not making it easy for them, but I’m not sure how long we’ll be able to stand up to them. And everyone is looking for both of you.”
“We also have important information,” Rouden said. “Amyar, tell them about General Eppon.”
After some hesitation, Amyar discussed the plot he’d overheard the general talking about with his cousin and the mysterious Lerion. When he stopped talking, there was silence for several moments. Rouden’s father asked Amyar many questions about the general’s plot to steal Tanshar’s water. He wanted to know how it would happen. He wanted to know when. He seemed frustrated at Amyar’s inability to answer.
“I just don’t know more than what I’ve already told you,” Amyar said. He held out his now empty glass briefly, a royal habit Rouden recognized from his time in the harem. When no one filled it, Amyar placed it back on the table, empty.
“That’s too bad,” Siddik said. He scooped some beans into his mouth with a piece of bread and chewed.
Ingus cleared his throat. “This Lerion… You’re sure you didn’t recognize him?”
Amyar nodded. He looked increasingly confused about the still empty glass. Rouden motioned toward the half full carafe. Amyar was unmoved.
“What is it, Gus?” asked Rouden.
“That name sounds familiar. I can’t think of where I’ve heard it before, though.” Ingus sighed. “He could be one of our spies. He could be on the Matriarch’s special service, but I don’t know. In any case, there’s something I almost forgot to mention. I couldn’t get confirmation of this before heading back here, but there are rumors that the Matriarch is coming to Tanshar because that one has go
ne missing.” He pointed at Amyar before grabbing the carafe and filling everyone’s glasses, including the prince’s.
Siddik’s face turned serious. He furrowed his brow. “Not in all the years that we had Corceus pushing us around did their sovereign deign to visit us. Thasali hadn’t bothered to come see us either. They just take and take and take.”
Rouden tried to cut his father short before he got lost in one of his rants that usually began with mythical tales of free Tanshar and ended with him losing his ship a decade ago because of an unpaid tax bill that he was unaware of.
“Father, our guest.”
Amyar jumped up. The empty carafe tipped over and crashed onto the table, breaking into two halves. “If this is true, then I must go to her and tell her what Eppon is planning.”
“I wish we could know for certain that your mother is truly here.” Rouden seemed puzzled. “She takes a big risk coming here. Perhaps she cares for you more than you realize. Perhaps you’re more important than you think?”
Amyar paced back and forth the short distance from the table to the window. “It’s hard to know what my mother will do sometimes, but I doubt it really has to do with me. Whatever she does will be to her advantage.”
Ingus looked at Amyar. “Maybe she knows about the plot already or at least suspects? If you hadn’t been taken by the rebels, your general probably would have used you to get what he wanted from your mother—our water and her throne. You may not know much about the plot, but do you really believe the Matriarch wouldn’t have her ways of knowing things? I’ll echo what my brother said—you may be more important to her and to others than you’re aware of.”
“He makes a good point,” Siddik said. “Thasali are survivors. Your mother doesn’t stay in power through ignorance, Amyar.”
The prince sat back down. “Even if she knows or suspects, I still have to go to her.”
Rouden said, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but when she knows you’re safe, it might give her a better chance of thwarting the general’s plans. We need to find her.”
Siddik sat back in his chair. “Where would she be if she was here?”
Tales of the Thasali Harem Box Set Page 26
