The Heir (Kelderan Runic Warriors #3)

by Jessie Donovan

“Yes, although she hired a few people to work out the logistics. She also carved many of the statues. While it annoyed father to no end that she’d spend days locked inside a studio whenever inspiration hit, he indulged her. For all my father’s faults, he loved my mother.”

  Glancing back to the trio of children, Azalyn replied, “It’s clear to see she loved you.”

  Keltor cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t say my siblings and I were that close, especially since Kalahn is sixteen years younger than me. As you can see, my mother took artistic license to make us look closer in age. The original statue was just Kason and me. The one with Kalahn came later, right before she died.”

  “I’m sorry about your mother, Keltor. I wish I could’ve met her. From what little I know of her, she was a special female.”

  “She was, and I think she would’ve liked you.”

  Her eyes darted to his. There was no anger or resentment. Keltor merely spoke the truth.

  Keltor squeezed her hand and looked away first. “I don’t have a lot of time, so come. I’ll show you how this works.”

  Jumping on the distraction, she said, “Then explain it before I walk on the planks and who knows what happens to me. Just my luck the plank slides away and I get eaten by flesh-eating fish in the water.”

  The corner of Keltor’s mouth ticked up. “I’m a royal prince about to be king. I’ll be the ruler of your planet. And yet you think I’d simply feed you to some fish for amusement?”

  She rolled her eyes. “After you tossed me into the lagoon near that waterfall when we were teenagers, no, I don’t trust you around water.”

  He placed his free hand over his heart. “I had no choice. When I saw you in your swimming outfit, it took everything I had not to strip you down and take you. Tossing you into the cold water and me jumping in after you was a distraction.”

  Azalyn should leave the past where it lay, but she blurted out, “What? We’d barely known each other a few weeks at that point.”

  “Do you want honesty, Aza?”

  At the heat in his eyes, she swallowed. Keltor’s words would only remind her of their past and what could never be. But fool that she was, Azalyn bobbed her head.

  Keltor lowered his voice. “You were the first female who constantly invaded my thoughts. And let’s just say that teenage males do a lot of undressing inside their heads.”

  She caught his use of “first female.” It was on the tip of her tongue to demand if there had ever been another.

  Then one of the lights hit the thin, ceremonial circle around his forehead. The small piece of metal reminded her of the chasm between them. If she wasn’t careful, they’d both do something they’d regret.

  To help them both avoid scandal, Azalyn removed her hand from his and took a step back.

  ~~~

  Decades may have passed, but Keltor could instantly tell when Azalyn decided to close herself off from him. For a few minutes, she’d acted as they had when they’d been younger, never holding back.

  But as soon as her eyes fell on his ceremonial circlet, she’d grown reserved and pulled away from him.

  He was more than convinced that his anger last week had been misplaced. She easily could’ve tried to kiss him or win favors since he’d discovered her in the center of the maze. And yet, she’d instead spent the time praising his mother.

  Which meant she’d offered her body back in the hospital room simply because she’d wanted him. If only he could think of a way to woo her and still secure peace for his planet.

  His timepiece buzzed inside the pocket of his trousers. In twenty minutes, he needed to attend a video conference with his brother. Since it was the first real-time video conference from Jasvar, Keltor couldn’t blow it off.

  If he were going to make Azalyn smile and laugh to forget her earlier tears, his curiosity and lingering questions would have to wait. Azalyn could put distance between them for the moment. However, he planned to have a much more thorough conversation with her later.

  Taking a few steps toward the entrance to the maze, Keltor stated, “The water maze is like the hedge maze, albeit with a twist.” He dared a look at Azalyn. She nodded. “You need to reach the center, but instead of shrubbery to confuse you, the planks themselves are deceptive. They all look the same, but if you step in the wrong direction, that plank depresses, and water begins spraying toward you. Like this.”

  Keltor went down two planks and turned left. Careful to only place one foot on the next plank and gently press it, a stream of water shot toward him. He darted back, and it stopped.

  Azalyn came up behind him. “What if you step on it with all your weight?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you like to know. Try it.”

  She made to move around him, but instead, she shoved Keltor forward, and he stumbled onto the plank. Three jets of water hit him from different sides.

  Dashing to the next safe plank, he turned to glare at Azalyn. However, as soon as he did, she laughed. The light sound made him forget everything but the crinkles at the side of her eyes and the dimple on one of her cheeks.

  Yes, laughter suited her much better than tears.

  However, Keltor wasn’t one not to fight back. Before she could get away, he lunged forward, grabbed her arm, and dragged her onto the water-spraying plank. She shrieked as water hit her body. “Keltor! Let me go!”

  Tightening his grip on her arm, he grinned. “Just another second more.”

  She opened her mouth to scold, but he quickly tugged her toward him.

  Azalyn crashed into his chest and his arms instinctively wrapped around her waist to steady her. She tensed at the contact. An undefined sadness coursed through his body at her reaction. Maybe his anger the week before had cooled any desire she’d had for him. Or, more likely, she’d had time to reflect on how he’d ruined her life. No matter if the truth had been hidden from Keltor or not as a young man, he hadn’t gone after her as he should have. If he wanted to see Azalyn happy, he needed to let her go.

  He was about to step back when she slowly relaxed and rested her head against his chest.

  Her comforting presence washed away his guilt. For what seemed like hours, they merely stood there. Keltor dared to close his eyes and lay his cheek on top of her head.

  Memorizing her scent, the silkiness of her hair, and the softness of her body, he stored it away for the future. Because he had a feeling that to keep Keldera from war, he would have to sentence himself to a lifetime of loneliness and distance. No bride would compare to Azalyn. He’d been an idiot to think he could find another female like her.

  So Keltor merely held the only female he had had ever loved and dreamed of the future they might’ve had. Because that was going to be the closest thing to happiness he would ever achieve. After this brief moment, he would force himself to keep his distance and allow Azalyn to find her own path in life.

  Because to protect her, Azalyn’s life had to be without his touch, his kisses, or his love.

  All too soon his timekeeper vibrated again, denoting ten minutes until his meeting. If Keltor didn’t change clothes, his brother Kason would ask too many questions.

  In other words, it was time to release Azalyn and turn away.

  Again.

  Taking one deep breath to revel in her feminine scent, he finally stepped back. What he wouldn’t give to banish the confusion in Azalyn’s lovely green eyes. “Sorry, Aza, but I have a meeting I must attend. I can always bring you back here later, if you wish.”

  She cleared her throat. “Perhaps. I just need you to show me how to get out of here, and you can go about your business.”

  He didn’t care for the flatness of her voice, but pretended not to notice it. “This way.”

  As he guided her to the exit and out of the tunnel, Keltor used the time to pack away his emotions. A ruler never showed desire, fear, or a multitude of other feelings, not even to his own brother. Transmissions may be secure, but a prince had to act as if someone were always listening. Weakne
ss was akin to a death sentence for more than himself.

  And with the Kelderan colony on Jasvar being so new, Keltor needed to focus on any problems or obstacles facing his people on the other planet. If the Brevkan ever discovered the Kelderan colony, it could start another war. After all, Jasvar was a low-tech colony and probably wouldn’t stand a chance against the Brevkan warriors and their more advanced technology.

  They reached the final exit point, which would lead to the main corridor. Keltor motioned toward a small side room. “You can dry off in there first, if you like. It’s probably best if we’re not seen coming out of here together, with both of us wet. That would raise too many questions.”

  Even though he’d known the words would create distance, he still didn’t like the hardness of Azalyn’s face. “As you wish, your highness.”

  Bobbing his head, Keltor left Azalyn to her own devices. His brief glimpse of happiness was over. It was time to become the heir to Keldera once more.

  Chapter Seven

  Azalyn barely paid attention to her surroundings as she walked toward her new living quarters. What she’d planned to be a private cleansing session of her thoughts—to mourn the truth and path of her life—had turned into in a fun session of teasing and joking around with Keltor.

  Even though they were both older and slightly more mature, the minutes spent in the water maze room had reminded her of old times.

  It also reminded her of why she’d fallen for Keltor as a teenager.

  Beneath his royal facade was a warm, teasing male who loved nothing more than to hold his treasured female close. His cold, distant nature was by design, to fulfill the expectations held by Keldera about their one-day king. To spend most of his time behind the royal mask had to eat at him.

  She wondered how any of Keltor’s humor had remained intact.

  Not that she could afford to care about such things. Yes, she’d enjoyed listening to Keltor’s heartbeat as he held her in his arms. But the time inside the water maze room had been a fantasy. One that could never exist in public.

  Lightly slapping her cheeks, Azalyn willed her mind to forget about Keltor and his warm, muscled chest. Kelzal was her life now, and she needed to remember that.

  She finally reached the tall, wide door to her new quarters and pressed her hand to the scanning plate. A handprint scanner was more secure than a mere finger one. She’d have to thank Keltor later for his thoughtfulness.

  The door slid open, and she waltzed into a small room, only to find another scanner. She repeated the process two more times before she finally made it to the entryway. The sight of the high ceiling, complete with view screens around the perimeter showing birds in flight, garnered her full attention.

  Ever since she’d been a girl, Azalyn had loved to listen and watch the birds. Keltor must’ve remembered that.

  Rather than dwell on that thought, she studied the movements of the birds as they pumped their wings. She itched to find a sketchpad and drawing utensil to capture their motion. Azalyn hadn’t drawn anything since being kidnapped from the Kelderan colony ship a few weeks ago, and she was eager to do so again. Sure, she’d had a lot of free time during her medical confinement, but she’d lacked inspiration. Between the garden and the view screens, she now had it in spades.

  But Kelzal was waiting for her, so Azalyn forced her gaze from the view screens and headed up the staircase. Kelzal’s section, including his research lab, were on the second and third floors.

  The upstairs corridor consisted of plain, pale blue composite material. What the walls lacked in decorations made up for it with small alcoves of electronic devices and components. She could just imagine Kelzal picking one up and working on it for a few minutes before switching it out with another one. She was going to have to make an effort to better understand his world. Azalyn lacked his knack for technology. Or, rather, the patience required. She’d much rather use the time to outline a new painting.

  Reaching the door at the end of the hall, she pressed her finger to the scanner. After a few seconds, the doors opened.

  Kelzal stood on the far side, next to a long table filled with hundreds of tiny things she couldn’t identify. A large computer workspace was on his other side.

  Since Kelzal rarely remembered to acknowledge anyone’s presence when engrossed in his work, Azalyn walked up to him and said, “Hi, Kelzal. Any progress?”

  He never looked away from the tiny processing board in front of him. “Wait forty-five seconds.”

  While tempted to count out loud to see if he was as accurate as usual, Azalyn restrained herself. The sooner he could pause in his work, the sooner she could ferret out the news he’d spoken about earlier.

  Kelzal finally met her gaze. “I’m at a good stopping place. I’m hungry, so let’s go to the kitchen, and I can share my news.”

  He didn’t wait for confirmation. Azalyn merely followed him down the stairs and through a few doorways to the kitchen and eating area. Judging by the cooking surface and refrigeration unit, the place was designed for homemade cooking instead of just replicator fair. Azalyn had never had time to learn how to cook before because of her acquisitions position with the Sulani merchants. Maybe she could fill up her days that way.

  Kelzal ordered a meal from the replicator. Once it was done, he moved to the table, sat down, and said, “Let me start by saying our section of the palace is secure. No known listening devices will penetrate my defenses.”

  Her son’s news must be sensitive indeed. “What do you need to tell me?”

  “I contacted Toralyn successfully.”

  At the mention of her daughter, Azalyn leaned forward. “And?”

  He took a bite before replying, “I didn’t tell her about you. But she’s safe and busy working at one of the Sulani merchant shops.”

  Not for the first time, Azalyn wondered if she’d ever ran into her daughter by mistake at one of the Sulani shops. “Is that all she talked about?”

  He shrugged. “The only other important piece of information she shared was her thoughts about joining the next group of colonists to Jasvar, if given the chance. The pressure to find a lord is growing stronger and she doesn’t want to procreate yet.”

  Since most Kelderan females had their first child by age twenty-five and Toralyn was twenty-two, society and her parents would expect her to make a serious effort to marry. “She has a few years. If Keltor has any say in the matter, there will be several more waves of colonists to Jasvar. And maybe if I can get Keltor to commit to some conditions regarding his offspring, then she won’t have to leave at all.”

  “The prince avoided you for a week. Somehow, I think negotiations aren’t going well.”

  She decided not to reveal her recent encounter with Keltor just yet. Considering it might’ve been a fluke, she didn’t want to give Kelzal false hope.

  Kelzal continued eating his food, so Azalyn prodded. “And what about your meetings with him? Maybe with his help you can put forth some conditions and change the laws.”

  “I’m not good at bargaining or persuading someone of something. It’s why I hire people to do it for my company. Besides, he and I have nothing in common.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you would find something in common if you’d stop avoiding him and canceling nearly all your scheduled meals together.”

  He shook his head. “I have no desire to do so. The male I knew as my father is dead, and I don’t need a new one. Besides, I have a new plan.”

  She tried not to think about how Kelzal could say the same about his adopted mother. “Which is?”

  Kelzal met her eyes. “If I help him find a bride and procreate again, then I can give up my place in the succession.”

  A surge of jealousy coursed through her body, but Azalyn put it aside. Keltor wasn’t hers. “And how, exactly, do you plan to do that? Forgive me for being blunt, but you aren’t very good at reading social cues and emotions. Finding a bride requires doing both of them.”

  “Emotions mean n
othing in this instance. The prince merely needs a potential destined bride. Then he can easily procreate.”

  Azalyn frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  Her son took another bite of food before replying, “The royal family suffers a genetic defect that makes it difficult for them to reproduce. Over the years, due to a slew of scientific experiments that enhanced their baser urges and instincts, there is an inner force that all royals have with regards to compatible mates. It makes it easier to keep the line alive and healthy.”

  Scrunching her nose, Azalyn asked, “Wait, what? How do you know this?”

  “The one good thing about being confined to the palace and Keltor recognizing me as his son is that I’ve been given access to some confidential records. I have no desire to be king, but I was curious about my genetics. Potential destined brides was just one item I discovered.”

  “So this means I was…”

  “You were one of his potential destined brides. Keltor’s genetically altered biology means it’s easy for you to conceive his offspring. If you didn’t detest him so much, I would suggest you pair with him. You may be forty, but you have a few childbearing years left. However, from what I can deduce, you have no desire to do that. So I’ve begun a search on my own. Another son for Keltor equates my freedom.”

  Kelzal fell silent, meaning he had nothing else to add. Which was good, as Azalyn needed time to process his findings.

  Keltor had never told her about destined brides, let alone how it meant she could conceive so easily. No doubt it was why she’d become pregnant with twins after one encounter.

  If she hadn’t experienced Keltor’s tenderness earlier in the day, she might think he’d planned to get her pregnant so that she’d have to marry him. The younger version of Keltor had probably thought a pregnancy would’ve swayed his father, even though present-day Keltor had revealed earlier that it wouldn’t have made a difference.

  She sometimes wondered how anyone survived the naivety of youth.

  But such deviousness warred with what she knew about Keltor. She had a hard time believing he’d use trickery to claim a bride.