However, being a potential destined bride had bigger implications. It meant Keltor was one of the few males who could probably still give her a child.
No. Azalyn wasn’t about to use him for her own wants. But Keltor most definitely owed her a conversation and an explanation about why he’d kept such a big secret from her, especially when she offered her body to him all those years ago.
Moving to the computer terminal in the kitchen, she typed out a meeting request. Azalyn had many questions that only Keltor could answer. She only hoped she could keep her wits about her when she saw him. Unlike the future king, Azalyn wasn’t as skilled in hiding her emotions or temper, especially when it came to a certain male.
~~~
A green light blinked at the corner of Keltor’s private comm unit, denoting a waiting call. Sitting taller in his chair, he said, “Computer, receive transmission.”
The dark blue hair and golden-skinned face of his younger brother appeared on the screen. All of Kason’s markings were a dark blue, denoting calmness, which was expected of a former general in the Kelderan Army.
Because Keltor outranked him, Kason waited for him to speak first.
So he did. “Kason, it seems the transmission towers project was completed successfully.”
“There is only one tower completed for long-range use,” his brother replied. “The others are still under construction as we find ways to use Jasvarian resources in place of Kelderan ones. However, the long-range tower is functioning, as you can see. But that’s not why I wanted to talk with you. Is the line secure on your end?”
Keltor resisted leaning forward. “Yes. Is something wrong? Did Kalahn run off again?”
“No, our sister is behaving for the moment. We’ve found an antimonarchy sympathizer amongst the colonists.”
Keltor resisted frowning. “I thought Ryven and Syzel had investigated all the colonists and rooted out the traitors.”
Ryven and Syzel were both high-ranking Kelderan warriors. They had taken over command of the Kelderan colony transport ship when the original general, Thorin Jarrell, had left to rescue his eventual bride.
Kason grunted. “They did a thorough job. However, the female we found is a good actor.”
He did frown at that. “Female? Since when do our enemies have female leaders and spies?”
“I don’t know, Keltor. It’s part of the reason I’m calling. Has father changed his strategy regarding the antimonarchy extremists and gathering information?”
“No, he still refuses to place informants among their ranks.”
Kason growled, “Then change his mind or act on your own. Because if the use of female informants and troublemakers is widespread, then you could be in more danger than you know. Especially if this problem exists within the Barren citadels.”
The Barren usually lived in isolation, away from populated areas, in complexes known as citadels.
Keltor could blame Kelderan ways on underestimating females, but that was merely an excuse. Given what his sister had done over the years, he knew firsthand that females could be as sneaky and clever as any male. “I will figure out a solution. I assume you’re investigating all Kelderan female colonists now, as a precaution?”
“It’s underway. If we find more, I’ll contact you. The interrogation notes on our current captive should appear on your screen in a few moments.”
He barely noted the confirmation of the files. “I know Kalahn will hate it, but keep her under guard and secluded for the time being. I can’t risk someone kidnapping or murdering her.”
“She’s staying with the Jasvarians, in their innermost dwelling area. Few Kelderans are allowed entry. She’ll be safe there.”
The Jasvarians were human colonists, and for the most part, they lived in carved out rooms inside the mountains. Kason’s bride, Taryn, was their leader.
Keltor replied, “Only because I know what your bride is capable of am I going to trust her to guard our sister. Still, check on Kalahn daily to ensure she hasn’t fooled her guards and escaped. Kalahn is more charming than she should be.”
“You mean more rebellious than she should be.”
“That, too. And one more thing—make sure to look after yourself, too, brother.”
“Of course.”
Silence stretched. As much as Keltor forgave his brother for chasing away Azalyn more than two decades ago—their father had been the main one responsible anyway—they had little in common. Kason had joined the Kelderan Army at sixteen, meaning he’d rarely lived in the palace after that. Keltor had spent the majority of his time with tutors and learning how to rule a planet.
And now Kason lived on an alien world. There was little hope of ever having closeness.
Just as Keltor was about to sign off, Kason spoke again. “I heard about your son and Azalyn from Thorin’s bride. Are you handling it okay?”
Careful to keep his face expressionless, he said, “My feelings aren’t important right now. I must devise a way to find and displace any female traitors on Keldera. I won’t be seeing much of Kelzal or Azalyn until after the coronation. We will mostly have separate lives.”
Kason grunted. “Tell yourself that you’re too busy if you wish. But my bride is pregnant, and I’m going to be a father myself before too long. I hope you have the same vow as me—to not act as our father did during our childhood and to treasure the gift of a child instead of using them as a mere tool.”
With that, Kason signed off and the screen went blank.
Rather than dwell on his brother’s parting words, Keltor brought up the interrogation notes for the traitorous female. She hadn’t revealed much, but she implied that she wasn’t the only female working for the greater cause.
If only Keltor had time to screen potential female candidates, train them, and place them undercover. From his years exploring the main population centers in disguise, Keltor knew where most of the antimonarchy groups met and planned their attacks. It was just a matter of placing someone he trusted inside the enemy ranks. One person wouldn’t be able to do it alone, but it would at least be a start while he put more permanent structures for intelligence gathering in place.
True, he did have one potential pool of fully trained candidates, but their skills were too valuable to waste on mere espionage. That was if his father even granted him the ability to use them in the first place.
A message flashed on his screen from Azalyn, asking for a meeting. At her name, it dawned on him that he had someone he trusted who had also spent decades living under the radar. Neither Kason nor Keltor had been able to locate her. And with some skin color covering and a makeover, no one would recognize her.
The only question was whether he risked Azalyn’s life or not.
Of course, that was a king’s way of thinking, to weigh risks and costs against results. However, Azalyn had been someone special to him, and he would never risk her life without her consent. He would talk and ask for her help. If she said no, he wouldn’t force it. And if she said yes, Keltor would show her what he knew and how to navigate the extremists’ ranks safely.
Not wanting to think of how it gave him an excuse to spend more time with her, he confirmed a meeting with her later in the day and made preparations in case she agreed to the assignment.
Chapter Eight
Azalyn sat outside Keltor’s main conference room and tapped one of her feet. She was the type of person to arrive ten minutes early. Unfortunately, that meant more time to stress, worry, or fume over what was to come.
And considering Keltor had kept a big secret from her about what she was to him, back when they’d been much younger, Azalyn was impatient to find out the truth.
The door finally opened and three older males in long robes, which indicated that they were royal councilors, filed out. A few seconds later, Keltor appeared in the doorway. “Come in.”
She stood and followed him inside. Keltor took a seat at the long, oval table and motioned to the spot next to him.
Azalyn s
at at the opposite, far side of the table because if she sat next to him, Keltor might be able to distract her from the purpose of their meeting.
To his credit, Keltor didn’t so much as blink an eye at her small act of defiance. He laid his hands on the table and asked, “What did you wish to speak to me about?”
Azalyn had never been diplomatic with anyone but a potential customer, so she spat out, “Why didn’t you tell me I was one of your potential destined brides?”
His brows furrowed slightly. “How do you know about that?”
“The how doesn’t matter. Why didn’t you tell me? If I’d known about how you could probably get me pregnant by staring at me, I would’ve been more careful.”
Keltor’s voice was calm as he said, “I hadn’t intended to claim you until we married. What happened between us was unexpected.”
She stood. Keltor was retreating behind his royal facade, and she wasn’t having it. “That’s all you have to say? That it was ‘unexpected?’” She walked up to him and pointed her forefinger. “All these years, I’ve felt guilty for not telling you about Kelzal. For almost begging you to claim me the night I took you to those old ruins. And you knew what that could’ve brought. If you hadn’t broken my heart already, this would do it all over again. Because despite knowing it was highly likely I carried your offspring, you didn’t find me.” Her voice lowered. “You abandoned me, regardless of consequences. Maybe you aren’t the male I thought you were.”
She moved to turn away, but Keltor was up and lightly grabbing her shoulders before she could do so. He gave her a gentle shake. “Look at me, Azalyn. I want you to see the truth in my eyes when I explain myself.”
Since she wasn’t a coward, Azalyn took a deep breath and met his gaze. If she’d expected to find emotion, it wasn’t there.
And that only wrenched her heart further.
Keltor spoke again. “The real reason I didn’t say anything is because I wanted you to love me for me. Not because I was a prince with a palace, in need of offspring. Not because one day I would be king. And to my surprise, you did fall in love with me for me, Aza. I was going to tell you eventually, once we had a date for the official claiming ceremony. But then the special night with you happened, and you were gone. My brother and father said you were betrothed to another. Logically, I knew there was a chance you carried my offspring even though I was careful and spilled my seed on the ground. But when I couldn’t locate you and the day of your supposed claiming ceremony came up, I decided either you hadn’t conceived or you thought it was from your intended lord. I had no way of knowing until recently that my father lied about your intended.” He leaned closer, and fierceness filled his gaze. “While I can’t deflect all the blame—I should’ve told you the full truth—we were both pawns of my father when it came to his vision of the future. I’m sorry I never found you. I’m sorry I never told you about being a potential destined bride. And I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to decline your offer to claim you. In everything else, I’m a rational and collected male. But with you, I can’t seem to control myself.” Keltor lowered to his knees. “I can’t change the past, but forgive me, Azalyn. I was a young fool and I hurt you. On pain of death, I vow to never do it again.”
At the sight of Keltor kneeling on the ground, begging for her forgiveness, tears prickled her eyes. Despite the pain and deception, she still wished they’d had a chance at spending the last twenty-three years together rather than apart.
Because with her, Keltor was a male and not a prince. He was merely himself, with all his faults on display.
And despite everything, she still cared for him. Maybe not love, but she definitely didn’t want him begging on his knees.
Foolish as it may be, Azalyn kneeled as well. “I agree we can’t change the past. But if there’s anything else I should know, tell me now, Keltor. Because if I find out you’re keeping more secrets concerning us—ones that aren’t kept secret out of planetary security or some other such important reason—I will keep our relationship formal and distant. I won’t have my heart broken again, which happens every time I learn of a new deception.”
She was aware of how hypocritical she sounded, considering the secret of Toralyn, but she would tell him as soon as Kelzal allowed it. The circumstance may not be as vital as protecting the planet in the grand scheme of things, but if Keltor’s son were to ever accept the responsibility of ascending the throne, trust would be required.
Cupping her cheek, Keltor murmured, “There is something else. I went looking for you. Once Kason told me the truth not that long ago, I donned a disguise and visited every Sulani merchant I could find. Every time I went in, pretending to have wares for sale, they’d fetch the acquisitions partner. My heart would thunder in my chest, only to be disappointed when someone other than you showed up. I had no idea you’d signed up for the new colony.”
Her heart rate kicked up. “You went looking for me?”
He smiled. “Yes. I had expected to find you married with children. Still, I wanted to apologize for what happened all those years ago.”
As Keltor strummed his thumb against her cheek, Azalyn simply gazed into his eyes. For him to don a disguise and go out alone was dangerous. Of all the things she could’ve said, she growled and whispered, “That was a stupid thing to do. You could’ve been killed and then where would Keldera be?”
Something she didn’t often see—humor—danced in his eyes. “Kason would’ve been forced to come back. I expect his human bride would’ve brought her dagger-wielding female warriors and scandalized the planet.”
She lightly hit his chest. “That’s not funny.”
He shrugged. “Finding you and apologizing was a priority because of how important you were to me once, Aza. Although I must admit, I’m glad to still be alive. And not just to help steer change on my planet, but because it means I found you again.”
Azalyn stopped breathing. Maybe she was reading too much into his tone of voice, but it almost sounded as if he…still cared about her. Maybe even wanted her.
The years melted away. It was as if she were still a teenager with her darling prince in front of her.
Her lips ached to take Keltor’s. But Azalyn was older and not about to chance her heart without certainty.
Gripping Keltor’s wrist, she removed his hand from her cheek. Confusion flashed in his eyes. Before he could stand and walk away, Azalyn spoke again. “There’s much I want to say, but none of it matters. Even if we don’t kill each other and find a way to rekindle what we once had, there’s the matter of Keldera. You must take a worthy bride to secure peace, end of story.”
His expression turned hungry. “You want to rekindle things between us?”
“Let’s not play the what-if game, Keltor. It’ll only cause more pain for the both of us.”
Before she could do more than blink, he hauled her body up against his and leaned down to her ear. At his warm, muscled chest pressing against her, she had a hard time concentrating on his words. “There may be a way for you to become my bride, Aza. It even involves a little danger, which you love.”
Careful to keep her hope bottled up, she asked, “What are you talking about?”
“If you become a spy and help to save Keldera, no one would question me taking you as my bride.”
~~~
Despite decades of training and tutoring on what it meant to be the heir to the throne, as soon as Azalyn had hinted about maybe still wanting him, everything else fled his mind. For a chance to maybe get what he wanted, as well as to keep her from escaping before he could say what needed to be said, he hauled her up against his body.
And as soon as her soft body touched his, desire rushed straight to his cock. He could try pretending otherwise, but he wanted Azalyn. He always would.
Maybe, just maybe, he might be able to win her, too.
So when she asked her question, he murmured, “If you become a spy and help to save Keldera, no one would question me taking you as my bride.”
He smiled at her dry tone. Azalyn would never bow her head and acquiesce to his every whim.
And that was exactly what he wanted.
Focus, Keltor. It’s time to fight for her. “I will explain in detail and answer your every question. But I won’t be able to think properly until I do this.”
Leaning down, he kissed her.
Without hesitation, Azalyn opened her mouth and accepted his tongue. Her encouragement stirred a baser urge, and Keltor devoured her mouth as he moved his hand to her plump rear.
At the movement, Azalyn hugged him closer and dug her nails into his back. Every time he tried to stroke and take control of her mouth, Azalyn fought back to do the same to him.
She wasn’t afraid to take what she wanted.
And it was glorious.
He would’ve gladly coaxed her to the ground and taken her, but his blasted communicator beeped three times, signaling a call. Azalyn broke their kiss at the sound. “That might be important.”
Nipping her bottom lip, he growled out, “It can wait. If it were important, it would beep five times.”
The corner of her mouth kicked up. “What if it beeped eight times? Does that mean the world is ending?”
Without thinking, he lightly slapped her rear. “Don’t be ridiculous. Six is enough. Those two extra beeps could spell disaster.”
She laughed. Watching the crinkling of her eyes lightened his heart in a way he hadn’t experience in years.
When she finished, Azalyn merely tilted her head and asked, “So care to tell me about this plan of yours? It’ll help me decide what to do next.”
At the playfulness in her gaze, he smiled. “I can’t wait to see what that is.”
Moving a hand to the nape of his neck, she lightly stroked his skin. At the soft touch, he wanted to bury his head in Azalyn’s neck, pull her close, and never let go.
The Heir (Kelderan Runic Warriors #3) Page 8
