Dark Rain

by J. C. Owens

  Hredeen cupped a hand beneath his chin and turned his face so that they were eye to eye. “Who? Which one of the candidates have you had contact with?”

  Taldan blinked. “This has nothing to do with him.”

  A slow smile. “Then there was someone. Taldan, you are meant to be with one of these men. For life. Do you not feel that the gods would have a hand in that? That they would guide you to that person?”

  Taldan wanted to groan, but that was beneath his station, and certainly something he had trained himself out of long ago. That it was cropping up now only showed the true depth of the problem.

  “There was an incident. One of the candidates, Lord Raine, was assaulted by his older brother, Parsul, the current leader of Odenar.” He had never been able to give anything but complete truth to Hredeen.

  Hredeen made a sound of concern and sat up straighter. As leader of the harem, the man had a well of empathy and concern for others that seemed endless. The complete opposite of Taldan.

  “Is the boy all right?”

  “The matter is done. Raine has two cracked ribs and shows a plethora of old wounds and marks that point to a long history of abuse. I may not be able to do anything about the past, but I have handed the matter of the assault that occurred here, within Anrodnes’s legal purview, over to Naral. He will see the courts take care of it.”

  Hredeen ran a hand down his arm until they linked fingers.

  “This is serious then. A leader of a country…”

  “A fool of a leader apparently. One who did not have the foresight to study our laws, even if he did not implement them within Odenar. That also will come up. Odenar is part of the empire. Each time we change a law or implement a new one, that information is sent by personal messenger to each state, each country, no matter how remote. There is no excuse for the man’s actions.”

  He gave a weary sigh, for once able to dredge up no energy. That in itself was so highly unusual that he had no reference point to compare it to.

  “This could turn into a political headache for the Imperial Throne. I can see we are going to have to send a team to Odenar to oversee a policy review. Perhaps we have let them believe that they are too far away for us to properly rule them.” His tone grew colder. “They will find out differently.”

  Hredeen swept back his long blonde hair in a graceful motion that set Taldan’s heart to beating faster. He met Taldan’s gaze, his beautiful eyes knowing. “But seeing this Raine harmed has affected you, my prince.”

  Taldan looked down at his long, fine fingers twined with Hredeen’s smaller ones. “There is nothing like you are imagining. I simply tended to Raine’s injuries.”

  “Personally?” Hredeen’s eyebrows shot up.

  “The attack happened right before me. There was no need to wake a physician so early in the morning. I was there.”

  “So you only saw this candidate once…”

  Taldan shifted a little, wondering ruefully why he could never retain a proper distance with this man. Somehow, even in the beginning, the line between prince and concubine had always been blurred. Hredeen called them friends. Taldan was not completely sure what that meant or how it defined the relationship between them only that it was complicated and yet not at all difficult. It made no logical sense…and yet he couldn’t deny it was true.

  “I tended to him the next morning.”

  Hredeen tilted his head, narrowing his eyes. “Really. That seems odd for you.”

  “He was harmed in my very home. I suppose I felt responsible in some manner.”

  “There have been instances before. You have always relegated them to the appropriate authorities.”

  Taldan shrugged, then gritted his teeth at the telling, foolish gesture.

  “I wanted to make sure that the injuries were not worse than I had first assumed.” He hated that there was a note of defensiveness in the words.

  “I have never heard you have the least bit of doubt in your diagnoses before.” Hredeen had that tone. That cursed tone he used when he was trying to lead Taldan to some revelation regarding his own emotional nuances.

  “Is he a pleasant person?” Hredeen asked. “Handsome? Is he one of those who think only of themselves, of their looks and position?” There was true curiosity in Hredeen’s questions.

  Taldan gave him a disbelieving glance. “I would love to appease your curiosity, but I didn’t notice a thing about him, apart from the fact of his former abuse and that he is painfully thin.”

  “Nothing else? I thought I heard rumors that this Lord Raine from Odenar is the one who practically worships the ground you walk on. The one who is poring over your works like they contain the answers to the universe itself.” Hredeen teasingly nudged his shoulder.

  “He has been a concern to Naral from the beginning. Naral is convinced that Raine is playing a role, conniving, attempting to convince me that he is my perfect match.”

  “Naral is convinced. What about you?”

  The question drew him up short. He sat and considered it seriously, thinking back to his interactions that morning.

  “I don’t know.”

  Hredeen burst out laughing and leaned against him. “You don’t know? I think that is the first time I have heard you utter those words!”

  Taldan shook his head, a little surprised himself.

  “He certainly held a degree of knowledge about what he wants to know, and it was oddly specific if he is just trying to play a part.”

  “I heard he is asking for information on the research you did into earthquake-resistant housing? And then that you actually offered him the papers.”

  Taldan turned to glare at him. “Why do I bother telling you anything at all? Honestly, I should just make you the head of security. My brother and Naral don’t know half of what you do. That was only two hours ago. How in the world…?”

  “I have my sources.” Hredeen’s look was all sultry mischief, with a smattering of smugness thrown in for good measure. “Naral needs to be far more curious if he is to be effective in his position. He needs to develop a web of informants, as I have.”

  Taldan’s glare intensified. “You aren’t using Weis and Nie are you?”

  Hredeen scoffed. “The Shadows? Can you truly imagine them gossiping?”

  No, he couldn’t, but he was also cognizant that Hredeen hadn’t directly denied it.

  The concubine was as wily and hard to pin down as a bush-tailed zar.

  He would have to have a word with his two Shadows. He had thought them inviolable. Perhaps he had overestimated them, or perhaps he’d underestimated Hredeen’s web of information.

  “Well, Raine seemed genuine in his interest. I offered him any question to ask me.” He grimaced as Hredeen leaped on that.

  “Any question? And he asked you about buildings? Either he is a skilled actor or a genuine young man who is quite fascinated with architecture.”

  “I imagine that is the thing to ponder.” Taldan finally rose and began dressing. He was done with this conversation.

  Hredeen leaned back in the mussed bed covers and watched him dress with clear appreciation.

  “Yes. We’ll have to find a clear and definitive answer, won’t we?”

  * * *

  Raine

  Raine straightened in the chair with a groan, easing stiff and aching muscles from the long hours he had been hunched over the papers, making notes and trying not to get pulled into the prince’s words so much that he forgot his purpose. His ribs still ached too, a deep burning that was hard to ignore.

  He was inside the library, his favorite place in the world. There was so little time. Tonight was the announcement of the next thinning of the candidate ranks down to twelve. He had no doubt that he would not be going on, and each moment was precious, each word he was reading priceless.

  His mind was flying with ideas with each new insight, and his fingers were cramped and aching from attempting to keep up with writing them all down.

  He had heard nothing more fr
om Parsul, and he could admit to a bit of vicious satisfaction that his brother had not been able to continue his tirade. The fact that there had been no word from him was relieving and concerning in the same breath.

  Even if this incident had been revealed, and there had been murmurings of a law being broken, Raine could not imagine that there would be more than a mild chastisement in Parsul’s future. He was the empire’s territorial governor of Odenar, the one who ruled in the emperor’s name. A rank that was inviolate. At least in Odenar. It was less certain here, in this place of true power, but the fact was that, after tonight, Raine would be expected to return with Parsul. A return to the hellish existence he knew so well.

  He wanted to flee, wanted to disappear into the vast lands that comprised Anrodnes. Yet, he was well aware that there was no hope of success. He would stand out in this place of strangeness. He was so much shorter than the average citizen here, with black hair that marked him as foreign more clearly than anything else. His eyes were green, not a common color here at all.

  Perhaps there were countries to the north that were more varied, but here, in the capital, most were tall and blond, with dark blue eyes.

  He closed his eyes as he leaned back. Perhaps, if he had been more intelligent, he would have been researching the possibility of escape, information of all the surrounding lands and their people. Not still attempting to find a purpose in his own country.

  “You seem troubled,” a smooth, melodious voice said.

  He shot out of the chair and stumbled, landing in a tangled heap upon the library floor, grunting with pain as his ribs protested sharply.

  “Oh, dear. I apologize for startling you,” a man with purple eyes and gorgeous blond hair said. “I had not realized that you were so unaware of your surroundings.” There was not the slightest negative tone in the words, yet Raine felt that danger had slid into the library in a way that he had not felt here before, not even with Lord Naral, or even Prince Zaran.

  A hand was offered to him, and he took it gingerly, getting to his feet and flushing painfully as he realized the entire contingent of those within the library were staring, a taut silence holding everything in thrall.

  The man before him waved a negligent hand. “A small accident. I beg everyone to go back to what they were doing.” There was charm in the manner, and yet Raine felt chilled as beautiful eyes—where they truly purple?—met his.

  Everyone obeyed, for a wonder. Who was this man that held such power? No one that Raine had seen. No one that he had studied before his arrival here, in preparation for his task.

  The person was beyond beautiful in a way that seemed otherworldly, impossible. He was only slightly taller than Raine, and lithe, with the build of an acrobat or perhaps an athlete. Lean but coated with muscle. His casual stance held a hint of fire, of energy barely leashed, and although he was smiling, Raine felt there was a strange mix of warmth and intensity there in those eyes that watched him with deadly focus.

  His hair was very long, braided and looped in some sort of complicated pattern, looking like spun gold. Around his neck was an incredibly beautiful, incredibly valuable collar that hung down, splaying flat across his chest. A mosaic of precious gems and priceless metals, it was intricately linked, a treasure that could have bought an entire city if Raine’s dazed calculations were correct.

  He bowed hastily. “I apologize. I was caught up…”

  The man turned back to the table and traced a long, perfectly manicured finger over Raine’s notes. “So I see. You are fortunate to be able to view the imperial prince’s original writings. To my knowledge, you are the first one to do so.” The man’s tone was painfully neutral.

  Raine swallowed nervously, running a hand through his hair. “I am beyond grateful for his patience and kindness. I have not been the best guest in his home.”

  A fine eyebrow rose. “Oh? All I hear about is you, from the first day even.”

  Raine bit his lip, glanced away. “I am not a terribly social person, my lord. It seems from the time I got here that I have made nothing but missteps.”

  “I am no lord. You may call me Hredeen.” The smoothness of the tone and the challenging stare indicated that it was an honor to use that name regardless.

  Raine nodded. “As you wish. I am pleased to meet you, Hredeen.” He met that intense gaze with difficulty. “Is there something I can do to help you? Is this to do with the selection process tonight?”

  Hredeen seated himself again with a smooth grace that Raine longed to emulate. The man oozed sexual appeal, wore it like a cloak about him. His powerful aura made Raine even more uncomfortable than before.

  “Ah yes, the selection process. Tonight will see twelve candidates go home, tails between their legs.”

  Raine frowned, then cleared his throat. “I hardly think it is quite so dramatic. They were simply not right for the position of bondmate. I do not see that as a slur upon them. There can only be one, after all.”

  “And do you see yourself as that one?” Hredeen had put an elbow on the table and was resting his chin on his hand as he watched Raine, those eyes full of secrets. It was like attempting to see something through shifting curtains. Raine pitied anyone who underestimated this man, whatever his position might be here.

  He couldn’t help it, he burst out into a laugh, drawing frowns from others in the library. He put a hand over his mouth, but couldn’t help but keep smiling.

  “The one? No. I am proud and astonished that I have made it this far. I know that tonight I will be told to go home. Tomorrow…” He trailed off, the smile slipping away into wistful longing. “I just wish that I had had more time here.” He waved a hand to indicate the library. “You are so fortunate to have all this at your fingertips.”

  “So you are completely sure you will be turned down?”

  “Do you want a straight answer to that, or a politically embroidered one?” Raine met the stare head on, tired of the innuendo in this man’s words that he could not understand. He was plainspoken, always had been, and he was tired of being on the wrong foot here. The Choosing was over for him, and he had no reason to try to fit into any mold these people expected.

  There was a hint of surprise on Hredeen’s face, that expressive eyebrow rising once more.

  A slim hand waved slightly. “Oh, by all means, let’s hear the straight version.” The doubt in the words made Raine’s temper rise ever so slightly.

  “Forty-eight of us were chosen to come here. We all know that that was merely to placate each region, to make them believe that they were being fairly represented in this matter. That was quickly trimmed to twenty-four. I am sure that those who are making these selections have known for several days who they are going to choose for the twelve. They might even have ideas about the six. Let’s face it, I have given a negative impression from day one because I could not focus on the goal. My heart has never been in this competition, and I am sure it showed. Instead, I have roused concern in Lord Naral, Prince Zaran, and now you. If I had had a chance at the beginning, it is now long gone.”

  “Yet you have had the private attention of the imperial prince himself.”

  Raine touched his damaged ribs and then rolled up his sleeve, showing the intense bruising where Parsul had brutally held his wrist. “Do you truly believe that I would go through this in order to gain his attention?” He shook his head. “Perhaps that is the way this world works. I wouldn’t know. If there was a plan to gain His Imperial Highness’s attention, then it was not mine. The prince was kind enough to ignore that and give me aid. Beyond that, there was nothing.”

  “You do not seek the position at his side?”

  Raine attempted to ignore the clear skepticism. “Truthfully? I think it would be a slice of heaven itself to be his bondmate, to see his genius at work, day after day. But emotionally? I believe it would be a mistake to see this as anything but a traditional cultural expression. There will be nothing between the bondmate and the prince. Anyone who imagines that they can hav
e power in that way is a fool.”

  Hredeen leaned back in the chair, a graceful, sultry sprawl that highlighted his beauty. He eyed Raine in silence for long moments, head tilted, regarding him with the look of a man working on a particularly problematic puzzle.

  “Your brother is power hungry,” he finally stated.

  Raine snorted softly. “He always has been. He seeks to use me to gain favors, if not here, then somewhere else. That is no surprise to anyone. I am his tool, but I am not a mindless tool. I have my own thoughts, my own wishes, simple though they might be.” He felt old defiance, almost forgotten rebellion rise up, stubbornness working to the surface.

  “Isnay has told me that you wish to remain here, go to college.” The neutrality in Hredeen’s tone had returned.

  Isnay was speaking to a great many people it seemed. Much though he liked the man, Raine was going to have to watch his words. He had to remember Isnay had loyalties, and they did not lie with Raine.

  “If I had free will, yes, I would remain here and immerse myself in learning. Then, once I knew enough, I would want to take it out into the field, actually see things built that I had designed.” He shrugged a little ruefully as he sank down into his chair that he had left so precipitously. “I love theory, but I am too practical to be content with that. I need to see it in reality as well.”

  “Word for word, that could describe the imperial prince.” Hredeen smirked, something cold lurking in his expression.

  “I will not retract my words.” Raine lifted his chin and met Hredeen look for look. “I fail to see how important this all is. One way or the other, I will be out of your sphere in the morning. You need not bother with me at all, or are you simply speaking to all those who will be leaving?”

  Hredeen leaned closer, and those eyes were mesmerizing, so beautiful as to be otherworldly, making Raine stare into them almost helplessly. “You intrigue me, Raine from Odenar.” He tilted his head, smiling, those pretty eyes flashing. “What is your secret?”