Guardian of His Heart [Guardian 2] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove)
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Kelley told Royce and Mason, who had just arrived, to tell their people to be very careful because there were still many “accident” traps out there. Kelley started showing Mason what he was talking about. He also told the guard of the overheard conversations and supplied the names he had obtained and the color of their dragons.
Frederico just wanted his mate and was consumed with taking him home. Royce whispered to the king that Kelley might want to leave because he overheard a few of the royal guard making jokes about him being such a queen. The king called his people together, first thanking them for coming to his aid, and then he addressed his guard, making sure every one of them was told in no uncertain terms that the king was alive and well, due entirely to Kelley.
Kelley squirmed as the king spoke, embarrassed that he was being the center of attention.
Frederico told his men that the “twink” the men were making fun of as useless, was, in fact, an army medic who did two tours in Afghanistan. Frederico stated proudly that he was also a survivalist who made sure the king had food, water, and a safe place to recuperate. The king told of Kelley watching over him, taking bullets out of him, and setting his leg. He told them they had better change their attitudes, or he would find new royal guards, as a few of them had already fallen into Kelley’s traps. As the men turned to Kelley to apologize, with mouths still gaping open in surprise, and before the king could forbid him once again from leaving, Kelley smiled then walked into the forest, and, doing a move his dads had taught him, he simply “disappeared” right before everyone’s amazed eyes.
While some took care of the Frederico, other dragons looked for clues as to who had tried to harm their king. They found several things that could be used to identify them. The king was gently carried out of the forest to the nearest airport where, by now, his jet stood waiting for him.
Even though he didn’t want to, the king had to return to his country to restore order. It appeared an all-out civil war was brewing in Saibina.
Margaret’s quest for the throne was causing major problems for the people of Saibina. She had repeatedly tried to overthrow the monarch in his absence, but the king’s guard wouldn’t obey her, and they had foiled her attempts for the moment. Margaret had other problems as well. The people she was doing business with were requiring her to sign contracts so they could cover their own assets. The people she wanted to gain her wealth from were not about to be left hanging out to dry if the oust went south.
Thankfully, dragons made contracts for every transaction, be it a babe being born or major business events. Being a very organized society, they believed in having paper trails. These documents had saved many a life in Saibina over the centuries.
After Frederico was on board his jet, Royce and Mason gave the king documentation showing that Margaret, Saber’s shamed surrogate, had gone after the throne. Before she had even sat down on it, she had already signed contracts with mining companies, which would destroy their beloved country. It would also make Margaret very wealthy, as she intended to keep all the profits, sending the monies to a private Swiss account set up entirely for herself, not even sharing with her brother, Bruce.
Margaret’s brother had been mildly cooperative with the royal guard, having already been taken into custody for his own safety. When Bruce had been told of his sister’s betrayal, at first he didn’t believe it. But Royce had the documents showing exactly what arrangements Margaret had made, in effect leaving her brother high and dry.
Bruce was then shown another contract Margaret signed, this one to have her brother assassinated. With the king no longer on the throne, and Margaret taking over, her older brother, Bruce, was legally the next in line, not Margaret. By having him killed, she eliminated any competition for her claim to the throne. He kept quiet at first, but in his heart, he knew Margaret Dragonslight was capable of anything as she coveted the crown. Bruce knew she honestly believed she was entitled to it.
Margaret’s great-grandfather was at one time king. He was poisoned by the king’s consort, his wife, who was executed.
The family of the king’s consort was stripped of their titles. Their lands and treasures were impounded, and they were never again allowed to become involved with the royal family in any way.
The new queen, Margaret’s grandmother, tried to contract commercial mining of gems in Saibina, making herself a very wealthy woman. Because dragon society tolerated no devious behavior by royals, Margaret’s grandmother was stripped of her birthright to be queen, leaving her entire family out of the royal loop.
Margaret’s mother had no hope for herself or her heirs of ever reaching the throne.
Chapter Eleven
Saber was tired. He had not slept for two days, first due to the rescue of the king, and second, because Margaret was causing so much trouble, he had to stay on duty at the palace, ready for anything. Ty finally dragged him off to bed for some much needed rest.
While Saber slept, sometime that night without any warning, and in the king’s absence, Margaret seized the throne.
Saber had learned too late that Margaret had a spy in the palace and used her wisely. When the opportunity became available, she grabbed it. She had herself declared absolute ruler and empress of all dragon kind with the puppet high council she had installed a few minutes prior.
When two hundred mercenaries stormed the palace, it became an all-out fight as the guards inside tried valiantly to hold off the invaders. Being outnumbered, the king’s guards still managed to get the upper hand until two hundred more mercenaries came in behind them. The fighting raged on for hours as the king’s men refused to give in. The guards fought until they ended up in front of the prince’s chambers. Margaret now knew the throne was within her grasp.
Sometime during the night, Saber and Ty were awoken to fighting in the hallways. Not knowing what was going on, Saber called out, but no one answered. He grabbed his sword, opened the door, and took one look at his old friend, Vanstac, who told him to run. Shutting the door quickly, he threw the lock. He would have joined the fight a few years ago, but he had a family to protect now. He and Ty grabbed their clothes and started to the children when, to Saber’s disbelief, the door to the nursery was thrown open.
“There you are,” said a man holding a long sword with blood dripping from it. “We have been looking for you, Domenic.” The man not using the prince’s title was a show of disrespect. “Is this your little whore we have all heard of? Perhaps I’ll give him to the men for a while. Well, never mind, you two, first things first. You’ll be coming with us now.”
“Touch him and I will gut you like a fish,” Saber said in a deadly quiet voice.
“Temper, temper, prince of nothing. It won’t go well for your children if you defy me. Now put the sword down, or I’ll let you watch me ‘gut’ you whelps.” Saber dropped his sword. Saber may fight to the end of his own life, but not to the end of his children’s.
With that, the prince was hauled out of the room, leaving Ty to three equally horrible-looking men with swords of their own. Ty was dragged next door and told to get his “brats.” With a crying baby in each arm, he was taken down dark stairs to a large door. It was opened, and he, along with the toddlers, was shoved into the room with the door being locked behind him.
Ty was terrified as he stood with his babes in his arms in the cold room.
“Who’s there?” a low, frightened male voice said.
“My name is Ty. I’m Prince Domenic’s mate. Who are you, sir?”
“Oh, Your Grace. Isn’t it awful?” the voice said as men gathered round him as if to give comfort. “My name is Leeston. I am on the council. We were all thrown in here a few hours ago. I heard them say the women would be put in the grand ballroom. I’m not sure what is going on, but I overheard one of those terrible men say Margaret would be pleased with their work tonight. I only know one Margaret. Remember the lady who was shamed and sent home when she violated the surrogate’s trust?”
“Oh, no. Not her.”
* * * *
Prince Domenic, “Saber,” wearing chains, was dragged into the throne room where Margaret sat, looking bored. He was dropped in front of her.
“Well, hello again,” the empress cooed.
Saber looked up at her and said, “Do you know what you have done? How many lives were lost tonight because of your greed? Was this really worth over a hundred lives?”
“Some sacrifice had to be made,” Margaret said, looking at her nails. “Now kneel before your empress.”
The prince just laughed. “Empress? My, you are ambitious aren’t you?” When his knees were kicked in from behind, he did kneel, having no other choice.
“I have decided what your future shall be. From now on you will be my surrogate, at my beck and call. You will have no power whatsoever. I have personally picked out a lovely room for you to live in. I think you’ll like it. It doesn’t have much of a view, but it does have a window, so you can watch the seasons go by,” Margaret said with a smirk as she fluttered her fingers in the air.
“What makes you think I would ever lower myself enough to touch you? I’m not that hard up, thank you anyway,” Saber said with his head high.
The would-be empress snapped her head up, glaring at him. “You will perform well for me, or I’ll give your little whore to my men to play with. Perhaps your little boys?”
“Margaret, not even you are that low,” Saber spit at her.
“That is Empress Margaret to you, surrogate. Take him to his new quarters. I’ll give you some time to make your choice.” She laughed as he was led away.
Saber suspected Margaret knew having Dragonovic children would help legitimize her reign.
While all this was occurring, Bruce, Margaret’s brother, sat all alone. His sister had promised he would be involved in everything— revenge, money, and power. Instead, here he was, completely bypassed yet again in the royal guards’ custody at Devil’s Prison.
When he was told what was happening, he was angry beyond belief, once again being lied to by his sister. Bruce demanded to speak to the commander of the prison then started talking and was, of course, recorded and documented, which he signed. He believed his sister was insane. As much as he would like his own revenge on Saber and Frederico, he hedged his bets just in case Margaret pulled something on him. Which, of course, she did.
When King Frederico returned home, he was heartbroken to discover the facts he had been given were true and his palace was under seize.
When the smoke cleared, the “Empress Margaret” sat upon her throne of gold. She had been smart enough to instate a puppet high council who would do her bidding. No longer would the high council decide who should rule. They would now answer to a crazy woman. Margaret instated her mother as the dowager empress.
Only the Dragon High Council could revoke or instate a royal family. The council decided who would bear the burden of caring for Saibina. When Margaret’s family was disinherited because her grandmother tried to destroy the country with commercial mining, it was the council who stripped the Dragonslight family of its power to ever rule again. But Margaret so hated the king, her focus was completely on him.
The king was informed that although his royal guards had fought valiantly to save their prince, standing at one hundred fifty-three strong inside the palace when Margaret’s mercenaries took over, they didn’t stand much of a chance against four hundred. They had all died that night in defense of their prince and his family. Unfortunately, as was dragon custom, the last of the men were no mercy. Palace staff and their families were dismissed and allowed to leave, replaced with those deemed loyal to Margaret after being “interviewed.”
Margaret placed a fox and wolf shifter on retainer to help with the interviewing of new staff. They could smell lies and any form of deceit. Just what Margaret needed.
After removing anything that could be used as a weapon, the high council and their families were divided by gender. The women with girl children and babies were placed in the grand ballroom, as it had eight bathrooms. Men with boy children down to three were placed in the grand conference room, as it had four bathrooms. The new guards knew it would be a good tactic to separate the families so they could be used as leverage for control of the prisoners.
Ty and the twins had been taken to the grand conference room with the other men. Ty was terrified. He knew Gabriel was next in line after Saber then Ryan. This made him fear for their little three-year-old lives. A “trial” had been set up for the following week, and Ty knew what was coming. Margaret would find some trumped-up charge to have Saber, himself, and the babies murdered. He was also afraid for the high council. She would definitely want to get rid of them.
King Frederico, his commander of the guard, and captains worked relentlessly on retaking the palace with as few casualties as possible. Not knowing the location of the prince, his family and the high council made storming the palace very risky indeed. They needed information from the inside, but all the king’s staff had been replaced.
A small woman named Mary Spawnstone, without anyone’s knowledge, took it upon herself and applied for the position of linen servant under the new ruler, saying during the interview how she felt women should be given higher standing in the royal family and she had no problem at all serving her “empress.” She was hired. What no one but her family knew was that Mary had the ability to mask her emotions so well, even the wolf and fox couldn’t smell her lies. As a linen servant, she virtually had free rein of the palace and proceeded to gather information for her king. Mary’s father became sick with a mystery illness at one time a little over two hundred years ago. When it was brought to the king’s attention, Frederico had his finest physicians take over the case. Bringing Mary’s father, Carlos, and his family to the palace, the illness was researched, and finally with help from a Fae healer, they discovered a cure. The king personally visited Carlos every day and made it his business to check on the family making sure they wanted for nothing. Mary held her king in high regard after that and always wanted to find a way to thank him for his kindness.
She discovered the same guards were at their posts daily, never varying in number or time. She counted how many and when the guards changed posts, etc. She knew where Saber, the prince, was being held, along with his family and the high council and their families. Mary found out where Margaret’s guards were housed, and she even knew what time everyone ate and who delivered the food. Having been shown as a child by her mother, a palace cook, and after gathering all the intelligence she could, she used one of the secret passages in the palace, coming out where there was no outside wall.
Getting out of the palace by means of the passageways was easy. One simply had to know where the entrance doors were and how to unlock them. With their design, however, getting back in without inside help was nearly impossible. As Mary appeared from one of the outside doors, she called out, telling the guard who she was and that she needed to see the king or his commander immediately.
Mary was shown to their quarters. Upon entering, she bowed to the good king and stated her business, telling everything she knew. When asked how she knew all of this by the suspicious commander, she stated she had an almost photographic mind and could mask her emotions. She was so sincere the king believed her, as he had long ago learned how to read people. That and he remembered her and asked how her father was doing.
With this new information, the door opened for the king to retake his throne. He knew his council would show up any time now, as they had standing orders telling them what to do in an emergency and where to go.
Mary made her way back into the palace and just happened to be available when it was time to feed the guards, as one of the kitchen servants hadn’t shown up for duty. Mary knew where the servant was, but wasn’t going to mention that he wouldn�
��t be awake for several hours, as she had given him a sleeping potion. Friday evening, she went about her task of delivering food and drink at 9:00 p.m. to the empress’s guards and those of the dowager empress and her consort. After consuming their meals, the guards were out cold within fifteen minutes, complements of Mary’s potion. The guards watching the doors where the council members were locked in for the night, and the guards manning the prince’s small quarters, were out just as rapidly, Mary having doctored their meals.
The women of the high council prepared themselves to leave. After listening to the guards snore while quietly standing at the door, Zarla, a member of the council, stealthily approached a large wall panel across the room. She stroked the top, gently running her finger across it. The hug wall panel was programmed to open for members of the council and the royal family. The panel moved backward about three feet and then moved to the left until it cleared the passage way. There were candle lanterns just inside, so Zarla handed one, after lighting it, along with an extra candle and a box of matches, just in case, to approximately every tenth woman. The children had been told they were going to play a new game that evening, so they had to be very quiet. The women moved toward the secret entrance, bringing all the children. After counting noses, Zarla went through herself. She pushed her fingers into six holes in the back of the doorway. The door closed, and six thick, two-foot-long rods locked the door shut.
Zarla picked up the last lantern then followed everyone, making sure there were no stragglers. The tunnels were very dark, even for shifters, so they were all thankful for the lights. She picked up a stray child along the way, walking what felt like miles because she was frightened. Zarla reached the outside door and went through. Just as she stepped outside, the men and boy children followed her out. That left Prince Domenic “Saber” inside.
With his orders from the king, Mason had his men begin their assault at 10:00 p.m. that same evening, four hundred heavily armed troops entering four secret doors in the palace. Under his guidance they scattered, going into rooms the mercenaries didn’t feel needed guarding. At 11:00 p.m., the battle began. Mason and the king’s troops did not hesitate. They cut through the men, who betrayed their king, like butter, still outraged at what had happened to their brothers. They killed Margaret’s guards, showing them the same mercy they had shown the king’s royal guard, killing even those drugged after waking them up. They were made aware what was coming. Mason saw to it personally.