by Ann Mayburn
He would have lost his mind hours ago if he hadn’t abruptly felt waves of love, so strong they brought him to his knees, resonate through his bond with Lacey.
“Did you really think you could betray me and I would not find out?” Lady Melissi’s image gave Gwarnon the haughty, smug look he hated so much. “That I was oblivious that you were Lord Rell’s lapdog? I have been aware of every one of your pitiful attempts to thwart me. That is why you fail again and again—so pathetic, so stupid. It is a wonder you didn’t choke yourself to death on your birth cord. Why, of all my children, are you the one that survived? Such a waste.”
Gwarnon, used to his mother’s manipulations and caustic words, refused to fall for her bait. He knew without a doubt she was entirely ignorant to the majority of his maneuvers against her. If she had even the slightest clue as to some of the things he’d done to chip away at her empire, he would have been dead long ago, only son or not.
“What do you want, Mother? I have a meeting with the High Congress in a few minutes.”
Her smug smile returned, a vicious pleasure gleaming in her silvery gaze. “I just wanted to look at you one more time before I break you.”
With that, she ended the connection, and Gwarnon let out a low growl. “What is that bitch up to?”
“I do not know, but Lord Rell has contacted me and told me to help you stand strong. That what is to come is going to hurt, but that new dreams rise from the ashes of old ambitions.”
He glanced over at Chel, the green of his armor bringing out the pale green flecks in his blood brother’s hazel eyes. Gwarnon expected to see panic or worry on his brother’s face, but Chel seemed almost serene somehow. Even though it stung, Chel had a stronger bond with Lacey than Gwarnon did. He knew it was partially his fault, but he could not help the envy he experienced knowing Chel could feel their alyah better than him.
“How is she?” he asked Chel on their psychic link.
“Happy, but also worried and anxious,” Chel responded. “Her implant is still blocked to us, so I cannot communicate with her, but wherever she is, she is not in danger.”
“And she is not on Earth, not if we can still feel her,” Gwarnon added, reassuring himself. “Once this is over with, we will find her.”
A high security message came through his implant from Lord Rell.
Trust Lady Elsin and Lady Yanush, though it will go against everything you believe. Take Lady Yanush’s punishment.
“Did you get that?” Chel asked aloud in a shocked voice.
“I did,” Gwarnon said, then replied via his implant, “What does it mean?”
The walls around them flashed three times, warning that a stimulation was about to begin.
Gwarnon had enough time to stand from his chair and make sure his uniform was in order before the walls grew hazy. A moment later, they found themselves standing virtually before the Kadothian High Congress.
Looking at the almost full table, Gwarnon let out an inward groan. This wasn’t a good sign. The more members that attended a High Congress meeting, the more explosive those meetings tended to get. At one end, Lady Elsin sat, tall with white blonde hair and the features and presence of an aristocratic queen. On the other sat Lady Yanush, dark where Lady Elsin was light, dressed in a vibrant orange and gold gown that dipped low in front, revealing her ample, bondmark-covered cleavage. They were political enemies, but Gwarnon had heard that behind closed doors they managed to put aside their differences for the good of Kadothia.
Looking down the long table at her opposition, Lady Yanush stood slowly and placed her long, red gilded fingernails on the smooth surface of the table. She glanced down either side at the members of the High Congress and their assistants standing behind them. Then she gave the viewing gallery, full of Warriors and Kadothian citizens, another glance before returning her attention to Lady Yanush.
“Now we move onto the unsavory business of four of our best Warriors breaking their solemn and sacred oath to Kadothia by participating in the Baladium, an action strictly forbidden by the High Congress.” Turning slightly, Lady Yanush gave them both a thin sneer as she said, “And they didn’t even try to hide their presence or make the least bit of effort to be circumspect. They flaunted their involvement, appearing at the Baladium’s victory celebration at Lady Lacey Taylor’s arm.”
“Might I remind you,” Lady Elsin said in her cool, imperious tone, “that these brave Warriors risked life and limb to rescue not one, but two future Matriarchs?”
Lady Yanush gave a slight sneer, her full lips thinning before she said in an equally cool and imperious voice, “But they didn’t know that before they decided to violate our laws.”
“Perhaps they did know, but perhaps they sensed she was there? Clearly, the Lord of Life’s will was involved in this,” Lady Elsin replied as she stood next to one of her husbands, her back ramrod straight.
Lady Yanush gave low chuckle. “Forgive me, High Congress, but did you become the Warrior’s Defender at some point I am unaware of?”
“No,” came a familiar voice from behind Gwarnon’s back, “I believe that title belongs to me.”
When Lord Rell’s holograph joined Gwarnon and Chel standing in the defendants’ circle, Gwarnon tried to keep his relief from showing. From the way Lady Yanush seemed to be out for them, he was afraid they’d have no chance at a fair trial. Especially when he personally knew that nearly half of the High Congress members were either owned or influenced by his mother. They tried to hide it, but a few let their loathing for Gwarnon slip into their gazes.
“Lord Rell,” Lady Yanush inclined her head in his direction. “It is a pleasure, as always.”
Lord Rell sent on a mental link to both Gwarnon and Chel, “Keep your wits, do what I say, and do not lose your temper. If you can do that, if you can keep your faith in me even though what I suggest may seem insane, I promise you, everything will be all right.”
Exchanging a doubtful look with his blood brother, Gwarnon then returned his attention to the High Congress, his most impenetrable social mask locked in place. Chel must have picked up some of Gwarnon’s habits during their years together because his face was equally unreadable, his shields just as tight. They both braced as much as they could for the no doubt bad news.
Gwarnon wondered what it would be. Sanctions, loss of parts of their Territory, or maybe even exile to one of the millions of small, self-sustained islands on Kadothia that served as prisons? Tiny, primitive homes with nothing to do and nowhere to go. It was a bleak existence, and many that were sentenced for more than one hundred years ended up killing themselves or going insane.
A single cool, soothing caress from Chel’s side of the bond helped Gwarnon to drag himself from his dark daydreams and back to a glaring Lady Yanush.
“My Lady,” Lord Rell said in a smooth voice, “we do not disagree that Warrior Gwarnon and Healer Chel made poor decisions, but they did so out of concern not only for the Earth women, but also for their good friends and fellow Warriors, Nosa and Cormac. They sought no personal gain.”
“They should have contacted the High Congress. We would have been able to safely send a delegation to retrieve the women,” Lady Yanush replied with a bite in her voice.
Lord Rell, as unruffled as ever, said, “Our Warriors originally went with the intention of rescuing the women. When it quickly became apparent that there was no way they would be able to remove them from the Baladium, they instead did what they needed to do to save their lives. Lady Lacey Taylor is Gwarnon and Chel’s bondmate.”
“Yes,” Lady Yanush gave them a wide-eyed look, her dark gaze flashing irritation. “Where is Lady Lacey? Oh, that is right, you do not know. How convenient.”
“Lies!” the odious Lord Pompour shouted from near the middle of the table.
The big Warrior married to the Matriarch of a large Territory in the Cliffs of Goeth region stood abruptly, his square jaw clenched as he glared at Gwarnon and Chel. One of Lady Melissi’s pets, Lord Pompour’s hatred fo
r Gwarnon was real after Gwarnon had humiliated the older man by winning a dual against him when he was younger. It had been in front of Lady Melissi’s court, and of course his mother had loved the ability to irritate Lord Pompour’s injured pride every chance she got by taunting him about losing to a child.
Lady Elsin gave Lord Pompour an icy glare. “Lord Pompour, do you have something to add?”
“If they were truly bondmates, they never would have let Lady Taylor out of their sight. They got rid of her because they knew we would soon find out about their duplicity.” He turned to the audience of Warriors, his deep voice booming around the hall. “How convenient for them that this mysterious Earth woman, who somehow managed to defeat the Hive, is now missing and their claims cannot be validated. Tell me, how did two such fine Warriors as yourself manage to lose your bondmate? Is her protection not your most sacred duty? Funny, that if Lady Taylor is not found, you become the inheritors of her Baladium winnings. All that wealth must be very tempting for a man whose real Matriarch supposedly died years ago. Everyone here knows that Gwarnon’s first blood brother found their Matriarch then died. Sadly, men like Gwarnon and Chel, those with no Matriarch to look forward to, fall to the Madness sooner than others. Perhaps that is what happened here. Perhaps they are finally devolving without a Matriarch to keep them whole.”
The beast inside of Gwarnon roared in wounded rage, but through years of training, he managed to keep his response under control.
Even if he did want to leap across the room and beat the shit out of Lord Pompour.
“That is a compelling argument.” Lady Yanush gave Lord Rell an arch look. “Does the Defense have a reply?”
“Actually, I do. If it pleases the High Congress, I would like to call Lady Lacey Taylor as a witness.”
Gwarnon practically dropped to his knees as a hologram of their alyah joined Lord Rell, looking every inch the Kadothian Matriarch she would someday be. Wearing a long vibrant lavender gown cinched at her lean waist with a gold and gemstone studded girdle, she strode across the room like a Warrior, her bright red lipstick gleaming wetly on her lips. His cock tried to stir even as his mind and heart rejoiced that she appeared to be completely fine.
Better than he’d ever seen her, in fact.
Her normally blonde curls now had shimmering purple streaks in them, and a subtle dusting of glitter caught the light along her elegant collarbone and pale skin. With her chin lifted, she surveyed the enormous High Congress hall with no outward signs of fear—a Queen surveying her enemies. This was the woman who had withstood the horrors of the Baladium, and she wasn’t going to let a High Congress intimidate her.
When she caught sight of them, her stern face broke into a stunning smile, and Gwarnon’s heart gave a hard thump. She hurried to their side, her dress flowing out behind her and leaving little golden sparks in its wake. When Lacey reached the defense circle, she reached out as if to touch them, but her illusionary hands passed through what would be holographs of them on Kadothia. Giving them both a bemused look, she nodded at Lord Rell then turned her attention to the High Congress, once again the strong, unsmiling woman who’d made the Hive tremble.
“What is Lacey doing on Kadothia?” Gwarnon mentally sent Lord Rell, but the older man in his dark blue Negotiator armor ignored him.
“As you can see,” Lord Rell said as he held his hand out to Lacey. “Lady Lacey Taylor is alive and doing very well.”
“Hi guys,” Lacey sent via their crystal implants. “You ready to watch me make the High Congress and Lady Melissi eat shit?”
That mental image shocked Gwarnon so badly his cold expression broke for a moment and he gaped at her as Chel mentally said to them both, “Please, my bride, tell me that is some kind of Earth metaphor?”
“I want her arrested immediately!” another of Lady Melissi’s supporters said, this time a Matriarch with flame orange and red hair held back in a glittering crystal net. “The High Congress didn’t approve her application to enter Kadothia. She is here illegally.”
Lady Elsin appeared unmoved by the Matriarch’s outburst as she calmly said to Lord Rell, “Care to explain how Lady Taylor managed to find her way to Kadothia?”
“A few weeks ago, Lady Lacey’s mother, Tara Taylor, became a Kadothian Matriarch,” Lord Rell said in a smooth voice, pausing for a moment as the shocked murmurs and whispers died down. “As you know, Lady Lacey is engaged but unbonded. Her mother had her full rights to bring her daughter to Kadothia. Especially when Lacey’s own infant daughter is here, living with her grandmother.”
“Jillian is five. She’s hardly an infant,” Lacey muttered, ducking her head as she caught Lord Rell’s quelling look.
Returning his attention to a focused audience, Lord Rell lifted his arm, the lights gleaming over the hidden teal blue undertones of his armor. “Who among you would deny a mother her daughter, or a newly born daughter her mother?”
There were a few High Congress members that looked like they wished they could object, but didn’t.
“Be that as it may,” Lady Yanush said placing her palms on the table so her beaded braids fell forward, “There is still the matter of Warrior Gwarnon and Healer Chel’s punishment. As much as I sympathize with their situation, we cannot allow them to break the law without repercussion. We will open the debate to discussion about what punishment is fair and just.”
Various points were debated ranging from all out forgiveness to multiple requests for exile to an island for the safety of Kadothia. It surprised him how many on the High Congress not associated with his mother gave Lacey leery looks, and suggested that she was too dangerous to be allowed to roam Kadothia after her fight with the Hive. More than one High Congress member demanded to know how Lacey defeated the Hive.
Lady Yanush stood at this point, turning to face Lacey with a hard look on her face that made Gwarnon’s gut clench.
“Lady Taylor, how did you manage to escape the Hive?”
“It’s hard to explain,” Lacey said, standing with her back straight and her arms at her side, every inch the Warrior, “but easier to show you. If I may?”
“Lord Rell,” Lady Elsin’s pink lips turned down in the faintest of frowns, “what is she talking about?”
“High Congress,” Lord Rell gave them a little bow. “It is far easier to show you Lady Lacey’s gift than to explain it.”
There was more arguing from the High Congress about the safety of such a display, but Lacey remained calm throughout. She also moved closer to Chel and Gwarnon, and her hand would have been brushing his if they were both physically in the same place. He tried to send her a message, but her crystal implant was closed off to him for the moment.
“I swear to you,” Lord Rell said in a loud, clear voice, “that none who remain will be harmed. The nature of her gift is not offensive. But, if you fear for your personal safety, by all means feel free to leave for the duration of Lady Lacey’s demonstration.”
“Well, now I am too curious to leave and be called a coward,” Lady Elsin’s husband said, and just like that, half the Warriors that stood to depart were once again back in their chairs.
“Clever old man,” Chel sent to Gwarnon. “He managed to give those that are truly afraid, and not just hateful of Earth Matriarchs, a reason to stay.”
Lady Elsin nodded to Lady Yanush who held out a graceful hand to Lord Rell. “By all means, please proceed with your demonstration.”
Everyone looked at Lacey, but her gaze focused off to the side, to one of the massive, shiny black guarded doors leading to the High Congress chamber.
When they opened, he stared in shock at the sight of a little girl who was clearly Lacey’s daughter. While the little girl’s hair was currently an all over vibrant purple that matched the streaks in Lacey’s hair, their faces held the same strong, broad features. The little girl’s brown eyes fearfully scanned the crowd until they landed on Lacey.
“Mommy!” the little girl yelled.
Crouching down, the embellis
hments on her skirt scratching over the stone floors, Lacey held her arms out. “Come here, Jillybean. I want you to meet some people.”
Right away, the little girl ran across the room, the fluffy skirt on her dress changing colors with each step. She was like a bright butterfly as she ran, her smile so like her mother’s that it made Gwarnon’s heart ache. This beautiful little creature was their daughter, and Gwarnon watched in awe as Lacey hugged her tight.
He was so focused on his bride and soon-to-be daughter that it was as if the High Congress and audience had disappeared. It wasn’t until he started to hear the gasps and other sounds of shock that he looked up. Starting with those nearest to Lacey, one by one the members of the High Congress reacted strongly to something he could not see or sense. Some wore stunned looks, while others smiled, and a few had tears rolling down their cheeks. Lady Yanush was one of the later, her tears mixing with an odd, trembling smile as she placed her hand over her heart. Next to her, Lady Yanush’s husband stood and placed a steadying arm around her waist.
Lord Rell, his face and voice softer than Gwarnon had ever seen, turned slowly so he spoke to the High Congress and the audience. “Love. That is how Lady Lacey and Lady Roxy defeated the Hive. When they were mentally linked and Lady Lacey and Lady Roxy were losing to the power of the Hive, Lady Lacey’s last thought was of her family, her daughter, and how much she loved them. Her gift amplified her feelings and projected them, forcing the Hive to feel a mother’s powerful love for her child. As you all know, the Hive is incapable of assimilating or understanding love. The very idea drove the members so insane they committed suicide to end the pain of feeling a mother’s love.”
