Warlord's Wager

by Gwynn White

  Again, that dangerous smile Axel always used to such good effect. “So, I hear tell there has been some change in the hierarchy. I’m now crown prince, if the rumors are to be believed.”

  Lukan tried, and failed, to gauge Axel’s feelings toward that promotion. “The story of Lynx’s and Tao’s desertion is . . . disheartening in the extreme. I still can’t believe it myself. My own brother refused to swear allegiance! Not to mention my wife.”

  Sorrow twisted Lukan’s face. Now that the initial shock had passed, he felt nothing but remorse for Tao’s loss. It was why, after much consideration, he had decided to let his brother live with Lynx. They would be company for each other, help and support during the long, lonely years that lay ahead of them in that cottage in the forest.

  With Lynx’s obsession with Axel, it was unlikely she would welcome Tao into her bed. And if she did, well, he would separate them, for that was one part of Lynx he refused to share with anyone.

  Skepticism flickered in Axel’s eyes, quickly suppressed. Axel eased himself down onto the leather sofa in front of the fireplace. It irked Lukan that he hadn’t waited for permission, but he reminded himself that this was Axel.

  “So where are they?” Axel asked, a slight edge to his voice.

  Lukan spent a moment analyzing it and then decided it was perfectly normal. Axel and Tao had been close, and Lynx, well . . . they both knew what Lynx meant to Axel.

  The question was, did Tao and Lynx mean more to him than Malika? And a rapid promotion? And all the money Axel could spend? By the end of this meeting, Lukan would know. “Let me ring for your father, and he will explain.”

  “Since when have you been incapable of speaking?”

  Lukan considered a tart reply but then decided to keep the peace. He joked, “Emperors don’t have to speak. It’s a perk of the job.”

  He rang for Felix. The bell was new, designed to humiliate his Lord of the Household. That, together with Morass shadowing Malika had worked a charm.

  Felix looked both incensed and concerned when he flung open the door. All that vanished when he saw Axel.

  Felix let out a long sigh. “My boy! Thank the Dragon you’re home. Good to see you, my son.”

  “You, too, Father,” Axel said without bothering to stand.

  “Felix, all this family togetherness can wait,” Lukan said. “Axel wants to know about my brother and my wife.” A smirk skirted Lukan’s lips. For all his conniving to get Axel on the throne, Felix would now be complicit in the scheme to deceive his son.

  Felix would be the one to tell Axel that Lynx hadn’t bothered sticking around to discover if he’d survived the poison quarrel he’d taken for her. How delightful.

  Felix had suggested he be excused from this meeting, but Lukan had refused. It was wonderful watching his uncle juggling the needs of his children—something Mott would never have done for his sons. Lukan had even insisted that Felix put on a good show for Axel. He sat back to see how his uncle performed.

  Felix sank down onto the sofa next to Axel and pulled out his handkerchief. After some intensive nose blowing and wiping, he said, “They’ve gone. Plotted together, then skipped.”

  Axel leaned back against the sofa, then flinched. “Gone? Like what? Vaporized? Sent to Galec Prison Camp? Fed to the wolves?”

  “Of course not,” Felix hissed, sounding suitably outraged. “We are not animals, Axel. With Mott’s death, we have a new start in Chenaya.” A hand wave at Lukan. “The emperor and I are determined to change things. But when senior royals don’t support us, it causes uncertainty amongst the masses.”

  Axel snorted a laugh. “Forgive me for not believing the spin, but I’ve been part of this family for too long.” He folded his Norin boot, a rough-looking thing, across his knee. “So where are they?”

  “Here, see for yourself.” Felix dug into his pocket and pulled out his informa, which he tossed to Axel.

  Axel caught it without taking his eyes off his father. Face riddled with doubt, he brushed his thumb against it to activate the footage Felix had ready for him.

  Lukan and Felix had agonized over this piece of film for days, arguing over shots. Finally, they had agreed on a seamless clip, starting with stark-naked Lynx, hanging onto Lukan, declaring she would never swear allegiance. It was followed by her and Tao, no injuries visible—Lukan cursed Morass for beating Tao up like that—running down the docks, scaling a rope, and disappearing onto a ship bound for Kartania. The image stopped when the ship sailed out of the harbor and out of range of the cameras that lined every dock in Cian.

  Felix had wanted to lace together some of Lynx’s words to say that she no longer loved Axel, but Lukan refused. It was bad enough that Felix had disobeyed him by putting a camera in the cellar in the first place.

  Lukan’s smirk widened as a flush of red, then white infused Axel’s face. It must have seared the great Axel Avanov to hear the woman he loved asking Lukan to take her to bed. Lukan swallowed, remembering what followed. He would spit blood before Axel ever learned about that.

  Axel tossed the informa on the table as if it were a snake. “So, you’re telling me they’re currently on a ship headed for Kartania?”

  Lukan rubbed his hands together. “To the best of our knowledge, yes.”

  “And no effort was made to board this ship?”

  “By the time the footage was reviewed, the boat was in international waters.”

  Axel scoffed. “And that would stop a gunboat and a boarding party?”

  Lukan faked a shocked expression. “I am not my father, Axel. I don’t intend to spend my reign as emperor starting new wars with our neighbors. Thus far, Kartania and Chenaya are at peace with each other. I intend to keep it that way. If Tao and Lynx want to leave, well, as much as it pains me, good riddance. They have betrayed us both.” He patted Axel on the shoulder.

  Axel’s wince suggested that Lukan’s fingers came satisfyingly close to the quarrel wound.

  “The good news is that you are now crown prince. In addition, as we have always discussed, I would like to make you my Lord of the Conquest. But first you have to win the war in Treven. I want those ice crystal mines, and nothing can get in the way of that objective, even if you have to kill every man, woman, and child to achieve it. When you declare victory, I will appoint you my Lord of the Conquest.”

  Another jeering smile. “So much for wanting peace with our neighbors. Has King Jerawin joined the fray yet? I was supposed to be on my way to destroy Lapis before Morass plugged me.”

  Lukan smarted that not once had his cousin called him sire or Your Majesty. He ignored the affront. Axel was like a wild animal, one that had to be coaxed in carefully and slowly. Once in the cage, the door would be sprung, and Axel would be trapped where Lukan could monitor and control him.

  “The brief is simple. You will secure the ice crystal mines for Chenaya. That includes subduing any nation that gets in the way. I anticipate that three months will be enough time to achieve a victory. That is what you implied you needed before the wedding. Once the conflict is over, you will return to the palace to be my right hand man.”

  “So you have no objection to warring against some of our neighbors?”

  “My father started the war in Treven. If Lapis chooses to fight us, we will retaliate. It would do our reputation no good if we crawled out with our tails between our legs.”

  “If I return victorious, will Morass find something else to do other than chaperone my sister?”

  Felix hissed in a breath, and even Lukan’s head jerked up at Axel’s bluntness.

  Lukan’s voice was cold, his body stiff as he answered, “Morass is there for her protection. Everyone knows Malika allied herself with Lynx. I want to ensure no one takes it upon themselves to harm her for her disloyalty.”

  “Strange,” Axel said, equally icy. “I would have thought a rabid guardsman with jumped-up aspiration would pose a far greater threat than any normal high-born.”

  Felix gripped Axel’s arm. “Son,
you have your job to do, and I have mine. Why not listen to our emperor and set your mind to thinking about Treven?”

  Lukan suppressed a grin. How it must have riled Felix to have to say that to Axel when Lukan knew how much his uncle despised Morass.

  Axel ignored his father and stared at Lukan with his tiger’s eyes. Lukan’s skin crawled, and he longed to make Axel stop, but that would show weakness.

  Axel stood. “It has been a fascinating meeting. I assume I will be taking Stefan with me to Treven?”

  “Ah, not so fast.” Felix shot Axel a loaded look and lumbered to his feet. “Colonel Zarot is required here. He could not possibly leave Cian.”

  Axel frowned in surprise, and then his face cleared. “Of course. I see that.”

  Doubt nipped at Lukan. The two of them seemed to be plotting against him. What did they know about Stefan Zarot that he didn’t? “Why’s he needed, Felix?”

  “He proved unreliable with King Thorn,” Felix said. “His entire handling of the Norin transaction left much to be desired. At one point, the airship was threatened and Zarot did virtually nothing to defend it. The man even stowed the cannons, if you can believe it. Hid them under canvas, even though my son’s life was threatened by an unruly mob bearing burning torches. We could have lost Axel if the Dragon’s Claw had burned.”

  Lukan looked at Axel for confirmation. Not that he needed it. He had been monitoring the events on the Dragon’s Claw, too, and knew exactly what had happened just before Lynx had spoken to her father. Stefan’s behavior had been textbook, given the situation.

  Axel nodded. “He was also obstructive and not particularly attentive while I was ill.” He shrugged dismissively. “It would probably be better if he stayed here. Some discipline, perhaps.”

  “Yes,” Felix agreed, “being friends with the royal family is often very destructive to ordinary Chenayans. They get above themselves.”

  Lukan didn’t miss the veiled reference to Morass. Voice icy, he replied, “Then I will ensure that Colonel Zarot gets the discipline he needs.” Lukan studied Axel’s face for any sign of discomfort at this threat to punish his friend, but Axel looked disinterested.

  After a lifetime of being tortured by Axel and Stefan, Lukan didn’t buy a breach in their friendship for one second. Felix and Axel wanted Stefan in the palace. There had to be a reason for it, and Lukan intended to find out what it was.

  Axel grinned. “Well, it looks like I have an exciting new career ahead of me. I’ve been wanting to get that mess in Treven cleaned up for some time.” He turned to his father. “Give my best to Mother. Tell her I’ll see her when I come in for the next High Council meeting.” He scooped up Felix’s informa and slipped it into his pocket.

  Felix didn’t seem to notice.

  Lukan considered challenging Axel, then decided against it. If his cousin wanted to relive the agony of watching Lynx in Lukan’s arms, good luck to him. It could only strengthen Lukan’s hand.

  “Of course, my boy,” Felix said. “May the Dragon go with you.”

  Axel stopped short of a full eye roll at the mention of the Dragon. “I will take a few minutes to speak to Malika, though.” He started for the door.

  Not a chance!

  Panicked, Lukan turned to Felix. “Ring for Axel’s aides and an honor guard to accompany him to the airfield.” To Axel, he added, “We have your bags packed and ready, and a new uniform awaits you on the Dragon’s Snout. Your honor guard will accompany you now so you can be on your way.”

  Axel let out a quiet breath. “I can find my own way.”

  “Nonsense! I can’t have my warlord carry his own bag. You will be accompanied from my office to the airship with all the honor and dignity that becomes the post.” Lukan walked Axel to the door and handed him over to a contingent of guardsmen who would see him safely out of the palace.

  Axel had his chance to prove his loyalty by securing the ice crystal mines in Treven. If he failed after three months, Malika would be executed. No quarter given.

  Chapter 25

  Felix pushed open the door to Katrina and Tatiana’s sitting room, silently cursing, as he always did, the skeins of wool hanging behind the door that swung out and smacked him in the face. Needing a moment alone with Tatiana, he had sent Katrina on an errand.

  As expected, Tatiana was alone, filing her nails. She looked up in surprise when he pulled his wife’s armchair up close to hers, just as he’d watched Axel do before the meeting with Lukan. But unlike his son, Felix didn’t toss the lovely new scarf Katrina was knitting onto the floor. He placed it carefully on a side table for her.

  Unbeknown to anyone, he had installed a camera in Katrina’s sitting room after Malika had chosen to spend the coronation with Tatiana instead of swearing allegiance to the crown.

  Nail file poised in the air, Tatiana growled, “Felix? To what do I owe this honor? You never come in here if you can help it.”

  Tatiana was right. All those dogs leering at him from behind ferns were quite off-putting. Not to mention all the wool fibers that got his sinuses twitching. But with Morass trailing Malika and Axel dismissed to Treven, garish porcelain dogs were the least of his worries. “We both know that Axel paid you a visit today.”

  Tatiana’s face paled, but she quickly covered it up with the grimace that had passed for her smile ever since Mott dumped her. “Is that against the law? You know new emperors. They bring in so many changes, it’s hard to keep up. By the way, Katrina will lose her mind when she learns that this room is bugged.”

  Felix scowled. “Your lack of respect to the emperor is a matter of grave concern.”

  “Oh lighten up, Felix. You and I go back too far and too long to dance around each other. In fact, I have very clear recollections of you putting frogs in my bed when I was about seven years old.”

  Memories of that carefree time flooded Felix’s mind; he allowed a flicker of a smile. It faded quickly. “I am well aware that, like Malika, you did not attend the coronation. Your attitude is going to get you killed.”

  Tatiana scoffed a laugh, making her chest rattle. It didn’t offend Felix; he knew from Katrina how worried Tatiana was about Malika. “Felix, if you shout about it like that, then every guardsman monitoring us in your lair will know about it, too. By tomorrow, there won’t be a single person in Cian who doesn’t know that I failed to swear my allegiance.”

  “Be quiet, Tatiana! Only I have access to the footage from this room. Do you think I would be talking to you about my son and daughter if that wasn’t so?”

  Tatiana’s shoulders may have relaxed, but the same couldn’t be said for her eyes; they gleamed speculatively at him. Friendship notwithstanding, he imagined her mentally rubbing her hands together. He expected nothing less from Mott’s ex-mistress.

  As tedious as it was, he was in for another round of haggling with women to get things done. He hoped this time it would go better than it had with Lynx. Tatiana, who had no children of her own, had almost been a surrogate mother to Axel and Malika. That lifelong influence offered Felix his best—possibly his only—chance of securing his son and daughter’s safety. So, no matter what Tatiana said, he could not let her rile him.

  “Welcome to humanity,” Tatiana drawled. “Axel always was the chink in your armor. Now, what is it that you wanted to speak to me about?”

  “Axel wants you to find that Norin bitch.”

  Tatiana started filing her nails again. “What’s in this conversation for me?”

  “Freedom from incarceration or death.”

  “Pah!” The woman had the temerity to toss her nail file at him. “Really, Felix! Save your histrionics for people who care.” Tatiana shot forward in her chair until her nose was almost pressed up to Felix’s. When she spoke, she stunned him with the acid in her voice. “I am no longer the lover of the emperor of Chenaya. I’m a fifty-five-year-old has-been. I gave Mott the best years of my life, and what do I have to show for it? Nothing! Not even a child to call my own.”

  Felix w
anted to point out that this had nothing to do with the matter at hand, but he knew Tatiana too well. Once on a diatribe, nothing would stop her.

  “I spent decades playing dice and drinking chenna in smoke-filled rooms with you, and Mott, and all your cronies, my face and health ravaged with each smoky breath I was forced to endure,” she continued, her voice laced with unanticipated venom. She thumped the arm of her chair. “Then, my darling sister had no qualms about helping herself to my lover when my beauty died. What man will look at me now?” She lashed out at his chest with her fist. “Finally, in one lousy shot, my ex-lover’s brother and son finished off the job of destroying my life. By murdering Mott, you and Lukan wiped out the last vestiges of hope I had of holding on to any of the status I enjoyed in this dump.”

  The accusation in her eyes and fury in her voice had Felix reaching for his handkerchief. The impact of Mott’s death on her had never once crossed his mind. A bit late to learn that she raged against him when he so desperately needed her support.

  “So, don’t bother trying to frighten me with threats. I couldn’t give a damn. And by the way, I take grave exception to you calling Lynx ‘the Norin bitch.’” She eyed his handkerchief disdainfully.

  He used his nose-blowing ritual to buy time while he considered his options. It appeared she knew him better than he’d surmised. He shoved the cloth back into his pocket and opened his mouth to speak.

  Taking advantage of his hesitation, she snapped, “So I ask again—what do I get out of this?”

  Felix closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath. “You know what Lukan is doing to Malika. If Axel doesn’t toe the line and deliver in Treven, I suspect Lukan’s punishment will be to kill my daughter.” He took a breath and added, “Almost your daughter, too. I know how you feel about Malika.”

  He grunted with satisfaction as Tatiana’s perfectly penciled-in eyebrow twitched, and then her face crumpled into concern.