Warlord's Wager

by Gwynn White

  Still, the crystal mines belonged to Chenaya, for however fleeting that would be when Axel introduced shotguns to the fray. But Axel’s shotguns would soon be countered with the rifles churning off the production lines in the foundries in Zakar province. How it all would end, Felix didn’t know.

  What he was painfully aware of was how Axel’s treachery still burned. But despite that, he was still thrilled that Axel was scheduled to return to Cian today to a hero’s welcome. It would give him a chance to talk some sense into his son before it was all too late.

  “So I take it you won’t be coming to Axel’s victory ball?” he asked Tatiana.

  Lukan had organized a hunt, followed by a ball to celebrate Axel’s “triumph” in Treven.

  “Who in the Dragon’s name would want to dance with me?” Tatiana pushed her eggs around her plate, sneering at them as if they had offended her. “I sat out every dance at Malika and Stefan’s wedding.”

  “Stefan offered to twirl with you.” He grinned at Tatiana; the day was too perfect to bother hiding his emotions. “You refused.”

  “As if he would want to leave his bride to drag me around the floor.” A pause. “And he was just being kind. The poor man barely had the strength to stand up at the altar.”

  Felix chose to ignore her comment on Stefan’s health after all of Morass’s brutality. “You underestimate yourself.” Felix lowered his voice again. “Both the groom and the father-in-law are immensely grateful for all your efforts in bringing the match to pass.” He coughed, trying—and failing—to mask his appreciative smile. “Even if your methods were somewhat unorthodox.”

  As planned, Malika had arrived at the altar pregnant.

  “Whatever gets the job done. And Lukan’s whips off Stefan’s back.” Tatiana glared at him. “Like you, I have no scruples.”

  When confronted with the pregnancy, Lukan, who had to give permission for all high-born marriages, had no choice but to agree to the match.

  As punishment for impregnating his daughter, Felix had arranged for Stefan to be promoted to general before sending him and Malika to Treven. With the crystal mines in his hands, Lukan hadn’t objected. But perhaps the major reason for his compliance had been a backlash from the Fifteen against Artyom’s death and Stefan’s mistreatment.

  Not even Lukan could get away with killing all fifteen councilmen, so he had agreed to Stefan’s promotion to placate his council.

  Stefan would head up the occupying force.

  Felix’s heart did a little skip.

  At last his daughter was safe from Lukan’s scheming. It also kept her and Stefan away from Axel’s pernicious influence. Stefan and Malika had left Cian early that morning, ensuring they passed Axel in the air. Felix would have liked to have seen them on their way, but he had other, equally important, things to attend to with Tatiana.

  Also, his son was now required to take up his post as Lord of the Conquest at Lukan’s side, and Felix intended to brief him fully on his duties before that happened.

  As a further precaution against Lukan’s depredations, Katrina would soon follow Malika, ostensibly to help her settle into her new role as wife and mother. Felix’s dear wife would stay there under Stefan’s protection until Felix was confident it was safe for her to return to the palace.

  Another scowl from Tatiana. “Sad that Malika’s father-in-law couldn’t express his gratitude, too.”

  Felix shrugged. “Don’t blame me for Artyom Zarot’s death. I am not Lord of the Rack.”

  A throaty snort rattled the phlegm in Tatiana’s throat.

  Felix didn’t want to talk about the death of Stefan’s father. Instead he said, “So, if you are not going to the hunt or the ball, I take it you will go into the forest on your own, as usual.”

  Her sharp eyes fixed on him.

  He smiled inwardly. Tatiana was no fool; like him, she must have figured it was close to Lynx’s due date.

  “Where is Lukan hunting?” Tatiana asked in a voice that implied she was humoring him, making light conversation.

  He wasn’t fooled, either. “Wild boar have been spotted out toward Beech Hedge.” That was diametrically opposite to Ravine Gate, where the path leading to Lynx and Tao’s cottage started.

  “I’ve never liked that part of the forest. Too many obstacles to trap the unwary.” Tatiana’s eyes drilled him. “I think I will go the other way. In fact, I’ll start today. Maybe camp out. Mott and I used to camp out a lot back in the day. I find I miss it.”

  If ever there was lie, that was it; Tatiana had always hated Mott’s enforced forest encampments.

  “I won’t keep you, then.” Felix placed his knife and fork neatly on his plate, dropped his napkin on the table, and stood. “Don’t rush back.” A shallow bow to Tatiana, and he made his way to his lair.

  The first thing he did was to shock all his guardsmen by giving them the day off.

  Now alone, he turned on his electric kettle, the only one in all the world. Then he set out his favorite bone china cup and saucer from which he always drank his hot chocolate. While the kettle boiled, he watched on his informa as Tatiana mounted her horse. She hadn’t wasted any time in packing a small bag and getting to the stable. Felix wondered when she’d realize that she wouldn’t be here tonight to see Axel, either.

  The kettle clicked.

  He poured the water over chunks of chocolate in his cup and added fresh cream. A sip and he smacked his lips in pleasure. Almost absentmindedly, he flicked off the switch that powered the ice crystal shockers and the images of the Dreaded garlanded in the forest near the cottage. With a baby coming, Lynx and Tao would have things other than escape on their minds.

  A grim smile, and he helped himself to a generous slice of Malika’s wedding cake. Then he took his plate and cup to his comfortable chair in front of his electric heater.

  Tatiana had earned his help.

  And one good turn deserved another. Lynx would, he was sure, be very grateful for Tatiana’s arrival when the first labor pains hit. Everything he knew about the Dmitri Curse convinced him that the arrival of the Pathfinder comet would be the ideal occasion for such a birth. Felix had checked; no priestess had been dispatched to the forest to help her. Another sign that Lukan was determined to keep her pregnancy secret.

  Felix clicked his tongue at his nephew’s folly. Without a priestess, the traitorous boy could not be embedded with an ice crystal gemstone. Not only would it be impossible to track him, but, worse, they would loose the opportunity to insert a mind-controlling ice crystal like the guardsmen wore into his head. These could only be inserted in the first year of a person’s life. Felix pushed his irritation aside.

  The day was too extraordinary to let anything worry him. That was tomorrow’s problem.

  Right now, even Lukan would not be neglected in Felix’s magnanimity. The emperor would benefit from his support when the unfathomable pyrotechnic display, signaling the comet’s arrival, burst across the sky.

  Felix pursed his lips and smiled.

  Life in Chenaya would never be the same again.

  Chapter 41

  It was mid-afternoon when Lynx heard a dog bark. A few weeks ago, a starving mongrel had stepped out of the forest into their yard. She and Tao had fed him, and he had stayed.

  Now, too sore to heave her bulging frame outside to check on him, Lynx called to Tao. “Thunder is barking again. That fox must be back at the chickens.”

  “I’ll check.” A door slammed. Tao had been in the barn with Bird.

  Lynx watched through the window as Tao, armed with a bow and arrow, stepped out into the yard.

  “I come in peace. Don’t shoot!” someone, who sounded a lot like Tatiana, yelled.

  “Tatiana!” Tao seemed as startled as Lynx. “What are you doing here?”

  Tatiana and her horse broke cover from the trees. She smiled at Tao’s shocked expression. “Tao, is that really you? You are positively wild. I barely recognized you!”

  Lynx glanced over at Tao in surpri
se. He looked perfect to her. Dressed in rough leather trousers and a leather tunic, his long blond hair had been braided into dreadlocks. A couple of Bird’s feathers dangled on either side of his face.

  “Lynx! You are not going to believe it, but Tatiana is here.”

  Thrilled to see Tatiana, Lynx had already crossed the room. She threw open the door and waddled out into the yard.

  All teeth and claws, the dog’s barking intensified. He lunged for Tatiana.

  Tatiana sprang back, alarmed.

  “Oh shut up, Thunder,” Lynx said, swatting the dog lightly on the back.

  Eyes fixed on Tatiana, the cur immediately dropped onto his haunches.

  “Thunder’s okay. He won’t hurt you. Not now, at least. If you had come a few weeks ago when he first arrived . . . well, he would have had you for sure. But he’s company.”

  “My, the blessing of timing.” Tatiana mopped sweat off her face with her sleeve. Then she slid off her horse and tied its reins to a drying rack.

  Lynx stepped forward to hug Tatiana, but then stopped as doubts assailed her. How had Tatiana made it through Felix’s tripwires?

  “Come sit,” Lynx said instead. But her voice betrayed her doubts. She led Tatiana into the cabin and plopped herself down on one of two new sofas Lukan had provided for her and Tao.

  Tao indicated the other sofa, and Tatiana perched on the edge of it.

  “It’s good to see you,” Tao said fervently.

  Clearly, it hadn’t struck him yet how Tatiana had broken through Felix’s defenses.

  “I would imagine seeing anyone would be good—if Thunder is company.”

  “It depends on who that anyone is,” Lynx corrected, not bothering to hide her suspicion.

  “I hope you are not equating my visit with one of Lukan’s?” Tatiana demanded.

  “You know he comes here?”

  “Of course. I’ve managed to figure out that much.” Tatiana pointed to Lynx’s huge belly. “How’s our baby doing? He seems nice and big and healthy. An important thing with babies, apparently.”

  “Good,” Lynx said noncommittally.

  Tao stood next to her like a bodyguard. He must have sensed her concern at last. Lynx slipped her arm around his hips.

  Tatiana’s face fell.

  That surprised Lynx. Did Tatiana think they were a couple? She and Tao were more like brother and sister than anything else.

  “I suppose Lukan told you about Kestrel’s pregnancy?” Tatiana said slowly.

  Tao stiffened.

  “Not a word,” Lynx said.

  Tatiana watched them both closely, making Lynx wonder what she was thinking. “She went into labor two months ago. Very early for her. A quick birth followed by a serious hemorrhage. It was touch and go for her and the babies.”

  “Babies?” Lynx demanded.

  “Yes. Boys. One blond. One dark. Faces shaped just like Tao’s, in my view. Same fine bones and narrow chins.”

  Now Lynx stiffened. Tao gripped her shoulder, his fingers almost white as he dug into her.

  “Mother and babies are still weak. Struggling, to be honest. But they each make incremental progress in their own way.”

  “What are their names?” Lynx asked, making no effort to move her shoulder from Tao’s vise-like grip.

  “Lukan has called them Grigor—he was born first—and Meka. Grigor has been pronounced the new crown prince. Axel held the title for a while, but never officially. Everyone has taken it as confirmation that you, Tao, are dead.”

  Tao pulled away from Lynx, strode across the room, and leaped out the door, slamming it behind him.

  “Tao!” Tatiana called after him.

  “Leave him,” Lynx snapped. “He needs time and space.”

  Tatiana sank back onto the sofa. “I’m sorry to hurt him, Lynx. Really, I am, but the fact remains that the boys do look like him. Tao needs to know that he is most likely their father.”

  Lynx leaned back in her seat and twirled a feather braided in her hair, considering the implications of the assertion in light of her vision in the maze.

  Then she winced, and her hand shot to her stomach. It was yet another in a series of contractions that had rocked her all day. With Talon’s birth imminent, she needed to discover if Tatiana was a friend or foe. “Felix said the forest was charged with ice crystals.” Lynx’s eyes didn’t shifted off Tatiana despite her hand massaging her belly. “How did you get through?”

  “He dropped them for me. And sprinkled markers for me to find my way. He definitely wanted me here.”

  Lynx clenched her fists.

  “I know that sounds bad, but truly, Lynx, I come in peace to help you deliver your son. I’ve had some practice of late.”

  Lynx didn’t react.

  “If Axel knew I was here, he would ask me to send you his love.”

  Lynx frowned as she considered Tatiana’s words.

  Sadness settled like a shroud on Tatiana’s face. “There is no mystery to this, Lynx. I hatched a plan to get Malika and Stefan Zarot married that got her out of Cian. She, like you, did not swear her allegiance. You know the penalty for that. Felix acted out of gratitude.”

  “I didn’t think he knew the meaning of the word.”

  “He is passionate about his children. Felix’s allegiance is not to Lukan, but to the Avanov family. Lukan posed a threat to Malika, so Felix acted in what he considered to be the best interests of the family—not necessarily the emperor. He sees a difference.”

  Still, Lynx drilled Tatiana with her eyes. “And you, Tatiana?”

  “As instructed to by Cricket, I act in the interests of the baby who will change the world. I am also rather partial to his mother and his Uncle Tao, and will do all I can to help them, too.”

  Lynx wished she could believe her, but so much had happened since Cricket’s visit. If her own sister had betrayed her, why would a virtual stranger like Tatiana remain true? “Including reporting to Felix?”

  “Lighten up, girl,” Tatiana snapped. “I needed Felix to get here. That does not make me his champion.”

  “I’m sorry, Tatiana, but I’m wary of things.” A pause. “If you try to insert ice crystal anywhere in my son’s body, Tao and I will kill you. Felix can collect your remains at the edge of our permitted range.”

  The blood rushed from Tatiana’s face. “Is that what you think? That I came all this way to nobble your child?”

  “What else must I think?”

  “Anything but that. Lynx, I would rather be called a whore than a priestess. But if you wish, I will leave now and never return.” Tatiana scooped up her skirt and started for the door.

  Lynx watched her sweep out of the cottage and mount up. She had woven her way through the first stand of trees when Lynx decided if Tatiana were on Felix and Lukan’s side, she would never have left so willingly. She called out, “Tell me about him.”

  Tatiana pulled her horse up and turned to frown at her. “Who?”

  “Axel, of course.”

  “He’s in Treven. I haven’t seen him for months, but we message each other almost daily.” She pulled her informa out and opened it.

  Tears filled Lynx’s eyes as Axel’s mocking drawl filled the air. Then she smiled, her mood lighting like a summer’s day. “Can I speak to him? Please?”

  “Of course.” A glare from Tatiana. “But I also have my doubts, Lynx. Satisfy me on something.” She trotted back to Lynx and slid off her horse. “You and Tao?”

  “Are friends.”

  “It must be tempting, though, with just the two of you stuck out here in the middle of nowhere. Tao was always considered handsome. Most reasonable people would say he’s an excellent substitute for Axel.”

  A rebellious pout settled on Lynx’s face. “There is no substitute for Axel.”

  Tatiana grabbed Lynx, almost crushing her in a fierce embrace. “You have no idea how happy you have made me,” she gushed, ignoring Lynx’s struggles to escape. “I love Axel like a son. It would kill me to have
to tell him that he loves you in vain.”

  Lynx laughed. A happy sound. “No problem with that.” She grinned at Tatiana. “Get him on the air for me.” Face beaming, she tottered into the cottage, flopped down, and wriggled in her seat like a child.

  Tatiana sat next to her and called Axel up on an informal shaped like a chunky gold button.

  “I hope the bugger answers,” Tatiana said with deep affection. “He should be on his way to Cian now.” She burst into a grin as Axel’s face appeared in the air above her informa.

  Lynx gasped with pure delight. She was about to grab the informa, but Tatiana squeezed her hand and tilted it away so Axel would not immediately see Lynx. Lynx smiled in understanding.

  “Tatiana.” Axel dragged her name out in the slow drawl that always sent desire for him racing through Lynx. “To what do I owe this pleasure? ’Specially as I presume I’ll be seeing you within the hour. Are you coming on Lukan’s hunt with me? I could do with some decent company. Maybe a bit of bird watching while I’m in town?”

  Lynx’s heart pounded so hard she was sure Axel would hear her. Then she bit her lip with dismay. He looked exhausted. Dark rings, like purple bruises, gouged deep furrows under both of his bloodshot eyes, and his face was unnaturally pale. It didn’t stop her squealing as she grabbed the informa.

  “It’s you! Really you.” Tears streaming down her face, she blew him a kiss.

  Axel’s head shot back. His eyes widened. His mouth opened and closed like a fish. Then a smile of pure delight captured his features. Only for a moment, though. Typical Axel, that beautiful grin turned derisive. “Feather and braids, my Lynxie? I thought you’d left those behind in Norin?”

  “Shut up!” Lynx yelled. “And tell me what I long to hear.”

  “That I adore you?”

  Lynx glowed, overflowing with tenderness as she drank Axel in. “As I you. Always and forever.”

  A questioning frown settled on Axel. “The baby? And is Tao with you?”

  So much for Lukan’s attempts to keep news of the pregnancy quiet. Lynx wondered how Axel knew, but there would be time enough—hopefully—to fathom all that out later.