Of Coups and Cauls

by Tyranni Thomas

  Of Coups and Cauls

  Tyranni Thomas

  Of Coups and Cauls

  Copyright 2018 Tyranni Thomas

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover design by Killer Book Covers

  Editing by Jenifer Knox

  No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without express written permission from the author. Any unauthorized use of this material is prohibited.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  For the mommy warriors everywhere.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter-Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  About Tyranni

  Chapter One

  Ryett

  Azaria remained glued to my arm. The whites of her eyes were wild and wide as they scanned the ransacked interior of Heritage Hills. Chairs had been strewn about, some were broken, one even appeared to be in the hearth. The rugs were wadded and twisted, it was a maze to find a clean place to step.

  “It’s been a few years… but this is not the Heritage Hills I recall.”

  Her dark gaze snapped towards me, and the humor fell from my face.

  “Kais,” Azaria called. She began to turn in a circle, the long coat-tail spinning about behind her. Two ladies had fainted on our way out of the manor. Indeed, her leather pants and Barizonian top were causing quite the sensation.

  I left her to her exploration and followed a trail of clothes to the south door. The back acre had been a playground for me and my brother as children. Outside, however, there was no magical willows or blanket of leaves. All that greeted me was the nauseating, stale stench of alcohol. The grounds were littered with bottles, and there by the tree, Kais sat slumped over and half naked.

  For fuck’s sake, I thought to myself. He had been missing since the ceremony, not even bothering with a farewell kiss to his new bride… our new bride. Everything in Azaria’s life had been scattered to the wind. It was all upside down for her, and rather than support her… here he was sulking.

  I couldn’t help it. My boot flew out and bit the side of his thigh. “Get the fuck up.”

  His green eyes were bloodshot and none too amused when they finally focused enough to find me.

  My arms flew out to either side, waiting for him to lay some explanation at my feet.

  “Where is she?” he mumbled, turning his head back to his shoulder.

  “It doesn’t look like you care a great deal where she is.” I pointed out.

  He sighed, and I had to stop myself from kicking him again. He and Ryver were too much alike, especially when drunk.

  “What do you know, showing up…”

  “Showing up? Is that what this is about? Hmm. You are upset that you might have to share a throne with one more person? That’s why you’re pouting and hiding?”

  He wasn’t as drunk as I thought. The bastard was on his feet and introducing my back to a tree faster than I could even blink.

  “I came here so she wouldn’t have to bear witness to my fury. Should I have stayed? Perhaps then she could hear all the thousands of ways I intend to relieve her father of his soul. Each more tedious and time consuming than the next.”

  The veins in his neck were bulging and something dangerous reflected back at me. His fist curled until my tunic was twisted and bunched in his grip. His muscles were rigid, but the grip on my tunic channeled the trembling within him. The tremor that threatened to expose the depth of his affections for my brother. It made my heart go out to him, and I cursed myself for kicking him, even if he was a shit for doing what he did. The tension grew and so did the misting in his eyes. When I thought he might shed a tear, he flung me away and stomped towards the meadow.

  “Kais,” Azaria called again. We both turned, her tone and delivery were becoming more sovereign every day. She could go from honey to ice on a whim.

  “You will execute him in the vilest way you can think of. I have no qualms about that. Fuck, I’ll sign the decree ordering it myself, but I cannot have you deserting me now.” She kept a keen eye on him—whiles her words were not unkind, they were nonnegotiable.

  His attention pivoted, and he rushed towards her. I placed myself between them, unsure of what was about to transpire. It had been too long since I knew the people around me. So much had changed in the span of a year.

  “How can you even lend words to such a thought?” he growled over my shoulder, the man had given up any pretense of hiding his feelings. Emotions spilled down his face and his finger waivered at her. “I am yours. You named me your protector and commander.”

  “I named you my husband,” she spat, lifting her chin and making it clear that our Queen was finished with the conversation.

  Chapter Two

  Kais

  My jaw hurt from clenching it for control. She had pushed me past the point of it, and Ryett… oh he was something else, hopping between us as if I would hurt her. That was what stung the most.

  “I am honored to be your husband, Azaria. I hope you know this. I just… I don’t know.”

  “Say it,” she demanded.

  My eyes leapt to hers, and I shook my head.

  “You love him. We all do. I am his wife, he is his brother. We share your fear and loss.” Her voice had lightened, and her fingers skimmed across my brow, chasing the hair away. She bumped Ryett aside and pressed herself firmly against me.

  “We won’t be able to get close enough to do anything about getting him back until you get a bath. The Faustlin army will think we bring a mead hall in trade,” she whispered against my lips. The gentle nibbling and sprinkling of kisses pulled me away from the foul mood of the newly awakened.

  “Can you gather the council while we get cleaned up here?” Her eyes met Ryett’s, and I could see the question he silently threw back at her. The one that urged her to consider her safety. It made my teeth grit and my hands curl again.

  I left them to hash it out.

  There must not have been much to say, because she trailed right after me. She zipped past me, and all I could do was stare while she fetched water from the hearth and set to preparing a bath.

  “A-Azaria? Stop it. You’re the fucking Queen of Tauran you can’t just draw a man’s bath.”

  She snorted in response and threw a bit of salts and oils in the water.

  “Being the Queen of Tauran makes me incompetent?” She laughed, staring up at me and tapped the tub.

  I sighed and shrugged out of my clothes, sheepishly making my way toward the water. I sank down into the warm fragrant sanctuar
y, and her fingers instantly curled around my shoulders.

  “No, you’re not incompetent. You are special, of grace and dignity. Women of your status do not tend to soldiers.”

  She leaned in close and tried to crush my shoulders. “You are not a squire. You are my husband and the head of my army.”

  “I know but…”

  “But nothing. You and I are corded. Therefore, we are equal, and it is acceptable. Now tell me, why do you hold your tongue when Ryett provokes it?”

  I did my best to look quizzical, but she leveled me with a knowing gaze.

  “It is painted across your face, whether you speak the words or not.”

  “I guess I better fix my fucking face then.” I leaned forward, but her fingers refused to budge. She denied the escape, leaving me to inwardly growl as water sloshed noisily back against me.

  “You are the King of Tauran. One of five, but a King none the less. You are beneath no man, and you know that Ryver would have it no other way.”

  She gave my shoulders a farewell squeeze and moved to the cabinet. A soft whoosh split the air, and I caught the towel a moment before the water claimed it. I stood up, and she rolled her gaze over the length of me while she gnawed on her lower lip.

  “He may have to wait on the rescue if you don’t knock it off.” I grinned.

  Her mouth fell open in mock outrage, and she laughed with me. I thought she was going to leave me to get dressed, but she closed the door and took a few steps back to me.

  “Does anyone else know?”

  My eyes snapped left to right before finding her again.

  “Don’t play coy,” she hissed stepping closer. “Where is his mother?”

  Every fiber of my being stilled. No one had asked of Narelle since Ryver was assumed deceased. It had really been a very simple affair, and no one had been the wiser.

  “Do you recall the way she treated you?”

  “Is this a riddle? I asked a question, Kais. Where is the lemon-faced old biddy?”

  “She is where any sensible person would put someone who was afflicted or bold enough to think they have a claim to sit on the throne of Tauran.”

  Her chin lifted until the sun glistened off her high cheekbones. The kohl around her dark eyes peeled back and her head slowly shook in anticipation of the clarification to come.

  “She’s at an exhaustion home in the High-Country.”

  Chapter Three

  Azaria

  I didn’t know whether to hug Kais or cry. I contemplated both while slowly blinking at him.

  “What would you have me do, my Queen? She would have conspired until you were dead or usurped.”

  A month ago, I would have dropped to my knees and sucked the soul out of him for such a brilliant move. Now I had to figure out how to tell Ryett his mother was in exile, in the High-Country mountains no less.

  “Well… what are you going to do?” I asked.

  “I want nothing more than to leave her atrocious ass up on the mountain. Why do we have to change things? For the love of the Seers, the woman offends humanity itself.” Kais groaned.

  I wanted to throttle him, but I settled for planting my foot on the back of his thigh and shoving. He tripped over his own feet, barely missing the edge of the dresser.

  “You’re out of practice,” I gloated. “Get the horses. We will grab DeHaven and take a trip to the High Country.”

  His fingers assaulted the bridge of his nose, but he done as he was bid.

  ***

  Before the carriage could even stop, a runner met us, and I commanded him to ready the tiny prince.

  “We’re doing this?” Kais asked, deadpan. “You’re seriously going to bring her back?”

  I looked at him from across the bench and didn’t answer him at first. He deserved to stew a while. It was only fair, with him running off after the ceremony and all. Nariyah didn’t help the matter. She held the baby tightly to her chest and bound down the stairs. The door was opened for her and she passed the warm squirming bundle to me, before hopping inside.

  “Wha- another attack?” Her eyes flashed with a hundred fears and unspoken questions.

  “No, no all is well. We are taking DeHaven to visit his grandmother.” My smile did little to ease the alarm that was painted on her face.

  DeHaven began to root around against my chest, his dark curls stealing me from the awkwardness of the moment. His eyes were starting to change color, brown it would be, from the looks of it.

  “You might as well settle in, she’s taking us half way to the Abyss,” Kais scoffed.

  “If this is all the peace I have to look forward to on the return trip,” I told him, “I might leave you there with her.”

  He snorted and stared out the window, lending his best efforts toward ignoring me.

  The Village around us was bustling. The voices of the market place blurred as one tongue barked louder than the other. If I listened carefully, I could hear the siren-like songs from the balcony of the flesh parlor when we passed.

  The barley and wheat fields soon spanned around us, stretching as far as I could see from the tiny window. Large plots were sectioned into rows, some in haphazard fences or wiring, but for the most part, the good people of the Low Country and the Dells beyond lived in humble abodes surrounded by their livelihood and little else.

  The sparse population and silence of it all finally gave me the courage I needed.

  “We have to talk about Ryver.”

  “I heard that Prince Ry… I mean, King Ryver, was alive. Thank the Seers, I can’t wait to meet him,” Nariyah gushed.

  Who could blame her enthusiasm and unabated admiration? Ryver was just the right mix of cocky and charming, not to mention the youngest monarch Tauran had ever seen.

  “I’m sure he will be as fond of you as we are, what I don’t know is how he will receive DeHaven. Things were rocky, and everything happened so fast… What if he suspects the child to be Drayce’s or Ryett’s?” My thoughts were turning to words before I could even filter them.

  Nariyah gaped at Kais and I for what felt like an eternity. Kais squinted and placed a hand between my shoulders. The weight and gentle grating of it across my muscles seemed patronizing. I jerked away from him and put my back to the corner. It was a huge mistake. All I could think about from that angle was Phaedra. I ached to hear her advice. I was lost for a moment, imagining all the witty things she would say or do if she were with us.

  “Azaria…” Kais voice reached through the haze of grief. Our eyes met, and he pulled me into a hug, sprinkling kisses atop my braids. “I think we are here.”

  The wheels squeaked and groaned before slowing to a still. A large two-story building stood to our left. It was different than those of the dell. Its grounds were enclosed in a high wooden fence. The shutters were tightly drawn on each of its many windows, presenting a grim impression to those who might contemplate a closer look.

  “I won’t tell him, I swear I won’t! You don’t have to put me here. Azaria please, you promised,” Nariyah wailed.

  I began to stammer, her arms flailed, and I became lost in the effort to comfort her until we were slapping and weaving our limbs between us.

  “Wow. Hey, Nariyah,” I put everything I could into roaring loud enough to reach her. It left me feeling like the world’s biggest bully.

  The girl crumbled, clutching DeHaven like it was their last goodbye.

  Thankfully, Kais intervened. “No one is leaving you anywhere. Queen Azaria wants to check on Narelle, nothing more.” Kais’ eyes were as large as Nariyah’s, but his voice lacked the desperation.

  Her face quivered for a few moments, but she finally nodded in understanding. The poor girl really thought I would lock her away to keep the truth from Ryver. I shook my head and took a deep breath.

  “I brought DeHaven because I may use him to enforce her silence. If I send word, you will bring him to the fence close enough for Narelle to see.” I pointed to the walkway and slid from the carriage, leavi
ng Kais to follow or fend for himself with the unhinged nanny.

  Chapter Four

  Kais

  The door made a low noise that channeled the hopelessness of the facility. We were instantly in another world; a dimly lit sanctuary that possessed the ability to smother the senses from anyone who still had them upon arrival.

  Azaria stilled, and glared over her shoulder at me.

  “Don’t look at me like that. It’s better than any place she would have stuffed you,” I reminded her.

  The hallway broke into a room with a piano. Elderly persons sat in a circle of heavily padded chairs, all eyes glued to the young man on the bench. His fingers travelled the length of the ivory piano keys and back again before he chose one to push.

  Azaria covered her ears and scrunched her face. “Don’t they have drums?”

  “We do not.”

  The voice sounded decrepit and hollow, but the woman owning it was robust and middle-aged. Her clothes were starched until they could have stood on their own accord, but that didn’t stop her from placing a judgmental glance toward Azaria’s attire.

  “Queen Azaria,” a young woman chanced. She gravitated towards us with the most astounded expression I have ever seen. “Queen Azaria, it is you! May the Seers watch over Your Majesty! Your new laws have seen all my brothers finally corded, and I, too, have three suitors ready to share a household and future.”

  The other caregivers began to gather and gawk. A few gave further testimony to the ways that Azaria’s changes had affected their lives.

  “I’m happy to have helped.” Azaria smiled, casting her eyes towards me. “I can’t say King Kais and I haven’t enjoyed the advantages of Tauran’s new way ourselves.”

  I froze as a roomful of eyes found their way to me. When a few of the young ladies curtsied, heat flooded my face, and I couldn’t put two words together to save my life. After spending my days labelled a bastard, it felt silly, almost insulting for them to recognize me now.

  “Get up. Please,” I quietly encouraged.