Mutual Desire

by Donna Grant

  “What do you want Kellian for? It’s just a jungle.”

  Usotae grinned and crossed his arms over his chest. “There is more to Kellian than people realize. The Kellians have had it long enough. It’s my turn now.”

  “You’re just going to take over the kingdom after you kill Falcor?”

  “Leave the decisions of a king up to me. You worry about staying alive and gaining those secrets.”

  “And once I deliver the secrets to your spies?”

  “I’ll get you out as soon as I can. Maybe.”

  “So you’ll leave me in Kellian?”

  Usotae brought her body up against his own. “I might be more willing to extract you sooner if you let me have a taste of that lovely body of yours.”

  Linarra jerked out of his arms. She glared at the man who had once courted her, the man she had once thought to marry—until she had seen him for the monster he really was. His eyes no longer held the joy of youth, for once he had ascended the throne, he had fed off the power.

  The handsome man who had nearly won her heart so long ago had died the day the crown had been placed on his head. And in his place stood a ruthless, power-hungry tyrant who would do the unthinkable to get what he wanted.

  “You may blackmail me into spying for you, but I would sooner hang myself than let you touch my body,” she said.

  Usotae’s hand snaked out and gripped her long braid, yanking her against him. “Never doubt that I will have you, Linarra. For too long you’ve rejected me. You could have been my queen, but now you’ll be a whore.”

  He shoved her away from him. Linarra tried to keep upright, but she tripped over her skirts and landed on her hands and knees. Pain lashed through her body. She bit her tongue to keep from crying out. With deliberate slowness, she rose to her feet and lifted her chin. Usotae might have backed her into a corner, but that didn’t mean she had to do everything he wanted. There had to be some way to get free of him.

  Linarra hurried into her home and quickly shut the door behind her. She leaned against it, her heart pounding as hatred burned deep within her.

  “Linarra?”

  She opened her eyes to see her younger sister, Narune, standing in the doorway that led to the kitchen. “Everything is fine.”

  “It’s not. You can’t lie to me. He wanted to try and make you wed him, didn’t he?”

  If only that had been all Usotae wanted. Linarra took a deep breath and pushed away from the door. She’d been followed home by one of Usotae’s guards. She had no doubt more watched the house just in case she decided to try to run.

  “You’re scaring me,” Narune murmured.

  Too much was at stake to lie to her sister, as much as she wanted to. “I have to go away for a while.”

  “Why?”

  “Usotae has something he needs me to do.”

  Narune gave a snort. “He would be sending one of his emissaries if it was important. Just where is he sending you?”

  “To the Kellian jungle.”

  Narune slammed her hand against the door jamb, her slight body trembling with anger. “I don’t believe this. Usotae is punishing you, isn’t he? Doesn’t the man understand you don’t want him?”

  “It isn’t so simple.” Linarra walked past her sister to her chamber where she stood and stared absently. She had so little time to explain things to Narune, so little time to plan.

  “By the gods, he didn’t,” Narune ground out. “He’s calling in his favor.”

  “In a way.”

  Narune sat on the bed and took Linarra’s hands in her own. “We can run away. I should have agreed long ago when you tried to talk me into it, but I was young and scared. We’ll leave tonight. As soon as I can pack.”

  Linarra cupped her sister’s face in her hands. She looked so much like their father with his hazel eyes and light brown hair. “I cannot. There are guards watching the house, watching us. I have to do this, because if I don’t, Usotae will find new evidence to charge you again.”

  All the blood drained from Narune’s face. “But…I thought that was finished. The charges were dismissed. I didn’t kill him.”

  “I know.” Linarra knew better than anyone.

  Narune bit her lip as her brow furrowed with worry. “I don’t understand.”

  “Usotae is king. He can do whatever he wants.”

  “Gods. What do we do now?”

  “I do what I’m supposed to do.” Linarra swallowed as her anxiety grew.

  “What is that, exactly?”

  Linarra paused. “It’s probably better if you don’t know.”

  “I need to know,” Narune stated. “If he is using me against you, I have a right to know.”

  As much as Linarra wanted to keep her sister innocent, it wasn’t going to happen. And she had a good point. She was part of what was going on, and she deserved to know. “Usotae will tell you anyway.”

  “How bad is it?”

  “I’m being given to the Kellian king as a gift.”

  Narune’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “Nay.”

  “It will only be for a short while,” Linarra lied. “I’m going to spy for Usotae.”

  “You’ll be killed. We’ve all heard stories of the Kellians, especially their king. He’s a barbarian, Linarra. They’ll kill you on sight.”

  She smiled at her sister’s dramatics, despite their grain of truth, and took her hand. “I will get into the castle, and I will get close to the king. I have no other choice, because if I fail, Usotae will kill you.”

  “I didn’t think I could hate him more than I already do,” Narune said as she rose to her feet and paced the chamber.

  “Listen to me. Usotae wants Kellian for his own. I don’t know why, and it doesn’t matter. If an attack should be sent on Kellian, run as far from here as you can. We’ve coin hidden in the bottom of my drawer. Take it and run. Don’t look back.”

  “What about you?”

  Linarra’s heart tugged at the fear that shone in her sister’s eyes. “I’ll find you. I promise.”

  2

  Kellian jungle, Kellian palace

  Falcor watched from his chamber as another summer storm drenched the jungle. He longed for the days when he used to run through the tropical forest carefree and unknowing of what it meant to rule a kingdom. He missed the days where his only worry was how soon he could escape the castle and explore the wilds of Kellian. His greatest fear then had been facing his parents after sneaking away from his studies.

  How things changed when childhood melted away. He blew out a harsh breath. Life had been simpler then, but a man had to make sacrifices when he was king. Falcor’s sacrifice had been his own wants, especially that of a wife and family.

  By the time his father was his age, Falcor had been three summers already. But if Falcor was truthful with himself, he doubted he’d ever find a woman for his bride.

  It wasn’t that he couldn’t find a woman. There were several in Kellian that were beautiful, but none stirred his blood. Bringing an outsider into Kellian in these turbulent times wasn’t a viable option.

  Already provisions had been made for the next in line to take over, and that next in line just happened to be his cousin, Yarrow, who lived in the neighboring kingdom of Shadowhall.

  There was no way Falcor would leave Kellian without a king, and with a group of men who saw to it that Kellian was fighting every kingdom that bordered their jungle, Falcor knew it was only a matter of time before he was challenged by one of his own.

  His people thought there was no heir, that if anyone killed Falcor they would gain the crown. The secret of Yarrow’s birth had been well hidden by Falcor’s father and uncle, but documented well. Yarrow would be an excellent king for Kellian. He was a good man, honest and wise.

  A knock brought Falcor out of his musings. He turned to find one of his guards. “Aye?”

  The guard bowed. “Your Highness, an emissary from Aldvale is requesting entrance to the jungle.”

  Falcor was imme
diately suspicious. Aldvale’s king, Usotae, wasn’t known for his kindness. His cruelty had spread far and wide. “What do they want?”

  “They have a gift from King Usotae to you. A gift of peace, I’m told.”

  The fact Falcor desperately wanted peace helped him make his decision. “Give them an escort through the jungle. We’ll see if it is indeed a gift of peace or some trick of Usotae’s.”

  The guard bowed again and hurried to carry out Falcor’s orders. Falcor looked through the rain and wondered just what kind of gift Usotae would give him. He wasn’t callow enough to believe it was a true gift of peace, not when the sender was one such as Usotae.

  Still, Falcor held out hope.

  Linarra shifted in the rug. Her feet had gone numb, and it was difficult to breathe. Thankfully the guards carried a canopy that protected her and the rug from the downpour that had begun before they ever reached the jungle.

  She turned her head and peeked through the opening to find that the dense green of the jungle had swallowed them. She stifled a scream when she saw a small tougar move in the trees. Her heart squeezed painfully as she waited for the animal to pounce and the screams that would follow. When nothing happened, she closed her eyes and decided it would be better if she didn’t look. It was going to be difficult enough facing the warrior king without worrying what predators awaited her as well.

  The guards carried her for hours, and with each of their steps Linarra berated herself for not leaving Aldvale years before. Narune had tried to run but a group of Usotae’s men kicked down their door and took a screaming Narune with them to the palace.

  Linarra had been held by other guards, unable to do anything to help her sister. Narune’s screams begging Linarra to help still echoed in Linarra’s head.

  If only she could.

  It hadn’t surprised her when Usotae had walked into her home a moment later. He had shackled her to the bed, giving her enough room to stand, but just.

  The humor in his gaze had made her dig her nails into her palms to keep calm. She would never do anything to give him a reason to execute her sister.

  Usotae had kept her and Narune separated while Linarra received her instructions from one of the castle whores. Her mother had told Linarra the joys of making love to a husband, but Linarra was so disgusted with the thought of giving her body to a man she didn’t love she didn’t know how she was going to seduce Falcor.

  Despite her misgivings, Usotae was positive Falcor would want her. She prayed that was the case, because it would take every ounce of her courage to give her body to him.

  At least Usotae didn’t force you.

  It had come close, though. He wanted her, but he hated her too much to take her. Her jaw still ached from his backhand the night before. It was a good thing she didn’t bruise easy or they would never have left for Kellian.

  “The castle has come in view,” one of the guards whispered to her.

  Linarra couldn’t help wanting a peek of the castle. Few had seen the Kellian stronghold for themselves. Many said it was nothing more than a crumbling pile of rocks while others said it was a magnificent piece of architecture.

  She wished she wasn’t enclosed in the rug so she could see for herself, but she’d have to be content with whatever brief look she got.

  One of the Aldvale guards let out a low whistle at the same time that she spotted a round tower of black stone that rose out of the jungle like a god.

  “I’ve never seen anything so massive,” a guard said.

  “And black stone,” said another.

  The guards continued to comment, Linarra hanging on their every word. Could the Kellian castle be larger than Aldvale’s palace? Surely not. The Kellians were barbarians, or so they had been told. No one really knew much of the Kellians. They preferred to stay in their jungle, and few ventured into the deadly area.

  Linarra took a deep breath to ready herself. She was about to come face-to-face with the warrior king.

  Falcor was sitting in the crowded great hall listening to a dispute between two of his commanders when the Aldvale entourage arrived.

  Word had spread quickly through the castle that an envoy was coming, for the hall was jammed full of his people. They parted as their visitors entered.

  Four men, Aldvale guards by the look of their sleek navy tunics, carried what appeared to be a large rug. Falcor waited for one of them to step forward and speak, but none did.

  He rested his elbows on the arms of his throne and steepled his fingers. The storm had finally passed and the sun broke through the canopy of trees to pour light through the windows that lined the top of the walls of the massive great hall.

  A whisper rippled through the hall. His personal guards stood near, their hands on their swords. Still the Aldvales stood silent, their heads bowed and their gazes lowered. Just what did they have, Falcor wondered.

  “You have been sent by King Usotae?” he asked.

  The men at once fell to their knees and lowered the rug to the floor with a little push to unroll it. The rug stopped at his feet, but he wasn’t prepared for what was in it.

  Of all the gifts he might have expected, a stunningly beautiful woman staring up at him clad in see-through material so he could make out the outline of her nipples wasn’t one of them.

  The exotic woman rose to her feet with the grace of royalty. “King Falcor,” she said and dipped into a low curtsy.

  He shivered at her smooth, melodic voice. Her lower face was covered by sheer black fabric, hiding her from him. Her unusual almond-shaped eyes that were tilted up at the corners were the most vivid, and unusual, shade of gold.

  She turned about on the rug, and Falcor had eyes only for her and her thick waves of tawny tresses that fell well past her hips. Her long, sheer black skirts whirled about her legs, tempting him with peeks of sleek, toned legs. Her top was molded to her full breasts like a lover’s hand and stopped just under her breasts, leaving her stomach bared along with the large golden jewel that nestled in her navel.

  “What you see before you is a gift from my king, Usotae,” she said.

  Falcor took a deep breath. He’d never felt lust so pure and true before, and it took everything he had to rein in his desires and not lay her down on the rug and ravish her as he longed to do. “My men were told it was a peace offering from Usotae.”

  She smiled, her full lips teasing him through the fabric. “Aye, Your Highness. Many kingdoms bicker over land and few have managed to go a year without feeling the effects of war. King Usotae wants you to know you can regard him as an ally.”

  “Is that right?” Falcor stood and stepped on the rug, its blue and gold mosaic unnoticed. “The same Usotae who told me not two years ago that he would one day have my kingdom for himself? The same Usotae who is, right now, sending men to his borders to attack neighboring kingdoms.”

  If his words unnerved her, she never showed it. She inclined her tawny head. “I see the rumors have reached even as far as Kellian.”

  Falcor folded his arms over his chest. Around the hall, his people had grown quiet, eager to hear what their visitors had to say.

  “Rumors? I wouldn’t call them rumors.” She had no need to know he had spies in Aldvale who reported back to him on a daily basis. He knew all about Usotae’s hunger for power, as well as Usotae’s designs to take over neighboring kingdoms.

  “Usotae is a strong king, a man who wants to keep his people safe. If that means he must send men to our borders to protect us from invading forces, he will do it. A few kingdoms such as Pereth and Hesione, and even Shadowhall, have managed to find peace in our war-torn provinces. Would you not seek the same?”

  She had hit upon one of his greatest desires, but for all her cool words, he didn’t trust why she had been sent. Her king might have told her all that she had relayed to him, but Falcor knew the truth.

  Usotae was an intelligent man. He knew what to tell his kingdom to keep them from revolting. And he knew exactly what to tell other kings to put fear in
them. Falcor didn’t scare so easily, though. He had been waiting for Usotae to attack, and he’d just made the first move.

  “You may return to your king. Tell him I appreciate the beautiful rug, and I will think on his words.” He turned from the hall, eager to find the quiet of his chambers to think over the woman’s words.

  And cool the lust from his blood.

  “King Falcor,” she called. “It is I who am your gift.”

  Falcor felt the breath rush from his lungs as he halted. Slowly, he faced her. “Usotae would send a woman as a gift?”

  Her gaze lowered, but not before he saw them blaze with emotion. “I am Linarra, daughter to one of the oldest families in Aldvale. I am yours to do with as you wish.”

  “Ah. A prize many in your kingdom seek, I presume?”

  She lifted her gaze hesitantly to his, refusing to speak.

  Falcor walked to her and held out his hand. “I think the rest of this conversation can be held in privacy.”

  She placed her hand in his. The shock of her touch went through him like lightning. He jerked his gaze to her to see if she felt it too, but her gaze was once more on the floor.

  He escorted her from the hall and through the winding corridors to the tower stairs that led to his chamber. It was privacy he wanted, and that was the only place for it.

  Once at the top of the tower, he opened the door and waited for her to enter before he closed it behind them. She walked around the chamber, looking at everything.

  “It’s very beautiful.”

  Falcor chuckled at her amazement. “You say that as if you’re surprised. Did you think we Kellians were a savage lot?”

  Her brow furrowed as she turned away from him.

  “Ah. You did.” Falcor moved from the door. “This tower, called King’s Tower, was built specifically for the kings of Kellian. This chamber is where I hold private audiences.”

  “A long way to climb to have a private meeting.”

  “It’s not just for that. These are also my chambers.”

  She looked around the spacious chamber again, at the table with six chairs, at the hearth large enough to stand in, and at the two oversized chaise longues. Falcor tried to see the room through her eyes, and he wondered what she really thought of it.