“In one hundred years, I have found nothing to indicate Father was involved with another female.” Yet it didn’t surprise him. His father had a reputation. He was an ancient Incubi king, after all. Females were his father’s main source of sustenance.
It would be just like the male who had spawned him to go trailing after a beautiful snack instead of returning to his former kingdom long enough to help Rathan settle approaching wars, damn him.
His father could be a bit self-consumed in his retirement, as he called it. He said he’d given his all to his kingdom and he had lived it alone. Now, it was his time to enjoy life.
Those were the last words his father had ever said to him.
Rathan just hoped those were not the last words they would ever speak.
“Yet you have found much to convict me in that same time.” Ren’s eyes flashed with warrior pride, anger, and to Rathan’s shame, hurt. “And have not confronted me with it. Just assumed I was out to displace you. Take from you what is yours by right of birth.”
“I am ashamed, brother.”
“What you do not seem to realize is that I have never wanted what you have had. Not in thousands of years. I am more warrior than diplomat. I will never be the high king, and I do not want to be. I am the king of Phrymos demons, and that is more than enough responsibility for me.” Renakletos’s voice rose and he dropped the sword he held. “I do not want what is yours!”
Rathan let his brother strike him. He deserved it. He grappled with his brother until they were fighting hand to hand over the thin mat. Much like they had as boys, with Quorok, Lachial, and Joru at their sides. Brothers. For eternity. “Do you think I wanted to believe it was you? I bled over it. Grieved both my father and my brother for decades. I knew it was not Quorok or Joru or Lachial or any of the others who could have been responsible. But you…it could have been you. And then I just accepted it and did my grieving in private.”
“Yet you left just as war was striking our world. To go help meddle in petty affairs of wolves and bloodsuckers.” Ren snorted as he attempted to pin Rathan to the mat. “Not your wisest choice, brother. To leave me to deal with someone else’s wars.”
“Perhaps not. But I found my female and created my spawn. Now…to the future.”
“Once we find the traitors in our midst who are threatening your heirs. As soon as they learn of the female and the heir, she will be targeted. I give you my vow to see her safe. No matter the cost. It is my duty to the people of Relaklonos. I swear to you this oath now.”
“I will take that oath now.”
Both brothers stopped. Stared at one another. Finally, Ren spoke. “Someone has made it look like I betrayed and killed our own father. Even though the old relic is probably out there somewhere playing with whichever handy female falls for his charms. Someone manipulated us both. And has filled you with doubt of me for a thousand years. Someone wanted to drive a knife between us. Why?”
“Succession. You were my heir, and your spawn after you. That means no one else can claim the throne as their own. But she has to live long enough to get to that point. If I become angry enough at you, then reason would state that your female offshoot would no longer be my heir. Kill her, kill you, kill me. And then anyone can apply to battle for the crown.”
To his shame, as the decades had passed, he had become complacent.
His complacency was coming back to haunt him. At a time when his female and spawn’s safety could be jeopardized.
“Then they can convene a Council of Kings and displace you from the throne. That explains the ambush I faced two weeks ago at Gaian mercenary hands.” Ren echoed the thoughts running through Rathan’s head. “Yet you chose now to return, and will be convening your own council within the week. You have a mate and a spawn on the way. That throws a massive boulder in their path.”
“I am a bigger threat than I was just two months ago.” Rathan’s thoughts flashed to the people he loved the most—Kindara and the spawn, Danae, Renakletos and Cerridwen. Kindara and the spawn were safe in the northern wing of the castle. As was Cerridwen and her nurse. Danae…he had yet to hear from his sister.
But he knew exactly where she was, she and the blind healer.
It was entirely possible the threat to his throne was the demon twin kings. Yet to so openly show their hand this early, by taking two young, vulnerable females was not like the experienced warriors he knew Sinrik and Koios to be.
“We need to be taking as many precautions as possible. I have sent Phelius to Lozicano to fetch Danae and the young healer Bronwen back. Yet other than Phelius, Quorok, Joru, Serimok, Alax, and Lachial, I am not sure of any of the council’s loyalty.”
“So we know not who we can trust within our own home.” Ren’s voice was lowered as he leaned over to assist Rathan to his feet. “It is not safe here. Especially for them. Any of them.”
Rathan nodded, mind running over the available options. Had it just been he and Renakletos his choices would be different. But they had a child, a wounded female, and the new queen who absolutely must be kept safe. As well as the eighty-three young sisters he still housed within the castle walls, ranging in age from around six thousand in years to a foundling he doubted was his sister at all. She was no more than twenty-three or twenty-four at the most, he thought. But she was still his responsibility. They all were. “We need to get the Dardaptoans out of Relaklonos and to safety. Cerridwen, too. I can contact Phelius and have him bring the girl healer and Danae to Gaia directly as well as that male who accompanied them. My female’s brother is a real mean bastard, a Predatoi of disgustingly great skill. He will keep them safe.”
Ren paused as he started to slide his sword into the sheath his father had gifted him with on his one-hundred-year spawnday. “You are asking me to send my only spawn to a legendary demon killer for safekeeping, brother. It is an enormous thing you ask.”
“I would send him mine. For now, his keeping is safer than mine own, vicious bastard that he is.”
Rathan understood. He did not know if he could do the same, were he in his brother’s shoes right now. But one thing was clear—Cerridwen and Kindara had to be sent to Gaia immediately.
Rathan’s world was no longer safe for them at all.
54
Kindara read the medical tome Phelius had told her beginning healers in Relaklonos were required to memorize, as she rocked in the chair next to Aureliana’s bed. The text was full of physiological data on all of the three-thousand-or-so types of beings found in Relaklonos.
Including some of the hybrids that existed. There were many more that hadn’t made it into the books. A treasure trove of possibilities, right at her fingertips.
But she still felt edgy. Like something was about to happen.
It was fascinating to read of the differences between the different Kinds. Some were extremely sophisticated, such as the demons. Others were far more primitive and still evolving.
They had so much more than the dozen or so Kinds that populated her world. Gaia. Named so millions of years ago, after the large supercontinent that had broken into pieces to form the only world Kindara remembered. She started to say something to Aureliana, but when she glanced up, Aureliana was sleeping so soundly Kindara wasn’t going to disturb her.
The sound of the door opening had Kindara looking in that direction.
A tiny demon child of around five years stood in the door.
Kindara smiled. The little girl had tiny silver horns upon her head, and blue-black hair. She looked much like Rathan, especially around the eyes. “Hello. Can I help you?”
“I wanted to see the warrior lady. Argi told me to go back to my room, but I came here instead.” The little girl closed the door behind herself carefully, then approached the bed. “I am a warrior, too, you know.”
“Are you now?” Kindara was surprised when the child climbed onto the bed and sat staring down at Aureliana. “So is she.”
“The housekeep said my daddy hurt her. Said he’s a monster
, and I’d best be good. Or more monsters would kill me. And told Argi that she had to be good or my daddy would eat her. Make her go away forever, too.” Sad red eyes looked at Kindara. “I don’t think my daddy would do that. He’s a good warrior king. The best of them all.”
“I think your daddy hurting her was an accident. They were sparring—” Yeah, that’s what it was called. An accident. But there was no way she’d ever tell this little one the truth. “And she fell. What is your name?”
“I’m Cerridwen Analia Deni Malickus. The princess.” Pride was clear in the little girl voice. “My uncle is the king, and my daddy is the prince. But he’s a Phrymos king, too.”
It took her a moment, but she’d just finished reading a chapter on the Phrymos Kind. Renakletos Malickus had been prominently featured. “I’m Kindara. I’m a healer from Gaia. This is my best friend, Aureliana. She usually acts as my guard. So I don’t get into trouble.”
With an almost reverent hand, the little girl touched a strand of dark-chestnut hair where it curled on Aureliana’s pillow. “I think my daddy is very sorry. She’s beautiful. Like a queen. Is she a Phrymos? They’re the best.”
Said the little Phrymos in the room. But she was right—Kindara had long thought Aureliana resembled a queen of old. Something regal and beautiful. Indefinable.
Aureliana’s eyes opened, and she tried to rise. Aureliana paused when she noticed the little one. She looked at Kindara. “We have a guest?”
“Meet Cerridwen, Renakletos’s daughter, I presume. She wants to apologize for her father.”
“Really now? Hello, Cerridwen. I’m Auri. How old are you?”
“Five.” She held up three fingers proudly. “Daddy says I’m a big, strong warrior princess. This is my castle. Uncle Rathan is going to paint my room pink! Like the little girls in Gaia have. I want to go to Gaia someday. Argi was born in Gaia. Uncle Rathan says he’ll take me very soon. If I’m good and learn all my letters by the first snow.”
“Really? We’re from Gaia. But I was kidnapped, and then Uncle Rathan brought me here.” Kindara was charmed. A young Phrymos female who wandered the castle at will.
“Now, Argi is in the hallway, listening to the mean cranky warriors arguing.”
Renakletos’s missing daughter, certainly.
“Did your daddy king come rescue you when you were kidnapped? Did Uncle Rathan take you like the housekeep said? She said you were probably mean and ugly. But you are beautiful, too. Not like the warrior lady, though. She’s really beautiful, even though she’s not a Phrymos.”
For some reason, the little one had taken to Aureliana, apparently. No surprise. Most babes did, almost immediately. That was one of Aureliana’s greatest gifts. Kindara could not have raised Jierra without Aureliana’s help all those years ago.
“Uncle Rathan did kidnap me. But then he took me home. Now, he’s helping me find medicine for my Kind. I’m a healer.”
“Cousin Phelius is my healer. He takes care of me when I am sick.” The child leaned over to stare at Aureliana, less than five inches from Aureliana’s face. She tilted her head from side to side as she studied Aureliana. “You don’t look like a warrior lady. They’re kind of ugly. You’re really beautiful. More like a queen. My daddy probably says so, too. You should get kidnapped. Then Daddy can save you, too. I was almost kidnapped. But Argi helped me get away. The housekeep told my daddy I wandered away. But I didn’t. I didn’t. She lied. Then the housekeep yelled at Argi and hit her hard.”
A righteous pout crossed the little face.
“I think I’ll pass on that, munchkin. I prefer to save myself in most situations.” Aureliana crossed her eyes to make the child laugh. “Does your daddy have to save you a lot? Does this Argi?”
“No. Just this time. And Argi is a secret. Daddy says she’s not real. But she is. She is.” A guilty look crossed her face. “I snuck away from Isolde again. I need to find Argi, again. She’ll be worried. I heard Uncle Lachial talking yes-ur-day. Cousin Phelius said that people are trying to take the crayon from Uncle Rathan. Said they think having me can help them do that. I told cousin Phelius that I have lots of crayons, and we can all share. Uncle Rathan brought them for me from Gaia, after Argi told me all about them. I’m going to give her some. Probably blue. She likes blue like this.” The little girl fingered the turquois hasha Aureliana had next to the bed. “I don’t think cousin Phelius understood what I was saying. Nobody knows Argi is real but me.”
She pouted for a moment before sinking her little hands into the dark curls spread over the pillow. “Your hair’s soft and pretty.”
Aureliana touched the girl’s long black hair and cupped the little head. “So is yours. Where is your mommy at, Cerridwen?”
“I don’t think I have one anymore. Neither does Argi, so that’s ok. Daddy said to cousin Phelius once that my mommy was wordless as a mother.” She shrugged, a complete lack of understanding on her face. It took Kindara a moment to translate. Wordless. Worthless. So the jerk warrior king was a single father. “She didn’t want me, the housekeep said. But I have my daddy, and he loves me lots and lots. And I have Uncle Rathan and Uncle Joru and Uncle Lachial and Argi and Isolde and Danae and lots of others.”
“So why did you come visit me and Aureliana today, Princess Cerridwen?” Kindara asked.
“Daddy still has to come to the tower to rescue me. I wandered away again, and that’s where I’m supposed to go when he needs to find me. If I get lost in the castle, I go to the tower where Daddy can find me. He hasn’t found me yet today; and I need to tell him about the mean housekeep and Argi. I saw him with Uncle Rathan in the courtyard. They were fighting like this.” She mimed swordplay. “They were talking, too. Yelling. I don’t like watching swords or fights, so I came to the tower. Daddy will come find me here soon. He always does. Are you still kidnapped?”
“No. We came here so Uncle Rathan could help us find medicines for our people. My people don’t have any to help when we’re sick or hurt. It’s my job to find them. Auri protects me while I do that.”
“So no hansim king saved you?” the little girl frowned. “That’s so sad. I’ll tell Daddy—he can rescue you, too.”
“That’s not necessary, baby.” Aureliana sat up gingerly. Kindara handed her the comb from the nightstand. The girl’s hair was in shambles. Aurieliana brushed gently. She began braiding the girl’s hair. The child let her and Kindara smiled inwardly. Aureliana had a definite soft side—she used to spend the evenings with Kindara and Jierra often, braiding hair and polishing nails. Girl things that Aureliana had little opportunity to experience with so many brothers.
Kindara was about ready to caution her friend not to overdo it with Aureliana’s new little friend, when a shout sounded outside the hall. The room began to shake. Paintings fell from the wall and crashed to the floor.
Kindara jerked to her feet. “Aureliana?”
“I don’t know, Kin. Cerridwen?” Aureliana’s words were tight. She clutched the child as close to her chest as she could, using the arm opposite of her injury to shield the child’s head and chest area as the ceiling above them started to crack. “Do you know what that sound is?”
“No…I want my daddy. I want my daddy right now. I’m scared.” The girl popped her thumb in her mouth as she cuddled close to Aureliana.
The walls shook again. Plaster displaced from the ceiling and fell to the floor, narrowly missing Kindara. Decision made. She took the child from Aureliana. “Come on. We can’t stay here in this room. We’re going to find your father and uncle. Aureliana, Goddess knows I don’t think you should be moving around, but we can’t stay here.”
The other female was already struggling to her feet. Her fingers wrapped around the two things she prized most—her hasha and her sword. “Let’s move. You got her?”
“I’ve got her. Tell me if you need to stop for a moment.”
“I’ll manage. Let’s get her out of here before the damned walls come tumbling down around us. I already feel like H
umpty Dumpty here. I don’t need all the king’s males to put me back together again.”
55
Rathan and Ren were dealing with the last of the traitors they'd found within the castle walls when the first blast struck the north tower near the rear of the castle. Demons, most female and spawn, screamed and ran toward the lower level, near the back courtyard.
Rathan saw two dozen of his half sisters as they ran. Their terror sank in. Infuriated him.
"Armies are gathering on the hill," a warrior sentry called from atop the wall. "They bear the colors of the Twin Kings!"
Of course. Sinrik was pissed his brother had been held for two weeks in squalid conditions. Demon political abductions had very specific rules on how the prisoners were supposed to be treated. Koios had been chained like an animal for those entire two weeks.
No demon, especially a demon king, would take that lightly. Rathan certainly wouldn't have.
But Sinrik had his brother back. He shouldn't be attacking now.
Unless Lozicano had just declared war by attacking the castle itself. Or the news that an heir had been conceived had already gotten out there to the seven territories.
And the Lozicano wanted to make certain that heir was never born. Rathan bit back a roar of pure rage at the thought. "We need to get to the queen and the heir."
Ren was already heading toward the northern most wing of the castle. Where the family rooms were all located.
Kindara. He was just about to flash to her, when sixteen warrior mercenaries surrounded him and Ren. Cutting them off from the interior of the castle.
Bound To The Demon Page 21
