Hostage (44 page)

“Yes, right.” The smile tugged at the tight, sore skin but Astrin ignored it and smiled wider at Rowan’s expression.

Sitting up straighter, he winced at the pain in his back and ribs, but after stretching it eased enough to be bearable. All the while Rowan watched him with a worried look on his face.

“I’m okay, Rowan. I was pretty stupid, and I’m paying for it, but I’m okay, honestly.”

“I thought I was going to lose you again,” Rowan said quietly.

“Never,” Astrin responded just as softly, lifting his hand to touch Rowan’s face.

Hersten coughed, causing Astrin to lower his hand. He looked up at his father, his eyes scrunched against the sun.

“I see you’re feeling better. Drink some more of that water and the headache will ease.”

By the time a dull roar signaled the arrival of a jeep, Astrin was on his feet, leaning against Rowan’s side but feeling much better. A grinning man leaped from the vehicle and dismantled the shelter in no time. He ushered Astrin into the front seat and took his place with the others in the back. Neither he nor the driver spoke their language, but the way their flashing eyes and smiles flicked often to Astrin embarrassed him.

Astrin was very glad when, in little over half an hour, the jeep bounced over the last dune and descended into an impromptu airfield. A few battered sheds housed simple propeller planes, and some run-down jeeps dotted the area. The runway was nothing more than lines in the sand.
Oh, that sand
—stretching away for miles in every direction. Apart from the dunes, which frilled the edges, the sand was flat and shimmered in the blistering heat of the sun.

The light that glanced off the silver plane standing in the middle of the runway was dazzling, making it impossible to look directly at it without pain. The plane was sleek and low to the ground, almost chilling in its strangeness. Nevertheless, it lifted their hearts.

Once the jeep hit the rough courtyard in front of the hangars, it skidded to a halt, and without ceremony they were all ushered out of the vehicle and toward the plane. They were all a little dazed, so they were inside the plane, buckled in, and taxiing along the runway before they realized what was going on.

The plane was unlike any they had traveled in previously. The seats, although deep and luxurious, were situated along the sides of the plane, facing each other across the narrow body. It seemed to float, as the engines were silent, and it seemed that the merest breath set it bouncing. It wasn’t an unpleasant sensation per se, but took some getting used to.

Astrin stared enchanted out of the window, watching the sand disappear beneath the wheels. As they rose higher and higher, they could see how big the desert really was. It stretched for miles in every direction, swallowing an entire third of the Southern Territories. It amused Astrin to think that, as big as House Michael and the Southern Territories might be, a great deal of it was nothing but sand.

Once the plane was airborne, they were served a lunch of cold meats and salad, washed down with fine wine and followed with cheese, biscuits, and a light mousse. Food fit for a king—and a regent and two princes. Despite his previous incapacity, Astrin ate a hearty meal and enjoyed every bite. It was slowly sinking in that they’d left the Southern Territories. They had evaded Strebo Michael’s grasp and were on their way home.

Sitting back in his seat, he let out a sigh that was echoed by Rowan, who was sitting next to him. Rowan reached out and took his hand.

“We’re going home.”

Astrin shivered with an unease bordering on sadness. “Yes. Home.” His voice was wistful, which did not go unnoticed.

“Not yet,” Astrin’s father broke in. “You’re going to stay in Maratebo for a while. Melissa and Agnes will be meeting us there tonight. We have things to discuss and will then be returning to our Houses to make arrangements for a rather important gathering.”

“I don’t understand. What gathering?” Astrin asked, confused.

“We are convening a conclave,” King Hersten informed him.

“A what?” Rowan asked, even more confused than Astrin.

“It’s an ancient tradition,” Astrin explained, frowning. “The king has a right to call for one at any time. In the past it has generally been done at times of crisis, in disasters or war. The conclave has a right to suspend or repeal any law and to impose new ones. Are you talking about a joint conclave?”

“Indeed.” Hersten nodded and smiled at his son.

A sense of relief washed over Astrin, so intense that it made him dizzy. Rowan, on the other hand, merely looked confused.

“What is this conclave for? We’re not at war anymore. Where’s the crisis?”

Astrin turned to Rowan and grinned. “Sometimes you can be so dense, Rowan Gabriel.”

Rowan looked even more perplexed and shrugged. “So, I’m not as well versed in history and politics. So bite me.”

“Later,” Astrin purred, and Rowan blushed. Grinning, Astrin threw himself from his seat and hugged Rowan, then did the same for his father and even Charles, who looked a little stunned but very pleased.

“Would someone please tell me what’s going on?” Rowan sounded cross now, and Astrin sank back into his seat, half turning to face him.

“They’re going to change the laws, Rowan. They’re going to find a way to change the laws so we can be together.”

A look of sweet comprehension broke over Rowan’s face. Tears sprang to his eyes and, careless that such movement might cause the plane to swing, he flung himself at his uncle and clung to him weeping.

“Now, now, boy. No need for this. Did you have such little trust in me?”

“No. No, not at all, it’s just…. You have no idea. I’ve been reassuring him all along, telling him it would be all right, that we’d find a way to be together. And I meant it. I would have fought to the death for it, but I didn’t think…. In the back of my mind, I’d planned it all out. I was going to leave, turn my back on everything. I didn’t believe that….”

Charles hugged him. “I know. That’s why we
had
to find a way. It was Hersten who hit on the idea of the conclave. Clearly House Raphael is far better versed in the fine points of political history than House Gabriel—something I think we’ll need to put right very soon.”

Realizing that Astrin was kneeling on the floor beside him, gazing up with anxious eyes, Rowan let go of his uncle and fell into the arms of his love, where he stayed until the word came to buckle their belts for landing.

T
HE
C
ONCLAVE

A
FTER
THREE
days at Maratebo, when the eight friends—Hersten, Agnes, Astrin, Charles, Melissa, Rowan, Sophia, and Phineas—took time to relax and ensure the four adventurers were thoroughly rested and recovered, Hersten, Charles, Agnes, and Melissa returned to the mainland to oversee the arrangements for the conclave, which was to be held in two weeks’ time at the royal palace in the Heart of the West.

The location had been chosen because of the facilities available, particularly the Council Chamber, which was unique and extremely fitting for the purpose. Melissa went to stay with Agnes to help with the practical arrangements, such as catering and housing the delegates, and Charles returned to the Heart of the North to explain the situation to his Council and ensure that they were well versed and comfortable with what was expected of them before they traveled.

The two Houses had been at war for a very long time, so there was inevitably a certain amount of resistance. However, without being aware of it, Rowan and Astrin had captured the hearts and minds of the people—and even of the embittered Council members—with their reckless but brave actions. The people were holding them up as nothing less than heroes, and folklore was already growing around their exploits.

The Council members were not immune to the outpouring of emotion and support for the two young princes, and the respective Councils of House Gabriel and House Raphael were fiercely proud of Rowan and Astrin. This made coming together with their heretofore sworn enemies somewhat easier, but it was still a difficult and tense situation.

Rowan and Astrin both knew this, and in many ways it was torture to remain at Maratebo, closeted away, protected from the controversy, and helpless to influence the decisions being made that would radically affect their lives. However, the stress was considerably mitigated by the fact that they were together, safe and comfortable in love and companionship.

On the fourth night after Charles and Hersten had left, Sophia and Phineas hosted a dinner party to which Paulo Atrio was invited. He was his usual charming self, and the boys were pleased to be able to speak to him more freely about their adventures.

“I’m sorry we lost the pouches you gave us… and the money. It’s strange but considering how far we traveled and everything we did, we used very little.”

“That’s the way with all the best adventures. Have you taken your fill of adventure, Your Highnesses? Many would say you have amassed sufficient experience in the last few weeks to last a lifetime.”

Rowan and Astrin exchanged glances. “I think we may have a few more adventures ahead of us, though probably not of the same kind.”

Paulo Atrio smiled his secret, knowing smile that no longer intimidated them but allowed them to share a companionable silence with him.

The very next day, Rowan and Astrin slipped out of the estate dressed in rough traveling clothes, leaving a note for Sophia.

They drank in a bar on the dock and visited the port exchange, doing nothing but lounging with the other men who lounged there, smiling and posing just for the hell of it. They raced each other along the path to the marina, and this time when Rowan tackled Astrin to the ground, neither of them rose for a good period of time.

That night they got drunk on the same local liqueur at the same bar and slept in the same room at the same inn. Fortunately, Astrin showed more restraint and was able to walk back to the room unaided.

The landlady, who remembered them from their previous stay, stuck her head out of the door as they fell into the hall and shook her head, a smile on her face.

“Will you be keeping your breakfast down this time?”

Astrin blushed, ducking his head to hide behind the curtain of his hair.

“I’ll try,” he mumbled through a grin.

“Not so early this time, if that’s possible. I think we’re going to sleep in in the morning.”

“Ten o’clock all right for you?”

“Perfect.”

As they lay together in the too-narrow bed, Rowan absently stroked Astrin’s back and thought about the last time they’d been here. It had been so very different. To have come full circle, they had traveled so far, had been through so much, and had been changed by it.

“What are you thinking about?”

“The last time we were here.”

Astrin chuckled. “I don’t remember it.”

“I will never forget. It was the first time you kissed me.”

Astrin sighed. “I don’t remember that either. I
want
to remember our first kiss.”

“It wasn’t a proper kiss, not really. I think, because you were drunk, you let yourself feel something you were hiding from, but that’s not the way it felt to me at the time. I cried myself to sleep.”

Astrin frowned and raised his head. “I’m sorry, Rowan. I don’t know what I was thinking. In the beginning I was angry with you—so angry because of what you’d done to me. It was unfair that, after everything you’d done, you were still angry with me. I couldn’t understand it… and I couldn’t understand why it hurt so much. I couldn’t stay angry with you. I’ve never been able to stay angry with you, even before I knew I loved you.” He smiled and leaned forward to kiss Rowan gently. “I’ll never be able to stay mad at you now.”

“I could never stay angry with you either. That was part of the problem. I’d hated you for so long, it was like….” Rowan turned his face away. “It was like the hatred was all that held me together. When it started to disappear, it felt as if part of me was disappearing with it. There was a huge hole inside me, and I felt so empty and afraid.

“So I held on to it. I swung from hating you, to respecting you, to this weird kind of protectiveness, and back again. As I started to like you, the whole thing just got worse, because then I felt guilty about hating you, about what we did to you, and it made it even harder to hate you, which made me even angrier, and I took it out on you. It was just a complete mess.” He twined his fingers in Astrin’s hair.

“Then I started to… to have feelings for you. I didn’t understand them in the beginning. I fought them. I don’t know why. I suppose because I didn’t know what they meant. They scared me, and you didn’t seem to feel the same way, so I suppressed them, but that just made me crazy. It was so much easier when I admitted what I was feeling. Even though you still didn’t feel the same way, it was a relief just letting myself love you, no matter what.”

Astrin looked at him for a while, a strange look on his face. “I think I knew I loved you for a long time. I certainly knew how you felt about me. The night you fell and hurt yourself, in the car when you… when you tried to kiss me. I think the reason I panicked, the reason I almost killed myself by knocking you out was because… because… I really wanted to kiss you back.”

“We were both pretty stupid back then, weren’t we?”

“Stupid? No, I don’t think we were stupid. We were just scared.”

“I’m not scared of anything now, nothing but losing you.” Rowan’s expression was heartachingly tender, and Astrin pulled him close, resting his head on Rowan’s shoulder.

“You’re not going to lose me. I’m here and I’m staying here.”

“What, here?” Rowan chuckled. “In this room? I’d prefer if you came back to the villa with me tomorrow.”

Astrin laughed and playfully slapped him. Rowan’s eyes went dark. “You know you really shouldn’t do things like that unless you’re prepared for the consequences.”