Tagan's Child (32 page)

“Shouldn’t you
still be at home recovering?” I asked.

“What and miss
all the fun?”

Now that I was
over my initial awkwardness I was pleased to see her, it was good
to see a friendly face. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am about what
happened to you.” I felt the need to apologise, she had already
suffered enough for me and Toby.

“I’ve faced
worse.”

She emanated a
vitality that didn’t make me doubt her resilience.

“Has there been
any further intelligence on the kidnapper’s movements?” she asked,
directing her question to Ahran. She had switched from caring
sister to professional agent in the blink of an eye.

“We found out
last night that Bazeera’s men may have taken Toby to some
island.”

Elaya nodded
absorbing this information. “Do you know where that might be?” she
asked.

Ahran shook his
head. “No but I think Galius Vanhallen might?”

Elaya sat down
on the chair in the corner of the room and I sat on the bed a few
feet away from Ahran.

“Have you
spoken to him?” she asked.

“I’ve left a
message, but he doesn’t live far from here,” Ahran replied.

“Galius lives
in Morana?” she asked, her voice full of surprise.

“Yes, he
married a Moranian girl.”

Elaya’s
eyebrows shot up. “Galius is married!”

Ahran smiled.
“Married, has a child, runs his own horse stud.”

Elaya laughed.
“The mighty Galius tamed by a woman, I never thought I’d see the
day,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

It was a breath
of normalcy to watch the easy exchange between Ahran and his
sister.

“How did you
get here so quickly?” I asked. “It has taken us forever to get to
this place.”

“I flew and
then got the train,” she replied.

“You weren’t
followed?” I asked thinking back to our scrapes with Bazeera’s men
and woman on our way here.

“No, it’s
easier to blend in on your own.” I struggled to believe that Elaya
blended in anywhere but at the same time she had confirmed my fears
that Ahran would have been much better off without me.

“Is there any
chance of getting some breakfast? I am starving,” Elaya said,
looking at her watch. “I’ve been travelling all night.”

“Yes, let’s get
some breakfast here before we set off, they start serving at six
thirty, it must be nearly that now,” Ahran said.

“Its six forty
and breakfast is served,” Elaya said, standing up.

Ahran put his
boots on and I stole a look at him as I bent down to put mine on.
He caught my eye and winked. It was an insanely intimate gesture
and my heart lurched hopefully.

We walked along
the corridor and down into the reception area. Ahran slipped his
arm around me possessively which didn’t go unnoticed by Elaya. My
self-preservation button had failed and it was all I could do to
stop myself from melting into him. I hadn’t a clue where we stood
but I was relieved to feel the warmth of his arm against my back. I
was done fighting my feelings for him, even if they were about to
lead me into a lifetime of misery. All I could do now was take what
I could get and deal with the fallout when this was all over.

We entered the
restaurant and were ushered to our table by a young girl who bore a
striking resemblance to the boy on reception last night. A couple
of the other tables were occupied and there were hushed
conversations as people ate their breakfast.

We sat down and
the girl brought us some coffee before taking our breakfast order.
I was desperate for a proper cup of tea but settled for the coffee,
I didn’t fancy the spicy, sickly offering I’d had at the palace.
Ahran’s phone rang and he looked at the caller display.

“I am just
going to take this outside,” he said, answering the call.

He spoke in
Ramian as he walked away from us. I wondered why he felt the need
to take it outside and then felt a stab of jealousy at the prospect
of it being Talina. I watched him leave the restaurant.

“I see that you
and my brother have become …close,” Elaya said, not wasting any
time.

I knew I wasn’t
going to be able to avoid this conversation for much longer and it
was pointless lying to her.

“Um, sort of.”
I found it difficult to meet her eyes. I wasn’t sure how to answer
her because I wasn’t sure of the answer myself.

“I can see that
he cares for you by the way he looks at you.”

Her words were
dangerously reassuring.

“I care about
him too,” I admitted.

She looked at
me suspiciously, the way a protective sister would. She hesitated
before she said what she was about to say. “I’ve never thought
Talina was a good match.”

This was music
to my ears.

“But I’m going
to warn you for my brother’s sake,” she said, all signs of female
solidarity vanishing.

“As much as I
believe Talina and my brother are wrong for one another it would
bring great dishonour to our family if Ahran was to break his
engagement,” Elaya warned. “He is a first born male with great
status in our society and my parents would have thought long and
hard about making the right match for him.”

“But he doesn’t
love her,” I said, sounding like a sulky child.

Elaya gave a
humourless laugh. “Unfortunately for him, due to his sex and birth
order, marriage for love doesn’t come into it.”

I could feel
tears beginning to sting my eyes. Elaya had confirmed what I
already feared, Ahran and I were so doomed.

“It is firmly
believed in our culture that once the right match has been made, a
strong, loving relationship will develop in time. It could happen
between Talina and Ahran,” Elaya said.

I baulked at
the thought of Ahran and Talina being in love.

“What would
happen if Ahran broke his engagement?” I didn’t let on that he had
already pretty much done this.

“He would lose
his inheritance, his title and bring shame on our family.”

Ahran had been
economical with the truth. If he chose to be with me he would lose
everything.

Elaya put her
hand over mine and gave it a squeeze. “I am sorry to upset you. I
like you Sophie, and I wish that our society worked differently,
but I love my brother and I want you to understand that the cost to
him would be great if he chose to have a future with you.”

I didn’t blame
Elaya for telling me this. I understood what it was like to feel
fiercely protective of your sibling. I would have done the same for
my sister. Suddenly, something occurred to me. “Surely Tagan was
betrothed to a woman, has he not brought shame on his family for
having an illegitimate child?”

Elaya slowly
shook her head. “It’s amazing what is forgiven when your beloved
son and heir dies,” she said with a wry smile. “I’m afraid that if
Toby had been a girl there would be little interest in the child
and Halsan’s throne would pass to Ahran.”

Jeez, if it
wasn’t for Toby, Ahran would become king one day. Ahran had never
shown any bitterness towards Toby, in fact quite the opposite, he
was putting his life on the line to find him.

“But Toby is
not a full-blooded Ramian so can’t the throne be passed to Ahran
anyway?” I was clutching at straws. I thought I had found a flaw in
Halsan’s plan that would provide me with the loophole I needed to
get Toby and me out of this muddle and allow us to get on with our
normal, earthly lives no matter what the collateral damage to my
own heart was.

“Toby is still
Tagan’s son and a male heir to continue the Halsan bloodline,”
Elaya explained.

“I thought your
people were so advanced but the more I find out about your society
the more archaic it sounds,” I said angrily. “I wish I’d never
heard of Ramia.”

“I understand
your anger,” Elaya said sympathetically. “Your world has been
turned upside down, but Halsan is a powerful and determined man and
now that he has a direct heir, he won’t give up.”

I looked across
at her, my tears spilling onto my cheeks at the hopelessness of it
all.

“My advice to
you is to accept the situation with your nephew and walk away from
Ahran.” Her words made my chest feel tight. “If it is any
consolation I understand what it’s like to love a man I shouldn’t
love,” she divulged.

I hadn’t said I
was in love with Ahran. Was it that obvious? “What am I going to
do?” I said, feeling a renewed sense of desolation.

“I’m sorry. I
just want you to know what is at stake.”

“Would Ahran
lose his farm if he chose to be with me?” Maybe if he was able to
keep his farm I might still have a chance.

“If my father
has helped him financially, then yes.”

Ahran was
making his way back to our table and Elaya and I brought our
conversation to a halt.

“I am sorry to
have taken so long. I’ve spoken to the King and given him an
update.” His voice trailed off.

“What’s wrong?”
Ahran looked from me to Elaya.

“Nothing, we
were just talking girl talk,” I said, quickly rearranging my
expression. As if I didn’t already know that Ahran and I were
doomed, Elaya’s bombshell had thrown cold water over any burning
embers of hope. It hadn’t even occurred to me that Ahran’s father
might have a stake in his farm. After everything I had heard about
him I was beginning to detest the man. I also felt angry at Ahran
for not being totally honest with me. I couldn’t stand by and allow
him to make the sacrifices he would have to make if he wanted to be
with me. I should have stuck to my original plan to bury my
feelings, find Toby, and get the hell out of here.

Ahran sat down.
“Is there any news?” I asked, changing the subject and quietly
congratulating myself for walling up my feelings so quickly.

“No, nothing
about Toby but I’ve spoken to Galius and he’s happy for us to
visit.”

I smiled the
most genuine smile I could muster. At least we were a step closer
to finding Toby.

Ahran took hold
of my hand. Little did I know that whilst I had been sitting there
I had gathered a handful of the tablecloth in my fist.

“Are you sure
you are okay?” he asked, his eyes searching mine.

“I’m fine, just
feeling a bit anxious.” I wasn’t going to tell him about the
conversation with Elaya. It was better that I made a clean
break.

Our breakfasts
arrived and both Elaya and Ahran devoured theirs. I struggled to
eat mine. It was as much as I could do to swallow a couple of
mouthfuls. I sipped the strong coffee which just made me feel
sicker than I already felt. I barely heard the conversation Ahran
and Elaya had.

When we
finished Ahran paid the bill.

“You’ve hardly
eaten anything Sophie.” Ahran pointed to the breakfast I had barely
touched.

“I’m not
hungry,” I said, brushing it off.

He failed to
look convinced and pulled me close to him as we left the
restaurant.

Ahran and Elaya
took it in turns to drive. They conversed in Ramian and English but
I wasn’t really listening. From time to time, I rubbed my temples
in an attempt to soothe my pounding headache. Where was this
island? When I tried to imagine where they might be holding Toby
all I could come up with was an Indiana Jones-style fortress
surrounded by a crocodile infested swamp. I closed my eyes hoping
that the journey might pass more quickly if I was asleep. But as
soon as I closed my eyes my mind flooded with images of Ahran and
Toby being shot at. Getting onto the island was one thing, but
getting out alive was another. Waves of nausea started to wash over
me. I tried to take some deep breaths in the hope that it would
subside but the waves were getting stronger and I was struggling to
breathe.

“Elaya could
you please pull over?” I asked shakily.

Ahran turned
around. “Sophie, are you alright?

“Can you please
just stop the car?”

As soon as the
car came to a halt, I scrambled out and brought up my coffee and
what I had eaten of my breakfast onto the side of the road.

Ahran stood by
my side and stroked my hair.

I wretched and
coughed until my stomach was empty. Finally, I was able to take a
couple of steadying breaths.

“I’m sorry, I
think I’m just a bit car sick,” I croaked.

Elaya handed me
a bottle of water and I took a few sips. Ahran stooped down to pick
me up, worry etched into his face, but I put my hand on his chest
to stop him.

“No, it’s fine.
I’m okay, really.”

I no longer
felt sick but my head was throbbing.

“You hardly ate
anything at breakfast, you need some food inside you,” Ahran said
disapprovingly. “We’ll stop somewhere and get you something to
eat.”

The thought of
food made my stomach churn but I had to pull myself together, Ahran
would know something was wrong and I had to make him believe that I
was okay. I didn’t want him to worry about me as well as finding
Toby.

We drove for
another twenty minutes before we came across a village. Ahran went
into one of the shops and came out with some warm pastries. I
managed to force half of one down under his watchful eye. He drove
the remaining leg and I eventually got some sleep. We arrived at
Galius’s by early evening.

The approach to
the house was down a long gravel drive flanked by white fenced
paddocks. We pulled up outside an impressive farmhouse with
shutters at the windows. I assumed it was Galius waiting at the
front door for us and he took the wide front steps, two at a time.
The man was huge. Not only was he tall but he was broad and
muscular. His black hair was shoulder length and wavy. His
forehead, cheeks and chin were well-defined, and he had a long
noble nose. He reminded me of a Roman gladiator but instead of
leather combat gear, he wore a faded pair of jeans, a wide leather
belt and a blue checked shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the
elbows showing forearms that would have made a champion body
builder weep.