Van Laven Chronicles (24 page)

CHAPTER 44

Vaush sat alone in the cockpit of the Nethicaen transport. The only illumination came from the view screen, upon which was the face of the man she’d known as father for the past twenty-five years. The DNA results were conclusive. She was the biological offspring of Emperor Sorren Hrollaugr and heir to his throne. Having only minutes before Comron caught up with her, she had no choice but to be direct.

“I know the truth,
Father
,” she began in a frosty tone.

“Vaush, where are you? Give me your coordinates, dear child,” Larrs said. Few would have detected the frantic pitch in his voice.

“I’m the late Emperor’s daughter, my mother was the Imperial Court Translator, Payce Erlacher. What I don’t know is what happened to my mother and how I came to be in your care. I need answers now.”

The look of astonishment on his face was revealing, but was quickly displaced by resolution.

“Where exactly are you, darling?” he repeatedly calmly, though his eyes burned with barely contained enmity. “I know you’re somewhere with the Nethicaens, the dirty cocksuckers,” he muttered under his breath. “But all will be forgiven if you just come home.”

But will I forgive you?
“What happened to my mother?”

“All of this can be discussed at length once you’re safely home.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what happened to Payce Erlacher.”

His dark eyes glistened with fury. “Now you listen—” he broke off, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. “I-I’m sorry, I’ve been under a great deal of pressure of late. Regarding your mother, I’m afraid she died during childbirth.”

“Come now, Father, you had access to the best medical science in the system and yet you expect me to believe that my mother died during a standard delivery?”

“There were complications, but I couldn’t send her to a proper medical facility when we were trying to conceal her identity from some very powerful enemies. We provided her with the best care possible at Gosselton Heights.”

Vaush closed her eyes. Was every man in her life lying through their teeth to her? Gosselton Heights had a standing infirmary and Larrs could have had the best physicians on hand when Payce went into labor. If her mother died during childbirth it was only because he intentionally withheld vital care from her. It was as good as murder.

“Listen to me carefully, my dear,” Larrs said, trying his best to play the part of the concerned father. “You are in very grave danger. The same people who wanted you dead twenty-five years ago want you dead now. I will deliver you safely to Novoxos under a full military escort. But time is running out. Give me your coordinates.”

“I’m afraid your price for passage may be more than I’m willing to pay. Perhaps it would be best if I found my own way to Novoxos.”

He gave her a look loaded with scorn and indignation. “You’d be dead before the day was out.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

“With who? That festering shite-hole, Van Laven?”

She had to bite her tongue to keep from telling him that she was now married to the festering shit-hole in question. She checked her chronometer, she had seventy seconds before she’d lose ability to scramble her signal.

“Seven hells! Don’t tell me you’re fool enough to believe he loves you. He’s only cocking you to get close to the throne.”

“Yes, well it feels a hell of a lot better than what you’ve been doing to me these past twenty-five years.” She turned at the sound of hurried footsteps and found Comron frantically rushing toward her.

“What in the devil are you doing?” Comron yelled as he caught sight of Larrs face on the com-screen.

Larrs saw him too. “Give me the god-dammed coordinates, Vaush. You owe this to us!”

Comron grabbed her arm. “Vaush, please, don’t do this!”

“He is the reason your sister and her family are all being held captive and tortured,” Larrs accused.

Vaush’s head felt like it was splitting. “Hellena? You’re lying, you’re just trying to manipulate me.”

“See for yourself!” Larrs said waving his hand over the controls. A visual of Vaush’s older sister Hellena, her husband and two crying children were all bound and gagged in some dingy looking warehouse facility. The time stamp indicated the visual was obtained four hours ago.

“Oh my God,” she said looking at Comron. “Did you know anything about this?”

“No, but look at the guards’ uniforms,” he said, pointing at the screen. “The gold lion sigil means they are Thalonius’ men, not ours.”

“But they were abducted in hopes of gaining knowledge of your whereabouts. Vaush…,” Larrs entreated. “If you don’t come home with me now, they are going to kill your sister and her family.”

“Damn it!” Vaush screamed and shot up from pilot’s seat. “What guarantee do I have that they won’t kill them anyway out of spite or anger? Just like
you
killed my guards!”

“What other choice do you have?” Larrs gestured at Comron with a full look of revulsion in his eyes. “This mud-crag’s father is hell bent on finding him and murdering you. Thalonius’ forces are scouring the sector hunting you down for the kill. I’m the only one willing and able to provide you safe passage to Novoxos.”

Vaush muted the communications and turned to Comron. “Is that a fair assessment? Is Larrs the only chance of reaching Novoxos alive?”

The look of angst and regret in his green eyes was painful. “You know it’s not an option for me. If you go with Larrs…we will never see each other again and you’ll be signing Nethic’s death warrant.”

“What other choice do we have against all those enemies hunting us?” Vaush said anxiously. Though she’d never give her consent for Larrs to attack Nethic, she knew that his hatred would drive him to use the imperial might and influence to ruin Nethic and he’d likely make Nethic pay dearly if Comron continued to pursue Vaush.

“Do you still love me, Vaush?” Comron asked, looking as if his heart were bleeding.

As she gazed upon him, she tried to imagine a different life, one that did not include Comron Van Laven. She winced at the dreary gray coldness of the vision. Though she was still angry at him for withholding the truth about her parentage, she understood his fear, especially knowing intimately the depths of Larrs’ hatred for all things Van Laven.

“I told you before,” her expression was stern, her tone equally so, “my love for you is constant.”

His chest heaved with relief. “Then cut off the communication with Larrs. We will make our own way to Novoxos.”

“On our own?” she said with grave skepticism.

“I can’t go back to a life without you, nor can I leave Nethic vulnerable to Larrs’ attack. We currently have the advantage since they have no idea where we are. As long as we stay one step ahead of them, there is a chance we can outrun them to Novoxos.”

Vaush considered the odds of that and became disheartened, until she thought about their time on Patheis and all the battles they fought to stay alive. If they could survive those odds, maybe Comron was right. Wasn’t a future together worth fighting for?

But there was still one more matter.

Her hazel eyes were fierce with the intensity. “You claim to love me with an eternal passion.”

He nodded but held his silence.

She approached him and stared him dead in the eyes. “I have no use for liars in my life, Comron. Do it again and
we are through
. Do I make myself clear?”

He didn’t flinch from her gaze or shrink back from her demand. “It will never happen again,” he answered in a clipped tone.

“Good,” she turned back to the com panel and unmuted the channel. “Larrs, you would do well to focus your attention on saving Hellena and her family. As for me,” she glanced at Comron, “I found my own ride to Novoxos.” With that she switched off the link.

CHAPTER 45

Comron drew Vaush’s attention over to the holographic star chart glowing yellow against a shimmering black field. He pointed at a blue pulsing light. “Here we are.” He trailed his finger across to the left a ways. “There’s Novoxos. Even at top speed, we’re three days out.” He added rather gravely, “I’d say we have a couple of hours before Larrs descrambles our transmission coordinates or Crausin pulls the logs of the missing Nethicaen transport. Once they have the data, know that Thalonius will as well.”

Vaush’s mouth set sternly. “They don’t want me on the throne and I don’t want it. If I could make them understand this, I’d no longer be perceived as a threat.”

“Vaush, as the legal heir, you will always be a threat to Thalonius. Even if you abdicate your position now, he fears that at some point in the future a rival power might persuade you to march on Novoxos under their banner.”

She drew a deep breath and sighed heavily. “Yes, because that’s always been my life’s ambition to wield the power of a vast empire.”

He raised a finger, “That brings us to yet another point, think about what your life’s work has been. If the masses ever learned that their true sovereign is a benevolent, selfless champion of the downtrodden who rejects her lavish lifestyle and privilege in favor of rolling up her sleeves to help them build their lives, they would thrust you upon the throne, begging you to rule over them.” He inclined his head at her. “Don’t think Thalonius isn’t aware of this or how exceedingly unpopular he is with the proletariat.”

She leaned forward, elbows on table. “Well, if I’m the rightful heir, why can’t I call on the imperial armed forces for a safe escort to Novoxos?”

“Because they’re currently under Thalonius’ control and will remain so until you are indisputably proven to be Sorren’s heir. Besides, they are still a day’s travel away when our enemies are only minutes.”

“Not the regional regiments. Or what about the local authorities for that matter?”

“If we seek their help, we run the risk of exposing ourselves to Thalonius’ agents. With the enormous bounty he’ll place on your head, we’ll be hard pressed to find a clean agency that isn’t willing to turn us over to Thalonius, Nethic or Ti-Laros.”

“We might as well be at hell’s gates,” she said irritably. “Is there nothing that we can do?”

“We stay the course, alerting no one to our whereabouts. They may know our destination, but there are numerous routes to get there. With any luck, we’ll make it to Novoxos before they find us.”

She looked incredulously at him. “You realize that if they find me, they’ll likely kill you too for the part you’re playing in all this. You have a very rich and fulfilling life waiting for you back on Nethic. Are you certain this is where you want to be?”

A pensive expression fell over his face. “It’s the
only
place for me. Whether it be in the heights of heaven or the pits of hell, I choose to faithfully remain at your side.”

The soft glow in her hazel eyes and her furtive smile was his reward. But then the look gave way to uncertainty and distrust. Where his words of endearment once delighted her beyond measure, they now only reminded her of the lies he’d told. The realization hurt far worse than he imagined it could. Would she ever open her heart to him again? Had his great lie cost him everything?

“I know you love me, Comron,” she said as she gazed at the shimmering star field. “I’ve known that since Patheis.”

He stared intently at her, terrified and anxious for her next words.

“And I know that you tried to break your betrothal long before you knew I was Hrollaugr.”

His brow furrowed. “H-how did you know?”

“House Eskridge nearly burst an organ over the affront to Spira and they made their feelings known to close associates who…
talk
to my father. He discussed it over dinner a week after we returned from Patheis. That’s when I knew it was real, that you meant every incredible word you said to me. I was scared, but never in my life had I felt so profoundly loved.”

He listened and waited, despite this indisputable proof of his love, something in her had changed, the way she
viewed him
had changed.

“Everything was perfect and I would’ve believed anything you told me, because you’d kept your word about breaking the betrothal.”

The ache inside began to grow once he realized what he had destroyed.

“When you lied so effortlessly about something so monumental…,” she shook her head slowly. “I forgive you, but it’s like forgiving someone after an infidelity— the level of trust you once had is gone.”

And there it was the gulf between them threatening to never be bridged, all because he tried to balance the needs of Nethic with his personal needs. Nethic might prevail and prosper under her reign, but none of it would feel like a triumph if he lost Vaush.

“The last thing I ever wanted to do was destroy your faith in me. I agonized over it and started to tell you so many times. If there had been any other way to avoid this and protect Nethic, I would have done it.”

Her expression remained inscrutable. She walked over to a cabin chair and lowered herself into it. “I hate like hell that this has happened,” she said. “But honestly, if I’d been in your position I don’t know that I would have handled it any differently. Nonetheless, the damage is done.”

He remained at the holographic star-chart and waited for her to work it through and make peace with what he’d done.

She stared at the Nethicaen heirloom ring on her finger. “Technically, I suppose you didn’t lie…marrying you did negate your betrothal contract to Spira. Your true transgression was a lie of omission, which is deception and equally reprehensible.” She rubbed her neck as if she were tired and he resisted the urge to go to her. She hated the gulf between them as much as he did and she was trying her best to close it. Now was not the time to attempt to influence or persuade her, she had to get there on her own.

“I’m convinced that your love for me is genuine. So what this boils down to is you withheld critical information from me while pressuring me to make a very important decision.” She casts him a look of chastisement and he lowered his eyes in repentance. “But you did it for noble reasons. I can’t condemn you for wanting to secure your world’s future. However, the trust works both ways. You must completely open your heart to me and trust me with the truth from now on.”

Unable to withhold himself any longer, he went to Vaush and fell at her knees and hugged her. He could feel her emotionally reaching out for him, the gulf had been bridged and she invited him out of the cold and back into her heart where it was warm and he was truly loved.

She pulled back and gazed adoringly at him. “If they don’t capture us and I am crowned Empress…you will rule at my side as my husbandly consort.” Her hazel eyes reflected the tender warmth she felt in that moment. “And after some time, I will bear your children and they will sit upon the imperial throne after me. Be a good and faithful husband to me, Comron, and that will be your reward.”

He cradled her face in his hands. “No…
you
are my reward,” he said and kissed her tenderly. All of the uncertainty, all of the obstacles, and all of the pain from Crausin’s whip melted away in his immense joy. He’d taken the greatest gamble of his life and won larger than he ever imagined possible. He held her tightly and whispered in her ear. “As long as I live, I will be your most faithful and devoted servant. No man will
ever
love you the way I do.”