Vankara (Book 1) (28 page)

Aleksander walked
towards me until we were only standing a hand’s width apart from each other.  I
had to lift my chin in order to meet his gaze and was surprised to find his
eyes filled with worry.

“I care a great
deal for you, Emma,” he whispered, a small hint of desperation in his voice
urging me to believe his words.  “Whether you believe that to be true or not, I
don’t know.  But, did you even consider what your death would have done to me and
Dena?  What was so important that you had to risk your life to do it?”

My arms slowly
fell back to my sides.  I felt completely disarmed of my righteous indignation
by Aleksander’s heartfelt concern over my welfare.

“It was never my
intention to cause you worry.  You weren’t even supposed to know I was gone.”

Aleksander reached
out a hand, grabbing one of mine, tenderly entwining our fingers together as he
closed the small gap between us.

“I don’t know what
sort of man I would become if I lost you, Emma.”

“What do you
mean?” I whispered, hopelessly confused by his statement.

His free hand
cupped one side of my face tracing the outline of my cheekbone softly with the
pad of his thumb.

The warmth and
closeness of Aleksander’s body enveloped me in intimate intoxication.  I felt
lightheaded by his presence and increasingly shy of his undisguised romantic
advances.

“Sometimes I feel
like there’s a demon inside me waiting for an excuse to take control of who I
am,” he confided.  “If you weren’t here, I’m afraid it might win.”

“Why would you let
it?”

“What would be the
point of trying to be the kind of man you deserve if you’re not here anymore? 
Whatever good I have inside of me is because of you.  I’ve always loved you,
Emma.  Even before you were forced to marry my brother, I loved you.”

Aleksander slowly
bent his head down to mine.  I knew what his intentions were and felt helpless
to stop him, unable to reconcile my feelings for him in those few seconds.

“If you’re going
to kiss her, would you mind doing it in the other room?  I’m sick enough as it
is without the show.”

I stepped back
from Aleksander and looked at Fallon who was now awake and staring directly at us. 
I could only classify his expression as one of mild disgust at the scene he had
awakened to.

I let go of
Aleksander’s hand and walked around to Fallon’s bedside, finding a new
determination to handle one problem at a time.  Fallon had almost lost his life
to help me find the origin of the plagues; to him I owed undying gratitude for
his sacrifice.

“How are you
feeling?” I asked him, willing my flaming cheeks to loose their shy heat from
Aleksander’s romantic confessions.

Fallon raised a
disappointed eyebrow at me.  “Nauseous.”

Gabriel came into
the room, once again acting as my saving grace, this time from embarrassment
over my reaction to Aleksander.  The male automaton whom usually brought me my
dresses for formal functions walked in behind Gabriel carrying a large black
leather bag overflowing with white bandages.

“Good, you’re
awake,” Gabriel said, holding the door open for the automaton as it walked into
the room and sat the bag down on the bedside table nearest Fallon.

“I’ve brought you
some medicine which should heal the infection but the dressings will need to be
changed and the medicine reapplied once an hour.  Max here will be doing that
for you and monitoring your condition during the night.”

Fallon looked at
the automaton.  “I didn’t think these things had names like that.”

“No, they usually
don’t,” Gabriel conceded.  “But I refuse to call him VS30, doesn’t exactly roll
off the tongue.  Besides, I’ve found he has a talent for the healing arts.”

“I do not mind the
name Max,” the automaton said, turning to look at Gabriel.  “I rather like it.”

“Good,” Gabriel
said with a nod of his head.  “Now let me show you what needs to be done.”

I watched as
Gabriel instructed Max on how to take care of Fallon and marveled at how well
the automaton took directions.  Why I was surprised by this, I have no idea. 
Most automatons were adept at picking up almost any trade skill quickly.  It
was their whole reason for being.

As Max was
wrapping new bandages around Fallon’s wounds, I saw Gabriel take a dropper
glass from his bag and place two drops of the contents into a small glass of
water.  He handed it to Fallon once the automaton was finished and simply said,
“Drink.”

Without question,
Fallon drank the water and handed the glass back to Gabriel.  Even before
Fallon had put his head back on his pillow, he was fast asleep.

I looked at
Gabriel.  “Sleeping potion?”

Gabriel shrugged. 
“He wouldn’t get a good night’s rest otherwise since the dressings need to be
changed so often.  Sleep is the best thing for him right now.”

“Come get me from
my quarters if his condition worsens,” Gabriel said to Max as we all prepared
to leave the room.

Once we were all
in the drawing room, Gabriel turned to Aleksander.

“I have some
parliamentary business to discuss with the Queen.  Perhaps tomorrow would be a
better time to give you the answers you want about her excursion into fae territory.”

Subtlety was
always a strong suit of Gabriel’s.  Aleksander took the hint graciously and
bowed before me.

“I will see you
tomorrow then,” he said, capturing me with his eyes as he lifted his head. 
Quite unexpectedly, he winked and grinned at me causing me to involuntarily
smile back.

Ever the one to
keep a watchful eye on things around him, Gabriel walked to the door leading
out of my chambers and opened it for Aleksander.

“Have a good
evening, Aleksander.  We will try to find time tomorrow to speak with you.  The
Queen may be tied up in parliament for the better part of the morning though.”

Aleksander turned
towards the door and walked outside into the hallway.  He turned around once
there and looked back at me.  The longing in his eyes was almost palpable
showing a vulnerability I had not expected to see.  I felt my heart quicken
with want to comfort Aleksander just as Gabriel practically slammed the door in
the other man’s face.

“Bad form,
Gabriel,” I admonished.  “Why are you always so rude to him?”

“And why are you
always one step from falling into his arms like a love sick school girl?”

Gabriel’s anger
and disappointment in me made me want to deflect his feelings towards another
target.

“Perhaps because
the Queen conceived a child with him before she died,” I snapped.

The anger on Gabriel’s
face was instantly wiped clean.  It was like watching a piece of glass being
struck point and center by a rock, shattering from the middle outward until
what lay behind it was completely naked.

I couldn’t imagine
why Gabriel looked so hurt by my words.  It wouldn’t be until much later I
would fully understand the implications of my statement.

“I know of no
child,” he said, his voice so faint I had to strain to hear him.

I shook my head
back and forth as I considered the source of my information.

“I don’t know if
it’s true,” I admitted.  “But the fae woman who helped me patch Fallon up after
the attack, the one I told you about named Lanai, she said I was carrying a
male child and that he was two months old.  Gabriel,” I pleaded in confused
desperation, “can it be true?  Could I be carrying a baby the Queen conceived
before she died?  Is that even possible?”

“I’m not sure,” it
wasn’t very reassuring to have Gabriel look as confused as I felt.  “Like I
told you before, you’re the only female shifter I know.  It’s hard to say
whether such a thing is possible or not.”

“But I thought you
said the Queen didn’t have a lover.  The way Aleksander treats me it seems like
they might have been.  Would the Queen have kept such information from you?”

“I don’t know why
she would,” Gabriel looked taken aback by such a thought.

“Maybe because she
knew you wouldn’t approve,” my words came out with an upended lilt as more of a
question than a statement of fact.

Gabriel’s eyes
closed as if he was realizing he might not have known the Queen as well as he
thought. 

“It’s possible,”
he whispered.  Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.  “Could the baby be yours,
Sarah?  Have you been intimate with anyone?”

“How could you
even ask me such a thing Gabriel?  I thought you knew me better than that.”

“I’m sorry,” he
apologized with a shake of his head.  “But I had to ask.”

Gabriel’s grasp at
a tenuous straw confirmed how much he didn’t want to believe Queen Emma kept
such an important secret from him.  A mutual silence fell between us until I
couldn’t bear not knowing if I was actually pregnant or not. 

“Is there a way to
tell whether or not I’m pregnant?  Is there a spell of some sort or can you
tell as a doctor?”

“If Chromis is the
father then it’s true, you would only be a couple of months pregnant.  It’s
virtually impossible to tell by medical means.  But, I have heard of an
enchantment which might be of use to us.  Let me make some indiscreet
inquiries.  We don’t need a rumor being spread that you’re pregnant.  The
longer we can keep this hidden the better.”

“Why do you think
the Queen wouldn’t tell you Gabriel?  She seemed to trust you with everything
in her life.”

The haunted look
in Gabriel’s eyes told me he didn’t want to believe Queen Emma had kept the
truth from him.

“Perhaps she
didn’t know,” he reasoned.  “She would have only missed one of her cycles
before she contracted the plague.  And if she did know, I’m sure she didn’t see
the need in telling me we would be loosing two Vankars, not just one.”

“What are we going
to do if it turns out that I am pregnant?  What will we tell people?”

Gabriel took a
deep breath, letting the air pass over his lips slowly as he thought about our
predicament. 

“Let’s cross that
bridge when we have to.  We have a more pressing matter to take care of first.”

“Why?  Did
something happen while I was gone?”

“Irondale called
for a vote on the population bill today.”

“I thought that
wasn’t supposed to be voted on until the end of session?”

“I believe he
considered your illness and subsequent absence in the Hall today fortuitous. 
He took advantage of the situation and pushed up the vote.”

“Did it pass?”

“Yes.”

Shocked by hearing
this news, I went to sit on the settee.  Gabriel sat down beside me.

“Is there anything
we can do?” I asked.

“Since the vote
wasn’t unanimous, you can petition parliament to recast their votes.”

“How many members
didn’t vote to pass the bill today?”

“Only two.”

“Two?”

“The Turcheck
brothers both voted against it.”

“And how many
would we need to persuade to overturn today’s vote?”

“You need
fifty-one percent of the members to vote against it.”

“And if we don’t
get fifty-one percent?”

“Then the first
vote stands and we lose.”

The odds seemed
insurmountable.

“How are we going
to convince them to vote against Irondale?”

“I’ve talked with
a few of the members and they agree Irondale should have waited until you were
present.  And I believe a few more will vote with you if we grant them special
favors.”

“You mean we’re
going to have to bribe them to do what’s right?”

Gabriel shrugged. 
“It may not be the best way but it’s the way politics works.  You have to give
to get sometimes.”

“Shouldn’t they
just do what’s right all of the time?”

“Some of the
members have practically lived in parliament their whole lives.  They don’t
remember their idyllic plans to make Vankara a better place for its citizens. 
They’ve become jaded and simply follow whoever is the strongest leader.”

“So you’re telling
me they would rather follow Irondale than me at the moment.”

“Yes.”

“How do I turn
this around, Gabriel?  What can I say tomorrow to change their minds?”

Gabriel sighed as
though we were already defeated.  “Honestly, I’m not sure you can.”

Chapter 19

As I sat on the
wooden throne in the Halls of Parliament, the voices of the delegates swirled
around me like a gale of incoherent words.  Some watched me with hooded eyes,
waiting to see what I would say to dissuade them from voting yes to Irondale’s
bill again.  Others stared at me openly as if they were hoping I would give
them good reason to turn their backs on one of the most influential and
powerful men our nation has ever known.

Jeffery Irondale
stood at his podium directly across from me shuffling through the papers in
front of him.  It was obvious he was trying his best to ignore me without it
openly appearing that way.  The good mannered people in the Hall would have
abhorred such open disregard for royalty.  I got the distinct feeling the Chief
Prime Minister didn’t consider the Queen his match in the political realm in
which he ruled so easily.  It was almost as if he were simply humoring me by
putting his bill up again for a second vote.  His silent belittling of my
station seemed inconsistent with the helpful, caring man I had first met on the
night of Dena’s abduction.  I hoped to prove to him and everyone else in the
chamber I was not going to be a Queen who simply stood by and watched laws I
considered not to be in the best interest of the country get passed.

Gabriel stood by
my side, acting as a shield to protect me from the political trap falls
surrounding me.  We discussed the points I should make to dissuade the members
from voting for Irondale’s population reconstruction bill again and knew
Gabriel’s silent deals with certain members had pushed our numbers up to thirty
percent against.  It was now up to me to persuade another twenty-one percent of
parliament to vote against the bill and save Vankara from self-destruction.