WindSeeker (42 page)

and his followers. "I might have blamed her in a moment of anger, but I know where the guilt lies, Papa.

The guilt is with Galen."

"Yet you punish Liza for something she could not control. You sent her away because you could not

deal with her rape!"

Conar flinched. If only his father knew it was Conar’s rape of his wife that had made him send her away.

"See!" Gerren shouted, taking Conar’s reaction as the truth to his statement. "You do blame her. It takes

a real man to get past the rape of his wife and see that the woman does. She needs you now more than

ever and you send her away. How do you think that makes her feel?"

Gerren followed his son as Conar walked to the bedside table and poured a tumbler of brandy. He

angrily shook his head when Conar turned to offer him some.

"And you don’t need it, either!"

Draining a tumbler of the plum-flavored liquor, Conar’s face turned hard as he poured another and then

returned to sit in front of his father.

"If what you say is true, if she really needs me, then why does she meet her baseborn lover and our

marriage contract not even voided, as yet?"

Nothing could have shocked the King more. He sat heavily on the settee. "So that has been what you

were about." There was disbelief in his voice. "You sent her to Oceania to void the contract? But why?"

According to Tribunal Law, if one or the other of the marriage partners in a royal joining find fault with

their relationship, the couple could choose not to remain married. If they find they are not compatible, can

not live with one another without coming to physical blows. If the man is incapable of planting seed or the

wife accepting it, if for whatever reason—outside of adultery—then a six month separation, agreed upon

by both parties, would result in an annulment. As long as neither party spoke to or saw the other in that

six month period. In Serenia, Liza would not have been allowed to marry again; in Oceania, she could.

Conar, however, would never be permitted to marry again unless no issue had come from his marriage.

"Did you hear nothing I said?" Conar yelled. His head began to pound so badly his vision blurred. "She

has a lover. And not just any lover. Brelan Saur, and you know what he is to her brother! On my

gods-be-damned Joining day, one of her maids told me he had been courting her before she and I

married."

"Brelan?"

"Aye, Brelan!" Conar struck the table beside his father with the flat of his hand. "Your bastard son!"

His father let out a ragged sigh. He had been afraid the two men would run into one another in Ciona, for

that was where Brelan resided most of the time. "How do you know this?"

"Because I saw them together!" Conar bellowed, clenching his fists. He turned away, draining his

brandy; his face mixed with shame and hurt and fury.

"Put down that tumbler and don’t fill it again!" his father warned as Conar took a step toward his table.

"Where did you see them?"

"In the stables at Ciona, like a pair of rutting serfs. Pumping away in the damn hay like dogs in heat!" he

shouted. He stomped to his nightstand and poured another tumbler.

The King’s face turned white. He was so shocked by his son’s words, he didn’t think to order Conar

not to have more liquor. If this was true, he could well understand Conar’s desire to blot it out with drink.

"You saw them mating?"

"I didn’t stay long enough to see him thrusting into her, if that’s what you mean." He brought the tumbler

to his lips, stopped, and turned raging eyes at his father.
"And her pregnant with my child
!" Conar

screamed at the top of his voice, further shocking his father, as he threw the tumbler as hard as he could

against the hearth.

"Anya Elizabeth is with child?"

"
My child
!"

Gerren was dismayed at the glazed look in his son’s blue eyes. Too much ale, too fast, he thought

miserably.

Conar flung out an angry hand. "I couldn’t stand there and watch what was happening."

"What did you do? Did you call him out?" He walked to his son and put a hand on Conar’s shoulder,

finding the muscles tense as coiled springs.

"I didn’t dare for fear the wrong ears would hear of it. Instead, I went to Oceania and waited for her

return. I waited two days before Grice would see me. He told me she was still in Ciona with a ‘family

friend.’" His lip twisted. "Brelan knew I would come looking for her. The coward didn’t want trouble

with me so he left and took Liza with him."

"Then you didn’t confront them?" When Conar shook his head, Galen stroked his son’s gleaming blond

hair. "They didn’t see you, did they?"

A shudder of hatred went through his son. "Saur did."

"But you didn’t speak to him?"

"No." One word, bitter and hard, filled with regret.

"Why didn’t you? Maybe you misinterpreted what you saw."

"Not with her so tightly held in his arms you couldn’t see where she began and he left off! Not with his

mouth all over hers!"

Gerren winced. "This is serious. Very serious. Adultery is a capital crime for a royal wife."

Conar’s shoulders sagged. "Now you know why I didn’t want to confront him in Ciona, on Serenian

soil! If anyone had seen them together, there would be little I could do to protect her from the Tribunal."

"No one must know of this. No one."

"He was waiting there for her. She ran into his arms as though I had never existed." His fury mounted

along with his pain. "With my child in her belly she plays whore to my brother!"

Gerren felt like smashing something and actually looked around Conar’s room for something to

demolish. In searching for an immediate outlet for his own anger, he failed to see the sullen, hardened

look enter his son’s face.

"I’ll not tell anyone what she’s done. But when I get my hands on Saur, I’ll pull his prick out by the

roots!"

"She must—she will be brought back here!"

"She didn’t see me and so the six-month time still stands. Let the bitch be free of me. If I bring her back,

I’ll kill them both!"

Gerren ignored the male boasting. "That’s not the answer. No one must know this has happened. If

she’s brought back here, we can avert the danger to her and the babe."

A knock sounded at the door.

Gerren jumped, his nerves already raw with Conar’s revelations.

"
Come
!" Conar shouted.

"The Boreal Queen is ready to weigh anchor, Majesty," Hern told Gerren as he ducked his head in the

door.

"I’ll be right there," the King sighed.

"Legion is in the hall wanting to see you, too," Hern replied.

"I said I’d be right there!" Gerren snarled. He looked at Conar. "We will speak of this later. I’ll send

Legion to take care of the matter."

In the hall, the King barely broke his angry stride as Legion fell into step beside him. Putting up a

forestalling, furious hand, Gerren ground his teeth over his words. "I don’t have time for stupid-ass

questions or comments, Legion! Find that bastard brother of yours, Brelan Saur. The last we know, he

was in Ciona. He may be in Oceania by now, though. Bring his ass back here!" He glared at Legion’s

confused face. "At once! I want that son-of-a-bitch brought back in chains, if need be! And if she is with

him, drag her back, as well!" He stomped down the spiral staircase. "But be careful of her condition!"

"If
who
is with him?" Legion called after his father.

"Elizabeth McGregor, fool!" his father whispered back.

"Eliza…?" Legion’s mouth dropped open. He caught Teal du Mer’s wide-eyed stare as the King rudely

shoved aside the gypsy.

"What’s going on?" Teal mumbled, staring after Gerren. "Why would Liza be with Saur?"

"
Hush
!" Gerren shouted, hearing du Mer’s innocuous question. "Do as I’ve said, Legion! This is a

matter of secrecy. And you know why!"

"What matter of secrecy?" Teal asked.

"The hell if I know!" Legion mumbled.

* * *

"How may I be of service, Your Grace?" the old man inquired, his rheumy eyes on the bottle in his

prince’s hand.

Conar thrust the bottle forward. "Two more of these and send Gezelle to me."

The servant backed out of the room, too afraid of the wild look in his Overlord’s eye to tell him that

Gezelle wasn’t feeling well.

She finally came to him as evening shadows began to dim the light. She could see by his mood he was

furious. Her head came up a little as he stalked toward her.

"Where have you been?" he growled, grabbing her upper arm. "I’ve had people searching for you all

day!"

"I am here now." She winced only a little as his grip tightened.

"When I call, Mam’selle," he snarled, dragging her unresisting to him, "you come!" He swooped down to

claim her lips in a fiery punishment of passion.

* * *

young man to him and stroked the damp face. "It’s all right, brat. Hern’s here."

Conar clutched at the Master-at-Arms. He buried his face in the soft nightshirt stretched across the

man’s broad chest and wept as though his heart would break.

"Easy, now, brat, easy. ’Tis just the old dream again."

Conar moaned. "No, it isn’t."

"Aye, was just the old dream." Hern lifted the prince’s face and the bleak look shocked him. "Have you

forgotten that dream? You haven’t had it since you married your lady."

Conar shook his head. "It wasn’t a dream, Hern. I wish to the gods it was a dream."

The warrior understood. "Was it about your lady, then?" The King had told him about Conar’s

suspicions concerning the princess and Lord Brelan Saur.

"I’ve lost her, Hern," he cried, his voice hitching. "I pushed her away from me."

Hern gripped Conar’s chin. "You let her go because you were afraid you’d hurt her, isn’t that true? This

godawful temper you’ve developed wouldn’t allow you to let her stay at Boreas because you thought

you might turn that temper on her, isn’t that the way of it?"

Conar could only nod.

"And you thought once you had that temper under control, you could go after her?"

Again the nod.

"And you must have thought you had it under control when you sent messengers to tell us you were

going after her."

Conar had forgotten all about sending the messages to his father and brother.

"But you found you didn’t have it under control after all, when you found your brother and your lady

together. Is that the way it happened?"

"It wasn’t the same kind of anger, Hern," he said miserably, sobs catching in his throat. "I was furious

with Brelan—"

"That’s nothing new."

"But once I got back, things changed. I changed when I stepped foot inside this keep. If she had been

here, I would have beaten her to a pulp. And I’d have slit Saur’s damned throat!"

"And that’s why you left your lady in Oceania."

"I love her, Hern. I love her so much! I can’t have her here. I can’t be around her." He buried his face in

his hands. "What’s wrong with me, Hern?"

"You wouldn’t have really hurt her, brat. You might have felt like it, but you wouldn’t have."

Conar moaned, his heart aching, for he could not tell this man he had already done so. "I want to die. I

deserve to die!"

Hern shook him. "
Don’t say that
!
Don’t you dare ever say that again
!"

"It’s true! I am evil, Hern Arbra. I am corrupt inside. I don’t—"

"
Stop it this instant
!" Hern held him down in the bed by his shoulders. "You are as good as they come,

Conar McGregor. There is nothing evil inside you!"

"I know what I am."

"And what you are is a good man who’s having a rough time of it. It can all be accounted for by what

you went through in that gods-be-damned abbey. Are you forgetting I was there when you had that

run-in with the demon? I saw your strength, Conar. An evil man could not have fought, and won, against

a demon from the pit. Did you forget that?"

Conar shook his head. "They let me win. Now, they have me where they want me."

"They have nothing of the sort!"

Conar grabbed Hern’s shirt. "If I tell you something, will you not be telling it to another living soul?"

Hern snarled. "When have I ever told your secrets?"

"She’s going to have my son, Hern."

Hern knew the princess was with child; his King had told him so.

"I want you to promise me something."

Hern’s face narrowed. "And that promise being…?"

Conar took a deep breath. "If anything should happen to me—"

"Don’t even think of saying such a thing. Nothing’s going to happen to you!"

Conar continued as though he had not been interrupted. "If anything happens to me, I want you to go

after my son and bring him back. I want
you
to raise him as you raised me."

Hern’s eyes misted with instant tears. He could not swallow past the lump in his throat.

"Promise, Hern. Promise me you will raise my son as you raised me."

"Consider it done, brat." He drew Conar into his arms. "Consider it done."

Along one beautiful stretch of beach bordering the keep of Oceania’s capital, Seadrift, sunlight filtered

through a soft, swirling mass of darkened clouds high overhead. It was late summer and a rainstorm to

the far west was brewing off the coast of Diabolusia. Gulls careened down to take their late-afternoon