Wyvern's Prince (The Dragons of Incendium Book 2) (2 page)

“We also support each other’s choices,” Drakina said.

“But…”

“But nothing, Troy.” Drakina finally lost patience and her voice rose. There were probably sparks flying from the ends of her hair. “Gemma has
chosen
. I do not understand her decision. I have tried to talk to her about it, but she is determined. She
must
have a reason. She
must
have a plan. She clearly is not going to share it, and she
would
share it if she needed help.”

“She could be wrong.”

“It is less probable statistically that Gemma is wrong than any of my other sisters.”

Gemma smiled and nodded at that.

Drakina continued. “She did train with the Warrior Maidens of Cumae, you know.”

“And Prince Urbanus is one sneaky bastard. How can your father let her marry him at all?”

“He had his doubts. Gemma volunteered to secure the alliance.”

“Why? It’s nuts, princess.”

“Gemma is not crazy.”

“So, that’s it? You’re just going to let her go and if she’s wrong, well, you still have ten more sisters?”

“She is
not
wrong. Gemma is never wrong.”

Gemma heard Troy pacing the room. “And you won’t let me use my powers to find out her plan, even if it might save her,” he said with exasperation. “What’s the point of our being together if we aren’t a team?”

“Some would say our son Gravitas was the point.”

“Do you really love me, Drakina, or did you just want the Seed from me?”

Gemma winced and moved away, unwilling to hear the rest of their argument. Were all marriages compromises, even those to HeartKeepers? Was the promise of true love a lie? Gemma didn’t want it to be. Or was Drakina’s happiness compromised because Troy was a MindBender? Gemma wished she knew for sure. She wanted the kind of marriage her parents had, but didn’t think she’d get it.

She might as well marry Urbanus, conceive his son, and then kill him for his crime.

There was a good precedent for that in the mating ritual of her cousins, after all. They always killed the Carrier of the Seed once his precious burden had been delivered. She could raise the boy herself and manage it easily.

Her choice wasn’t really that hard to understand, or it wouldn’t have been if she’d told anyone of the master astrologer’s forecast.

Gemma had known her fate for years.

She’d told no one.

She’d sworn the astrologer to secrecy, and he had taken the truth to his grave.

Her HeartKeeper was the Prince of Regalia who would be king, the son of Queen Arcana whose true nature was disguised. She’d wondered about the prophecy when Drakina had been betrothed to Canto, but that prince’s death had made everything more clear. Urbanus was the crown prince, so would eventually be king of Regalia. Although she was skeptical that his true nature was better than what she’d seen so far, Gemma had to believe a master astrologer.

She had to trust in the prophecy.

Astrologers, after all, were inclined to put great value in nuance. Gemma assumed that Urbanus was slightly less wicked than she’d come to believe. Maybe he thought he had good reason for seeing Arista assassinated and for trying to have Drakina killed, too. Maybe he was trying to gain his mother’s favor so she ensured his succession, and he intended to mend his ways after her death and his coronation. Gemma might have been more inclined to help with such a goal if he hadn’t ordered the death of her Sword Sister and best friend.

Maybe the Carrier of the Seed for Gemma wasn’t the same man as her HeartKeeper. It didn’t happen often, from what she understood, but that didn’t mean it was impossible.

Either way, marrying Prince Urbanus was Gemma’s destiny.

For better or for worse.

* * *

If it had been anyone else listening to their argument, Drakina would have noticed. Gemma’s training made her more stealthy than anyone else—and Drakina’s concern for Troy had become consuming. He was increasingly impatient and filled with restless energy. The situation had grown worse each day they had been on Incendium, despite her efforts to manage her father’s expectations and her husband’s desires. She knew it irked Troy to have so little to do, but a Consort
was
a ceremonial role.

That was why she knew they couldn’t remain. Troy had investigated Incendium, spending much time in the starports, learning and making suggestions. He had been using the gym to excess, burning off his frustrations, and the results were most impressive.

Drakina had chosen duty and her father’s will because she believed there wasn’t really a choice. It had been her duty to conceive the heir to the throne. With each passing day, though, and her obligation fulfilled, it was increasingly clear that she had to do something to ensure the survival of her marriage. She, Troy, and Gravitas were finally going to Terra, immediately following Gemma’s wedding. In a real sense, their shared future would finally begin, because their royal duties would be complete for the moment.

It was time to reassure her beloved.

Troy glared at her and Drakina had a sudden idea how that might be done. It frightened her a little, but the possibility of losing her HeartKeeper frightened her more.

“How can you ask whether I love you?” she asked, tempering her tone. “Of course, I love you. I am going to Terra with you, specifically so you can use your powers and be who you are. It is no small thing to leave my world behind for yours!”

“Maybe it’s only because of the verran,” he countered. “Maybe it’s about hunting, not about me.”

“You know better than that.”

Troy shoved a hand through his hair. “I thought I did. I’m starting to wonder, princess, and I know that’s not good. I don’t want to fight with you, but I don’t want to be irrelevant either.”

Drakina halted before him and framed his face in her hands. “Don’t confuse me with my father,” she whispered. She brushed her lips across Troy’s mouth. He shivered and exhaled, but still held himself apart from her. She met his gaze steadily. “I love who you are and what you can do. You cannot be fully yourself here on Incendium. It bothers me more than it bothers you.”

He lifted a brow. “I doubt that.”

“Do you?” Drakina challenged in a whisper. She stared into his eyes and dared to say it aloud. “Then MindBend me and learn the truth.”

Troy was visibly surprised by the invitation. “You want me to manipulate your thoughts?”

“I want you to read my thoughts and share yours with me. I want our thoughts to be as one.”

“Usually MindBending is guiding thoughts in a specific direction.”

Drakina arched a brow. “I researched your skill and found this possibility noted. Are you not prepared for the challenge of learning a new skill?”

She saw the glimmer of excitement in his eyes. “It’s supposed to come from cultivating a connection with one other individual.”

“Who better than your wife and partner? I can think of no better candidate than my HeartKeeper.”

Troy grinned. “How far into your mind can I go?”

“As far as you want,” Drakina said, although the possibility terrified her. “I am an open book to you now, for we are bound together.” She felt his anticipation rise.

“No repercussions?”

“None.”

“Even if I find a secret?”

“I have none from you. I might not be good at telling you everything, but if I have stories yet untold, they are omissions not secrets. We are one, Troy.”

“You forbade me to MindBend you once,” he reminded her, his gaze searching.

“I now think it a necessary and timely concession.”

He sobered, his gaze searching hers. “You’re afraid, princess.”

Drakina nodded, disliking the admission of any weakness. She did like, though, that Troy understood her without MindBending. “But I trust you, and you need to know how much. I cannot think of a better way to demonstrate as much.”

Troy’s hands landed on her waist. “Princess!” He understood the magnitude of the concession she made to him and would honor it. This bond would be intimate and one that could not be severed, but would strengthen the connection between them.

Drakina smiled for him. “Go ahead and MindBend me, Troy. You can even feed my desire, if you want, although it’s already burning hot.” She took a deep breath. “Remind me of the merit of slow and thorough.”

He kissed her then, his delight making her heart skip. “I was thinking fast and hot might be the right choice tonight, princess.” His voice was a low rasp against her ear and the sound made her growl with need.

“I’m yours, Troy, all yours, whichever way you want me.”

“Now there’s an invitation I can’t refuse.”

“I was hoping it would be,” Drakina whispered, then she felt his thoughts slide into her own. It was much as it had been that first time on Terra, but Troy was careful instead of stealthy. He let her be aware of him, and she welcomed that. She leaned her brow upon his shoulder and took a steadying breath, surrendering to his presence in her thoughts when her instinct was to incinerate the intruder.

“Okay, princess?”
Troy didn’t speak aloud, but his voice echoed in her own mind.

She tried to reply in kind.
“All yours, HeartKeeper.”

“Which creates some very interesting possibilities,”
he mused. She could hear laughter in his tone, even as it echoed within her mind, and she smiled at that. His fingers slid up her spine and into her hair, his touch sending tingles from her nape.

“You like that,”
he said, his thoughts a lazy drawl that tangled with her own thoughts. Drakina sighed with pleasure as the heat built within her. He threaded his fingers into her hair, moving slowly and deliberately. Drakina shivered in anticipation, welcoming the brush of his lips on her ears.

“And that.”

“You know all of this already, MindBender,”
she thought.
“Dig deeper.”

Drakina felt Troy’s surprise and guessed he’d discovered a little fantasy she’d been cherishing. She smiled when he embellished it with some variations of his own. He was kissing her neck and teasing her nipple when she made the fantasy much more naughty than any game they’d ever played before and she heard his laughter.

“Naughty, naughty, princess,”
he chided, but Drakina wasn’t fooled. His pulse leaped and his breath caught, his body so taut with enthusiasm that she wanted to devour him.

Then Troy modified her fantasy and Drakina inhaled sharply at the allure of his suggestion. She seized the back of his neck, kissing him with a fervor that showed her approval. He backed her into the wall and their pulses raced as one as they kissed and caressed, then they fell on the bed with limbs entangled. Drakina braced her hands on either side of his shoulders and looked down at him, smiling at his obvious pleasure.

“You like this,”
she accused.

He nodded.
“But more importantly, I love you.”

After Drakina bent to claim Troy’s lips in a fiery kiss, no one said or thought anything coherent in the royal apartments for quite some time.

* * *

That evening, Gemma strode down the corridor to the briefing session that she’d ordered, ensuring that she arrived precisely on schedule.

It was held in her own apartment, at her command, because that was the one place she knew was secure from spies and listening devices.

Some of the party from Regalia had already arrived to prepare for the royal family’s attendance of the wedding the next day. Urbanus remained in his mother’s palace on Regalia, per tradition, so there was no chance of the bride seeing the groom. The staff from Regalia were contained in one wing of the palace on Incendium, and Gemma doubted they had the skill to circumvent the access coding on their keys.

At least not so quickly as this.

Kraw bowed when she entered the unit and Farquon saluted. Kraw was viceroy of the Kingdom of Incendium, and had been in the service of King Ouros for decades, ever since his father had resigned the same post. His mustache had been as long and elaborately curved for all the years Gemma could remember him, but now it had turned white.

Farquon was commander of the regiment assigned to the defense of the royal family. Gemma had augmented Farquon’s training herself, when she had led Incendium’s elite corps of commandos. The military assignment of a royal family member being given a military command hadn’t been a ceremonial post for Gemma. She had trained on Cumae, graduated with high honors, then returned home to serve the kingdom. Under her command, the commandos had improved their response times, stealth, and kill rates. Farquon had been her best pupil, her lover, her friend and remained one man she trusted completely. She particularly admired that their relationship had never been complicated by talk of undying love.

Farquon had made the arrangements for her pending escape, and she knew he wouldn’t reveal a syllable of her plan to anyone. Even now, he was completely impassive, commanded by Kraw to attend, and apparently without any greater bond to Gemma than any other member of the royal family. He looked slightly bored if attentive. She felt a surge of pride in his talents, then inclined her head to Kraw.