Zendar, page 17
“I am still a princess. Accused but not convicted,” she said, glaring up at him. “You will treat me with a same bearing were you escorting me from my private chambers.”
Azel held her head high as she turned and matched in the same direction as her brother, the soldiers looking at her in wonder. She had yelled her innocence long into the night but now her brother had silenced her. She would be forced to remain silent to save the lives of her sisters. She had not known when to tell her brother that she was not his true sister. No blood connected them.
Servants, guards, and soldiers watched her as she made her walk. Their eyes followed, and she could feel them on her, wondering and judging. She bore it all with dignity; her clothes were wrinkled and slightly dirty. Her hair was braided and it sat long along her spine. No matter her state, nothing could take away her birthright. She was Princess Azel, born of the Kaheron royalty and wielder of the Vandi Bloodline.
The doors opened to her, and she felt as though she could hear the wheels of the world moving around her. She was caught in its pull, Zendar was strumming the strings of fate and their melody turned the world. Her silence on her brother’s guilt did not mean she could not draw their verdict out as long as possible.
She stood before them again, but in resigned silence. When they inquired about something she said very little. She could tell that the oldest councilman, named Oden, was clearly upset by her sudden silence.
“Azel,” he said, leaning forward. “You have been accused of murder and by our laws it is met only with death. Unless you speak to the contrary I fear this council will find you guilty.”
“I loved Leoric, he was my Liege and my father,” Azel said. “I will abide by his laws if found guilty of the accusations I face. I still assert that I am innocent but on the matter of defense I have none. Whoever wished for me to look guilty has done so quite effectively. However, I can assure you that if found guilty you will be condemning an innocent woman.”
“If you have something to prove this, please defend yourself,” he said. He obviously had adored her like her people.
“If I do,” she said, looking straight at him, “I endanger others.”
He sat back, clearly confused. “Titus, have you anything to say in defense of your sister?”
“I came just after my father was killed,” he said, with furrowed eyebrows and fake tears brimming in his eyes. “I cannot see how anyone else could have committed this crime.”
“Was I alone?” Azel asked while glancing at her brother. He had done exactly as she expected.
“Only the Liege Kavil was there, but he was injured as well,” Titus said. He was not amused by her question. “I do not believe he could have attacked Corvinus. They were old friends.”
“Was he not injured with a guard’s throwing knife, like the ones father kept on his desk?” Azel asked. “And could he not have thrown the knife that injured Kavil?”
Titus’s eyes narrowed. “You were dressed as a guard; you could have had one on you as well.”
“It makes one wonder nonetheless, since you were not there,” Azel said. “I am the only witness to the attack against my father. Kavil could have been the one to attack him.”
“Impossible,” Titus said. “The ravings of a desperate woman.”
“We are to vote,” said the councilwoman. She had waited patiently until her employer had finished. “Guilty or innocent.”
“We shall give a silent ballot,” Oden said, picking up the pen from the top of the podium.
The room was so silent that Azel could hear the tapping of the councilwoman’s pen on the glass. They would mark their vote and the totaling of the votes would appear on a separate screen that would be read aloud. All eyes were on Titus, who, as Liege, would read the tally. The man to his left nodded and handed him the tablet.
He stood and said in a loud voice, “The tabulation is in. On a vote of six to four, Azel, Princess of Undel, I hereby sentence you to death. You will step from the ship of your own will and rejoin Zendar tomorrow morning at dawn.”
Azel closed her eyes as the witnesses gasped in shock. Her fate was sealed and now the only man could save her was her family’s enemy. She only hoped that her birth father could convince him of her unyielding love. Tomorrow at dawn, she would know for sure.
Chapter 36
“Moment of Truth”
Azel could hear the rain as they lead her to her death. So rarely did it rain in Zendar, it was strange that it would happen on the day she was to die. Normally a festival was held on days such as this and the women danced in the rain until it stopped. It was said that Zendar took pleasure in their dancing feet and would continue to make it rain until there was not a drop left.
She turned her face to the sky as she was pulled onto the open deck at the rear of the ship. She wore a traditional Dress of Death. It was the same color as sand, so that the world would embrace her at the moment of impact. Those of the alliance had always believed in returning oneself to the planet instead of death any other way. Willing suicide is what she thought of it. There was no burden placed on anyone besides the person who jumped.
“We cannot allow her to be executed during such a time,” Oden said in his wobbly voice. “It is sacrilege.”
Her brother turned back to her as his guards walked her forward. “We will wait for the rains to stop. It will not take long.”
His gaze landed on her for the last few words. His eyes were telling her she was beyond hope. That he had won their little battle and he would take pleasure in knowing that she would be taking her own life. For a moment she seriously contemplated throwing him off of the ship. It seemed like a perfectly viable solution. There was only one problem; he was beyond her reach.
He wouldn’t allow her to get close enough to toss him from the ship. He must have figured if he died then there was no further threat to her sisters. All would resolve itself with his death. However, if she took his life, she would be forfeiting her own. Regardless of her reasons, murder was met only by a sentence of death. He must know the dilemma she would face that Azel would take him with her when she jumped.
She had underestimated her brother, she thought as she tilted her head back and let the rain fall over her. They had been raised as twins but no actual blood connected them. It was ironic that her mother’s secret would die with her.
“The heavens cry for you” Oden said in a soft voice as he patted her arm.
“You do not believe I killed my father” Azel said, turning to look at the gray-haired man.
“No,” he said with his hand on her shoulder. “I have known you since you were a small girl. You loved your father.”
“Do you think he forgives me?” she asked, looking out into the rain.
“For what, child?”
“For loving a man who was our enemy,” Azel said. “My mother’s heart would have broken to know I intended to marry as she had. My father prohibited it immediately but I would still have returned to him.”
“Leoric was a man quick to judge and just as quickly to reevaluate his original judgment,” Oden said, picking up her shackled hands to pat them. “He may have forbid it at first, but he would have seen the wisdom in your choice.”
“Wisdom had nothing to do with it,” she said with a slight laugh. “The rains, they are stopping.”
“Prepare the prisoner for her final rites,” Titus said from a safe distance. “Oden, would you do the honors?”
“Daughter of Zendar,” he said with a sturdier voice, “you are charged with treason against the Bloodline and it is the council’s decision that you be returned to the planet. On this day, the planet welcomes you back into its embrace and you shall be born once more somewhere among the stars. Despite your crimes it is this council’s wish that you find peace, and that Zendar forgives your trespasses against its people. Go now, on the winds of justice, and return yourself to the world which gave you life. Have you any last words?”
She stood out on the short protrusion used for executions. She had always hated them as a child; it was as though she could see the ghosts of those lost. It had been the scariest part of the ship, and now it had come down to this moment.
“I only wish that my innocence be remembered,” Azel said, looking at the faces of those around her, “and that justice will be carried on the true murderer once I am gone.”
“Return yourself to the planet,” Oden said with sadness in his voice. “And be cleansed by its sands.”
Azel smiled at Oden in a painful sort of way. Aleron had not come for her. She put her arms out and turned her face to the sky as sun shone down on her. She closed her eyes as she fell backwards, her dress rushing up as she fell to her death. There was a certain sense of peace within her heart knowing that she would soon be reunited with her mother.
She could feel the ground getting closer and any moment her life would end. Next thing she knew the wind had been knocked out of her and she was rushing sideways instead of down. She gasped for air painfully as she pushed her hair from her face and looked up to see who was holding onto her. Aleron looked down at her with a smile that said did you really doubt me?
She glanced to the right, and Caine nodded to her with a smile. To the left was Draken, who nodded out of respect but indicated no pleasure in her rescue. Azel wrapped her arms around Aleron’s waist as she started to cry. It came in painful bursts because she had not fully recovered. She held onto him the entire time that they rode the sand cycle back to his waiting flag ship. She had missed him terribly, but until she had seen his face she had not known how much.
When they reached his hidden ship she pulled back from him and looked up into his face. He pulled the goggles off and tossed them to the side. He framed her face with his hands and inspected her thoroughly. Caine and Draken left them alone as discreetly as possible; she would thank them later.
“I have missed you, little bird,” he said, and he leaned forward kissing her gently.
Her hands fisted in his clothes, and it was she that deepened the kiss before pulling back to say against his lips, “as have I.”
He kissed her forehead. “You must never leave me again.”
“I won’t,” Azel said, pushing on his chest a little. “Though you scared me half to death waiting so long.”
“I had to make sure your brother thought you dead,” Aleron said, caressing her cheek. “I could not risk being detected and was forced to catch you at the last possible second.”
She kissed him hard and quick. “Where is everyone?”
He picked her up and stepped from the sand cycle with little effort. “They are elsewhere preparing for night so that we can rejoin my armada. Tonight, you are mine.”
“You are wrong” Azel said, closing her eyes and resting her head against his with her arms around his neck. “I will always be yours; I shall become your queen and bear your children.”
He stopped short on that and looked down at her. “Can you forgive me?”
“I did long ago,” Azel said with a tired sigh. “Nothing can keep us apart.”
“Come, my Queen” he said, opening the door to his private chambers. “Rest now. You are safe.”
--
As the ship crept through the night, undetected, Azel stirred from her sleep. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dark room. She looked to her left and there slept Aleron. His face was mostly shadows, but he held onto her as though she might run away again if he let her go. She turned her head and kissed his lips ever so gently.
She felt him stir as she turned over and wrapped her arms around his neck. She smiled at him as he smiled at her; a mutual love passed between them. He turned over, pulling her over so that she was on top of him. Her legs straddled him as they shared another kiss.
Azel pulled back and looked down at his face streaked in moonlight. “I love you Aleron, Liege of Sol and son of the Corvinus Bloodline.”
“I love you Azel, daughter of Leoric and descendent to the Kaheron Bloodline,” he said, burying his fingers in her hair. “You make the darkness bearable.”
She leaned back down to kiss him. How she had missed his lips. She felt him press against her, his desire obvious and ramrod straight. Her own desire filled her entire being and she pulled at her skirts. For once she found them burdensome in her own impatience. He grabbed her hips and pressed his tip against her. At some point Aleron had freed himself, and his impatience matched hers.
He stopped with his hands still on her hips. He was waiting for her; Aleron wanted her to join them. All his love for her was displayed upon his face and she reached back to take his hands from her hips. At first he looked surprised, almost disappointed, but she intertwined her fingers with his. She slid down the length of him and she felt him tense from the sensation that filled them both.
Her desire was evident by the ease in which he entered her. She pulled up again and felt her hands tighten as she filled herself with him again. She continued as his face contorted in ecstasy, and sweat began to form on her body. He sat up a little and pulled her forward so that their lips might join as well.
She wrapped her arms around his neck as she continued. His hands tugged at her clothes as he began undoing the long length of buttons at her back. His hands shook and he could hardly manage to remove each one from its hold. Soon he growled against her mouth and ripped the last few. She heard them scatter across the floor behind her, bouncing from rug to wood, as he pulled the dress from her.
His hands touched her back, urging her to continue as his head dipped to kiss along her collarbone. His tongue slid along her throat and she gasped from the pleasure of it. His hands were helping her go faster and she could feel him bury himself into her. She gasped as something changed within her; whatever he was pressing against, it made her body fill with energy. She couldn’t focus. Her mind became blank as it filled with a sticky warmness.
“Aleron!” she said as she inhaled sharply.
Electricity passed through her and she felt her eyes open wide with shock as her entire body shuddered. She felt herself clench and unclench as he went still. It was like a wave, and as it passed through her, it continued onto him. She had lost control of herself and she heard him gasp. He groaned and she felt him buck suddenly into her as he expelled his seed, his hands pressed almost painfully into her hips and buttocks.
“I’m sorry!” she said, covering the lower half of her face in horror.
“By all that is holy,” he said, looking up at her. “I have seen women orgasm before but never has one been passed to me. Is that truly what you feel?”
She nodded, far too embarrassed to answer. He laughed and pulled her to him, kissing her hands. He pulled them apart gently and kissed her mouth.
“You are amazing,” he said. “It must be your gift, promise me you will do that every time.”
“I cannot promise,” she managed with a smile. “You were the one that allowed me such pleasure. Only when I lost control did that happen.”
“Then I promise.” He flipped her onto her back and pressed himself along the length of her. He finished talking a breathe away from her lips, “I promise to always make you lose control.”
Chapter 37
“United”
She looked at her reflection in the dark window. The veil covered half of her face and she could just make out the dark shape of her eyes in the glass. Already morning was breaking and she would finally be made Queen. She would finally be made Aleron’s wife. They had rejoined the armada without difficulty. Her brother thought her dead and announced as much to Aleron.
Aleron had reacted to the false information with anger and promise of revenge. A day had passed while the women circled around her preparing her wedding dress. Aleron had conveniently brought it with him. In this moment she had a sudden moment of regret. Her father and mother would never see Azel and Aleron’s happiness or their children.
A tear rolled down her cheek as she touched a hand to her stomach. Already she could feel the child forming; were she any other woman, it would have taken weeks for her to notice. She knew that her egg had accepted his seed from before she had left and a child was forming. Her sisters thought her a traitor, and as long as her brother lived they would never see her children. In turn her children would never know their cousins.
“Mistress?” said a little woman with large eyes, “what bothers you?”
She smiled and wiped the tear away. “It is nothing, Yana. Have the other girls left?”
“Yes, now come.” Yana gently directed her away from the window. “You must sit so I can finish.”
Azel sat in silence as she watched Yana begin to draw the marks of a bride, but said almost to herself, “In all that has occurred I thought this would never happen.”
“The Liege showed no interest in taking a wife,” Yana said as she drew white marks upon her hands. “We had worried he had lost the ability to love, but then you came. Like a star in a black sky. We all worried because of your birthplace but those who see you together see the love between you.”
“It is not often love is found between those of the Royal Bloodline,” Azel said, touching her free hand to her face. “My beauty is what intrigued him at first. I had always thought it a curse.”
“The women were saying you were a sad sort of beauty when you first came. A flower bud in the cold.” Yana gently took her other hand and began to decorate it. “I see you now as a fully blossomed flower, happy in the sun. It is your gift; a curse does not bring just joy.”
“I am blessed,” Azel said as her eyes filled. “I do wish my mother were here. Even if she were angry, I would like to share this moment with her.”
A knock was heard on the door to the room and Yana jumped in surprise. Azel had startled internally. With a hand to her chest Yana set the paints aside and stood to answer the door.
Azel put a hand on Yana’s arm as she called behind her, “You may enter Liege Kavil.”
