The Savage King (24 page)

It sickened him to think of what his father had been planning. It tore at his soul to know Ulyssa thought he was capable of the same. He'd hoped there was more between them--more than just sex. He'd been wrong and it was slowly killing him. An ache rested on his chest, growing worse with each passing heartbeat, squeezing the life from him, the breath from his lungs. He steeled himself for what he must do. He was a King and he would act like one.

"Falke and I will travel with you to the shadowed marshes. I know the area this paper talks about well. It shouldn't take us long to find it." Kirill paused and looked at Ualan. "As a test of good faith, I leave my brother Quinn here in your care. I ask that you send Yusef to my palace for the same. We have no reason to trust each other--"

"Like hell!" Olena yelled, jumping to her feet. The dark Yusef grabbed her arm and pulled her back down next to him. He stroked back her hair and whispered in her ear.

"I give you my word that I won't harm any here, so long as my own aren't harmed," Kirill stated.

"What good is your word to me?" Olena demanded hotly. "I have seen first hand what your kind is capable of!"

"Princess Olena, I apologize for the rash actions of a few, but I did not order your kidnapping." Kirill was tense. He knew the woman was just scared for her husband.

"It was Attor--" she began. Yusef took her and pulled her to his chest. He again whispered to her and she settled down, nestling in his arms.

Ulyssa stepped forward to his side. Kirill glanced at her. She looked pale, sick, and so very beautiful. His arms ached to hold her, the way the Draig Princes held their wives, but, by the way she'd jerked his hand from her shoulder, he knew his touch would not be welcomed.

"If your husband or any Draig is harmed in this," Ulyssa paused. Her round blue eyes met his. They were hard, devoid of life, and they matched his look perfectly. Very warily, she finished, "Then you run his heir through with a sword."

Kirill felt as if he'd been kicked in the gut. His eyes trailed down in disbelief to where her hand was placed on her stomach. Pleasure tried to assault him at her words, but as the whole of her statement set in, he froze. She would dare to use his unborn son as collateral? Did his baby mean so little to her? Did he? He couldn't breathe, couldn't speak.

"But that would also kill you," Morrigan pointed out.

"If it will get this whining over with, then so be it." Ulyssa gazed at them all, fed up with their bickering. She didn't fell like dying any time soon--especially sitting around waiting for them to get their act together. "If we don't get moving soon, it's quite possible we'll all die anyway."

"She's right," Nadja said. "They wouldn't have planned on keeping it in long time storage. If an animal got to it, or a child...."

"So can we come to a temporary truce or not?" Ulyssa demanded. "There is something more at stake than a few petty differences of one planet. If we don't stop this here and now, it's a very real chance that it could spread to other parts of the quadrants. I will not stand by and watch the innocent die because we all can't get along. Hate me if you wish for saying it, but hate me alive."

"My lord," Falke, who'd quietly watched, stepped forward.

Kirill ripped his eyes from Ulyssa and held up his hand to silence his brother, as he forced himself to concentrate. Slowly, he nodded. He didn't like the position she put him in. But, if they couldn't reach an agreement, many Var would die too. There wasn't enough of the antidote to cure everyone. He hated to admit it, but in the end, his father had been a madman. "It will be as she says. If any are harmed, run her through."

* * * *

To get to the shadowed marshes, they first had to trudge through miles of swampland. The Draig provided Ulyssa and their two Var companions with ceffyls, hideous looking creatures with a center horn protruding from their skull. They had the eyes of a reptile, the face and hooves of a beast of burden, and the body of a small elephant. The animals' wide back shifted low, as they trudged through the swamps, taking their passengers through the mucky waters.

The ceffyls' hisses kept most of the large swamp life at bay. Their thick hide could withstand the bite of the poisonous givre that swam freely in this part of the kingdom. When Falke helped Ulyssa to mount, he'd warned her to keep her legs from the water. She obeyed, holding tightly onto the horn, her legs lifted onto the strange creature's back to sit crosswise.

The group traveled in silence for about an hour. A diffused light fell over the dense forest in a soft green haze that blended eerily with the patches of hot, steamy fog from the nearby marshland. From what Ulyssa could tell, there wasn't much difference between the swamps and the marshes, except that the marshes seemed dead of all life.

The air was damp in this part of the woods. Moss hung from treetops, unmoving in their windless isolation. They were in an awful place. The rotting smell of molding plant life and animal carcasses masked even the barest traces of scent. Even the insects seemed to have deserted the area.

Kirill didn't look at her once during their trip, but kept his gaze stoically forward. Ulyssa had never dreamt of being a mother and the pregnancy didn't seem real to her. She knew the Agency would never allow her to keep and raise the child. Nevertheless, it hurt that Kirill so readily agreed to run her through. She'd said it to shock him, to hurt him for not denying he'd been with other women since her. She never thought he'd agree to it.

It hurt that he showed her no more notice or consideration than if she'd announced she'd grown a new freckle. Prince Olek and even the stoic Prince Zoran hovered protectively around their pregnant wives, rubbing at their lower backs, guiding their arms, kiss their temples with quiet whispers of concern. Ulyssa grimaced as she looked forward to where Kirill rode near the front of the group, far away from her.

The constant bumping of the animal beneath her made her queasy. She was ready to stop and rest, but would never be so weak as to complain. Gritting her teeth, she stared forward, concentrating on sitting up right.

"You knew you carried his first heir and yet you left anyway?"

Ulyssa jolted and turned to stare at Falke. She'd not heard him ride up next to her. Her eyes had drifted absently to Kirill's back, trying to remember to hate him. Glancing around, she saw no one heard his words.

"I just found out today," she answered quietly, letting her mount fall slightly behind so they wouldn't be overheard.

"Had you known, would you have left him?"

Ulyssa turned to look at him. His eyes weren't judging. If anything, he looked sad. She saw he held no hard feelings about being left paralyzed next to the tree. He didn't mention it, so neither did she. Without flinching, she said, "Yes. You out of anyone should understand that I must do my duty."

"Yes, I out of any understand that," Falke answered. He gave a meaningful glance to Kirill. "But he will not. All he will understand is your betrayal."

"It doesn't matter, Falke. As soon as this mission is complete, I'm gone. If I fail, I die with the rest of you. If I succeed, the Agency will pick me up. I'll disappear and not even the King of the Var would be able to track me down."

"You would take his child from him?" This time when he looked at her she saw a mix of disbelief and horror.

"Yes. This child should've never been conceived. It's against Agency policy for me to have it. They choose me because I have no ties, no commitments beyond duty. My shot must have expired or been defective. When I get back, I'll be lucky to have a choice in the matter. Most likely they'll rid me of it without even asking. Or, if they allow it to be born, they'll take it and find placement for it." Ulyssa gulped, wondering at the intense sadness that flowed over her at the words.

She suddenly felt very empty and hollow. A pain shot over her abdomen, blanketing her chest and heart in agony. She wanted to cry out, but the air was trapped in her lungs.

Kirill abruptly turned around to stare at her. His dark features frowned in question. Ulyssa felt as if he stabbed her with his eyes. Another pain shot through her and she turned to look at Falke. Her face pale, she whispered, "Help."

* * * *

Kirill paced outside the tent where Ulyssa slept. He cursed softly. As they journeyed, he'd been doing his best not to look at the woman who tormented his every waking thought. But then, as a sense of pain and sadness so intense washed over him, he was drawn to give her comfort. It was strange, but he felt her inside him. Her agonizing scream echoed in his head, drilling a hole in the side of his skull.

When he looked back at her, her face had paled and, turning to Falke, she slid off her ceffyl into the stagnant water of the marsh. Falke managed to grab her arm so she didn't go under. Kirill leaped from his mount only to fly through the air to land noisily at her side.

"We camp here," was all he said to the amazed onlookers.

Their Draig traveling companions didn't protest. They watched Kirill carry an unconscious Ulyssa in his arms to drier land, before moving to follow so they could set up camp.

Now, stopping next to the tent, he turned to glare at his brother and demanded, "What did you say to her?"

Falke held still but didn't answer, not flinching at the dark tone. Nadja came from the tent. Kirill stiffened and looked down at the slender woman. She shook slightly before him, but he was too worried to notice.

"She'll be fine," Nadja said. "Just let her rest."

Nadja tried to step away. Kirill reached out and grabbed her arm. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Olek stand. He instantly let the woman go.

"What is wrong with her?" he asked, his words harder than he intended. He refused to show compassion. As Nadja's eyes searched his face, she smiled slightly, as if seeing through his façade.

"These little fainting episodes are caused, more or less, by low blood sugar and tremendous amounts of stress. I even suspect that the HIA had her on a heavy birth control that hasn't expired. According to the readings in her blood levels, she shouldn't even be pregnant." Nadja lowered her voice. "I don't know much about the form of birth suppression the HIA uses on their agents, but I can tell you it will be a hard pregnancy for her. She'll be sick and weak for much of the time. She should be resting and watching her diet, not traipsing about the forest. Whatever it is causing her stress, if it doesn't stop, she may eventually lose that child. I didn't say anything to her about this because she already has enough to deal with."

"HIA?" Kirill asked.

"You don't know?" Nadja was taken aback. She paled and tried to step away.

"No, wait, please, tell me." Kirill let the full torment inside him pass over his face. Princess Nadja seemed to be the only one willing to tell him anything. In a hoarse whisper, he couldn't stop the words from escaping him. "Please, I beg you. I have to know."

"H.I.A. Human Intelligence Agency." Nadja paused. "My lord, Ulyssa is an undercover government agent sent here to stop my father from selling these types of weapons. She's in deeper than most men are in the Federation Military. I don't know much, but I do know that most HIA agents never leave the Agency. I honestly don't think they can."

"How do you know all this?" Kirill asked.

"You don't grow up a Mafia boss's daughter and not pick up a few things about the government." Nadja patted his arm lightly. Sighing, she strode across the campground to her husband.

A slight commotion to the side caught Kirill's attention. Pia whispered angrily at Zoran before pointing at Kirill. The Var King stiffened. Zoran growled at his wife, who merely smiled and batted her lashes. Storming over to the Var King, he stated, "Lady Ulyssa is under our protection. Harm her..."

Kirill snarled. Zoran nodded as they came to a silent understanding. For a moment, they held each other's eyes before Zoran stormed back to his wife. Her squeal resounded over the campsite followed by her husband's laughter. Sweeping her up, Zoran carried her into their tent.

Jealousy hit Kirill in a hard wave. He'd never seen or felt such happiness between a man and a woman as he saw in the Draig Princes and their wives. His eyes turned to his own tent, to where Ulyssa slept. It was likely he'd never feel such happiness as long as he lived. Perhaps the Var weren't made to love. Attor had seemed to think so.

"Come, brother, let her rest," Falke said coming from the trees. Kirill hadn't even noticed he left when he spoke to Nadja. Falke stretched his arms wide and noisily yawned. "Come. Join me by the fire."

* * * *

Ulyssa groaned, opening her eyes. The sound of laughter drifted all around her. Sitting up, she saw the reflection of orange fire on the wall of the tent. Beneath her was a padded sleeping mat. For a moment, she blinked, trying to get her bearings.

The laughter again sounded, louder than before followed by quiet murmuring of conversation. Crawling to the front flap, she pushed it aside and looked out. To her amazement, everyone was gathered around a campfire. Very cautiously, she stood, taking a wary step forward.

"We're dead, aren't we? I'm stuck in hell." Ulyssa watched all eyes turn to her. The laughter died somewhat at her words. Nadja and Pia were nestled in their husband's arms. Falke and Kirill were opposite the fire. Kirill stood as he saw her. "You're all getting along, so either we're dead or I've been asleep a really long time."

"Yo--" Zoran began, his word hard.

"Shhh," Pia hushed him. She smiled, and drew his face to her. As if it explained away Ulyssa's lack of manners, she whispered, "She's pregnant. Leave her alone."

Ulyssa grimaced. Kirill stiffened. His eyes dipped to where his child grew in her stomach.

"How do you feel?" Nadja asked, politely ignoring Ulyssa's rude outburst. She rested her head on her husband's shoulder and smiled knowingly. "You had us worried."

Ulyssa didn't answer, as Kirill's gaze captured her. There was no malice in his penetrating look. He almost seemed like his old self, before their duty got between them. Her heart fluttered in her chest. She swallowed, nervous. His mouth curled up slightly, very handsome the way it pulled up at the edge. She knew that look well. He wanted her.