Van Laven Chronicles (20 page)

“Nethic will fall because I lacked the strength to do what I must,” Comron yelled manically as he pressed down on her collar bone. “Don’t you see I have no choice?”

When she saw him trembling with tears brimming in his eyes and a distant madness staring back, she knew that he had come unhinged and might be prepared to do the unthinkable.

“Comron,” she gasped with mounting fear. “You know I’d never betray you. I’d rather die than do anything to hurt you.” The tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared into his soulless eyes. “Je su… nusea, mao…getem,” she said, quoting the words of a beloved Nethicaen poet.

As if the words possessed the power to break the mad spell he was under, Comron released his grip on her and she crumpled to the floor in shock from the ordeal.

He fell to his knees before her with hands trembling. “Vaush, my gods. Forgive me, please.” He bowed his head in supplication. “I-I’m so sorry. Please tell me you forgive me. I would sooner kill myself, than ever hurt you. There is no life in me without you.” When he lifted his eyes to hers, his face was stained with his tears, his skin blotchy from his deep distress.

This more than anything frightened Vaush. Witnessing such dramatic mood swings in such a short timespan was terribly unnerving. Was he losing his mind? Or was this all an act to manipulate and control her with intimidation and then emotional blackmail? After all, hadn’t he achieved his objective? She was still in the room.

Her heart pounded fiercely as the flight instinct kicked in, prodding her to remove herself from the madness. But something even more primal compelled her to stay, to come to understand what powerful currents drove him to such extremes. Paralyzed by indecision, she didn’t move when he drew near, bowing his head in her lap, clinging to her.

“Please forgive me, angel,” he pleaded in earnest. “Please tell me you forgive me and you won’t ever leave me.”

Her hands were still shaking from the ordeal as she wiped her tears. Run or forgive? What would she counsel a friend to do?
Run!

As if sensing her resolve, Comron held her tighter. “Please don’t leave me,” he begged. “I heard your words:
we share one heart, one breath, when one ends so does the other
.” He lifted his head from her lap. “Vaush,” he said resolutely. “I would follow you into death. There is nowhere you could go that I wouldn’t follow.”

The ardent look in those green eyes! Vaush began to weep now because she knew she was going to stay. She was inextricably bound to him, just as surely as he was to her.

Comron drew closer. “Frei songe mai serha,” he whispered and brushed his lips against hers. “Stay with me always.”

Vaush tasted the salt from their mutual tears. She feared it wouldn’t be the last time they’d cause each other pain and be forced to kiss away each other’s tears.

Comron’s kisses grew more urgent, his breathing tremulous and heated. “Don’t leave me, Vaush.” His hands went beneath her skirts, lifting them away. “Don’t ever leave me.” When he pulled her close, she felt his arousal, hard and ready. He guided her hand down, to take hold of him and stroke him. “I need you, love. You must stay with me always.”

“I will,” she said as she touched him, hoping that somehow lovemaking would soothe his anxiety.

He kissed her with abandon, biting her lip and neck a little harder than Vaush would’ve liked.

When he did it again she cried out in pain which seemed to trigger a visceral response in him.

He quickly turned her around and forced her against the door on her knees, her back to him. With her skirts lifted, he twisted his hand around the band of her underwear and snatched them away. With no further delay or warning he drove his shaft up deep inside of her.

“Oh-ah!” Vaush exclaimed as he slammed into her once more, thrusting her against the door, again and again. His throaty grunts, punctuated each thrust as he firmly pinned her against the wall and stretching her arms out above her.

Her body still ached from prior night’s exertions but quickly adapted to the fresh assault. The combination of pleasure and pain from his powerful thrusts was beyond anything she’d experienced as all the emotion and fear of the earlier event left her senses heightened and raw.

“Tell me you love me,” he demanded in a gruff tone.

When she did not immediately respond, he thrust harder lifting her off her knees.

“I love you!” she cried. “I love you.”

His moan was deep and guttural, she thought he’d climax then, but he kept up the unrelenting pace.

He grabbed her hair pulling her head back and twisting her to face him as he stroked deep and steady. “Don’t ever threaten to leave me!” he growled. “This is mine,” he said as he pumped harder into her. “You belong to me!”

“Yes! I’ll never leave you, Comron, ah!” she gasped as he drove so hard into her she thought she’d break in two. This wasn’t love, she thought. It was pure punishment for even suggesting the annulment.

He gripped her hair tighter. “Leave me and I’ll fucking kill you!” In that instant, he came hard into her, breaking free of the rage and resentment that had been bottled inside. They both collapsed onto the floor, emotionally and physically spent. But even then, he wrapped his arms around her and held her gently. “Please don’t ever leave me, Vaush,” he whispered softly, “It would kill me.”

CHAPTER 36

Spira’s fair complexion was ruddy with anger as she stood with arms folded. “Why are you still at Northridge Castle when you should be here with me?”

Dealing with Spira was the last thing Crausin wanted to be doing during this turbulent time, but despite everything, they still needed the Eskridge assets. He longed for the day when Comron would finally marry her so he could finally tell her precisely what she could do with her petulant demands.

“Comron’s the one who made the plans to be with you, not me,” he said, endeavoring to keep the frost out of his tone. “I’m afraid it’ll just be the two of you this time.”

Her expression grew even more cross. “But I haven’t seen you in weeks, not since Comron returned from Patheis.”

“Nonsense, we saw each other at the solicitor’s dinner.”

“Don’t be coy, you know what I mean,” she gave him a smile that reduced most men to quivering puddles. “I miss you, darling. I was so looking forward to seeing you tonight.”

He had no time for this. “I never gave you that impression. You’ll have to content yourself with Comron. Remember him? He’s your fiancé.” Even he was growing disgusted with her vulgarity and disregard for his son. When she tired of Crausin, would she cuckold Comron by taking another lover? Not if she valued her life.

Her radiant blue eyes grew dark with loathing. “He’s over an hour late, how long does he expect me to sit around waiting?”

“He hasn’t arrived yet?”

“No, he hasn’t,” she huffed. “And he obviously lied about you joining us.” She tossed her head defiantly, bouncing her golden locks. “That’s it, I’m leaving and tell him he’ll be fined another 100,000 credits for this latest infraction!”

“Silence!” Crausin barked. “Comron left here several hours ago. Are you certain there wasn’t a miscommunication as to where you were to meet?”

“I’m precisely at the location he reserved, the resort host was expecting us and even had the local media hounds on the premises to cover the event. Are you implying that your son’s a blithering idiot who can’t follow his own directions?”

Crausin bristled at her insult. “He is the Crown Prince of Nethic and your future husband. You will show him the proper respect and dignity due that title.”

“How can I show him anything if he’s not here?” she said, clenching her fists. “I can’t believe I have to marry that insufferable lout. I deserve better.”

He’s far better than you deserve, you worthless slut
. “Spira, love, please accept my apologies. He will…I will personally make it up to you, I promise.” Where the hell was Comron? The guards should have reported in if Comron had veered from his route to Vagan Falls.

Spira stood in a shimmering see-through gown, hiding nothing from him. “Don’t you miss me as much as I miss you?”

“You know that I do,” he lied, preoccupied with wondering where Comron could be at a time like this. Why hadn’t the guards reported in?

“When will you come to me, my love?”

“Soon, but I have to go tend to business.” His hand moved to cut off communications.

“When?” She stamped a foot impatiently and her breast bounced.

“I don’t know,” he said sharply, “I’ll send word tomorrow.” With that he cut off the communication and opened a line to Comron. After several attempts no reply came. He tried reaching Comron’s guard without any more success. He raked his fingers through his hair and grabbed fistfuls. “Where in the seven hells are you?”

CHAPTER 37

Comron checked his communications board. Though he’d only been gone for twenty-four hours, there were sixteen messages waiting for him in addition to forty-three attempted calls – all from Crausin. With each passing message, Crausin’s tone became increasingly heated and belligerent. The messages alternated between genuine concern over Comron’s well-being and enraged accusations about him being with his bloody, damned whore. The latter were always accompanied by vicious threats about what he’d do to the bitch once he found her. Each message ended with a plea for Comron to contact him. So he did.

He tapped the communication panel on the dashboard opening a private line to Crausin who responded instantly.

“What the devil is going on?” Crausin yelled at him, although Comron could hear the relief in his voice. “I’ve been trying to raise you for hours!”

“I’ve found the solution to our problems,” Comron stated evenly. “I had to go to finalize the details.”

“What sort of solution? Why didn’t you consult me on the matter?” Crausin said furiously.

“I will explain when I get there. I’ll arrive within the hour.”

“See that you do! Brigune and Recaban are already here, Telkuve is conferencing in from Novoxos which means Thalonius will be listening in.”

“Recaban?” Comron said disdainfully.

“Need I remind you, we’re in no position to be selective about our allies?” Crausin looked confounded. “Why did you lie to me about Vagan Falls?”

“I’ll explain everything once I arrive. What I have to tell you is far too sensitive to discuss over these lines.”

“For your sake, you’d better have a damned good explanation.” He fumed, though Comron could tell that his curiosity had been duly piqued.

The royal guard nodded at their prince and opened the doors to the south wing conference hall. There he found Crausin sitting at the head the polished oak table, Duke Brigune and Count Recaban sat on either side of him. A holographic image of Duke Overcrom’s head and shoulders loomed large at the other end of the table, a smaller holographic image of Lord Fera Relledon was also present.

“My lords,” Comron said as he entered the room.

Crausin spared a chastising glance at Comron, “So good of you to join us. Be seated,” he said, indicating the chair next to Lord Brigune. “We were just—”

“Your Grace,” Comron interjected, while still standing. “May I have a word with you in private?”

“No, you may not,” he jabbed a finger at the chair. “I’ll deal with your matter later.”

Fearing he’d lose his nerve, Comron persisted, “Crausin, I must insist.”

Instantly, all heads snapped around at Comron. No one called the Sovereign of Nethic by his given name. It was a unique privilege reserved for his closest associates and even then only in private audiences.

Crausin stood abruptly. “In my chambers, now!” he growled.

The two men adjourned to the anteroom off the main conference hall. The moment the doors shut, Crausin wheeled to face Comron. “Abuse that privilege again and I shall take it from you altogether!”

“Forgive me, my lord,” Comron humbly replied.

“
My lord
?” Crausin said mockingly. “What in the devil has gotten into you and why couldn’t this have waited until after the meeting?”

“Because the solution I’ve been working on precludes the necessity of us soiling ourselves with the likes of Recaban.”

The look of surprise on Crausin’s face encouraged Comron.

“Now some of this will be difficult for you to hear, but bear in mind that as a result of this unpleasantness, fate has presented us with the opportunity to advance Nethic’s position by at least three generations.”

“Damn it, Comron, what is it?”

Drawing a deep breath, Comron launched into his pitch. “By all rights, I should have died on Patheis. While I’m grateful that you rushed to my rescue, you never would’ve arrived in time to save me. You owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Vaush Hrollaugr.”

“Bleeding hell, the fate of Nethic hangs in the balance and you pick now to discuss this?”

“Just listen to me,” Comron snapped. “She’s the pivotal piece in all of this and…and during our time on Patheis, she fell in love with me.”

“In love with you,
a Van Laven
!” Crausin scoffed. “You were only there for five days, what could you have possibly done to erase the hatred she has bred into her?”

Comron lowered his eyes. “I..I never meant for it to happen.”

Crausin’s eyes narrowed, then flashed with rage. “Mother of whores! You fucked her, didn’t you?”

He let his silence condemn him.

Crausin threw his hands up. “I was out of my bleeding mind searching for you, not knowing whether you were dead or alive, or whether we’d miss the banking conference. All the while you were laid up cocking that whore!”

“No, it was nothing like that, Crausin,” Comron explained. “We nearly killed ourselves trying to reach the shore before the conference.”

“Oh, I’m sure you tried your damnedest,” Crausin said, wagging his head. “But it was just asking too much of you to keep it in your pants for five whole days.”

Comron’s jaw clenched, annoyed at the turn of conversation. “You’re missing the point entirely. Think of what this could mean for Nethic.”

“If Larrs finds out, he’ll do to Nethic what you did to his daughter!”

“Only if Vaush were under his control, but she’s not,” Comron shot back. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. She has aligned herself with House Van Laven against Bastionli.”

A vicious bark of laughter escaped Crausin. “What? You think that you gave that Bastionli slut such a wondrous ride in the sack that now she’ll betray everything she is just to have another go at you? Really, Comron, your hubris knows no bounds.”

Incensed by his mocking tone and growing impatient, Comron played his ace. “She agreed to become my wife.”

The grin fell from Crausin’s face as he peered at Comron. “That’s where you went? To propose to that bitch!”

“I went to save Nethic by aligning our house with Hrollaugr,” he quickly reminded him. “I’ve neutralized the threat.”

“Why did you keep the truth of Patheis from me?” Crausin asked in a disturbingly calm tone. “Since you returned, you’ve been so distracted and unfocused. You haven’t gone near a single one of our courtesans and suddenly you’re repulsed by Spira. And, oh yes, the betrothal cancellation you tried to arrange…this was all over some dirty Bastionli snatch. Before you even knew she was Hrollaugr!”

“Crausin, Nethic is no longer in danger, that’s the important thing!”

“YOU LIED TO ME!” Crausin roared, “You’ve been scheming this whole time to keep this treasonous affair going.”

“I did this for Nethic. I won’t let her fall on our watch.”

Crausin struck him hard across the face.

“You did this for yourself!”

“Then punish me for what I’ve done, but give Nethic this chance to advance. Place our banner over Vaush.”

At the mention of her name, something wicked gleamed in Crausin’s green eyes. And Comron suddenly felt his chest constrict in anticipation of what Crausin would say next. Whatever it was he knew it wouldn’t bode well for Vaush.

“Perhaps you were temporarily enamored with the girl, likely induced by the extreme circumstances of the Patheis ordeal. But now you’ve come to your senses and have recalled yourself to duty. Saving Nethic is the only thing that matters. The girl is inconsequential, a mere pawn in the game.”

Comron listened but made no reply as he waited for Crausin to finish laying out his trap.

“It was very clever of you to play upon the girl’s feelings so that you could spirit her away out of Larrs’ clutches. You filled her head with hopes for marriage and now she is ours to control. Perhaps in time we’ll even be able to wash the Bastionli stench from her and make her truly Van Laven.”

Though Comron knew he was being led down a dark path, he dared to hope that Crausin was beginning to see the possibilities.

“There is merit in your plan and I believe, in time, your transgression could be forgiven.” He stood before Comron. “I simply need you to do one simple thing.”

Comron gave him a cold stare. “What?”

“Bring me the girl, so that we may share her,” he answered in a licentious tone. “Afterward, I’ll gladly fly our banner over her and take her to Novoxos.”

Comron held his gut as if he were about to be sick. But he knew that if he told Crausin the truth – that he’d bash Crausin’s skull in if he ever touched Vaush – there would be no hope of garnering her a military escort.

“She would never consent to it.” He glared at Crausin. “She’s
not
Spira.”

“Who said anything about her consent?” Crausin grinned. “Pour enough spiced wine down her throat and she’ll hardly know the difference between you and me. We’ll have a grand time of it, just like we did with the Duchess of Welbourne and the other noblewomen of the court.”

Comron gritted his teeth. The thought of Crausin touching Vaush, defiling and degrading her in every vulgar way imaginable made him want to rip him apart with his bare hands. But without Crausin’s support, Vaush would never see Novoxos. Was this the horrible price they’d have to pay to deliver her to the Imperial homeworld?

He turned away from Crausin to hide his deep distress. He knew he could never forgive himself for violating Vaush’s trust that way and most assuredly, things would never be the same between them.

“Fear not, Com. She’ll never even know it happened,” Crausin said in his most persuasive tone. “Vaush earns a full military escort to Novoxos, you get the girl on the throne, and I get to share her with you. You see, we all get exactly what we wanted.”

Deep inside, he’d known that ultimately it would come to this. Crausin would want him to prove his loyalty to him by offering Vaush and thus demonstrate that there was nothing he’d withhold from him.

What other option did he have?

“Remember, the girl is inconsequential in comparison to the glorification of Nethic,” he said kindly, though there was cruelty in his eyes. “Do this for
Nethic
.”

There was a mocking quality to Crausin’s words which shed tremendous light on his true motives. Crausin merely toyed with him and had absolutely no intention of honoring any deal to escort Vaush to Novoxos. At best he would capture this discussion on a surveillance eye and then show it to Vaush so she could watch her husband offer her to another man. He would do this purely out of spite and then kill her.

Infuriated beyond reason, he advanced toward Crausin and shouted, “That aspect of our lives is over. You will never touch her!” In that moment, he destroyed all hope of enlisting Crausin’s aid, but it was also in that moment that he realized Crausin never would have given it.

The look of shock and confusion on Crausin’s face was very telling, as if he completely expected Comron to offer Vaush to him willingly. But slowly, the disillusionment faded away to be replaced by something dark and sinister.

“Where is she, Comron?” he asked in a deceptively calm voice.

Here it comes, Comron thought and braced himself.

“You’re too clever to hide her somewhere myself or Larrs would think to look. But eventually she will be found. If Thalonius or Recaban find her, she’s as good as dead, but if Larrs finds her, Nethic is fucked.”

Comron shook his head.

“So you’re going to redeem your treasonous acts and cowardice by telling me where the girl is.”

“I can’t! Don’t you understand?” Comron pleaded.

“Understand what?” he barked.

“That I’d rather die than betray her.”

Crausin grabbed him and shoved him against the wall. “Do you have any idea what Thalonius will do to Nethic if he suspects a connection between the two of you? We’ll be the scheming upstarts trying to steal the throne from him, he’ll obliterate Nethic!”

Comron broke his grip and pushed him off. “Damn it, stop pissing your pants and do something daring for Nethic.”

“We can’t hold the fucking throne!” Crausin screamed. “Even with the imperial army at our command, we still wouldn’t command a force strong enough to fend off the threat of Nostrom, Warbrenger or Dredfort. The girl’s advisors will counsel her to form a marriage alliance with one of the Great Houses to establish her military dominance in the empire. In their eyes, House Van Laven would be nothing more than an ambitious insect in need of a good swatting. You
know
all this.” He glared at Comron. “Stop thinking with your cock and see the truth of what I’m saying.”

Comron moved away from him and raked his fingers through his raven hair. He refused to concede defeat to Crausin. House Bastionli’s army was no more impressive than theirs, and yet Larrs seemed undaunted by the threat. But then Larrs had decades to plan his strategy and grease the skids, forming invaluable alliances. House Van Laven would have only a matter of weeks or even days…