Wyvern's Prince (The Dragons of Incendium Book 2) (3 page)

“Your highness,” Kraw said with a deep bow. “Your father sends greetings.”

“Of course.”

“As well as the reminder that you need not proceed with this marriage.”

“But I must, Kraw, as my father knows.” Gemma sat down and spoke crisply. “I’m sure he smells the Seed on every messenger from Regalia as keenly as I do.”

Kraw inclined his head in acknowledgment of this truth. “You need not go alone, Highness.”

“I think otherwise.” Gemma waved a hand. “Speak to me of Regalia, please, Kraw.”

The wall illuminated behind Farquon, revealing that it was actually a large display screen. An image of Regalia appeared, undoubtedly captured by one of Incendium’s satellites. As the image grew more detailed, it was clear that the surface of Incendium’s sister planet was almost entirely covered in forest.

“A comparatively primitive world, it must be said,” Kraw declared, turning to watch the display with Gemma. She always respected that he memorized his presentations, and made it look easy to present a wealth of information in a short period of time. “Their economy is heavily reliant upon barter on the planet itself, and simple skills. Their people harvest crops, make bread and ale, supply the royal palace with tithes and other offerings. Their major exports are medicinal herbs and other plants, usually dried for transport. They have only one star station, here in their northern hemisphere, near the queen’s palace in their capital city.”

The image showed a very small star station beside an extensive palace. A large dark shuttle was parked there, with loading doors of a size suitable for loading freight. There were only three more ships, all sleek and small personal vehicles. They seemed to have the royal insignia, though it was difficult to be certain. The palace was made of silvery stone that glittered in the sunlight and there were banners flying from its highest towers.

It was quite a contrast with Incendium’s star station, where parking was always at a premium. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of small ships there at any given time, in addition to the regularly scheduled shuttles to the orbiting starport and the larger ships docked there.

“Their single shuttle leaves Regalia monthly and is an older model, somewhat prone to disrepair. They use Incendium’s starport to arrange transport of their goods to off-world markets.” He paused to look at Gemma. “Without us, they would have no interplanetary access.”

She arched a brow. “Our marital alliance could have practical benefits for Regalia.”

“Of course.” Kraw continued. “Their communication systems and general technology would be considered grossly inadequate by our standards. I fear you may have a difficult adjustment to make in your new home, Highness.”

“But they have magic, don’t they?”

“Magic.” Kraw sighed. “Yes, that is their claim. The origin of the sorcery is the royal family, specifically Queen Arcana, whose abilities are said to be extraordinary. The power to cast spells, to glean the future, to enchant others against their will into doing her desire, to inflict different forms upon others, to read thoughts, to kill with a glance—all these abilities and more are attributed to the queen by rumor and gossip. It is said that she has given individual magical talents to her sons, allowing only one per offspring in order that they would have to band together to defeat her. It is also said that she deliberately fosters dissent between them.” Kraw spread his hands. “These are the recurring rumors. There is no way to affirm which, if any, are true, and which might be either illusion or utterly without foundation.” He cleared his throat. “What we do know is that Queen Arcana has lived a very long time for a mortal woman and has not appeared to age for the past fifty Regalian years. She has borne twelve sons, and did so in rapid succession between twenty-five and forty Regalian years ago.”

“And Regalian years are only a little longer than our own, I believe?”

“Yes, Highness. Their orbit is slightly larger than ours, giving us a warmer climate, too. The discrepancy between Incendian years and Regalian years is rounded to four per cent, and beyond the notice of most.” Kraw bowed. “Certainly to an individual of your longevity, Highness, it is of little consequence.”

Gemma nodded understanding.

The display changed to show images of men. Some of them were official holograms and familiar to Gemma, while others, she had never seen before. She recognized Canto, for example, before Kraw gestured dismissively to Queen Arcana’s oldest and now deceased son. “It is unknown what magical power Canto might have had, at least here on Incendium.”

“Whatever it was, it doesn’t seem to have helped him much.”

“Indeed, Majesty. You are familiar with Urbanus, of course,” he continued and Gemma considered the official hologram of her betrothed. He was handsome, with his dark hair and blue eyes, his confident smile. “You may not be aware that he had a twin brother, Venero.”

There was a roguish quality about Venero, whose hair was lighter than that of his brother. He had hazel eyes that looked almost golden. The image was a candid one, far more appealing than an official one. He looked to be on the verge of laughter as if he had been caught at some jest. Gemma had the urge to smile back at him and wish she’d heard the joke.

“They don’t look like twins.”

“Not identical twins. There was a suggestion—” Kraw cleared his throat “—that they did not share a father, although the sexual proclivities of the queen are beyond the range of our discussion.”

That piqued Gemma’s curiosity and she felt Farquon flick a glance at her. With an effort, she remained impassive. “You speak of Venero in the past tense.”

“Prince Venero is said to have disappeared and is believed by most to be dead. It must be noted that Urbanus has always been a favorite of his mother’s. More than one observer has speculated that she wished his path to the crown to be unobstructed, particularly after the death of Canto, and that she had some involvement in the disappearance or death of Venero.”

“Do you know about Urbanus’ magical power?”

“Your betrothed, Highness, is rumored to be an expert in the making of spells.” Kraw looked stern. “It might well be that there is no sorcery involved in this, merely an understanding of the effects of certain substances upon the body of the victim. It may be science disguised as magic, to defend such powerful and potentially harmful knowledge.”

“Anything else?”

“Prince Urbanus appears to be quite involved in his mother’s administration of Regalia, and also her confidante. I would guess that she is grooming him for the succession, as is right and good. He does leave Regalia at intervals and has been known to frequent the gaming halls of Xanto.”

“He likes to bet,” she said.

“Evidently, Highness.”

Gemma wasn’t impressed by that, but then, she wasn’t going to be married to Urbanus very long if everything proceeded according to her plan.

The display changed again to an image of a heavily forested area. There was a dark spire in the middle of the forest, and it was enlarged as the focus tightened upon it. “There is new construction in the far southern hemisphere of Regalia, about as far from Queen Arcana’s palace as might be possible without entering the inhabitable zones of the poles.” Gemma leaned forward, avidly studying the structure. “This is said to be the honeymoon palace of Prince Urbanus.” Kraw turned to face her. “It appears that your betrothed, Highness, intends to keep you to himself for a while.”

Gemma’s gaze danced over the palace as the view circled around it. It
was
a fortress, remote and structured to be easily defended, which suited her very well. She smiled for Kraw. “It looks like a perfect place to ensure the delivery of the Seed.”

Never mind an ideal place to kill her new husband and escape Regalia without being observed. Gemma couldn’t have planned it better herself.

She glanced up and Farquon bowed slightly, but not quickly enough to hide the understanding in his eyes.

All was made ready.

Let the nuptial festivities begin.

Chapter One

Prince Venero didn’t attend his older brother’s wedding.

Even though it was to be a lavish ceremony and the union of the two kingdoms within their solar system was of key diplomatic importance, Venero had several reasons for missing the ceremony.

First, the vows would be exchanged on Incendium, and he had no means of getting to Regalia’s sister planet, seeing that he had been banished from his mother’s court and lost all the perks of living there.

Secondly, he hated Urbanus and had no wish to witness any joy his twin might experience.

Thirdly, Venero didn’t think much good of the bride, Gemma, even though he’d never met or seen her. Any woman who would willingly marry the crown prince of Regalia had to be either stupid, or just as vile as Urbanus. Never mind that she was a dragon shifter. Venero couldn’t imagine why any man would marry a woman who could slaughter him so easily that she didn’t even have to wait for him to be asleep.

Women should be beautiful and demure, while wives should be beautiful, demure, and fertile. He supposed that Princess Gemma might possess the third trait, but not the others.

Venero was, however, very interested in the nuptials.

More specifically, he was interested in using the bride for his own purposes. She might never know the difference if she was as dumb as he suspected. The fact that Gemma was a dragon shifter meant she was able to cover large distances quickly.

And Venero had a long way to go.

He wasn’t just exiled from the court: he’d been cursed to take another form
and
had his powers suppressed. Worst of all, the antidote was something Venero knew to be impossible. How could he be restored to his human form by the kiss of his one true love when he didn’t believe that kind of love existed?

Venero would solve that riddle later. First, he had to get out of the forest and back to the city of Regalia, where there were far more women—and thus more candidates for saving him.

Being a toad, however, didn’t provide many options for quick journeys. The city of Regalia was hundreds of leagues away, but toads make slow progress and this part of the planet was particularly treacherous. The forests and rivers were full of predators with a taste for small amphibians, and Venero knew that wasn’t a coincidence. Trust Urbanus to be vengeful. Venero hadn’t been able to cast dreams to anyone since he’d been cursed, which made it hard to get any help.

Urbanus was nothing but thorough when he’d been cheated of whatever he thought was his due. Venero’s brother had wanted to ensure his death, without getting his own hands dirty. Urbanus probably thought Venero was already dead.

But Venero had a surprise for his brother.

With any luck, Urbanus wouldn’t discover the truth until it was too late.

The only good thing about the wedding was that Urbanus had built a remote castle, specifically to enjoy the pleasures of his new wife in privacy. As soon as Venero had heard about the castle, he’d known it offered him a chance. Sooner or later, the happy couple would return to the city of Regalia, and somehow, he was going with them.

Urbanus’ new bride just might be dumb enough to help.

Venero had heard the hammering and the felling of trees, the lugging of stones and the long hours of construction. That the new palace was being built in the same region of Regalia where Venero had been dispatched just added to his conviction that Urbanus thought him dead.

Or powerless.

It had taken every bit of strength and resolve that Venero possessed, but he had made it to the castle by the day of the wedding. He doubted there would be another opportunity for release anytime soon, so he had to seize this one. He was exhausted when he hopped onto the path leading to the gates and took a moment to survey the creation. The new castle was a tall, slender tower and he grimaced at his certainty that the bridal suite would be at the top.

There’d been no time to delay, much less to rest. Venero had slipped through the gates, squirmed under a door, and started the ascent in the quiet castle. There were servants in the kitchen, but not many of them by the sound—and they weren’t very happy with their situation, either.

He had been a third of the way up the endless winding stone staircase when he had a stroke of luck: a maid hurrying past with a basket of provisions was too busy grumbling to pay attention to her surroundings. Venero leaped as she passed and landed in the basket, then quickly hid beneath the folded cloth.

It was a bumpy ride, but one that saved him a lot of trouble.

He thought about kissing the maid in his relief.

Then he remembered the antidote and wondered if it was worth a try to seduce her. If Urbanus could have planned true love, Venero would have given the idea more consideration. His brother would have been amused to match him to such a woman, but surely there was something that escaped the control of his family’s magical powers.

The maid abruptly unlocked a door at the summit, heaved a sigh, and pushed the basket inside just as another woman called from below. He still might have given it a try, but someone called from the foot of the stairs. She swore and locked the door again, leaving him alone.

The enormous draped bed told Venero that he had reached his destination.