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  The shadows receded in the cavern, and Stacia was brought back to the present, blinking her eyes in the suddenly uncomfortable brightness of the glowing quartz.

  Balfor’s deep voice broke the silence that had fallen over the cavern. “In this place, it’s easier for me to project my memories. Long have I stood here and watched the goods ones replay.”

  Stacia realized that she’d forgotten to breathe for a moment. “That was… a good memory?” The horror of the war and the fleeing civilians, the brutality of Balfor’s battle with the adurians, she couldn’t imagine how that could possibly be a good memory.

  He shrugged, his muscles tensing against her back. “It was a victory. It was the day I truly understood what it meant to be a warrior, though I had already passed the Rite of Adulthood.”

  The memories Stacia cherished were beautiful times: her mother holding her close as she read her a story, her first meeting with Lilith and most of their subsequent adventures, the rare moments when her father surfaced from his ambition long enough to spend time with her. Not one of the memories she would have replayed involved combat. It was simply another example of how different they were. That Balfor saw that memory as something to relive only showed how little happiness he’d had in his life. It wasn’t pity which filled her when she thought of how bereft his life had been, but rather determination to give him many more memories, happy ones that could sustain him in this beautiful place long after she’d crumbled into dust.

  Unaware of the direction of her thoughts, Balfor spoke again. “I was not born a prince. I was chosen by the Mother. When my hatch city fell, I wandered until I found Sanctuary. Here, She claimed me and made me Her avatar, the one to wield Her power in defense of my people.”

  The tone of his voice was flat and emotionless. That in itself spoke volumes. His words raised all manner of questions. Stacia didn’t believe in gods of any kind, but it was clear that he did, and that he felt obligated to serve. She would not disrespect him by questioning his faith. “That sounds like a great burden.” Stacia placed a hand on his chest, over his heart. The steady thump of it beat against her palm, seeming in tune with her own pulse. Perhaps that had happened during her trance.

  Balfor clasped her hand in his and held it in place as he gazed into her eyes, his own dark and fathomless. “At times this burden seems unbearable.” He cupped her cheek in the palm of his other hand. “I was strong once, Stacia. I was not always as broken as I am now.”

  “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met!” The proof of that was the solid wall of muscle beneath her palm.

  He traced the path of her scars over her veil. “It’s your strength I admire, Stacia. Your will to endure is greater than my own.”

  She hugged him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her cheek against his chest. “I didn’t endure alone. You don’t have to either.”

  His arms encircled her. “For the first time in my life, I actually believe that.”

  *****

  Balfor flew her back to the palace in silence. She appreciated the time to think, so distracted that she barely noted the details of the tunnels and caverns as they returned the way they’d come. When they finally returned to the surface and landed in the palace courtyard, he released her from his embrace. Despite what he’d revealed to her, he seemed distant. The walk up the steps to his rooms felt so tedious to Stacia after their flight. She understood why the umbrose chose to spend most of their time in the air.

  A new awareness filled her as he entered the royal suite on her heels. Without even looking at him, she knew that he wanted her. It was as if their heartbeats were still in synch and her own sped up in response to his. Yet he didn’t make the move to take her as she would have expected. Instead, he paused at the door. She turned around to face him and saw that he’d removed his loincloth and was watching her with hunger in his eyes.

  The sight of him erect and eager caused an answering heat within her. She wasted no time stripping off her dress. Within moments, she stood as naked as he was. His gaze roved over her, so hot that it felt like he was touching her as he studied her body. She didn’t feel fat or awkward anymore, especially not when he looked at her like that, the evidence that he appreciated the view standing large and thick at his groin.

  When she felt that she could stand the wait no longer, she approached him and lifted her hands to stroke his chest, trailing them up to his shoulders, then over his arms where she felt the ripple of his biceps. She touched his lethal spurs. She was growing used to the hard and bony feel of them, when at first the very alien feature had intimidated her. Balfor watched her as she explored him, though she felt his muscles twitch with tension as if he barely controlled himself from grabbing her and plunging his straining erection into her.

  Stacia loved the texture of his skin, warmer than human body temperature and covered by soft, barely visible fine hairs. She leaned into him, inhaling his scent as his hands came up to grasp her waist. Then his hands were on her skin, exploring her, touching her in the places that seemed to intrigue him the most.

  He fondled her breasts, stroked his claws through her hair, and then dropped his fingers to her mound to seek out her clit. “Umbrose females do not have this,” he said, rubbing his finger over it as she moaned. His voice sounded strained. “I enjoy your reaction when I touch it and taste it.”

  “What do you like for a woman to do to you?”

  His laugh was guttural, as if he struggled to make the sound. “Anything you want to touch, I will like. You have already done things to me that I’ve never experienced.” His grin widened. “You may do them again whenever you want.”

  Her answering laugh was also a little strained as he continued to play with her. “Oh, I have some ideas.”

  *****

  Stacia awoke alone and feeling well-rested. She regretted that Balfor hadn’t remained in bed with her. She would have liked to have awakened him in interesting ways, but at least he’d held her close as they both fell asleep the previous night.

  After she ate, she summoned the servants and asked them to send a message to have Lilith meet with her. Stacia already had plans for her new life, plans that involved helping Balfor make new memories.

  *****

  Weeks passed and Stacia slipped into a blissful routine with the life she’d inadvertently accepted. It was so blissful that she put off thinking too far ahead into the future to simply enjoy the present moment. She spent every evening and night with Balfor, and he continued to be an attentive and energetic lover, better than any she’d ever had. Slowly, the warrior prince opened up to her, revealing—perhaps inadvertently—the depths of the scars he bore within.

  Lilith became Stacia’s handmaiden, though in truth, Sari and Isara did a lot of the running messages and keeping the two humans connected, since there were no intercom systems in Sanctuary and Balfor refused to have a comm-link installed in his room so Lilith could call her. His mistrust for human technology was one thing that bothered Stacia, but not enough to infect the euphoric happiness she felt while in his presence.

  Stacia refused to accept the assignment of any additional handmaidens, and Balfor allowed her denial, though he wasn’t happy about it. He’d insisted his concubine required no less than three handmaidens. She couldn’t stand the idea of having so many people around her, waiting on her. Servants gossiped, they judged, they looked at a person askance for their choices. She’d hated having servants even when she was growing up. She found the experience even worse now, since the umbrose still looked at her as if she were a curiosity. Fortunately, Sari and Isara became more friends than servants, and Lilith was already her best friend. She wasn’t alone in Sanctuary, though she still felt as if she had few allies in this alien place. Still, being with Balfor made all the staring and whispering worth it.

  Despite Balfor’s occasional taciturn moments, everything in Stacia’s life was going perfect—so perfect that she began to grow concerned because she’d never experienced such happiness bef
ore and knew it couldn’t last. Her work with Lilith on handling the trade agreements turned out to be fulfilling. Her relationship with Balfor didn’t show any signs of growing stale. She’d made new friends in Sari and Isara, and had learned to ignore the other umbrose.

  Then the day Stacia had been dreading came, falling upon her like an attacker from the shadows. She’d been expecting something to happen to destroy the beautiful dream she was living, but she hadn’t expected what did happen, nor had she expected the first strike to come from her best friend.

  Chapter 15

  Stacia sat with Lilith in the open-air courtyard of the Central Market at a marble table. Only three weeks had passed since she’d first arrived in Sanctuary, yet the place was already starting to feel like home. She didn’t even miss her old apartment or the Hub where she’d once been so eager to live. She’d grown accustomed to seeing umbrose faces instead of human faces, and the return stares were less noticeable than they had been in the beginning.

  A glowing quartz spear in the center of the table cast light upon their lunch, provided from the closest eatery. The restaurant specialized in different preparations of the multitudes of fungus the umbrose farmed.

  The bubbling pool that dominated the courtyard was a hot-spring, and umbrose would often take a dip in it. Stacia enjoyed people watching, although she tried to remain circumspect about it when the umbrose stripped down to complete nudity to slip into the pool. The surprising lack of modesty, especially given that the females still didn’t remove their veils even when publically nude, was something she was still getting used to.

  Lilith caught Stacia glancing sideways at one of the umbrose males rising out of the pool. “After their cities were destroyed, many of the umbrose reverted to a more primitive lifestyle, not bothering with clothes in warmer climates. Though they’ve been re-civilized now, their comfort with public nudity didn’t change.”

  Stacia met Lilith’s eyes and winked. “I’m not complaining,” she said in a low voice in the hopes that the umbrose walking in the courtyard wouldn’t overhear them. Not that they’d understand what she said since only a handful of umbrose understood DC Common.

  Lilith laughed. “You’re too much! You’re never going to change, are you?”

  Stacia shook her head. “Just because I’m in a relationship, doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the view. In a purely aesthetic sense, of course.”

  “Oh, of course,” Lilith agreed, amusement in her voice. Her tone was more thoughtful with her next words. “I have to say, I know you’ve always taken a pretty open-minded view of… ahem… sex, but the way you’ve been acting with Balfor, I expected you to be more possessive of him than you’ve been with past… liaisons.”

  Stacia raised her eyebrows. “I have a handsome prince who showers me with gifts and attention. I have no intention of letting him get away.” She glanced at the male umbrose who’d put on his loincloth and spread his wings to leap into the air. “Besides, I don’t think Balfor would be okay with sharing.”

  Lilith scoffed. “Oh sure, even though it’s a one-sided mentality. If a male wants a female who’s claimed by another, he has to issue a formal challenge. Then there’s an arena fight over her. That’s something you have yet to see.”

  Stacia’s interest piqued at this news. “You’ve never told me of this arena. You mean the umbrose hold public fights?”

  Lilith shuddered. “Yes. It’s brutal and bloody. Ranove took me one time, and never again will I go. Do you know that during combat, umbrose males secrete a toxin in their claws and wing tips that slows their rapid healing? They could end up inadvertently killing each other because of that—and have in the past!”

  Stacia set down the fork she’d been about to stab into her cooling mushroom bake. “I want to see an arena battle! When do they happen? Do you think Balfor will agree to take me?”

  Upper lip curled in distaste, Lilith shrugged one shoulder. “Concubines attend these events all the time. There’s no reason why he wouldn’t that I could think of. I can’t imagine why you’d want to see that, though.”

  “Are you kidding? How can you not want to see a display of the strength and beauty of what has to be—given their physiology—a unique form of martial arts?”

  Lilith waved Stacia’s words away. “I’ve seen enough of the umbrose fighting. We both have, in Aduria.”

  They shared a moment of silence as the memories fell heavy upon them.

  Lilith was the first to break the silence, her voice snapping Stacia out of past nightmares. “Anyway, what I was trying to say earlier, before you got me off track, was that I’m surprised you’re not bothered by Balfor’s other two concubines.” Lilith continued on, not realizing that Stacia sat frozen in complete and utter shock at her words. “Although from what I hear, they’ve been pretty bored in the last few weeks as he hasn’t summoned them at all since he claimed you.”

  For a moment, Stacia felt so light-headed that she thought she would pass out right there. As she’d never been the fainting type before, she didn’t actually drop to the tiled courtyard floor, but the wave of pain that accompanied Lilith’s words made her want to curl up into a ball to protect herself from the emotional battering. “Did you say Balfor has other concubines?” Her desire to disbelieve Lilith’s words came through in her tone. Maybe she’d simply misheard, or misunderstood.

  Lilith’s eyes widened until Stacia could see the whites surrounding the entire iris. “By the Nine Hells, don’t tell me you didn’t know! Stacia, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to tell you like this! I thought Balfor had already explained—”

  “Then…,” Stacia nearly choked as her throat closed, “he does have other concubines?”

  The tension in Lilith’s shoulders and her fisted hands set upon the tabletop suggested that she didn’t want to continue speaking, and certainly didn’t want to tell the truth, but she nodded. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  The pain of betrayal tearing at Stacia’s chest and boiling the acid in her stomach triggered her fight instinct. First she’d been used by Jack Caruthers, and now Balfor had kept this from her, leaving her to believe she was special to him, that she was the only one for him. Anger filled her along with the adrenaline that pumped into her blood. She rose to her feet, her fists clenched at her sides and every muscle trembling. “Balfor!” Her shout rang out over the courtyard.

  Lilith half-rose out of her chair and grabbed Stacia’s arm, but Stacia shook her off. Striding to the center of the courtyard, she stopped by the pool and summoned him again, this time putting all her rage into her tone. Umbrose from the courtyard stopped and stared at her. More umbrose came out of the shops and restaurants surrounding the courtyard. A small crowd filled with black, staring eyes surrounded her. The caged-in feeling only fueled Stacia’s anger. She needed to fight—her nerves sparked with the command to go on the offensive—but her primary target had not yet shown up, though in the past she’d had only to whisper his name to have him at her side.

  “Balfor, you lying, cheating bastard! Respond to my summons!” Though the umbrose surrounding her probably didn’t understand her words, her tone was unmistakable.

  Lilith was trying to say something to her, but Stacia was beyond listening at this point. Her mind had slipped into a defensive primitive response. If it wasn’t a threat, she could ignore it.

  Finally, the shadows came together and swirled in front of her. Balfor materialized less than a second later. More anger filled her to overflowing as she realized that he’d remained evasive about many things, including her questions about how he traveled the way he did. He said he wanted to be with her, and shared his wealth and his bed with her, but only now did she realize that he kept the most important things to himself. He didn’t really trust her, probably because he knew he himself wasn’t trustworthy. She was just a toy for him, no matter what his sweet words and caressing embraces might imply. When he was tired of her, he’d return to his other toys, or claim a new one, and Stacia would be the bored one
, sitting around Sanctuary waiting for him to send for her. Like hells I will!

  “You have two other concubines!” Her accusation was spoken as he appeared in front of her, though even the sight of his fury, clear in the tightness of his muscles and wings and the snarl on his face would not have been enough to silence her at this point. In the last three weeks, he’d been nothing but gentle with her, almost too gentle at times when she would have preferred a little roughness. She couldn’t believe he would ever harm her.

  “How dare you summon me in this manner? Have you no sense?” Though his tone was cool, his snarl remained.

  Stacia stepped up to him and poked a finger in his chest. She ignored the gasping of the crowd of on-lookers. “You lied to me! You made me believe that I was special to you….” The hurt threatened to swamp her again, but she ruthlessly pushed it back, allowing her anger to take full control of her so she didn’t have to deal with the pain. “You’ve been keeping other women behind my back. You think you can just get away with that, and I’ll be okay with it? Do you even know who you’re dealing with?”

  Balfor’s growl raised the hairs on the back of her neck. She dropped her hand, and took a wary step away from him. Belatedly, her flight instinct tried to get her attention, but rage still possessed her.

  “Do you even know who you’re dealing with?” Balfor repeated her words, but his tone was much lower and far more menacing. His eyes narrowed on her, his teeth gleamed, his fists clenched and his muscles bunched. With his wings spreading behind him, he looked more like a demon now than at any other time that she’d ever seen him. Gone was the gentle and attentive lover. In his place was an enraged monster that she’d succeeded in provoking. All her naïve illusions about Balfor fell away in that moment. He’d been putting on an act for her sake, but he was not the person she’d believed him to be. He’d wanted her sweet and willing in bed, so he’d played at being a lover, when really he was this… creature she saw now.