Man Who Should be King (3 page)

“You mean, he didn’t tell you in his message? Perhaps he
didn’t consider it important why he had me go there,” Syranna answered him,
glancing back over her shoulder. In that moment, Marcus knew that regardless of
what the woman might claim, she was “royalty” down to her toes! Rarely had he
seen such a haughty, disdainful gesture. He fought back the need to smile.

Stancia leaned forward at this point. “Is it true what they
say about Mystonians?”

Syranna heard the curiosity in the other woman’s innocent
question. She knew from her grandfather the opinion many people had of
Mystonians. The powers possessed by Mystonians in varying degrees were unknown,
in many cases, to the general public. Since Mystonians rarely left the
mist-covered lands they called home, very few actual truths were known about
them, mostly just rumors and legends. Syranna turned to look at the woman who
didn’t know that Syranna was half-Mystonian herself. Her years of living there
had made her more than half in her mind.

“Yes, it is true, if you mean that there are all kinds of
rumors and stories about the people who live there,” Syranna replied quietly.

William stopped Stancia’s further questions by leaning over
and whispering loudly enough to be overheard, “Hold your tongue for a bit,
woman.” Stancia’s startled expression revealed that William had never spoken to
her that way, and she did as he asked mostly out of surprise.

“To allay any further questions, and so you will understand
why I must leave here, yes, I am Mystonian myself.” Syranna heard the loud
gasps from Stancia and William. “My mother was not just from Kalledane, and my
father sent me to live with my grandfather nearly eleven years ago. So, I’m
sure you can see why it is necessary for me to return there as soon as
possible.”

Marcus shook his head, crossing his strong arms over his
firmly muscled chest. He looked very formidable as he stared at her from the
far side of his private chambers. There was no way he was letting her leave.
Syranna didn’t need her powers to read his mind because his intent was obvious
in the set of his jaw and determination in his eyes. But, very carefully, she
entered his mind to read his thoughts.

William had convinced him that it was too late now for her
to disappear again. A lot of people had probably seen her as she crossed the
open plains between the transport area and the castle. There were probably a
good number of elders who would recognize her from her close resemblance to her
mother. If she disappeared now, it would appear suspicious. And, William had
pointed out, now that they had achieved peace it would not be good to have any
rumors surfacing about a possible appearance of Syranna, and then a mysterious
disappearance.

Syranna knew, as she watched Marcus that she would have to
find some way to sneak away, to escape and return to Kalledane as soon as
possible. His thoughts alarmed her but there was also fear, deep inside her,
that seemed to be growing by the minute. Fear of what, though, she couldn’t
say.

Syranna tossed and turned in her soft bed. She dreamed of
her home, filled with lush green lands, plants of all descriptions, and animals
that sometimes defied words to describe them. She missed the coolness that
constantly bathed her skin from the mists there. The freedom that she had known
there seemed to call her home. Abruptly she awoke, aware that she was no longer
alone in her room. She didn’t move. Her breathing nearly ceased as her every
sense tuned to detect the presence in her room.

Marcus didn’t move as soon as he sensed that she had
awakened. He had not been surprised to find that she had locked her door, but
he had thought of that and brought the keys from his chamberlain along with
him. He wasn’t proud of his actions. But sometimes the throne demanded things
from a man that he might not wholeheartedly agree with at times. He had wanted
to surprise her while she was still asleep and gain the upper hand. He had a
tantalizing glimpse of her naked, full breasts before she had pulled the sheet
up. He could see the lines of her sensual body beneath the thin covering.

“Lord Marcus.” Syranna’s voice broke through the blackness
of the night. “I expected better of you.”

Marcus stiffened at her biting, sarcastic words. He knew she
sought to anger him, or shame him, but he would not allow her the upper hand.
Deliberately, he kept his voice even as he replied to her implied insult. “You
don’t understand how tenuous the hold on peace can be at times.”

Marcus stepped closer to her bed. His eyes followed
Syranna’s movement on the bed, as she pulled the covers with her and came to a
kneeling position in the center of the mattress. He saw that she had tilted one
eyebrow upward, displaying her doubt in his words with the gesture. Taking a
deep breath, he spoke slowly.

“I can see that you don’t understand, but I am bound to do
anything that is required to keep this land together, and to keep future wars
at bay.”

Syranna held his gaze as she replied. “Those are noble words
indeed, but not worth much if you follow them with a rape.”

“It is not rape, madam! I am going to marry you!” His voice
rose as he reached the end of his testament. William had convinced him that if
bedding, then wedding, this woman is what was required, then he would do it.

“Milady, there are many things that you do not understand…”
Marcus moved to the foot of the bed. He could see her naked shoulders rising
above the sheet she held to her breasts. “If you have any sense of rightness
remaining in you then you must understand what you owe to your people of
Vikalla.”

“Ha!” Syranna scoffed at him. “I have not lived here for
most of my life. No one will even remember me.”

Marcus smiled in the darkness, his teeth gleaming white and
almost feral. “No, but they remember your father. And the loyalty felt for him,
owed to him, is very strong. With our bloodlines joined, then Vikalla will be
invincible once again. As it was in your father’s early days…as he would have
wanted it to be again. Surely you would honor his memory by fulfilling his
deepest hopes for your home world.”

Syranna watched him in silence for several long moments.
There was no denying that his words were the truth. Somehow she suspected that
the old knight’s request of her had this very reason at its center all along.
But she didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want to, she reminded herself.
During her twenty-one years, she had lived more years as a
non
-royal
than she had as a princess. She was fairly sure that she preferred life as a
commoner.

“I am going to leave tomorrow as I had planned, Lord Marcus.
Like I said earlier, no one need know the truth. You can rule Vikalla, and I
promise I will never return, nor make any claims on your precious throne.”
Syranna flung the words at the tall man, almost daring him to try and stop her.

Marcus stared at her bare shoulders bathed in moonlight,
streaming through the windows. He felt desire for this obstinate woman race
through his body. He could force her to wed him, of that he had no doubt.

“Why do you not want to reclaim what is rightfully yours? I
refuse to believe that you willingly walk away from your birthright.”

Syranna’s glare and her rising emotions were unmistakable. He
thought he could almost see sparks coming from her eyes and she seemed to be
getting angrier by the moment.

“You know nothing about me, you arrogant lout! How dare you
accuse me of ignoring my duty! For your information, I have no duty to Vikalla.
My home is no longer here. Now,” Syranna tilted her chin in a truly noble and
commanding fashion, “get out of my room.”

Marcus reached out and grabbed the hand she had flung toward
the door, as if showing him his way out. Damn her! She treated him like the
worst of the rubbish, which only needed to be swept away. He yanked on the
fragile wrist and Syranna fell forward toward him. Her tenuous hold on the
sheet was lost and her naked body was revealed to him. He saw her full, round
breasts heaving with her rapid, angry breaths. Her nipples were beaded to tight
perfection and distended in the cool night air.

Marcus caught her in his arms, pressing her against his hard
chest. He easily calmed her futile struggles, looking down into her angry,
upturned face. It seemed impossible to resist her softly parted lips. He
lowered his head and kissed her deeply. His tongue fought and won over hers,
subduing her protests easily. Just when he thought he was wooing her into
complacency, Syranna bit his lower lip.

“Ow! Hell’s bells, woman!”

Syranna fell back to the bed as his hands shoved her away.
She watched as he rubbed the back of one hand over the injured area. He was
obviously as surprised as she to see that she had drawn blood. Syranna paused
in that moment, shocked at her primitive behavior. She had never hurt anyone or
anything in her life. If nothing else, under her grandfather’s watchful eye,
she became known to take in any kind of hurt animal around the castle and
surrounding properties. The blood on his hand unnerved her. This barbaric
behavior on her part was unforgivable.

“I am sorry, sir,” Syranna offered contritely. From the look
on Marcus’ face, Syranna knew an apology wouldn’t be enough. “I know that you
are a fair man, and you really don’t want to do
this
.”

Marcus stopped at her words. Syranna opened her mouth to add
more fuel to her argument when she saw that he wasn’t looking at her face. His
eyes were quite a bit lower. Syranna glanced down and saw that in her sprawled
landing, her thighs were parted. The light from the torch he carried had
lowered across the bed and bathed her body in the dim illumination. She could
guess his surprise was due to the fact that she was missing the expected hair
to cover her womanhood. Slowly his eyes traveled up her body, and when she met
his gaze, a slow smile curved his sensual mouth upward. In that moment, she
knew her face was covered in an embarrassed flush.

“My lord Marcus, I know you are a logical and far-thinking
man…”

“Are you attempting to flatter me into dropping my plans? I
must confess, my sweet, that after seeing your luscious body, you’ll need more
than words to persuade me.”

Syranna gasped. “You mean you want me to trade favors for
you to change your mind?”

“Hmm. That would assume that my plans aren’t set in stone. It
also assumes that you possess something worth trading.”

Syranna had been sliding her hand toward the bedcovers. She
stopped abruptly at his words. “I believe you just insulted me!”

Marcus grinned and shook his head. He took a step closer to
the bed, resting his nearest knee on the mattress. “Not at all, your Royal
Highness.”

Syranna glared at the man who now appeared to be finding
immeasurable humor in this situation. God! She detested the amused look on his
face and the slightly sarcastic tone in his voice.

“Don’t call me that! And, furthermore, you have no idea what
I could offer you.”

Marcus jerked the bedcovers from her grasp and threw them
all to the floor. “At the moment, ma’am, I am overwhelmed by what I see you
offering right now.”

Syranna saw his eyes lower to her full, naked breasts. “You
are a cad, sir!”

Marcus shook his head once again. “I’m going to wed you.”

“Aarrrgghhhhh!” Syranna screamed in frustration. But the cry
was cut off as Marcus grabbed her foot and dragged her toward him. Kicking out
with her other foot was a mistake, as he quickly caught it with his other hand.
His other knee joined the first on the bed, but now they were between her
spread thighs.

Syranna tried to push herself along the bed with her hands
while Marcus threw his velvet robe to the floor. His eyes must have seen her
motion because a moment later his hands grabbed hers. His body dropped quickly,
pressing her into the soft bed. Syranna struggled to free herself, but each
move she made only weakened her reserves and exposed more of her naked body to
his. He caught both her hands with one of his, while his free hand moved from
her shoulder to her breast, cupping, and then squeezing her sensitive flesh
eagerly.

As Syranna gasped, drawing in her breath raggedly, Marcus
lowered his head and took her nipple deep into his hot, wet mouth. His sucking
motions caused her to moan as the wild, unknown feelings began coursing through
her body. She could feel his hard, heated maleness pressing against her soft
belly. His hands moved over her body, pulling her legs farther apart and
settling his hips between them. As she opened her mouth to cry out, he covered
it with his own. She pulled her senses together, to marshal her inner powers…

* * * * *

Marcus fell to the bed next to her, exhausted and sound
asleep before he actually hit the mattress. In deep sleep, his dreams told once
again how sweet this joining of their bodies had been. He remembered firm, full
breasts that overflowed his own larger hand. How sweet her nipples had been to
suckle! His hand had then moved down and explored her hairless woman’s mound
with eagerness and anticipation.

In his vivid dream, Marcus remembered thrusting into her
sweet heat. Suddenly, he was wide awake. Marcus had never forced a woman
before, and he didn’t like the feelings that were rushing over him at doing so.
Now that the heat of passion and arousal had left him, he knew what he had
done. But he would make it all right in the morning. He rose on one arm to tell
her so, but she turned from him quickly, moving from the bed to stand as far
away from him as she could.

Marcus stared at her beautiful naked body, bathed in the
moonlight’s dim illumination from the windows. Even now, seeing her womanly
hips and thighs, the way her long hair danced around her buttocks as she ran
from him, he was getting hard all over again. He stood and quickly pulled on
his robe. There was no doubt that perhaps it would be better to discuss all
this in the morning. He started to tell her they would discuss wedding plans in
the light of the new day, but she only further denied him by covering her ears
with her hands.

Angry and frustrated, Marcus left the room. He stalked back
to his own room, forgetting to tell the guards to return to their posts at the
end of the hallway, just down from Syranna’s bedroom door.

Syranna wanted to throw herself on the bed and cry. But she
knew that while it might release her emotions, it wouldn’t help her get away
from here. She quickly pulled on her clothes and, holding her shoes and small,
soft bag in her arms, she pulled open the bedroom door. She saw the hallway was
empty and quickly made her way down the stairs and through the main rooms
without being seen. She stuck to the dark corners, moving silently until she
reached the stable.

She saw that there was only a young boy sound asleep inside
the stable. Syranna looked at the boy and regretted what she would have to do.
As she walked over to him, he stirred instantly from the light sleep. In the
dim light, she could see the surprised look on his face. Before he could speak,
Syranna lifted her right hand. With her fingers barely touching his skin, she
ran them down his face. A moment later, he slumped into complete
unconsciousness.

She saddled her horse quickly and was riding to the gate
within a few minutes. The guards had not been told to stop anyone from leaving
because Marcus had never considered that she would be able to even get out of
her room.

* * * * *

Syranna rode through the night, and as dawn came, she had
reached one of the major exit cities on Vikalla. It didn’t take long for her to
arrive at the transfer station and book passage for herself and her steed.
Paying for the transfer used the last of her exchanges. Once she got back to
Kalledane, she doubted that she would be leaving ever again. The exchanges
she’d used had belonged to Sir Ralus, and those had been left from when he had
first brought Syranna to Kalledane.

She waited tensely over the next hour, until finally the
old-style, yet totally modern air-ship rose from the ground and began its long
journey, which would eventually return her to Kalledane. Traveling home,
Syranna was intensely aware that the other people on board were probably
vacationers coming to Kalledane for a brief time. The number of travelers was
proof that the war had ended and interplanetary transfers had been restored.

The ship they were traveling on was fashioned after one used
by their ancestors to travel the seas to distant shores and was considered just
another part of the Kalledane experience for visitors. Syranna had noticed how
popular it was becoming for people from the sister moon
, Kallas,
to visit now that the war had ended.

All three planets’ forbearers had chosen which aspects of
modern life to use and which to ignore. The differences of old traditions and
new scientific advances on the three planets were most obvious on Kalledane,
where the people lived much simpler lives, choosing health and safely proven
developments over those advancements that were strictly for pleasure alone.
Simple, loose clothing was worn by most, except those who worked within the
transit system. Some people still embraced the advanced technologies, but most
were drifting back into simpler lifestyles.