The Illegitimate Claim (2 page)

but that isn’t uncommon for young Runners. And she was very young when she left.”

“Have you heard from her?” Dorn looked down at the desk she could barely see

through the landlink screen. “Her name is Meah?”

“Yes it is. And no, we haven’t.” Tara sighed and leaned forward. “We’ll treat your

offer seriously since I know you wouldn’t make the suggestion unless you thought

highly of our son.”

“Sharay is my only daughter. Their union would bring a truce between our nations

that hasn’t existed before.”

“I realize that. Like I said, Dorn, we’ll address it seriously but I won’t make you any

promises.”

Tara
’s thoughts went to the armies that were on their southern border as she

walked away from her trailer. Her son and son-in-law were in charge down there and

had displayed militaristic strategies that would go down in history. The two young men

were responsible for eliminating the Sea People to the west and the Tree People to the

east simultaneously. They’d divided their armies and commanded them together.

Neither nation could compete with the intensity of the Gothman and Runner attacks.

She was incredibly proud of both of them.

She couldn’t help but wonder if Dorn Gowsky, leader of the council for the Neurian

nation, knew how timely his offer of a claim for Andru was. If there was an argument

that could send the Bryon family into a rage, it was the topic of Andru’s claim. Darius

wanted him to find another claim and both of them were sure Andru was content to

sleep with the women he had now—his sister included—and not claim anyone. Their

son was jumping from one woman’s bed to the next. Too many bastards from an heir

could prove a problem.

“Tara, you’re completely lost in thought.”

“Hi, Syra. Was I that obvious?”

Tara
looked up and smiled at her niece who strolled toward her from across the

field. Syra had picked up Tara’s tradition of not always wearing her headscarf, and

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Lorie O’Clare

straight brown hair fell past her shoulders. Syra wore her hair in the River People’s

style, with several small braids visible and small polished river rocks woven into them.

Tara
waited until the younger woman fell into stride next to her.

“I just finished a rather interesting conversation with Dorn Gowsky.”

“What did he say?”

“Well, he’s come up with quite a proposal.” They reached a group of parked gliders

and each woman mounted her own. “Follow me back to the house. I will tell you when

I tell Darius.”

“So, my lady, what is this conversation you had with Gowsky?” Darius joined them

in the dining room but walked over toward the windows instead of sitting at the table.

The large Gothman turned to face the women and crossed muscular arms across his

broad shoulders.

Tara
shot Syra a glance. She hadn’t mentioned speaking with Gowsky to Darius.

Either Syra got to him before she realized he was home and told him to ask her about it,

or he’d monitored her transmissions while he’d been gone. Syra looked lazily at her

then up at Darius, not giving any indication she found it odd that Darius brought up

the question.

“I spoke to Dorn Gowsky today.” Tara gave him a hard look.

“I know that.” His expression was blank but his glare shot through her. “What did

he say?”

“Yes, Tara, tell us what this interesting conversation was all about.” Syra leaned

forward and Darius glowered over her.

“Dorn suggests that we establish a truce between our nations. As he put it, one that

has never existed before. He has a daughter. I know she’s grown, but I don’t know how

many winters she has. Anyway, his mate died when his daughter was a child and he’s

raised her by himself. The girl’s name is Sharay. He’s offering her as a claim for Andru.”

She spoke her last sentence quickly and quietly then looked from Syra to Darius.

“Andru has a claim,” Syra spoke out quickly. “You told him that, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I told him that.” Tara rolled her eyes at her niece.

“And what did he say?” Darius asked, arms still crossed and his expression still

blank.

“He said to talk to you about it…and Andru.” Tara looked up at her claim and his

nonchalant expression bothered her for some reason. “But I told him I didn’t see a

reason to bring it up to Andru. Any mention of Meah gets him upset, even a reference

to her. He believes Crator wants him to wait for her, Darius.”

“He loves her. True love doesn’t go away.” Syra spoke as if she was saying the

obvious.

Darius turned his dark gray eyes on her and raised an eyebrow. “Is there a reason

why you’re part of this conversation?”

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The Illegitimate Claim

Syra was undaunted. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, matching

the lord’s expression. For a second, Tara thought her niece would take the lord on. It

wouldn’t be the first time.

Syra ignored his rude comment and instead spoke as if she were correcting a child.

“I believe, according to Gothman law, a claim is for life unless the woman proves

unfaithful. Are you saying Meah should disown your son for sleeping with every

unclaimed Gothman there is?”

Syra flashed her eyelashes at him and every muscle in his body tensed. Before he

could throw her out of his house, which Tara feared he might do physically, Syra

leaned forward and pointed a finger at him.

“Andru has taken a claim. She’ll come back and it will be quite the scandal if you

force him into another claim. Anything that went wrong with that claim would reflect

badly on the relations with the Neurians, as well as the Runners. Do you want to put

your son in that position?”

Darius suddenly smiled. It wasn’t a pleasant smile, though. He strolled around the

table to place his hands on the back of Syra’s chair. She sat frozen, braced, not daring to

even look at Tara.

“The only thing I see here is that some Runners have so much fun on the age of

searching that they forget about their duties at home, they do. When they do come home

they tend to be mouthy and disrespectful, yes. I don’t know how many women like that

we want around here.”

Syra attempted to jump up, knowing damn good and well that he was referring to

the extended absence she took during her age of searching. Darius’ hands came down on

her shoulders like vise grips.

“If memory serves, you did everything in your power to dissolve Torgo’s claim the

second you returned to Gothman, you did,” Darius reminded her.

Syra jumped away from him sending the chair she sat in teetering until Darius

stabilized it. Tara stood as well, expecting Darius to send Syra flying. The back door

opened at that moment and slammed shut as Beel, Darius’ bastard son, strolled into the

family room and smiled at the three adults. His travel bag was flung over his shoulder

and his clothes were dirty. Blond curls, identical to those of his papa’s, were streaked

with dirt and he noticeably smelled like he hadn’t bathed in several days.

“That was one long trip.” The young man smiled jovially at all three of them. The

tension in the room could be sliced with a blade but Beel didn’t bat an eye as he simply

walked past Tara and patted her on the back. “Let me get cleaned up and I’ll come

share my stories.”

“Weren’t you down in the Neurian nation with the rest of the troops?” Tara

wrinkled her brow at her claim’s illegitimate son. “Don’t tell me you just up and left

without telling anyone?”

Syra turned her attention toward Beel as well, seemingly happy for the distraction.

Beel turned around slowly and allowed all his charm to show through in his smile. His

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gray eyes, the noticeable Bryon trademark, were a shade lighter than his papa’s but

sparkled in amusement.

“You don’t simply walk away from your commander, Beel. You aren’t above

Gothman law.” Tara scowled and her hands went to her hips. “I suppose you just got

bored down there and left.”

Beel smiled and turned to his papa. Both women scowled at him and he was

noticeably unimpressed. “I’m sure you’re biased, Papa, but sometimes I simply can’t

tell which of these women is more beautiful.”

Syra threw her hands up in the air in pure disgust, and Tara threw Darius a

warning look. He simply chuckled and popped his son in the head playfully. It was

common knowledge that Darius made no attempt to force Beel to conform to any rules,

and as a result the young man ran wild.

“As long as you don’t have to listen to them talk for too long, I see your dilemma, I

do,” the lord responded playfully. With that, Syra turned toward the door. “What,

leaving us so soon, my lady?”

She gave him a vulgar gesture but Darius ignored it. He plopped down in a chair

and turned serious once he and Tara were alone. “So, what are your thoughts on this

matter?”

“He has a claim and we can’t give him another one,” Tara said firmly. “There really

isn’t any reason to discuss it any further.”

“That’s right.” Syra stuck her head back inside from the back door.

“Who has a claim? What are you talking about?” Beel’s eyebrows went up with

curiosity as he walked back into the dining room.

“The Neurians want to offer Andru a claim as a sign of a truce between our

nations.” Darius offered the information casually to his son after shooting Syra an icy

glare.

Beel nodded. “So, what to do about Meah, right? Are you going to declare her

dead?”

“You can’t do that. She’s a Runner,” Tara pointed out.

“No, you would have to do it, you would.” Darius waved his hand as if that were a

minor detail.

“I won’t do it. I have no proof that she’s dead or even missing.” Tara crossed her

arms with finality.

“Well, then,” Beel said casually before his papa could take on his claim, “it seems to

me the obvious answer would be to determine if she’s alive or not.”

The three adults looked at the young man and he smiled mischievously at them. It

was obvious how he’d earned his reputation as a womanizer and a scoundrel.