Icarus Unbound (3 page)
Authors: Bernadette Gardner
Lara fumed. Every individual feather on her wings seemed to stand on end and she balled her fists in fury. "You're doing this just to punish me, aren't you, Jaran? You've always hated me because I'm human, and this is your greatest revenge, isn't it?"
Jaran stood now, anger taking the place of his arousal. He hadn't expected Lara to embrace the idea of mating with him right away, but he had thought she would be composed and civil. "This is not revenge for anything, Laramee. This is based on carefully considered factors. As I said, I do not owe you any further explanation of my choice. I have chosen you as my mate. We have several weeks to get to know each other 21
Icarus Unbound
by Bernadette Gardner
before the mating cycle begins and we should make the most of that time. With respect to the importance of your work at the research station, we can forgo the customary celebration in the aerie gardens this afternoon, but come evening, I expect to find you in my chambers and by nightfall you will be in my bed, prepared to consummate our union. Is that understood?"
Lara met his gaze. The fire in her eyes could have turned every feather on his wings to ash, it burned so hot. "I understand perfectly, my liege. And I will abide by your decree." Without waiting for his dismissal, Lara whirled around and stormed out of the room, her wings spread in anger, her strides long and purposeful.
Daralei hurried in as soon as the proverbial dust settled. "I believe you have a difficult path ahead of you, my liege."
Jaran kept his gaze on the main archway, watching until Lara's shadow disappeared. "Difficult is an understatement."
"Perhaps you should have explained the full significance of your pairing to her. She might have been more accepting if she knew the truth about your father."
Jaran shook his head. "Not yet. In the state she's in now, she might tell anyone or everyone and I'm not ready for that information to be made public yet. It's not something I want her to be able to use against me."
Daralei eyed him, and the wisdom of her seventy years showed in her expression. "Then you run the risk that she may find some other weapon to wound you with."
Jaran sighed. "That's a risk I'll have to take."
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Icarus Unbound
by Bernadette Gardner
Lara's stomach twisted into knots the moment she left Jaran's audience hall. Out in the gardens, behind the statuary, she found a stone bench and sank down onto the hard surface, clutching her midsection to combat the growing emptiness she felt.
Jaran hated her. He always had. From the moment he'd been old enough to understand the genetic difference between them, he'd considered her an outsider. Her parents were both human, his both Icarian. In his mind, despite the fact that nearly all of the children of their generation were hybrids, there could be no middle ground between them.
He'd always been cruel to her because of his prejudices, but this went beyond any of the childish taunts, the icy stares, or the snubbing he'd subjected her to as they matured. Could he really be so twisted as to want to mate with a woman he despised?
A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she planted her hands on the cool stone to steady herself. How could she fly back to the research station in this state of mind? How could she obey his instruction to present herself in his bed chamber this evening? The thought made her shiver. The idea of climbing into bed with Jaran—having him put his large, long-fingered hands on her body, having him mount her and...
Heat suffused her from head to toe at the illicit image of Jaran spreading his wings as he fucked her. Golden wings, golden hair, golden eyes ... the worst part of their tumultuous 23
Icarus Unbound
by Bernadette Gardner
relationship was that Lara had always found him devastatingly handsome.
From the time they were children she'd been unable to keep from staring at him whenever he was nearby. She'd learned to be careful not to let him catch her looking. Once they'd matured, it had been nearly impossible not to indulge in sexual fantasies of him. Some small part of her tingled now at the thought of him touching her, putting his massive, well-formed cock inside her, commanding her body with his.
"Agh! No no no! This is not happening. This cannot happen."
"Lara? We waited for you in the east garden. Where have you been?"
Kiala appeared then, dragging Breon by the arm behind her.
Lara pasted a smile on her face and cast a calculatedly innocent glance at her friend. "I'm sorry. I just needed a few minutes alone. So, Breon is your new mate, I see."
Kiala squealed, and the sound seemed to make one of Breon's pale eyebrows twitch. He looked vaguely uncomfortable with his new wife's enthusiasm, but to his credit, he gazed at Kiala adoringly while she prattled on.
"Isn't it wonderful? I think we make a perfect match, don't you? We're the same height, the same hair color and we both work in symbion conservation, so we have so much to talk about and we can work together whenever we want."
"It is wonderful." Lara's face felt too small for her skull, as if smiling might cause her taut skin to crack.
My life is over
, a voice in her head lamented. For the first time in years, 24
Icarus Unbound
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though, the thoughts of her symbion contradicted her own.
Jaran is everything you want. Embrace him.
Confusion eventually replaced Kiala's infectious nuptial glee. "Um ... where's your husband? Who did Jaran choose for you? Soren? It was Soren, right? I would have chosen Soren for you. He's perfect in every way ... oh, I mean unless Jaran chose Lian. He's even more perfect. Who is it? Don't make me stand here guessing like a fool!"
"Ah..." Lara cast a beseeching glance at Breon, who gratefully was wise enough to understand her silent signal.
"Kiala, would you like to talk to Laramee alone? I'll go prepare us some food from the feast table and give you some time to talk to your friend in private."
"Yes, all right.
Husband
." Kiala gave Breon an adoring grin and kissed his cheek. "I'll catch up to you in a bit."
With that Breon hurried off, clearly thrilled to be able to escape the awkward conversation that was about to begin.
"I like him," Lara said as Kiala shooed her sideways on the bench and sat down next to her. "I think the two of you will be very happy together."
"He's wonderful. I adore him. I've always thought he was a good catch and that any woman would be lucky to have him and now ... well. What about you? You look pale. Oh, Jaran didn't pair you up with Mikal, did he? I know poor Mikal would like a new mate, but he's too old for you. Plus you'd only have the one mating cycle before he became infertile and if you didn't get pregnant this time for whatever reason—"
"Kee, I'm human, remember? My mating cycle is twenty eight days long. Technically, I could have my symbion 25
Icarus Unbound
by Bernadette Gardner
hormones suppressed and if I mated with a human have ten children in ten years."
Kiala frowned. "Don't rub it in. I remember. That's why there are
trillions
of humans in the universe and only two hundred thousand Icarians."
"Kee."
"Oh. Oh! He did pair you with Mikal then, and that's why, so you would have a little more time to conceive, right?"
"No."
"That's not why he paired you with Mikal?"
"He didn't pair me with Mikal."
"Well who then? And where is he? Don't tell me you've scared him away already."
"Kiala, hush! Listen to me." Lara steeled herself to say the words even though they tasted sour on her tongue. "Jaran paired me with himself. I'm Jaran's mate now."
Kiala blinked as if she hadn't understood, and her mouth dropped open a little. "Are you teasing me?"
"I wish I was." Lara hadn't intended to let her emotions run wild, but despite her best efforts, her voice broke. "He did this to punish me."
Kiala stiffened, and her wing tips twitched a little, communicating her sudden agitation. "No. Jaran was chosen by Jidar to lead, and for good reason. He's very wise. He would not do something like this just to hurt you, Lara."
"He's always hated me. Why would he want me as a mate when there are five hundred females coming up on a mating cycle? Any one of them would be thrilled to be chosen as Jaran's mate, as co-leader of the tribe. Any one of them 26
Icarus Unbound
by Bernadette Gardner
would be more worthy than me. He did this to humiliate me. I know what he's going to do. He'll keep me for a few days, then he'll dissolve the union and say there's something wrong with me. I'm infertile or I'm defective in some way and no one else will want me. That way he can prevent me from ever—"
"Stop!" Kiala vaulted up from the seat. The expression on her face stunned Lara into confused silence. She'd never seen her friend look so angry. "Just stop it."
"Kee?"
"You're talking about our liege. Yes, when Jaran was a boy he was insufferable at times, but Jidar trained him and taught him to be a good man. Namara, for whom you are named lest you forget, treated Jaran as her own after his mother died in exile."
"And his mother tried to kill mine, lest
you
forget. That's why she was exiled."
"No one will forget that, Lara. But what his mother did isn't Jaran's fault. Namara spent more time raising him than Arilani did, and she loved him as if he were her own. She raised him as a brother to Odan, and he became a good man just like Odan. He's very far above the vile things you're accusing him of."
Lara's throat closed, clogged by tears of shame at being rebuked by her best friend. This day could not get any worse.
"Kiala, I don't hold what Jaran's mother did against him, but he's always held my heritage against me. He must have some other motive for choosing me as a mate, because he certainly doesn't like me."
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Icarus Unbound
by Bernadette Gardner
Kiala's expression softened but only slightly. When she spoke, her voice was stern, her words clipped. "Whatever his reasons, Laramee, you've been given a great honor. You walk in Namara's footsteps, and you should do so with respect and reverence. You should be happy to have a mate and to be able to bear a child. Some of those who came before us never got the chance." Kiala ruffled her wings and cast a glance over her shoulder in the direction Breon had retreated. "I have to join my husband and choose my aerie."
She took a step to leave, then thought better of it apparently. What she did next brought Lara's stomachache back in full force and made her want to crawl into a dark hole and hide. Kiala, who had always been her ally and her equal, dropped to one knee in front of Lara and assumed the submissive posture, proper when entering or leaving the presence of a tribal leader. She bowed her head and spoke softly. "May I be dismissed, my lady?"
Lara stared. This was more than Jaran had likely expected when he'd plotted to destroy her life. Not only would he humiliate her as his mate, he'd also managed to drive a wedge between her and her oldest and dearest friend.
Choking back tears, Lara forced the words out. "You may go, Kiala."
The Icarian woman said no more. She rose stiffly, her posture perfect, and strode out of the grotto, leaving Lara more alone and lonely than she had ever been in her life.
Late in the day, Odan arrived at the royal aerie after spending hours canvassing the surrounding island chain with his new mate Jehri. His wings were sore, but he couldn't let 28
Icarus Unbound
by Bernadette Gardner
the sun set on this auspicious day without visiting his childhood home and checking on his foster brother, Jaran.
He strolled into the royal aerie pleased to see the sconces lit and smell the spicy aroma of an evening meal. He battled a slight melancholy as he walked the familiar corridors.
Everywhere he saw his mother's gentle influence and his father's commanding presence. Since their deaths, Odan had felt somewhat lost. For the last four years he'd had only Jaran as his family. Now, though, with Jehri at his side, he hoped to create a new family to ease his loneliness.
He wished Jaran would be able to do the same, but having heard the rumors which had circulated quickly among the newly mated pairs today, he had his doubts about his brother's future happiness.
He found Jaran in the audience chamber, consulting with Daralei as usual. The elder administrator had treated them both as her own sons even before the deaths of Jidar and Namara, and it lightened Odan's heart to see the female lecturing Jaran.
"I've had your private quarters filled with flowers and had some of her favorite foods prepared. Give her time to settle in and
do not
say anything that will hurt her feelings. Newly mated females can be very sensitive, and any offhand remark you make might sound like a complaint."
Jaran nodded respectfully and squeezed Daralei's shoulder.
"I will do my best, but—"
"This is one instance, my liege, when you will need to do even better."
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by Bernadette Gardner
Odan approached the two now, laughing at Jaran's stricken expression. "He's already out of his element, Daralei. My dear brother was born with no ability to charm females. If it wasn't for his status as leader, I doubt any woman would look in his direction at all. His poor mate is doomed."
Dara squeezed Odan's shoulder in greeting and patted his cheek. "Don't you look happy today? Jehri is a perfect mate for you, and it already shows on your face."
Odan smiled at the thought of his lovely new wife who waited for him in their newly claimed aerie. If it wasn't for his concern about the odd news he'd heard today, he'd be there with her now, already enjoying their first night of nuptial bliss as so many other new couples were doing. "I'm very pleased with the match my liege made for me, but I'm worried that he may not have been as wise with his own choice."
