Rion (21 page)

He shook his head. “In dragon form, the pain is unbearable.” He spoke briskly, without inflection. “You can’t dragonshape
until after we find and destroy the Tyrannizer.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, even as relief slid through her.

Eyes gentle, he cupped her face between his hands. “I wouldn’t ask that of you… or of anyone. Because it’s impossible. No
one can endure that much pain.”

Up ahead, Merlin hooted, clearly growing impatient with their slow pace. She gazed into Rion’s eyes and saw his fear. For
her? Or fear that she would fail his people? Or both?

Her doubts lingered. She wondered if she would ever completely trust him again. After her failed marriage, it had taken her
a long time to think she would ever love again. She’d lost faith in herself, in her own judgment.

At the moment, she was already up to her neck in indecision. And yet she couldn’t deny she had feelings for Rion.

He was resourceful, caring, and gentle. He was the kind of man she admired. Even considering whether to trust him again was
dangerous—especially after he’d told her they could have nothing permanent together. Ever since the crash and his learning
how his people were suffering, he seemed more responsible, more determined than ever to free them, which made him even more
attractive.

Perhaps that knock on her head had skewed her perceptions. In her experience, people’s character didn’t change. Yet who would
have thought her adventure-loving brother could happily marry and settle down? Lucan’s domestication had proved anything was
possible.

“Where’s Merlin?” Rion interrupted her thoughts.

She’d been focused on putting one foot in front of the other while avoiding thornbushes and hadn’t been paying attention to
the owl. She peered through the trees, and her hopes rose. “Is that a fence?”

A stone wall about waist high meandered between thick shrubs and towering trees along the steep hillside.

“It’s Winhaven’s perimeter. We’ve found it. Merlin led us straight here, but he’s disappeared.” Rion slowed his pace. “Why
don’t you rest and let me check out—”

“No.” She recalled when he’d left her behind in the space museum and the time she’d spent worrying. She didn’t like him leaving
her behind. “We’ll go together.”

“Don’t move,” a voice called out. A group of men, wearing ragged camouflage clothing, stepped from behind the trees, weapons
aimed.

Rion stepped in front of Marisa. She held her breath and peeked around his broad shoulders.

These men had the chiseled angles from living hard and lean. Rion couldn’t defeat all of them, especially with their blasters
pointed right at him.

Icy fear rooted her feet, and she could only stare at the collection of massive chests, powerful arms, and long, lean hips
and wait. If these guys were the Unari, then she could understand how they’d infiltrated society from the inside out.

“Who’s Merlin?” The stocky leader with the glinting baby blues moved forward, a ring of command in his tone. He stared at
them over the barrel of his weapon, suspicion and hostility in his eyes.

Before Rion had an opportunity to answer, the blue-eyed leader fired orders to his men, his voice low and deep. “Find their
friend, Merlin. He must not escape, or we’re all—”

“Lexiathon,” Rion called the man by his name, “there’s no need to waste energy chasing an owl.”

At Rion’s words, the men paused and looked to their leader. Lexiathon frowned, stepped closer, and stared at Rion, his eyes
wide open and direct. “How do you know my name?”

“I am Crown Prince Rion Jaqard of Chivalri.”

“Lies. Our king is Shepherd Jaqard.”

“Shepherd is my father.”

“If Sir Shepherd resigns or dies, then the throne goes to his son, Erik.”

“Erik is my cousin and not the direct heir.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Please hear me out. You’ve heard that King Shepherd Jaqard has flashes?”

“What of it?”

“In one of his visions he saw that his infant son would die from an assassination. So shortly after my birth, he had Erik
and me switch places.”

Lexiathon didn’t lower his weapon. His stance widened and his back snapped straighter. “Erik wasn’t assassinated.”

“My father changed the future by his actions.” Rion stepped forward and held out his hand. “I have seen you by my side in
the future many times. I am happy to finally meet you, Lex.”

Lex didn’t budge. “I’ll need more proof than your word.”

Marisa swallowed back a hysterical laugh. Rion had finally revealed his true identity, and his people didn’t believe him.
If the Honorians had DNA records, she supposed that, in time, Rion could prove his claim to the throne.

Rion dropped his hand, but he kept his smile. “You are Chivalri’s rebel leader.”

Lex held Rion’s gaze, his stare level. “You could have heard that anywhere.”

“You protect children in Winhaven’s basement.”

The rebel leader narrowed his eyes. “So one of my men talked.”

“You dream of a woman. Pendra. She’s the leader of another rebel group, and you admire her—”

“Enough,” Lex snapped.

Rion didn’t smile. “I don’t think you’ve told anyone about her, have you?”

Lex remained silent, doubt in his eyes.

“Darian,” Rion called to another man, with short blond hair shaved close to the head and the body of a world-class wrestler.
“Your lady is pregnant. You’d best marry her soon.”

Darian’s perfect square jaw dropped open. “She just told me this morning.”

“It’s a boy, and he’ll become a man of whom you’re proud.” Rion faced another of the men, the tallest and most powerful of
the bunch. “Mendle, your mother—”

“Is dead.”

“When the Unari burned her house, she fled. You will see her again… but it may be some time before you reunite. That vision
is still in your future.”

Mendle gasped. “I buried the Unari arsonists in the backyard and told no one for fear of reprisal. But I didn’t know my mother…
still lives.” Tears of happiness shone in his eyes.

Lex lowered his weapon, dropped to one knee, and bowed his head. “Sire, only direct descendants of the royal line have such
an ability.”

His men kneeled, bowed their heads.

Rion reached down and grabbed Lex’s forearm. “Rise. All of you. My flashes are snapshots of the past, present, and future.
However, the more I share, the less control we have over those events. Sometimes change is good. Sometimes it’s not. This
time the goal is clear—I would join you to rid Honor of all Unari.”

“Yes, sire.”

Rion rarely mentioned his gift. It was the longest explanation she’d ever heard Rion give at one time. His commitment to these
people was set in stone.

“Until all are free,” Rion continued, his tone regal, “I would swear you and your men to secrecy about my identity.”

“You have our word, sire,” Lex agreed.

“I ask that you address me as Rion. No titles, no special deference should be given to me—except as a rebel leader.”

“Understood… sir.”

Rion placed his arm over Marisa’s shoulders. “This lady has come from far away to help us.”

Marisa nodded a greeting, pleased the men’s attention remained on Rion. In wartime, people didn’t take kindly to outsiders.
If she hadn’t arrived with Rion, these people would never have taken her in.

“Is there a place the lady can rest?” Rion asked. Before anyone answered, he continued, “It’s possible that Unari are looking
for us.” As they walked along the fence, Mendle taking the point, Darian covering the rear, Rion explained how they’d crashed
and had been on the run ever since.

“You haven’t seen any Unari on the ground?” Lex asked.

Rion shook his head. “And I hid our trail, walking for miles through a creek. I would not bring trouble into camp.”

“Trouble can come from any direction,” Mendle mumbled, then clamped his lips tightly shut.

“Sir,” Lex said hesitantly, “your cousin Erik has recently joined us.”

“Erik’s here?” Rion broke into a wide smile. “I was told he was a Unari prisoner.”

“He escaped. We usually don’t accept recruits, but with his claim to the Chivalri throne we allowed him to stay.”

“Praise the Goddess, this is good news.” Rion stepped forward, clearly eager to meet his cousin. “The day I escaped Honor,
Erik was captured in my stead. I owe him a debt I can never repay.”

The men wound through the woods, choosing their steps with care not to snap branches or leave a trail. With their movements
skilled, graceful, and easy, they made good time.

Marisa was determined to keep up. So what if her head throbbed? She didn’t want these men or Erik to think her weak. Or helpless.

Lex walked at Rion’s right shoulder. He glanced at Rion and raised an eyebrow. Clearly, he had questions but was unsure of
protocol. While the men treated Rion with deference and respect, they were obviously uneasy around him.

“Sir, why haven’t you come forward before now?” Lex asked.

Rion clapped Lex on the shoulder, his mood cheerful since he’d heard news of his cousin. “We’re going to work together. There’s
no need to stand on ceremony.”

Lex’s men looked down, as if they realized the question carried a hint of disrespect, but they also seemed curious.

Rion sighed. “The day the Unari invaded our capital, my aunt and uncle gave their lives so Erik and I could escape. We fled
through the city toward the museum. I thought if I could fly the spaceship—”

“That old relic?” Lex whistled. “It’s a wonder you didn’t kill yourself.”

“Thanks to Erik, I got away. I lifted off and made it to Tor, where I made some hasty repairs but again had to flee before
Enforcers caught and imprisoned me. Later, I ended up crashing on another world, called Pendragon. I’ve been trying to return
ever since.”

“I’ll bet you have some adventurous tales to tell.” Darian grinned and pulled aside a branch so it wouldn’t whip Marisa’s
face.

She walked past. “Thanks.”

“What’s amazing is that you’ve all remained free.” Rion returned the compliment.

Mendle shook his head. “None of us are free. Not when we must dragonshape to eat… and the pain…”

“We’re also running out of platinum,” Lex told them.

Rion’s eyes widened in surprise. “You aren’t mining the mountain platinum?”

“I’ve sent men up to the mountains,” Lex told him. “None have come back.”

*   *   *

R
ION’S VISION TOOK
him to a place he didn’t recognize. A man sat in a chair, his arms chained behind his back. Rion couldn’t see the prisoner’s
face; his view was only of his back. And before him, a Unari torturer shone a brilliant light into the prisoner’s eyes.

“How many rebels are there?”

“I don’t know.” The man’s voice was low, racked with pain.

A whip descended and the prisoner shrieked.

“Where do the rebels hide?”

“I don’t know.”

The whip descended again. “Tell me what you do know.”

“About what?”

The whip descended repeatedly. “Tell me how to kill the rebels.”

“I’ve already told you. Take away their food. Don’t let them reach the platinum in the mountains. There is nothing more I
can tell you.”

“Nothing?”

“I’ve told you everything.” The man raised his head and spoke defiantly. “It’s you who doesn’t keep your word.”

“Why would we keep our word to a traitor?”

Traitor? The vision faded. But Rion’s mind kept sifting the new information.

It didn’t surprise or shock or even disappoint him that men under torture would give up information. But was the man really
a traitor?

And if so, was he a Unari traitor? Or an Honorian traitor?

M
ARISA KEPT A
careful watch on Rion. He’d just had this glazed look in his eyes that she recognized as another flash. But he said nothing,
and Lex didn’t seem to notice.

Lex kept speaking, his voice even and thoughtful. “There are other rebel groups besides ours scattered around the capital.
You were lucky we found you before the Unari did. It’s possible they know we’re at Winhaven, but so far they haven’t made
forays out here.”

“Why not?” Marisa asked.

“Likely they know all they have to do is wait another season and we’ll starve.”

“You stay in small groups to avoid detection?” Rion asked.

“Yes. There’s some communication back and forth between us, but we don’t have the resources to feed and hide more than a few
in this place. Your flash was correct. We’ve converted Winhaven’s basement into a giant nursery.”

“The poor babies,” Marisa said. “How do they endure the pain?”

“Fortunately,” Lex explained, “they feel it only when they dragonshape to feed on platinum.”

Rion swore. “But babies and children must feed more frequently than adults.”

Lex nodded grimly. “They have to dragonshape more often, but, thank the Goddess, only for the briefest of times.”

“Are there women at Winhaven?” Marisa asked.

“Not many. Sometimes, people who have escaped Unari enslavement beg us to take their children. But we don’t have enough food
to feed everyone and must turn away most adults. We wouldn’t have let Erik stay, except he’s the king’s heir—or so we thought
until you arrived.”

“How do the babies’ parents find you?” Marisa asked.

“There’s an underground network in the city, and rumors abound. Many parents stumble around in the woods blindly, and we find
them like we found you.”

“Are there rebels in the cities?” Rion asked.

“Every building in Chivalri’s cities has been leveled. Disintegrated with giant lasers.”

Rion winced. “All of them?”

“Nothing is left. No cities, no towns, no villages, no farms. Only the royal palace in the capital and this lone building
out in the country, and a few isolated others like it, have escaped destruction.”

“So where are the Honorians and Unari living?”

“Captured Honorians live outside like fenced-in animals. The Unari may live in parts of the old palace. There are rumors it
still stands.”