Warrior (68 page)

time in Lydia’s room, but she found

she did not wish to tell her husband

any lies. Instinctively, she knew that if

she lied, he would find out, and her

situation would be worse, although

she could not imagine how. She was

in a situation that made it impossible

for her to emerge unscathed and

without blows to her otherwise

pristine reputation.

His eyelids lowered and he moved

away from her, over to the fireplace,

before returning. She saw his jaw flex.

“What does that mean, Jaisyn? How

could you not know what happened

between yourself and Bael?”

“I swear to you, Vulcan—I don’t

remember,” she managed to get out,

feeling her throat constrict as she saw

the flicker of pain in his eyes before

anger returned.

“Tell me, wife! What is it that you

remember!”

It was a roar, and she flinched

backwards as he screamed his rage,

but he made no move to follow. His

arms crossed over his chest and he

waited.

Jaisyn blinked rapidly, feeling tears

gather in her eyes and trying to keep

him from seeing them. She tried to

turn her face away from him but his

fingers suddenly captured her chin,

and he was peering closely into her

face. He lifted a finger and swiped at

one of the tears that ran down her

cheek.

“You are crying.” His voice was

rough. Before she could refute that

claim, he demanded, “What have you

done that warrants tears, wife?”

“I- I,” Jaisyn began, staring into

eyes that asked her to prove whatever

he thought of her behavior wrong. She

shook her head, but his grip on her

chin remained firm. “I awoke…in

Bael’s bed.”

His hand fell from her face but his

eyes remained on her. He said nothing

for long minutes and Jaisyn held her

breath, watching him as he watched

her.

“You were in Bael’s bed?” he

repeated slowly, rolling his head on

his neck until she heard the cracking

of bones. He continued to work his

neck, his eyes now closed as he took

steadying breaths.

“I don’t know how it happened,

Vulcan. I swear I have no memory of

meeting him.”

His eyes finally opened. They were

cold once more but there was a

strange calm that had settled about

him.

“Were you clothed?” he continued

in that deep, unwavering voice. Jaisyn

swallowed and slowly began to shake

her head in the negative.

He nodded as if in understanding

and he paced away from her, over to

the fireplace before returning to her.

“You expect me to believe…” he

began softly, but his voice rose

gradually until he was roaring once

more. “…that you do not remember

going into another man’s room and

waking up naked in his bed? If you

are going to lie, wife, it is always best

to tell the lie that least resembles the

truth. You really think me stupid and

addled, do you not?”

A shudder racked her body and she

pressed her hands to her lips to hold in

the cry that would have come forth.

She looked away from him then,

knowing he was justified in his

reaction. By being in another man’s

chambers, she’d cast suspicion upon

herself. Waking up naked in another

man’s bed, and in another man’s

arms, declared her harlot.

His fingers were under her chin as

he forced her head up. “Look at me,

Jaisyn! I want to be sure I understand

you.” He drew in a deep breath that

did little to appease the look of rage

on his face. “You slept in Bael’s bed?

You awoke naked in his bed? He fled

this morning without taking leave of

his overlord! Did you tell your lover to

be gone before I found out? Were you

afraid I would do unto him as I almost

did to your
friend
, Malcolm?” His

fingers dug into her soft skin but she

bore it without crying out. “Was he

just your friend as you swore? Are

you sure you’ve never awoken in his

bed as well?”

The hands holding her fell away and

he was pacing once more, this time

staying clear of her. He suddenly

stopped and stared at her. The

expression on his face was a cross

between horror, pain and anger. His

gaze dropped to her belly, and

remained there. Instinctively, Jaisyn

splayed both hands across her middle,

wondering what was going through his

mind.

“Can you be certain the baby is

mine?” he hissed and when she

looked crestfallen, he said tersely, “Is

there a possibility that the child is not

mine, Jaisyn?”

“This is your child, Vulcan. I have

never lain with Malcolm.” Her voice

was hoarse but firm.
I’ve never lain

with anyone but you.
She wished she

could say that but she couldn’t,

knowing that there was a possibility

that she would be lying. By Lyria,

why couldn’t she remember going to

Bael? Why would she even go to

Bael?

Raven black hair swayed angrily as

Vulcan shook his head. “Your word

cannot be trusted, wife. Only time will

tell.” He walked to stand before her

and his hands grabbed her arms,

tugging her closer to him. “Malcolm,

Bael…how many more, Jaisyn? Two,

four, eight, a dozen more?” He shook

her slightly and she grabbed at his

tunic to maintain her balance. “Get

from my sight, wench!”

With that, he released her suddenly

and her bottom caught the table,

painfully steadying her and halting

what might have been a disastrous fall

to the ground. Her fingers latched on

the desk and she stared at his back as

he walked to the fireplace.

Needing him to understand, she

moved closer and pleaded with him.

“You have to believe me, Vulcan. I

don’t remember going to Bael. I—”

He spun so quickly that Jaisyn

immediately took a few steps back.

“Leave me, Jaisyn. I have been

tempted to take you over my knee

before but I have never been tempted

to do the harm that currently invades

my mind.”

“Vulcan, please listen to me. I love

—”

A derisive laugh floated to her.

“Love? It is clear we both do not

know the meaning of that word. Go!”

***

He watched as she hurried from the

room, wiping at teary eyes, before

turning back to the flames before him.

How could she?
After telling him

she loved him, after making him

believe her, after making him love her,

she’d betrayed him!

Never give your heart to a woman,

Vulcan. For once you do, she’ll have

the power to break it, and leave you

completely ruined.

His father had been deep in his cups

when Frederick had given Vulcan that

bit of advice. Too young and too

hardened to understand anything

about giving his heart, Vulcan had

promptly removed the tankard from

his father’s reach, and watched in

disgust as the older man slumped

forward in his chair.

But now, now he understood.

There was a dull pain in his chest

that had nothing to do with his health.

His heart ached. For the first time in

his life, his heart was broken. By

Rika, if she were a man, he would kill

her! If she were anyone else but

Jaisyn, he would have— He paused,

remembering

her

extended

midsection. How could she go to Bael

with another man's child in her belly?

Anguish hit him at the thought. Who

was this woman that looked like his

wife, for he could not remember

meeting her before?

He did not go to supper. He chose

to remain in his study, staring into the

flames that were tended occasionally

by a servant, and thinking over his

situation. Jaisyn had assured him the

baby was his but she had also assured

him that she and Malcolm were

nothing but friends. And like the

lovesick idiot that he was, he’d

believed her.

She

was

probably

carrying

Malcolm’s baby, Malcolm’s son, and

would try to foist him off as Morden’s

heir. He had been the one to take her

innocence but how many had she lain

with after? He thought back to the

past month, when things had begun to

look

promising

for

them.

He

remembered lying next to her nightly,

his hand stroking her belly, thinking

that part of himself was growing

steadily inside of her. Pain latched

onto his heart once more.

Was his wife truly that vindictive?

Had she thought up her plan with

Malcolm before or after she agreed to

marry him? To have a Lytherian

bastard sit on the throne of Morden?

Had she thought to repay him for

taking her kingdom by making sure

that his heir would be a full-blooded

Lytherian? Did she hate him that

much?

A loud battle cry escaped his lips

and his hand swiped out and knocked

the tankard of ale that sat on his desk

to

the

floor.

The

door

was

immediately

pushed

open

by

concerned soldiers, but upon seeing

the snarl on face of their king, it was

wisely closed once more.

***

Varian moved through the dark

hallway toward the room that held his

future wife. It was late and he knew it

was possible that she was asleep. Still,

he pressed on, nodding to the guards

he passed, and wondering if any were

stationed outside of her chambers.

Not that he cared. He was entering

her room regardless. No guards stood

before her door; they stood at

attention at various places along the

hallway.

Closing Isolde’s door behind him,

Varian turned and looked to the bed,

expecting to find her lying there. She

wasn’t. His eyes immediately scanned

the room. He smiled when he noticed

that she sat before the fireplace, a

book in her hand, and her eyes on

him. She was clad in a peach-colored

night dress and was smiling as well.

“I was beginning to think you

wouldn’t come,” she told him,

standing and placing the book on top

of the hearth.

He approached her, and when he

was close enough to see every inch of

her face, to touch the silk of her hair,

he stopped.

“I’m sorry. I was with Vulcan,” he

replied honestly, struggling to keep his

anger in check as he thought of what

his brother had told him. Varian had

pegged Jaisyn for being strong-willed,

courageous and at times hard-headed,

but he’d never thought her a whore.

When Vulcan had related the story,

and had told him what he intended,

Varian had felt a pang of sorrow for

the

queen

before

it

vanished.

Watching

his

proud,

unflinching

brother, look completely defeated as

he spoke of his lying wife had made

Varian more than willing to take a

knife to Jaisyn’s throat. He’d thought

that with time, they would grow to

understand each other. He’d been

wrong.

Isolde’s hand was suddenly on his

face, cupping his cheek, pulling him

from his thoughts.

“What’s wrong?” Concern was

evident in her voice.

He sighed and his hand came up to

anchor hers to his face. Jaisyn was

Isolde’s sister. As such, Isolde would

be inclined to side with her. Shaking

his head, he released all thoughts of

Jaisyn and Bael for now, and focused

on Isolde.

“Nothing,” he replied, moving closer

to her. Her eyes widened slightly, but