“Damn it, Wulfric,” Anders roared. “That’s barbaric.”
“And raping a woman isn’t? Let the punishment fit the crime.”
“He didn’t succeed!”
“Not for lack of trying. Had Katie been a lesser woman, the outcome would’ve been very different.” Wulf’s hands fisted at the thought. “Now you know how it feels, Duncan, to be brutalized by an opponent considerably stronger than you. To use your strength on a woman is intolerable. You’re spoiled and indolent, and I blame myself for that. I’ve been too focused on the state of the nation and paid too little attention to the vagaries of my own family. I’m rectifying that neglect now.”
He motioned to the captain. “Take him to the landing bay, Captain, then return to me. We have much to discuss.”
When they were alone, Wulf turned to face his father.
Anders stared at him. “I understand your need to defend what’s yours and to teach your brother respect, but exile for three years is too harsh.”
“Time will tell. That was the lightest punishment I could think of.”
“Over Erikson’s daughter.” Anders began to pace. “That’s what I don’t understand. Why are you so quick to take her side?”
Wulf scowled. “She could have hurt me in a hundred different ways, but she’s done nothing but care for me and protect me.”
He looked away, his throat tight.
Katie was gone.
“Wulfric—”
Wulf cut Anders off with a slash of his hand. “No more, Father. You’re as responsible for this as Duncan. You poisoned him against her with your suspicions and hatred for Sari.” He released his breath in a rush. “Just…go, please. We can discuss this later. Right now I have to go after her. She’s alone, underdressed, and injured. If something happens to her on D’Ashier soil, we’ll have a war on our hands.”
Anders hesitated, then he left without another word.
The captain returned a moment later. “Prince Duncan is on the transport. General Petersen thanks you for the trust you’ve placed in him.”
Wulf nodded impatiently. “Have you traced her nanotach signal?”
He was grateful he’d had the foresight to implant the tracking device in her right buttock on her first night in D’Ashier. She’d been exhausted by their encounter by the seraglio pool and had barely whimpered when he’d inserted it while she was sleeping. Aside from a brief mention of being sore for a day or two, she hadn’t paid the discomfort any further thought.
“We have.”
“Excellent. Let’s go.” Wulf’s gaze narrowed when the captain hesitated. “What?”
“It’s not my place to gainsay you, Your Highness.”
“If you have something to say, Captain, I give you leave to say it.”
The dark chin lifted and massive shoulders pulled back, a defensive pose that set Wulf on edge. “I think you should remain in the palace and allow me to organize the retrieval and safe transport of Katie Erikson back to Sari.”
“She’s my responsibility.”
“I can lead a squad to the uppermost border where we can release her servants near the Sarian outpost. A few kilometers’ walk and they’d be home.”
“No.”
Clarke fell silent, his face impassive.
Wulf exhaled harshly. “This is a delicate political matter. It requires precise and skillful oversight.”
“Forgive me, Your Highness,” the captain said, “but you are not objective.”
“My concern benefits her,” Wulf growled.
“Only if it’s selfless.”
Wulf walked to the wall of windows overlooking the capital city below. He stood, hands behind his back, legs apart. He looked down at the country laid out before him. D’Ashier was a demanding mistress, pushing him, driving him to lift her up and make her great. Millions of people relied on him to provide for them and he struggled daily to fulfill their expectations. Given enough of his blood and sweat, D’Ashier could indeed rival all nations.
All he had ever aspired to be was a good monarch. He strove to be fair, to be strong, to ruthlessly protect his people’s rights and their lands. He had learned to make rapid, life-altering decisions and he’d learned not to second-guess himself no matter what the outcome. A powerful ruler didn’t have the luxury of remorse or self-recrimination. His word was law and the law could not waver.
Yet the biggest, most important decision of his life was one that he had put off making. Afraid to be vulnerable, afraid to be wrong, he had refused to see what was right before his eyes.
Wulf turned. “You think I should let her go?”
“She’s a proud woman,” the captain said, “intelligent and strong. She was wasting away during the days, waiting for you to come to her. She was bored and lonely. A woman with her wealth of talents needs to be useful. She might have sacrificed her home, her country, her family for you. I think she would have, if you’d offered to make her your equal, and prove your respect and affection for her.” Clarke bowed respectfully. “I hope you don’t take offense to my observations, Your Highness.”
“You like her.”
“Of course. There was nothing unlikable about her.”
“You assisted her escape.”
The captain said nothing, which was answer enough.
Wulf’s gaze drifted to his bed in the next room. How would he ever be able to sleep without her curled beside him? How would he bridge the hours of the day knowing she wouldn’t be there at night?
“I appreciate your candor, Captain, but I’m going after her,” he said. “We leave for Akton immediately.”
This was not happening.
Sapphire closed her eyes and prayed that when she opened them again the auction would become a figment of her imagination. She opened her eyes.
No such luck.
Damn.
If only she’d had the time to change into a dammr suit. Then, it would have been quite clear that she was not an underclass concubine forced to auction her contract. Now, her explanation of the situation would delay her flight, taking up time she couldn’t afford to lose. If Wulfric decided to come after her, he would move immediately and any lag on her part would lead to her recapture.
Deep in her heart she knew Duncan was wrong about Wulf, but that didn’t mean he was wrong about what the royal family as a whole was considering doing with her. If the King of D’Ashier wanted to use her for leverage against her father, he would, and Wulf wouldn’t be able to stop him. She couldn’t risk it. She could never allow herself to become a liability to the people she loved, and as long as she stayed in D’Ashier, she was a liability to both her father and Wulf.
Goaded by that thought, Sapphire moved quickly, weaving among the crowd in her route to the street.
Unfortunately, her rapid flight drew attention. The obvious costliness of her gown kept that attention fixed on her. As she was about to separate from the throng of women, she was caught, her elbow held firmly by a man whose leer made her queasy.
“Unhand me,” she ordered in a low, angry tone. “I am not here to be auctioned.”
Her captor’s dark gaze wandered leisurely down the length of her body, so readily visible through her diaphanous gown.
“Don’t be shy, sweet,” he coaxed. “It’ll be over before you know it, and you’ll be employed again. Beauty such as yours should snag a wealthy patron without any trouble.”
Yanking free, Sapphire snapped, “I told you, I’m not here for the auction.”
This time when the man reached for her, she laid him low with a quick backward jab of her elbow. His nose snapped beneath the force and he screamed, sinking to his knees with his profusely bleeding nose cradled between his hands.
“What’s going on over here?” Another man, dressed in the same black and white uniform as the first, shoved his way through the melee.
“Damned woman ’it me in the nose!” The bleeding man’s voice was muffled by his hands. “I think she broke it.”
She glared at b
oth men. “I told him I’m not here for the auction, but he wouldn’t listen.”
The man looked her over with the same insolent perusal as his coworker. “Quite a coincidence that you would be here, dressed in such a fashion, at the same time as the other women.”
Her hands settled on her hips. “It wouldn’t matter if it were a coincidence or not. My contract, if I had one—which I do not—would be mine to sell or keep.”
“Not so,” purred an oily voice from behind her. “You have caught the attention of one of my best clients.”
“She’s giving us trouble, Braeden,” the uninjured man said.
“She’ll get over it.”
Snorting with disgust, Sapphire turned to face the owner of the unctuous voice. She was surprised to see that he was handsome, in an exotic sort of way. “Your best client will have to be disappointed and so will you. I am not for sale.”
Braeden’s smile made her skin crawl. “I’m afraid you’re the one who will be disappointed. Karl Garner likes a little fire to warm his bed and your display of temper has whet his appetite. Whatever Karl wants, he gets.”
“Karl can go to hell.”
Braeden reached out and lifted the golden necklace that held her Guardian’s chip. The pad of his thumb caressed the etched royal shield of D’Ashier before she ripped it out of his hand.
“It seems you’re a thief,” Braeden said, staring at her with cold, dark eyes. “I may be willing to resist turning you over to the authorities. If you cooperate with me.”
“His Highness, Prince Wulfric himself gave this to me. I’m under his protection. For your own well-being, I suggest you allow me to leave quietly.”
The crowd around them erupted in a wave of laughter. Humiliated and frustrated, Sapphire started to push her way through the throng. “You can check with the Captain of the Palace Guard if you don’t believe me. In the meantime, since you have no authority to detain me, I’m leaving.”
When the men tried to delay her again, she fought back. The women around her scattered with startled screams, providing a welcome distraction. Three more men dressed in black and white attempted to capture her, but all were soon lying in various states of injury on the transfer pad. Before the terrible situation could get worse, Sapphire took the stairs to the main thoroughfare and broke into a run.
It would have helped to know where she was going, but for the moment, anywhere away from the group of auctioneers was good enough. Rounding a corner, Sapphire spotted a group of public communicators. She selected the one farthest from the street and hid behind the privacy screen, peeking out cautiously to watch her pursuers run by. Then, she devoted her attention to activating the communicator.
She saw the slot for a credit chip, but that was of no use to her. She examined the top and sides of the machine to see if there was a way to hotwire the connections to make her call. It was when she felt along the bottom that she discovered the small round hole. As she leaned over for a closer inspection, her necklace hung away from her and brushed the machine.
It lit up.
Encouraged, Sapphire tried inserting the charm into the opening and became dizzy with relief when the three-dimensional hologram of the royal shield of D’Ashier spun in a slow circle above the communicator. Of all the available choices on the communicator pad, only SEND and RECEIVE were lit. She typed in the code to release the caller identification block, then entered her father’s direction. With a silent prayer, she pressed the TALK button.
She was waiting for the line to connect when she was grabbed from behind. Screeching in fury and frustration, she was wrestled around to face the man named Braeden.
“Can’t you take a—?” She gasped at the sting that pained her upper arm.
Agape, she looked down and watched a syringe withdrawing from her flesh.
She meant to scream, but the world faded into darkness.
Chapter 14
Wulf paced the landing strip at the military base on the outskirts of Akton. The strip was rarely used since it was much faster and more convenient to transfer. Still, the occasional movement of large machinery and weapons called for flight, and Akton’s close proximity to the border with Sari made it a prime location to launch countermeasures when necessary.
It had been five hours, five damn hours, since Katie had left the palace. Five hours that seemed like five years. His fear for her welfare was aggravated by his need to tell her that Duncan had lied. Wulf couldn’t let her go with the belief that he’d meant to use her. And if something happened to her before he found her…
He was going insane. His heart was thudding violently; his gut was knotted tight.
In just a few moments the sun would set and the city of Akton would turn into a maze of twinkling lights in the ebony darkness of the desert night. Where was she? Was she hurt or in danger? How could he have been so blind to the treachery of his own family?
He snarled.
The nanotach signal was faint, too faint for as close as they had to be to her. Since the nanotach was powered by her life-force, the weak signal meant one of two things: she was either unconscious and had been for some time, or she was close to death. Both of those scenarios made him wild. Feral.
“Your Highness!”
Wulf turned to face the young lieutenant who ran toward him.
The officer bowed at the waist before continuing excitedly. “I think we’ve found her!”
“Where?”
“There was a disturbance in the public transfer center this afternoon. A woman matching the Mistress’s description stated that she was under your personal protection before being accosted by several men.”
A growl left Wulf’s throat. “Who were these men?”
“Employees of Braeden’s Auction House.”
Wulf stilled. It was Trinaday.
He immediately registered the import of the day. A woman as beautiful as Katie would be difficult for Braeden to pass up. Nearly naked, she would be irresistible. With an oath, he strode toward the hanger and the transfer pad inside. “Round up your men, Lieutenant.”
Within moments he was standing in the foyer of Braeden’s prosperous and well-appointed auction house. Familiar with the establishment from past patronage, he headed straight toward the back parlor.
He presented an intimidating sight, he knew, as he strode into the room, blood-red royal robes billowing behind him and a full complement of royal guards fanning outward to encircle the occupants. As the surprised men sank to the floor in obeisance, he waited impatiently. He said nothing, giving them no permission to rise, forcing them to remain at his feet.
“Your Highness,” Braeden murmured slickly. “I was unaware you planned to attend the auction today. I’m afraid the bidding is over, but I’m certain—”
“Where is she?” The dark threat threading Wulf’s voice caused the proprietor to frown in confusion.
“I beg your pardon,” Braeden stalled. “I don’t know who—”
Wulf yanked him roughly to his feet. “You accosted a woman claiming my protection in the transfer center today. Where is she?”
The auctioneer paled. “Your Highness, I assure you, I had no idea she spoke the truth. Her attire was—”
“One more time,” Wulf repeated with ominous softness. “Where is she?”
Braeden jerked his chin toward the staircase. “In the pleasure room at the top of the stairs.”
As Wulf struggled to control a near-murderous rage, the arm that held Braeden shook. “Has anyone touched her?”
“I—I don’t b-believe so.” The auctioneer swallowed hard. “The winning bidder just went up.”
Wulf tossed a glance over his shoulder and a guard quickly separated from the group and ran up the stairs. “Has she been harmed in any way?”
“I administered a small cocktail,” Braeden admitted. “A combination of mild sedatives and an aphrodisiac that I use occasionally with skittish females.” His voice rose. “She was wild, Your Highness! She injured five of my men!”
Wulf shoved him away. His voice was harsh when he spoke. “For your abuse of a person who claimed my protection, I am confiscating your business.”
Braeden began to plead.
“Silence! For illegally abducting a woman and attempting to sell her favors against her will, you are to be taken forthwith to the nearest jail, where you will remain until you are tried for your crimes.
“You had best pray I find her untouched, Braeden. If I don’t, I will castrate you myself.”
“Then I’ll have a go at you,” the lieutenant added coldly. A murmur of agreement rippled through the ranks of his men.
Wulf reassessed the events of the long day, events he had been too distraught to notice earlier. He thought about how Sabine had attempted to intercede with Duncan, and how the other concubines had readily offered their services in lieu of Katie. He considered the way his own men had held off his brother’s guards so that she could escape. He remembered his discussion with the captain who so obviously admired her. And the lieutenant and the men under his command who were expressing their desire to avenge her, if necessary.
In her short time with him, Katie had won the respect of his subjects. Even his father’s distress, when taken in the proper context, revealed the monarch’s fear of her growing power in the palace.
Katie was his perfect counterpart. A warrior like himself, a voluptuary, strong and supportive, a woman to admire and respect. A lover he could cherish. His heart ached at what he had almost lost—a prime consort for D’Ashier, the ideal companion for him.
He turned toward the staircase, filled with renewed purpose. He would bind her to him, so they would never be separated again.
Sapphire heard the door slide open even through the buzzing in her ears. Her thoughts were fogged, everything murky and disoriented.
Lifting her head, she strained to see through the filmy curtain that surrounded the bed. She spotted the broad, muscled back of a man as he disrobed, and she squeezed her eyes shut and dropped her head back onto the pillow with a moan.