The Last Warrior (27 page)

T
HE BELLS TOLLED FOR
the passing of King Xim, who had become in death what he'd failed to be in life: a hero. He'd saved the queen from Beck the Madman, who now bore the blame for everything that had plagued the kingdom, from the massacre in Kurel Town to the unjust arrest of the adored General Tao and the release of the Gorr to the bloody assassination of the king.

Bells clanged in all four banner-topped spires of the palace, joined by the bell at the top of Kurel Town's tallest power-generating windmill. It became more than a sound of mourning; it was a harmony of two previously estranged peoples, celebrating an end and also a beginning. Before the last bell stopped tolling, the gates of the ghetto were thrown open, never to be closed again.

The peals carried from the walls of Tassagonia to the sweeping grasslands of the Plains, where another people long apart paused to listen and to consider the
promise of humanity's reunion—Tassagon, Kurel and Rider—as it had been the day an ark named
Discovery
had set sail on a sea of stars with 3,032 colonists bound for this world.

Or so Elsabeth imagined, as she savored the bells' melody from the open window of a guest bedchamber in the palace. Maybe the Sea Scourge and their shameless scoundrel of a leader, Commander Yarr, heard the ringing, too, as their wooden ships plied faraway, heaving seas, these bells calling out to their human sides, which perhaps longed to be welcomed into the fold.

“Daydreaming?” Tao padded up behind her. His hands landed lightly on her bare shoulders, followed by the tingling delight of his lips pressing a kiss on the side of her neck. He'd bathed, and his hair was still dripping wet, smelling of soap and man, her man.

She turned in his arms, their kiss instant, feverish.
I can have you now. The danger is gone.

They fell to the bed, a huge bed, the likes of which she'd never lain upon. He was naked, but a knee-length chemise still draped her body. “That blade,” he said, kissing her in between his words. “You didn't give it up when Navi and I were disarmed.”

“No one asked me to.”

He rolled her beneath him, trapping her between his powerful thighs. “I know. I couldn't decide if I wanted
to applaud your daring or shake some sense into you.” Another kiss. “You were playing with fire.”

“You're
fire,” she confessed against his teasing lips, and he buried his hands in her hair to kiss her fully.

Her chemise was discarded seconds later, as if they could no longer bear even the smallest bit of physical separation. They gripped each other, their mouths never parting even when he rolled her off the mattress, placing her atop him. The lovemaking was fierce. Breathless. She'd never imagined such a tempest of sensations, the intensity of the emotional bond she felt with Tao, coupled with an overpowering physical need that did not abate until they both lay sprawled and tangled together, utterly exhausted, like two shipwreck survivors washed up onshore after a storm.

Or, how she
imagined
it might feel being a shipwreck survivor. After reading a few fictional accounts. But Tao was better than any book—

She must have been gazing at him with the silliest of expressions, for his green-gold eyes turned as warm and sweet as honey-tea. He propped himself up on an elbow, his finger lazily drawing a circle around her belly button. “Do you love me, Elsabeth?”

“Yes. I love you.” She lifted up to kiss him. “I am besotted.”

He stretched both arms over his head with a hearty victory groan, then rolled back to her, grinning. “Well, wouldn't you know it? I love you, too.”

 

O
N A SUNNY AUTUMN
morning, thousands crowded outside the palace to witness the official coronation of Crown-Prince Maxim and the continuation of the Tassagon dynasty.

Holding his mother's hand, the little boy was led to the priests, who had, for the occasion, and at the request of the elders of Kurel Town, carefully carried the Seeing Bowl outside.

The relic, made of the same kind of metal as Tao's amulet, had not seen the light of day for untold centuries. It was a piece of wreckage from an ark, something called a starship thruster cowling, Tao had learned from Farouk, and he wondered if it had been from the same vessel that had given him his amulet.

The water filling the Seeing Bowl reflected the cloudless sky. Within those waters it was believed the rightful king of Tassagonia could be viewed and the future revealed. Perhaps it shared the same magical powers as his talisman. Or maybe, magic had nothing to do with any of it at all. Just good timing, hope, determination and the unfathomable influence of something greater than them all.

Dressed in his ceremonial dress uniform one last time before his retirement became official at midnight, Tao slipped his fingers between Elsabeth's. The incessant breeze from the Plains ruffled her curls, tumbling them over her dress of brilliant green, the color of the grassy lawn at the vineyards, where they'd marry.
Together, they watched little Max crowned king. Until he came of age, his rule would be overseen by his mother and Markam, who together would provide the guidance and education Max would need if he was to become the ruler who would sustain the peace and unity required in the Log of Uhrth before humanity could contact the birthplace of its ancestors. There was still more work to be done on that account before such a day would come, but for two of the human tribes, the journey to bridge their differences had begun.

Tassagons and Kurel—the Kurel of Tassagonia, at least. While Farouk, Gwendolyn and the other Kurel elders at the coronation looked on approvingly, their brethren in the Barrier Peaks had sent no emissaries. Prometheus had returned with a response that had said only that their message had been received and “noted.” Where those Kurel stood was still to be determined.

But going forward, Tao was confident there would be good men to lead the army in his place, forces that would be kept strong for defense of the realm, and all who were welcome to join them. It did Tao's heart good to see his officers, Nunez, Mandalay, Pirelli and Sandoval, standing with him on this peaceful, sun-splashed morning with no murderous, mutinous colonels or stinking Gorr in sight.

His nephew, Max, kneeled to accept the blessing of the priests. Then, after some whispered coaching on Aza's part, the child king joined her and Princess
Sofia on the platform overlooking Palace Square. Tao was glad to see Markam take his place with them.

The crowd went wild at the sight of the new royal family. Tao had heard cheers and applause on the day of his homecoming, but it hadn't come close to the thunderous approval greeting the new king. Today, the Kurel were clapping, too.

 

“M
AX!
M
AXIM
.” A
ZA SHOOK
her head in exasperation, exchanged a suffering glance with Elsabeth and went after her young son, who had run off with his sister to chase float flies, leaving the adults who'd gathered to eat a post-coronation brunch.

Laughing, Elsabeth followed. Markam and Tao strolled out after them, for the day was fine and everyone was in high spirits.

“Max,” Aza scolded, her walk more of a waddle as her birthing time neared. “Just because you're king doesn't mean you can run off whenever you please.”

“But I want to see inside it!” Max climbed up on a chair and took hold of the rim of the Seeing Bowl, its radius too large for the breadth of his skinny arms to encircle.

The adults grew quiet as the child rose up on his toes and peered into the water. For long moments, he was utterly still, unusual enough for a three-year-old boy, but when he looked up at the sky as if to confirm
what he'd seen wasn't a reflection from above, Elsabeth knew they were witnessing something astonishing.

Max turned and waved to his sister. “Sofia, come see, too.”

With the aid of her brother's hand, the beautiful little girl climbed up to share the chair. And squealed. “I see you, Max!”

Aza caught Markam's arm, and he drew her close. Tao wrapped Elsabeth in his arms as he watched over her shoulder.

“And ships!” Max exclaimed. “Look at them all.”

Sofia was nodding. “So pretty…”

Then the pair jumped down.

“What did you see?” Aza asked the question that they all seemed to share.

“Stuff.” Max swatted at a float fly drifting close, and scampered off with his sister to chase them.

Aza's brow went up, her lips pursing. “Stuff?”

Markam commented, “Clearly Max saw himself, so he's the rightful ruler, but ships…”

“‘Pretty' ships,” Aza put in with a mother's baffled shrug.

Tao stepped to the side of the bowl, keeping his hand on Elsabeth's back. “I've seen the ships of the Scourge. I wouldn't consider them pretty. Though, a few of the vessels were exceptionally well crafted.”

“Ships could mean a number of things,” Elsabeth
said, and the three full-blooded Tassagons turned to her. “Anything. From pirate craft to star craft. Arks.”

“Or it was just a reflection of a flock of birds flying over,” Aza suggested hopefully.

But unease had taken hold. Ships, what did it mean? Pretty ships.

Elsabeth wished she hadn't mentioned arks. She hadn't intended to trouble them on the one day that was supposed to be free of trouble. “You know my imagination,” she said with a laugh.

“A vision of our future nonetheless,” Tao affirmed, his thoughtful gaze lingering on the Seeing Bowl.

They left the relic behind to return to the reception. Tao stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, his breath caressing her ear. “By the way, your imagination is one of the best things about you.”

T
HEY WAITED UNTIL
springtime to marry, when Tao knew the sky above the vineyards would be scattered with fat white clouds resembling sheep, and the freshly sheared grass under his boots would be deeply fragrant. The hills surrounding his family's estate were the shade of green that could bring a tear to a man's eyes, especially a warrior who'd spent a good deal of his life never knowing if he'd see these lands again.

When he leaned close to kiss his bride and seal their vows, and her loveliness stole his breath, he knew deep in his soul that this was the day he'd held in his heart all those wretched nights in the Hinterlands, when such dreams were the only thing that had kept him sane.

Later, with family and friends putting a dent in the massive amount of good wine and simple country food set out for their enjoyment, and with the lusty wails of Aza's baby, a new prince, carrying over the more muted sounds of happiness, Tao took Elsabeth by the hand and led her up a small hill overlooking the grass
roofed stone house where they planned to raise their own family. In the adjacent meadow, his warhorse, Chiron, grazed.

“I don't think he minds his retirement any more than you do, Tao,” Elsabeth said, her blue eyes shimmering as she gazed out over their lands.

Turning to her, he took her hands in both of his. “I told you once that my aim was to find a compatible female using the same logical, carefully considered methods with which I conducted my military campaigns. Emotion would play no part in it. Remember?”

Surprise flickered in her eyes at the topic. “You said marriage was based on deliberate effort, not true love.”

“That's correct. To which you replied you hoped someday I'd find a woman who'd love me so powerfully, so completely, that she'd prove every silly belief I had about love completely wrong.” Tenderly, he brushed his knuckles across his wife's cheek. “I did,” he said, and dipped his head to kiss her smiling lips.