Chapter 4: Active Ethics

A Prince of the Nobillo

Chapter 4: Active Ethics

Rivuk walked down the long hall. He'd long ago lost any sense of awe the sheer size and architecture once inspired, staring straight ahead as he walked. He could fly, but he didn't want to. He should be more excited than he was. His wilding was now his wife. She was in his home. He was going to see her.

But she didn't want to be his wife.

He knew it. It was written all over her face. He'd trapped her. He'd taken her from the people she loved and brought her to a place where one wrong step meant her death. He could only hope she would come to forgive him. He wasn't foolish enough to believe she would ever love him; but she might, someday, understand why he'd done it.

Not that he could explain it to her. Not to her satisfaction, anyway. Not to the level she deserved given what he'd done.

He walked slowly. He feared what was waiting for him when he got there. Would she be lying in bed wearing the blue dress he'd picked for her, or worse, nothing at all? Would she coo into his ear and open her body to him?

And would he take her if she did?

Would he go into her knowing she was doing it not out of love, but something else? Fear. Manipulation. Using her body and wiles to gain security for herself. He might take her, but he could never really trust her, never open his heart and mind to her.

Any color but blue.

Something to show her mind was still her own. To show she was still the woman who distracted him with a kiss so her cohort could put a spear through his side. For whom resistance was more important than survival. Then she would be his. Maybe not in body, but that... that didn't matter. Not if he couldn't trust her.

He stopped. He heard screaming in the recesses of his mind.

Lindsay!

He took off, flying as fast as his wings would carry him, hoping it wasn't too late.

________________________________________

Lindsay shrieked as pain scorched her mind. It felt like her brain was being sliced apart by a fiery knife. There was nothing but pain, red hot pain.

"I hope you've enjoyed your stay," the voice said. He laughed. It sounded like he was enjoying himself. "I look forward to when I can visit you in person, as well. I'd love to find out exactly what he sees in you."

"Let her go, Boz! That's enough!"

The pain stopped. Rivuk was standing there in the darkness, his hand out like he was grabbing someone by the throat.

The darkness faded and the loft appeared around Lindsay. Rivuk stood near the couch she was still lying on, standing with his arm out, his enraged glare focused on something she couldn't see.

"Rivuk?" she said.

His arm fell, but his glare lost none of its anger as he turned to her. "You tried to use your powers!"

Lindsay was instantly irritated. "So?"

"Do you know what he would have done to you? I warned you not to use your powers in the castle!"

She was on her feet, matching Rivuk's anger. "How was I supposed to know that was still a thing? They couldn't read my mind before!"

"They can't, but if you open it up to travel, they may use that weakness to get in. Why would you do something so foolish?"

"I wanted to see my husband and wife!"

"You would risk your sanity to see them again?"

Her eyes flashed. "You care about my sanity, now?! You ripped me away from them without even a goodbye! What did you think I would do? Forget about them? That you would declare I was now your wife and I'd just fall in line? Be the dutiful little princess? Oh Rivuk!" she said in a mocking tone. "Take me in your big strong arms! Rock my world with that scorpion dick of yours!" She glared at him. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear; I may be your wife but I am not yours and I never will be. That one time, that was it!"

"Well, at least that's more than I had with my second wife."

"Are you saying that so I'll feel sorry for you?"

Rivuk shrugged, his wrath melting from his face. "No. Just so you'll know you have the choice. I'm not going to force you to do something you don't want to."

"You forced me to marry you."

"No, you chose that. Remember? That was all your decision to have sex," he said

"I thought it was a dream!" she cried.

"Don't lie to me. You knew it wasn't. You told yourself it was so you would be free to let yourself do what you wanted."

Lindsay fumbled for words. "I only had sex with you because you're hot and I was... frustrated."

"I'm not sure what you mean by hot, but I'll take it as a compliment."

"Ugh! Why doesn't anyone speak English!"

The corners of Rivuk's mouth turned up. Lindsay could see a faint pulsing in his chest.

"You're laughing at me!" she accused, annoyed.

Rivuk covered his mouth with the side of his hand as he chuckled. "It's hard not to when you say things like that. By the way, I like the dress. The yellow really suits you."

"Then why did you choose the blue one for me?"

"To see if you would do as I said, and I'm glad to see you are still actively fighting me."

Lindsay did a double-take. Glad? Had she heard him right? "You're glad I'm fighting you?"

"Yes. It means I can trust you."

She furrowed her brows. "Whenever I talk to you, why do I feel like there's a big part of the conversation I'm not being told?"

"Because that's what's happening. But I'll answer some of your questions now, if you promise me one thing."

"And what's that? I'm not going to have sex with you."

"I wouldn't have you promise that to me. I just took you away from your spouses, there's no reasonable way you'd be into it. When we have sex, I want it to be because you want to have sex with me."

Lindsay raised her eyebrows. "When? You're pretty optimistic. If not sex, then what?"

"Promise me you won't use your powers again. I know it's tempting. But if Boz catches you and I'm not there... he won't stop until he's torn your mind apart. He's done it before."

"He has?"

"Yes, to my third wife, Polithema. And my first wife, but Elihim caught him before he went too far into her mind. Not soon enough to prevent the baby, though."

"The baby? Nobillo get pregnant that way?"

Rivuk was stone-faced. "No."

"Oh."

"Stay away from Boz. Never trust him. And never let yourself be alone with him."

"It's not just because I'm a human?"

"No. It's because you're alive. That you're mine only makes it that much sweeter. But you'll see the things he does if you ever have the misfortune to come upon his apartments."

"Don't his wives have a problem with that?"

"Those who still can speak, know not to."

Lindsay was stunned. It was horrifying. And yet she had to ask it. "Who still can speak?"

"If one of his wives speaks out of turn, he sews her mouth shut. Of course, sometimes he does it just because he says he likes the way it makes their lips look."

"So he's a psychopath. Great. I'm just loving my new in-laws. Why did you bring me here again?"

"You'll have to forgive me, that's one thing I can't tell you, yet," Rivuk said.

"So, you kidnapped me and you won't even tell me why?"

"No. You'll just have to trust me."

Lindsay sighed. This was going nowhere. She threw her arms up in resignation. "Fine. It's not like I have a choice. So, tell me, what's the Tene-ora-tel?"

"That's a much better question. The marriage rite of Tene-ora-tel is a meeting of the minds of sorts. When two Nobillo, or, in our case, a Nobillo and a human, link psychically they may enter a state of shared consciousness known as Ora-tel. That is extremely rare in and of itself. But, if in a state of Ora-tel, the two decide to mate, then the bond becomes permanent and their minds become one, which cannot be penetrated by another. They belong to each other."

"So when I..."

"I'll admit I was surprised by the proposal. I should have refused it, I know."

"Then why didn't you?" Despite her irritation she could feel the growing heaviness of the atmosphere between them.

Rivuk moved so they were only inches apart, she could see the earnestness in his copper eyes. "You watched Carak, I watched you. I suppose I began to fall in love. Women like you aren't common in Nobillo society. And when you were willing... I'll admit, I forgot that it was a marriage rite."

"You forgot?!"

"You've got to understand, Tene-ora-tel isn't something that happens every day. Most Nobillo have never even heard of someone who's experienced it. It's the stuff of myths and legends."

"So you didn't even realize you'd gotten married?"

"Not really. Not until a few days later when I was investigating what happened. Not that I found it all that disagreeable."

There was that heavy atmosphere again. Lindsay folded her arms and turned from him. "Well, I do."

"I understand. Maybe, in time, you'll find it less objectionable."

"Not likely."

"Well, should you ever be interested, we can join in the mind as well as the body."

"So... we can still do that?" It was tempting. God it was tempting! In her mind, she'd had control. He'd done as she wanted. And, right now, she could sure go for that control again. "Just as a curiosity."

Rivuk smiled. "We can. We can even do both at the same time. The legends call it the most intense bond lovers can share."

Damn he had a nice smile! And she already knew what his body looked like, muscled, toned, and sexy as hell. If she wasn't married... and he hadn't just kidnapped her... But she was. And he did. And that moment of warmth died as quickly as it sparked.

"What about your other wives? Won't they be jealous?"

"My other wives won't care. No, that's not true, Nylest will. She may finally cut me off altogether. She'll see it as lowering her status for me to be husband to a human. She'd rather her children be illegitimate, I'd imagine. Which is just as well. I am growing weary of acknowledging Elihim's children as my own. Bessetia won't care at all."

Lindsay was confused. "What?"

"My first wife, Nylest, has been the mistress of my brother, Elihim for as long as I can remember. He set up our marriage when she became pregnant. She's the daughter of the owner of Hylinger Arcade so the match was approved. I met her a few days before. She wasn't interested in me, preferring to spend the whole time hanging by my brother. But, as a third son, the purpose of my weddings are strictly financial alliances, a fact I have known since childhood. I never held any illusions that I would love or be loved by any of my wives. Nylest sends for me whenever Elihim gets her pregnant, we copulate, I claim the child as my own and they remain in the royal bloodline without Elihim having to reveal himself as the father. I do it as much for him as her."

He frowned slightly. "Bessetia was easier. She fell hopelessly in love with the cook the week before our wedding. They have five children now and I've not once touched her. She's never asked me to or to acknowledge her children as my own. I could have her executed for her infidelity, both of them, but I can't help but see them as victims of our vows as much as myself."

"What about your third wife? I'm number four, right? Pollyanna or something?"

Rivuk's expression turned sad. "Polithema. She won't care. She is beyond caring. Besides you, she was the only wife I ever loved. She was very sweet and kind, but she was too trusting. Boz tricked her into being alone with him. He did things to her mind and body I will never repeat. I lost her that day. She lives, but with the mind of a small child. She's terrified of men, even me. The birth of our daughter an iuna later took whatever hope of sanity remained. She screams if I even enter her room."

"Rivuk... I'm sorry." Lindsay said.

"It's no matter," Rivuk said, eyes glued to a corner of the couch.

Clearly it was. She had to change the subject. "So, this is my apartment? Where's the kitchen in this place? Wait, do royalty even cook? Not that I'm a great cook, ramen and fire roasted tiktik mostly, but I really don't want them cooking for me. They'd probably poison my food." Oh God, verbal diarrhea.

Rivuk laughed. "No, royalty doesn't typically cook. But if you are afraid of being poisoned, Carak can prepare your meals."

"Can he cook?"

"Well enough. Child food, mostly, but having been living in the forest, you might find it a bit more agreeable."

Lindsay's was annoyed by the implication of his words. "What do you mean by that? You make it sound like I'm some sort of dirt-eating peasant."

"You do eat tiktik."

"They're delicious."

"They're vermin." Rivuk's tone was filled with disgust.

"Don't you sound all high and mighty? And it's not like I didn't eat normal food before I came here. I've eaten plenty of fancy meals." and poptarts, she mentally added.

When she pictured herself eating it was always a poptart no matter what meal or time of day. Her mom always called them sugar frosted cardboard filled with colored corn syrup. He'd probably be more disdainful of those than tiktiks.

He smiled. Good, she'd gotten him smiling again.

"So... now what do I do? Do I just stay in this room?" she asked.

"If you'd prefer. Though I would enjoy showing you the city one of these days."

Lindsay was intrigued. "The city?"

"Well, the whole kingdom, if you'd like. You are their princess, I'm sure they'd appreciate meeting you. Especially with you being stolen from the Bonat. They'll have a million questions about your time with them." His eyes narrowed slyly.

"I suppose you'll want me to lie and say how happy I am you rescued me from the horrible, savage Bonat," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"No. I want you to tell them the truth about your time with the Bonat, as much as you are comfortable telling."

Lindsay eyed him suspiciously. "You're saying I can tell them I'm married to the Bona Serat Corsar?"

"If you want to. They'll love you even more for it. The Stolen Queen! As long as it looks like you're happy with me and you don't say anything against our military, they'll adore you."

"Why?" she demanded. "Why do you want me to talk about them? And why can't I say how my people are being killed by your military?"

"That way they can see the Bonat aren't the monsters they've been taught they are."

"You want me to humanize them?"

"In a manner of speaking. I have to believe there is still some good left in my people worth saving. And, if there is, I have to try to save it. That's one of the reasons why I brought you here. If enough Nobillo begin to question the war, there's a chance we can stop it."

"Then why not let me tell them about the baby-eating Children of the Immortal?"

She heard a slight exhale of breath and noticed Carak standing at the top of the stairs.

He bowed his head. "I'm sorry, your grace, your highness. I've caught you at a bad time." He turned and hurried down the stairs.

Lindsay cried out to him. "Wait! Carak! I didn't mean you!"

"Yes you did." Rivuk said, bitterly.

"No, I didn't!"

"You think, in his hunger, he never ate a Bonat child?"

She closed her eyes, hands balled into fists. "Please don't tell me he did. I don't want to know it for sure."

"He did," Rivuk said, simply.

"Why did you tell me? Now I'll always see it when I look at him!"

"Good."

"How the hell is that good?"

"Because it's the truth and I need you to understand it. They grow up believing the Bonat are little more than animals they exist to protect the Nobillo from. They're abused and starved until they'd be willing to eat just about anything. Then we let them lose on the Bonat and tell them they can eat as many as they want. The results aren't surprising. To them, eating a Bonat child is no more wrong than crushing the egg of a blood-sucking ver'dun before it has the chance to hatch."

"But it's still horrible!" Lindsay cried.

"To you. You see them as more than vermin to be exterminated. No one else here does. But if you start attacking the military, no one's going to listen to you."

"What about if I speak out against their treatment of the Children of the Immortal?" she asked.

"They'll only get offended. The Children are living tools made to kill the Bonat and serve the people; to bring an indictment against their treatment would be considered an insult to the Nobillo. Teach them the Bonat are worth keeping alive and the need to use the Children for murder will be erased."

It made sense. She hated that it made so much sense. "I'm just a pawn in your game, aren't I?"

"Only if you want to be. I won't force you to do it, but things will go better if you cooperate."

She nodded. Again, she didn't have a choice; not if she wanted to save her people. He'd thought it all through, hadn't he? "Ok... ok... Where do we start?"

"Maybe with dinner." He held out his hand to her. She took it.