Once Upon a Time (Calluvia's Royalty 3)

His mother stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. “I’m sorry, Jamil, but I cannot give you up-to-date information on the colony. We do not possess it.”

Jamil frowned. “What? Why?”

Queen Janesh was frowning, too. “As you well know, Tai’Lehr has been basically cut off Calluvia by the Shibal-Kuvasi war zone for centuries. But…” She shook her head. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about the colony for ages, actually, but it kept slipping my mind, and then Mehmer—” She cut herself off. “No matter. My point is, I think the war zone isn’t the sole reason the colony has been keeping their distance. Although the korviu deposits prevent the use of the TNIT and long-range communicators, Tai’Lehr still has access to our virtual clouds, and yet they have neglected to supply us with up-to-date information on the colony for the past few years. Granted, they still manage to send to us the annual quota of korviu crystals on cargo ships, which is no small feat, considering the war in that sector of space. So technically we have no reason to complain, but I’m not pleased by their lack of communication. The ambassadors that I have sent on independent trader ships willing to go into the war zone reported that the colony was prospering and nothing was amiss, but I don’t know… I don’t like how separate the colony has become.” She sighed, her frown deepening. “There’s something amiss. It’s just a feeling, and perhaps I’m wrong about it, but I don’t like it.”

Jamil considered it. “Perhaps they want independence? They wouldn’t be the first distant colony to want it.”

“Perhaps,” Queen Janesh said slowly. “Truth be told, I won’t blame them if they do. We’ve been little help to them for centuries, offering very little protection. Not that it is our fault: our military ships can’t cross the war zone without breaking the Thulun Convention, so our hands are tied. I still wouldn’t be surprised if Tai’Lehrians resent that they have to share their profits with us in exchange for nothing.”

“You think there was civil unrest?”

The Queen looked thoughtful. “I do not know. Last time Lord Tai’Lehr was at the court, he assured me that everything was well in the colony, but it’s been years and the situation might have changed. I wish I could travel there myself, but my advisers are very much against it.” She made a face and said with exaggerated disapproval, “A war zone is no place for Her Majesty.”

“It really isn’t,” Jamil said. “I think your concern is premature. Your ambassadors did report that there was nothing amiss, after all. Don’t you trust them?”

The Queen nodded with a crooked smile. “I do.” She sighed. “You’re right. Perhaps I’m getting paranoid in my old age.”

“You’re not old, Mother,” Jamil said with an exasperated huff.

Chuckling, the Queen turned toward the door. “That’s what one’s children always think.”

Jamil was still smiling faintly as the door closed behind the Queen.

But soon, his smile dropped.

He frowned, not knowing what to think.

He had more questions than answers now.

Chapter 5

Rohan was washing the zywern when the back of his neck tingled, his senses sharpening abruptly. He stiffened, this time recognizing the signs and reinforcing his mental shields. Not that it had done him much good the past few times he’d had an encounter with Prince Jamil.

Fucking hell. Having a nosy prince poking his nose into his business would be bad enough even if said prince didn’t make Rohan’s higher brain function go out the window the moment they locked eyes.

Rohan almost laughed, thinking of the prince’s stubborn insistence that it had been just a telepathic bleed-through. On Tai’Lehr, that wasn’t what they called it. At least he was pretty sure it was what he thought it was—not that he’d ever experienced a Fit that was so strong and hard to resist. In the past, when he had a pretty good Fit with a woman, Rohan’s natural reaction was to merge with her and screw her into the mattress until the urge for intimacy passed. He obviously couldn’t do it now—not with that toplofty, prim prince who would probably call for guards if he knew that the “lowly, ill-mannered brute” wanted his filthy paws all over his perfect, royal skin.

Rohan’s lips twisted into a wry smile. Prince Jamil’s thoughts on him were kind of amusing, considering everything, except he didn’t feel much amusement in a situation like this. Not only was it a distraction he didn’t need, but the Crown Prince of the Third Grand Clan taking interest in him could potentially endanger his task, too. His background would not hold up under a closer scrutiny. He needed to find a way to get Prince Jamil off his back. Of course, there was always the option of messing with the prince’s mind and wiping his memories of Rohan, but it was too risky now. He should have acted sooner, after their first encounter. Now the prince’s memories would be too difficult to tamper with without being caught, given the fact that members of Calluvian royalty were usually trained to recognize the signs of telepathic tampering. By now the prince likely had too many memories of thinking about the strange man in the stables, and thoughts were always harder to erase than memories.