Shadows of Desire

ENEMY

Thaden stood outside Lierin's office, waiting. It had been nearly twenty minutes and Lierin still hadn't called him in. Thaden was growing nervous. He'd left the guest suites after securing Rowan in his room and then headed straight down stairs to find his brother only to discover that Nasir had beat him to it. Thaden raged inside. Nasir going over his head to speak to the Crown prince was an act of blatant disrespect in Thaden's eyes. It meant that Nasir didn't trust Thaden enough to reveal Rowan's presence in the palace himself.

When Nasir finally opened the door to allow Thaden to enter, he was surprised to not only see Lierin but their father as well. King Elandor Dacaryn was sitting at the desk Lierin normally sat behind, while Lierin stood next to him with a dour look on his troubled face. The King watched Thaden carefully as Thaden entered the room. Nasir shut the door behind him then went to stand on the other side of the King.

"Please sit." King Elandor said as he motioned to the chair in front of the desk.

Thaden nodded then slowly walked to the chair and seated himself. He felt like a school boy, being called into the headmasters office, about to be disciplined for some misdeed.

"I have been made aware of something that I find very disturbing." The King leaned forward and stared directly at Thaden, their eyes met, and Thaden had to resist the urge to look away in shame. All he could do was nod as the King continued.

"Your man servant, Nasir, has reported that you apprehended a vampire in the forest. And, not just any vampire. King Desmond's supposedly dead son, Prince Rowan. Is this true?"

Again, Thaden nodded. "Yes, Father, it's true."

"I see." The King sat back against his chair, drumming his fingers against the wooden arm rest. "I assume then, that the vampire has been taken to the dungeons, to await interrogation?"

Thaden took in a deep breath, sitting straight in his chair, and said, "No, Sire. I placed him in a guest suite."

The King looked to Lierin who sighed wearily then dropped his gaze to the floor, shaking his head in frustration. The King returned his attention to Thaden then. "So, you thought it appropriate to place a dangerous criminal in a guest suite rather than in a cell where he belongs?"

Thaden swallowed hard as he did his best to calm his nerves and face his father with confidence. "I secured him in the room with spells. I just didn't think it was necessary to place him in the dungeons. Other than crossing illegally into our lands he really hasn't committed any crime, and I don't think he's a danger to anyone."

"He's committed a crime simply by existing." The King scoffed. "And, a vampire crossing into our lands isn't a minor thing, child! He's not some rouge that can be easily put down. He's a member of the royal family. By entering our kingdom he's violated the treaty, a crime punishable by death."

Thaden tensed. His first instinct was to jump from his seat and forbid anyone, even his father, from touching his mate. It took all of his strength to remain seated though a soft growl did escape his lips which earned him sharp glares from all who were present.

King Elandor narrowed his eyes as he stared at his son. "Do you not agree with my assessment?" The King sneered.

"No." Thaden said curtly, holding his head high. "No, father, I do not. Rowan didn't violate the treaty because he didn't cross into Rosegate willingly. He wasn't even made aware that he was being brought here until very recently. He and his riding companion were resting on the out skirts of Wolfhaven when several members of Connor's pack chased him through the forest and across the border. He would have had no way of knowing that he'd entered our lands because he was running for his life."

"That's no excuse." The King snarled. "He should have stayed in his own kingdom. The moment he left Basmorte, his fate was sealed."

"He left Basmorte to escape his father and an arranged marriage to Lord Killian Thorn." Thaden argued. "He's not our enemy, if anything, he could be considered an ally. He has no love for his father. Trust me on that. For Goddess sake, he faked his own death just to get away. And, with the help of a Fae I might add."

"Ah, yes, the bog giant." The King scoffed. "His role in this deception shall be ascertained as well."

Thaden stiffened some in his seat. "Actually, father, I've already ordered the bog giant to be set free."

King Elandor leaned forward, staring angrily at Thaden over the desk. "You did what?"

Thaden sighed. "It was a deal I made with Ro...the vampire, Sire. His surrender for the giant's freedom. The vampire kept to his word and so, as a matter of honor, I also kept mine."

The King shook his head as he laughed, turning to look at Lierin. "Your soft hearted brother here has no clue as to the fundamentals of warfare. He treats prisoners as honor guests and releases possible traitors."

"Indeed." Lierin said, glancing at Thaden. His expression remained stoic.

"The war ended twenty years ago, father." Thaden said with a sigh. "Until this incident, the vampires have remained quiet with the exception of a few random rouges here and there."

"Your impudence is growing tiresome, boy." The King frowned. "Now, I will tell you what's going to happen. Your little vampire pet is going to be taken to the dungeon and put in a cell as he should have been the moment you brought him to the palace. He'll remain there until I have thoroughly interrogated him. Then I, and only I, will make a determination as to what's to be done with the beast."

"Might I suggest, your majesty, a quick beheading." Nasir said with a smirk.

"You may not." The King shot Nasir a disapproving frown. "I will judge his crimes and decide a fit punishment. I'm not totally convinced yet that his death would benefit us any. He may be more useful as a hostage."

"A hostage?" Thaden was on his feet, glaring at his father as the rage inside of him slowly began to grow. "A hostage for what? The vampire's have made no move against us. What do you hope to achieve with these actions, father? Are you trying to start another war?"

"You will be silent!" The King bellowed as he too rose to his feet, glaring daggers at his youngest son.

"The war never ended!" The King yelled, causing everyone in the room to tremble with fear. "The treaty may have put a stop to the fighting but it never ended the war. I've been waiting, for twenty years, for those blood suckers to do something like this, to violate the treaty so we can attack them. I will not be satisfied until the entire vampire race is wiped from the face of the Earth!"

Thaden stared at his father in disbelief. "You've gone mad." He whispered. "Your hate and prejudice has truly pushed you over the edge."

The King sat back down, calmer now as he regarded his son with a look of pity. He sighed. "My son, you were too young to remember the devastation that those monsters caused us. The loss and pain that my people suffered at their hands. Whole families were murdered in a single night. Those who were not killed were taken as slaves. They ravaged our lands and nearly left us destitute. If not for the packs, our race would have been exterminated."

"I know the history, father, and I am sorry for all that you and our people suffered but you want to put blame on a boy, a boy who wasn't even born yet, for the suffering that his father caused. How is that fair?"

"Thaden, you speak of this boy as though he were an innocent but you forget, dear brother, he is a vampire, a blood drinker. How many innocent lives do you think he had taken in his lust for blood?" Lierin spoke to Thaden, attempting to get him to see the truth but Thaden couldn't accept that Rowan was anything like his father.

"You're wrong about him." Thaden said softly, his expression pained but sincere. "I can't explain how I know this, but I just do. He is innocent and he's kind. He's like a frightened little child, not the blood thirsty beast you're trying to make him out to be. And, there's something else, I don't know what it is or even understand it but he's different. He...he has a heart. Literally, I've heard the beating of his heart, even felt it, somehow. Vampire's are the living dead, are they not? They're not supposed to have a living heart yet...he does. That has to count for something."

The King shook his head. "That's impossible. He's tricked you somehow. Vampires are cold, dead, things. They have no heart, they have no emotions. They are cruel, wicked, devils. Nothing more."

Thaden shook his head. "I disagree. At least when it comes to Rowan. He's not like the others of his kind. I'd be willing to stake my life on it. When I look into his eyes I see hope. Wild and untamed hope for a better future hidden away behind a mask of pain. I know he's suffered in the past. He fears his father and he fears what will happen to him if he's returned to him."

"He's told you this?" Lierin asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked Thaden over, almost as though studying him.

"All lies of course." Nasir scoffed. "The brats merely trying to save himself. He'd say anything to save his own skin. You can't believe a word that comes out of his mouth."

"No." Thaden ignored Nasir's remarks and looked to his brother, his eyes almost pleading. "He didn't need to tell me anything. He didn't need to utter a single word. When I held his hands in mine, his soul spoke to me. The soul he's not supposed to possess, but it spoke to me. For a brief moment it was like we were of one mind, one soul, and I could feel what he felt, the fear and the uncertainty he felt. I knew his sorrows, and I knew his pain. I knew in an instant that he wasn't a threat to us. His only desire is for a peaceful, happy life. We shouldn't be talking of condemning him, we should be helping him. He's as much a victim of his father's cruelty as we are. He needs our help."

Lierin and the King turned to face each other and a knowing look passed between them. Lierin sighed heavily, running his hands through his hair. The look on his face was solemn. The King, on the other hand, looked furious. His nostrils flared and his face was beginning to turn a frightening shade a red. His eyes narrowed as he turned back towards Thaden and his gaze bore into him. He gripped the edge of the desk so hard that Thaden worried the man might actually crack the wood. Thaden took a cautionary step back, suddenly fearful of his own father.

"Tell me this can't be true." King Elandor hissed through his clenched jaw. His nails scraped along the surface of the desk, putting deep gouges in the painted wood. He stood slowly, and leaned forward, his upper half bowing over the desk in an angle that made him look as though he were getting ready to attack. Thaden braced himself but no attack came. Instead his father just glared at him, seething with anger. "Please." He growled finally. "Please, tell me that the Gods have not cursed my house by giving my son a vampire as a mate."

Thaden looked down, not knowing what else to say but the truth. After several minutes of debating with himself he finally exhaled the breath he'd been holding and nodded. "It's true." He spoke, bringing his eyes up to anxiously meet his fathers. "Rowan is my mate."

BOLDNESS BE THY FRIEND

Thaden stormed out of the office and down the hallway, pushing past servants until he turned the corner and found himself alone, finally. He stopped, took a deep breath, then slammed his fist into the wall and wept. His emotions felt raw as he let out everything that he'd been holding in. His father's words echoed in his mind, over and over again until he could no longer stand the sound of the old man's voice.

"You will not take that creature as your mate!" His father had yelled, furious that Thaden could even consider such a thing. "I forbid it!"

"How can I not?" Thaden yelled back, tears in his eyes. He clenched his fists at his side and shook in anger. Didn't his father understand the gravity of the situation? "He is my mate. Chosen for me by the mother Goddess herself. I can not deny that and neither can you."

"And yet I do." The King growled, his eyes glowing red as he stared Thaden down. "It is a mistake. A horrible mistake. He can not and will not be your mate!"

"The Goddess Danu does not make mistakes." Thaden argued. "If it is her will there is nothing that we can do."

"Rubbish." King Elandor rubbed his hand over his face and sighed. "It is witchcraft. The blackest kind. I was willing to keep that creature alive for the time being but now I see that I have no choice. He must die."

"No!" Thaden suddenly howled in rage. "You can not do this! I won't let you do this!" He lunged forward suddenly, intending to strike his father but Nasir and Lierin quickly intervened and subdued him.

"Be still, brother." Lierin whispered into Thaden's ear. "What good can you do your mate if you yourself are dead?"

Thaden took in a deep breath and calmed himself enough that the others released him. He looked to his father and glared at him, hard. "I will not allow you to harm my mate." He repeated. "Allow me to take him away from here. I promise you that he will never return to Rosegate, just...let him live."

The King pursed his lips as he considered Thaden's request. Slowly, and with a heavy heart, he shook his head. "I can not. He is too dangerous. Allowing him to live now would destroy all that we have worked to achieve for the past twenty years. I am sorry my son, but the creature dies at dawn. There can be no other way."

"If you kill him," Thaden sneered, "You kill me. I can not survive without him."

The King nodded sadly. "If that is how it must be, then so be it."

Thaden couldn't believe what he was hearing. Nasir and Lierin were shocked as well. Would the King really be so heartless as to allow his own son to suffer just because he failed to believe that someone, a vampire, could be different? Did his own child's life mean so little to him?

"Sire, you know the ramifications of what you are proposing." It was Lierin who spoke up now.

"Mates can not be separated once they have found each other and made a connection. If the vampire truly is Thaden's mate then killing him would be disastrous for Thaden. He'll die with him if he's lucky, if not, he'll go mad."

"And if Thaden survives, we'll all know that the creature had bewitched him, for the spell he has cast over Thaden will have broken."

"And if it not witchcraft?" Thaden asked, narrowing his eyes at his father. "If he really is my mate? Are you willing to condemn me to death?"

"It would be a far kinder fate than allowing you to live your life mated to a monster." The King folded his hands neatly on top of the desk. The looks of shock and anger from his two sons meaning nothing to him.

"Sire, surly there must be another way." It was Nasir now who spoke. "Perhaps, life locked away in a tower."

The King raised an eyebrow as he studied Nasir's face. "Nasir, weren't you the one who not long ago suggested I have the beast beheaded?"

"Y-yes." Nasir looked from Thaden to the King nervously. "But, that was before I knew that he was Thaden's mate. As much as I hate the vampires, I do not want Prince Thaden to suffer."

"He'll suffer worse with that blood sucker as a mate." The King said. "Now, the mattered has been handled. I'll hear no more about it."

Thaden threw up his hands then turned to leave when Nasir grabbed his arm. "Thaden." His friend spoke to him as though speaking to a wounded animal. Thaden could see the regret in Nasir's eyes but he didn't care.

"Leave me a lone Nasir." He hissed.

"Thaden please, I know you. Don't do anything rash."

"You know me?" Thaden narrowed his eyes as he glared at the man. "You know me so well that you went behind my back? You know me so well that you couldn't trust that I knew what I was doing? That I had a reason for what I was doing? If you had just waited, let me come to my brother on my own, all of this could have been avoided."

"Thaden, you have to believe me, I was only trying to help you."

"Really? Well your help has just condemned my mate to his death." Thaden jerked his arm back roughly, out of Nasir's grasp. "I see now where your loyalties lie, Nasir. Not with me."

Nasir opened his mouth to speak again but Thaden quickly left the room, slamming the door closed loudly behind him. He didn't give a damn what his father said. He wouldn't allow Rowan to be executed. He had to do something. He just didn't know what. But, whatever he did, had to be done now. Dawn was fast approaching.

***

Rowan stood in the middle of the guest suite, feeling somewhat dazed after what had just almost happened. Thaden had nearly kissed him. Rowan smiled as he recalled the moment when their lips almost touched. He remembered the feel of Thaden's touch as he held Rowan's hands and the fast, rhythmic, beating of Thaden's heart that seemed to quicken the closer he came to Rowan. It was almost magical the way their bodies reacted to one another. Rowan had never felt anything as powerful as the pull he felt towards the elven Prince or the longing ache in his heart when Thaden pulled away from him.

Rowan sighed then walked to the cushioned bench seat in front of the large, arched, window and sat down. He missed Thaden almost as soon as he'd run out the door. He missed his strong arms, his soft hands, and the way that he'd looked at Rowan when their hands touched. Rowan saw true yearning there and a desire that he couldn't quite explain. It wasn't like the lust that he saw in Lord Killian's eyes. It was more pure than that. It was like an overwhelming need just to be close to each other. To hold each other and never let go. If this was what love felt like then Rowan knew he was in trouble because he was falling completely, and unequivocally, in love with Thaden.

"I'm such a fool." Rowan spoke softly to the empty room. How could he be falling for the elven Prince? They were enemies, sworn to destroy each other, and separated by years of hate and fighting. Even despite the way that Thaden had looked at Rowan, Rowan couldn't really believe that Thaden would ever have the same feelings for him. Rowan was a prisoner after all. Thaden was clear about that. Soon he'd be taken before the Crown Prince and after that, who knows what. He could spend the rest of his life in a cell, or worse.

Rowan didn't want to think about worse. Though, there was an odd sense of comfort in that. The worst thing he could possibly suffer would be a life without Thaden. Death was a pale comparison to that. Even now, sitting alone in his room, Rowan felt such a deep longing for the other man that it literally pained him. He knew he couldn't survive without Thaden, it just wasn't an option. The longer he sat there the more he wished that things could have been different. He wished that he wasn't King Desmond's son. He wished that he wasn't a vampire. Why had he been born to this life, born the enemy of the man he loved? It seemed so unfair. Why had the Gods blessed him with a mate who probably hated him?

Rowan sighed as he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. Fate was a cruel, heartless, being. Why offer him happiness and then just rip it away? It seemed even the fates took pleasure in tormenting him. Maybe that's all his life would ever amount to. One disappointment after another. Constantly grasping at something that was always just out of reach. Rowan couldn't help but think that he had been cursed with a miserable existence. An existence that he had worked so hard to escape from. He had to have hope though. Hope that things could be different. Hope that he could find happiness, and hold onto it. He deserved that much. Fates be damned, he deserved happiness.

***

Rowan must have fallen asleep on that bench by the window because the next thing he knew, Thaden was standing over him, shaking him awake. He opened his eyes and stared up at the Prince, groggily.