Rebel's Honor(20)

His next test came with ignoring her. Instead of inviting her to play  dice with him and Stefan, he pretended she didn't exist. How would she  take rejection? The outcome had been less than pleasing.

She seemed delighted by his absence.

Hmm. Not what he was used to when dealing with women.

But he didn't doubt that the charm he was about to turn on her would win  her over. His smile turned dangerous. He'd seen her drooling over him  while he'd sharpened his axe. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

His final test involved holding her hand.

Her skin bore the evidence of years of work with weapons. She was not  some pretty princess who had spent her life being waited on. Every  intelligence report he had ever encountered about her was therefore  true. Princess Lynx of Norin, commander-in-training of Thorn's raiders,  was a fighter who had won the respect and obedience of men.

She would more than survive the fallout from Operation Treven.

He tossed the fork onto the table and sighed.

Steeped in Chenayan tradition that said only men waged war, playing Lynx  didn't sit comfortably with him. Thankfully, he was known at court for  being both unorthodox and sardonic, so if anyone could pull off using a  woman as a military asset, he could. With aplomb, too, if he really set  his mind to it.

But, no matter which way he spun it, he couldn't claim any honor here.  He certainly wouldn't feel like much of a hero when he won the upcoming  battle with his father. Still, the reward would be great-Chenayan  victory in Treven.

He shifted in his seat, trying to escape his nagging conscience.

In his defense, he had tried to prepare her for the battle, within the  constraints of being enemies. After Saskia had chopped off Lynx's braid  and then zapped her, Lynx wouldn't listen to anything the priestess had  to say.

That was concerning because a major part of Saskia's job was to teach  the princesses palace protocol. With Lynx's obstinacy, those lessons  weren't happening.

So, in response, he and Stefan had concocted a scheme to give her some  Saskia-free time with her uncle. Axel hoped Bear had used it to explain  things Axel could never tell her, things that obviously didn't matter in  Norin-like bowing to superiors. Simple, life-saving tricks like that.  Without them, she would be vulnerable in a palace where bowing and  scraping were everything, and that would treble her risk in the  blackmail.

Axel thumped his feet onto the surface of the dining table, wishing he spoke Norin so he could be sure of what Bear told her.

"Do you mind?" Lynx shoved his boots away from her plate, sending one of his feet clattering to the floor.                       
       
           



       

He grinned at her, dropping his other foot off the table. "Just relaxing before we hit the pomp and ceremony in Cian."

"Well, do it somewhere else."

Axel canted his head to look at her, and a rush of something even more  powerful than conscience ran like lightning through his veins.

Desire.

It happened without fail every time he looked at her. Pity she's  betrothed to Lukan. He turned to Stefan. "Time for yet another round of  dice before we leave this rolling prison?"

Stefan groaned.

If Stefan felt like Axel did, then if they both never saw another set of dice again, it would not be long enough.

Still, Stefan reached into his pocket and pulled out the ivory cubes.  "We really should have brought some tiles or cards along as well."

"Yes, you were singularly unprepared." Axel glanced at Lynx, wondering  if he should finally extend an invitation to her to play. He decided  against it.

She had thrown down her knife and fork and paced the dining car, as she  was wont to do when bored. Watching her naked legs and swaying hips  would be far more entertaining than playing dice with her.

Lynx had finished her tenth circuit when Stefan whispered, "Life will soon be more interesting than she likes."

Axel nodded, adding just as quietly, "Bear's not going to like our little surprise much, either."

Despite the emperor's promise to Bear that his nieces were to stay with him until the wedding, Axel had different orders.

Cruel, deceitful ones he didn't approve of.

Orders he knew would drive an even deeper wedge between him and Lynx at a time when he needed her to continue their banter.

Stefan's face remained expressionless. He didn't agree with the  emperor's orders, either. That had made it easier for Axel to send  Stefan to warn Lynx and Bear to be on the alert when they arrived in  Cian. He doubted how much it would help, but at least he had tried.

Irked to be nothing more than a badly used tool in Mad Mott's hand, Axel  stood. "I think I've done my bit for dice. I'll join you when we reach  the hub."

He strode to the guard car, ignoring the off-duty men who leaped up from  their games to salute him. Grunting with frustration, he grabbed his  hand axe and flung it hard at a target someone had set up on the wall.  But not even the solid thud of steel against wood could quiet his  whining conscience about all that lay ahead of him.

Then he remembered Operation Treven.

It was time to kick it into motion.



* * *



After an hour of darkness in the tunnel, light filtered through the  windows. They had reached the hub. The light burned in sconces mounted  to the walls. In a few minutes, they would stop under the palace.

Axel leaned against a wall in the salon, where everyone was gathered and caught Stefan's eye.

His friend nodded, knowing exactly what Axel expected of him to launch Operation Treven.

"Here we are, at last," Mother Saskia chimed, removing her glove. She  slipped her glove into her pocket and strode across the car toward Lynx  and Kestrel.

Stefan's warning to Bear seemed to have worked, because the emissary leaped to his feet, standing in front of his nieces.

It would buy Axel time.

He pushed himself away from the wall and strode across the car,  intercepting Mother Saskia before her fingers could find the bare skin  on Lynx's arm. "You take care of the Emissary, Mother," he commanded,  "and I'll look after the princesses."

The priestess looked at him in surprise, mouth open to challenge him. These were not the orders he had originally given her.

"Or rather, Colonel Zarot will take care of Bear," Axel said, having second thoughts about letting her loose on Lynx's uncle.

A faint smile skirted Stefan's face. Without fuss or flurry, he slid  between Mother Saskia and Bear. He gripped Bear's shoulder, pulling him  aside so Axel had access to the two princesses.

Despite Bear's yelp of protest and Saskia's hiss of surprise, Axel wasted no time in grabbing both women by the arm.

Lynx tensed, probably preparing to resist him.

Hoping she'd connect his action to Stefan's warning, he pleaded in a  voice so low only she would hear it, "Don't fight me, Princess."

She looked at Bear, her face questioning. Thankfully, Bear nodded to  her, and Lynx relaxed-slightly. Axel propelled her toward the door while  Kestrel followed without a murmur.

The train stopped, and the doors slid open.

Axel leaped down onto the platform, dragging his captives with him. Once  he had them safely away from the train, he shouted to Stefan, "The  door. Get it."

Easing away from Bear, Stefan hit an override switch, and the door sealed closed.                       
       
           



       

Kestrel gasped but seemed too shocked to act.

Whatever Lynx may have suspected, she took exception at being separated  from her uncle. She ripped free from Axel, ran to the door, and slammed  her hands against the glass, shouting Bear's name. When the doors didn't  magically open, she spun around to face Axel, hands clenched into  fists. He reckoned she could pack quite a punch if she set her mind on  it.

Not in the mood for a black eye, Axel said, "Relax, Princess. This was the only way it could work."

"Relax?" she yelled. "Give me one good reason why. That bitch is about to fry my uncle!"

Axel glanced at the car. Mother Saskia's hand was just inches away from  Bear's face. Axel knew Stefan would never let her touch him. "He's in no  danger-if you cooperate with me."

Lynx turned angry eyes on him. "You bastard!"

Axel's stomach knotted; her reaction was just what he'd feared. Not a  great start to the flirting part of Operation Treven. But protecting the  Norin princesses from Saskia would at least alert his father that  something was going on. That was a positive score.

"I told you, I had my orders. But trust me, it could have been a lot worse."

"What about the emperor's promise to let us stay with Uncle Bear until the wedding?" Kestrel squeaked.

Axel directed his answer at Lynx. "The emperor changed his mind." He  followed it up with the tiniest shrug and his least sardonic smile.

Emperor Mott had no intention of letting Lynx get comfortable at her  uncle's home in Cian. By separating her from Bear's guidance, Mott could  keep her isolated-and make sure she was suitably monitored.