Rebel's Honor(7)

Aloe cradled Raven's shoulders. "Lynx, I understand you don't want to  marry Lukan. Honestly, I do. But how can you risk our lives? You adore  Raven. How can you condemn him to death?"

The accusation in Aloe's voice made Lynx grimace with guilt. She steeled  herself against it and continued to work her plan. "Death is preferable  to a life of servitude. No matter whom one serves."

Kestrel hissed. "And you wonder why I can't stand you and the other  raiders." She leaped to her feet, stumbling over cushions until she  stood opposite Lynx. "All you can think about is death and honor." She  shoved Lynx in the chest.

A tide of anger engulfed Lynx. She rose and said to her father, "Control your daughter before I do something I won't regret."

He shook his head. "There's a reason I invited the family here tonight.  Their anger will be nothing compared to the fury of our people if you  break the Unity with Chenaya. You will be declared a traitor. I will  have no choice but to put you to death."

The shock of hearing the word made Lynx's face flush and then chill.  Bluffing her way through this plan was becoming one of the hardest  things she'd ever done.

Her discomfort didn't stop Kestrel. "Yes, you're so filled with  self-righteous anger at me for spoiling Clay's stupid eggs, but you're  willing to see us destroyed. How does that work, Lynx?"

Wolf stepped between his sisters. "Sit. Both of you."

Lynx obeyed, settling back on the cushions, eyeing her father.

Kestrel hesitated, then flicked her veiled hair over her shoulder. "What  do I care what Lynx does? I'll be at the palace, married to Tao." She  settled on the cushions and folded her arms.

Lynx snorted. "So, Wolfie-boy, do you honestly believe she'll support me in Cian?"

Wolf opened his mouth, but Mother interrupted anything he intended to say. "My child, does that mean you'll go?"

Lynx didn't reply. She was still focused on her father. He met her gaze,  ice on ice. A heavy silence settled on the gathering, broken only by  the rustling of the tent in the wind and the hiss of the fire. Still,  Lynx and her father stared at each other.

Finally, her father laughed. "Lynx, we've had too many arguments over  the years for me not to recognize what you're doing. Be careful. I am  not just your father. I am your king, too."

Lynx's pulse sped up, but she forced herself to remain calm, her face  resolute. "Right now, I am not speaking to my king, to whom I owe  fealty. I am speaking to my father. My father, who I believe cares for  me . . . and those I care about."

Her father's lips quirked. "Death versus servitude." He leaned forward,  his elbows on his knees. "It's not your life-or death-you're worrying  about, is it?" He turned to Clay and slapped him on the shoulder. "Son,  it seems we are discussing your future. Aren't we, Lynx?"

"Let him raid again, and I will go to Cian without a fight."

Clay jumped to his feet. "No!"

Lynx sprang up and grabbed his arm. She ignored his cry of pain. "I made you an oath."

"But-"

"No buts." Lynx shoved him, sending him spinning onto the cushion by her  father. "Father, that is my condition. Clay raids again, or I refuse to  go." She swallowed hard, thinking of the funeral pyre. "And damn the  consequences." There would be no one left to burn the dead if her father  forced her to push through with this.

Her father half-rose to his feet. "As your father, I could say you have  no choice, that I will drag you to Cian myself." He settled back,  sighing. "But we both know that will not guarantee a marriage. As your  king, I could command you, and you will be honor-bound to obey. I will  do neither because I have no wish to condemn my daughter to a life of  misery. My conscience would not stand it. Lynx, only you can choose to  do this for us."

Lynx licked her lips. At all costs, she had to keep him wearing his  loving father hat because he was right-if he gave her a royal command,  she would obey without question. That's what fealty to the Norin throne  meant. It was yet another reason why Chenayan emperors had always hated  them. The Norin knew that no man could serve two masters.                       
       
           



       

"Father, I'm not trying to be difficult. Please, just let him raid again."

"I've told you why that's impossible, Lynx. Isn't it enough that your  mother and I are giving up both our daughters? Your mother will probably  never see either of you again once you go to Chenaya. I'm not willing  to risk losing our youngest son as well." He paused, then whispered,  "Work with me here, child."

Lynx put her hands on her hips. "Death is better than servitude." She turned to Clay. "Tell him that."

Clay bit his torn lip, tears glistening in his eyes. When he spoke, his  voice cracked. "Please don't make me trade you off, Lynx."

Seeing her brother's anguish, Lynx dropped her shoulders. She sank to  her knees in front of Clay and took his hand. "If I go without you  trying again, you will spend your whole life dying slowly. Those were  your words, not mine. That's how you convinced me to sponsor you.  Remember?"

Sorrow and regret wracked Clay's face.

"But," Lynx continued, "if I refuse to go, you will also die-along with  the rest of us. Only it will be a swift death at the hands of our  enemies. Which must I choose?"

Clay gripped Lynx's face in his two hands. He rested his forehead against hers. "You had this all worked out, didn't you?"

"No, I hadn't. I fully expected you to come home with an egg." Lynx  glared at Kestrel. "Clay, this is our last chance to put this right."  She turned to her father. "Father, I won't give in until we've  succeeded. How does that make your conscience feel?"

No one in the tent moved.

Finally, her father spoke. "You drive a hard bargain, Lynx. I wonder if Lukan knows what he's getting himself into?"

Lynx's laugh was ugly and cruel. "I will marry him, but he'll pay every  day for choosing me. That's my revenge for everything they have ever  done to us." She sucked in a breath, realizing she had exposed too much  of her hand. To cover up, she skewered her father with another glare.  "Am I to be declared a traitor, or will Clay raid again?"

Her father pulled himself up and walked to the open tent flap. He stared  out across the sea of tents. Lynx guessed what he was thinking. In each  of them lived families, their friends, or blood relatives. Children  huddled in their leather homes, wrapped in blankets of antelope and lion  skins hunted by their fathers. Teens-both boys and girls-dreamed of  love or egg raids, many of them longing for the day they could fight the  Chenayans, too. Adults busied themselves with the endless chores that  came with caring for a family. They trusted her father implicitly. Up  until yesterday, under his leadership, they had found peace-of a sort,  given their hostile masters-and now, she threatened that peace.

No, she corrected. Lukan and Kestrel did this to us. Determined to see  this through, she waited for him to speak. After an eternity, her father  faced her.

Sorrow engulfed Lynx, and she stifled a groan. His eyes seemed to have  sunk into his head, and his face had an unhealthy gray cast. Even his  back looked stooped under the weight of his decision. These last two  days had truly aged him. She wanted to throw her arms around his  shoulders and cry that she was sorry, that if she could change it, she  would. But that wouldn't help Clay-and some good had to come of all this  misery. She dug deep for her fiercest expression and willed it to  remain.

"Lynx, I speak to you as your king," her father said, his voice firm.  "You cannot begin to imagine how difficult it is for me when the needs  of my family conflict with the interests of my people. Still, I  recognize a compromise when offered." His eyes roved the tent, stopping  to look at each face. "Since the start of autumn, three youths tried and  failed to raid eggs. They each have one week to try again, and then the  offer closes. Forever."

Lynx's shoulders sagged with relief.

A stifled snort escaped Clay's mouth, but her father held up his hand to  stop him speaking. "We will make a celebration of it. It will be our  way of . . . of acknowledging Lynx's and Kestrel's marriages. As such,  it will take place at the same time as those events."

"But," Wolf burst out, looking both pleased and confused, "who will  sponsor Clay if both you and Lynx are in Cian for the wedding? I mean, I  could, I suppose, but-" His voice trailed off, leaving his doubtful  expression to finish his sentence.

"How you survived your raid is still a mystery," Lynx said with both sadness and joy as she patted Wolf's shoulder.