Ryaden,

Since you are so fond of letters, I thought I should relay the happy news first by way of the written word. I received a letter from Foxyn yesterday. Charlotte is pregnant.

And so am I.

-Collected Letters from Raya to Ryaden

Chapter Twenty-Three

“I cannot believe you convinced me to do this.”

Raya rolled over from her position beside her husband, who was lying flat on his back on the soft grass of his gardens. Naked. With her head propped on her hand, she grinned down at him. “It’s freeing, though, isn’t it? Like giving the righteous Meyjian world the finger behind their backs.”

Ryaden snorted, his lips fighting a smile. “Only you could come up with such an analogy, my love,” he advised.

“You must admit, I am not half as bad as my brother. Could you believe the wedding present he sent us?” she asked, chuckling in remembrance of it. After becoming mates with the blessing of the Shaman, Raya and Ryaden had returned with Lillya and Angus to Meyjia just in time to witness the birth of Darius Wolfe, the squalling little heir to the Dukedom in Bryune. They spent a few days in the company of family and friends, basking in the warm glow of happiness and acceptance, before returning to Laporia to brave the gossipmongers.

As expected, the people of Laporia were both shocked and appalled by Ryaden’s choice in bride. At Raya’s insistence, however, they threw a huge wedding celebration, to which they invited all of Meyjia’s most wealthy and respected men and women. Everyone who was anyone came—if only to witness the spectacle of the upright Duke of Laporia married to the wicked half-Wild daughter of Angus and Lillya Wolfe.

No one who saw the Duke and his wife together, the way they looked at each other, could deny that the two were hopelessly in love. There was still resentment—there always would be—but thanks to her new status as Duchess, people were able to look past Raya’s origins and see the woman beneath. The woman Ryaden Davenson loved. Just as they were all able to witness a new side of the Duke, a man who was both just and kind, a man who laughed at his wife’s jests and knew every one of his servants by name. And insisted that they call him by his name, instead of his title.

The only slight bump in the evening came when Raya and Ryaden opened their wedding gift from Foxyn, who had elected to stay home with his wife and children on the night of the celebration. It was a saddle, though constructed far too small for a horse. In the center of it was a hole. Only those standing nearest to the Duchess when she opened her gift—and possessing rather lewd minds—were able to guess what the saddle was for.

For probably the first time in her life, Raya had blushed. The note accompanying the gift had been short and to the point:

For your new stallion. Break him in good, dear sister.

Love,

Foxyn.

Ryaden refused to wear the saddle, but he insisted on keeping both the gift and the note in his study. He claimed that just looking at them made him smile.

Even now, his lips spread into a broad grin in remembrance of it. “Your brother is incorrigible,” he remarked.

“But you cannot help loving him,” Raya said with a sigh, resting her head upon her husband’s shoulder. As she followed his gaze up, she saw that he was staring at the dark night sky. “What is it?” she murmured.

“I was just thinking about the Prophecy of Nature,” he replied. “Brendan let me hold onto the original that Lina found in Bryune, and I have spent a great deal of time studying it. Everything seems to be falling into place, you see. The unrest in the south was foretold in that book, as well as one of the Dukes dying without an heir, another heir too young to rule, and the Guardian Dukes falling in love and activating the gems. I wonder if we shall see utopia in our lifetime?”

“You look up into a black sky and think of utopia?” Raya asked with patent disbelief. “To me, it just seems sad. So much darkness.”

“That is something else the Prophecy foretells, though,” he advised her. “According to the book, we will know that utopia is within our reach when the night sky is filled with light. It claims that for every heart in Meyjia that learns to hate, another star in the sky blinks out. That is why there are so few stars now, when history says there were many in the time of Dmond’s reign. What I see when I look up at that black sky, Raya, is hope. So much empty space to fill, but one day, it will be filled with light.”

“And that,” she rolled on top of him and kissed the tip of his nose, “is why I love you. You looked at me and didn’t see a base, Wilds-born girl without hope of salvation. You saw the potential beneath it all. You saw what I could be.”

She kissed him then, a kiss that swiftly turned carnal given their state of undress. Just as he was entering her, however, there came a discreet cough from somewhere within the gardens.

“You decent, Ry?”

With a groan, Ryaden growled, “Go away, Wessman. We’re busy.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but this is important. Very important.” The urgency in his voice caused them both to go stiff, wondering what could possibly be causing the normally laid-back man such agitation.

“Let me get dressed,” Ryaden said curtly. Raya was already pulling her dress on as he struggled into his pants. They were barely decent when he insisted that Wessman come out of the shadows and tell them what was wrong.

The man looked faintly amused by the fact that the Duke of Laporia was standing before him without a shirt on, grass in his hair and a bulge in his pants. Wessman’s hands, however, were trembling as he handed Ryaden a folded note.

“Have you read it?” the Duke asked.

“Didn’t need to. The news is already crawling all over Dmondia. I rode here as quickly as I could to bring that to you. Straight from the King.”

As Ryaden unfolded the letter, he made sure to hold it at an angle that would permit Raya to read it as well.

My faithful Duke of Laporia,

I beg you come to Dmondia at once. Tragedy has struck. I took heed of your warnings about a plot to abduct my daughter Arellia, but it seems I was not diligent enough. Yesterday eve, my eldest daughter disappeared. I fear the worst, and Brynna is beside herself, swearing that she will hunt her sister down herself. Without your aid, I fear that our monarchy is in grave danger.

Sincerely,

King Harolde Dmondson

“How is that possible?” Raya gasped. “Joel is dead! Unless…could he have been a decoy?”

“I have no idea,” Ryaden admitted. “Anything is possible, I suppose.”

“Got horses saddled and ready, Ry,” Wessman advised him.

With a nod, the Duke took his wife’s arm and strode swiftly past his longest-running operative—and his friend. Although he might not have been able to admit as much before, Ryaden knew without a doubt that Steve Wessman was his friend and would remain so, no matter how many times he fornicated on the Duke’s furniture. Because of that friendship, he had no trouble telling the man, “Keep an eye on things here in Laporia for me, would you?”

“Hey! I can’t be no Duke!” Wessman shouted after him.

“Angus will take care of mostly everything, Steve. All you have to do is sit in my office and answer the occasional missive. You will do just fine.”

By the time they reached their horses, they could still hear Wessman shouting about how he damn well wasn’t going to be answering any missives because he damn well couldn’t be no Duke. Raya smiled weakly at her husband as they mounted their horses and advised, “We’ll be washing your desk when we get home. Thoroughly.”

In spite of the direness of the situation in Dmondia, Ryaden chuckled. No matter what his mood, Raya never failed to find a way to make him laugh. “Are you ready for our next mission, my dear?” he asked her.

Her wan smile turned into a bold grin. “Of course. Come on, Duke. Let’s go save Meyjia from certain ruin. Again.”

Author's Note: And there is Book 5. I think it actually turned out rather well. Unfortunately, Book 6, as it is right now, is total crap. I wrote almost the entire book and then decided I didn't like the way I portrayed one of the main characters. So now I'm having to fix it. As I have already mentioned, Book 6 is going to be about Brynna, but there will also be a substory (taking up more than just a chapter or two, as the other sub-stories have) involving Keiran. Book 6 will also close out the series. In the meantime, while you're waiting for me to start posting the final book, feel free to check out some of my other stories. They all have love stories and happy endings, but I should warn you that the series starting with The Scepter of Light is also 6 books long. They're all posted, but they might take you a while to finish. I hope this book met everyone's expectations!