Transformation by M J Marlow (new reading TXT) 📖

angerand left her as she had asked. Had she met a man who could actually listen to her wishesand feelings? She found herself thinking of Marekand Daren,and tears flowed down her cheeks. She fell down against the rock wall around the pooland sobbed with grief. She was so tired of feeling helpless, Zen thought as the tears flowed. She shook off the hands of her attendants,and got to her feet. “He is not going to do this to me again!” she said as she strode out of the gardenand found the doors locked. “Father,” she screamed as she pounded on every one of the doors. “I am NOT allowing this! Do you hear me?” The women brought her more of the medicationand she slapped the goblet out of their hands. They fell back shaking in terror but she was too angry to care. The doors opened to the bedchamberand Zen watched as Bastian returned. He kept his cool eyes on her as he sent the slaves away. Zen met his chill with her own fire, refusing to bend. “You are too angry, Princess…” “I am a prisoner to my father’s will, lord Bastian,” Zen broke in coldly. “He has chained my abilities; he has mutilated my form,” the tears were flowing down her cheeks again, but she did not care, “and he has decided who my mate should be.” She began to shakeand found herself in his arms. “He has taken everything from me.” “I would remove this sadness from you, Princess,” Bastian said as he raised her eyes to his, “if I understood it.” He saw her question. “In these lands, it is the way for a father to make such decisions for his daughters.” He stroked her hair, his eyes gentle. “That does not make it right,” he agreed with her unspoken comment, “but it is the way here.” He could not stop himself. He claimed her lips gently, seeking to comfort herand felt her body stiffen. “He has given us both a gift, my lady,” he said once he drew awayand saw the confusion in her eyes, “if you would only allow yourself to open upand let me show you who I am.” “I have never been so blind, lord,” Zen said as she moved away from him, shaking for a totally different reason now. “Before he chained my mind, I could have taken what I wished from your mind.” She saw him quailand knew such an act was abhorrent to him. “Is that why he did this to me,” she asked him bluntly, “to make me more acceptable to you?” “To make us more equal,” Bastian replied evenly. “I have no wish for a wife who can manipulate me, princess,” he continued as he saw her anger. “I wish to know you as a manand woman should know each other; begin our life together on an equal footing.” He came towards her,and frowned as she backed away from him. “I am not the one who hurt you, my lady,” he said as he backed her up against the wall. His hand came up to her hairand he let it run through his fingers. “I would never hurt you.” “How can I know that?” Zen cried out in dismay. She looked up at him, wanting to see that she could believe him. “I don’t know how to be like this.” “We have our entire lives together for me to prove myself to you, my lady,” Bastian smiled down at her. “I would kiss you if you would allow.” Zen looked at him in confusion. He was asking her? She was so stunned at this odd behavior on the part of a captor that she found herself nodding. His lips were gentle as they touched hers, cooland undemanding. He was offering her comfortand understanding, when she had only ever known demandsand intensity. She felt herself falling to this strange spelland he deepened the kiss as he felt her soften in his arms. Alarms began to go offand he stepped away from her as the doors opened. “Lord Bastian,” one of the guards who arrived, bowed his head to him. “There is sign of attempted break-in on the north wall. His Imperial Majesty requests that you look into the matter.” He saw Bastian looking down at Zen in concern. “My squad is to see to the security of the princess while your attentions are engaged elsewhere.” “I will return to you later, my lady,” Bastian said as he brought her hand to his lips. When she did not pull away, but gave him a shy smile, his heart soared. “We shall continue our conversation.” Zen noddedand turned away. He had only just stepped out into the hall with the guards when she heard weapons fireand turned to see Bastian falling back into the room. She cried out at his painand tried to get to his side, but froze as masked men strode into the room. They boundand gagged all three of the womenand carried them out over their shoulders. Zen was dumped onto something hardand felt slivers enter her lower arm. Her cry of pain went unheard as their captors hurried off. They traveled hardand fast for several hours before they came to a halt. “We are wearing out our botek,” she heard a man complaining as she came awake, feeling much better for the lack of the drug in her system. “We’re going to have to lighten our load.” “Or add more botek,” a second man laughed. “We have two superfluous females aboard, brother. I say we put them to good use.” “That’s not the use I would have suggested,” the first man protested. “Very well. Do it! We can’t afford to dally.” There was a brief pauseand the angerand threat in his voice was plain. “Let the princess watch. She’ll be more likely to behave if she knows what we can do.” Zen was yanked to her feetand she screamed as the man’s hand hit her wound. She could feel the swelling now,and the heat,and knew it was infected. They yanked the hood off of her headand she blinked as sunlight hit her eyes. She was taken over to a treeand bound to it, the rope biting into her woundand making her whimper. “You can’t,” Zen screamed as she got her gag looseand tried to free herself, in spite of the pain this caused her. “Please don’t hurt them because of me!” “You really expect us to believe you care about your slaves, Princess?” the man snarled as he squeezed the air off. “You are His daughter!” “I can’t let you hurt more people because of me,” Zen whimpered as his hand tightened on her throat. She clamped eyes with him. “Kill me, please!” she begged him, as tears streamed down her face. “He won’t have any reason to hurt people, if I’m gone.” “Look to what you’re doing, brother,” the other man snapped. “We need the girl alive!” He pulled her away from his companionand heard her screamand go white. As she slipped to the ground, her sleeve pulled asideand he saw her arm. “Get Hyanae,” he called out to one of their men as he picked her up in his armsand carried her to the cart. “Why didn’t you say anything, Princess,” he asked as he removed the gag that had slipped down around her neck. He looked at it in his hand and frowned. “Right.” He stepped aside for the silver-haired woman who came running. “Her arm, Mother.” He saw the bruises of his brother’s fingers on her throat. “And her throat.” “She’s burning with fever,” the woman frowned as she checked Zen over. “Get her some jevis…” “No!” Zen shook her head. “Not jevis! I am allergic…” Zen passed outand the healer shook her head. She had never heard of anyone who was allergic to jevis, but this was the monster’s child; there was no telling what strangeness they would find if they examined her fully. She concentrated on applying a painkiller to the girl’s armand found the cause of the infection. She removed several long splintersand tossed them over the side as the cart started moving again; then she cleanedand medicated the wounds; wrapping a lucen cover over the patches of medication. Zen’s attendants brought over a coverand they wrapped Zen in it, binding it to her so she could not throw it off. Throughout the long day, Zen remained semi-conscious, moaning in pain as the cart hit rough patches in the road. “She is still running the fever,” the Healer told her sons as they made camp that night. “If I can’t get it down soon, we will lose her.” She watched as one of them picked Zen upand carried her to the river they had stopped alongside of, leaving the covers behind. “What are you doing, ‘Ram?” “Getting the fever down,” the man replied as he stepped into the waterand moved even deeper. He could feel the fever pulsing off of her bodyand looked down into her pale face. They could not lose her; this princess was too important. She moanedand began to thrash as her body told her something was happening. “Peace, little one,” he crooned as he stroked her back. “No one means you any harm here.” “I don’t want this,” Zen cried out in protest. She beat at the man’s chest, her eyes closed, her mind locked in nightmare. “Please don’t do this to me, Father! You have to let me go!” Her eyes shot open a momentand she saw the masks. “Please don’t make me…” The man watched her pass outand brought her to the healer. He remained nearby, wondering what the Emperor had been doing to his child to cause such terror to come to her eyes. It was evident they had wronged this girl. She was not a monster, like her sire. She was the innocent that she appeared to be. He finally drifted off to get something to eat as the Zen’s fever broke. The healer managed to get some broth into herand left her to sleep. For the next two days, she was kept in a state of sedation as the wound was tended to. Just as they began to relax, they were brought back awake as Zen woke up, screamingand shaking; her eyes locked on something only she was seeing. “Don’t you see?” she was pleading with someone. “It’s the only way we can stop him!” She felt hands on herand she struck out blindlyand ran. “I have to die or he’ll never stop.” The men brought her downand she would not stop struggling. “Please, let me die!” Hyram pulled her to her feet, thinking her subdued. The next moment she had his daggerand was aiming it at her chest. He struck the knife asideand she attacked him. Hyram was astounded at the knowledge this mere child possessed of combat. If he were not careful, he found himself thinking, as he dodged her blowand finally managed to subdue her, she could hand him his head without any trouble. He kept her arms pinned behind her backand forced her back to camp. “Calm now, child,” the Healer crooned as she brought a drug to calm Zen downand let her sleep. “You are confused. He is the one who must die.” “He’s taken everything,” Zen whimpered as the drug began to take effect. “My mates, my life, my gifts. I have nothing left to fight with…” Hyram caught her up in his arms as she lost consciousness. He had never seen anyone so beaten,and so determined to end their own existence in his life. He laid her down on the bed of the cart gentlyand turned to his mother. She was looking as puzzled as he felt. Hyanae gave Zen’s slaves ordersand the women went to prepare some broth with the powders she handed to them. “Poor angel,” the Healer croonedand stroked Zen’s hair. She was frowning as she looked over at the