An Unwanted Hunger by Ciana Stone Read Free Book Online

through the room to take his place at the head of the massive conference table.
    Once he was seated, his consul, Madron, addressed him. “Your Majesty, there are matters of grave importance that require your attention. We have received word that Leonidas’ encampment in Madagascar was attacked by the Alliance. Thirty were killed and a dozen taken prisoner.”
    Constantine’s eyes narrowed at the news. Leonidas, the exiled Heir and firstborn son of the Praetor of Nuria, the desert world of V’Kar, was not an ally to the D’Harahn. But the idea of the Alliance killing any of the V’Kar on this planet filled Constantine with a cold anger.
    “Why take them prisoner?”
    Madron looked to a man across the table. Dark of hair but older than most of the assembly, Azarth was the leading scientific authority of the D’Harahn. He’d volunteered to go into exile on Earth when the Emperor decreed that his firstborn son would suffer exile as a demonstration of the Emperor’s determination to end the war between the worlds of V’Kar and discover a solution to the plague that threatened their entire star system.
    A select few knew that imperial edict had far more to do with the Emperor’s fear than making peace. He and his contemporaries, the leaders of the other two worlds, had held power for a long time. It was well known that the people favored their Heirs, looked upon them as new hope for peace and finding a solution to the problems that threatened the lives of all their people. Perhaps they could succeed where their fathers had failed.
    But the Emperor would not allow his power to be usurped, not even by the Crown Prince. Sending the Heirs of the three worlds into exile was a means of protecting himself, while outwardly appearing to the people as a sacrifice. He was so eager to end the war between the worlds that he would remove those who promoted it, even if it meant sending his beloved son into exile.
    “It has long been known that the Alliance seeks a means of accessing the abilities the races of V’Kar possess. They have recently recruited new minds to their cause, men and women who profess to be able to unravel the genetic code and replicate it in humans.”
    “And your stance on such claims?” Constantine asked.
    “They will fail.”
    Constantine considered the news for a moment. “Leonidas’ reaction to the attack?”
    Madron referred to another man farther down the table. Gaius, general of Constantine’s security force on Earth. “According to latest intelligence, his people are poised to move on a stronghold of the Alliance within days. A remote but strategically important fortification in the Bavarian Alps.”
    Constantine nodded. “And what of the priest? Any word from him?”
    Madron nodded. “A communiqué was received this morning, disavowing any knowledge of the impending attack and offering assistance to the Nurians in terms of resources, not manpower.”
    “Ever the peace seeker,” Constantine commented and earned more than one chuckle from the assembly. Octavian Vazanti, successor to the throne of Ishban Shamurz Burahn, the Monarch of Valia, was not a warrior the likes of Leonidas. His people favored battles fought with subterfuge and intrigue, but they were every bit as deadly as the Nurians.
    As High Priest and sole male member of the Order of the Sisterhood, the Sybelle De’Fane V’Kar, Octavian wielded much power and posed a considerable threat to all of the D’Harahn. While Constantine’s people and the Nurians might make scornful comments on the virility and battle skills of the Valians, all secretly feared the stealthy Valians and their leader here on earth, Octavian Vazanti.
    “Finally…” Madron turned Constantine from private thoughts. “There is the matter of the Dhampir.”
    More than one person held their breath as Constantine turned his eyes on Madron, the dangerous glitter making Madron blanch.
    “There is no matter to be discussed,” Constantine announced, trying to