by J. R. Castle
Darnel ordered Fajer to take cases inside while he headed toward the edge of the road to meet the newcomers. Fajer begrudgingly obeyed.
The driver pulled the horses to a halt at the edge of the long drive. The side door burst open as Anwynn bolted out, a furious scowl on her beautiful face. “How could you leave me—”
Koloman followed right behind her. “My Lady, I explained they came out ahead of—”
“No need to explain, Koloman,” Darnel glared right back at her. “You are the one who left without letting us know. What were you thinking, Anwynn? I’m supposed to accompany you.”
Koloman gave a low bow. “Please do not scold her, my lord. She has made much progress with the regent. He was utterly out of his mind when he returned her to the manor today. Her enchantments are finally beginning to break him, I daresay.” He smiled proudly at her as he would his own child who’d accomplished a great feat. So long as he kept the parental stance with her, Darnel didn’t mind.
Darnel shot Anwynn are warning look to keep quiet. He said to Koloman, “Thank you for bringing her so efficiently. Will you be staying, or returning to the city?”
Koloman glanced toward his coachman. “Returning, my lord. I have much research left to do on my little project.”
Darnel wasn’t sure how killing the White Tree would help their plans, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt. Of course, the people would simply plant another. The regent would insist on it. Unless they were able to gain control of the city by the time that happened.
“Very good. We will return in a couple of days. Make sure the regent is available to meet with her.”
Koloman nodded as he moved back toward his transport. “Yes, my lord. I’ve already told Leon to keep his schedule open for that day, and he seemed complacent. I do believe she is doing a fine job, just as I knew she would.” He winked at Anwynn causing her to let out a low hiss. “I’ll send a messenger bird if there’s any news before then.” After ordering the carriage to turn around and head back to Rodon, Koloman disappeared inside before it took off again.
Darnel no more than turned toward Anwynn before she had her arms around him and was burying her face against his chest. He grasped her upper arms and pushed her away. “Fajer is right inside the house. Already I fear he suspects there’s more going on between us than our plot to overthrow him. We should be more careful.”
She nodded and dropped her hands to her sides. “Forgive me, I’m…exhausted. I do believe I was able to overpower the regent, but…” she gave a shudder, hugging herself instead. “I’m not sure how long I can keep it up. And I definitely overstepped a boundary, but… I didn’t know what else to do. He’s so strong in his opinions and wasn’t hearing mine too favorably. All I wanted was to get him to shut up and get us back to the manor so I could….” Her gaze darted toward the house where Fajer had just come out to grab another load of her baggage.
Darnel was sure the sorcerer was still furious and grumbling to himself.
“What boundaries did you cross?” What would Darnel need to do now to cover the damage she might have done? Blast her for going without him!
Turning her back to him, she said in a voice he strained to hear. “I kissed him.”
Darnel blinked. The ground seemed to have suddenly vanished beneath his feet. He struggled to not lose his balance. Blast but he hated this position he’d fallen into! Hated the feeling of despair over her admission of kissing another man, even though that had been part of the plan all along. Rubbing his hand over his tense brows, he blew out a long, calming breath before speaking. Now was not the time to lose his composure.
“Did it work?” he merely asked, not daring to look at her.
“Yes.” That single syllable word broke into two. “I…don't know what else…nothing else is working, Darnel. I can’t—”
“You can,” Fajer yelled, pointing at her as he narrowed the distance between them. “And you will, elf!”
Where had he come from? Darnel thought that he had gone back inside the house. Had he been so lost in his inner thoughts and turmoil, that he didn’t hear the door reopen?
Fajer grabbed Anwynn by the back of her neck. “All those fake tears, what are you playing at? Stupid elf! Darnel isn’t taken by weeping females.” He shoved her away. Her foot caught on the hem of her dress and she tripped, falling hard on the rocky ground with a loud cry.
“Stop!” Darnel stepped between them, shoving Fajer with enough force to make him stumble backward, as well. “She is trying. But you are much too busy drinking away your sorrows and bemoaning your predicament. You have no clue what’s really going on.” If he could sink a knife into Fajer’s throat, he’d do it. Right there, right now, and be done with the canker sore his mentor had become.
Whatever respect he once had was gone. If only their bond didn’t stay his hand…
Anwynn screamed as a blast of light blew apart the bow and arrow pulled taught in her hands. She screamed again, in fury and pain, before covering her face with her blackened hands.
“Stupid elf,” Fajer scolded. “You are both under the same oath. Neither of you can kill me, so get that traitorous thought out of your mind. Darnel, maybe it’s time we tried calling forth—”
Knowing where Fajer’s thoughts were going, he cut him off, not wanting Anwynn more upset than she already was. “No. We will find someone to feed the demon, but not Anwynn.” He stood over her, shielding her from Fajer and Fajer from her. “Both of you need to calm down, this fighting is not going to help any of us get what we want.”
After some coaxing, Darnel finally got Anwynn inside the house so he was able to tend to her burned hands. At least now he knew she was under the same limitations he was.
Tears coursed down her face and hadn’t stopped for the past hour.
Fajer had stormed off to his quarters to unpack and Darnel was sure part of the unpacking was finding the store of wine bottles he’d brought along. There had been no mistaking the clink of glass when Fajer set his bags behind the carriage seat. He’d not chastise him. One distraught person at a time was more than Darnel was prepared to handle.
Except, Anwynn’s silent tears were breaking his heart.
“I want him dead,” she growled. The first words she’d spoken since he’d coaxed her inside. “We don’t need him.”
Darnel pressed his finger to his mouth to hush her. “You have to realize there is nothing we can do.”
Her voice lowered to a whisper. “But Koloman can. He will do whatever I say.” With a slight shake of her head, she added with a hint of ire, “Him I have complete control over.”
“So, we know you are capable, right?” Darnel teased, hoping to lighten her mood. He didn’t like seeing her so sullen and disheartened. Despite how much he hated himself for caring, he could not deny his feelings any longer. “What we need is something to give your powers a little boost.”
“Such as?”
He glanced toward the stairs where Fajer had retreated when he’d brought her inside. “You’re not going to like it, but I’m sure my plan will work.”
That crease that usually appeared between her brows when she worried about something deepened into a chasm. “What plan?”
Darnel shook his head. “Not here and not now. I need to work out a couple of things first.” He stood and pulled her to her feet. “What I want you to do is to head out to the water house and take a long bath. It’ll make you feel much better to wash away the city grime and today’s turmoil off your skin.” He brushed a kiss across her knuckles. “Give me a chance to speak to Fajer. I need to smooth things over with him. He cannot kill me either. I’m not sure about you, though I suppose the bond is the same as the one he made with me.”
She offered a nod. “He can still hurt me. I had no time to break my fall in that awful dress you two insist I wear.”
“Not out here. Tomorrow why don’t you go on out into the surrounding woods. The time by yourself will help tremendously.” For a moment, she stiffened, as if his sugges
tion caused her suspicion. Why did Darnel feel as if the two of them were ripping him to shreds? Trying to keep Fajer appeased and Anwynn in a safe place was wearing down on him. He hated that he was starting to care about her, regardless of his reservations.
Checking to make sure they were still alone, he listened for a moment, hoping Fajer was tucked safely inside his own room. Daring to draw Anwynn in closer, he wrapped his arms around her, brushing her neck with his lips. Then he whispered in her ear, “Promise to not go too far, my love. I only need a little time to show Fajer we are not against him. I must keep him placated. For now. First, we must get the regent in our control, then we’ll deal with Fajer.” As he spoke, he kept his eyes locked on the staircase, prepared to jump away from her if necessary.
Her burnt hands, that were already rapidly healing, pushed him away. She stared into his eyes and for a moment, he was lost in their intense forest green hue, like a lost traveler, he wandered aimlessly in the deep woods.
“You mean what you say,” she whispered. “Your eyes, they are not shifting or trying to look away. You are speaking the truth when you call me your love?”
He nodded, not seeing the point in holding back. He needed her to trust him, to stick this out. Anwynn might not be able to harm either of them, but she could walk away if she desired. Once she headed into the woods, she could keep going until the forest swallowed her hole and she faded into the deep greenery like moss. She was an elf, perfectly able to take care of herself if forced to. Pretending to be human was what revealed her vulnerabilities, which he was sure was the reason she hated this game so much.
“Yes, I mean what I say. Don’t leave, Anwynn. Promise you’ll stay with me.” One thing he did know, without her, his plan would fail. More than that, she was the first woman he’d met that seemed to understand him, instead of fear him. They were both powerful in their own way. “I need you.”
That seemed to settle Anwynn who offered a small smile as her gaze lingered on him. Backing away, she turned and rushed up the stairs. He assumed she would follow his suggestion and go spend some time in the bathhouse. At least, he hoped so.
Once he heard the door to her room close, he went up to check on Fajer. The door to the sorcerer’s room was slightly ajar. He found his mentor passed out on the bed, an empty bottle clutched in his hand.
“We’re going to have to do something about this nasty little habit you’ve developed, Fajer.” Darnel tossed the bottle out the open window, then removed his boots and pulled off his jacket. The least he could do was make Fajer comfortable. When he did wake up, he’d see that Darnel had made an effort to take care of him.
Somehow, he needed to prove to both Fajer and Anwynn that they were still a team. This wouldn’t be easy because he would rather work on his own. But to get what he wanted, he needed Anwynn’s powers over the regent and he needed Fajer’s insight on how to best gain control over the capital.
Deep down, he knew eventually he’d need to find a way to break free of Fajer and his Brethren connection. There was no way he’d bow to the Wizard Order. No, someday, he’d watch them bow to him.
A sneering laugh came from the drunken man. “Such a good grunt.”
“I’m not your grunt, Fajer.” Did he really need the sorcerer as much as he thought?
One violet eye peeked open. “No, you’re not. We made a deal, didn’t we? You have power, I do not. Which is why I’m sure you are merely biding your time with me.”
Fajer never was one to beat around the bush. And he had an uncanny ability to see right through Darnel’s pretenses, no matter how hard he tried to cover them up. Fury blasted through him and before he could stop himself, he grabbed Fajer’s shirt and yanked him up into a sitting position until their faces were inches apart.
“Stop giving me reasons to want to kill you, and I’ll stop trying to figure a way around your protective spell. Stop moping around and being such a troll to everyone. Most of all, stop treating Anwynn so cruelly. She’s doing her best, and we both know she can leave anytime she finally gets fed up with us.”
Pulling Darnel’s hands from his shirt, Fajer slowly stood and went over to close the window. “She has enchanted you as much as she has enchanted the human,” his laugh was full of bitterness. “Didn’t think it possible for someone like you to be swayed in such a—”
Darnel was at his side, “I’ve not been swayed, Fajer.”
For a long moment, Fajer studied him and seemed to finally come to some kind of understanding of what Darnel was silently trying to say, without having to speak it out loud. He didn’t want to speak out his feelings for Anwynn. He was still struggling with them too much to allow them the freedom to take flight once he admitted the truth.
“Ah, I see.” Fajer stared out the window for a long time before speaking again. “Just when I didn’t think anything would penetrate your heart of stone, a wayward elf finds a way in.” He finally turned back to Darnel. “Even after all you’ve experienced with your parents? You will follow that same path?”
Darnel cringed. He’d been trying to not think about that. He shrugged and dropped his gaze to the floor. “I don’t…fact is, Fajer, we cannot reach the regent without her. Any feelings I may or may not have, matter not. We need her. Do you disagree?”
Fajer shook his head. “No, I do not. But take care, my friend. You are walking on a thin blade.”
Darnel turned and headed for the door. “I know.”
He left, not wanting any more of this discussion. All he wanted was to finally fall into his bed and hopefully sleep deeply now that he was away from the pressure of the city. But when he entered his room, a single candle burned on his beside where Anwynn awaited his return.
Darnel closed the door behind him. She’d taken to slipping into his room often during the middle of the night, then slipping away before dawn. He never had the heart to send her away, but purposefully kept his back to her.
It was getting harder and harder to not turn and face her.
Pulling her knees up to her chest, her head tilted to the side when she asked, “Perhaps we should tell him the truth.”
“I think he already knows.” Darnel leaned back against the door frame. “I always lock my door, how do you manage to get in anyway?”
“Because I want to be near you. So, I make that happen. You’ll see that I always end up getting what I want. Soon, you will kiss me and mean it.”
Blast her for knocking down his carefully constructed walls, one by one. Fajer said his heart was made of stone, but lately, it was beginning to feel like a clump of mud. He should make her leave. He knew this. Instead, his fingers pulled the lock to his door. Perhaps he was in danger of slipping, but he couldn’t stop himself now even if he wanted to.
Chapter Fifteen
Kardia was invited to join Nellie’s family for a hearty breakfast before she started her new job tending the regent’s fowl. Kardia had a hard time not laughing over the title of the job. Did Regent Leon even know he had his own flock of chicken, ducks, and geese?
And that someone was in charge of caring for them?
Nellie’s mother, the widow Hilda, who not only managed her six children, was also the Steward of the regent Family’s livestock. Most of the care of the animals was hired out to people who lived in the Meeting Hall and helped with its upkeep. The job of tending the geese and chickens had been six-year-old Prissa and Donte’s job, but the twins would soon start their studies.
When Nellie had brought Kardia home with her after their shopping trip, Hilda had taken one look at Kardia’s hands and first stated, “That’s an odd injury, I daresay. Iffen you’d been a thief, they’d taken only one of your hands. An’ they’d been sure to lop it off at the wrist, not just take the fingers. But you got enough there to work the job I have for you. Nobody’ll care how fast or slow you work, at least.”
All Kardia had to do was to collect eggs from the chicken coop first thing in the morning and make sure the chickens were locked in their pens at night. The du
cks pretty much took care of themselves at the pond. She only needed to toss out a bit of feed to keep them happy.
However, tending to the geese would take up most of her time. She was to herd them through the fields so they could graze, collect feathers which were sold at the market square, and keep an eye out for their nests. The twins took her along with them during her first week, then left her to handle the task on her own.
Kardia loved her new position and loved Nellie’s family the moment she first met them. She liked not having someone shouting at her all day, as Steward Pavlina had done in the kitchen. Most of all, she loved being free to explore Rodon at her leisure.
She was often required to pass near the regent’s homey little cottage but seldom saw him, much to her relief. Now that he recognized her, she feared him pinning her down and asking more questions about her town. However, it seemed his work kept him too busy to think any more of her. Thankfully, Nellie spared her from having to explain too much that day she’d met him in town. He seemed to understand her reluctance to talk of their prior meeting in front of someone else.
Still, he knew.
The eggs had been collected and sent to the kitchen with Nellie’s brother, Tayler, a fifteen-year-old boy who seemed to have a need to run everywhere he went.
Using a thin stick she kept tucked in the crook of her thumb, she nudged the geese with the tip to keep them moving. They eventually reached the pond where she could check in on the ducks. A bag full of grain was tied to the belt strapped around her waist. By the time she reached the pond, the sun was already heading toward the western mountain peaks towering over the city. Soon, she would need to head back and coax the chickens into their pens.
“Oh hey,” Nellie’s younger sister Kellie called out, waving her hand over her head. “I finally found you. Mama wished for me to bring you some of her beef pies. She thinks you are too thin.”
The girl stood nearly Kardia’s height and where her sister had dark, raven colored hair, Kellie’s was more a dark brown like the mighty oak trees towering over the still pond. Kardia loved this spot, finding it so peaceful, yet filled with tranquil beauty. The afternoon sun glinted off the surface of the water as her geese slipped in the cool pool, causing ripples to spread out behind them. The ducks quacked in greeting, or maybe in warning to stay away from their area, who knew?
