Kwin

by Trudie Collins

  Kwin retrieved a blanket from a chest at the bottom of the bed and wrapped Henna in it.

  “Take her to her room. Sleep is the best thing for her. Make sure she is not disturbed.”

  Kail took her from Kwin and promised to send someone up to change the bedding, which was now stained with Henna’s blood and some of the healing cream.

  Once Kail and Henna had departed, Luka went to the bathroom to wash her hands and Kwin replaced the tub of cream, which was now almost empty, into Luka’s bag. It felt strange putting his hand into it and feeling a wooden shelf inside.

  “What will happen to Henna now?” Kwin asked when Luka returned.

  “We will be taking her home with us.” Kwin wanted to ask how she was planning on accomplishing that, seeing as Jona was her owner, but the determination in her voice prevented him from doing so. It was not his place to question her.

  “We’d better take Kail along as well then,” he said instead.

  “Why?”

  “Judging from the way he kept looking at her, he’s in love.”

  Luka smiled and the stress of the evening seemed to evaporate from her. “In that case, I will be talking to my mother in the morning, as well as Jona.”

  Luka then excused herself. She needed to contact Drake and there was a communication device she could use in one of the reception rooms downstairs.

  Kail returned while she was away, bringing a couple of slave girls with him, who quickly sorted out the bedding, removing the ruined dress from the floor at the same time.

  “I came back to thank you and Lady Luka,” Kail said once the girls had departed. “For what you both did for Henna. Until tonight, I didn’t think there were any decent Wayverns in existence.”

  “Luka seems to be one of a kind,” Kwin said.

  Kail appraised him. “You care for her, a lot.”

  “I respect her. She’s a good person.”

  Kail sighed. “I wish I could be owned by someone like her. Henna too. She deserves a much better life than she is living.”

  “We all do,” Kwin said. “Maybe, one day, Tippet will invade and all of the slaves will be freed. I wouldn’t bet my life on it though.”

  The two men talked until Luka returned. Kwin passed on Kail’s thanks to her, then Kail departed.

  “You look worn out,” Kwin said once they were alone. “You should try to get some sleep.”

  “So should you,” Luka said.

  She went to make use of the bathroom while Kwin undressed. He was just drifting off to sleep when he felt Luka get in beside him.

  He rolled over and put his arm around her, pulling her body close against his own. He felt her tense.

  “Relax,” he said. “After tonight, you need this as much as I do. Now close your eyes and go to sleep.”

  He had no idea if she obeyed or not, but she made no move to pull away. Soon sleep claimed him and he had a peaceful, dreamless night.

  Chapter 25

  Luka woke to find herself alone in the bed. Noises coming from the bathroom suggested Kwin was in the shower. She had slept well, though whether that was due to her weariness or being in Kwin’s arms she didn’t know. She had found it strangely comforting. She had instinctively known that Kwin wouldn’t try to touch her inappropriately in any way.

  She slipped out of bed and got dressed. She wanted to leave the estate as soon as possible and there were people she needed to see first.

  Her first destination was Jona’s suite. When they were first married, he had shared Moda’s bed, as well as her suite, but, according to Fain, it didn’t take long for him to choose a separate room before moving out altogether into his own suite. He and Moda rarely shared a bed anymore.

  He opened the door on the third knock, looking like he hadn’t slept at all. Luka didn’t tell him how bad he looked; she didn’t need to.

  “I need you to do something for me,” she said as she stepped into his room, without waiting to be asked.

  “What?” Jona asked sullenly.

  “I want you to sell Henna to me.”

  That got his attention. “Why?”

  “Because if she stays here, Moda will keep torturing her.”

  Jona collapsed onto a sofa. “You’re right. I was stupid to think I could have someone share my bed, despite the fact that Moda seems to have any man she wants, and the poor girl paid the price. I’ll sign her over to you. Just promise me you will take good care of her.”

  “I will,” Luka said. Then she placed her hand over Jona’s. “This isn’t your fault, you know. What happened to Henna was Moda’s doing, not yours.”

  When Jona looked up at her, his eyes were full of pain. “If I had done the sensible thing and refused Moda’s advances, it would never have happened. I wouldn’t have lost you either.”

  “We can’t change our past mistakes,” she said gently. “We can, however, learn from them.”

  Jona nodded, though whether he was actually listening to her or not, Luka had no idea.

  “I’ll have Stewerd do the necessary paperwork,” he said. “When are you leaving?”

  “As soon as possible. I don’t want to spend any longer in this house than I have to.”

  “I don’t blame you.” He then did the necessary to pass control of Henna’s shackles to Luka.

  “I’ll find Stewerd and send him to you,” Luka said and squeezed his hand before leaving him alone. While she no longer had any feelings for him, she didn’t like seeing him so depressed.

  Her next visit was the one she was not looking forward to. She had been confident that Jona would be reasonable, but her mother would be a different matter.

  She found her in her suite, with Nonah, who looked pleased with the interruption. The look of joy on his face when she ordered him to leave almost made her smile. He hadn’t understood what she said, but got the message when she held open the door and pointed at him, then the corridor.

  “Did your slave manage to cure your headache last night?” Moda asked before Luka had chance to speak.

  “Yes, he did,” she said. “We need to talk. What you did last night to the slave girl was cruel and unnecessary.”

  Moda shrugged. “She’s sleeping with my husband. She deserved it.”

  “She doesn’t have a choice.” As she spoke, Luka pulled her magic to the surface and let it gently surround her mother, placing a compulsion spell on her. She kept it subtle so the older woman wouldn’t realise she was being influenced.

  “Why should I care about that?” Moda said.

  “Well she won’t be a problem for you anymore,” Luka said. “I’m taking her with me when I leave.”

  “Good. Hopefully Jona will keep his hands to himself from now on.”

  “He might if you start treating him better.”

  Luka felt Moda’s anger rising. She was taunting her on purpose. Experience had shown that Moda was easier to control when she was angry.

  “I treat him as good as he deserves,” Moda snapped at her. “Why do you care anyway? You cast him aside.”

  “I don’t.” Luka increased the strength of her magic, making it wrap around her mother tighter. Moda wouldn’t feel anything and, if Luka handled things correctly, she would believe that handing Kail over to her was her own idea. “Why should I when I now have a man who can satisfy all of my needs?”

  Luka placed a suggestion in her mother’s mind that she had seen Kwin looking suggestively at Kail. The sly smile spreading across Moda’s face told her that what she was trying to do was working.

  “You know your pleasure slave is interested in men, don’t you.”

  Luka faked looking shocked. “Of course he isn’t. You’re only saying that because you couldn’t have him. Just because a man doesn’t want to sleep with you doesn’t mean that he is more interested in men than women.”

  Moda shrugged. “Maybe I’m wrong.”

  Luka liked the smile on her mother’s face. It told her all she needed to know about her mother’s intentions. She would give her
Kail, as a present so Luka couldn’t refuse, just because she believed he would come between her and Kwin.

  Once Luka had left Moda’s suite, she shook her head. Her mother was so easy to predict she sometimes wondered if she actually needed to use magic on her.

  She returned to her room to find that her things had already been packed. The room was empty so she went to her sister’s suite, where she found Kwin talking with Nonah.

  Fain begged her to stay longer, but Luka insisted on leaving as soon as possible. After the ‘entertainment’ the previous evening she had no desire to stay. Fain understood and ceased her attempts at persuasion. However, she refused to accompany Luka to her residence when Luka asked her. Luka didn’t mind as there were things that she needed to discuss with Kail and Henna that she didn’t want Fain to hear.

  Kwin showed no surprise when he went to the carriage and found both of the slaves inside. Moda was standing nearby so Luka put on a show of not understanding why Kail was there. Moda handed over his ownership papers and said he was a present. She then refused to listen to Luka’s arguments that she didn’t deserve him. She didn’t try very hard to get her mother to change her mind and did nothing to stop her passing control of him over to her controller.

  “So how did you do it?” Kwin asked her once the journey had begun. He spoke the Wayvern language so Henna and Kail would not understand.

  Luka didn’t need to ask what he was talking about. She told him of her meeting with Jona and how easy it had been to get him to agree to release Henna. Deep down he was a kind person and felt bad for the way she had been treated, blaming himself instead of the real culprit.

  Explaining Kail’s presence was harder. She decided to be mostly truthful.

  “I made her believe that you would be more interested in him than me.”

  “You did what?” Kwin said in disbelief.

  Luka smiled at his reaction. “She was still annoyed that you didn’t spend the night with her and jumped on the suggestion that it might be because you preferred men. Handing Kail over to me was her way of making me suffer. She’s hoping you will stop paying me attention now that you have Kail. You won’t will you?”

  Kwin growled at her, making her laugh.

  Luka looked over to Kail and Henna, who were sitting opposite them. Kail had his arm around Henna; she looked nervous. Kail seemed more confused than anything.

  “You had better speak to them,” Luka said to Kwin. “Assure them that they are going to be alright.”

  Kwin switched to his own language and spoke to Kail, letting him know what it was like being owned by Luka. She understood most of what was said, but not all. Kail asked many questions, all of which Kwin answered as best he could. He didn’t mention that none of Luka’s servants were still slaves, or that she helped those who wanted to cross the border into Tippet. Henna remained silent, but Luka could see that she was listening.

  Before leaving her mother’s estate, Luka had contacted Drake, letting him know that she was bringing two more rescued slaves home with her. Rooms were being prepared for them both; it was up to them if they decided to share one instead of sleeping separately.

  Koal had prepared a meal and everyone ate in the kitchen, including Luka. Many of the other servants had already eaten so only Koal, Drake, Kwin, Luka and the two new arrivals were present. Talk flowed and even Henna began to join in.

  “What will our duties be?” Kail eventually asked. “I’m used to having to do whatever I’m told, no matter how painful or degrading, but I get the impression things will be different here.”

  He had addressed Kwin, but it was Drake who answered. “I am in charge of assigning duties. If you have a good reason for not doing as I ask, let me know. I’m reasonable and accommodating. We work together here, as a family.”

  The look Kail gave him made Luka smile. She had seen the same look on Kwin’s face a few times when he first arrived. Kwin noticed it as well.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “I felt the same in the beginning. Life here takes a little getting used to. It all works on trust. You will soon understand. So what are your skills? What did you do back in Tippet?”

  Kail didn’t look like he believed Kwin, but he answered his question anyway. “I was a blacksmith. Apprentice only, but I was due to take over the forge in a few years.”

  “Good,” Drake said. “We could do with someone with your skills. There’s a forge here that won’t take long to get up and running again. It hasn’t been used since our last blacksmith left.”

  Luka had understood a lot of what Drake had said and had noticed the pause before the last word. She wondered what Drake had almost said. Been released? Freed? He had stopped himself just in time and now looked a little embarrassed that he had almost slipped up.

  “If you have finished eating,” Kwin said, “I will show you to the forge now. Spend some time doing an inventory and let Drake know if anything is needed. He’ll get you whatever is missing.”

  Kail glanced toward Henna.

  “Henna will be well looked after while you’re gone,” Luka said. “Stop fussing so much. Give her a little space.”

  Henna nodded and Kail squeezed her hand affectionately. “In that case, please lead the way,” he said to Kwin.

  As he was leaving, he saw a pile of papers at the edge of the table and paused when he noticed what they were.

  “Who is this drawing of?” he asked.

  “The woman I am going to marry,” Kwin said. “I came here to rescue her. Luka is handing these drawings out to people she can trust in the hope that we can track her down. Why do you ask?”

  “I know her. She was purchased from the same slave auction as I was.”

  Chapter 26

  Kwin was stunned. He wasn’t sure if he could believe his own ears. Since being in Wayvern, he had found no evidence that Shona was even in the country, and nor had Luka’s sources. If this man was telling the truth then it was the first step in the right direction.

  “Could you please say that again,” he said. He could feel Luka’s eyes on him and wondered how much she was understanding.

  “I met her at the auction, or someone who looks a lot like her. She introduced herself as a Lady and I had no doubt that she was telling the truth.”

  Kwin sat down again. This was much more important than showing Kail the forge.

  “How long ago was this?” he asked.

  Kail shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea. I’ve lost track of time since being in Wayvern. When was she taken?” Kwin provided the date. “I was kidnapped a few days before that. I was sold soon afterward.”

  Kwin quickly summarised for Luka, as she had clearly not understood everything. “Do you know where the auction was held?” she asked, but Kail shook his head. “Describe the place.”

  Kail did so, but it didn’t sound familiar to either Luka or Kwin. It was obviously not the same place to which Kwin had been taken.

  “I’ll have my sources investigate,” Luka said and left the room.

  “I hope you find her,” Kail said. “She seemed like a nice lady. How are you planning on rescuing her if you do find out where she’s being held captive?”

  Kwin decided to be honest with him. “I have absolutely no idea.”

  With Luka gone, Kail seemed reluctant to leave Henna alone and Kwin didn’t push him. They returned to the table and talked about life before Wayvern for a while. It made Kwin a little homesick and he was glad when Luka returned.

  “I have contacted a number of my sources,” she said. “None recognised the auction place described but will discretely look into it.”

  “You know there is one quick and easy way to find out where it is,” Kwin said, smiling at her. The look she gave him told him she knew exactly what he was going to say. “Why not just ask your mother?”

  Luka scowled at him. “Because she will want to know why I am asking and the last thing you need is Moda finding out that we are looking for Shona.”

  It was t
he answer Kwin had been expecting. He took Kail to the forge, leaving Henna in the capable hands of her new owner. He wondered if Luka would tell her the truth about all of the other slaves in the household, but decided she wouldn’t; at least not until she was sure that Henna and Kail could be trusted.

  The forge was in better shape than Kwin had been expecting. Although it hadn’t been used in a while, everything had been cleaned and packed away neatly. All of the equipment was usable and nothing would need to be immediately replaced.

  Kwin watched Kail as he surveyed everything, his face lighting up with each new tool he examined. This man was a professional who loved his work. Would he and Henna decide to stay once they found out that Luka could help them escape back to Tippet? Kwin had no idea, but he found himself hoping that they would.

  Once the inventory was complete, Kwin sent Kail to get washed and changed while he sought out Luka to inform her that nothing needed to be purchased.

  He found her in one of the lounges, reading a book. He glanced at the title and saw that it was from Tippet.

  “Can you actually read any of that?” he asked.

  “Not much, but more than I was expecting.”

  Kwin nodded his head. “It’s a good way to keep learning. Where did you get it?”

  “There’s a bookshop in the village which imports them. I have no idea where the owner gets them from. I purchase them for the servants to read.”

  Ever since he had found out the truth, Kwin had stopped mentally changing ‘servants’ to ‘slaves’.

  “Why did you never tell me about this?” Kwin was an avid reader, when he got the time, and he would have enjoyed exploring her collection.

  Luka shrugged. “It just never came up, I suppose.”

  She told him where she kept her collection and he headed straight there. It was a room he had never been in before, not because he wasn’t permitted, but because he had never seen the need. He had assumed it was just another office.

  He opened the door and whistled. Every wall was covered in shelves, all crammed full of books. A quick study told him that most were in the Wayvern language, judging by the titles, but one entire wall was dedicated to books from his homeland.