by Lisa Rector
Einion bolted upright in bed. He threw his blankets off and fumbled with his boots. But she comforted him. They struggled with the same issues. He remembered her face when she woke from that nightmare. He knew how she fought with her past. Even if he did not have memory loss, he knew the feelings the darkness created. He had laid her back into the bed that morning and struggled to forget how her body felt in his arms. Maybe the trip to the lake was a mistake because now he had new feelings that muted any warnings his heart shouted at him.
Brenin was right about lighter hearts. After the trip with Rhianu, his grief had lifted. He would not forget the tragic memory of Gwenna’s death, though it became easier to bear. What he didn’t realize was what came with the lightness. Rhianu made his heart lighter. Was this translating to a deeper meaning as it had for his father? Were he and Rhianu meant to be together?
Grabbing his sword propped in the bedroom’s corner, he rushed out to the garden. He would work out his frustrations until either sleep came or the dawn.
***
A strength flowed up Rhianu’s arm as she lifted the man, her fingers tight around his neck. He gasped for breath, his dark sallow skin becoming ashen. All her dark energy surged throughout her body.
His hands dug into her wrists, but nothing could release him from her iron grip. His eyes revealed his waning life force and the sad pleading for release.
She laughed as his legs flailed desperately. Rhianu held the smooth handle of a knife in her right hand and waited—using the blade right before he lost consciousness would jar him back to his senses and provide more pain. Her grip tightened on the metal in anticipation.
Finally, his eyes rolled back in his head. She thrust the knife under his ribs and up into his beating heart, loosening her grip on his throat. The man cried out, his eyes screaming the agony his cry could not express. Warm blood flowed over her hand. Giving the knife a quick twist, she watched as the last sign of life faded from his eyes. She removed the knife and dropped the corpse.
Rhianu gasped awake. She held her stomach with one hand and clamped the other over her mouth. Her body shook with terror and, Rhianu realized, with exhilaration. Was she growing used to the horrors of her past? Was she accepting who she really was?
She thrust her coverings back and slid out of the bed, grabbed an outer coat and slipped it over her thin nightdress. With quick, silent pads of her feet, she left her room and ran down the hall. Rhianu was not sure where she was headed until her hands pulled on the knobs of the garden doors. She didn’t care that her bare feet crunched on the loose gravel as she ran into the foreboding night.
Rhianu slowed to a stop after passing a statue in the garden’s center. The quarter moon hung low in the sky and masked the garden with shadows. She covered her mouth to stifle a scream rising in her throat.
The nightmares of her past assaulted Rhianu with awful vision after awful vision as soon as she laid her head down. Aerona assured her she had enjoyed this life—a life engrained into her very being. A life she could embrace once her memories returned.
Rhianu wasn’t so sure.
A wave of anguish washed over her, and Rhianu stood there until she calmed. Another deep breath steadied her. Yes. Now she was composed, but looking up, Rhianu realized with dismay that she was not alone.
Blast.
Einion stood before her with his brow pinched together.
What was he doing up? Did he follow me out to the garden? She felt slightly embarrassed, but against her better judgment and control, found herself in his arms.
Einion tightened his embrace, and he whispered urgently and quietly, “Rhianu, whatever’s the matter? Do not fear. I have you. You’re safe.” His fingers stroked her hair, and his hand pressed against her back.
“What are you doing out here?” Rhianu asked, her voice muffled by his shirt.
“I would ask the same about you, but it seems you’re upset, though you’re catching your wits.”
Rhianu looked up at him. A hint of stubble shaded his chin. “Yes, I had another nightmare. They’re becoming more frequent as I gain more memories.”
“Do you want to tell me?” Einion had pulled away enough so he could look down into her face.
“No, I dare not. They’re truly terrifying, and I fear you’ll think less of me.”
“I could never think any less of you. You’re my dear friend, and I care about you deeply. I’m astounded by the fortitude I see in you. Your light has grown stronger. You still fight your darkness, but you have a spirit that won’t be conquered.” He smiled down at her and kissed her on the forehead.
“Oh, Einion, you’re too kind to me. I don’t know what I would do without your reassurance.”
“I know this freedom is new to you, and you still feel as though you live under the dark gloom of your imprisonment. But as you can embrace the light, it will give you peace. Forget about your past deeds and forget whatever the dark power might have forced you to do. I believe that you’re a good person. You have shown me you’re a good person.”
The look in his eyes… Rhianu could almost believe his words. “What about you, Einion? Are you heeding your own advice?”
He lifted one hand from Rhianu and scratched his head. “You’re right. I don’t take my own advice. A king who’s ready to bestow guidance but who’s too blind to heed his own. What do you think?”
“I think you’re a good man. You worry your darkness is stronger than your light.”
Einion touched her cheek with the back of his hand. His fingers were so warm. Rhianu resisted the urge to grab his hand and press it into her cheek.
“Your good opinion gives me strength,” he said. “At least one of us can see it.”
“You’re too hard on yourself.”
Einion pushed a messy lock from her forehead, tucking it behind her ear. “That I am.”
Fighting the nervous tittering in her stomach, Rhianu looked around. “You never told me what you’re doing out here.”
“I couldn’t sleep. Been thinking about life and err—”
Rhianu noticed for the first time he had his sword strapped to his waist. “With your sword… in the moonlight?”
“I was practicing.” Einion shrugged his shoulders. “It helps me clear my head when I go through maneuvers.”
Rhianu stared down at the sword’s hilt and reached her hand out. “May I?”
“Do you know what you’re doing?”
“Not sure. Just… may I? I won’t cut myself.”
Einion unsheathed the sword. He held the blade vertically before himself, and it caught the moonlight. Rhianu saw her reflection in the polished metal as Einion tipped the sword, holding the hilt out to her. “Don’t touch the blade.”
Rhianu smirked at his cautionary statement but took the sword by the hilt, which was long enough for two hands. The cold steel made her feel powerful.
She held the sword out, gauging its weight before swiping it through the air. Einion jumped back. Rhianu laughed at the look on his face—one of complete amazement. She pursed her lips together and shifted her feet, adjusting her posture before closing her eyes.
Envisioning an imaginary opponent, she struck. Her breathing slowed, and her shoulders relaxed as she parried an invisible blow. She slid her feet as she moved to the side and attacked again, moving in a rhythmic pattern and flow of strikes, parries, and dodges.
Elation filled her as she realized that she could do this. The sword became a part of her, and every strike gave her strength. The light’s energy in her heart-center came alive, reaching through her body as assurance grew. Heat swallowed her up, and its intensity overwhelmed her as the sensation multiplied. If she didn’t stop, she’d break down, overpowered by unfamiliar feelings—feelings of peace and happiness. A knowledge of being content. She could be content with this life—with Einion. The rush this knowledge gave her made her stop. Rhianu drew the sword close. She waited, controlling her heavy breathing before she opened her eyes.
Einion looked
at her with wide-eyed astonishment.
“You do have hidden talents.” He laughed, his dimples showing. Rhianu returned the sword, and he sheathed it.
“I figure more out every day.” Rhianu breathed a mental sigh—the terror of her nightmare had fled.
“Well, you certainly feel better,” Einion said. “Swordplay brings a glow to you.”
Rhianu looked down at her hands. They glowed faintly from within.
“It seems to chase away your fears. It empowers you and gives you confidence. We’ll have to make this a regular activity,” Einion said.
Rhianu couldn’t believe it. She’d never seen her body glow like this. How could she have never realized the light and all its grace? And Einion’s validation… Rhianu smiled. She was a good person. If she could forget all of her nightmares… where might life’s path take her?
***
A yawn slipped out as Rhianu made it back to her bedchamber. She draped her outer coat over its hook and froze. She had a distinct feeling, for the second time, she was not alone.
Rhianu gave a brief consideration before she grabbed a vase off the bureau and held it up, feeling foolish. She should be using her powers, but she didn’t trust either one, light or darkness, having only limited practice since her memory had been taken.
A bulky figure stepped from the shadows in the corner of the room.
“Woman, what in all of Morvith are you doing?” His deep voice was somewhat familiar.
She lowered the vase and squinted across the dim room.
Like her, the dark-skinned man had the same straight nose and chiseled cheekbones. He tipped his shaved head to the side, wrinkling his brow as he appraised her.
Rhianu blinked. “Meuric?” She set the vase down and covered her mouth to stop herself from speaking.
“The one and only. Are you feeling all right? What possessed you to pick up a vase? Were you going to crack me over the skull with it? Has the light addled your mind?”
A girlish giggle slipped out, and she threw her arms around his neck. She caught a whiff of a comforting pine scent before Meuric growled and pushed her off.
“You burn me now, remember. Keep that infernal light to yourself.”
Rhianu stuck her lower lip out. “I’m just overjoyed to see you.”
Meuric scratched his head. “Since when do you pout? What’s going on Rhianu? It’s been over a month since you left. The army’s ready. We’re waiting for your orders.”
“My orders?” Rhianu tapped her bare foot on the floor. “I’ve hit a slight snag.”
“A slight snag? Rhianu, you don’t hit snags. You tear through them.” Meuric looped his finger under one of her braided locks. “Since when do you wear your hair like this?”
“Since I don’t remember how I used to wear it.”
“What are you going on about?”
“I’ve lost my memories.”
Meuric’s eyebrows lifted.
“They’re coming back to me in pieces. I have a vague sense of what I’m doing. I’m still on task. I swear it.” Maybe. She had done nothing to move the plan forward except acquaint herself with Einion. The plan was on hold. The light made her feel good. How could she deny her peace?
Meuric touched Rhianu’s shoulder. “What has happened to you? You told me you’d come back unscathed. Look at you. You’re glowing.”
Rhianu looked down at her hands. “They’re not glowing.” Even though she had been glowing out in the garden with Einion.
“Not outwardly, but inwardly. I can sense it. You carry a different aura about you. It’s this prince, isn’t it? I told you to not let the light trick you into betraying who you are.”
“How do I know this is not who I am? I have only Aerona to tell me what I’m doing. Do you have any idea what it’s been like for me? This has nothing to do with the king.”
“Where’s Aerona? You should come home. She hasn’t been keeping a safe enough watch over you.”
“No, Meuric. I’m not coming home. Aerona doesn’t control me. I lost my memories when I first arrived—from a lightning strike. A mishap, a major inconvenience, but one I’m rising above. The time is not set, Meuric. Tell your men to wait.”
“About that… a minor uprising began in the south. A yearling dragon escaped the breeding grounds and torched an entire region’s wheat crop. Lord Gruffin is in an uproar. He marched on the stronghold.”
“That’s awful. What did you do?”
“What you always tell me to do. Push them back with our Dragon Riders and have them buy wheat from us.”
“But it’s our fault the dragonling torched their fields. We should give them the wheat.”
A foul expletive slipped from Meuric’s mouth. “Now I know you’ve lost your memory. You would never give anyone anything.”
Rhianu frowned. Another hint at her rousing personality. “Why did you come, Meuric? To make me feel miserable? I don’t need your help with that.”
He touched her chin and ignored any burning that surely would come with it. “I came because I worry about you. You’re defenseless and fragile with the light. This is not the real you. Show me where this Einion is, and I’ll demand he take us to Gorlassar. Let’s end this now.”
“No, I know how you make your demands.”
“Really? I thought you forgot everything.”
Rhianu shrugged. She remembered well enough of Meuric. He coaxed the truth out of prisoners in a less-than-gentle fashion. “I have everything under control. You forget—I’m the Vessel.” Her amount of control might have been a half-truth, but Meuric didn’t need to know that.
“I don’t forget. How could I ever forget?” Meuric sighed. “Rhianu, don’t you remember what I did for you? How I helped you cope with the Betrayer and your broken heart? You trusted no one else to help you through that setback. I saw all your vulnerabilities. I know all your weaknesses. You swore—you swore never to open your heart to another man, and I held you accountable. You’re betraying your promise. Guard your heart. You have a task, not a conquest.”
“Confound it, Meuric! You’d think you owned me. I can’t remember what you’re talking about, but I feel your urgency. I understand the emotion behind your counsel. I’ll be careful.” Rhianu smacked Meuric on the arm. “And don’t ever bad-mouth Aerona. You should know better than to disrespect the bond between a dragon and rider.”
With a slight groan, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead before disappearing.
Rhianu thought Meuric would take her back with him. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or not to find herself standing alone in her bedchambers.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
WOMEN PROBLEMS
Einion couldn’t stop yawning. He slept in late and worried he’d missed Rhianu outside the garden door. After their impromptu meeting in the garden, his brain was spinning. Contributing to his delay, a letter from Catrin had arrived, and he glanced at it again before he left his chamber.
My Dearest Einion,
I hope you’re faring well. My heart has been heavy these past few months, and your absence is felt in all of my being. I miss you terribly. Cerys has laid her egg, and we begin the tedious process of firing. I will not leave Gorlassar until the egg is hatched, but I long to see you. I know I promised to give us some space, and I’m trying to be strong.
So I’m using distraction. I took a class at the university on making pictures with colored glass. I made your mother a beautiful sunflower and hung it in the front window. It catches the light and makes patterns on the walls and floor. I’ve been busy tending my bees again. I missed them when I was in Talfryn. These don’t do much for the emptiness I feel.
Oh Einion, your face is in all my dreams, haunting my sleep. I know that won’t do much to alleviate any stress on your part, and for that I’m sorry. I hold your last touch in my arms until I see you again.
All my love,
Catrin
Einion shoved the letter into a box inside his wardrobe and sighed. Her let
ter would agitate him more. Telling her to write him had been a mistake. He shook his head. Two faces in his dreams were one too many, and as it was, Catrin’s face was becoming harder to make out. In his dreams, he looked for his exquisite shadow. Every turn he made led him to an empty room until, in the final room, Rhianu waited for him. His hand reached out to touch her long hair and let it fall through his fingers, and his arms wrapped around her as the distance closed to her mouth.
But he always woke, rolling over in bed and groaning. Once he even screamed into his pillow. As he told himself before, women were trouble. The way Rhianu looked at him, and the way she held him and grabbed him desperately after her nightmares…
As Einion stepped through his chamber door into the hallway, he made a decision. Trahaearn! Fly me out of here! Just you and I. How fast can you arrive?
Five minutes. I’m not far away.
Great. I’ll settle affairs here and meet you in the courtyard. He was going to escape without the guard—for only a little excursion. Einion ran down the hallway and into the head housekeeper. Great. He told her not to bother with him because he’d be gone. But he asked her to see to Lady Rhianu’s needs. Before the bewildered housekeeper could add a word, Einion took off at a run to find the chancellor and cancel any and all appointments for the day. He emerged from the chancellor’s residence when Trahaearn landed in the courtyard.
Einion sprinted across the yard and jumped into Trahaearn’s saddle. His emryn guard called after him, but he waved them off. They could reprimand him later.
You rushed out of there. Women problems? Trahaearn asked.
Can’t hide anything from you. I don’t know what to do. Rhianu is getting under my skin, and I don’t mean in a bad way.
You think I don’t feel your dreams. You’re in turmoil, my brother. Maybe you should kiss Rhianu so the mixed feelings leave your system.
You know I can’t do that.
You’re so stubborn. You think it would betray Catrin. Well, she left you. Remember? You decided you weren’t ready. Do you think you’re ready to love someone now? You’re settling into your role as king all right.
