“You’re playing dirty, Grasdon.”
“This isn’t even close to dirty.”
“I can be mean too.”
“Why would you do that if you already expect to lose?” Kira asks, flashing a smile of victory. Placing the albino peacock next to her, the brown-skinned woman leans over the table to get a better look at the fire in her rival’s eyes. “For a while, I was under the impression that you were using Luke to make yourself feel like you weren’t alone. It helped Luke because he wanted to abide by my traditions and you entered his life with no strings attached. Now it appears the situation has changed and you don’t want to lose.”
“This is what I was afraid of,” Luke groans, grimacing at the strong coffee.
“Let’s focus on you a bit here,” Kira states in an angry voice. Her pet hurries to a bowl of food, the bird keeping an eye on its master. “How much do you love Sari? I can’t say I’m surprised that she fell for you, but I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been worried since our time in Gaia. I didn’t think much of it at the time since she was in a magical slumber. Now that she’s awake, are you more in love with her than you are with me?”
“No!” Luke quickly snaps, seeing the hurt on Sari’s face. “I . . . I can’t say I love one of you more than the other. You’re both special to me and I can see myself spending the rest of my life with either one of you.”
“Well we can’t share you,” Sari points out with an edge to her voice. She takes a big bite of her food and exaggerates her chewing in an attempt to take the wind out of her rival’s pompous sails. “Kira is right. I let this go too far, but I’m not going to be the one to back out. How did it get to be this big of a mess when I thought we were being careful?”
“Because Kira wasn’t around.”
The heiress jumps to her feet and smacks Luke across the face, which causes Sari to stand and slap the black-haired woman. The peacocks shriek at the palpable tension in the air and the rain gushes out of the ceiling. Sari has the water coil around Kira, who nervously waits for the angry gypsy to change the liquid into something dangerous. She is surprised when Luke pushes his way into the watery trap and faces the blue-haired champion. With a grunt of annoyance, the blue-haired girl turns the water into vapor and pushes it to the sides of the room.
“I’m sorry,” Luke tells Kira without turning around. A few tears escape his eyes, which he feels Sari magically erase from his cheeks. “I didn’t mean to point a finger at you, but you not being around is part of the problem. Sari and I have had time to mature our relationship while you and I haven’t had that luxury. This is the first time in months we’ve been together where I wasn’t depressed or injured. Our time apart puts us at a disadvantage.”
“I know,” Kira admits, returning to her seat. She smirks when the half-elf sits next to her, but she refuses to touch him. “I thought your time away would be easier if you followed Bor’darukian traditions. Instead, it’s made a mess of what should have been a beautiful long-distance romance. I should have trusted you to reject all advances while you were away. By the gods, I should have done something to remain in contact with you, but I was so busy defending us to my father that I didn’t even work on holding onto you.”
“What does your tradition say about this?” Sari asks while making another sandwich of scorpion meat. She adds some relish and what she thinks is shredded cheese, but has a strange texture. “I would say we pick a winner now, but that could still cause issues. After our business is done in Bor’daruk, Luke and I continue traveling as champions while you stay here. The only way that wouldn’t cause a major mess is if I’m the one he chooses.”
“Would you want to win out of convenience?” Kira counters with a wry smile. She sees the answer in the gypsy’s eyes, a flicker of self-loathing that she had been hoping for. “There’s no tradition to settle what we’ve created here. The dating and marriage laws were made when Bor’daruk was more isolated, so foreigners don’t easily fit into them. Luke being on the road and me being unable to follow makes it infinitely worse. All we can do is make an agreement before you leave. Still, it’s unfair that you’ve had more time with him, so I ask that Luke be with me while you are here.”
Sari scowls at the request and takes a bite of her food, slowly chewing the scorpion meat until her mouth has lost all sense of feeling. Unable to sit still, the gypsy gets to her feet and walks along the edge of the leafy plants. She pets a few peacocks that come within reach and hops over a snake that is making a break for the door. A dagger flies from her hand, but it is caught within the chain of Kira’s kusari-gama. The sickle end of the weapon impales the serpent and the heiress flicks the twitching meal to the albino peacock.
“I concede your point,” Sari says while gently fingering a blue flower. “It wouldn’t be right to call a winner when we’re finally in a position to fight on equal footing. The odds have been in my favor since I met Luke, but only because of our shared destiny. As long as he is okay with it, you get him all to yourself during our time here. Though I will not deny any advance that he makes towards me.”
“I understand,” the heiress says as she stands and takes the gypsy’s hands. “Thank you for giving me this time, Sari. I really mean it and I’ll try not to be mean about it.”
“With any luck we’ll be too busy to worry about all of this.”
“It does seem that way.”
Luke sips at his coffee and mutters, “I feel like the grand prize of a tournament here.”
“You are,” both women reply, sharing a half-hearted grin.
“Can we still finish this meal together?”
Sari eyes the door, but the thought of being distant from Luke pushes her to take a seat at the table. “Only until we’ve had our fill. I’ll keep my mouth shut if you want to touch his leg, but I do ask that you avoid real intimacy while I’m around. I’d do the same for you.”
Kira nods and goes about making a sandwich of pickles and ostrich meat. She shifts closer to Luke and lets her knee touch his, enjoying the contact that she has dreamed of for so long. Sari takes a deep breath and focuses on pouring another cup of coffee. The liquid violently swirls in her cup, calming down when Luke uses his booted foot to pat her calf. She looks up to see the apology on his lips and water gathering in the corners of his eyes. Whispering a spell, she whisks his tears away before Kira can get a close look at his face.
“Your eyes are different,” the heiress states, taken aback by the brown and gold that have replaced the green she is used to. “I like it, but how did it happen?”
“I have a few stories to tell you.”
“Allow me since I’m a much more entertaining storyteller,” Sari interrupts. She creates illusions of her and the other champions on the table. “It all started when we left for the Garden of Uli.”
*****
“How long Delvin pace?” Fizzle asks as he lounges on the edge of a bath basin. The aromatic water makes him drowsy, so he lets his head dangle on the floor side. “Fizzle very sleepy.”
“I stopped paying attention an hour ago. At least he took his armor off, so he is not making a racket,” Timoran admits, relaxing on a plush couch. He stares out the window, which overlooks a colorful garden maze. “I am hoping he calms down to take a bath. We should take advantage of such lavish quarters before we are pulled into another battle. The pillows and couches are very comfortable and I enjoy the look of the silk curtains that are around the pillars. It is also very nice that we each have a bedroom connected to this main area. Although I would have preferred that the bath be private.”
“Dark cloaks on round towers,” Fizzle says, pointing his tail at the marble pillars circling the basin. “Timoran forgot. Delvin too distracted to notice. Fizzle not care.”
“My apologies, my friend. Is that a balcony outside that window?”
“You’re attempting to get a reaction from me,” Delvin claims as he continues walking across the beautifully furnished room. He flicks the leaf of a small palm tree and turns
on his heel to return to a porcelain vase of orchids. “You want me to calm down and trust that Nyx is going to be safe in the desert. You’re pointing out everything that I can take advantage of in an attempt to relax, so I’ll be ready for action. You think I should stop wasting energy and time by dwelling on the fact that Nyx is out there alone.”
“One of the things I like about you, Delvin, is that I can be subtle. As a barbarian, it is a skill I rarely get to utilize,” Timoran says with a friendly smile. When his friend turns to make another pass, he sits up and swings his legs to the floor. “Yet you are beginning to poke at my patience.”
“The woman you love isn’t alone and out of your reach!” the smaller warrior exclaims, whirling on the redheaded barbarian. Delvin freezes with his mouth open when a wave of fury flows off his friend. “I’m sorry. That was . . . unnecessary. I know you care about Nyx too and wish to help her. I overreacted and let my worry get the best of me. As you can see, I’m not myself right now.”
Timoran lets out a long breath and heads for the balcony, his friend trailing a few steps behind. They look down at the garden where peacocks wander among flowers of every size and color. A pair of monkeys leap among the palm trees, screeching and hooting at the crimson parrots that they upset. It is a bright contrast to the simpler colors of the city that sits beyond the manor walls, which is barely visible from the balcony. All of the rooftops are brown and gray, unlike the white marble and glass of the manor. There is a curious sense of tension in the wind that draws the warriors’ attention to their right. One of the nearby buildings has a ten foot long horn of crimson bone puncturing the roof, a reminder of the creatures that have been plaguing the Grasdons.
“I understand your plight more than you can imagine,” Timoran says, breaking the gentle silence. He claps Delvin on the shoulder and returns to the room, his hand grazing the silk curtains around the doorway. “It is a story for another time, but I can assure you that Nyx’s situation is not as dire as you imagine. What you feel is nothing more than helplessness and worry, which is admirable. If it was any other woman, I would say it is understandable too.”
“Did you ever think we give Nyx’s magic and willpower too much credit?” the brown-haired warrior politely asks. He moves to a loveseat and puts a pillow behind his head as he slides onto his back. “She’s very powerful, but she isn’t unstoppable. Stephen could be out there or something even worse. What about something that’s immune to magic? I’m not talking about absorbers like the krypters, but a creature that her powers simply can’t affect. The southern region has tales of such beasts. She’ll be alone and defenseless.”
“Nyx always hold back. Scared to hurt others. Not problem in desert,” Fizzle says as he lazily rolls into the basin. He pokes his head out of the water and floats on his back, directing his movements with his wings. “Why Delvin say Nyx alone? Dariana with her.”
“We still don’t know her well enough to trust her,” Delvin claims, batting at a curtain tassel that is hanging within reach. “She may be a champion, but I still don’t understand why she’s been allowed to survive for so long. We’ve been told that all the previous champions were killed, yet Dariana is still around. Something feels wrong.”
“It is because she is not by your side,” Timoran points out, returning to the couch.
Delvin turns to face the barbarian while he absentmindedly takes his boots off. “I’m worried that what we saw between Dariana and Stephen was a show. She can manipulate memories, so how do we know she isn’t playing us for fools. The Baron could be a horrible creature with a soft spot for his daughter, but she could also be one of his agents. We simply don’t know and Nyx is out there alone with her.”
“Dariana try save Nyx. That why Nyx not dead,” Fizzle states while releasing a few bubbles from his nostrils. “Delvin need be quiet. Fizzle give up bath.”
The door to the guest suites creaks up and Eileen walks in, the calico’s orange tail swishing along the ground. Sari is behind her and the gypsy looks like she is about to either cry or scream. She mutters a thank you to the maid, who bows and hurries back to the comfort of the hallway. The blue-haired girl bends down to slip off her velvet and leather boots, wiggling her toes on the warm stone floor. Glancing at the adjoining bedrooms, she tosses the enchanted footwear into one of them and joins her friends.
“I hope I didn’t miss anything, boys.”
“Delvin is still worried about Nyx being alone in the desert with Dariana,” Timoran casually replies, gesturing to a nearby chair. “Is Luke joining us?”
“Kira’s turn and we’ll leave it at that,” Sari answers with a pout. “Cheer up, Delvin. Nyxie will be back with us before you know.”
“And what do I do until then?” the warrior forlornly asks.
Grinding her teeth together, Sari grabs Delvin by the shirt and drags him off the couch. She lets him stand up before clutching his wrists and activating her immovability power. The warrior makes a few feeble tugs even though he knows her hold is unbreakable. Not wanting to make it easy for Sari, he deadweights himself and lets his body slump toward the floor. Rolling her emerald eyes, the gypsy turns her power off, sits on Delvin’s chest, and again makes herself a fleshy boulder that cannot be budged. The weight of the immovable girl on his ribs makes it difficult for the warrior to breathe.
“Here is exactly what you’re going to do,” Sari says in a slow, stern voice. Unable to hold back her emotions, she lets a few tears roll down her cheeks and fall on Delvin’s chest. “You’re going to help us defend the Grasdons and think about Nyxie every day. When she comes walking back into Bor’daruk, you will hug her and tell her that you love her. It doesn’t matter if she says it too or not. We both know she’ll get there eventually, so it’s more important that you make sure she doesn’t forget how you feel. Also, all of us are going to thank Dariana for protecting Nyxie out there. Do you understand what I’m saying, Mr. Cunningham?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answers, gasping for air when she stands. “Want Timoran, Fizzle, and I to leave, so you can take a bath?”
“I’m going to bed. Wake me in time for dinner,” the gypsy says as she helps Delvin to his feet. She walks to the basin and leans on the curved rim next to Fizzle, her finger tickling his belly. “Do you mind keeping me company, Fizzle? I don’t want to be alone and asking one of the boys is just . . . wrong. You can sleep by the window, but I really don’t want to be alone right now.”
The drite crawls out of the basin and climbs down the side, his claws tapping against the stone floor as he follows Sari. She closes the door behind them, leaving her friends to sit in awkward silence. After a few minutes, Timoran heads for the balcony to get away from the faint sound of the gypsy weeping into her pillow.
*****
Luke rubs the budding leaves on his wooden ring as he looks out over the manor. He shivers at the cool breeze on his bare chest, but refuses to step back into the well-furnished room even when the sun vanishes behind the dunes. Glancing over his shoulder, he can see Kira’s form shifting under the sheets of the canopy bed. Her arm is draped over where he was lying a few minutes earlier, which causes a needle of guilt and pain to pierce his chest.
“I can let you sleep if you wish,” the griffin offers from inside his mind. “Though, I sense you are troubled by something else. Is it because you refused her advances?”
“I didn’t really reject her,” Luke replies, leaning on the balcony railing. He watches an elephant casually walk through the garden, its trunk waving in the air. “We kissed and I told her that I couldn’t go further tonight. It didn’t feel right so soon after what happened with Sari. She understood, so that’s good.”
“You are still troubled,” the beast says with a tired sigh. Her consciousness rises closer to the surface, but stops when another rushes ahead of her. “Please tell your dog that there is no competition for your attention. He does not have to shove me.”
The half-elf pats his own head and feels the spirit of his beloved compani
on relax. “Behave, Stiletto. Let our friend speak.”
“Your heart has been in turmoil since you arrived at this manor. I can tell that you love both of these women. You are afraid that you are more in love with Sari, but are unsure if it is simply because Kira has been absent for so long. You are also harboring guilt over Sari and resentment toward Kira. The reason you are awake now is because you wonder if you deserve either of them.”
“It’s a mess that I let happen,” Luke mutters, turning back to watch the heiress. He takes a staggered breath and sits on the railing, unafraid of being so high off the ground. “I thought about transforming into you and going after Nyx, but I was afraid of what would happen. They could be anywhere out there, so I would be gone for a long time. Kira could wake up and think I snuck off with Sari, which would cause a fight.”
“You feel that this situation is dangerous to all of your relationships.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Griffins mate for life after the male attracts a female,” the beast calmly explains. She eases by Stiletto and pauses to growl at the curious snake fiend, sending the reptile back into the depths of Luke’s mind. “The males make complex aerial displays. Many attempt dangerous feats and get injured in the process. It shows a lack of maturity that we find unappealing.”
“So you think I should continue going along and choose the one that fits me best when all three of us have matured?” the young warrior asks, scratching his head in confusion. “It’s possible that we’re too immature to make a real decision. I’m still more interested in wandering and have the battle with the Baron hanging over my head. Kira is having issues with her father and their traditions as well as really wanting to ban Sari from me. She’s faking her composure very well, but I can tell she’s unhappy. Then there’s Sari who still slips into saying that she doesn’t care when it’s obvious that she wants to win. None of us are in the best position to make such a big decision, so maturity should be factored in.”
Sleeper Of The Wildwood Fugue (Book 7) Page 14
