“We have had this argument before, my friend,” the barbarian replies while checking his flasks and decanters. He goes to a nearby bar to fill two that are only half full. “Do you wish to debate our opposing stances again? We are stalled until Luke comes back from seeing Kira off at the docks.”
Sari leaps off the bed and snatches the bottomless pouch from Timoran. She jams his remaining clothes into the bag and tosses it to the barbarian, refusing to meet his deep blue eyes that are wide in surprise. The gypsy grunts as she picks up the great axe, the weapon feeling heavier than she remembers. Reaching out to a nearby pitcher of water, she creates a pair of icy hands that take the weapon and strap it to Timoran’s back. Sari straightens the bed and hurries around to clean the room while her friends quietly exchange confused glances. When she attempts to slip a few golden spoons into one of her skirt pockets, the gypsy is frozen by Dariana’s mental powers.
“Thank you for helping me pack, but let us not steal from our host,” Timoran says when Sari is allowed to move again. “Please put everything you took on the bed. We will tell Eileen about the collection before we leave. I am sure she will return everything without telling Lady Grasdon about your busy fingers.”
“Can I promise not to steal anything else and keep what I already have?” the gypsy innocently asks, tracing her finger on the warrior’s muscular arm. She can see the denial in his stern expression and rolls her eyes in annoyance. “This isn’t fair. I think I deserve a little something for everything that’s happened to me here. I can feel Kira winning since Luke spends so much time with her. This is her territory after all, but I’ll have the advantage once we’re on the road again.”
“This is what I mean about confusing,” Dariana interjects, trying not to laugh at the shorter woman glowering at her. “I thought you and Kira would have bonded over your shared love of Luke and your similar life experiences. She recently lost her entire family, which is like you losing your clan. Both events happened because of a connection to the champion prophecy. If anyone in Windemere understands what Kira is going through, it would be you, Sari. Yet you continue this competition that I sense you’re not even fully invested in.”
“That . . . I hadn’t really thought of it that way,” the blue-haired gypsy admits, removing the expensive spoons from her skirts. She puts them back on the table and gently strokes the polished wood. “We’ve been taking some big shots at each other lately. Like the birthday party she threw for me, but she invited all those people looking for someone to test their relationships with. I was surrounded by horny guys and girls while she danced with Luke. At least a few of them tried for her too, so it backfired slightly.”
Dariana breaks out into belly-aching laughter and uses Timoran to stop herself from falling to her knees. “I loved that party! The crazy thoughts floating through the air were the best I’ve sensed in years. Shame it didn’t last very long after one of them made a pass at Nyx. I don’t know what was funnier. Her magically sticking the young man to the ceiling or Delvin accidentally claiming her as his woman then getting the punch bowl frozen to his head. I will never forget that . . . why are you two staring at me?”
“We are not used to you being so emotive and, I apologize for using this specific term, human,” Timoran awkwardly claims. Before the blushing woman can say anything, he puts a hand on her head and smiles. “It is good to see you happy. I speak for all of us when I say we worry about how you are handling your situation. You have admitted to never having real friends before, so we hope that we are making it easy for you.”
Dariana’s face shimmers and she plays with the clear ring on her right hand, the magical item disappearing when she moves into direct sunlight. She is surprised when Sari playfully tackles her onto the bed with a charging hug. Blue hair covers her face as the gypsy attempts to tickle her, finally finding a sensitive spot behind the woman’s ears. Dariana is gasping for breath when Sari is lifted into the air and dangled above the floor by her shirt.
“I will tie you up if I have to, little one,” Timoran says, holding his friend up to his face.
“Promises, promises,” Sari impishly replies with a smirk. She yelps when she is dropped to the floor, her velvet and leather boots unable to cushion the fall due to the short distance. “Great. Now my knees are bruised. So are we ready to leave this city?”
“We still have to pack supplies and wait for the others,” Dariana replies, sitting up in the bed and crossing her legs. The bored look on the gypsy’s face makes her worry until an idea comes to her mind. “You know, Sari, it might be a while before Luke comes back. I’m sure saying good-bye to Kira is tough and emotional for him. It might put her even further ahead of you in this contest. What if you were to help see her off and apologize for everything you did during your time here? You’ve been a little bratty with your pranks and comments, so Luke would appreciate seeing you act more mature.”
“Good idea!” Sari happily exclaims as she hurries to the balcony. “After all, Kira demanded they be alone, but she pulled some pranks too. I’ll be the bigger person here. Thanks for the advice.”
Judging the distance to the ground, Sari leaps off the stone railing and floats to a leafy palm tree. A peacock bursts from the foliage as the gypsy climbs and plans her route to the distant roof. Using her enchanted boots, she jumps from one tall object to another until she is close enough to reach the far side of the manor. With a graceful flip, she lands on the white stone roof and disappears behind a stained glass dome. The sound of a startled elephant breaks the momentary silence and the beast charges into the courtyard, desperate to get away from the excited creature that used it as a trampoline. A loud roar from Timoran stops the large animal from rampaging and the handlers are able to coax it back to its bath.
“Did you use your powers on her?” the barbarian asks, turning to his companion with a stern expression.
The silver-haired woman avoids his stare as she slips off the bed and hangs her head in shame. “I was tempted, but Sari is rather easy to manipulate when it comes to Luke and Kira. I merely told her a way to improve her chances in their competition, which coincidentally gets her out of our hair and uses up all that coffee-based energy. I feel bad about tricking her. It’s something my brother or father would do, but they would be more violent. I’ll apologize to Sari when she returns and to Luke if she causes trouble.”
“Do not worry too much.”
“It was wrong to do that to a friend.”
“Sometimes our friends leave us little choice.”
“Really? Having real friends is more confusing than I thought.”
“But always worth it as you will learn in time.”
Dariana smiles and risks a small peek into the thoughts of her distant friends, fearing that she might have set off a public fight. Instead, her drifting mind stumbles into something approaching Bor’daruk from the northeast. She is not sure what the slightly sentient object is and it vanishes before she can get a clear sense of what it wants. All she knows is that it is annoyed at someone and it reeked of powerful holy magic. Shrugging the worry away, Dariana follows Timoran to gather supplies and discuss their travel route.
*****
Luke Callindor and Kira Grasdon awkwardly sit on the large crate as they watch the sweat-covered sailors load merchandise onto the Matriarch. The ship’s deck is covered in boxes that several workers are cataloguing before a quarter of bare-chested orcs carries the wares into the reinforced hold. The docks are crowded thanks to the arrival of several trade ships and the looming departure of the Grasdon Merchant House’s powerful flagship. The piers and walkways are nearly impossible to traverse thanks to the train of boxes and crates that goes all the way into the city. The sailors and catalogers shout and curse at each other, both parties complaining that the other is holding up progress. Every few minutes, the splash of someone falling into the ocean creates a chorus of laughs that erodes the tension caused by the midday sun. Weaving among the bustling chaos are children with magical decant
ers that they use to help everyone stay cool and hydrated. The dockyard is so busy that nobody pays any attention to the uncomfortable warrior and heiress as they try their best to stay out of the way.
“Thank you for helping me these last two months,” Kira says as an ocean breeze whips her ebony hair around her shoulders. She takes a drink from her waterskin and pours a little in her hand to rub around her neck, which wets the collar of her dark green shirt. “I don’t think I would have made it without you by my side. Although you nearly cost me a trade agreement at the beginning. At least you showed that I can take charge of a situation and think on my feet.”
“I swear I thought Timoran’s trick of drinking and talking would work. I never knew there were places in Windemere where offering alcohol is seen as an insult,” Luke replies with a friendly smile. His hand grazes her leg and he immediately pulls back, slipping off the crate to look into the water. “It could have been worse. One time I started a fire in my dad’s forge when a new customer was visiting. The man and his wife opened the door and my dad had to tackle them away from the flames, but the woman still lost an eyebrow. It was the last time I tried to help by stoking the furnaces.”
“I really need to visit Haven and meet your parents one day,” Kira calmly says as she fingers the chain of her kusari-gama. She unwraps the weapon from across her body and places it next to her while flexing her sore shoulder. “Though, I guess it would be awkward for me to show up now. I’d rather be there with you anyway.”
“That way I can add to the embarrassment by begging my mom to be quiet,” the blonde half-elf jokes, trying to get a smile from the heiress. He can see tears forming in her green and blue eyes, which rips into his already aching chest. “Are you going to be okay by yourself? I still think you should stay with a friend in Gaia instead of your family’s home. That way you won’t be alone.”
Kira gets behind Luke to hug him with her arms and legs, earning a few curious stares and blatant hoots from nearby sailors. She is painfully aware of how his body has tensed and he is holding his breath. The tactless workers are about to tease the blushing warrior, but a towering orc growls at them. The heiress nods to the large sailor as he puts a nearby crate on his shoulder and carries it onto the Matriarch.
“You can’t follow me, so it doesn’t matter if I’ll be okay or not,” Kira whispers, pressing her face against his back. She takes a deep breath to calm her nerves and enjoy the soothing scent of the forest tracker. “Lord Skyblade has already sent word that he will check on me every day and be a listening ear if I need one. We appear to have multiple luncheon plans since the man miraculously has business with many of the same people that I do. I appreciate all of the concern, but I need to stand on my own. Maybe I’ll find a little hobby to distract myself with until I come home. I . . . I don’t want to do any of the fun things I did with my family. Not until my heart can take the memories. The poor thing is still fragile from the beating it took.”
“I’m sorry, Kira. I never wanted you to get caught up in my destiny.”
“I’m sorry too, Luke. Do you think we’ll ever get back to what we were before?”
“There’s no right way to answer that.”
As Kira gets off the crate, the half-elf senses what is coming and sidesteps to avoid getting shoved into the water. Luke reaches out to catch her by the shirt, but she spins around and ducks out of his reach. The nearby sailors stop what they are doing to watch the heiress grab her companion’s outstretched arm and effortlessly flip him off the pier. Kira yelps when the young warrior catches her sleeve and pulls her into the ocean with him. They quickly break the surface and gasp for air, the soaked heiress blatantly checking to make sure her shirt is still on and buttoned. Once she is sure they have not reenacted one of their earliest encounters, she angrily smacks Luke in his head and shoulders until she briefly sinks under the waves again. Kira thrashes back to the surface and spits out a mouthful of seawater, the taste making her cringe with every spark of salty flavor.
“What else was I supposed to say?” the forest tracker asks as he floats out of reach.
“You tell me the truth damn it!” Kira replies, swimming ahead of the half-elf and cutting him off. Being more accustomed to swimming in the ocean, she finds it very easy to out maneuver Luke. “I know we’re not really engaged any more. I also know you’re not head over heels for the gypsy too. All I want to know is if you think it’s possible for us to be together when you’re done with your adventures.”
“What if the answer is no?”
Kira grabs him by the collar and pulls him in for a hard kiss, the contact breaking when the sailors applaud. “Don’t even try to pretend that you’ve made up your mind. I’m going to keep proving that I love you more than that gypsy. Eventually, you’ll find that we’re supposed to be together and she’s nothing more than a fling caused by your wanderlust. After all, she still won’t say if she’s willing to marry you or even settle down when you’re done wandering.”
“Sari lives in the moment, so it isn’t very surprising,” Luke states as he reaches out for a nearby ladder. “We’re supposed to be leaving for Rainbow Tower in a few hours, so we don’t have time for this conversation. I know we agreed to travel separately, but I’ll make time to visit while I’m in the city. Just to make sure you’re okay.”
“I appreciate it and promise not to drag you to any parties if we get together,” the heiress swears while she lazily bobs in the water. She frowns when she notices that one of her shoes is missing, so she slips the other off to let it sink in search of its sibling. “Besides, I don’t want to answer people’s questions about our future when you’re not sure of things. All I’m going to say is that we’ve taken a break because I have to focus on the family business and you have to protect Windemere from an ancient darkness. Funny how I say that now, but I know exactly who that is. Seems I remember the Baron after interacting with Ste . . . that murdering bastard whose name I never want to hear again.”
Luke winces at her words and holds back a rumbling growl. “I really hope the next time we face him is the last. Do you think we should get out of the water? People are staring and whispering.”
“They’ve been doing that since we arrived,” Kira points out, holding out her hand for the half-elf. She smiles as he helps her onto the ladder, each of them taking a side instead of climbing one behind the other. “We’re not exactly subtle about our relationship . . . or whatever this is now. I’d like to think we’re still together in some way, but I’m really confused and don’t know what our boundaries are.”
With an awkward silence, Luke and Kira climb up the ladder while the desert heat rapidly dries them off. They hurry out of the way of the sailors and try to squeeze as much water from their clothes as possible. The roar of rushing liquid is just loud enough for Luke to notice it among the other noises, his sound sight giving him a brief image of a horizontal geyser. He tackles Kira out of the way of a water blast and she rolls backwards into a stretching dive for her weapon. Sari is storming toward them with chunks of ice whirling around her body and coming dangerously close to hitting the nearby sailors. Many of the catalogers struggle to drag their cargo to safety, none of them wanting to lose inventory to the brewing battle. Before the gypsy can attack, the heiress lashes out with the blunt side of her kusari-gama to shatter all of the projectiles.
“I came here to apologize and I find you two playing in the water,” Sari angrily says as she approaches her rival. “That’s . . . I’m the naiad. You crossed the line.”
“You want to talk about crossing a line, gypsy?” Kira snaps, violently shoving the shorter woman back. She laughs at the two daggers that are drawn on her and casually taps one of them with her weapon’s sickle. “You charmed the inner council of my company to call an emergency budget meeting. I was stuck in an office arguing over every piece of merchandise for two days while you hogged Luke to yourself. Then there was the time you filled my bath with hair removing potion. Poor Eileen was crying over her b
ald tail for hours. So don’t come here acting like I’m the petty child who resorts to mean tricks and pranks.”
“You wouldn’t let me be alone with Luke,” Sari counters, juggling one of her daggers. Her emerald eyes are focused on the dangerous weapon in the heiress’s hands. “I was nice at the beginning and gave you time with him. You were hurting and I didn’t want to make things worse, but then you began actively getting in my way. Don’t forget that you’re the one who claimed this was going to be a fight.”
“It is a fight and you obviously think you’re losing. So insecure and unbecoming for a gypsy. I wonder how you’ll handle this.”
Kira cautiously steps away and wraps her weapon around her body, clipping both ends to her belt. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees that Luke is close enough to grab so she catches him by the front of his dark green shirt. Their lips meet with more passion and force than before, her toned arms wrapping around the warrior’s neck. A powerful current shakes the floating dockyard, causing all of the sailors to steady whatever merchandise and gear is nearby. The ocean becomes calm when the kiss ends, but the furious look on Sari’s face tells everyone that she is on the verge of lashing out again.
“Can we go back to you two playing nice when I’m around?” Luke nervously requests while touching his tingling lips. “Not that I didn’t really enjoy the kiss, but . . . I can’t take that one back. Let’s behave ourselves for the few minutes we’re still together. Nobody wants to do anything that they’d regret.”
The two women glare at the half-elf and shout, “Shut up, Callindor!”
The Merchant of Nevra Coil (Legends of Windemere Book 8) Page 4
