by Sarah Wynde
Fen didn’t choke on her fish but it was a near call. Did Kaio expect her to learn to speak Sia Maran? No, no, and more no. She was going to be home long before then. Working in the bookstore. Maybe going to college. All this was going to be some surreal dream, a weird little blip in her past that made a story she could never tell anyone. But her hand dropped to touch her lotus flower. She was already fond of Elfie. She would miss her.
“Lu Mer will side with Ys Ker. As will Syl Var. And thus we are perfectly poised for another Great Council that includes much meaningless debate and no resolve.”
“What’s going to make this one different, then?”
Kaio’s smile turned bleak. “Val Kyr may yearn for destruction, but extinction is not within their grasp. Our numbers are grown too small. Our magic not strong enough. Humanity is safe from us. Not from themselves, I would note. They may yet wipe themselves off the planet. But it won’t be by our hands.”
Fen set the skewer down. “What are you going to decide then?”
“There are only two realistic options, beyond destruction simply for the sake of destruction. The first, to consolidate cities. Val Kyr is the smallest. Their population, distributed amongst the other cities, would be sustainable. And Val Kyr and Wai Pa were the cities strongest affected by fertility problems. Val Kyr is down to less than fifteen percent female. They have already had to concede much of their territory for their inability to maintain it.”
“So you want them to shut down their city?”
“In truth, were I able, I would shut down Ys Ker as well. Four cities would be more sustainable than six. Four cities might grant us the ability to plant extra crops and develop larger stockpiles of resources for the bad years ahead.”
“What are the other options? I’m guessing the Val Kyr don’t want to shut down their city.”
“More fool they,” Kaio muttered. “If they had taken the offer when it was first made, two millennia ago, they could have come into the cities in a position of strength. Their ten Great Houses were offered two places each in the five largest cities. Can you imagine? Each city would have willingly removed the title and its council seats from two of their own in order to let the Val Kyr assimilate with power. But now? Well, and the offer could be given, but in the first Val Dagora, the Val Kyr would lose their Houses. Their Great Houses would become lesser and they would have no voice. In every city that would be the case. Except perhaps Ys Ker.”
Fen blinked at him. She understood no more than half of his political rant. But something about his passion, his certainty, and his assumption that she was equal enough to have the slightest idea what he was talking about was incredibly hot.
If she hadn’t made out with his brother like, yesterday, and if he wasn’t, oh, two hundred years old, she would have jumped him.
She hoped the thought didn’t show on her face as she tried not to let her breathless lust take over her voice. “So what else do you have?”
“Preparations for returning to the surface,” he said grimly. “Every city is engaged in them. Perhaps not Lan Tis. Change is contrary to their nature. And perhaps not Ys Ker. They are ever hopeful. But the rest of us are engaged in such scrambling machinations as would put Machiavelli to shame.” He stood, impatiently pushing away from the table, and began to pace. “Money. Money is ever the issue when it comes to humanity. By the standards of a family, Syl Var has done well. We may have been the first city to recognize the need for a secondary plan. But maintaining ten thousand lives is no small feat. Our city will not be the first to fail, no, nor the second or third. We may well be the last. But that is scant comfort when—”
He reached the wall and whirled around but before he could begin to pace across the room again, he looked at Fen.
She didn’t know what her face told him.
She hoped to God it wasn’t what she was really thinking.
But whatever it was he saw, he stilled and sighed and said, “I beg your pardon. Sleep has also been low on my priority list. I am over-tired. It makes me garrulous.”
Fen nodded. It would be totally tacky—like truly, seriously, crazily tacky—to say “let me fuck you to sleep.” She wasn’t even that kind of girl. But damn, she wanted to put her hands on him.
Interesting Times
“What’s going to happen?” Fen asked, keeping her voice steady with an effort.
Kaio shook his head, his smile wry. “I cannot say. I do not have a window into our future. But I can say that the next few days will be among the most interesting in our history and I hope you will feel comfortable joining us for them.” He put his hands together and gave her the tiniest of bows. “I have options for your comfort.”
“What does that mean?”
“My mother would be delighted to welcome you to our home.”
Fen’s eyes widened. Shit, his mother? No, she hadn’t liked that idea when Luke was dragging her to their mother’s house and now that she knew more about them, she liked it even less. If she’d gotten the details right, his mom was a princess or something. A princess in charge of lots of people, the big boss of a Great House, daughter or granddaughter to one queen, probably mom to another. Yep, Fen would prefer to avoid meeting her.
“Indeed, as would any of the mothers of any of the houses, whether great or lesser. You could guest at any home in Syl Var. However, I surmised that you might prefer some independence.”
Fen nodded. Independence sounded good to her.
He gestured to the room around them. “The mother who—” He paused. A doubtful look crossed his face. “My interpreter suggests ‘ratted you out’ as the correct phrasing. This seems questionable.” It wasn’t quite a statement nor quite a question.
Fen sucked in her cheeks to stop her smile. “It works.”
Kaio dipped his head in easy acquiescence. “In that case… she had the guard bring you to Remy’s while she sent to the queen. I was with Her Majesty, having heard of your plight from Luken the moment I arrived at Caye Laje. You had already departed by the time of my arrival in Syl Var, which caused a certain amount of turmoil.”
Fen narrowed her eyes, suspecting the understatement. “Were they going to shoot me on sight?”
Kaio swallowed a smile. “No. But Her Majesty was most willing to have me come to your assistance.”
Her Majesty. “Your grandma?”
Kaio nodded and said gently, “We do not call her that, however. At any rate, she wishes me to convey her regret for your treatment at the hands of her guards and her eager anticipation of your eventual meeting.”
Fen swallowed. Yeah, no. If she could avoid that one, she totally would. She was not a meet-the-Queen-type.
“At any rate, Remy’s is a…” Kaio frowned. “Hmm. Remy provides rooms. Amenable rooms. For purposes of… I do not think your language has any comparable nouns. Or verbs.” He looked puzzled.
Fen had no idea what he was getting at. “Elfie? Do you know what he’s trying to say?”
“Remy runs a whorehouse. No, a bordello. No, neither of those,” Elfie answered promptly. “A hotel? A motel? There is no exact translation in English. A place where couples come together for pleasure without making a familial commitment.”
Fen didn’t choke on her saliva, but she could feel her cheeks heating. She and Kaio were hanging out in a—no, not thinking about that.
Immediately, not thinking about that.
At all.
But she couldn’t stop herself from imagining waving a hand and turning the bare white walls and stark furniture into the over-the-top bathtub she’d conjured at the castle. Or an equally over-the-top bedroom. With a really big bed. And really good sheets.
He needed to sleep, after all.
She had to be as red as a beet by the time she managed to scrape out the words, “Remy rents out rooms? For people who need them?”
“Yes.” Kaio looked relieved. “Indeed, that.”
“And he’ll let me stay here?”
“That, too.” Kaio nodded.
“That works for me.”
“Good. However…” Kaio spread his hands wide, looking rueful. “I regret that I must impose some conditions.”
Fen didn’t growl at him but she felt her hackles rising. Had she exchanged one jail cell for another? Were they going to try to keep her locked up?
“This is for your safety, you understand?”
Fen glared. Hell, no, she didn’t understand. The lust she’d been feeling for him disappeared. Patronizing asshole.
“The Val Kyr you saw on Caye Laje are in the city for the Great Council.”
Oh, right. Fen’s annoyance eased. She’d sort of forgotten someone wanted to kill her.
“We have no reason to believe that the Val Kyr know you are here. I would keep it that way for as long as possible, at least until the Great Council is called.” Kaio looked away from her, beginning to range about the room, not the pacing he’d been doing before, but restlessly, as if the motion would help him think.
“Why? We could just ask them why they tried to kill me, you know. Like right before you arrest them.”
A faint smile crossed Kaio’s face. “Indeed. That is a possibility. However, under the circumstances, it is one I would prefer to avoid.”
Fen wanted to whine. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Why should she be the one to hide? If the guy who’d tried to kill her was right here, why not put him in jail? Make him be the one to suffer? It seemed damn unfair to her.
“When the Council is called, a representative from each city—called the Voice of their city—swears to follow the Council’s will. This is the binding and it is magically enforced. Once the binding is set, the Voices and their cities have no choice but to obey the majority vote of the Council.”
“What happens if they don’t?” Fen asked.
“They will,” Kaio answered.
“Elfie?” Fen whispered.
“The last time a city refused to follow the will of the Great Council was in the year currently measured as 12,743 pre-Cataclysm,” Elfie said. “The city was named Son Tar. The magic withdrew and Son Tar failed. Many within it died, although some few escaped to join houses in other cities.”
Fen winced. Okay, disobey and everyone you knew was killed. Yeah, that was probably pretty good motivation to follow the rules.
“This Great Council is of vital importance, perhaps only the second most important council in the past ten thousand years of our history. If the Val Kyr leave before the binding, matters continue as they are. And…”
Kaio stopped talking and stood, staring into space.
“And?” Fen prompted.
“Calling Malik before the council to answer for his actions would be possible, but getting the Val Kyr to accede to the call for a Great Council has been a work of many months,” Kaio said, his words slow, his usually sharp eyes almost unfocused. “Should they choose to take offense…”
His words trailed off again. He put a hand up, covering his eyes and pressing it against his forehead as if he had a headache.
“Are you all right?” Fen stood up from the table, not sure if he needed help or if she should call someone.
He dropped his hand and shook his head no. “Yes, my apologies. I am simply—I had a thought.” He forced a smile. “I am over-tired, as I said. I must excuse myself and get some rest.”
“Okay.” Fen wasn’t convinced. He didn’t look all right. He looked stunned.
Gob-smacked, in fact.
But he seemed to be shaking it off as he said, voice brisk, “First, conditions. The binding of the Council is four days from now. My preference would be for you to stay within the rooms Remy will provide until that time.”
Fen folded her arms across her chest and sighed.
Four days.
Four whole days, while on the other side of the wall were the most amazing sights she had ever seen. Four days spent away from the colors and the smells and the lights and the splashing water, the music that poured out of every corner.
She supposed it wouldn’t kill her.
“What do you have for me to read?” Her tone was grudging but she didn’t give a shit. She might do it but he shouldn’t expect her to be nice about it.
“Alas, we have no books.”
“What?” Fen stared at him. “You—what?”
“They are a human invention. Not one that we shared. We have other means of storing and transmitting information.”
“But how do you go to sleep?”
A corner of his mouth tugged upward. He put his hands together, mimicked resting his cheek upon them and closed his eyes. “On a soft surface, ’tis effective enough, I’ve found.”
“No,” Fen said. “No, no, and no. I am not staying inside with nothing to read. That is not going to happen.”
His half-smile spread and he gave her a small bow. “I appreciate your honesty. In that case, a bodyguard.”
It wasn’t a question.
Fen considered. “Will he teach me how to use the gliders?”
Kaio’s eyes widened before he laughed and said, “If that is your wish, it could be arranged.”
“All right, then.”
Fen smiled at him, feeling more in harmony with the world. No books. Good god. What a horrible place to live this would be. A thought struck her and she pointed upward. “Why does Caye Laje have so many books? Why don’t you bring some of them here?”
“Most of the Watchers learn to read these days and some of us enjoy it. But transporting items between Syl Var and the surface is not so easily done that luxury goods move between them.”
Luxury goods? Fen did not consider books to be such. She gave a disapproving sniff.
“I have one more condition before granting you your freedom,” Kaio said.
“What’s that?” Fen asked, suspicion darkening her tone.
“You must avoid the Val Kyr. They will be out and about, moving through the city, which is as new to them as it is to you. Both for your safety and for the success of the Great Council, you must take no chance of encountering them.”
Fen frowned. “I will if I can, but I’m not sure I’ll recognize all of them. And how am I going to know where they are in order to avoid them?”
“Ever practical. I shall give you a bug.”
A bug? What good would that do? Was she supposed to listen in on the Val Kyr all day long to figure out where they were and what they were up to?
But before she could ask him her questions, he began unbuttoning the cuffs on his left shirt sleeve. She watched, mystified, as he rolled his sleeve up an inch or two and then began shaking his arm as if he were trying to dislodge something. Finally, he flipped his hand up and closed his fingers as if he’d caught the same something.
“What are you doing?” she asked him.
He stepped closer until he was right next to her. He was so much taller that she was staring at his chest, and she could feel the warmth radiating from his body. She licked her lips, her mouth dry. The buttons on his shirt were much too close to her fingers.
“Might I see your data—your Elfie?” he inquired, voice courteous and calm, just as if her heartbeat hadn’t accelerated to an unreasonably pounding rate.
“My—?” Fen licked her lips again. “Sure.” She lifted her tunic.
All the oxygen in the room had apparently disappeared out some hidden vent. There was definitely not enough left as Kaio leaned over, inspecting her lotus flower with close attention. She wanted to put her hands in his hair, to stroke it, to feel the texture of it against her sensitive skin, but instead she pressed her lips together and held back her yelp as Kaio brushed his fingertips against her hip.
His touch was heat, a sparkling fire that shot straight to every nerve in her body.
And then Fen did yelp as he stepped away from her and a burning itch, like an actual ember of flame, raced up her side and over her collarbone, across her shoulder, down her arm, and onto her hand. Sitting pretty in the v of her finger and thumb was…
“A bug?” she burs
t out. The tiny tattoo settled its wings and seemed to go to sleep, tucking its head under a green body with black spots.
“Connected to your data access pattern, yes. But it will be easier for you to notice on your hand,” he said as if he were apologizing. “If it wakes and stirs, the Val Kyr are near. Remove yourself, if possible. Otherwise stay cautious. If it turns red, you are far too close and in grave and imminent danger. Hide.”
“You just—you just—you just put a bug on me!” Fen stammered.
“I shall take it back once your safety is assured.” He sounded sincere.
Fen stared at him and then at her hand.
A bug.
A cute little green ladybug.
Fen was still dumbfounded as Kaio turned and crossed to the door.
“While I would have been delighted if you’d agreed to stay inside, I had slight expectation of success in that venture,” he said, voice cheerful. “So I took the liberty of requesting a bodyguard to join us here.” He opened the door.
Luke grinned at Fen.
“Luke!” Fen quit staring at the bug on her hand and hurtled across the room to him, only to skid to a halt when she reached him, suddenly shy.
He didn’t care. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet and buried his face in her neck.
She laughed. And when his lips searched for hers, she kissed him back. Not a long, deep, passionate, soul-searching kiss, but a hard, happy, “we made it” kiss.
“You’re okay,” she said, as she pulled away and pushed to be let down.
“And you escaped from the queen’s castle,” he said, widening his eyes in mock-horror as he deposited her on the ground.
Kaio was watching them but there was nothing but benevolent approval in his gaze. Fen didn’t let that bother her. Or rather, she ignored the fact that it bothered her and glowed all the brighter at Luke.
