“So, the gate guards will be far too busy with all the extra vendors and entertainers to worry about a couple of strangers.”
“More than that, I think that’s our chance. I have just enough coin to purchase costumes for us. We’ll dress up and slip in amongst the lesser nobility and that will get us within the Heart.”
“He’ll know we’ll try that.” Of course he would. He’d find it funny to think that we could get so close, only for him to unmask us in the Heart of his Empire.
“All the more reason to try. Let’s go spit in his face, Tylira! Let’s steal his most precious artifact out from under his nose.”
“What exactly does it do?” I asked.
“We don’t know, precisely. We know it taps unknown depths of power and it can fix what is broken with the world. No one has been able to use it since the cataclysm, but we know it is the key to our future. Our ancestors prophesied this. It will grant the user great authority, but it will transform him into something new.”
I wasn’t sure that I liked the idea of being transformed.
“We’ll need some idea of where it is.”
“I’ll leave that to you.”
So, I’d need to go back to Ra’shara soon to search the Heart. Perhaps, I’d get lucky and I’d find both Rusk and the scintellex.
“There’s just one thing, Windbearer.”
“What’s that, Kjexx?” I asked.
“I won’t help you unless you agree to marry me. I know you think I was joking, but I wasn’t. Adding you to our family would be an excellent choice for my people. And you must admit that there are advantages to being with me.”
“Such as?”
“Well, besides my charming personality and good looks?”
“We’ll consider those things non-existent.”
“Right now, you’re a lone woman entering a hostile empire, and I’m not sure how, but I’m certain that you’ve lost access to your power to call forth lightnings. For now, at least, you need me to guard your back. Besides, what will you do after all this is over? Will you go back to your lands to be given to another defeated general, or will you be my bride and rule the Black Talon with me? You don’t know this, but with my father dead I outrank even Astrex. They will follow me to the belly of the earth and beyond. Think on it. But don’t think too long.”
He reached over, seizing my waist in his hands. The action was aggressive, but I didn’t find it threatening. Rather, it quickened something deep in my belly. I found my breath coming quicker and my lips parting slightly in anticipation.
“I want an answer by the time we reach Veen City.”
Despite the push and pull of the horses, he drew me in, and kissed me thoroughly. I kissed him back, caught up in the passion and excitement of the moment. Isn’t this what I’d always wished for? To dance with a prince? To go on adventures with him? All I could think of were Rusk’s honey brown eyes and the look of hurt that would be in them if he saw this. I reached up, cupped the side of Kjexx’s face and let my lips enjoy the feel of his, tasting the masculine flavor of him, and hoping it would erase thoughts of Rusk from my mind. After all, he hadn’t wanted me anymore. He thought we were a mistake. I owed it to him to set him free and get him home, but after that, maybe I should marry Kjexx. He seemed to have no doubts about me. He wasn’t worried about my flaws. Not at all.
We broke apart and the look of triumph, mixed with desire in his eyes burned through me, leaving me breathless and already missing the feeling of his rough face as it brushed against mine.
Chapter Twenty: Gilded Cage
OVER THE NEXT FEW days, I spent every spare moment creeping through Ra’shara looking for Rusk. I couldn’t ask An’alepp for help — not when she warned me to stay away — but I didn’t dare be too bold. Veen in Ra’shara was even more strange and brightly colored than it was in the real world, and most days I returned to reality with a headache and not much else.
“You’re back with us?” Kjexx asked after I finished searching the dungeons below Veen City. His eyes were far away, and I caught a look of sorrow as it passed from his face.
“I’m back. You seem sorrowful. Is something wrong?”
“I’m thinking about my father. He had many dreams we weren’t able to achieve while he lived.” His face fell for a moment, but then he shook himself. “Enough of that. Tell me, how do the shadowlands work? You’re there, but you aren’t there.”
“I’m there enough to search for Rusk and the scintellex.”
The snow here was light and blew across the fields in cold gusts, but there was none on the ground. Perhaps by the time we reached Veen City it would be gone entirely. That would almost make entering the forbidding city worth it.
“I think you need to go into the Heart of Veen. It’s the only place you haven’t searched. You aren’t scared, are you?”
Scared? Of course, I was scared! Why did he think I’d avoided entering there? It would be like a rabbit entering a wolf den. Some things were just inherently foolish.
“It’s the only place I haven’t searched.”
“Exactly. What are you waiting for? We’ll be in Veen City tonight and the Grande Triumphe is tomorrow. You’re running out of time.”
I bit my lip, sucking at it anxiously. He was right. I was running out of time, and if I didn’t act now I might miss my only chance to save Rusk. After everything he’d done for me, I couldn’t afford to let him down. I glanced at Kjexx, who was playing with the reins of his horse. I needed to give him an answer before tonight, or he would abandon me. If Rusk and the scintellex were in the Heart of Veen I would have to say yes to his proposal, but if they weren’t there then I could find myself married to him without having gained anything out of the bargain.
An image flashed across my mind of the two of us tangled in a bed together, his pale hands wrapped around my dusky ones and that rough face tickling me in places that it shouldn’t touch. I felt my cheeks heat and I shifted in the saddle. A marriage to him wouldn’t be entirely without benefit. If I pretended it was, then I was lying to myself. But why did I keep picturing a hurt look in honey-colored eyes? And why did it seem like a betrayal? On our last night together, Rusk would have cut that tether off on his own if he could have … wouldn’t he?
There was nothing for it but to go into Ra’shara and look in the Heart of Veen. If Rusk wasn’t there, then I would keep travelling, alone, to find him. If he was, then he’d have to understand that I married Kjexx to save him. It was simple enough when you looked at it logically.
I entered Ra’shara, and simply by force of will, I transported myself to the base of the Heart of Veen. Kjexx had not lied. It beat like a living heart. The enormous palace was shaped like an onion bulb unfolding. Wrought of steel and red glass, the light from within pulsed, shedding red light on the snow drifts and city scape around it. The main entrance to the Heart had two lines of ten guards each formed up on either side, their black armour and birch leaf pins worn in precise uniformity. Good thing they couldn’t see me here. I could see no other option than to steal in through the main gate. There was an entrance in the back for servants and deliveries, but if Rusk was hidden within, then he was not hidden with the servants, and this place was so large it was like a town within a city. It could take all day to search just the noble parts of the Heart, never mind the servant’s world below.
I slipped through the main gate and into the Heart. Catane must have an artistic side. The statuary and murals were of the best quality. They might even rival the décor in the Silken gardens. I’d expected a foreboding affectation to go along with the terrifying pulsing-heart, but it was light and airy inside the Heart, and the red glass gave more of a rose-colored hue on the inside than the bright scarlet that flared outside the Heart.
Now, which way to go? Up the stairs that wound in a spiral to the side. The more important a person was, the higher they lived in these places. I followed a trickle of servants as they made their way through the Heart with fresh linens, tea trays and
braziers full of hot embers. They must be busy with an influx of visitors for the Grande Triumphe. If the High Tazmin had hosted such an event, it would have been the talk of the nation for months afterwards. It had never occurred to me to use Ra’shara to sneak around like a spy. I wasn’t visible to people in this world where I roamed Ra’shara but anyone within the meditation world would be able to see me. But there weren’t many people left in Axum who could reach Ra’shara. I should be safe to spy if I wanted to. What would I see if I spied on Amandera this way? I started to smile before another thought occurred to me. Was anyone else spying on me this way?
Servants in livery scuttled in and out of the rooms on this floor, and when the doors opened I caught glimpses of high class lords and ladies being attended by their own servants. I needed to get higher than this. If I’d learned anything about Catane, it was that his arrogance knew no bounds. After all, he’d stolen this kingdom, hadn’t he? He wouldn’t have apartments on the same floor as his guests. But where were the stairs?
A woman in livery with double the trim and a red sash across her chest strode past. She gestured at two of the servants hanging bunting along the corridor, and the way they scrambled to obey her spoke of her authority. She might be the Chief of House, or if not that, then some other important servitor. My best bet would be to follow her.
I shadowed her through the corridors as she corrected a curtain here and chastised a maid there. Eventually we turned a corner into a hallway with a tapestry so large that it covered the entire wall. She ducked behind it, and another hallway spread out before us. A wide stairway met it and she climbed the steps with me hot on her tail.
Three more corridors, three more stairways and I was concentrating hard to keep from getting lost. I’d need to be able to find my way when we returned as our physical selves.
Now, this must be the right floor. The huge red-glass windows curved so far up the walls that some curled right over and filled the ceiling. There were no other servants here, and no other doors. The important servant stopped at one carved and gold-inlaid door, took a tray of used dishes from the table beside it and then turned back the way we came. I watched her go, and then studied the door. Should I just go in? What if Catane was behind it? What if he killed me on the spot and stole my soul? He’d see me for sure. Unlike the others, he would be in Ra’shara as well as the living world.
I’d come all this way. It made no sense to turn back now. I waited long minutes, making sure that no one else was coming and looking to see if there was anything I’d missed. Nothing changed. Nothing would change. I had to make this decision with the information I had and take the risk, or run like a frightened child. I straightened my shoulders, gripped the handle and opened the door a fraction of an inch, waiting as still as can be before easing it open just a little bit farther.
A trio of rooms, spread out like a clover leaf and meeting in a main study greeted me. I slipped a foot into the study, peering anxiously back and forth to the other rooms. Was anyone here? The study overflowed with books and scrolls, so deep and thick that they couldn’t be contained by the ceiling-high book shelves that lined the walls. Padded leather seats and reading desks were cluttered with them, and a variety of strange devices with notations beside them took up any space that wasn’t filled with books.
The clover-leaf room to the far left was a bedroom, the large, raised platform bed unmade, and rosy light spilling across it from the high windows that curved over the bed. I could see only a sliver of it. Was someone still sleeping in that unmade bed? The next room in the configuration showed disassembled devices and a long cylinder pointed towards the only clear-glassed window I’d seen so far, as if someone looked first through the brass cylinder and through it to that window. Curious.
The third room was leafy with plants. A conservatory? If I was going to hide a captive here, where would I put him? Not in the bedroom. I’d check the conservatory first. I snuck across the floor, straining to see more of the leafy room without having to commit to it completely. I was just outside the entrance when I saw it. In a gilded cage, hanging above the flowering plants, lay Rusk. He was either sleeping or unconscious. His breath was ragged and his body marked with bruises and welts. I gasped, my hands flying to my mouth.
They’d caged the Prince of Hawks. The irony was not lost on me. We had to free him. I hurried towards his cage, but then a creak from behind me caught my attention and I spun around defensively.
The edge of a filmy nightdress disappeared around the doorframe. Someone had been here, not just in the room, but in Ra’shara and she’d seen me! Quick as a hawk, I dove for safety out of Ra’shara.
Chapter Twenty-One: A Purple Scarf
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Kjexx asked.
“I didn’t see the scintellex,” I said. “But I’m certain that I know where we’ll find it.”
“How can you be sure?”
“There was a room of curious items. I didn’t get a chance to check them, but it was part of Catane’s personal apartments. If he was going to keep it anywhere, then I’m sure it would be there.”
Should I have told him that I saw Rusk there? Would it make what came next harder?
“You don’t think it’s a trap?”
“Even if it is, what other choice do we have? We need what Catane has.” I needed Rusk. He needed the scintellex. “There are only two of us. We’ll just have to have faith that we can out-think and out-maneuver him when we get there.”
“Then make your decision, Tazminera. Will you wed me and we’ll infiltrate the Heart of Veen together, or is this where our journey ends?”
My heart pounded so hard that I thought it might beat out of my chest. This was it, the point of no return.
“Don’t forget, I come with a sword to defend you, an army to fight for you and one life to lay down for your honor.”
He smirked but his eyes were serious. Was he joking?
I swallowed, trying to make my breath slow down so I could think. Deep breaths, Tylira. This decision meant life or death and everything in the future. Rusk was captive in the Heart. Could I get to him on my own? Possibly. I’d have to unleash the lightning and fight my way in. I could possibly do that if Catane wasn’t lurking in Ra’shara waiting to strike. But when Rusk and I had fought enemies in the past, I’d needed his help. Even my lightnings just weren’t fast enough to keep a large force at bay. And if I had to unweave huge sections of the world, then I’d cause a rip in the ground again — and how could I be sure that Rusk wouldn’t be sucked in? I wasn’t even sure I could access my lightning. How long would I be able to wield them if An’alepp was unwilling to let me channel the Common through her? More than that, there would be no defeating Catane and leaving Axum unless I could find a weapon and right now the scintellex appeared to be that weapon.
I picked at a rough spot in my reins. I felt a chill at the cold sweat that broke out across my body. I wouldn’t choose to marry Kjexx like this if there was any other option. I still loved Rusk, despite our quarrel and despite my attraction to Kjexx. Rusk might not want me anymore, but I couldn’t stop feeling affection and loyalty to him. Then again, since I couldn’t come up to his standards, I’d probably have to find someone else eventually anyhow and I was drawn to Kjexx on a deep level. Would it really be treacherous to marry him? What if it meant saving Rusk and both our worlds? Was it just stubborn selfishness that I thought I should say no? Wouldn’t everyone be happier if I just said yes?
“When all this is over, I want to go back home.” It was too hard to say yes just yet.
“We’d love to go with you. We are travellers through this life, with no true home here.”
“So, you’d all come to Everturn with me?”
“Certainly. Your own army to command — as I promised you. I’ll even leave word with my people in Veen City that I’ve granted you hereditary rights over the Black Talon.”
An image of us storming through the door and back into Everturn with the Black Talon as
our army filled my mind’s eye. We’d fix the cataclysm and save our world. His people would need somewhere to live, and Rusk would need his home back. But the High Tazmin would owe me everything, so perhaps I could negotiate to have the Kosad Plains as a subjugate territory and Rusk could go home with his family and Kjexx’s people could live there.
“I want to be sure that Rusk and his family are safe.”
“You say that like it’s an objection. I admire your loyalty, and I won’t prevent that.” He smiled like he knew he was winning me over.
I ran a hand over my forehead. It made perfect sense to agree, so why did it feel so difficult? The thought of sharing a life with Kjexx — of sharing a bed — seemed pleasant. So why did my belly roil and toss with the thought? I still wanted Rusk’s love. That was the problem. But he’d been perfectly clear that he wanted me to have a plan, and all I had was a vague idea about finding safety and being free. I wasn’t enough for him. I needed to just accept that and move on. And even if I was wrong about that, was I willing to risk his death just because I’d rather marry him than Kjexx? Wasn’t he the one always berating me for being selfish? It seemed beyond selfish to risk him for my own happiness.
“I’ll wed you, Kjexx.”
The High Tazmin would be a very angry man. Somehow, that made me feel smug. Imagine the look on Amandera’s face when she found out?
Kjexx’s grin had an intimate feel this time, as he leaned in and kissed me. I kissed him back, but I was troubled. Had I made the right choice? It felt like the best one that I had.
“Look.” Kjexx pointed ahead to a dip between the hills where dark spires rose into the sky. “Veen City. We’ll be there in just two hours.”
He reached for my hand and I gripped it uncertainly, the horses moving us close and then further away with every step. Just like my life, close to what I want, and then jostled away from it, over and over again.
Lightning Strikes Twice (Unweaving Chronicles Book 2) Page 13
