“Don’t look so grim. You’ll like being married to me. I pretty much have a good time all the time.”
“Mud in a bowl, Kjexx! Do you think that’s all I care about?”
“It’s all I care about,” he said with a wink.
He wasn’t serious…was he?
It took longer to reach Veen City than Kjexx had expected. The ride was short, but the long line of people pressing through the gates moved at a snail’s pace. Harried guards checked cargo and yelled at anyone who stepped out of the line or tried to sneak around their backs. Twice, they hauled off carters, leaving their laden carts pushed off to the side and seizing their horses. No one was turned away, but it seemed that once you reached those gates there were two options: entry or imprisonment.
I tried to keep my expression smooth and my body language relaxed. My oak-leaf pin felt like it was glowing so that anyone could see it if they looked. Would I be arrested? How would I get to Rusk tomorrow, if that happened? Whenever I glanced at Kjexx he smiled reassuringly. Did nothing worry him?
“Next,” the guard called and Bowker led us forward. “Purpose?”
“I am Bowker of Five Havens here to deliver a shipment of horses for the Black Brigade with my assistants.”
The guard looked over the horses, feeling their legs and chests. “Fine stock. All for the Brigade?”
“All.”
He scrawled something in a ledger.
“And where will you be staying while here?”
“The Crooked Onion.”
He grunted, but wrote. I twitched my cloak to cover my leaf better, but it only drew the guard’s eyes.
“There will be no trouble from any of you or you’ll be locked up. We’ll tolerate no more protests or faction fighting. The Emperor has decreed we lock up all troublemakers and hang them at the end of the week. You hear?”
We all ducked our heads in short bows of respect. They were hanging every troublemaker? My belly roiled. What if they thought we were troublemakers and captured us? My agreement with Kjexx would mean nothing. He gripped my hand, strength and confidence in that strong grip. We’d just have to make it work.
“Well then, you’d better deliver those horses quickly. I don’t want to hear about it from the Black Brigade.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief and we hurried past. The main streets of Veen City were packed so tightly that Bowker and Kjexx had to dismount, pushing and shoving their way forward to clear a path for the horses. I dismounted, too, leading my string of horses behind the path they cleared. I was worried that on the horse I would draw attention. Everywhere I looked I saw people who looked nothing like me. Good thing we were going to wear masks at the Ball. Even better that it was winter and we were both wrapped as tightly as money in a pouch.
When we arrived at the Crooked Onion, Bowker clapped us on the shoulders.
“Good luck to yez. If you need transport on the way out, the innkeeper here knows the way to get me.”
“We won’t require it,” Kjexx said firmly. “Thank you.”
Bowker’s face looked concerned for a moment, but eventually he ducked his head and took the horse leads from us. Kjexx grabbed our packs, leading me through the crowd to the inn. He slipped something in my palm as we huddled against the wall of the inn, jostled and bumped by the pressing crowd.
“Get us a room and food at the inn. I have a few things I need to buy and I’ll meet you there.”
“I’m going with you.”
“Please, Tylira. We can’t afford to draw attention.” He brushed his fingers across my cheek in an oddly affectionate gesture. Did he think that affection could sway me? I wasn’t an addle-brained girl who just swooned at every touch. Although, it did feel nice.
“Be quick.”
“Promise.”
He vanished into the crowd and I went inside the inn and secured us a room and a tray of soup and bread. The room had only one bed, but it was the best I could afford with the money he’d given me. I eyed it suspiciously as I laid out our soup and bread on the small wooden table. He’d better not think he could ‘share intimacies’ tonight or he could think again.
There was a knock at the door, but it opened before I could get to it. Kjexx came in with his arms full of our bags and three bundles wrapped in brown paper. He dropped them all on the bed and then glanced around the room.
“Perfect.”
I could get used to those grins. They never seemed to be too far away. He untied the top package, shyly removing a purple silk scarf and a pair of silver rings. I frowned. He’d gone shopping for accessories? Was he vainer than I thought? And was that a blush starting in his cheeks?
“Since you said you’d wed me, I thought we should do it immediately.”
Well, that explained the blush, but I still had no idea what the scarf and rings meant. He took my hand, gently, intertwining his fingers with mine. He caught my gaze with his, looking deep into my eyes and stepping close, so that our intertwined hands were held between our chests. I could feel his heart thundering against the back of my hand. Deftly, he took the silk scarf and wrapped it around our wrists.
“Are you ready?”
“For what?”
“To wed me.”
My mouth dropped. “Don’t we need a ritual? A priest of some kind…”
“This is the ritual. This and the vows.”
“There are vows?” In Canderabai you each paid the agreed upon price and then the priest burned your hands with a brand and you were married.
“Just say the same thing I do.”
I gulped, my breath coming too fast to catch it. I wasn’t ready for this. I wasn’t ready to — I swallowed — get married. Married!
“You must be joking. This can’t be how people get married here!”
“Listen,” he said, and I could see the strain in the lines of his face like he was fighting an internal battle. “I know this is hard. I really do. But it’s the best thing for both of us. We are rulers. We don’t do these things like normal people. We must think of what is best for the people we are responsible for. If I could,” his voice broke a little, “I would let you wait until you’re ready, but I can’t. I’ll simply have to accept that you come to me reluctantly.”
I nodded, not sure what to say. I was reluctant. I’d never expected to marry anyone other than a stranger selected by the High Tazmin, and Kjexx was certainly better than that, but this still felt like I was betraying Rusk.
“Say the words,” I prompted.
“Yours no matter what. Yours to command. Yours to rely on. No difficulty will part us or divide my loyalty from yours. From now, until death splits us apart.” His vow sounded so clean and pure. I wished with all my heart that I could come as unburdened to this.
I took a deep steadying breath and then spoke my vow. “Yours no matter what. Yours to command. Yours to rely on. No difficulty will part us or divide my loyalty from yours. From now, until death splits us apart.”
Kjexx smiled, but this smile was tinged with sadness. He scooped the silver rings up from their brown paper and slipped one over my forefinger and one over his.
“The rings seal our vows,” he said.
I glanced at the bed.
“Not necessary,” he said, flushing. “Not tonight.”
“Well then,” I said, trying to sound strong and firm instead of nervous. “What’s in the other packages?”
His grin turned playful again. “I think you’ll like these!”
He opened the first package carefully, and drew a black, fitted silk coat and breeches out and laid them across the bed. A small, black silk mask joined them.
“Your clothing for the Ball,” I said. “It looks expensive.”
He shrugged. “Now, close your eyes.”
I complied. Clearly, he had my clothing in the other package and he wanted to surprise me. I didn’t really care what I wore, as long as no one recognized me.
“Open them.”
He held a dress up for me to see, and my
breath caught in my throat. Imagine wearing a dress like that! I ran my palm reverently over the shimmering material and the shining silver gleamed purple, rose, teal and blue as my hand flowed over it.
“It made me think of your heartstone,” he said. “I bet it will fit you perfectly. Consider it the first gift of many.”
I leaned past the dress and kissed him, chastely, but with gratitude. It was truly beautiful. He laid it over the bed and pulled out a swirling, silver mask. I’d look like a snowflake in a mask like that. It was perfect. Almost as if he knew exactly what I would want for myself.
“Just one more thing,” Kjexx said. “And please, don’t be angry. But now that you’re my wife I feel like I should admit something, well maybe two somethings.”
“What are those?” I asked. Was he going to spring something terrible on me?
“First of all, I lied. When I injected you before, it wasn’t with poison, just a drug that temporarily paralyzes. So, you don’t need an antidote.” He looked ashamed.
I clenched my jaw. How had I not suspected that? It was a clever ruse, but I didn’t like being the butt of it. Well, I was his wife now, so I could find small ways to make him pay.
“And the other thing?”
“I’ve been in love with you since the moment I decided not to kill you and hang your body above the gate.”
Chapter Twenty-Two: Preparations
I STARED AT HIM, my mouth dropping open. He’d been in love with me? Practically since the moment he met me? That was crazy.
“So, should we eat?” he asked, unwrapping the silk scarf from our wrists and sitting down at the table. “It’s stew, my favorite.”
All that talk about this being good for his people, good for me, good for everyone — he’d been saying all of that while he was in love with me? Should I believe that? I felt a little thrill at the idea of Kjexx being in love with me and a pang of guilt at the thought that Rusk had been in love with me, too, and was waiting for me to come and rescue him.
Without warning, tears began to spill from my eyes. I rubbed my wrist where the tether used to hang. It felt wrong that it wasn’t there anymore, tying me to Rusk, grounding me.
“Easy now,” Kjexx said, standing and gathering me into his arms.
“I shouldn’t have married you. It’s not fair to you. Not fair to—”
“But you did, and what is done is done. No point spilling your sweet tears over it.” He lifted my chin with a finger so that he could look into my eyes. “You don’t have to love me yet. It will come in time. Trust me. I’m irresistible.”
“More like incorrigible.”
Rusk had asked me to trust him, and I hadn’t. I’d married someone else. Shame flooded through me. Kjexx ran a hand gently across my cheek, wiping away my tears, then he leaned down, slow but sure, nuzzling my nose gently with his and then parting his lips and slowly, so slowly, embracing mine with them. The kiss, started butterfly-soft, melted into something hotter and harder, and then his tongue was stroking mine and his hands were supporting me, and drawing me in, in, in at the same time. I needed it to stop. I needed it to keep going forever. I needed to be true to Rusk. I needed to lose myself in Kjexx.
I was such a fool to be wrapped up in one man, never mind two, and yet I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t stop the desperate desire to matter to someone, to be loved and taken care of, to finally have someone who wouldn’t ever leave me. Rusk’s tether had been so easily broken. Would the ephemeral tether of my vows to Kjexx break so easily? That bond of that silken scarf had been so fleeting, and yet it seemed weightier than any chain could ever be.
I didn’t stop crying, but I didn’t stop kissing Kjexx, either, letting his kisses move across my cheek and then down my neck, hot and searing and oh so captivating. Maybe this time I could be kissed clean. Maybe this time his love could infuse me with a value that I didn’t have before. Maybe I’d finally found that freedom I was so desperate for.
Eventually he stopped, pulling back gently, still supporting me with his muscled arms as if he could hold me up and protect me from anything that ever came.
“Don’t worry, Tylira. We’ll eat our stew, go to bed chastely — I promise! I won’t touch you — and then tomorrow we’ll go get the scintellex, save your friend, and ride off to save the world. From here on in, I don’t want you to worry about anything.”
“Why shouldn’t I worry, Kjexx son of Axrun?” Part of me was very disappointed that he was so willing to keep me chaste.
“You’ve got me. What more could you want?” His grin was back to full power. How did anyone manage to be so at ease all the time?
We took our seats and began to eat.
“Will we need special invitations to get into the Grande Triumphe?”
“I’ll acquire those tomorrow.”
“And by acquire, you mean…?”
“Steal, obviously.”
“Good. We don’t want anyone to know we’re coming.”
“We’ll take them by storm.”
I smiled. It was nice to see someone else as headstrong as I was.
“Those vows,” I said, when we eventually turned down the bed and climbed in. “They were pretty intense.”
“I meant them, Tylira.” He stripped down to just a pair of pants as he spoke. “I’ll shed my blood for you now. Yours until death tears us asunder.”
I shivered.
“I know I promised I wouldn’t touch you,” Kjexx said, “and I don’t expect anything, but can I lie close to you? It’s cold in here.”
“Yes,” I said, trying hard not to think of what we could be doing to warm up. I took his hand in mine. It felt safe and warm. “You aren’t someone who seems very serious to me.”
“Ha! Well, I’m serious about that. You’re safe with me, Tylira. I’ll keep you safe.”
If only he could keep me safe from myself. I seemed to be the biggest threat to my own life and happiness. I snuggled into him and drifted off to sleep, but I woke constantly through the night. My dreams were plagued with Rusk, and every glimpse of him made me feel terrible. Worse, when I woke the heady scent of Kjexx and his slow breathing was so intoxicating that it was all I could do not to wake him up and tell him that I’d decided that since we were married we might as well do more than hold hands and kiss. Why was I bothering to hold back? One way or another I was his now. And he was mine.
The next morning, Kjexx slipped out of bed early, dressed, and kissed me briefly on the forehead.
“I’m off to get our invitations and meet my contact here. I’ll be back before noon. Try not to start a war,” he said with a smile as he left.
What was I supposed to do cooped up in a room? If Kjexx thought I had any patience, then he had a lot to learn about me! I crept into Ra’shara. Maybe I could get one more glimpse into that three-pronged room. Now that I knew where I was going, it was no problem to jump to the spot in the corridor where the maids left the tray. There was no tray there now. Did that mean that Catane was eating breakfast within? Did I dare to risk going in that room with him there? And for that matter, why were there no guards here on his door? Maybe it really was a trap. Maybe they were just waiting for us to come on in and then the doors would shut and the walls would start to close in. But that was nonsense, wasn’t it? Catane couldn’t know that I could do this. If he did he’d never leave me free to roam Ra’shara, would he?
Well, there was no point coming this far if I wasn’t going to risk it. I inched the door open, grimacing with worry that I would be seen. Was anyone on the other side? I didn’t think so.
I slipped within, and glanced around the library room and tried to peer into the rooms beyond. I should try to sneak into the middle room. I hadn’t had a good look at it. Maybe the scintellex would be there. I slipped across the library like the ghost I was. Still no signs of anyone.
There! In the center of the middle room, under a lit glass dome, the cylindrical shape of the scintellex lay, looking so innocent and inconsequential. We’d need to grab it
quickly when we arrived. Could I take it now? Perhaps I could burst in the flesh into this place and tear it through Ra’shara…
A laugh broke my concentration and I whirled around. Had I been spotted? There was no one there, but the laughter continued. It had a cruel note to it. Was it coming from the conservatory? I crept to the door of the conservatory, my back flat against the wall beside the door. That was a cry! And a groan. What was he doing to Rusk?
I risked a look. Catane stood to the side with his back to me. He appeared to be examining a flower, as if that was all he was doing. There! In the cage, Rusk writhed in agony. Anguish ripped through me. I needed to get him out, now! If only he could see me! If only I could tell him I was coming. Maybe I could burst through right now and tear him through and back with me.
I began to prepare to unweave, when Catane spun and looked me right in the eye. I fled in terror.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Grande Triumphe
“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” I asked Kjexx as soon as he burst through the door. “I thought you said noon and it is almost evening!”
“There are guards everywhere,” he said, throwing a pair of fur cloaks on the bed and stripping out of his outer clothing. “You look ravishing, by the way.”
His grin was just shy of indecent. I felt the blush creeping up my cheeks as I smoothed my hands over the iridescent fabric of my dress. The style was entirely foreign, nothing like the clinging translucence of the sarette, but just as lovely as it sheathed my figure. My shoulders were left entirely bare, and the neckline dipped low. I was going to freeze.
“I’ve been worried about you.”
“One cloak is for you, and get that mask on,” Kjexx said as he stripped his shirt off, exposing his muscular torso.
I felt my breath catch in my throat, so I hurried to look away and tie my mask into place. I’d pulled my hair up so that the ribbons on the mask wouldn’t slip. I’d spent all day fretting about Rusk. It was fickle to think of how much I was attracted to Kjexx when I should be concentrating on freeing my friend.
“I have a coach to take us to the Heart, but the driver doesn’t know who we are. We’ll have to keep him in the dark. Those guards are looking for us. Apparently, the Emperor suddenly caught wind that we were here. Any chance that you know why?”
Lightning Strikes Twice (Unweaving Chronicles Book 2) Page 14
