by Viola Grace
She chuckled as they arrived at the retreat. “Are you sure? I have seen Heela wearing a gem-set that looks a lot like this with alien stones.”
He raised his brows. “Does she? I will have to have a chat with my sister. She has known about my intended for quite a while.”
“Intended? You are engaged?” She felt horrible now for all of the little fantasies she had had after their few kisses.
“Not yet. Nothing so formal.” He carried her through the gate, and as he entered the courtyard, all activity stopped.
Daku walked through the open space, went through the main entrance, and removed his shoes.
One of the hostesses came forward to remove her shoes, and when the injured foot was moved, Kyna whimpered. The bolt of pain and lightning through the joint was intense.
Daku carried her to the medical rooms, and he set her in the office on the exam table. “Stay here while I find a healer.”
She cradled her arm and nodded. She was miserable. Everyone had stared. That never happened. Folks normally ignored her.
She sat there and waited, looking up when the door slid open. “Heela?”
“I heard that my brother brought you in. You can’t have him, idiot. He isn’t for an alien twit like you who can’t even read a child’s primer.” Heela growled. She used her dance fan to hit Kyna’s arm. “It was so unfortunate that you stumbled there. A few feet back and you would have been in a ditch. No one would have noticed.”
Kyna frowned. “What the actual fuck is your problem? You have been a bitch to me since the day we met, and you haven’t gotten better.”
“It’s you: you and your stupid green eyes and bloody hair. You were in that portrait, and he should never have gotten it done. Why were you with him? Where was the portrait painted? He is my brother, and you can’t have him.”
A shadow in the corner boiled, and Daku stood there. “Really, Heela? She has nothing to do with the portrait. It was sent by a scry painter on one of the Genaran worlds. She paints the mates of the guardians so that we can actually recognize them when they cross our paths instead of walking by. I got that portrait two decades ago. She was still on her world at that time. It was Akutan who tipped me off. He had seen her here and knew who she was right after Amethyst reminded him.”
Heela blinked and looked unsure. “She isn’t your lover?”
“Not yet. No.”
“You didn’t pose for that portrait together?”
Kyna sighed. “What portrait?”
Heela’s golden skin drained of colour. She dropped to her knees and grovelled, sobbing apologies for the dozens of small disasters that had hit Kyna over the last two years.
“I didn’t think I was that clumsy. This also explains the lack of promised dance lessons.”
Heela was still facing the floor. “I didn’t want you seducing Daku anymore than you already had.”
“Um. I just met him yesterday.”
“I thought you were going to take him away.”
Kyna smacked a hand over her eyes and then looked at Daku. “Can you help here?”
“I am trying to fight the urge to send her home and have her work in the kitchens on the dawn shift.”
Kyna sighed. “Heela. Get off the floor and go away. I don’t want to see you again today.”
Daku nodded and said, “Heela, if you have taken any jewels or fabrics out of the parcels I sent home that were not addressed to you, you should return them now.”
Heela looked up with wide watery eyes. “But, they were so pretty. I thought they must be for me, and you just forgot.”
Daku shook his head and said, “The gems come back today. The fabrics we will discuss. I had to negotiate with a nine-foot spider for some of that.”
“Oh, the l’nal. Do they really make a clicking noise?”
He paused and grinned. “They do. How do you know of them?”
She smiled. “I can read any language except Rai. I have been consuming all the information about the universe around me that I could.”
The healer entered and looked at the dancer on the floor, the guardian in the corner, and the recruiter on the table. “Kyna, you have fallen again? This is the fourth time in two months.”
Heela cringed and started sobbing and apologizing.
“Well, at least I understand what your talent is now. Controlled malice. Lovely. Too bad I didn’t figure it out before now.”
The healer went to work on her arm, stretching her palm out and wincing as he removed the large chunks of rock before washing the hand and then working on knitting the tissue back together.
He asked her if it hurt, and she smiled and said a little as he looked at her swollen ankle. He frowned. “Should I take the sock off?”
She winced. “Cut it off, please. It isn’t going to come off any other way.”
Heela swallowed and watched as the healer cut the fabric free, and the red and dark purple with the surrounding tissue swelling pink.
“It is broken. I can probably heal it, but you need to stay off it.”
“I can’t. I have to play at the festival tonight. Hell, I am playing for Heela’s dance.”
Heela went grey again. “I am so sorry.”
“You are only sorry because Daku and I aren’t having sex.” She paused and looked at Daku, who was covering his mouth. “That came out wrong.”
He smiled. “No, it was an accurate summation. The fact that I would never have carried you in if Heela hadn’t broken your ankle. I recognized the technique, Heela. You did the same thing to your tutor.”
The healer worked, the siblings talked, and Kyna started to sway. The healer nodded. “I will fetch a maid to help you. You need to stay off that foot for the night.”
“I am still going to the festival.”
The healer smiled. “Then skip dinner because you are going in a chair.”
Kyna got green just thinking about it.
Chapter Ten
Daku carried her back to her room, and he helped her settle with her foot elevated. He smiled. “I didn’t notice that you had painted your toenails.”
“It is one of the few grooming things around here that I can do myself.”
Larada bustled in and stopped short when she saw Daku kneeling next to the bed. “Oh, excuse me, Lord Daku. One of the maids told me that she was injured again.”
Kyna sighed. “If I am guessing correctly, things will stop finding themselves under my feet.”
Daku nodded. “They will. She is just sensitive to folk taking advantage of me.”
Kyna muttered, “I haven’t even gotten the chance.”
He looked at her, and his dark eyes were gleaming with laughter. He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. “We will have to rectify that.”
Her eyes were wide as the feeling of soothing shadow moved under her skin where he kissed her.
“If you insist on playing this evening, I will escort you. You will not have to use that ankle, but we are leaving when your set is done.”
She was disappointed, but she nodded. “Understood. This is the fourth festival that I have missed with an injury. I am used to it.”
He frowned, and she settled back on her pillows.
Larada pulled him outside the room.
* * * *
“She wants a fish.” Larada was serious.
Daku was confused. “What?”
“When you were a child, did you ever get to go to the festival and try to win a fish?”
“Of course.”
“She didn’t. She hasn’t been to a festival as a patron. Not once. Bad luck followed her here, and while she has played at the festivals around Lord Akutan’s holdings, she has never managed to actually attend the festival, eat the snacks, and play the games. If you are willing to monitor her, she has a staff she can use to support her. Lady Ageka says it isn’t proper of her to be seen outside with it, but I really don’t think she would care. Please, my lord. Co
nsider giving her some time to play. She doesn’t get nearly enough laughter.”
Daku had to ask, “She has never played the games?”
“No, before the reset, she was ill and in constant pain. Her parents didn’t take her anywhere. She had to watch the world happen around her.”
“Ah. That makes sense now. I will take her to every stand she wishes to go to. I will even get her snow candy if it is available.”
Larada nodded. “Thank you, my lord. Now, I have to go in and get her ready for this evening.”
He frowned. “That is four hours away.”
“You haven’t seen this hairstyle. I might still be working on it when this little one makes it into the world.” She patted her belly.
He smiled. “Are you married to one of the staff here?”
“The pastry chef, Erkan He’s a good man with an excellent touch for pastry.” She chuckled. “Kyna recruited him. She knew his true passion even if he hadn’t been able to admit it to himself.”
“Did he make the custard buns?”
She laughed. “No, those are Kyna’s speciality when she can’t sleep. She isn’t allowed in the kitchen lately, so she sneaks in far before dawn.”
“I see. That is why the staff usually get them.”
“Did you have some?”
He nodded. “They were eased into my room before dawn.”
Larada chuckled. “She must really like you. Around here, those are more precious than gold. She will need to leave around six in the evening to get there in time to tune and set up before sundown.”
“I will be ready.” He inclined his head, and the maid returned to her mistress.
So, Kyna was the source of those delightful buns. He should not be surprised. She seemed the type to make the most of her waking hours, and as he hadn’t tasted anything like it before, he could only imagine that it was a traditional family recipe. Perhaps he could coax her into making them again. It might mean using his charm, but then, she did seem to appreciate it as much as he enjoyed using it.
* * * *
Kyna sat and stared at the children’s primer and tried to put the figures with the pictures. She could only recognize two, and that was because they were on her signature stamp: the snowflake and the bunny.
She looked at Daku and blinked. It was the name of the shadow in the moon. She got a strange tingling in her fingers, and she traced the glyphs that made up the word.
Larada asked, “Anything?”
“Still just Snow Bunny.” She continued to trace the glyphs, and she was amused that the pattern was coming to her right now. She would try it again in a few hours and then the next day. Usually, that was when the knowledge would wear off.
She glanced up and tried not to jump. Festival hair was big hair. The fan made of braids linked and looped together gave her a dark halo.
“Okay, now for the makeup.”
The makeup went on with Kyna pouting a bit. She hated wearing the formal makeup. It made her eyes look wide and weird.
Her lips were traced with a small pout in black, which marked her as a musician.
She was finally ready to stand for the formal robe that was sashed and the outer robe that swung free. Her hair was studded with the hairpins again. She rather liked them. They were the one thing that she owned.
Her ankle was tender, but Larada had wrapped it, and it should be fine for the next few hours. Larada gave her the walking staff, and she used it for support while leaving her quarters. She made her way carefully to the main entryway and saw that her throne had been put in place for her. Since the floor was the most common place to sit, the chair they put out for her was ridiculously ornate and used for the elderly or infirm.
Lady Ageka came in while she was perched on the edge of her chair. “So, you and Daku?”
“Are going out this evening to the festival. Yes.” She tried to direct Ageka to a less embarrassing topic.
“I did not think that another local guardian would be in your sights. I had always imagined that you would allow yourself to be courted by one of the alien guardians.”
“Why? I am on contract to Rai. There isn’t any allowance for my leaving.”
She waved that off. “There is always a way.”
“Not for me. I am not going back to the way I was before. I would whore myself out before I would go back to that.” Kyna growled.
Daku’s voice came from behind her. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Lady Ageka looked concerned. “I did not mean. You have mentioned.”
Kyna smiled. “It doesn’t matter. I am stuck here. I am not going anywhere near a tank. If they could fix me, they could put me back the way I was. After the last few years, I don’t think I could bear that.”
Daku helped her to her feet, and he smiled. “Do you have everything?”
Kyna asked Ageka, “Are the instruments there?”
“They were delivered this afternoon.”
“Thank you. Well, I suppose I should get hopping.” She smiled and squawked when Daku picked her up.
He walked her to the door and stepped into his shoes. One of the hostesses put her shoes on, and Daku thanked her. He walked into the courtyard, and Kyna let out another high-pitched noise as they lifted off, and shadows walked them over the gate and down the road to the town.
“This isn’t a discrete way to travel.”
He grinned. “You are correct. It is not, but it is efficient, and it saves you from the dreaded chair.”
They made the twenty-minute walk in three minutes. When they arrived, the crowds were staring, and the shadow dissipated to let Daku carry her to the stage where the musician area had been cleaned, and her instruments and a kneeling pad was waiting.
She was nervous. “After things start, there will be about an hour of performance for me, and then, I suppose we could return to the retreat.”
He set her down. “I was thinking we could see some of the festival before I take you home.”
She couldn’t help the grin that probably looked terrifying with her makeup.
He chuckled and kissed her forehead. “Enjoy your own performance. I will be nearby.”
She nodded, placed the walking stick nearby, reached for her first case, and tuned the instrument. Then the next and the next. When everything was ready, she sat back and waited.
Drummers arrived, and she spoke with them, explaining what she was going to be doing and the beats that she would like if they could fit them in around the standard performance.
They practiced, and the performance was ready to begin. It was the tale of a man, his wife, a curse, and a being of light. Kyna played and kept an eye on the activities on the stage as Heela played the wife going to the well and being struck by the curse. The instruments that she used suited who was being featured. The larger for the husband, the lighter for the wife, and the violin for the glowing figure. It was tricky to go between the three, but when she finished the last stroke and Heela’s character was dead in the arms of her creature of light lover, the crowd applauded and murmured appreciatively.
She massaged her hands and shook them out to try and get the lines out of her left hand and the bowing cramp from her right. She turned and nodded to the drummers then got her stick and fought her way to her feet.
Daku appeared in front of her. “That was amazing.”
“Yeah, your sister is a very good dancer.”
He snorted and put his hands around her waist, lifting her off the stage and setting her down next to him so that her weak ankle was next to him. “She is a fine dancer, but you are an exceptional musician.”
“Thank you, but I am just enthusiastic.”
“Take my arm and use the staff on the other side.”
She nodded, and he nearly lifted her off her feet by shrugging his shoulder. They walked and were stopped by several locals who were praising her talent.
Her comment was always the same, “Thank you, but I w
as only a small part of the performance. The drummers and the dancers brought the characters to life.”
Daku chuckled and said, “You should take the compliment.”
“I can’t. There is no one else here who plays the violin, so I can’t say if I am good or not. All I know is that I have tailored my music to the local tastes.”
They were heading toward the games, and she got excited before she remembered that she didn’t have money on her.
“You got really happy and then deflated. What was that?”
“I forgot to get money.” She tried not to look as crestfallen as she felt.
“I will get you whatever you like tonight. Deal? It is the least I can do for my sister torturing you.”
She smiled. “Thank you. I can pay you back when we return to the retreat.”
“You will not. That is an order, and since you work for the guardians, you have to listen to me and do as I say.”
She looked at him, and he was amused. “I thought you were retired.”
“Only from travel. No guardian ever completely leaves duty. So, you work for me.” He looked down at her, and his eyes were that strange mix of warm and wicked that melted her bones.
They stopped at the fishing booth where folks were using the sticks with the strings and loops to catch carved wooden fish.
She would have been hopping from foot to foot if she could. She bit her lip and looked at him. “Can I play?”
He nodded. “I will play as well. One of us could win.”
The person running the stand stared at her, and he blinked when she looked him in the eye. “Lady, play all you like. Your music was wonderful.”
She nodded. “Thank you. How does this work?”
The man explained how it worked, and while a few folks smiled, no one laughed at her until she started fishing and began cursing under her breath.
She would put the loop around the fish and lift, but the fins would slip out and to one side. She bit her lip and analyzed the fish, finding the one that would work for her. She leaned out to catch it and had it in the loop when she started toppling forward into the water. Daku grabbed her and kept his arm around her as she retrieved the wooden fish with a smile.
