FORBIDDEN TALENTS

by Frankie Robertson

  Also by Frankie Robertson:

  DANGEROUS TALENTS

  Book One of the Vinlanders’ Saga

  “A great tale of adventure and romance, beautifully imagined and deeply engaging from beginning to end!”

  ~Diana Gabaldon, bestselling author of Outlander, An Echo In the Bone, and the Lord John Grey series.

  “Grabs you from the start with excellent pacing, fascinating characters and culture, and a satisfying romance. I want more!”

  ~ Jennifer Roberson, bestselling author of Karavans, the Sword Dancer series, The Chroncles of the Cheysuli, and Lady of the Glen.

  “Romance, peril, and magic: what more could anyone ask?”

  ~Dennis L. McKiernan, author of the Mithgar series, the Faery series, and other works.

  “Frankie Robertson creates detailed worlds, vivid characters, and intricate, well plotted stories. The mixture of fantasy and romance is perfectly balanced and an utter joy to read.”

  ~ Jill Knowles, author of Concubine, and A Pirate's Primer.

  VEILED MIRROR

  “Quick supple writing—an unusual and gripping tale—and did I mention sexy?”

  ~ Melanie Rawn, bestselling author of Touchstone, The Dragon Prince, and The Diviner.

  “Kept me guessing until the very end.”

  ~ Jordan Summers, author of The Phantom Warriors series, and the Atlantean's Quest.

  LIGHTBRINGER

  “You won't want to put it down.”

  ~ Roxy Rogers, author of Gabriel's Release, and Be Careful What You Wish For.

  “Riveting! I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a book so much. Ms. Robertson has written a compelling story with engaging characters and a well paced plot.”

  ~ Caroline Mickelson, author of Witch Weigh, and From Mangia to Murder: a Sophia Mancini Mystery.

  “I stayed up way past my bedtime because I couldn't put it down.”

  ~ Casey Wyatt, author of Mystic Ink.

  WITH HEART TO HEAR

  “With Heart to Hear is a delicious tale, beautifully rendered and hotly sensual.”

  ~ Kathleen Kirkwood, author of A Slip in Time, Shades of the Past, and His Fair Lady.

  “Ms. Robertson combines a lush prose style with a sharp eye for characterization and detail. You will not be disappointed.”

  ~ Jody Wallace, author of Pack and Coven, A Mage By Any Other Name, and other works.

  FORBIDDEN TALENTS

  Book Two of the Vinlanders’ Saga

  FRANKIE ROBERTSON

  Copyright © 2012 Frances R. Gross

  Cover design by Kim Killion of Hot Damn Designs

  Castle Rock Publishing

  Tucson, Arizona

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the author. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions of this book, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, products, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Published by Castle Rock Publishing.

  http://www.CastleRockPublishing.com

  For Janna Scott, friend and fan. You’re an inspiration, and your enthusiasm means a lot.

  CHAPTER ONE

  RAGNI STROKED THE dark silky strands fanning across his chest, savoring the feel of Saeun pressed close against him. Her head rested comfortably in the hollow of his shoulder and her warm breath tickled his chest hair.

  They lay snuggled together in a free-standing bed in Saeun’s room. Her quarters were slightly better appointed than most of his family’s other high-born attendants. Ragni had seen to that. The room was warmed by a Talent heated stone instead of a smokey fire. Her bed linens were the same as those the Kon’s family enjoyed, her mattress new and soft. The lanterns that lit her room held the same sweet smelling oil that his sisters preferred. Ragni would have done more, but Saeun resisted receiving special treatment. So he’d been discrete and made sure all the improvements had been doled out gradually, over the last six months, by his sister Kaidlin, Saeun’s mistress.

  Ragni had lingered after their loving longer than he'd meant to; his father, Kon Neven, would soon be exchanging polite courtesies with the Tewakwe, and the Nuvinland leader needed Ragni to be there. Nuvinland’s neighbors had undertaken the long journey from the drylands to Quartzholm unusually late in the season. The mountain snows would quite likely close the passes behind them, keeping the Tewakwe in Nuvinland until spring. Their purpose must be serious to bring them so far from home at this time of year. Neven wanted Ragni to use his Talent of Empathy to discern their true intent.

  Ragni knew he should go, but still he lingered, enjoying the pleasure of Saeun in his arms a little longer. He nuzzled her as she drowsed, breathing in her clean woman scent and the tangy odor of love-making that clung to them both.

  Amusement curled one corner of Ragni’s mouth. His father doubted his ability to be content with only one woman. I suppose I can't blame him. Ragni had flirted with half the unmarried women in Quartzholm, and with some of the married ones, as well. None of them had held his attention for more than a month.

  Until Saeun.

  Neven wanted him to cease his sampling of the ladies of the court. Though neither his father nor his lover knew it yet, Ragni was quite happy to oblige. He’d realized weeks ago that he wanted to make Saeun his elskerinne. But becoming the official mistress of the Kon’s second son was no small thing, and Ragni had been waiting for the right time to ask.

  But will Saeun welcome it? An ambitious woman would grasp at the chance, but Saeun, he feared, was more likely to shy from the attention. An unfamiliar sensation of doubt chewed at his confidence.

  Ragni reached out with his Talent. Lying skin to skin with her as he was his Empathy revealed her emotions clearly: contented after-love languor colored by bliss. She loved him, delighted in him. Him, not his position or power. Ragni smiled and sank deeper into her feelings, floating in them like the salt-sea, buoyed up by her echo of his own happiness. Another unfamiliar feeling. True and profound contentment. He'd never felt so comfortable swimming in another's heart. He could happily float here forever.

  A hint of something else, something deeper and darker, caught his attention.

  Fear.

  It was submerged, buried beneath the after-effects of pleasure and joy, but it was there, running like a tangled black thread through her soul.

  Some tightening of his muscles must have betrayed his surprise, because Saeun lifted her head and asked, “What is it?”

  What could she have to fear?

  Why hadn’t she confided in him? He was a priest of Baldur, second son of Neven, who was the Jarl of Quartzholm and the Kon of Nuvinland. There were few better able to protect her from any threat.

  “I have to go soon,” Ragni temporized. It was no less than the truth. Neven wanted Ragni to read the Tewas’ hearts.

  But it wasn’t a Tewakwe heart that interested him at the moment.

  Saeun hugged him and sat up. The ends of her hair trailed lightly across his chest to fall down past her shoulders, nearly to her waist. The winter sun slanted throug
h the narrow windows, striking sparks of red fire from the dark strands as her breasts peeked between them. Ragni grew hard again.

  Saeun glanced at his erection. “You flatter me, my lord,” she said, playfully formal.

  “Pay no attention to that begging dog.” Ragni pulled the rumpled sheet up to cover himself. “He’ll never be satisfied in your presence.”

  “There’s only one way to stop a dog from begging,” she said with mock archness. “Deny him utterly. Allow him one tiny morsel and he’ll beg forever.”

  “Could you truly be so cold-hearted a mistress?” Ragni tried to look pitiful.

  Saeun almost managed a stern expression but a giggle escaped, and then she dissolved into laughter. Ragni pulled her back into his arms, kissing her nose and ears and neck. Pleasure flooded from her back to him, pleasure tinged more strongly with fear—and loss. No, not loss precisely, he thought, but fear of loss.

  She was afraid of losing him. His other lovers had felt it too, when they’d sensed his interest waning, but the fear hadn’t run so deep in them. Has she learned of the betrothal? Is she afraid I’ll turn from her?

  Resentment and frustration swirled through him. His father had just arranged his marriage to Lady Utta. At Winterfest they would be betrothed, but there was no reason that should change things between him and Saeun. She was the daughter of a minor lord; she knew how these things were done. She knew her rank wasn’t high enough for him to marry her.

  And so did he.

  Ragni clamped down on his irritation. He had no cause to be angry with Utta. Calm, dutiful Utta, who would make a good wife for a second son and a priest of Baldur. But it was Saeun he loved. Saeun he wanted in his bed. Saeun he wanted to give himself to. A wife couldn’t help but be a rival for his time.

  He wouldn’t let Saeun be unhappy.

  Ragni pulled back a few inches, propping his head on one hand while lightly stroking her flat belly with the other. He smiled. Someday he hoped to see it rounding with his babe. A child from her would be a delight.

  Impulsively, he decided to lay her fears to rest. The timing wouldn’t please Neven, but Ragni knew he could charm Utta out of any unhappiness she might have over his taking a mistress a week before their betrothal.

  “Is my sister good to you?” Ragni asked.

  Saeun’s smile banished the momentary surprise that flashed in her eyes. “Oh, yes! Baldur blessed me the day Lady Kaidlin asked me to attend her. And I love little Bjorn.”

  “I hate to take you from her then. Or perhaps you would choose both—to remain among her ladies and become my elskerinne?”

  A wave of joy rolled off her and Ragni opened himself to it. It intoxicated and fizzed through his blood. Riding its crest, he let it blend with his own happiness.

  Then the sharp spike of her fear slammed into him, like a blow to his belly. Reflexively he jerked away from her and closed off his Talent.

  “What?” he gasped. “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be pleased.”

  “I am, I am. You know I am.” Saeun stared at him, daring him to deny it.

  The pain quickly faded. He nodded an acknowledgment. “But you’re also afraid. Why?”

  She looked away. Carefully, Ragni reached out with his Talent. Uncertainty. Longing. Love. Fear. Dark, twisting fear.

  A long minute stretched by while Ragni waited for an answer. He knew she wouldn’t lie. It wasn’t her nature. And she knew he could smell the deception behind a falsehood. He didn’t let many people know the specifics of his Talent. Saeun was one of the few. He’d learned early that others felt uncomfortable knowing he could read more than they wanted him to know, wanted anyone to know. So he shielded most people from the knowledge. And he’d learned to be patient. Most carried a tangled knot of emotions that even they couldn’t unravel easily.

  The minute stretched into two. She was still half turned from him, and Ragni wished he could read her thoughts as well as her emotions. He felt her distress knotting and twisting within her.

  “Saeun.” He reached out to push a strand of hair away from her cheek. “Tell me.”

  She turned a sad, determined face toward him. “No.”

  He hadn’t expected flat refusal. It struck like a slap, but his years as a priest and being a son of the Kon had taught him to keep his expression still.

  She lay a soft hand on his shoulder. “I won’t offer you insult by lying, Ragni. But I’ll not burden you with this, either. My concerns may come to nothing in the end.”

  That’s almost true, but she doesn’t believe it. “Small or large, you know I’ll gladly share your troubles.”

  “Thank you.” She smiled ruefully. “Now go. Kon Neven awaits you.”

  He didn’t want to leave it there, but she was right. Ragni nodded and threw back the covers as he stood. He scooped her underdress off the floor and handed it to her before retrieving his trews from under the bed. He watched the delicate shift ripple over her body to cover her curves and his admiration rose. Soft and tender, but with a core of steel. Her determination was clear even without the use of his Talent. But he could be determined, too. If Saeun wouldn’t tell him what made her so afraid, he’d find out on his own. He wouldn’t let her face it alone.

  They parted with a light kiss that made the new distance between them more keenly felt.

  Halfway down the corridor, Ragni realized she’d never answered his proposal.

  *

  Saeun paced the floor for nearly an hour after Ragni left, torn betwixt hope and fear. Ragni had asked her to be his elskerinne! She’d never looked for such happiness. But the scrying she’d done two days earlier now tangled her thoughts and darkened her joy. She’d tried to push it away. She should have known better; such warnings couldn’t easily be ignored. The faster you ran from them, the faster they pursued.

  And now her fear had touched Ragni. She’d been a fool to think she could hide it from him, but she couldn’t tell him why she was afraid. What could she do?

  There was only one person she knew she could trust, one who knew Ragni better than most.

  Minutes later, Saeun’s shoulders slumped as she told Thora about her vision. The older woman shook her head as Saeun finished her tale. “You silly girl, you’ve been worrying yourself over nothing.” Her smile took the sting out of her words.

  “Over nothing? How can you say that?”

  “Of course it’s nothing. Your visions see little more than a day ahead. It’s been twice that and more and you’re still here and safe and beloved by Father Ragnar. Your vision was either false or something turned it aside. You needn’t cling to your fear any longer.”

  Saeun shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. I used a different ritual than before. Why would I look only a day into the future? What good would that do me? I invoked a Far Scrying. I tried to open a window beyond tomorrow, into next year.”

  Thora’s indulgent, mildly mocking smile dissolved. “Oh, you foolish girl! I thought you’d been better taught than that! That sort of magic is dangerous. Did you have someone to stand by you, to make sure the vision didn’t swallow your mind?”

  She barely shook her head, not meeting Thora’s eyes.

  “No, of course not! You knew what you were doing was stupid.” Thora stood silent for several long moments, her back to Saeun. “You should have come to me before,” Thora said, crossing to the door in swift strides. She turned the iron key in the door lock with a reassuring clank, ensuring their privacy. “Perhaps the stones will ease your fears. You’ve had Freya’s Cup worth of luck these last six months. Surely she’ll grant you another sip.”

  Saeun raised her eyes, thankful for Thora’s practical turn of mind. She had been lucky, but the gods sometimes grew jealous of mortals who were too happy. “I shouldn’t have questioned my good fortune, or looked for more. If I hadn’t tried to scry our future I wouldn’t have seen—”

  “Put it aside for now,” Thora interrupted. “That’s what the stones are for. To give perspective and guidance. You’ve
seen something dark. Why should you fear it? We all pass through darkness as well as light in life.”

  Thora went to the back of her small chamber. It was a sign of her standing that, though a servant, she had a room to herself. She opened a cabinet built into the wall and moved aside the clothes lying folded there. Reaching deep inside, she pushed on the seemingly solid back until a small section slid upward. Saeun watched as Thora withdrew a small bag and a roll of leather from the space beyond, honored that the older woman would reveal her hiding place to her.

  Thora kept her tools well concealed. Throwing the runestones was forbidden to women, just as Saeun’s use of magic was.

  “Here now,” Thora said as she knelt and spread the leather flat on the floor. Old blood stained the ragged edges of the light brown leather, inscribing a circle four hand-spans wide with the runes of the futhark. She stood and held the bag out over the leather at arms’ length. “What do you ask?”

  Saeun hesitated as she stood next to Thora, knotting her fingers together. She’d been present when Thora had cast the stones before, but she’d never asked their wisdom for herself. She wanted to know she could remain safe in Ragni’s arms, to be his elskerinne. She wanted confirmation that what she’d seen in her scrying was false, or only a short test of her will. But she couldn’t ask so directly. One didn’t demand answers of the gods.

  “As light and dark balance the Nine Worlds, so it balances mortal lives. What path must I walk between the dark and the light?”

  Thora shook the bag. The stones rattled like old bones. “May Baldur keep evil from us.” She paused to rattle the contents of the soft leather bag again.