“Your guests will be arriving in half of an hour. Do you wish to freshen up?” she asked cheerfully.
“I suppose I must.” I stood from my painting stool and gave one last look at the canvas before leaving the scent of my oil paints behind on the balcony. In truth, I was nervous about my plans for today, but I needed to keep Relyara from discovering what I was up to for a bit longer. There would be an opportunity to include her in the scheme, but now was not the time.
The bath was already filled, so I shed my clothes and stepped into the hot, bubbly water. It was scented with the tang of apricots and rose petals. I had not realized my shoulders were tense until the heat and fragrance of the bath relaxed my muscles.
“Will you throw this one away?” Relyara held up my left hand and gently scrubbed away the paint that had somehow found its way to my fingers. Another servant did the same with my right hand.
“Probably.”
“It is so beautiful. At least gift it to someone.” She shook her head with displeasure.
“I am aiming for perfection.” I felt tired suddenly and wanted to cancel my lunch plans, but I could not. Relyara had already told me that I was walking a razor’s edge with my suitors and maidens. I used to spend hours with them every day, but now only saw them in passing once or twice a week, when I was forced.
It had been that way since Kaiyer was taken from me.
It had been almost a year. I still could not keep him out of my thoughts, though I knew he had most likely perished during the intense training Vertarus pushed on the human soldiers. I knew Kaiyer had survived the process of the change, I saw him sparring in the fields one day as I rode my horse across a nearby hill. That was four months ago. I wanted to look for him again and watch him train, but my entourage expected me to picnic with them. I could not risk them riding out to the fields to find me.
I would know for sure in the next few days if my lover was still alive.
“What?” Relyara had spoken to me, but I wasn’t paying attention.
“I asked which dress you preferred. Cream or silver?” She nodded over to the dresser where the two day gowns hung.
“Cream.” I don’t even think I looked.
“Perhaps after lunch you will want to ride?” She smiled at me and her eyes twinkled.
“I will paint.”
“Painting makes you moody, Mistress. You never ride anymore.”
“Very well. I will do so after lunch.”
I wanted to go to the training fields now. I could ride down the slope and catch a hint of his scent. I inhaled and almost expected to taste his smoky fragrance again, but instead just smelled the disappointing bathwater.
If I rode there and he was not training, it would almost be worse, knowing he was dead. As long as I avoided the area I could hold onto the hope that he lived.
I had a plan. I had to be patient and stay with it. Relyara’s spies were always right. He was alive. I just needed a few more weeks of patience and we could be together.
Relyara gestured for me to exit the bath and I followed her instructions. The other servants towel dried my slick body before they began to comb and treat my hair. Their administrations were hard to pay attention to through the fog of my mind, but I was shortly dressed in the cream day gown and sitting at the table in my dining area.
“Mistress.” Relyara sat next to me on one of the leather padded chairs and placed her hand on mine. “You need to focus on your suitors. You have ignored them for too long. My servants indicate that they are unsettled and consider returning to their homes.”
“That is why we are having this lunch.” I sighed and thought about jumping off my balcony, running to the stables, saddling one of the stallions there, and riding until the creature died. Anything to get away from here.
She opened her mouth to reply but a distant knock on the suite door interrupted her words. The woman gracefully floated to her feet and then seemed to dance across the wood floor to receive my first visitor. I admired her body as she moved and thought about the last time we had made love. Was it a week ago? Two weeks? No. Months had passed.
“Mistress, Vertarus has arrived.” Relyara introduced Elder Dluuzit’s son with a graceful bow and sweep of her hand.
“Welcome, Vertarus. Please join me at the table.” I gestured to the spot across from me and my suitor moved to sit.
“Thank you, Iolarathe.” He smelled of cedar and juniper berries. He was muscular and stocky, smaller in stature than Bur’tilon, but we had sparred together and I judged him to be just as capable in combat as his cousin.
Relyara poured the man some water, cherry juice, and then a glass of sparkling white wine. My suitor raised his wine in toast and I followed his movement. The liquid was a refreshing change from the warm bath.
“Am I early?” He motioned to the other chairs in my dining area.
“Of course, I wanted to spend some time alone with you.” I sat back slightly in my chair and breathed the scent of his sudden arousal. At one time I would have taken pleasure in my ability to control these idiotic men. I no longer cared for their desires.
“I am pleased that the Singleborn wishes to spend her time with me.” He took another sip of the wine and I could tell he struggled to curb his arousal by shifting his sitting position.
“How is the army progressing?” I asked with a slight smile.
“Well. Not as quickly as we want. More humans are surviving the changing process, but most of them are too dumb to survive the training. The animals keep killing each other.” He shook his head and nodded to Relyara when she placed a small appetizer of cheese and pears on the table between us.
“How many are changed and ready for battle?” I picked up a pear and occupied my hands and eyes with the process of cutting the fruit.
“I have a bit fewer than one hundred and forty changed. Only sixty I consider ready for combat. Another thirty have some fighting skills but lack discipline. The rest are split between the newly changed and those that I will need to exterminate if they do not improve in the next two months.” He took a sip of the cherry juice and puckered his lips at its sourness.
“When did this experiment begin? Two years ago?” I knew the answer but wanted to lead him down a particular path in our conversation.
“Yes. We have improved the process greatly. I wish I had more than sixty to show for my efforts, but I am predicting we will quadruple that number in the next twelve months.” He was skilled at controlling his emotions and I did not smell the tin scent of disappointment I expected from him.
“Tell me more about their training.” I cut a wedge of cheese and took a bite paired with the fruit.
“I’ve got them divided up into squads of twenty. Each group trains together, eats together, sleeps together, and is supervised by one of my handpicked commanders. My commanders and I review their progress and plan nightly.”
I nodded at his description and then drank more of the cherry juice. I doubted his commanders knew much of anything about battle, but I decided it would be wise to keep this to myself. I needed him as a friend for now and questioning his judgment would not help me reach that end.
“It seems you have developed a sound strategy.” I forced a smile to my lips and gave a passing thought to how my personality had changed in the last four years. At one time I would have called him an idiot and belittled his progress. If he protested, I would have broken his body or killed him. Now I realized I needed allies that believed I liked them more than a group of idiots who were terrified of me.
“If it would please you, I would enjoy giving you a tour.” I caught the pleasant scent of flowers on him.
“I would enjoy that.” I leaned away in my chair and stretched my arms up against the back of my chair to give him a better view of my torso. The gown was somewhat tight against my breasts and stomach. My nose confirmed the change in his scent immediately. “I am so bored. It feels as though I have walked or ridden every square foot of this place. A tour of your training grounds mig
ht entertain me for an afternoon.”
“We have been discussing the idea of taking a few squads out into the wilderness for extended training. Perhaps you would be interested in joining us?” I tried to hide my smile at the influx of his eager scent. I was sure the man imagined all sorts of improbable possibilities that involved us sharing a tent together each night. “We would bring plenty of guards, so you would not need to worry about your safety.”
“I am not worried about humans.”
“No, of course you aren’t. But these are not mere humans. They have unfettered strength and speed. If not for their training, they would be as dangerous as tear wolves. Perhaps not as smart though.” He leaned back in his chair and laughed.
“I do like the idea of taking your humans out for training. I imagine it would be much like herding cattle. When I was younger I would assist in those expeditions across the desert highlands of my mother’s lands.”
“Yes. It will probably be quite similar to your memories.” He smiled and his scent confirmed his excitement.
“The idea of all these other guards around does disappoint me though.” I leaned forward a bit and he matched my movement. “It doesn’t seem as intimate. Do you agree?” One of my fingers found the rim of the wine glass and traced the curve of its edge.
“I do agree with the Singleborn.” His mouth was practically watering at my inference. “I believe that I can select one of the tamer squads for our trip. We won’t need any guards then.”
“Sounds wonderful. Perhaps you can give me a tour this afternoon. I don’t wish to be close to the animals, but I can look upon them from afar. If I like the performance of one of these squads, perhaps just you and I can take them out for a week.” I caught a slight scent of sour anxiousness beside me and I ventured a glance at Relyara, who scowled at me in obvious disapproval.
“Excellent idea, Iolarathe. I would enjoy that immensely.” His musky scent of arousal had filled the room and his eyes were slightly glazed. His little brain was already imagining fucking me every night during this excursion. The fragrance was so potent that I realized that the suitors arriving in the next few minutes would probably smell it.
“We cannot tell the others about this. We must continue to keep your project a secret from the other tribes; I wouldn’t want them to become jealous.” Vertarus nodded and licked his lips.
“I seem to have expressed my desires a little too plainly. I apologize for my scent.” He frowned and took another drink of the cherry juice.
“No apology is necessary. If I didn’t enjoy your scent, you would not have continued to be my suitor.” I motioned to Relyara and she moved behind me and opened the windows of the dining room. The balcony doors in my bedroom were also open and the draft blew through my suite. The scent began to dissipate.
“Thank you for understanding. It is difficult for your suitors to be in your presence for extended periods of time.” He smiled and his scent shifted to a taste of broccoli.
A knock sounded at my door and Relyara moved to answer it. I heard the voices out in the hallway and wasn’t surprised when the entirety of my entourage entered with a flutter of laughter and mixed scents.
Vertarus and I rose from our seats to greet my guests. We each exchanged words and brief contact with our fingers before Relyara instructed them to sit down at my dining table. My other servants flitted around the seats and within moments each guest was nibbling on various fruits and cheeses, and drinking wine.
“Thank you for inviting us to lunch with you, dear sister.” Grednil raised his wine glass and the other men and women toasted with a voice of agreement.
“Thank you, Grednil, and thank you all for coming to lunch with me. I’ve been absent from most of our activities for the last few months, so please think of this as my attempt at an apology.” I forced a smile to my lips as I met each of their eyes. Fortunately, they nodded at my insincere words and smiled back.
“You must have been quite bored without our company. What have you been working on?” Daranyet raised a green eyebrow over a sapphire eye. Her stomach was swollen with Grednil’s offspring. The woman was clever and I had done my best to keep my distance since Grednil had mated with her. Her question revealed what Relyara had told me: she believed her pregnancy entitled her to an elevated status in my father’s house. She was mistaken.
“Nothing useful, I am afraid.”
“Oh I doubt it. Surely the Singleborn is always occupied by something fascinating and important. Of course, if you don’t wish to tell us, I understand.” She leaned forward a little and tilted her head with a wide smile. I caught a few scents of bitter citrus fear mix with the taste of their bathed bodies. Vertarus must have feared she was aware of the human army, but Grednil knew nothing of the experiment with the humans. My half-brother was probably worried that I would gut his mate for pushing a topic he knew I did not wish to speak of. I picked up my glass of bubbling wine and made eye contact with the pregnant woman while I drank from the glass. An awkward silence descended on the party and Daranyet looked down at her stomach.
“I’ve been painting,” I said simply. They gasped and opened their mouths to ask me a flutter of idiotic questions about my hobby. Finally, Contania’s voice pushed through the rabble.
“Do you have any pieces you could show us?” The woman’s yellow-gold hair swirled around her shoulders like the branches of a willow tree. During the last few months, Elder Oimon’s daughter and Ilttaia of Proticule had sent me many requests to spend time with them. While I did enjoy the presence of the two women the most out of my four maidens, I had refused their invitations.
“No. I am not happy with any of them yet.” I set down my glass of wine and tried not to glide my fingers across the smooth surface of the table. My entourage had little else to do at our estate but train, relax, and gossip. I should have known this topic would come into our conversation.
“My Mistress just finished a piece out on the veranda, if you all would care to see it,” Relyara said from behind me and I whirled around to glare at the beautiful woman. She caught my eyes and smiled mischievously. “She was contemplating destroying it, but I believe it should be presented as a gift to one of her loyal companions,” the blue-eyed woman finished with a small bow and a gesture to the opened balcony doors.
Vertarus, Fusik, Alwor, Bur’tilon, Alatald, and Ripthe shot to their feet and made their way eagerly to the veranda door. Ilttaia, Contania, and Yerryne followed the males. Grednil and Daranyet left the table for the veranda at the end of the group. The green-haired woman was having a bit of difficulty walking with her usual grace and I realized that her pregnancy might be ending sooner than I expected. Normal gestation was twenty months, and I only found out about my half-brother and Daranyet the night before I sent Kaiyer to the training fields. The math didn’t add up correctly, unless she was still eight months off from the birth. They must have been fucking long before I knew. It angered and disappointed me that both Relyara and I had missed this.
“This painting is wonderful, Iolarathe!” Alatald’s voice carried back into my room from the veranda. I sighed and rose from my chair. Relyara smiled at me pleasantly and she only nodded when I returned a glare. I absolutely loathed showing my work before it was completed, even then I was not often satisfied enough to display my works. Relyara knew this, and though she found all I produced to be of the highest caliber, I saw flaws in every painting that embarrassed me. She thought my entourage’s compliments would assure me of my painting’s quality, but instead they enraged me. Their opinions mattered little to me, and were not as important as my own, even if I could trust any of the simpering sycophants to give me a fair and honest critique.
“Where did you see a scene like this?” Fusik asked. The men gathered in a half-circle ten paces away from the easel.
I looked at the painting and stifled a gasp. I suddenly understood what the piece was missing.
“Are these landscapes common in the Eastern Deserts?” Vertarus’s voice was filled w
ith awe.
“No, my friend.” Grednil laughed from his belly and then shook his head. “There are no floating islands in our homeland.”
“It is a wondrous image. Notice the waterfalls that come from the islands. There is such detail in the water. It practically looks like it is moving.” Ilttaia was shy and almost never spoke in front of the group, but the others nodded and voiced their agreement.
“Why would you wish to destroy such a fine work of art?” Daranyet challenged me again with a question.
“It is not perfect,” I answered her quickly and focused my attention on the painting. I only needed a few more minutes alone with my oils and it would be perfect. My heart suddenly ached and my head started to spin as if I had forgotten to breathe for the last few minutes.
I would paint Kaiyer in it, standing on top one of the islands and staring off into the endless sky. He would be small and hard to recognize, but I would know it was him. He would complete the beautiful world.
“I will gladly take this imperfect masterpiece from you, Singleborn.” Ripthe laughed and made a playful motion to snatch the canvas. The others mirrored his laugh but then seemed to notice that I didn’t find any humor in his gesture and my suitors suddenly became quiet.
“I have not decided to give it to anyone. I was considering sending it to my half-sister, but perhaps I could reward one of you with it.” My lips curled into a forced smile. It wouldn’t matter much who had the painting. In a few short weeks I would leave and never return.
“Perhaps a game?” Yerryne asked. I smiled back at the beautiful gray-haired woman and stared into her onyx eyes. Like Ilttaia, the daughter of Elder Gnella rarely spoke. But while Ilttaia seemed harmless and often tried to establish a relationship with me, Yerryne never did more than study me with her cold, calculating eyes. Daranyet made small moves to attempt to challenge me often, but Yerryne was like the stalking panther. I knew I would one day feel her teeth.
“Perhaps you have a recommendation?” I asked the woman. Every part of her body was perfectly crafted, even her musky scent was delicious to inhale. I had hoped that my question would have caught her unprepared, but she confirmed my belief that she had awaited an opportunity like this and had a plan in mind.
The Destroyer Book 4 Page 21
