by Shea Godfrey
“She knows her place,” Malcolm snapped. “As you never have.”
“And what place is that?” Darrius asked.
“Must I renew my objections and tell you yet again the shame your behavior and you cause me?”
Darrius laughed. “Not what my place is, you bloody fool, hers.”
Malcolm took another step, and from Darrius’s perch on the rail they were nearly of the same height. “Take care how you speak to me, Darrius.”
“Or what?” she asked, reclining casually. “When you’re the lord of all the world you may banish me to whatever dark hole you see fit. But until that time, never forget that I carry the same blood as you, and it comes with certain rights and privileges. Calling you a fool is perfectly within those rights, I assure you.”
Jessa smiled in surprise.
Malcolm’s response was slow to form, his hands clasped behind his back. “Then what did you mean?”
“Malcolm,” Darrius’s tone softened, “you’re bartering for the hand of another human being. This isn’t a horse that you bid for or land you must trade for. She’s a woman, Mal, a beautiful and striking human being. You sent for her and Bharjah wrapped her in bright colors and obeyed, though we both know for reasons of his own. If you truly wish to court her then win her, Mal, seduce her until she says yes out of want, no matter the question you would pose. Not because her father or her pig of a preening brother tells her to. Don’t presume to just take her. She’s not yours for the taking. She belongs to no one but herself.”
Jessa felt a stirring in her chest at the heartfelt words. To be defended by anyone was not something she had ever come to count on. Only Radha had stood by her. But for a stranger to stand up and voice compassionate words in her defense was something she had never envisioned happening.
Malcolm’s smile was cold. “Is that what you would do then?”
“Yes,” Darrius replied. “That’s exactly what I would do.”
“You really have no clue as to what needs to be done or how things work, do you?”
“I know what’s important.”
“And what might that be? Playing at being a man?”
Darrius gave a breath of laughter. “Yes, Malcolm, that’s exactly what I mean.”
“Is there not a tavern you must be at, Darrius? Someplace suitable to your backwards behavior? Should you not be drunk?” His tone was callous. “Should you not be begging to kiss the sweat from between a barmaid’s thighs by now? You may leave the important things to those of us with the intelligence and authority to handle them properly.”
Jessa was startled at the sexual reference and considered his words as she watched Darrius for a response. She understood that Darrius was backwards. Radha had made good on her pledge for more information. She had not, however, truly considered the heart of the matter until that very moment. I do not think she would have to beg, you fikloche. Bloody well look at her. They must stand wanting beyond her door.
Darrius was very still and Jessa felt the sudden tension, an air of danger about Darrius as if any reaction were possible. She saw that even Malcolm felt it, for he took a silent step back, creating some distance between them as his hands fell open to his sides. Jessa understood the reason beneath his words at once. She was familiar with the tactic. As any one of her brothers had done a thousand times, Malcolm sought to provoke Darrius into a retaliation he might take advantage of.
“Do you remember that summer at Lake Aurora, Mal?” Darrius met his eyes. Her expression held nothing but a sincere smile. “When we would race every morning from the southern terrace to the waters, and Wyatt and Jacob would always win? And I would be so angry that I couldn’t keep up?
“And you decided that racing in teams would be more fair, so you chose me?” Darrius’s laughter was filled with warmth. “And then we raced, and you pushed Jacob into the lairien bushes and tackled poor Wyatt into the dirt, yelling for me to run. ‘Run,’ you yelled, and you were laughing so hard and I was running for all I was worth, running so hard that I thought my legs would fly off.”
Malcolm’s eyes narrowed, his left cheek twitching slightly.
“I remember that,” Darrius said softly. “And how you spun me around and we fell into the water, laughing until we nearly drowned, and Emmalyn crowned us with laurel wreaths. And we paraded about until Mother made us stop, even though she was laughing too. Do you remember that?”
“No,” Malcolm answered simply. “I remember my sister very well, though, before she became ill. Before she became whatever it is that you are now. Stick to your taverns and the bastard sons that are your friends, Darrius. Stay out of the affairs that are taking place here. If you don’t, you may find that dark hole sooner than you would like.”
Darrius laughed and sat up straight. “Whatever you say, sweet brother,” she said. “Is there any tavern in particular that you would like me to seek out? The Blue Porpoise perhaps? I hear they have an ale that will get you drunk within a single tankard. A boastful promise if ever I heard one.”
Malcolm turned away. “That will do nicely, thank you.”
Jessa’s eyes never left Darrius’s face, even as Malcolm passed close and disappeared beyond the angle of the stairs above her.
“Sweet dreams, my Prince!” Darrius called, setting her hands on the wide rail and bumping her boot heels against the posts. After a time she looked down.
Jessa stood very still, her chest tight as she held to her cloak. She could hear a lark somewhere, the night bird she was named for in her native land singing out within the darkness. The urge to step from the shadows rose up within her like an unexpected tide, surprising in its need as she struggled against it, against the overwhelming impulse to walk into the open, if only to stand beside Darrius while she thought whatever she might be pondering.
Jessa took a silent step forward, and then another.
“Darry?”
Jessa retreated awkwardly at the voice, recognizing Lieutenant Greeves as he moved from the shadows farther down the walkway.
Darry spied him within the moonlight. “Bentley.” Her voice was rough and she cleared her throat. “I have orders from our Prince.”
“Yes? And what are they?”
“We are to get drunk with all good speed.”
Bentley spread his arms and bent back at the waist. “At last.” He sighed dramatically. “An order I can follow in all good conscience!”
Darrius laughed as he approached, giving her his back. “Ah, my mount.” She pushed from the rail and wrapped her arms about his neck. He grabbed hold of her legs as they hugged his waist from behind, and they laughed as he stumbled. “My jacket, if you please, good steed.”
He let out a grunt and moved sideways as Darrius snagged her coat. “Have you been eating pastries again?” he said, taking hold behind her knees.
“Only the ones with butter and cream frosting.”
“Well, stop it.”
“Yes, my friend.” She kissed his neck as they moved along the walkway.
“I mean it, Darry.”
“Fine.” She sighed. “You’re a weak little thing, Bent. Buck up, will you?”
“Yes, dear. Shall we round up the troops?”
“By all means! Let us see if Darry’s Boys can reduce the city of Lokey into some rather pretty rubble, shall we?”
“Indeed,” he said, turning his head as they passed by the alcove beneath the stairs.
Jessa almost gasped aloud as he met her gaze, her heart seizing at his hard look of recognition, his expression filled with warning. And then they were past her, Jessa retreating until she bumped into the wall behind her, Darrius’s infectious laughter floating in their wake.
*
Radha stood at the balcony arch in the curve of the north wall and watched Jessa sit in the moonlight. Jessa’s eyes were closed and her face was raised to the light. How much Jessa resembled her mother, the beautiful lines of her face and the elegant curve of her neck. Even her body was reminiscent of her, voluptuous and grace
ful in its form yet never too obvious in any feature.
“What troubles you, child?”
“If the Veil of Shadows is cast properly, is it still possible to be seen?”
Radha narrowed her eyes. “Were you seen?”
Jessa did not answer.
“At times.” Radha moved back into their spacious chambers. “If the desire to be seen is strong enough, the charm may transform. This happens only when you’re careless.”
“I wasn’t careless.”
“If you were seen then you were careless.”
Jessa searched the night sky, gauging the direction of the constellations and finding the stars of the warrior Attia. The Princess Darrius was not what she had expected, not in any way.
She thought of Darrius sitting alone on the railing of the walkway, her hair catching the moonlight. Her expression had been so sad in that brief instant before she lowered her face, left in the wake of her brother’s attack. Jessa also remembered the words Darrius used to challenge him. She had met his malice with a memory that sounded so lovely Jessa had felt a fierce stirring of envy.
Jessa smiled, remembering the laughter into the wine at the banquet and the grin that Darrius had tried to stop as she wiped her face. Laughter stirred within Jessa once again, only this time she released it. And what do those eyes look like, I wonder, when your full humor is upon you? Such colors filled with laughter and not sadness, I would very much like to see that. Before you’re cast into the Blood Fires of the Vhaelin for being a cad. She smiled more freely and the heat of a blush rose along her neck.
Chapter Five
Darry ran, her bare feet sure within the thick grass despite the morning dew. She rushed through the hedgerows of the gardens at a rapid pace. The air burning her lungs felt good. Darry tasted the sharpness of the hedges with each breath. Their scent filled the back of her head and flooded her with the flavor of new things.
She bolted down a separate path near the heart of the main gardens, never stopping, pushing herself faster. She laughed, breathless as she ducked her head and broke through the corner of a hedge in a sharp turn, leaves flying in her wake. She could smell the water.
Jessa walked along the edge of the clearing in the early morning sun. She trailed her hand through the ivy and verdant leaves of the hedge. The small white flowers of hamesroot were in full bloom and tangled within the branches, teasing her fingers and stirring her sense of touch.
The bluish-green water of a pond was set within the small glade, the land it occupied low within the center of a natural depression and fed by a spring near the eastern edge.
It was a place of serenity and undeniable beauty, the colors rich and fulfilling, and as Jessa moved along the southern hedges, she wondered how deep the water might be at the center. When summer was high in Lyoness and the heat at times unbearable in its arid oppression, the mosaic tiles on the bottom of the reflecting pool in the western courtyard of the Jade Palace showed, bereft of water. The comparison appalled her.
The Princess Darrius burst into the clearing in a rage of movement and Jessa stumbled into the solid presence of the hedge. She spoke the runes of her spell upon sheer instinct, the Veil of Shadows rising like a surge of heat erupting from the earth.
Darrius tossed her tunic into the air behind her and slowed her pace only long enough to awkwardly discard her trousers, hopping as she lifted one leg and then the other. She was left only with short breeches that clung to her strong thighs and backside and a sleeveless homespun that reached her belly. Darrius sprinted into the shallows of the pond, sliced into the water with a flat dive, and disappeared beneath the surface.
Jessa knelt beside the hedge and waited, her heart pounding as she spied the discarded clothes. Darrius came up for air in a splashing of water.
She swam for a time, exploring the confines of the pool and laughing with simple pleasure. The sound caught against the water with a subtle echo. When she ducked beneath the surface once more Jessa stood up slowly, not wanting to lose sight of her.
Darrius’s feet speared into the air and her legs wavered. Jessa smiled as Darrius walked on her hands beneath the water and tried to keep her balance. She tumbled over eventually and disappeared with a splash before surging to the surface and pushing smoothly toward the shore upon the southern edge.
Jessa caught her breath as Darrius pushed her curls back and they slapped against her shoulders. Her clothes clung to her form, her breasts high beneath the homespun and firm in their shape, her nipples raised. Jessa’s chest filled with heat as she took in the rigid muscles of Darrius’s stomach and the clinging breeches, her tight backside utterly on display as she turned and pulled at the material.
Stepping from the pond, Darrius grabbed her hair and wrung out the water with certain hands. Her breeches slipped low on her slim hips but she let them be, taking a few more steps and glancing about.
Jessa held her breath as Darrius stood very still and stared across the distance between them. Radha’s words about being careless swept through Jessa’s thoughts and she put more strength into the spell, feeling it pull at her blood as if it were an insistent hand on her arm.
Darrius turned again and sat on the grass, then lay down with her hands behind her head as her legs stretched out, her feet but inches from the water. The sky was becoming light as the sun rose higher.
Jessa took one careful step and then another, watching Darrius’s prone form and seeing no reaction. She moved then, making for the nearest opening in the hedge and trying not to rush her escape. She was wary, though the Veil of Shadows would mask her movements. Perhaps she would be a breeze in the leaves of the hedge, or a ripple on the water, though either way she would not be the intruder that she actually was.
“I can hear you.”
Jessa stood absolutely still, closing her eyes as she let out a slow breath.
“Are you planning to scold me for not being proper?” There was amusement in Darrius’s voice. “No one likes a nag, you know.”
Jessa turned smoothly and let the Veil of Shadows slip away. Darrius had not moved from where she lay, her thoughts still within the sky. If Jessa walked away after being acknowledged she might give insult, and yet if she approached it would…it would what? She’s the one who’s running about half naked and jumping into ponds as if she were something wild and…something wild and beautiful.
Jessa squared her shoulders and walked into the clearing, trying to decide how the rules of etiquette applied to the situation.
“I don’t know why you didn’t come in.” Darrius sighed. “The water’s nice and cool.”
Jessa stopped at Darrius’s discarded tunic and considered the ease of the words and her familiar tone. She picked up the shirt, giving it a shake. And who do you think I might be, that your current state of undress is of no concern?
“You used to come in.”
Jessa picked up the trousers as well, still approaching. Her heart was pounding but she felt the innocent misunderstanding with a touch of enjoyment.
“I remember when you’d throw off everything,” Darrius said, grinning as she closed her eyes to the brightening morning. “And in you went like a bloody fish.”
Jessa stopped near the top of Darrius’s head. She held the high ground in more ways than one. “I don’t recall that.”
Darrius jolted at the unexpected voice.
Jessa stepped back as Darrius was on her feet in a heartbeat, spinning about. And then her bare feet slipped on the wet grass.
“No!” Jessa lunged as Darrius’s legs kicked out and she fell back, but Darrius hit the water with a splash and met the bottom. She slid in the silt and then scrambled to stand. Jessa eased closer in concern, forgetting that she had yet to fasten her veil. Darrius pulled at her breeches, which were slipping from her hips, splashing to the side until her feet found solid ground.
They stared at one another. Jessa’s vantage point had changed now and her confidence seeped away.
Darry studied Jessa’s face, seein
g for the first time her full beauty. Her cheekbones and chin were sculpted in fine lines and her lips were ample and wide, though the darkness of her eyes stood out above everything. The black curls and braids of her hair fell against her tanned complexion, which was a warm shade of light caramel that made Darry feel like sighing. Jessa’s eyes seemed lit from within. Her nose completed the picture in a perfect manner, a tiny bump upon the bridge just enough to add a touch of delicious character.
Jessa smiled and met Darry’s silent appraisal.
“Look at you,” Darry said with a grin. “You’re beautiful.” Then Darry realized what she had said and let out a nervous laugh. “I mean…well, that’s what I meant, actually, yes,” she said, and felt a blush invade her face. “But I thought…” Darry looked down at herself, pulling at her breeches. “I thought you were my sister.”
Jessa followed Darry’s movements and blushed also. “I am not.”
“Yes, I see that now, thank you.”
Jessa held out her hand again. “Come out of there.”
“Why don’t you come in?”
“I beg your pardon?”
Darry considered Jessa’s startled tone and frowned as she tried to remember the rules of etiquette. She was not speaking to just a beautiful woman but to a daughter of royal blood. “Did I just insult you?”
“Was it proper for you to ask me that?”
“Was it?”
“No.”
“And I’m standing in my breeches.”
Jessa tried very hard not to look down again, for Darrius’s body was extremely pleasing, all sleek muscles and smooth skin. “Yes,” she replied quietly. Don’t look down, don’t do it. But Darrius’s breasts were clinging to her tight shirt just beyond the edge of her focus, the dark nipples on display. Don’t, Jessa. “Give me your hand, please,” Jessa said, her blood hot within her veins.
Darrius obeyed and Jessa pulled her from the water. She let go of Darrius’s hand and waited, confident that Darrius would say something. But Darrius merely pulled at her shirt again, looking somewhat perplexed by the stubborn material.
