by Tenaya Jayne
The thought choked her, and she couldn't sing for a moment. She continued walking out toward the edge, trying to free the notes lodged in her throat. She wasn't trying to sneak up on anyone, or overhear anything. But the deep tones of Elder Fer stopped her in her tracks.
"Are you finished?"
"Almost, sir," another replied.
Shi peeked around the corner. Elder Fer talked to a warrior. She took a step back and held still, listening.
"Good. Make sure you don't place the bodies too close. We don't want that smell here."
"Yes. Have no fear. By tonight, the smell of death will protect our borders."
"I hate this time of year. Two nights of seclusion! Two nights of leaving our people unguarded."
"I know, sir. I hate it, too."
Shi listened, but they said nothing else. What bodies were they talking about? Who had the warriors killed and why? Could it be that they were so determined to keep their privacy they killed those who threatened it? Was that why she had never seen any but her own kind? A chill spread through her. Would they hurt Ler? Yes, she felt sure they would, for touching her, if nothing else.
Indignation rose inside her as her suspicions grew. She continued in her work of uplifting everyone around her with song, the notes came out now without her having to think of them. A dangerous what if sprang to life like a spark in her mind, and by the evening it had grown into a healthy fire.
Shi went to see Shea before the equinox ceremony began, but as she approached her sister's place, she stopped abruptly. Hul was wrapped around Shea, kissing her passionately. Shi watched for a moment, she'd never seen him be quite so…much before. She noticed Shea's altered breathing and the way her hands clenched and pulled him closer.
Shi turned around and went back to the flame.
The equinox ceremony was the same every time. Everyone gathered in a circle around the Heart at the onset of night. The Verdant began singing again, the notes falling gently on everyone's ears. No one spoke. When the song was over, the root chalice, filled with the drugged sap wine, passed from person to person. Everyone took one sip then went back to their trees, climbed inside, and instantly fell asleep. The elders drank first. Then the breeders, the warriors, and last, the Verdant. Shi had carefully chosen the last place. Mae took her drink and passed the chalice to Shi. Shi looked at Mae. Mae's eyes glazed over, and she walked to her tree and climbed inside. Shi looked down at the last little bit of wine and poured it out on the ground. She set the chalice carefully by her tree.
A chill swept over her. She was all alone. No protection. No eyes on her. No one to stop her. She was free…if only for two days and nights. The entire world could exist in two days.
****
Leramiun sensed something was amiss as soon as the End of the Bridge dumped him on the ground. He walked a little in the darkness, scanning the area, listening carefully. As he approached the massive line of trees, the stench of death stopped him dead in his tracks. His pulse jumped violently. Shi! Was she okay? Logic pushed its way through his initial panic, and he took a deep breath of the vile smell. It was old. No one who died in the last few days would smell like that. Plus, it was a smell he recognized, werewolf.
Vexed over the stench, but nonetheless relieved, he moved off, away from the smell, back to where he'd first laid eyes on her, and waited. He didn't have to wait long. He felt her coming before he saw her. An intense energy radiated from her. She walked toward him in a rush, her beauty almost bringing him to his knees. Before he could even say hello, she grabbed his hand.
"Come with me," she whispered.
Gladly, anywhere, he thought as she pulled him forward. He didn't hesitate or even notice where she was leading him, all he could perceive was their hands entwined and the amazing sensation her skin rubbed onto his. She pulled him past the rotting smell, past the monumental trees, and into a dream. She stopped and turned to look at him. "They sleep. All of them. No one knows you’re here. No one will harm you."
He smiled. "Really? You won't harm me?"
She looked genuinely confused.
He chuckled and rubbed the heel of his hand over his heart. "I'll risk any further damage, but you've already dealt me a mortal wound, Shi. My heart's broken beyond all hope."
She put her hand over his and looked deep in his eyes. "You say the strangest things…and I think maybe you say them to achieve something, though I don't know what. But still, your words come back to me when I'm alone. I hear your voice when I'm not with you, and I look at your face even when my eyes are closed. Why is that?"
His expression became entirely serious. "It is the same with me."
"You hardly know anything about me."
"That changes nothing."
"I hardly know anything about you."
"I'll tell you anything you want to know," he said.
She opened her mouth then snapped it shut, shaking her head. "No, I ask too many questions."
He frowned. "Shi, ask me anything. I want you to."
"No. Time is too short. I wanted to show you the manifestation. It's more striking in the dark, the same is true of the waterfalls."
She laced her fingers through his and led him into the thick of the wood.
Leramiun found it hard to breathe as he stood on the shore gazing at the waterfall. Had he not met Shi before seeing it, he would have insisted such natural beauty could not exist. The light coming from the water had hypnotic power, but he couldn't stand to look at anything too long while Shi was next to him. Her beauty was more hypnotic than the water.
Then she led him to the manifestation. He saw the white flames in the distance and felt such a pull of power through his whole body, he ran, pulling her along, desperate to see, desperate to absorb more.
"Careful," she cautioned. "Approach slowly."
"Can I touch it?"
"No, you must not. Only the Verdant are allowed."
He watched the sensual dance of the flames. They shot out of the ground but consumed nothing. No heat came from them.
"The Heart of the world lies here, just under our feet. The flames are the outpouring of the Heart's emotions. It is my job, along with the other Verdant, to minister to the flame."
Leramiun tore his eyes away reluctantly. He understood the mass grave. He understood why the Dryads held a line they allowed no one to cross. But who gave them the authority to claim ownership? If this truly was the Heart of Regia, then it should belong to everyone. It should belong to him. He was the king after all.
He turned his full attention back to Shi. "Which one is you?"
She laid a hand on the tree next to her. "This one."
He looked up into the canopy. It was an undeniably odd moment. He reached out and laid his hand flat against the trunk. Shi shivered.
"You feel that?"
She giggled nervously. "I do. I had no idea that I would."
A devious glint lit his eyes.
"Don't get any ideas," she threatened.
"But that's what I do when I'm with you. I get ideas."
Shi looked at him fearfully. He pulled his hand away.
"Well, you’re a beautiful…tree, as well as a beautiful woman."
"I didn't know if I should show you or not. I thought it might be too much, just how different we really are from each other. I thought it might scare you away."
"And you don't want to scare me away?"
"No," she whispered.
He felt her eyes go straight to his heart and pin it.
"Gah!" He threw his hands up and walked away. "What are you doing to me?"
"What?" She chased after him.
"I don't know why I come here, eagerly wanting this torture… I should go before it's too late."
"Too late for what?"
He stopped and looked at the ground. "I'm a bastard. It doesn't matter what this will do to my heart, but yours… When I kissed you, you said I had no right. I still don't. And what I've been doing… It's working. I'm wearing down your defenses."
/>
"Why?"
He laughed darkly. "Because I want you—" He looked up then, his eyes swallowing her. "Do you understand?"
"No! I don't understand!" she cried. "Sometimes I think I'm starting to comprehend. You've changed things for me since I first saw you. I was so alone. I didn't realize how much I resented my position. I didn't choose the life I lead. And no one can touch me; everyone treats me as though I have no feelings. I'm above them, too fragile for real life. And then I break one rule and go out beyond the boundary and there you are. You don't treat me the way they do…"
He placed both hands gently on her cheeks. "I'm lost, Shi. I'm totally lost in you, and I don't know what to do about it."
She looked at her hands, surprised to see them clenched on his shoulders. She recognized the tension, remembering the way her sister's hands looked earlier that day. She looked back into the depths of his azure eyes and realized she was caught in the undertow.
"Remember the things I told you I'm not supposed to know?"
He sighed and dropped his hands. "Yes. I remember."
He made to turn away, but she held fast to his shirt. He looked back at her quizzically.
Her whole body trembled. "Teach me."
His mouth fell open in shock, then slowly, very slowly, his lips curved into a smile.
Calm down, he told himself. Use your head.
Taking a deep breath, Leramiun reached down and picked her up. She clung around his neck, her gaze frightened but determined. He looked for a nice soft place to set her down, but he was suddenly acutely aware they were surrounded by other people. Trees would have never tamped down his passion before, but now…he wanted way more privacy than this. Shi said they were sleeping. Sleeping or not, he felt exposed.
He carried her out of the dense area back toward the waterfall. The trees cleared around the beach. That was better. Then, he had another problem. What did he really plan to do with her? She gave him an open invitation to something that was totally foreign to her. Hell, there might be more than a few differences in the way vampires went about this compared to Dryads.
He looked back in her eyes and felt himself crumble. He couldn't throw her on the ground and have his way with her. She wasn't a whore from his harem. She was the most innocent person he'd ever met. He wouldn't betray her trust like that.
He set her down gently and sat in the sand next to her. She looked confused.
"All right. You can't learn everything at one time," he said, smiling. "And it's important that you know a vampire's mouth is the most sensitive place on their whole body."
She smirked at him. "When I said teach me, I thought you'd take a more hands on approach."
"Shh! You're the student."
She straightened up and placed her hands in her lap, trying to look serious.
"My fangs can break the skin with the slightest pressure. I could easily lose my head with your blood in my mouth. Understand?"
She raised one eyebrow and nodded.
"Now, student, after what you've just learned, think carefully about how you would like to kiss me…then proceed to practical application."
Shi snorted. If that's how he wanted to play, she was game. She leaned toward him then stopped. "Close your eyes," she said.
He smiled and obeyed. She gazed at him and waited for his face to relax. Then she lifted her hand and ran her fingers along the side of his face, and then very lightly across his lips. His mouth parted, and his breath blew out raggedly over her finger. She didn't need to think about this. She'd thought about it over and over again since that first night.
Shi wet her lips and pressed them against his. He moaned as if he was in some wonderful agony. She moved her lips and pressed them harder. His hand came up and braced on her shoulder. She could feel the level of power she had over him and decided to push him further. She sucked his bottom lip hard into her mouth and bit down on it.
Leramiun jolted, his eyes flying open in shock. Shi pulled back from him.
"You…" he panted. "Did you forget what I told you about my mouth?!"
"No. I didn't forget," she said, smiling sweetly.
His eyes widened at her. "You're a bad girl!"
She raised her eyebrows and laughed.
"Will you be my queen?"
Shi stopped laughing. "What did you say?"
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Will you be my queen?"
Shi frowned and looked out at the water.
Her frown made his heart plummet. "Shi, please. I have to have you for myself. I can't choose a bride off a damn list, not now." He thought of Helena and all the other women he'd been with casually. "And I can't treat you like a whore."
Her eyes cut back to him. "Do you love me?"
He gulped. "I think I do. I know it's too fast to seem real."
A sob rose up Shi's chest. "I don't know if what I feel for you is love, but it's strong… When I think of you, I feel more than I ever have. It aches, it whispers, and it sings. I hoped you would love me. I want you to." She abruptly looked away, pain pulling down on her face. "I shouldn't want your love. It's wrong."
"What difference does it make whether you want it or not? Because you'll have it regardless. Please say you'll be mine."
She looked back at him, a strong questioning in her eyes.
"Are you worried about…you know…children?" he asked.
Shi smiled and shook her head. "Not at all. I can't have any. My womb was removed from me when I was a baby, after my mother decided I would become a Verdant."
"Ler? What's wrong?"
His eyes had gone wide and their blue froze. He took her hand in a firm but shaking grip. "Shi, come away with me… Come away… Leave these cruel people behind."
"I can't go anywhere. I'm bound to my tree."
"Then I'll uproot you. I'll have you transplanted to the castle's garden. I'll take care of you. Protect you."
"Not possible. My roots grow inside the Heart. To remove them would kill me."
Leramiun put his head in his hands and pinched his eyes shut.
"Maybe this is all the time we can have," she said sadly. "Just two nights. There's too much to overcome. We aren't meant to be, Ler. We're too different."
"Do you want to be my queen or not?"
"Of course I do."
"Then you will be, and that's all there is to it. We'll figure it out. Change was coming anyway."
"What do you mean?"
He looked back into her eyes and touched her cheek. "I have something hard to tell you. There's been a terrible crime committed by some of your people. As the king, I have to do something about it."
"The warriors have killed?"
"How do you know about it?"
She shrugged. "I overheard some of them talking earlier today. They talked about moving bodies to protect us while we slept. That's all I know."
"I need your help, Shi. I have to be sure. Will you come with me? It's going to be unpleasant. If I showed you the dead, would you be able to tell for sure that your warriors killed them?"
"I believe so."
He led her out past the sleeping warriors, gently but possessively holding her hand. They passed close to one of the moved bodies.
"Ugh." Shi covered her nose and looked at the decaying corpse. "What is that?"
"A werewolf."
"Werewolf?"
"I'll tell you about them later. They are a strong and interesting people, even though they cause me tons of trouble."
Shi knew she was about to see more things she didn't want to see, but she continued to let Ler lead her. The pull began in her back, letting her know she was getting close to the end of her invisible tether.
"I can't go much farther."
"We're almost there. Look, that way." He pointed.
Shi walked as far as she could go and stopped. She clung to Ler's arm and stared, transfixed and horrified. Tears welled up and slid freely down her cheeks.
"It's not right," she whispered. "Their loved
ones don't know where they are. The dead are not honored by this. Each one of them had a name."
"Did the Dryad warriors do this?"
Shi nodded. "This was as far as they could go. What threat could these people have posed to us?"
"I have to do something, Shi. It's my responsibility."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to have to contemplate what justice should be. I promise I shall not be hasty in my decision. But the time of Dryad seclusion is over… Come on, let's go back."
"Wait, just a moment," she said, taking a step away from him.
It was his turn to be transfixed. Shi kneeled down and placed both her hands flat on the ground. She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. A surge of light came out of her hands and ran along the ground toward the dead. Flowers sprang up where the light had been, blossoming in a ring around the grave.
She stood up and took his hand again. She shrugged as he gaped at her. "It's the only thing I can do right now to honor them."
"You're so beautiful…in every way."
Chapter 6
Leramiun slunk inside Quinn's darkened bedroom. His pulse hammered in his veins with excitement. He ran to Quinn's sleeping form and began shaking him. He woke up swearing and swung a punch at Leramiun's face. He ducked and caught the edge of Quinn's knuckles on the side of his head.
"SHH! Shut up!" Leramiun said, blocking Quinn's fist again. "Get up and get dressed quickly. I need your help."
Quinn yawned and made a quick assessment of the manic light in Leramiun's eyes. "Geez, what's with you?"
Leramiun smiled and went to Quinn's closet, grabbing a handful of clothes, and threw them on the bed next to his brother. "I need you to come and witness for me."
Quinn blinked a few times then laughed aloud.
"Shh!"
"I'm sorry, but what mind altering substance have you been consuming?"
Leramiun knelt next to his brother's bed and grabbed his hand desperately. "I'm in love. I have to finalize everything with Shi in secret. Now, as the sun rises. It has to be now, before anyone can stop it. The ritual won't be legitimate unless there's a witness. I need your help. Please, Quinn! Do this for me. I'm asking as your brother. I can't trust anyone else with this."
