by Inez Kelley
Exhaustion took her to the floor and he followed, his body still trapped in hers. He pulled her to her side, curving his frame around hers. His lips fell to her shoulder.
“Oh, nayeli, without you, paradise is going to be hell.”
Chapter Thirteen
Darach sat with his back against the wall, just watching her. The blanket draped around her like a shroud, a mourning gown of the lowest variety. Her cornflower gaze trained on the turquoise ring on her hand and her hand clasped the stone he’d rested in. His eyes closed against the sting of tears. He’d miss that tiny circle of stone that held him so close to her heart. He’d miss her.
“Had I not—” His voice caught and he drew a breath to steady his resolve. “You would have married Argot and been happy, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, but don’t ask me to—”
“Jana, I want you to be happy, to find love one day.”
“I found it and now it’s leaving me.”
“My love for you will live forever.”
Along her lips, a tiny smile bowed as she turned the ring along her finger. “Did you know my mother wasn’t from Eldwyn Proper? She was from Hillcrest, near Lake Venica.”
Darach frowned. “No, I didn’t know that.”
“She met my father at Nemury during King Taric’s trial, before he was king, of course. When they married, she moved to Thistlemount with him. That’s the custom. When a woman marries, she leaves her father’s house and becomes part of her husband’s household.”
A rolling drum began in his chest, possibility speeding the beat.
“Before he remarried, before Salome was human, she offered to take him to her realm. He had to stay here. He’s Eldwyn’s Might and Law, the King’s High Captain, so she chose to remain here as well.”
She met his eyes with conviction—stone-solid and unwavering.
“Take me home with you, Darach. I want to be with you in your world.”
Thoughts erupted in his head. He could do it. If she chose to trade her humanity, his world would accept her as his. Eternity would be theirs. His lips parted to agree but something held his tongue. What she asked shouldn’t be considered lightly.
“Jana, do you realize that physical death has to be near? But I can’t...kill you. Not only would it sicken me to hurt you, if I cause your death then I can’t embrace your spirit to take it with me.”
Her mouth firmed into a thin line. “Then I guess I’ll have to do it myself.”
Aghast at her fortitude, he sputtered. “Your body will remain behind, you’ll have no solid form.”
“I’ll have eternal love.”
“You have love here, your family. There’s no way to cross to the other side of life from my realm. You would forever be parted from them, even in death. You could never return.”
“My family would want me to be happy. They’d understand. Take me with you.”
Hope he’d hardly acknowledged tore from him, and a strange sound poured from his throat. It took him a split second to recognize it as a sob. He was across the rough floor in a blink, cradling her, taking her mouth.
“I will wrap you in sunlight, bathe you in music, surround you in the most peaceful joy you can imagine. Konoronhkwa, Jana, oka nayeli, oka no’ol.”
“What does that mean?” Her laugh tickled against his lips.
He tucked her hair behind her ear. “Everything. It’s me claiming you as my own evermore. You’ll never die, Jana, never know hunger or pain, sadness or fear. Only love, my love and those of the others welcoming you.”
Unable to pry his mouth from her skin, Darach rained tiny kisses along her shoulder, over the healing red scratch. There was no threat of pain in his realm and he couldn’t wait to bring her there and keep her safe forever. The curve of her jaw held a hint of salt with the sweetness and he nipped.
“Once we reach the charmed ruby and break this curse, I’ll take you to my home, nayeli.”
Her nails bit into his arms and she shied away from his mouth. “You can travel through the earth, right? The royal vault is on Thistlemount’s ground level with a stone floor. You could retrieve the ruby. We could break the curse now.”
The possibility stunned him. “Tell me where.”
“The scepter rests in a wooden box with gilded corners and a velvet bed for protection. The scepter’s over six feet tall so you can’t miss it.”
Excitement coursed through him as she outlined where the vault lay and where the wall lanterns were. He dressed and packed a bit of her flint into his pouch, then stood. “What if I’m discovered?”
“Then they’ll take you to the king, which is fine. Just explain why we need the ruby. But it’d be better if you could just get the gem and come back here.”
He dropped a hard kiss on her lips. “I will return, nayeli.”
Magic vibrated through him as he dissolved to mist. He used the rock hearth as a conduit to the expanse of Mother Earth. Free of his human shell, his essence was faster and ate the distance in minutes. The winter-cold stone bounced off him. He plowed through the mountain beds, streaming toward the soft soil of the valley. Wells and pits dipped into the Earth’s crust but he only shimmied around them, never slowing his trek. Thistlemount’s bailey walls dug several feet beneath the surface and he used them as a marker. Streaming upward, he rose from the frigid marble floor surrounded by black.
Jana had directed him well and he had no trouble finding the glass globe of a wall lantern in the dark. Sparks flashed as he struck the flint but light sprang from the wick. The tiny flame danced over a myriad of jewels, boxes and bags. A stack of gold bars filled one shelf. Others were lined with family treasures.
The light bounced off a pale peach flower. Darach halted, opened the glass display door and lifted one rose from its padded bed. Rycca’s roses still lived, banished for centuries to this darkened alcove. The fragile glass was cool beneath his fingers. It was lovely but had no softness, no fragrance, nothing of what a true bloom held. He put the flower back on the ledge and searched for the long box.
All he need do was raise his eyes. A maple box glossed to a high shine bore the embossed seal of Eldwyn. The lid made no noise as he lifted it away.
Topping a slender golden staff was a blood-red ruby the size of a chicken’s egg. The clarity was amazing, sending a crimson shade across his hand even in the low light. He pried the gem from the gold setting with ease, the soft metal giving under the slightest bit of force. He frittered away one long moment just caressing the stone, letting the pulse of magic sing to him. Then he tucked it in his purse, blew the light away and sank into stone.
Jana had dressed but her long sunshine hair flowed around her shoulders. He drank in her beauty as he took solid form. She’d be embraced by a multitude but none would love her as strongly as he did. He’d fuse his essence with hers on levels she couldn’t envision in this realm. Simply imaging her twined with him forevermore raged through his core with earthquake force.
He held the ruby out, watched her mouth part in awe.
She stroked the stone with one finger. “I can feel it. It’s singing! Why hasn’t Queen Myla ever to—”
“It sings for you, Jana. End this curse and then come home with me.”
“Will we leave right away? Or will there be a few moments before you’re called?”
“Once a promised duty is complete, we’re summoned home.”
On the table, she laid the intertwined braid of hair and Argot’s ring. “Then I’ll leave this here. Once they find my body, I think my father’ll understand what it means, know where I am.”
Darach cupped her cheek and looked steadily into her eyes. “Be sure you want this.”
“I am.” Her fingers held his to her face then trembled taking the stone from his hand. “How do I do this? A ruby is nearly as hard as a diamond.”
“This isn’t a true gem. It’s blood and dirt, formed with a magic that’s all but exhausted. It will break for you.”
A quick pink tongue flicked out, we
tting her lips. “I’ll need something to hit it with.”
The hearth was river rock held by mortar. Darach searched, found a sizable stone near the edge and gripped it. Using power borrowed from Mother Earth, he tore the rock away. Gray dust rained from the hole. Jana placed the ruby on a flat stone before the fire then hefted the heavy rock above her head.
Darach stopped her. “Once the heartmate curse is broken, the call may come swiftly. You need to be ready.”
She freed her small dagger from its sheath. The short, sharp blade caught the firelight as she placed it within her reach on the hearth. She drew a slow breath, blowing it away, then gripped the rock. Her arms shook and breasts heaved with the effort but she held the stone high above her head.
It crashed down with a mighty crack!
The ruby splintered to glistening dust. A whiff of purple streamed from the pulverized gem, the last breath of magic fading into the air. Jana dropped the hammering stone and clutched her dagger, holding the point at the rapid pulse visible in her neck. Silence echoed. Their ragged breaths screamed loud as they stared at each other, poised for a miracle, a bridge between this world and his own. They waited.
Jana looked up at the ceiling as if expecting it to collapse at any moment. “Do you hear anything?”
Darach shook his head in bewilderment. “No.”
“Why not? I broke the curse, right?”
Darach angled his head, straining to hear a call that wasn’t there. Something was wrong. Frantically, he scoured his mind, his memory, his magic. The release of the heartmate bond should have been the end of his task. “Oh, Jana.”
“What?”
“When the queen summoned me...what were her words?”
“Exactly?”
His boots stomped against the wooden floor, his hands clutching his loose hair. A growl tore from his throat. “Stupid! I’m so stupid. She said, ‘Power to save a royal line, might to spare sweet blood of mine.’ The queen has more than one son, more than one bloodline to protect. I made a mistake. We saved the wrong son!”
* * *
King’s bishop five. He was safe. King Taric skimmed the tiny parchment scrap even though he’d memorized each word. Knight to pawn two. Fork escape. Darach had saved his son’s life two times, both times narrow misses. No sacrifice. Center clear. Batu and Jana were safe inside Myrtlewood’s fortress. Weariness pressed down and he rubbed his eyes. Now if he could only be as sure about his youngest son.
“Found him.” His captain entered the study with a stern wedge in his jaw. “You were right. Warric is with a woman named Kya in a cottage eight miles south of here.”
The king shifted in his seat, trying to dislodge the ache in his chest. Worry over Warric only intensified it. Fear sharpened it to a point and he winced. If Warric truly was the threat to the crown, it would explain why he’d lie about having a bondmate. A heartmate was a powerful bargaining chip, a deadly one. Nausea popped sweat along his upper lip. Somehow, he never envisioned having to use his royal authority to put his own blood on trial.
He rose from his chair, pulled himself to a regal height and forced command into his tone. “Issue a warrant for Warric’s arrest and bring him here, in chains if you must. The woman is the key to controlling him now. Take her, but gently. Don’t harm her. She’ll be the only thing that prevents him from using his magic to get away.”
His captain nodded once, tightly. “I already drafted the order. It just needs your seal.”
King Taric tried to move to the desk but agony exploded in his chest. His left arm went numb and red flashes popped in his vision. Words clogged in his throat, choking him. One hand stretched out to steady himself but pain snapped it back to his heart. The carpeting rushed toward him.
“Taric!”
He never felt the impact. Everything took on a watered haze, blurring and fading. The fear etched on his friend’s face tore at him but he couldn’t speak. Every muscle in his body quivered in misery. He forced one single word from his paralyzed lips.
“Myla.”
“Hold on.” His guard left but the king couldn’t turn his head to watch him leave. Pain ate the minutes, the seconds perhaps, maybe the hours, until a beautiful face appeared leaning over him.
A sharp blade cut away his tunic. His chest heaved and shuddered, his spine cracking with the force of his convulsions. Blood filled his mouth as he bit his cheek. His wife took his hand. He couldn’t make his fingers lace with hers as they had every day for over thirty summers.
“Look.” Her voice sounded far away.
“What the hell is happening? Why is his bondmark changing like that?”
“Darach and Jana. They’re breaking the curse.”
The High Captain yelled. “Like hell, they’re killing him!”
* * *
Batu rubbed his chest, craning his neck to ease the tension. The spiced grouse had been delicious but now he wondered if the heavy seasoning was going to haunt him all night long. The steps warped in his sight but he kept climbing while Paron spoke of a chess match tomorrow. Batu nodded, tugging at the lacings on his borrowed tunic. He couldn’t breathe. Sweat dripped down the sides of his face.
Outside his doorway, pain erupted in his chest and his knees hit the floor. He dimly heard Paron calling for aid, for a guard, for the healer. Batu did nothing but press his forehead to the rug and shake. Sensation left his arms and he tried to roll, to put himself on his back. Nothing in his body listened.
Through cramping muscles and knotted organs, he was vaguely aware of hands lifting him then lowering him onto the mattress. His injured shoulder was nothing compared to the furious burning in his chest. Paron mopped the sweat from Batu’s face with his own tunic sleeve, bellowing for the healer.
Paron’s man-at-arms frowned from the foot of the bed. “Milord, such concern over a horse trader?”
Paron closed his eyes. “God forgive me, this is no horse trader. This is the damned Crowned Prince!”
No matter how hard he tried, Batu couldn’t make his tongue move. Was it more poison? Some illness fate had served him? What was happening? Consciousness began to dim. One name echoed in his darkening mind. Feena.
* * *
Kya giggled under his tickling mouth, arching into his playful bite. She sat back with her cheeks flushed. “There’s bread in the box if you’re hungry but my backside has been nibbled enough.”
Warric scowled. “Mmm, no, I think I want more Kya rather than bread and jam.”
He reached for her, then froze. His ribs tightened around his lungs. Sucking in air was impossible. A cry died in his mouth. He grabbed at his aching heart as everything shifted and smudged before his eyes. The only thing he could see clearly was the sudden fright on her face.
“Warric?”
His muscles shook around the bone, and a searing lance speared through him. His head flopped against the pillows, gurgled sounds pouring from his mouth. Inside him, things curled and quaked with an increasing strength. He whispered her name but no sound left his mouth.
Fear tasted like raw meat. Was this it? Was his channeling chaos claiming control? Was this the final surge of corrupted magic taking hold of him? Would he destroy all those he loved?
Kya grasped his hand and brought it to her mouth. Tears streaked down her cheeks. Darkness encroached. Warric succumbed to it with a final realization. He’d never seen Kya cry before.
* * *
The abbey stairs were dank and shadowed. Feena fisted her skirt and climbed the winding steps, taking care where she put her feet. The Mother Abbess’s cat liked to lurk, lying in wait to snag any stray bit of material passing by. Feena wouldn’t risk a fall.
Only a half dozen steps remained when a cramp gripped her lower belly. No one in the abbey knew she was the newest Princess of Eldwyn or that she carried the Crowned Prince’s heir, and she didn’t want to break that secret. She stumbled into her cell. Not bothering to remove her plain novice habit, she curled into a ball and tried breathing through the spasming wav
es.
Dread slicked her throat. Was she losing the baby? Would fate be so cruel as to take her unborn child when her husband’s life was in danger? Though she felt no wetness, she pressed her thighs together as if that could keep the tiny babe from fleeing her womb. A single tear trickled to her cheek.
“Oh Batu, where are you? Be safe, my heart.”
Chapter Fourteen
The barn door creaked and the muscles along Darach’s spine clenched. He gave a sharp tug to the cinch of her saddle to avoid looking at her but nothing could hide her familiar fragrance. Jana smelled of their loving, of him and her wrapped in a moist haze of flesh and unspoken vows. For a brief time, he’d been poised to gather her close, cradle her in his arms and take her home where they could spend eternity in paradise. But he’d made a mistake, a colossal, irreparable error that forced them to continue on. He couldn’t stand to see recrimination on her face.
Fragile fingers landed on his shoulder. “What’s wrong? You’ve been so quiet since last night.”
“I failed.”
Those long fingers dug into his tunic. “Don’t say that. We haven’t failed yet.”
“No, Jana. I failed. Me. I’m your guide and I led you down the wrong path. In my arrogance, I neglected to consider that the royal bloodline had more than one branch. We’ve accomplished nothing but wasted precious time.”
He expected her to agree, to trivialize it, perhaps to even deny it. He did not expect her to laugh.
“Oh, Darach. We haven’t wasted time, we’ve mastered it. Look at all we’ve discovered. Batu is safe in Myrtlewood. We know about Rycca and Dyal and how the heartmate curse came to be. Had we truly failed, you would’ve already been called home, right?”
His teeth ground against one another. “True.”
“Then we haven’t failed. You found a thread that was knotted and we unknotted it. So there’s another knot we have to work on. No use griping about it. Let’s just get moving so we can fix it.” A gentle caress stroked up his neck to his cheek. “Part of being human is being fallible but you can’t let it destroy you.”
