Orlind

by Charlotte E. English

  The prospect of leaving the Seven took some getting used to. Glinnery had always been her home, and she loved it whole-heartedly. The separation from her parents, too, was hard. Never had it occurred to her that she might do otherwise than marry someone from Waeverleyne and settle close to her parents’ home. Part of her heart yearned to follow that old plan, and stay within the borders of Waeverleyne. She could visit Iskyr often; it would be perfectly possible to perform her role as envoy that way.

  But she loved Iskyr, too, and as the time drew nearer for Pensould’s departure her heart felt still more divided. She knew he would stay if she asked him to, but he would not be happy in her world. Could she be happy in his? And what of her parents? She was all that they had, or would ever have.

  In the end, it was her mother who decided the issue. ‘You must do what will make you happiest, love,’ she said, with a smile both sad and proud. ‘And you know we’ll always be here.’

  Llan looked at her father.

  ‘You know where you should be,’ he said gruffly. ‘Know it as well as we do.’

  He was right. They were both right.

  When Pensould left her parents’ house, she followed him.

  ‘What’s this, Minchu?’ he said, smiling down at her. ‘Are you coming with me?’

  ‘Yes,’ she said, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. ‘I’m going with you.’

  Pensould beamed. ‘How fortunate that I came prepared.’ Releasing her, he dug in a pocket and produced a slightly squashed nara-fruit. This he presented to her with a flourish.

  ‘Thank you,’ Llandry said doubtfully. ‘What’s this?’

  Pensould’s smile grew radiant. ‘Edible goods, Minchu, and all for you.’

  A questing nose appeared over the lip of her carry pouch and Sigwide climbed out.

  Food? he queried.

  Pensould sighed. ‘All right, yes. For Master Sigwide too.’

  ***

  As glad as Eva was to go home, she suffered some trepidation about it, too. She knew that the moment she returned there would be a thousand things requiring her attention. And she was right.

  She was kept urgently busy as she told her various tales many times over, was consulted with by innumerable officials and ministers, and visited by every one of her friends, connections and acquaintances. She was astonished to realise how long she’d been away, and quite run off her feet with obligations.

  None of that interfered with her immense satisfaction in being home.

  A day after her return, an article appeared in one of the most popular of the city’s gossip papers.

  The long-absent Lady Glostrum has returned to Glour at last - and she’s got a new wardrobe! We at the Society Week predict that her ladyship’s trousers will be the biggest new trend we’ve seen in the past decade.

  The article contained a quote she’d given to their lead reporter, and a large picture.

  On the following day, Eva received a note from her tailor, Baynson. It was brief.

  To Her Ladyship Evastany Glostrum:

  Business has never been better. Thank you.

  She immediately sent him an order for ten new pairs of trousers.

  Eva had taken Avane and her son home to Glour sometime before. She attended the ceremony that made the quiet sorceress into an ambassador to the draykoni, feeling a stab of sympathy for her as she received her new title. Avane wasn’t the usual type to enter politics and it would be hard for her to adjust. But still, it was an honour, and the new Lady Draykon seemed to feel it.

  In the midst of her busy activity and her popularity lay a sour note. Tren had left her house soon after their return to Glour: he had been whisked away at once to explain himself to his former boss, Lord Angstrun, and many another person besides. His future had to be decided, job offers to be presented and either accepted or turned down, and he had spoken apprehensively about the house he had been renting before he’d left. Did he even have a home anymore? Eva had heard nothing from him about the outcome of any of this, and a week passed without her seeing him at all. As time went on she felt progressively more forgotten and more nervous. Many times she considered going in search of him, but dismissed the idea: he must be given time and space to arrange his life and affairs as he chose. She would not chase him. But to wait in wretched uncertainty for a lover to call was no habit of Eva’s, and she found it difficult.

  On one evening nearly two weeks after her return from Orlind, Eva sat alone in her parlour. The Night Cloak had settled in about an hour before, and she was enjoying the first evening of peace and solitude she’d been able to command since her return. She had a stack of newspapers and circulars at her elbow and was steadily working her way through the reports of the last few weeks when her doorbell rang.

  Her heart leapt, hoping that it would be Tren. She stuffed it back down ruthlessly, reading herself a brief but stern lecture. Her doorbell had rung many times over the last few days and every time she’d been disappointed when it wasn’t Tren. That was something she would need to get over.

  She resisted the temptation to leap to her feet and see who it was, instead waiting quietly while Beane, her butler, trod his slow way across her tiled floor and opened the door. Her parlour was near the front of the house, but still the conversation at the door did not reach her ears clearly enough to determine any more than that the visitor was male. That alone was enough to set her foolish heart beating faster.

  Two sets of footsteps made their way across the tiles and paused at her door. Beane opened it just enough to admit himself, and bowed.

  ‘Mr Warvel, m’lady. I thought you’d be wanting to see him.’

  Eva’s mood flashed from suspense to joy to feverish apprehension in an instant. He was here at last, but what was he here to say?

  ‘Thank you, Beane,’ she said, keeping her voice steady with an effort. ‘Do let him come in.’

  ‘Ma’am.’ Beane stood aside to let Tren pass, then discreetly left, closing the parlour door behind him.

  Tren hovered in the doorway, looking as uncertain as she felt. In one hand he carried a travelling case.

  Eva smiled at him, trying to ignore the way her heart sank into the floor. ‘Welcome,’ she said simply. ‘It’s been some time, hasn’t it?’

  ‘It does seem like a long time,’ he agreed, his eyes flicking to the desk at which he’d once spent many hours reading. ‘I... um, am I disturbing you?’

  She folded up the paper she’d been reading and threw it on the pile. ‘You’re not disturbing anything important. I was just catching up. Can I offer you something? Tea? Food?’

  ‘Nothing, thank you,’ he smiled. He opened his mouth to say something more, but then shut it again and hesitated.

  ‘Why don’t you put that down?’ she suggested, indicating the bag he still clutched. ‘And have a seat. Are you going somewhere?’ The question came out calmly enough, though she had to hide her trembling fingers in her lap.

  ‘I hope so.’ He put down the bag and sat across from her. His whole posture spoke of a lack of ease and a surfeit of apprehension. ‘I need to speak to you. I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch; I had a few arrangements to make.’

  ‘Of course,’ she said steadily, hoping the conversation wouldn’t take long. She didn’t trust her composure to last. ‘What would you like to talk about?’

  ‘Well... I was - that is - my apartment was still there. I mean, it was still mine. I realised that...’ he stopped. ‘That is, it’s completely unsuitable for - for anyone but me. I have only four rooms, you see, and I never bothered to make much of a home out of it. So I gave it up.’

  She nodded. ‘And where are you travelling to?’

  He blinked. ‘Well. Here, or... so I hope.’

  ‘Here,’ she repeated. Then comprehension dawned. ‘You mean... you’re staying?’

  ‘If I’m welcome.’

  ‘You aren’t leaving Glour?’

  His eyebrows lifted. ‘Why would I leave Glour?’

  S
he took a deep breath. ‘I thought you might feel differently about... some things... now that we’re back in Glour. I mean, it can be easy to forget all manner of impediments when you’re far from home and normal life seems so distant.’

  ‘You thought I was leaving you.’

  ‘I did think you might have reconsidered. Two weeks without word didn’t help.’

  He turned pale. ‘That’s what you were thinking? I’m sorry! Truly, I am. I knew you were busy and I didn’t think you’d want to be pestered with my selfish requirements.’

  Eva smiled a little. ‘Why don’t you tell me what those “selfish requirements” are?’

  ‘I want you to stay with me,’ he said promptly. ‘Tradition dictates that I ought to invite you to my home, but I didn’t think you’d take kindly to a cramped bachelor’s house. The question is, do you want an irritating youth loafing around your beautiful aristocratic manor?’

  ‘It depends how fond I am of the irritating youth,’ she said reflectively. ‘If we suppose me to be very fond of him, I imagine we can make some arrangement.’

  Some of the tension left Tren’s face and he smiled. ‘You’re being indirect and I wish you wouldn’t be.’

  ‘Well, you’re the one who chose to sit on the opposite side of the room like a stranger.’

  Tren opened his arms and Eva didn’t hesitate. She crossed to him and deposited herself in his lap with a sigh of relief. ‘You’re hard work,’ she told him.

  ‘Hey. I’m trying not to be encroaching.’

  ‘Feel free to encroach. You have permission.’

  His hands tightened on her waist. ‘Does that mean you’ll marry me?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Ummm.’ He blinked down at her. ‘That’s it? Just yes?’

  ‘Why? Were you hoping for “no”?’

  ‘Well, no, but... everyone knows that Lady Glostrum disapproves of matrimony.’

  ‘I do not!’

  He shrugged. ‘You’ve never done it, which amounts to the same thing in the public mind. But aren’t you going to object on any grounds? What about all those impediments you mentioned a moment ago?’

  ‘Why don’t you do the objecting for me,’ she suggested, the sudden release of tension making her feel drowsy. ‘I’m really far too tired.’ She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

  ‘All right,’ he agreed. ‘There’s an age gap, you’ll recall. A large one. Aren’t you concerned about that?’

  ‘Not if you aren’t.’

  ‘Okay... what about the gap - nay, gulf - in status? It’s not at all the thing for an aristocrat to marry a nobody.’

  ‘You aren’t nobody.’

  He was silent for a moment.

  ‘I can’t think of any more.’

  ‘That wasn’t a very determined effort, Tren,’ she said with mock disapproval. ‘Only two objections?’

  ‘Hey,’ he protested. ‘They’re pretty big and, some would say, insurmountable objections.’

  ‘Well,’ she said sleepily, ‘I just surmounted them.’

  Tren stroked her hair. ‘Surely it can’t be that easy. Nothing about you is ever that simple.’

  ‘A lot’s happened to change me,’ she murmured. ‘I made complicated a lot of things that ought to have been simple. The plain fact is that I don’t wish to be without you ever again, and therefore the only reasonable thing to do is to bind you to my side by any means available.’

  Tren was beaming; she could hear it in his voice. ‘I really did expect you to say no.’

  ‘Sorry for the disappointment.’

  ‘Well,’ he said with a sigh. ‘I think I can live with it.’

  She smiled. ‘Then we’re agreed?’

  ‘Yes,’ he said and kissed her. ‘Agreed.’

  ***

  End Notes

  Thank you for reading Orlind! Want more? The next Seven Realms book, Seven Dreams, is now available for pre-order. Set soon after the events of Orlind, Seven Dreams features a new cast of characters plus the return of some old friends.

  Seven mortal Realms I saw and seven keys had I...

  Serena Carterett leads a team of masqueraders, shapeshifters and reformed thieves. Their task? To oppose the criminal Yllandu at every turn. It's a straightforward job -- until the Yllandu get their hands on a mysterious stone artefact, and at the behest of a powerful Lokant employer. When a strange riddle appears in the sky, the hunt for the Seven Dreams begins.

  Who will find the seven keys, and what do they open? Nobody knows, but Serena is determined to deny the Yllandu the prize. Her team must battle Lokants and sorcerers, scholars and thieves to solve the puzzle first. The hunt will take them all the way across the Seven Realms -- and far into the darkness of their own past.

  Seven Dreams is out now!

  If you’d like to be the first to hear about my new book releases, giveaways and deals, sign up to my email newsletter at http://www.charlotteenglish.com/newsletter.

  Find me online:

  Website: www.charlotteenglish.com

  Twitter: @charlottenglish

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  Also by Charlotte E. English:

  The Draykon Series: Epic fantasy

  Draykon

  Lokant

  Orlind

  The Malykant Mysteries: Dark fantasy murder mysteries

  The Rostikov Legacy

  The Ivanov Diamond

  Myrrolen's Ghost Circus

  Ghostspeaker

  The Drifting Isle Chronicles: Steampunk fantasy

  Black Mercury

  Tales of Aylfenhame: Regency fairytale fantasy

  Miss Landon and Aubranael

  Miss Ellerby and the Ferryman

  Glossary of Terms

  Arvale: An ancient draykoni name for the realm now known as Glinnery.

  Ayrien: An ancient draykoni name for the Lower Realms.

  Ayverty: Meat-eating beasts, as tall at the shoulder as a typical human with powerful jaws and strong teeth. They are covered in thick fur, usually white with a blue sheen. They are intelligent and can be fiercely loyal.

  Cayluch: A hearty beverage made from milk, cream, cocoa beans and coffee. Typically enjoyed steaming hot.

  Daefly: Insects with small, thin bodies and enormous coloured wings. Feeding on flower nectar, daeflies are instrumental in the pollination process.

  Darklands: It is always night in the Darklands provinces of the Seven Realms. During the day, sorcerers use a powerful enchantment called the Night Cloak to block out the light and keep the sun from damaging the eyes of its residents, or the plants brought from the permanently dark Lower Realms.

  Day Cloak: A magical enchantment wrought by sorcerers which keeps the Daylands permanently in sunlight (or something like it). This ensures that sun-loving plants and animals native to the Upper Realms may thrive across the Daylands, too.

  Daylands: In the Daylands provinces, night never falls. When the sun goes down, sorcerers create an artificial daylight effect called the Day Cloak, less powerful than full sunlight but sufficient to keep light-loving plants and animals content. Daylands realms include Glinnery and Irbel.

  Desente bird: A large, dark bird with purple feathers and keen eyesight. Desentes have such enormous wings they can stay aloft for up to eighteen hours without landing.

  Drauk: These reptiles are adaptable and can live in most Daylands environments. They are usually black-scaled, with wickedly sharp claws and long, thin necks and tails.

  Draykon: The largest and most fearsome species known to the Seven Realms. Draykons are reptilian, with scaled hide of various colours as well as long tails, claws and vast webbed wings. They are as intelligent as humans and can shape-shift.

  Evenglow: Glinnery term for the Day Cloaked hours, when the strong natural sunlight gives way to the more muted light of the enchantment.

  Everum: An ancient draykon name for Glour.

  Glissenwol: Native to the realm of Glinnery, the glissenwol tree is taller than
most other species, with a broad, sturdy trunk and a wide cap instead of branches and leaves.

  Glostrel trees: Graceful, slender-branched trees with silvery bark and wide, white leaves. These grow in abundance across Glour, and in some parts of Orstwych and Ullarn.

  Irignol trees: Leafless trees with black, frondy bark and very dark brown wood. These form symbiotic relationships with a species of pale silvery-green lichen. They can grow to great heights, and their trunks and branches become ever more contorted with age.

  Irilapter: These tiny winged creatures have long, thin bodies covered with fur and comparatively large wings similar to those of a daefly. A typical irilapter will have a long, curled tail and a similarly long, curled proboscis, plus far more riotous colour in its small form than ought to belong to a single creature.

  Irtand: Draykon name for the "Middles" or the Seven Realms.

  Iskyr: An ancient draykoni word for the place now more commonly called The Upper Realms.

  Istore: Named by Llandry Sanfaer, istore is an indigo-coloured gemstone with a silver shine.

  Kreeay: Small Glinnery birds, swift on the wing, typically with white plumage.

  Lokant: A word meaning "Librarian" in an ancient tongue.

  Lower Realms: Existing as an adjacent plane to the Seven Realms, the Uppers are so-called because they are believed to be situated somewhere beyond the ground. There is no sun in the Lowers, and as such it is always dark - though there are multiple moons which sometimes change colour. This place is notoriously unstable and difficult to navigate, as the geographical layout and scenery are in a state of constant flux. The Lower Realms may be reached by opening a gate between the two worlds.