Her lips still tingled from his kiss, a part of her worried about whether she had done it right. She knew it didn’t matter and that Feolan wouldn’t think twice about it in regards to performance. He’d only done it to keep Teagan from doing worse. “Feolan, it is alright,” she said calmly, rubbing his arms gently with her hands. “I had no idea that it was possible for him to become an even bigger piece of scum. Had I known, I never would have spoken to him. I guess some part of me thought that he was actually a friend.”
“With him, he cares only about one thing when it comes to women. I would recommend that you let go of any thought of him being a friend to you and just be wary of him. He is a snake and deserves to be stripped of all that he possesses which classifies him as a man.”
Leyna’s jaw fell open in disbelief at Feolan’s harsh words. She felt there was something deeper between the two men that she wasn’t aware of, though now hardly seemed the time to ask.
“Feolan, sir, I was not aware that you were seeing anyone.”
Feolan drew in a sharp breath at the sound of the voice, his muscles tensing before gradually beginning to relax. “I am not,” he stated firmly, turning to face the source. “This is simply a very dear friend of mine and the Consul’s…”
“Leyna, yes,” the strange man smiled, bowing his head toward her politely. “I have heard much about her, but no one told me she was a goddess in the flesh.”
“I assure you that I am not,” Leyna sighed. Was this really all men could think about? Since emerging back into society, all she’d heard from the male species was about beauty and how she looked. What happened to the days where she was respected for her ability to fight and strategize and not for the way she filled out her bodice?
The man was of distinct Vor’shai heritage, his eyes a light shade of blue that reminded Leyna of tiny circles of ice shining out from his fair skin. His angular features were surrounded by long jet-black hair tied neatly behind his shoulders. The suit he wore showed off his lean figure, the various shades of grey in the material blending together in the shirt, brought out by the dark black of his trousers.
“Leyna, this is Zander. He does some – work – for the Consul.” Feolan’s eyes darted around the area suspiciously. “But that is all on that which can be said.”
Zander patted down his pockets, furrowing his brow. “I would offer to buy the young lady a drink, but alas, I find myself out of money.”
“Well, if we find a table which will allow me to order some food, I will treat the men to drinks,” Leyna smiled, motioning toward a booth at the opposite end of the bar. She could still sense the tension in the air. It was whether or not the tension exuding from Feolan was between him and her that made the situation more awkward.
He said nothing as he followed her over to the booth. For the sake of putting distance between them, she slid into the seat across from him, positioning herself at Zander’s side to allow Feolan his seat to himself. If Zander was aware of the discomfort, he showed no signs of it in his behavior. “The wine here is quite good, if you were thinking to try one of their drinks. It is my beverage of choice when I visit.”
“I will take your word for it,” she replied quietly, smiling up at the waitress that came over to the table. “From the sounds of things we will be needing a glass of your wine and a couple cups of tea… and for now, two bowls of whatever soup you have on special.”
“Not daring enough to try the wine?”
“Too early in the day for drinking. I only just arrived. It would be best not to lose my senses so soon.”
An awkward silence settled over the table. She could tell by Feolan’s eyes that he was far away in his head, the creases in his forehead giving away the strain his thoughts were exerting upon him. There was no denying her own confusion over the situation which had occurred between them and Teagan. The malice she sensed from Teagan was almost frightening. As if he intentionally was trying to get something from the confrontation.
He had seen through her lie. She knew it was a poor idea to attempt feigning any form of courtship between her and Feolan, but she needed to make him think she was unavailable in order to avoid his advances. It was unexpected for Teagan to call her bluff in such a way. It put Feolan in a position which was unfair to him and forced him into a place that he didn’t have to endure, had it not been for her. Whatever was troubling him now, she felt it to be her fault, in some way. She would have to be more cautious about her actions in the future.
“Since we are more than likely all thinking about the same thing, I’m going to just come out and say it,” Zander stated calmly, nodding politely to the waitress as she sat the drinks down on the table in front of them. “Feolan, you do realize that in kissing her, you let him win?”
Feolan tilted his head curiously at Zander, the expression on his face never changing. “Only to an extent.”
Now the conversation had taken a turn for the worst, in her mind. It had been easy enough to avoid the awkwardness surrounding the kiss while it was not the focus of the discussion. She wasn’t comfortable detailing it out. Her own feelings were too confused to be able to think about it clearly. “You know, we could just discuss it later…”
“Do you really think he would have forced his own lips upon hers in front of everyone here? It wouldn’t have looked good, on his part.”
“I fully believe he would have. He has no issues about what people think of him and women in this city. To him, his position grants him the power to do whatever he wants with them. The people have come to expect it as normal for him.”
Position? Teagan had made mention of something himself before he left. I am an influential man now. What did that mean? Had he been given some kind of honor after the war? If so, she couldn’t think of what he could have been honored for, knowing his reputation and behavior even of that time. “What exactly does he do?” she asked quietly. She hated to cut into their conversation with her lack of understanding, but she needed to know the severity of the situation they had just encountered.
“Teagan had a string of good luck in one of the final battles of the war and held the blade that took down the Namiren Captain,” Feolan frowned. “Because of that, Queen Nesperiti granted him high honors and placed him within her court. Since then, he has wasted no opportunity at flaunting his position among the nobles and abusing the power that such grants him.”
“I took the display to be his way of coercing you into acting outside your usual honor by kissing her, especially if he truly didn’t believe there to be any courtship between the two of you.” Zander took a long sip of his wine, savoring the taste before continuing to speak. “Therefore, in doing so, he claims victory over you.”
Feolan shook his head dejectedly, closing his eyes to avoid Leyna’s sympathetic gaze. “There is no doubt in my mind that he would have taken advantage of the situation to justify kissing her himself if I had not – though I will admit there were other reasons behind why I gave in to it that I am in no way proud of, and I owe Leyna my deepest apologies for treating her in such a manner.”
“If I may say, if my lips were to be pressed against either of you two, I certainly prefer yours over his,” Leyna smiled hesitantly. It had been far from unpleasant for her, at the very least. Her heart fluttered at the memory. His lips had been the only thing she could think about while they were in contact with hers, preventing any feelings of humiliation that he might believe he caused her in his actions. If anything, he’d protected her from the black spot a public display between her and Teagan might have caused to her reputation.
“What exactly makes you so certain he would have acted upon his threats?”
Leyna could see Feolan’s face tighten at Zander’s question. He was holding back a flood of emotions that neither she nor Zander could possibly understand. When they finally burst forth from him, Leyna couldn’t believe what she was hearing to be true. “He would have acted upon it because it would have directly insulted me, the same way he did when he seduced my wife
just because he thought it would be fun.”
“Wife?” Leyna breathed, nearly choking on her tea. “Feolan, I wasn’t aware you were married.”
“That is because I no longer am. Teagan saw to that before he left my wife dishonored and pregnant with his child.”
His words came like a punch in the stomach for Leyna. What could she possibly say in response to such a revelation which would make anything feel right again? It sickened her to think of the pain Feolan was experiencing, forced to relive the horrible memories of his past because of her foolish idea to get Teagan to keep his distance. “Feolan, I am so sorry…”
“No, please, don’t apologize,” Feolan argued. The insistence in his tone caused Leyna’s voice to trail off, unsure of why he wouldn’t accept her request for forgiveness. “If anything, this granted me a brief moment of victory over him, though I am loathe to say it. I could just as easily have broken his nose in defense of your honor, but instead, to avoid violence, I took a more silent strike by taking advantage of you.”
“I don’t understand how this hurt him in any way.”
“Leyna,” Feolan replied softly, clasping her hand gently in his own from across the table. She stared down at it in surprise, glancing back up to see his grey eyes gazing deeply into hers. “Teagan has wanted you since the day he met you. Everyone in the unit knew that, which is why Thade and I intentionally did our best to keep a constant eye on you so he would leave you in peace. With that, I knew it would sting him to see my lips upon yours, even if he doubted there to be anything between us. I took the only shot I had, at your expense, when I should have struck him for his insolence.”
“You chose to react nonviolently, which I am more favorable to,” Leyna sighed. She wished there was something she could say which would wipe the melancholy expression from his face. How could she explain to him that she didn’t mind his actions and had even taken her own pleasure in seeing Teagan’s face at the sight of them? “I have so little experience – was my kiss so horrible that you cannot bear the thought of having endured it for the greater good?”
She could hear Zander chuckling to himself from behind his wine glass. Feolan looked confused at first, his eyes squinting at her. Giving him a warm smile, she squeezed his hand tightly, hoping to reassure him that she held no negative feelings toward him for his actions. After a moment, his features softened, his hand returning the pressure against hers with a grateful smile. “I was trying not to admit to myself that it was enjoyable. Your lips are rather soft.”
“Well, then. So long as the experience didn’t scar you for eternity, then I see no reason for us to dwell on it any longer.” Warmth flooded up to her cheeks at his compliment despite her efforts to fight it off. He had enjoyed it. She must have done something right, however unintentional it may have been.
She appreciated Zander’s presence, helping to keep the flow of conversation going throughout their meal. He seemed a rational man. Very intelligent. It made her wonder what sort of work it was that he did for Thade. He didn’t come across like any usual worker to her, his manner of speech not resembling that of a simple servant. He and Feolan avoided any in-depth conversation regarding business, piquing Leyna’s interest even more regarding their arrangements.
The crowd started to thin out in the tavern, the dishes from their meal long cleared away by the waitress who was growing more and more irritated by their continued occupancy. It was too relaxing for Leyna to care if they were being a bother. She’d spent so many years within the walls of Lady Faustine’s; the experience of being back out on her own felt incredible to her. Finally life was beginning to feel as if it were hers again; like she had some kind of control over the path she would take. She only wished Maeri could have come to experience it with her.
Maeri had always been a free spirit, barely contained under Faustine’s strict rules. As long as she remained there in Tanispa with Faustine, she would never escape the monotony of that life. It felt unfair to Leyna that she’d left there without bringing her friend.
Leyna was pulled from her thoughts by a sudden curse muttered from Zander’s direction. His body stiffened at the sight of a young woman coming through the door, her eyes sweeping over the tavern casually. Pressing himself against the wall, he blocked himself from her view, his eyes opening wide toward Feolan uncomfortably. “I think now would be a good time to part ways.”
“Pull up your hood, Leyna,” Feolan whispered, peering around the corner of the booth to see if the woman was watching. Content that her attention was focused elsewhere, he rose swiftly, trying not to draw attention to himself as he started to slink along the wall toward the door. “Meet me outside when you are able. Try to make it quick.”
Doing as she was told, she lifted the heavy fabric of Thade’s cloak up over her head. Feolan was out of sight before she had a chance to question their strange behavior, leaving her alone with Zander in the privacy of the booth. “What is going on?”
“They think I deal in slave trading. It is imperative they not be aware of any affiliation between myself and the Consul’s men… or women.”
Her heart skipped at the realization of whose cloak she was wearing, the golden insignia embroidered into the material. Quickly she lowered the hood back down, unclasping it at the neck to let the fabric fall down to the seat around her, obscuring the design from view.
The woman had caught sight of Zander, her wide brown eyes gazing at him curiously. Her blonde hair was cropped short, a style uncharacteristic for most women of any status. A strange glow surrounded her slanted eyes, resembling the familiar trait of the Vor’shai though her ears lacked the sharp, pointed tip Leyna expected to see from under her short locks. Her skin held a mild tan, reminding Leyna of the humans she’d seen in Carpaen, their hair sun-bleached in contrast to the deep bronze of their complexion.
“Zander, so funny seeing you here,” she laughed, her voice high and light. The folds of her sunny yellow gown swished with her quickened steps toward their booth, coming to a stop at the table beside Leyna. “Oh dear, do I want to know who this piece of work is?”
“My latest conquest. She will take a bit of work to break in, but even the strongest of spirits can be shattered.”
She didn’t want to be there. The woman’s eyes were like fire, burning her with their steady gaze. “She looks like used goods to me,” the woman mused, poking a slender finger at the scar on Leyna’s chest. Reflexively she batted the woman’s hand away, staring up at her in disbelief at the sound of her giggling. “When did you start treating your property to drinks?”
“What fun would my job be if I couldn’t enjoy my own spoils from time to time?” The wink Zander gave to the woman caused Leyna to shiver. She may be naïve to many things in the world, but she could determine at least the base implications for his words.
“I suppose,” the woman shrugged absently. “Much like horses, I assume. The trainer has to ride them in order to break them in for their owner. What’s its name?”
The woman ran her hand along Leyna’s hair, petting her like she would a small animal. It was all Leyna could do to keep from slapping her, the only thing holding her back was knowing that this was all somehow important to her friends. “I heard her people screaming something like Eleni while I was carrying her away. Whether that is it or not matters little. It is suitable.”
“You know, Mikel has been in the market for a new slave girl. You will have to let me know when you are finished breaking this one in.”
“A new slave for the Master, hmm?” Zander peered quizzically up at the woman. “That would be a pricey charge. But for you, I would be willing to cut him a deal.”
Batting her eyes at Zander, the woman gave him a seductive smile, running her hands daintily along the low neckline of her dress. “That would be wonderful. And I would make it worth your time, of course.”
“Excellent,” he smirked, grabbing Leyna somewhat forcefully by her arm. “All this talk, however, is making me anxious to get started with he
r training. If you will excuse me.”
“By all means. Do enjoy yourself. Oh, and Eleni…” the woman started, placing her hand on Leyna’s arm as Zander began pushing her to her feet. “He likes his women to struggle at least a little – and make lots of noise. The louder, the better.”
Leyna’s jaw fell open, aghast at the woman’s words. She was speechless. This woman dressed like a lady yet had the mouth of an uncouth barmaid. Clutching up the cloak from the seat, she felt Zander’s hand tugging her harshly toward the front of the room, nearly causing her to fall flat on her face while she struggled to regain her balance. He herded her to the door quickly, dragging her along behind him.
Once outside, he pulled her out of view of the door, releasing his grip on her immediately to look her over for any sign of injury. “I am so sorry. I didn’t hurt you, I hope?”
“No – what in the name of the gods just happened in there?” She couldn’t restrain her frustration any longer. That woman now believed her to be the property of this man, whom she’d only just met that morning. Such an image would make things a bit more complicated for her if she intended to live a normal life amongst these people.
She could hear footsteps approaching from behind them, followed by Feolan’s concerned voice. “Leyna, what happened? Why are you not covered?”
“Feolan, I cannot stay here… and neither can she. Can I meet you at the Consul’s after dark?” Zander’s tone revealed a hint of nervousness which Leyna hadn’t noticed before. Whatever just happened, he was worried about it. Possibly even more than Leyna was.
The men stood still, staring at one another silently for a moment before Feolan nodded his head, taking the cloak from Leyna’s hands and draping it around her shoulders. “Very well. Be discreet.”
The Myatheira Chronicles: The Vor'shai: From the Ashes (Volume 1) Page 21
