The men locked eyes, staring each other down sternly. Neither of them budged, their muscles tensed in a show of strength and power, be it to appear threatening to the other, or a display for Leyna’s benefit. With barely a twitch to signal the motion, Kael lifted his right arm, winding back to bring his fist in to strike hard at Zander’s face.
Zander stumbled backward from the force, knocked to the ground while his hands reached up to his nose in surprise. Kael took a step forward, looming over Zander briefly before retreating again. “You are a disgrace to our people,” he spat, the anger behind his words evident in the burning glow of his green eyes. The sound of his boots crossing the floor filled the air, followed by the loud slam of the front door behind him.
Rushing over to Zander’s side, she knelt down, cradling his head worriedly in her arms. “Zander, are you alright?”
“Well, I don’t think it’s broken,” he groaned, relaxing his head onto Leyna’s lap. His voice was muffled by the nasal sound from his hand covering his nostrils, a small trickle of blood escaping down to his lip from under his fingers. “But I would let him punch me any time if I knew it would result in you holding me like this.”
Leyna stared down at him, her expression flat and emotionless. She couldn’t tell if he was joking at first. He managed to keep a straight face until he saw the discontent on hers, his lips curling up into a pained smile. “You’re such a dog.” Standing up, she let his head fall with a thud to the floor, unamused by his humor. “Try not to stain your floor with your blood. I will not be scrubbing it up.”
“My luck, you probably spit in my food also.” With a grunt, Zander sat up on the floor, moving his hands away from his face to inspect the blood covering his skin. The amount of it made the injury look worse than it was, the bleeding already having started to ease.
Folding her arms across her chest, Leyna watched him irritably, trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of what had just occurred. “Only once. But there are still a few more meals left to cook before I get taken away.”
The pain from his nose caused Zander’s eyes to water slightly, their glassy stare peering back at her curiously. “You know what,” he chuckled. “I’m not entirely sure I can believe that you speak in jest.”
“I will let you stew about it, then,” she smiled sweetly, turning away to leave him sitting on the floor, his face starting to swell from Kael’s strike. Leaving him there to stare after her, she made her way back into the kitchen, enjoying the satisfaction of knowing that in the end, they had been successful. Now all she had to do was prepare herself for whatever life might have in store in the days to come.
The cool afternoon air felt refreshing to Leyna’s senses. Morning had come and gone quickly while she finished scrubbing the floors of Zander’s house. She knew it wasn’t required of her, but the dust accumulation was too atrocious to ignore. Everything in the house was covered in layers that had been gathering for years, ignored by his lack of interest in upkeep. He felt that as long as the roof and walls kept out the elements, the rest mattered very little.
Giving a strong heave, she tossed the soiled water from her bucket to the ground, frowning at the feeling of the last few drops splattering against the fabric of her dress. It was the only one she had, aside from the sack that Zander called clothing. He had agreed to provide her with an outfit slightly more presentable to wear until Gislan came to take her away. There wasn’t much to the dress but a simple white material edged in a delicate lace around the neckline and hem. She cared only that the skirt covered her legs down to her feet, the bottom edge now dampened from the water.
The sun was warm upon her face, reminding her of the springtime in Tanispa. She and Maeri used to pick wildflowers to brighten up the dreary décor of Lady Faustine’s house at this time of year. Looking up to the sky, she gave a wistful sigh, surprised by the sadness she felt at the thought of leaving that life behind. Homesick. It didn’t make sense. She’d wanted out of that place for years – and yet she longed for Maeri’s company. Their long talks had been the only thing which kept her sane throughout her time there.
“Leyna? Is that you?”
She must be hearing things. Her head perked up, listening intently for the sound to come again. The voice echoed on the breeze, resembling Maeri’s melodic tone, but for it to be her would be impossible. She was still under Faustine’s care until a suitable husband had been arranged. It must be some cruel trick of her mind.
Lowering her eyes back to her work, she heard the noise again, more insistent than before. It was coming from somewhere around the side of the house. Quiet. Almost hesitant to draw attention. Curious at the oddity of it, Leyna stepped down from the porch, scanning the area with a watchful gaze while moving in the direction of the voice. Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest as she rounded the building, nearly running directly into the familiar face of Maeri pressed up against the wooden exterior.
An initial feeling of excitement rushed through her to see her friend. It was as if the gods saw fit to grant her wish for Maeri’s company, and yet something in the back of her mind prevented her from catching her friend up in the joyous embrace she so desired. A wave of fear coursed over Leyna unexpectedly. If anyone were watching Zander’s house, her cover would be lost instantly if they heard her real name… or saw her consorting with a woman of obvious status such as Maeri. Even more frightening were the possibilities which passed through her head as to why Maeri was there. Had something happened in Tanispa?
Unsure of how to react to the sudden visit, Leyna ducked around to the back of the house, speaking nothing out loud, but motioning for Maeri to follow. They couldn’t risk being seen outside together. Any questions she had for her friend could wait until they were safely in the cover of Zander’s home.
Maeri gave no hesitation to Leyna’s strange beckoning, following her inside to the sparsely decorated foyer near the front. Instinctively, Leyna shifted the lock into place on the door, her eyes glancing toward the windows to make sure the curtains were securely closed. “Maeri? What happened? What are you doing here?”
“I convinced Faustine to let me take a leave in hopes of finding where you disappeared to. You know you aren’t supposed to go away without her permission. It looks bad for her business.”
“And she just – let you go?” It didn’t make any sense. Faustine wasn’t the type to give in so easily when it came to her girls. Regardless of Leyna’s mysterious disappearance, there would have to be good reason for her to release one of her charges, even temporarily. Especially one such as Maeri.
“Not exactly,” Maeri glanced hesitantly around the room. Slowly she removed the hood of her cloak, her long black hair hanging in waves around the pale skin of her face. Her emerald eyes were locked on Leyna’s with a piercing gaze, filled with concern. “You left so abruptly from the ball. The whole city was in an uproar for days. I suspected you to have returned to Siscal with the gentleman from the party, knowing the stories you always told me about the city, but I didn’t dare say anything to Faustine. But then Prince Enaes came to the house looking for you.”
Reminded of that night, she couldn’t help but feel an initial panic at what was being said about her. The whole city was in an uproar? Had anyone noticed Feolan’s sudden disappearance at the same time as hers? What would they think, having seen both of Queen Vorsila’s sons passing her between them on the dance floor – and with Prince Enaes so desperate to learn of her identity while she fled from the ballroom? If he’d shown himself at Faustine’s door, he’d certainly discovered who she was. But how many others knew?
“What made you think that I had left with the gentleman from the party?”
“Lord Feolan?” Maeri asked. “You both appeared to be close friends and I remembered the name vaguely from your stories about Siscal. I lost sight of him after you left which made me think he had taken you away, but we crossed paths later in the evening, so I wasn’t quite so sure.”
Ah, their plan had worked. The relief sh
e felt was astonishing, knowing they’d managed to at least partially conceal their tracks behind them. “What were people saying? Not that I should care about such rumors, but my curiosity is getting the better of me.”
“You are like a fairy tale in Sivaeria. The Prince’s savior shows up out of nowhere, steals a dance with him, and then disappears into the night, never to be found again? It’s almost romantic, in a way.”
“Prince Enaes doesn’t know the meaning of the word romantic,” Leyna muttered, rolling her eyes heavenward. “Quite frankly, I am amazed he even remembered who I was. But, that aside, what did he want? Did you hear what was said between him and Lady Faustine?”
Maeri shifted uncomfortably on her feet. “He wanted to know where you had gone. It isn’t like Faustine to let her girls loose like that. I am sure you can imagine how disappointed he was to learn that you’d slipped through her fingers.”
“The last thing I wanted was for Faustine to get in trouble. I never considered the possibility of my actions coming back on her.”
“Well, I managed to distract him from being too hard on her,” Maeri smiled briefly, the expression fading away with another awkward glance around the room. “He recognized me as having been there with you at the masque. I managed to convince him that I might be able to find you and talk you into returning to Tanispa. The idea must have piqued his interest, because he gave Faustine no say in the matter of my leaving to seek you out. Though, she informed me I was to return immediately upon discovering your whereabouts, and I was to drag you back by your ears if I had to.”
“I am not letting you anywhere near my ears,” Leyna frowned at the thought of going back to Faustine’s. It was strange to think that only moments ago she’d almost convinced herself that she missed being there.
“Trust me; I don’t want to have to drag you anywhere by anything. You look to be doing well for yourself here, however. Is this place yours?” Maeri peered about the room, wrinkling her nose up at the lack of furniture. It was a bachelor’s nest through and through, decorated only with the bare necessities needed to entertain an occasional guest. Little else occupied the small sitting room to give it any style for the eye of a fashionable woman.
Leyna weaved her fingers through her tangled hair, wishing desperately that she’d been able to find some kind of brush to tame it had she known to expect company. She was grateful at least that the worst of the dust had been cleared away before Maeri’s arrival. “Oh, this? No – no, this… this is a long story, is what it is. How did you find me?”
Maeri looked her over closely, clearly conscious of her evasiveness. “Well, I expected it to be more difficult than it was, really. Faustine never would have willingly given me any personal information about you. You know how she is about sharing the last names of her students amongst the others in the house. She is always so afraid one of her noble ladies will discover herself to be sharing a room with a common girl and create a fuss. Thankfully, I remembered her saying your name when she introduced us to Lord Feolan, so I had that to go by. But no one around here knew of you, or those who did had not seen you in years.”
“Well, I refuse to believe that you came upon me here by chance,” Leyna smiled slightly, the humor of her words falling short of amusing herself. “You must have come across someone, but I am only aware of one or two who know where I am.”
“Then I must have happened upon both of them.”
Leading Maeri over to the dining area, she pulled out a chair for her to sit in. “Both?” she pondered quietly. “Who exactly did you find?”
“I could never forget the face of that man who came by Faustine’s to visit you for your birthday. With a body like his, I figured if you were anything like me, he would have been one of the first people you would want to see,” Maeri winked. “And Lord Feolan – I know I could only see his lips when I met him at the masque, but I have dreamt about them every night since. It was without a doubt him who was next to your mystery man.”
“That mystery man is the Consul to our Queen. I try not to think about his body when I am around him,” Leyna blushed, dropping down uncomfortably into her own seat. “He is much too good for the likes of me to be drooling over. I accepted that long ago.”
Leaning forward, Maeri placed her elbows on the table, smiling deviously at Leyna. “There is nothing wrong with looking at even those whom we cannot touch. Such features are meant to be admired. I only wonder if he looks as good with his shirt off as he does with it on.”
Warmth flooded into Leyna’s face at Maeri’s words. Such a forward comment for a young lady to make, yet it brought back memories in her own mind which had been long forgotten over the years. Her eighteenth birthday, though clouded by the alcohol she’d consumed at Teagan’s insistence, remained a constant play of images in the back of her mind. She’d thought over her conversation with Thade in the ladies’ room many times after that night, unsure of how she should feel regarding it. Even to her young mind, the sight of him there unbuttoning his shirt had not gone unappreciated in any way. It didn’t take a fully matured woman to know that he was, in Maeri’s words, deliciously sexy, but way out of her league. She blamed her thoughts back then on the alcohol, but she couldn’t deny it now in her sobriety.
“I didn’t think it possible for your face to turn such a shade of red. Is there something you are not telling me?” Maeri’s voice pulled her from her reverie, only adding to the embarrassment she was already feeling. The last thing she wanted to do was admit to her that she’d been in any situation with a man where his shirt was removed. What would that make her look like?
She was fidgeting. That would do nothing to divert Maeri’s inquisitive gaze. Leyna’s hand rubbed uncomfortably at her neck, averting her eyes from Maeri. “It is nothing. I was just thinking about something, is all.”
“I think you were picturing him with his shirt off,” Maeri laughed. “The question then would have to be whether you have personal experience to base that image off, or if you are just left with your imagination like I am.”
“You are so out of line for one who claims to be a lady,” Leyna shook her head, laughing quietly to herself. Her nerves had given way to an uncomfortable fit of giggling, a feeling she hadn’t experienced since she’d left Maeri behind at Lady Faustine’s. “I saw it once. Years ago. But there is nothing to the story at all, so don’t start thinking anything of it.”
“Was it as nice as I like to think it would be?”
“Better,” Leyna laughed. She couldn’t believe she was saying such a thing. If anyone else were to overhear her, she would crawl under the table and die. It was wrong of her. He was a dear friend and it wasn’t right for her to be discussing him like he was a mere trophy to be gawked at by women.
Cutting her laughter short, she leaned back in her chair, clearing her throat uncomfortably. Where had their conversation been before Maeri managed to distract them with her uncouth thoughts? If she didn’t know any better, she would have considered Maeri to be far more experienced in matters of men than she let on. “Anyway,” Leyna coughed. “You recognized Lord Feolan?”
“His lips, yes,” Maeri chuckled, her voice trailing off at the sound of someone entering the room from the kitchen.
“She knows all about his lips, don’t you, Leyna?”
Zander. Oh, how long had he been listening? Covering her face with her hands, she ignored his question, not wanting anyone to see her flushed skin. “Go away.” she grumbled, muffled from under the pressure of her palms.
He was unfazed by her tone, moving casually over to lean against the table beside her. “I knew about your locking lips with Feolan, but I had no idea about you and the Consul. Now you have me curious. Dare I ask how you convinced him to allow you to participate in our mission while you two were alone in his study?”
“Zander,” she replied calmly, slowly lowering her hands away from her face. “If you do not hold your tongue, I will strike you… and unlike Kael, I will make sure that your nose breaks.”
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Clearing his throat, Zander lightly brushed his fingers over his swollen nose, wincing at the sensitivity of the skin at his own touch. It had turned a deep shade of mixed blacks and blues, extending out to the right and along his cheek, an eyesore to the rest of his handsome features. “I will not ask about it then,” he frowned. “However, I will ask who this lovely woman is whom you’ve brought into my home.”
Leyna stood from her chair, the discomfort she felt throughout her body making it impossible to remain seated. How much could she expose Maeri to before it became dangerous for her? It was already a risk having invited her into the house. And she still wasn’t certain exactly how she’d found her in the first place. “This – is my dear friend Maeri…” her mouth hung open, as if somehow a last name would come to her. She couldn’t recall it. Lady Faustine had only uttered it once, and that single occasion was not enough to commit it to her memory. Too many other things had distracted her from retaining it at the time.
“Diah,” Maeri smiled, rising up to give a polite curtsy. Of course. Leyna could hear Faustine’s voice clearly in her mind now. The name had struck her with its familiarity at the time, though the nervous excitement of the evening had prevented her from thinking on it.
Images of the past flooded Leyna’s thoughts while she watched Zander moving over to gently kiss the back of Maeri’s hand. That name. Her mother had spoken it the night they fled from Tanispa. The flickering candlelight in the otherwise darkened windows of that unfamiliar house.
“Master Diah is preparing for bed. I suggest that you return in the morning when the hours are more suitable for visitation…”
What had been his name? She could remember him being tall – but to a child of her age, that meant little. His eyes. They had been a deep shade of emerald, glowing brighter than any other source of light within the home. “I am frightened, Aviden. He will seek to find us and kill us if we stay in Tanispa.”
The Myatheira Chronicles: The Vor'shai: From the Ashes (Volume 1) Page 25
