by Cathi Shaw
"What's wrong?" Thia asked softly. Kiara opened her eyes to see her little sister watching her with concern.
"I'm not sure," Kiara admitted trying to think of how she could share her worries with Thia without telling her sister too much about her trip with Brijit. She decided to focus on the travelers. Perhaps she could convince Thia that it was a bad idea to let them stay at the Inn. Then maybe they could talk to Mina together. "A group of three strangers arrived asking for lodging for the night just as I got home."
Thia shrugged as she added the chopped potatoes to the stew pot. "Well, we are the Village Inn, Kiara, so that's hardly surprising," she teased, wiping her hands on her apron. "There are four vacant rooms in the East wing."
Kiara waved her hand impatiently. "Yes, I know that, Thia, but there's something odd about these strangers."
Thia paused and frowned, her brow furrowed. "Odd in what way?" she asked seriously as she went back to dicing the vegetables.
"Their appearance for one," Kiara sighed in frustration, struggling to explain what she meant. "They look ..." she paused searching for the right word. "Menacing."
Thia stopped chopping and looked sharply at Kiara. "What do you mean?"
Kiara told Thia what she had seen when she rode into the stable yard and her initial impressions of the strangers.
Thia shivered. "Are you certain one is a soldier?"
Kiara shrugged. She couldn't be absolutely certain that he was currently a soldier. But the tattoos indicated that he had been one at some stage. And he didn't look old enough to have retired. Kiara wet her lips. "There's more."
Thia looked at her.
"They’re Outlanders."
Thia paled. Kiara knew what her sister was thinking. Outlanders and one of them a soldier. "Mina is thrilled, isn't she?"
Kiara frowned and nodded. Their sister was obsessed with travelers from other parts of the Five Corners. She would see the strangers as sources of information rather than potential sources of danger.
Thia sighed and untied her apron. "Where are they?" She asked grimly.
****
In contrast to the warm, cheery atmosphere in the kitchen, the entrance of the Inn was dim at all hours of the day and prone to draughts. The Great Room, just off the entrance where they found Mina and the travelers, wasn't much better although the roaring fire at the one end provided a bit more heat. Thia preferred to spend most of her time in the kitchen and typically avoided the Great Room, which served as the only pub in town.
But right now, in the centre of the room, her pretty blond sister was smiling at an older man. He must be one of the strangers Kiara had mentioned. Thia studied him as she approached. He was of average height and looked to be in his mid-forties. His shoulder-length wavy brown hair framed a weathered face and his brown eyes, which should have been warm, were hard edged. Thia could feel the coldness oozing from him. Instantly she was sure that Kiara was right to be concerned.
"Ah, my other sister, Elethia," Mina said as she turned to Thia with a smile, her clear green eyes sparking. Just as they’d feared Mina was clearly thrilled by the arrival of the visitors. "Thia, this is Weylon Forborrow. He's travelling with his sons and looking for lodging."
Thia nodded briefly in the man’s direction.
Weylon bobbed his head at Thia and took one of her hands in his large rough ones. "How wonderful to make your acquaintance, Elethia. Your inn is just the fortress we were hoping to find on this leg of our journey." His voice had a pleasant lilting, musical quality to it but Thia fought the urge to pull her hand from his cool grasp. There was no apparent reason she should feel so uneasy about this man but her instincts told her to be wary.
From his accent she knew they were definitely Outlanders. Travelers from the Outlands always had interesting tales to tell of creatures and places foreign to the Lowlands where the girls lived.
Mina was clearly thrilled. Her sister was always intrigued with stories from foreign places. No wonder her eyes were sparkling with excitement.
Thia could understand her sister's fascination with foreigners. Even she could be tempted into the Great Room when they had storytelling Outlanders as guests. She studied Weylon's face and wondered if he was the storytelling kind, for some reason she rather doubted it. Or, a little voice in her head murmured, if he was a storyteller she was sure to not like the tales he told.
He gave her hand a hard final squeeze as if he could read her thoughts. Thia met his eyes in shock but he smoothly released her hand and gestured to the tall man standing behind him. Thia resisted the urge to rub her hand and turned her attention to the other visitor.
One could not imagine two more different men. Unlike Weylon, this man was, as Kiara had suggested, huge. A brooding look was on his handsome face. He had dark eyes and he towered over everyone in the foyer of the Inn, including Kiara. He was thick across the chest and his arms were heavily muscled and laced with the tattoos that marked him as a soldier. He had long dark hair that was pulled back and secured at his neck with a leather tie. And he was studying Kiara with an intensity that worried Thia.
While Kiara, to her continued dismay, seemed to attract suitors without trying, this man's fixation on her sister was disturbing. Thia frowned. Kiara usually fought any man who tried to court her. She wondered idly what kind of chance Kiara would have against the man in front of them. He had the appearance of a great warrior. As Thia was pondering this, Weylon captured her attention again.
"Elethia, this is my son, Caedmon," Weylon was saying. Caedmon glanced her briefly giving her a curt nod before turning his focus back onto Kiara. Thia was trying to process the fact that this mountain of a man was supposedly the son of Weylon when a crash captured the attention of the room.
The front door had unexpectedly burst opened with a bang and a blast of cold air and another figure was now stumbling into the Great Room. He was weighed down with an assortment of bags, including a small mandolin. Thia saw Mina's eyes light on the instrument - she knew her sister would be even more delighted if one of the travelers was a musician.
"Ah, Teague!" Weylon was shaking his head with a rueful smile. "Ladies, may I present my other son! Teague, this is Minathrial, Kiara and Elethia."
Thia’s polite smile immediately froze on her lips. She felt a pang deep in her stomach as the new arrival approached.
Something seemed eerily familiar about him. He turned to her with an easy smile on his face. And Thia barely suppressed a gasp. This was a face that she knew only too well. Her heart began to pound as she took in the soft brown curls and unique silver colored eyes. Eyes that, despite his smile, reflected the same stunned surprise she was feeling. Thia’s stomach dropped and her legs froze, her instinct rejecting what her brain was telling her was true.
It couldn't be him. It was impossible. Mina cleared her throat and hurried forward to welcome Teague. She raised her eyebrows at Thia, clearly concerned by her rude lack of response to his greeting. But Thia was incapable of uttering a sound.
Teague stepped forward and offered her his gloved hand. "Pleased to meet you, Elethia." She felt his fingers tighten around her own in an unspoken warning. Thia felt as though she would fall into those unmistakable pewter colored eyes.
Thia swallowed attempting to dislodge the sudden lump in her throat as he gave her fingers one more tight squeeze. So he did recognize her. Her heart began to pound even more erratically as panic set in. She had to get away. Instinctively she looked from side to side, attempting to locate a plausible escape route. Her eyes settled instead on her sisters, Caedmon and Weylon all watching her expectantly, their faces identical expression of mild confusion.
Teague released her hand and she looked up at him trying to read the expression on his face. But he turned to Mina before she had a chance. Her sister immediately started to explain to the men that their rooms overlooked the stables.
"We have four other rooms there that are currently unoccupied," she was saying. "We could offer you rooms overlooking the forest but t
hey wouldn't be ready until later this afternoon, as they are not currently made up."
Weylon assured her that the rooms she had chosen would be suitable for them and thanked her for her hospitality.
Thia half listened to Mina’s friendly chatter as she tried to get her emotions under control. Her heart was still racing as she racked her brains for an explanation to this puzzle. She felt slightly sick to her stomach.
"Are you okay, Thia?" Kiara touched her arm. Thia looked up and saw her sister's dark blue eyes filled with concern.
She glanced sideways and caught Teague watching her, the warning in his eyes perfectly clear. Thia forced a weak smile in Kiara’s direction.
"Actually, since Mina is speaking of meals, I'm feeling a bit worried that the stew might need my attention," she said loud enough for the visitors to hear her. "Nice to meet you, Teague," she murmured as she slipped past him, ignoring the knowing expression on his face. She didn’t think she’d fooled him with her weak excuse for escape.
Thia all but ran to the kitchen. Once there she closed her eyes and leaned against the door as she tried to come up with a rational reason for why Teague had suddenly appeared in the waking world.
There had to be an explanation for why the boy who had been haunting her dreams for the last ten years had suddenly appeared in person.
Pulling away from the door, she crossed the kitchen to the stew pot and gave it a stir. It was possible that the boy in her dreams resembled a real person. Thia nodded. Someone she'd caught a glimpse of transformed into a dream. And besides, except for those strange silver colored eyes, Teague wasn't so unique looking that he didn't resemble any number of young men who'd stayed at the Inn. She began chopping more carrots and added them to the pot before adjusting the flame. Perhaps it was not so surprising, she reasoned, feeling a bit better already.
She frowned suddenly. What was surprising was that Teague had clearly recognized her. Thia paused, a chill running down her spine. The boy who had been in her dreams for most of her life seemed to know it and Thia knew there was no explanation for that!
CHAPTER THREE
Kiara whirled in the late morning sun, feeling the muscles in her arms contract as her sword clashed against Jake's heavy blade. Excitement coursed through her veins as she continued sparring with the heavyset blacksmith. She grinned as she backed him across the yard. Jake's face was furrowed in concentration as he went into defense mode, trying to hold her off but not succeeding.
A rush of exhilaration shot through Kiara. She loved beating her opponents, particularly big tough ones like Jake. She laughed suddenly as she sensed Tom closing in behind her and in a lightning quick movement blocked Jake's next blow and disarmed him, his heavy sword clanging to the ground. Without hesitation, Kiara swung around and began to parry with Tom. Tom had an expression of intense absorption on his sun burnt face but he wasn't as skilled as Jake. Kiara continued to easily force him backward until she'd cornered him and quickly disarmed him.
"You'll have to do better than that in the guard, Tom," she teased as he bent to pick up his sword. He retrieved his weapon, his face flushed red beneath his freckles. He refused to meet Kiara's eyes. Jake approached the two of them breathing heavily and chuckling.
"I don't reckon they'll have many border guards as gifted as you at swordplay, Kiara," Jake said good-naturedly, clearly trying to ease the sting of defeat for Tom. But Tom didn't look convinced.
Kiara forced herself to smile at the men but she feared Tom would not return for training, regardless of what kind of practice he might need for the guards. Although Jake and Tom both came to train with her often, they were about the only ones left in the Village who would train with her. And Kiara suspected their numbers were about to be reduced by half if Tom's sulky expression was any indication.
She should be used to the Village boys resenting her for her talent. There were enough of them making nasty comments whenever she went into the Village now.
She scowled for a moment as she thought of the insult Sandy Collins had thrown her way the last time she'd gone for supplies at the Village general store. "Still fighting the lads because you can't find any who'd marry a witch like you?" he'd taunted.
Kiara had been livid and tempted to make him eat those words but she knew Brijit would have been mortified to hear of her almost-grown daughter fighting with the Village boys. It was bad enough when she'd been a small girl but now that she was almost a woman, Brijit didn't understand her need to continue to fight. She tolerated the training but a brawl in the Village Square would not have pleased her mother.
Kiara knew part of Sandy's venom came from the fact that she'd rejected his advances when he'd decided he would be a good suitor for her. At one point she’d been good friends with him but now he couldn't stand seeing her without throwing a nasty remark her way. Why did boys always ruin things by deciding to complicate life with romance?
Pushing that thought aside, Kiara put her sword in its scabbard and crossed to the water barrel. She scooped up a cup of water and drank deeply. Two hours of training had taken some of the edge off of her restlessness but not much.
"Again?" she challenged hopefully.
"Enough already, Kiara!" Tom complained, "I've had it, I've got to get home for chores." He paused on the edge of the stable yard and looked back at her, a scowl darkening his boyish features. "And I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to take time out to play with you. I have to prepare for the guards, you know, and pretending to train with a girl is hardly sufficient." Kiara stared at him in shock. She didn’t know Tom had it in him to talk back to her. But before she could answer he hurried away.
Disgusted Kiara said to Jake, "He's never going to make it in the border guards.”
Jake laughed and shook his head. "You might be right there." He started to pack up his gear. Seeing her disappointed look he added apologetically, "I've got to get down to the smithy. Don't listen to, Tom; his pride is bruised as the Village lads are jibing him about training with you. Regardless of what he says, you know this was a good training session. You always give me a good workout."
She smiled at her friend. Jake had a homely face that was open and honest. She truly loved training with him but she couldn’t deny that she was glad he was leaving at the same time as Tom. Sometimes he would linger and things would start to become uncomfortable, as he had taken to making comments that were a bit too personal. She wondered just how uncomfortable training would be if he started to truly make romantic advances.
Mina had told her that he was clearly holding out in the hopes that she would consent to his courting her. But Kiara steadfastly told her sister that she refused to believe such a thing. They were merely training partners, she insisted. Sometimes though she wondered if her sister was right. It was a complication she certainly didn't need in her life.
She waved Jake off, feeling rather dejected as she watched him finish gathering his things and depart. She was standing alone in the stable yard when she suddenly became aware of another presence.
Kiara turned quickly, her hand on the hilt of her sword. She scanned the yard, seeking the source of her unease. She didn't have to look far. At the end of the stable, the large stranger, the one called Caedmon, was lounging against the side of the building.
He looked pointedly at her hand on her sword and then uncrossed his tattooed arms from his broad chest. For a moment, Kiara was distracted by the way the black serpentine tattoo’s encircled his muscular arms. She idly wondered how many years one had to be in the army before he accumulated so many tattoos. She knew the more senior a soldier’s rank the more of the ink he acquired but this Caedmon didn’t look that much older than she.
Before she could ponder the matter further, he lazily pushed himself from the side of the stable and began to saunter across the yard toward her, a look of disdain on his face.
"Tell me, do you always fight young men who are clearly so infatuated with you that they'll let you win every time?" he asked, his lilting
accent at odds with the harshness of the words. He stopped within arm’s length of her, his dark eyes questioning.
Kiara forced her hand from the hilt of her sword and resisted the urge to cross her own arms in a defensive stance. She studied his face, momentarily distracted by his handsome features.
Kiara felt heat rise to her cheeks as she realized he was waiting for her to reply to his words. "Don't be absurd," she said dismissively. "Jake is merely a good friend. And Tom is scared of me."
"Oh?" he scoffed, "You mean to tell me you think they were actually trying?" He shook his head, a tuft of dark hair falling into his eyes. He brushed it away impatiently. "Either they are completely inept or they were taking it easy on you."
Kiara straightened to her full height, a move that usually intimidated whomever she was speaking to but Caedmon merely raised his dark brows. She'd forgotten he was so much taller than she. She tried to estimate his height but couldn't even fathom a guess. But she did note with dismay that her own head barely reached his shoulders.
"Jake and Tom always work hard when they train with me," she defended, hating the way her voice rose in explanation.
"Mmm-hmmm." He didn't look convinced. "You're telling me that blacksmith couldn't have disarmed you when he had you in the corner?"
Kiara thought back to when Jake had backed her into a tight space between the water barrel and the stable wall. He had seemed to be fighting hard but then, when she was sure he would have disarmed her, he suddenly lost his footing. It was a coincidence perhaps. She'd never considered that he might have done it on purpose – at least not until now. Uncertainty crept into her mind. She quickly pushed the thought aside as absurd. Why would Jake do such a thing?
"He wouldn't do that," she insisted aloud as if saying the words would make it true.
"'You always give me a good workout,'" Caedmon mimicked Jake's deep voice cruelly.
Kiara felt her face flush even more. She turned her back to him and walked over to the corner of the yard where she began to gather up her training gear.
