Darag slipped into the crowd. He saw that Laireag was dancing with Ria. She was laughing as he spun her around, a small orbit within the galactic swirl of movement. To the side now, Darag could see Lavinia. Her cheeks were flushed and breath quick. She had been dancing and by the smile, enjoying herself. Niri was nearby talking to Beite. Lavinia’s eyes left Cuileann’s to look about the crowd but not towards Ria. Darag smiled softer this time.
The game of it went out of him. He did not want to show up Cuileann or Laireag. He just wanted spend the evening with Lavinia. Preferably every day and evening until she left. He did not even notice who else was around him as he walked to join the small knot of four friends.
Laireag and Ria were just back before he was close enough to be noticed. Flushed and excited, Ria looked almost an older sister to Beite. Laireag’s eyes fell on Lavinia. Cuileann braced his shoulders, giving Laireag a raised eyebrow over Lavinia’s head. Beite sighed.
Lavinia shifted, putting Beite next to Cuileann and nudging her. Beite looked up at Cuileann and took a breath.
“Would you dance with me?”
The move had been obvious. Cuileann gave Beite a smile.
“Gladly.”
Cuileann flashed Lavinia a glance from the corner of his eye when Beite wasn’t looking. He smiled to himself and gave a shake of his head. Cuileann and Beite turned to go as Laireag turned to Lavinia. Wisps of Laireag’s hair clung to his damp forehead but his eyes were intensely bright. Before he could ask anything, Lavinia shifted and her eyes met Darag’s.
The warm smile that bloomed across her face was answer enough for Darag. His eyes focused on Lavinia, but he heard his sister pipe from the side.
“You’re late.”
“Not very,” he said, never taking his eyes from Lavinia.
Laireag sighed. “I think we are about to be ignored,” he said to Ria and Niri. “Perhaps we should see what they are serving.”
Darag hardly noted when the others left them. His vision was caught in sky blue despite the night skies.
“You have been having fun?”
Lavinia nodded. “Yes, I almost forgot to wonder if you were going to come.”
Darag suppressed a laugh, raising an eyebrow. “I didn’t want to claim all of your time.”
“Are you so sure I will give it all to you?” Her tone was ruined by the flash of happiness his words had sent across her face.
“Well, I know you are the only reason I am here,” he paused for the space of a heartbeat, his expression a fraction more serious. “I see you were dancing earlier. Will you dance with me?”
The only answer Lavinia gave was to put her hand in his.
CHAPTER 24
CHOICES
They moved together with the same ease they did when circling each other with swords. Lavinia knew how Darag would move, could read his intentions in the muscles of his chest and arms. They spun in the whirlwind of Kith dancers until she was out of breath. She never stopped smiling the entire dance. As the music dwindled he double stepped, spinning her around once faster. Lavinia stayed close against him to keep her balance, laughing as the world flashed by.
They did not dance every round, but found themselves with Laireag, Cuileann, Beite, Niri and Ria when they weren’t off twirling in the grass as well. But Darag was right, she never gave much notice to anyone else. Laireag and Cuileann nor any other Kith asked her to dance the rest of the night. Instead, her hand stayed in Darag’s.
She could feel the crowd thinning, the music becoming quieter. The greater moon had nearly crossed the expanse of the clearing. The leaves of the forest reached out to hide the lavender disk of the full moon, its craters and plains clearly visible as it travelled on its closest circuit to the planet. There was no denying the gathering was nearly at its end.
“Do you want to walk?”
Lavinia nodded. Her heart was too happy to settle for sleep. They headed along the aerial paths into the false stars of twinkling insects and milky glowing plants. Lavinia was aware of every time they brushed each other, every close step.
“I heard a phrase tonight and the night before. I think a few people used it in reference to me. What does Pluryh Ahk’Goaithe mean?”
Darag flushed lightly, his glance sliding off her face. “You caught that? It means ‘flower of the wind.’”
Lavinia blushed. “I’m still not used to that. Ria has always been considered the prettier of the two of us.” She could feel her cheeks flaming scarlet.
“What have you seen of the Kith? Ria has light hair and green eyes. This is not unusual to us. I think Beite’s skin is even paler than hers. But you have hair that is like a river at night.” Darag reached our and traced his hand through her heavy locks. “And eyes the color of the sky. The Kith do not have such traits. You are very beautiful.”
Lavinia barely breathed as she looked up into his eyes. “Oh, and is that what you like about me? That I’m beautiful?”
Darag gave a soft snort, but a flash of sadness crossed his eyes. He dropped her hand and turned to lean over the railing, lacing his fingers together as he rested on his forearms. He glanced over at her, his expression fond again.
“No, that isn’t it at all.”
Lavinia was at a loss. There was pain in his look. There was more of an ache than she had expected in her chest as well. She stood by his side a moment, then leaned her forehead against his shoulder. He hesitated only a second before putting his arm around her. The stood together watching the lights move through the trees. Far below the last of the dancers swirled together like a living whirlwind.
“What do they call Ria?”
“Fhograidh, it means pursued.”
“And my brother?”
Darag’s lips compressed together. “Feanntag, it means . . . nettle, one who hurts and hurts others.”
A laugh burst from Lavinia’s lips. Darag glanced over at her.
“That is a good name for him. I will have to suggest it to my parents.”
Darag laughed. He stood up sliding his hand to the small of her back as they walked on. His steps were directed, she realized. They were not wandering the high paths idly.
“Where are we going?”
“A place I want to show you.”
Darag did not say more. They reached a spot where a small branch angled deliberately out along the tree tops. He led her forward, steadying her as the path narrowed. Beneath her feet, Lavinia could feel the movement of the thick branch. There was no railing here. Below her stretched depthless darkness. She sought out Darag’s hand for reasons other than budding emotion.
With a hop aided by his hands, he moved them to a different branch. It led to a notch where the upper limbs of the main tree separated. A wide hollow had been shaped in the nook forming what looked like a massive wooden nest. Lavinia had no doubt whose skills had sculpted the tree. Leaves rustled around them with a wide view of stars hanging overhead. The greater moon had slipped fully into the depths of the forest. Lavinia stood with Darag’s arms around her from where he had helped her down the last step.
“What is this place?”
“I call it the aery. I come here whenever I feel out of sorts and need to think.”
“I can’t imagine you out of sorts.”
Darag lifted one eyebrow with doubtful humor. But a muscle along his jaw flexed, lending the look more weight.
“I stayed here most of last few nights.”
They stood loosely in each other’s arms a foot of air between them for a moment. Darag took a breath and traced the line of her cheek.
“Do you really know why the other Kith boys have been so nice to you and why tonight . . . they kept their distance?”
“Yes.” His eyes focused back on hers startled to see she spoke the truth. Lavinia’s cheeks warmed. “Beite told me and . . . and I spoke to Laith Lus. I do know.” Lavinia finished the last in a rush, looking away from Darag in embarrassment.
“You realize then how serious this is to the Kith, to me?”
Lavinia nodded, unable to speak. She could feel Darag’s eyes on her, tracing across her face. She was nervous to look up to see what she would read there. Or that he would be able to see the questions she had asked of Laith Lus in her eyes. Darag’s chest expanded as he took a deep breath.
“I can’t choose you.” His voice was gruff as if he forced the words out. Lavinia looked back to his face. It was resolute but his arms held her tighter. She swallowed hard, choking slightly on tears.
“You don’t want to.”
Darag shook his head. “It isn’t that, my dearest love. You can’t believe it is that.” With the words he had been holding back finally said, the last restraint to keep his distance was gone. He held her close now, cradled against his chest with her head tucked under his chin. His whispered words made her shake. Her knees threatened to buckle.
“Then why?”
“If we chose each other, they would expect you to stay and give up your quest. There are so many ways it would limit what you have set out to do.”
Lavinia shook her head. “Expect but not force.” She felt the need to argue as if she were a small child again when her brother was given privileges that she had not been allowed.
Darag paused and released her so that he could put both hands on her shoulder and look her in the eye. “Are you really so sure? Knowing how much would change? You would be drawn to come back here so that your very bones ached for it. You would outlive your brother, your mother and father, Ria and Niri. Are you so sure?”
Lavinia trembled. “No.”
She collapsed back in his arms, the desire to fight what he was saying flooding out of her. It left behind a dull ache.
“Then we will wait,” he whispered into her ear.
She dried the moisture under her eyes and looked up at him. A slender thread of hope was sprouting in the lost landscape inside of her. Darag cupped her face, sliding his hands into her hair. “We will wait until you come back, if you want to come back. You can have that time to think and be sure.”
His eyes were inches away, green even in the night. They held her steady. The wild fluttering of her heart suddenly fell away. Lavinia looked into his eyes as if she gazed into his soul. Hope had budded into insight. Lavinia could feel Darag’s heart beating in his chest under her hands. Her breath came easy with the breeze gently stirring the leaves around them. All the turmoil that had ensnared her spirit was gone.
She had told Ria, Niri, and Beite her worries that Darag wouldn’t come to the dance. She had admitted meekly to them what she had been refusing to contemplate all week, how much she liked Darag. Beite had been excited, but there had been little reassurance she could give Lavinia. Darag rarely went to dances.
“But I’m sure he will, for you.”
Lavinia had been less sure.
Ria had been in and out of love a dozen times, but never anything very serious that Lavinia had seen. Ria held Lavinia’s hand, excitement for her friend winning on Ria’s face more than an understanding of how out of her depth Lavinia felt.
“You’ve always been the more serious of us, Lavinia. Of course you would fall so hard for someone. You never took any of the other boys in Mirocyne seriously.”
Oddly to Lavinia, Niri had been the most helpful. She listened to Beite and Ria, watching Lavinia try to be cheered up. Then Niri had taken her hands, spreading them wide when she would have held herself tight.
“There is no changing what you already feel. You’ve done well to try and enjoy yourself without worrying. There will always be moments when you doubt yourself. But they will pass. Until then don’t worry, we are here with you and will keep you distracted.”
Niri’s smile had been warm and filled with the deep sense of humor that lurked in her soul. Lavinia had smiled, blinking away tears as Niri gave her a hug. After that, it had been easier to get ready for the night even when she felt like fretting. There was nothing she could do one way or the other. She could not change what she felt, nor could she will Darag to appear if he did not wish to.
Now, looking in Darag’s earnest green eyes, Lavinia felt as serene as the full moon had been above the clearing of Lus na Sithchaine. She moved her hand up to touch his face. Darag leaned into her palm, an ache still in his gaze.
“If we are willing to choose each other,” she began. Darag closed his eyes, his heart beating faster under her other hand. She smiled.
“Even if we are going to wait,” Lavinia added.
His eyes opened, the sadness fading in them as he gazed down into her smile. They were barely an inch away from each other now.
“Doesn’t that mean we’ve already chosen?”
Darag’s breath lodged in his throat. His expression was caught between laughter and argument. Lavinia didn’t care. She didn’t want to think it through because it frightened her too much. Frightened her to think of leaving, frightened her to think of loving him. But if she didn’t think, then she was sure of what she wanted.
Laughter won on Darag’s lips. He closed his eyes as he smiled.
“Yes,” he said and closed the last of the distance between them. The kiss seared her soul with warmth, leaving her once again breathless and trembling.
CHAPTER 25
PARTINGS
Ria smiled to see Lavinia arrive hand in hand with Darag. Drufforth was just waking, the mist not having burned off the harbor yet. Ria had been working to load the boat the last two days once the Kith had seen it back to the water and they had double checked their work when the hull was once again submerged. It sat ready now, tied loosely to the wharf and ready for its journey south.
It hadn’t been the packing that had kept Ria from seeing her best friend. She had barely seen Lavinia since the night of the dance except for when Darag came to help work on the boat. Then Lavinia had come along too, sitting on the beach next to Ria and glowing with overflowing happiness. It had sharpened her eyes to the twinkling blue of a summer’s day as well as honed her wit. It made Ria miss Lavinia all the more when she walked back to Lus na Sithchaine, but Ria could not begrudge Lavinia her time there. Ria would have Lavinia with her for weeks, maybe months, surely not a year. Darag was to stay behind.
The first time Lavinia had arrived in Drufforth after the dance, Ty had looked from Lavinia’s hand held in Darag’s to his sister. Lavinia had rocked onto her tiptoes and kissed Darag lightly before letting him go. Her eyes had stayed on his back as he walked down the wharf with Nuin. Ty’s eyes had narrowed further.
“So, you are dating him now?” Ty had asked angrily.
“Yes, something like that.”
Ty had stalked off, anger radiating from him. Lavinia had been completely unaffected. She had smiled and taken Ria’s hand, pulling her along to the beach. The story of the dance and after had tumbled from Lavinia’s lips. Ria could not say everything sat well with her. The idea of what Lavinia had chosen twisted in her stomach. But Lavinia had been happier than Ria had ever seen her. Even when she was serious, her face glowed.
“I’m still going to come with you. You are my best friend. When you are safe from the Church and the Curse, then I’ll come back. Darag understands. It will be hard,” Lavinia’s voice had faltered briefly. “But I want to see this through.”
“Darag could come with us.”
“Can you imagine Ty and Darag on the same boat? We thought the run to Drufforth was bad!” Ria had giggled. Lavinia had sighed. “No, he agrees. The Kith have to understand that even though we chose each other we will still be who we are. I love him, but we will have plenty of time together.”
Ria’s throat had throbbed at that thought. Darag and Lavinia would have centuries together. Both teary eyed over the same idea, Ria and Lavinia had clung to each other until happier inspiration flooded in.
Now it was time to go. Ty paced on deck, his restless steps only stopping when he saw his sister emerge from the woods. He scowled when he saw her at Darag’s side. Lavinia held Darag’s hand so tightly Ria could see her knuckles were whit
e. If the grip was painful, Darag didn’t show it. He flicked one cool glance towards Ty and then kept his attention firmly on Lavinia. For Lavinia, there was a tenderness in Darag’s gaze that made Ria ache.
Niri greeted Darag, giving him a gentle hug before reaching for the small bundle he carried. Darag handed over the last of Lavinia’s things from Lus na Sithchaine.
“Laith Lus sent a book for you as well.”
“Thank him for me. I hope to come back with Lavinia and stay awhile longer.”
Darag smiled at her. “Then I hope to see you very soon.”
Ria opted for a handshake, her feet never leaving the boat. Darag gave her a kind smile. But Ria felt awkward around him. Tall with broad shoulders, Darag was lithely built and moved with the self assured grace of hunters Ria had seen passing through her parent’s estate. With Lavinia by his side, the thrumming power shed by Darag was more rounded and more encompassing. The pair of them seemed buffered from the world, just slightly removed from immediate concerns. Not even Laith Lus unnerved Ria as much.
Though this morning, Ria felt uncertain around her best friend as well. Lavinia wore her sword at her hip. The dagger she had grown up with for use on boats was tucked on her left side. Lavinia radiated a strength that Ria had never seen in her friend before. When Lavinia turned to say farewell to Darag, the depth of the sorrow that washed over her face brought tears to Ria’s eyes. She glanced away to see Ty glaring with hostile impatience. Ria had no doubt Ty would cast of the lines as soon as his sister’s feet touched the boat’s deck.
Lavinia threw her arms around Darag’s neck, her calm resolve cracking now that it was time to leave. Tears raced down her cheeks as Darag held her close, his brow furrowed and muscles strung tight across his body. He brushed her hair back from her face with both hands, cupping her face. Their final kiss was slow and oblivious to any eyes on them. Ria looked away, her heart pounding warmth to her face while her stomach flipped to her feet. She had no grasp of the emotions so apparent between Darag and Lavinia. Even though Lavinia had told her what the acknowledgement of the relationship meant to the Kith, Ria had only heard words. Now she was beginning to see and it left her feeling a bit emptier for never having felt something close.
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