I took off at a run, driving Reika across broken and bleeding bodies, and past enemies I could have easily killed, racing to reach Lia. The soldier she was chasing down turned toward me, fleeing in my direction. As I approached I drew my sword, and quickly stabbed him in the chest as I passed. I didn’t look back to watch him fall from his horse, but continued to Lia.
When she saw me, she stopped cold. Khol was pulling against the rein and prancing, eager to pursue another fleeing savage. With her eyes pinned on me, Lia didn’t notice as one of the Head Takers charged her. Without pulling up on the rein, I crashed Reika into the Head Taker’s horse and launched myself out of the saddle to grab him and propel him through the air. I had my knife from my boot before we hit the ground, and buried in his throat before I realized he’d thrust his spear through my side.
Suddenly I was trapped in a dangerous situation. The spear held me pinned to the dead savage, vulnerable to the Head Takers and their saucer shaped weapons. Within a moment a savage held the braids at the base of my skull as he lifted his saucer shaped razor to my throat. I felt the wetness of my blood on my neck before the pain registered. In the next moment his hand was hacked off, and Lia was cradling me, speaking words I couldn’t register, and pressing her palm against my throat to stanch the blood gushing from my wound.
****
I missed the conclusion of the battle, as the blood drained from me, depriving me of consciousness. I’m told that while I was lying defenseless there, on the ground, my Vilken soldiers encircled Lia and me, intent on protecting us both. Meanwhile, she pressed her hands to my throat, in an effort to stop the bleeding. It was a mortal wound, my jugular having been sliced open. By all rights, I ought to have died, but Lia held her hands to my throat as the fighting continued to rage around us. Somehow, slowly, the vein began to stitch itself closed again. Lia remained with me as the soldiers protecting us fell one by one, and more came to take their places.
By the time I regained consciousness, the battle had been won, and I’d been moved to M’Tek’s tent, away from the field of battle. Lia left me only long enough to advise my lieutenants that I was still among the living.
I opened my eyes to find my beautiful mate leaning over me, cleaning blood from my face with a torn section of my own tunic. When she realized I was awake, she stopped what she was doing and simply stared into my eyes. A small lifting began at the corners of her mouth, but failed to evolve into a true smile.
“Lia,” I rasped. That smile finally erupted across her face.
“You scared me, Pet,” she said, claiming my hand. “You nearly followed too closely in your father’s tread,” she added. I raised my other hand to my throat, guiding my fingertips over the tender, jagged, stitched together, flesh I found there. I glanced questioningly at Lia. “You lost too much blood to heal properly,” Lia explained. She lifted her arm and showed several fresh silver scars the length of her forearm. “I tried to help you along, but it was almost as if your body rejected my blood.”
“I was dying,” I said.
“No, my love. I was never going to let you die,” Lia replied, smiling. “Mamma tells me you’ve lost so much blood it might take a few hours for you to heal enough to stand.”
I heard movement behind Lia, and Lore came over to sit on the opposite side of my bedroll. Lore claimed my other hand and Lia frowned at her. I couldn’t help but laugh at the transparence of Lia’s expression, though it came out as a cough. Lore ignored her daughter’s obvious irritation and brought my hand to her lips.
“I though we’d lost you, my sweet friend,” Lore said, as her gaze focused on my neck. “And I’m afraid M’Tek’s stitches are going to leave an awful scar to mar your lovely throat,” she added. “She could have made them neater.”
“Mata was sewing her neck together as savages were trying to kill us,” Lia snapped. “Under the circumstances I’d say those stitches are a miracle.”
“It’s all right,” I rasped out.
“Would you like for me to fetch you some water?” Lore asked, shifting to stand up. “Your throat must be dry.”
“No, Lore. I’ll retrieve water for my mate,” Lia said sternly.
“So now it’s Lore again?” Lore replied, raising her eyebrows at her daughter. “I’m only Mamma when you want something, I guess,” she added, clearly baiting Lia. “Fine. The canteen’s empty, Lia. You’ll have to go and refill it,” Lore observed. Lia scowled at her mother and released my hand before getting to her feet. Lore winked at me as Lia left us.
“I’m getting on Lia’s nerves now that you’re awake. She wants you to herself again,” Lore observed with a chuckle. “When you looked as though you might die, she was begging her Mamma to do what I could for you. She asked me to use magic, and offered to do anything if I’d save you,” Lore said. “My daughter truly loves you.”
“Of course Lia loves me,” I replied in my raspy voice, smiling. “How could you doubt that?”
“I don’t know. It’s still not easy for me, my friend,” Lore admitted. “I enjoyed having you to myself again, while we were fighting together in Nogeland. I’m not certain I’ll ever really accept the fact that my daughter’s claim over you is stronger than my own,” she added.
“Lore, can we speak of something else?” I asked.
“Of course. It’s just that you almost died, and it brought to mind all the ways I’ve behaved badly toward you,” she said. “I do want you to know I’m pleased, now, that Lia chose you,” she said, her eyes growing red. “Even though she clearly stole you from me,” she teased, forcing a smile. “I’m sorry for the way I behaved when I discovered you’d fallen in love with my daughter. I’ll always regret threatening you. Still, I never would have harmed you. You know that, right? It would be like harming myself.” I stared at Lore, uncertain how to respond. “I want to apologize for striking you, and throwing you out of our home. You’re my most cherished friend, and I’ll love you with my whole heart until I take my last breath.” Lore exhaled as if she had managed a very difficult task. “Also, thank you for saving us. Granted, I was furious when I learned you’d raised a Vilken army, but if you hadn’t, I would have lost Nogeland, and Faeland would have fallen as well. M’Tek and I owe you our thrones.” I nodded, and she leaned forward to press a kiss to my forehead. “There, it’s done,” she said against my forehead.
“What’s done?” I rasped out, smiling as she leaned back from me.
“I’ve thanked you,” she said, returning my smile. “Now, whatever you hear about how I might have accused you of treason and threatened to have you executed can be disregarded,” she said, grinning and chuckling slightly.
“You say you’d never harm me, but you keep threatening me,” I pointed out, shaking my head.
“Yes, and I’m sorry about that. You have a way of making me lose my temper. You know how irritated I get when you defy me,” she said, still grinning. “You must have known I wouldn’t approve of arming and training Vilkerlings.”
“Of course I knew,” I whispered through my burning throat.
“Well, let’s just forget about all of that now,” she said, squeezing my hand. “We love one another, so we won’t fall out over trivial misunderstandings.”
I heard movement at the entrance to the tent. Lia emerged, followed by M’Tek. I gazed past Lore to Lia. Lore quickly released my hand when Lia glared at her.
“Have you been unburdening your conscience, Mamma?” Lia asked sharply.
“I’ve simply been apprising Pet of our great victory over those savages,” Lore replied, winking at me. “After all, she missed the end of the battle.”
“Speaking of which, you’re on corpse duty, my love,” M’Tek said to Lore. “I have them arranged in nice, neat piles, waiting to be burned. Since you obviously have a flare for incineration, I’ll leave that part to you.”
M’Tek held Lore’s gaze for a moment, and something passed between them. Lore smiled at M’Tek and nodded.
“I’ll start the pyres. Be
warned, the stench will be awful,” Lore replied, getting to her feet. “Are you still thirsty?” Lore asked, reminding Lia I hadn’t yet had a drink of water.
Lore pressed a quick kiss to M’Tek’s lips as she passed her, and then left us all watching after her.
“Finally!” Lia exclaimed, kneeling next to me to offer some water. I took the canteen from her and gulped greedily at the tepid, metallic, liquid.
“Is there any torppa to be had?” I asked in my raspy voice.
“Sorry, cousin,” M’Tek replied. “From what Lore tells me, there will be a shortage this year, and likely for the next several.”
“It’s true,” I admitted. “I plan to help the Countess of Marinella get her crop in, though. In seven years the two best torppa suppliers should be back in business.”
M’Tek shook her head, looking sad suddenly. “Couldn’t you have used your berrywine instead?” she asked. “No one would have missed that.”
“My berrywine is excellent, I’ll have you know,” I retorted, smiling. “It truly was a shame to waste all of that magnificent torppa on killing savages, though. I agree.”
“I thought it was brilliant, Pet,” Lia observed. “Besides, a great many of your customers are probably dead anyway, after this disastrous war. Demand may drop. The decrease in the supply should prevent a free fall in perceived value.”
“Lia has a point,” M’Tek said, raising an eyebrow at her daughter.
“How bad is it?” I asked, looking to M’Tek for the rough numbers.
“It’s worse than you can imagine, Pet. I’ve lost three quarters of my army, and I estimate that Lore has maybe fifteen percent of her Noge force left. As for population, hundreds of families along the coast were wiped out,” M’Tek said. “The House of Kantok is no more. Even the estate is nothing more than fallen stones and ashes,” M’Tek added. “I haven’t informed Ania yet, but she’s a widow.”
“Deus!” Lia said, covering her face. “What will Ania do?”
“She’ll move back to Lareem and live with us, if you’re tired of keeping her,” M’Tek suggested. “I’d love to have her home again.”
“Ania will remain at Lauderdam as long as she likes, Lia,” I said, wanting to end the discussion before it could take shape.
“But she’s already been at Lauderdam for almost two years, Pet,” Lia argued. “I don’t mind visitors, but after such a timespan, she’s not really a guest anymore. She’s become a fixture at this point. And I never actually invited her, you know.”
“You haven’t complained about Emma, and she’s been residing at Lauderdam longer,” I pointed out.
“The countess is really good company,” Lia said. “Besides, Astrid’s attached to Jestine.”
“Astrid’s attached to Ania, too,” I replied. “Your sister has just lost her home, Lia. She is no less deserving of our hospitality than Emma and Jestine are.” M’Tek cleared her throat drawing my attention back to her.
“Speaking of lost homes, Pet, I’ve been using Tannukyn as a military base during this last leg of the conflict. It’s taken some damage. At this point it’ll have to either be razed or repaired,” M’Tek observed, drawing us into another subject. “It’s a beautiful old manor, with amazing views of the Sapphire Sea. I hate to see it falling apart the way it is.”
“I’ve taken a massive financial blow during these past two years,” I replied. “I haven’t been able to cultivate or sell torppa during the war, and I’ve had to arm, train, and pay a very large army, from my reserves. I’m not certain I can afford to repair Tannukyn at the moment, regardless of your sentimental attachment to the place,” I said, shifting to find my feet as I pushed the covers away. Slowly, I rose, the ground seeming to waver under my weight. Lia was beside me in a moment, an arm across my back, offering support.
“What are you doing, Pet?” she asked, startled. “You’re not strong enough to be up yet. Mamma said you’d need another hour or two.”
“I don’t want to be laid out on a sickbed when I say this,” I whispered to Lia. She looked confused for a moment, and then frightened as she realized my intention. “When I asked for military protection for the Baneland Territory, I was refused. Lore, their sovereign, abandoned the Vilken people. Lia and I were left with no choice but to raise an army, one we paid out of our own vaults, and led ourselves,” I said evenly.
“I invited you and your entourage to Lareem,” M’Tek said quickly. “Though I thank Deus you didn’t accept, as I would likely be dead now. I know this conflict has been a burden on your coffers. Lore and I have tax income to pay the expenses of our military. Allow us to offset your costs.”
“Thank you, cousin, but we don’t want your coin,” I said, realizing I’d have an open rebellion on my hands if Kieran or Kashun learned the Fae and Noge Queens paid a single coin toward their wages. “We want Baneland,” I replied. “Allow us to rule these people we’ve protected.”
“Baneland isn’t mine to give,” M’Tek replied. “Are you not content owning more than two thirds of the country outright?”
“We plan to release almost half of our holdings to the noble Vilken soldiers, whose blood drenched the field of battle, while protecting Baneland,” I replied. “We’ll only keep the land and villages surrounding Lauderdam.”
M’Tek appraised me, her gaze traveling over my bloody clothes, and stopping at my stitched together throat. She then shifted her attention to her daughter.
“Lia, Pet has spoken for you. Are you truly of the same mind in this?” M’Tek asked, her gaze flicking back and forth between Lia and me. Lia’s arm tightened across my back and she met my gaze with a sort of fury in her expression, for only a moment, before she turned back to her mother. She didn’t agree with what I was doing, but devotion held her with me.
“Pet and I are always of one mind,” Lia replied. I could feel the tension mounting in Lia’s body, but I had to press on.
M’Tek’s gaze was fixed on me, but she said nothing. She could read her daughter well enough to determine that Lia only stood by me out of loyalty. After a moment M’Tek turned her back to us and strode out of the tent. I took a deep breath and started trembling slightly, my knees buckling beneath me. Lia shouldered my weight as she helped me over to a chair. Once I was sitting, Lia drew another chair close to mine and sat facing me.
“What were you thinking?” Lia asked softly. “This is not the time to make demands of them. They’re weakened by this war. Asking for Baneland just now is the same as pressing a finger into their wounds.”
“I have no choice, Lia,” I said softly. “Right now they’re aware of what they owe us. Without our intervention they’d likely both be dead,” I said evenly. “You can be certain, they realize what we’ve done for them.”
“Why do you even want to rule Baneland?” Lia asked gently. “I’ve never understood why my mothers want to rule.”
“You know me well enough to understand that I don’t care about power, darling. I’m tired of the fighting. If I don’t step in, Lore will continue governing Baneland as she has been. The Fae and Noge nobles who did nothing to protect the territory from invasion will continue to dominate it and benefit financially from Vilken resources, and eventually, the Vilkerlings will rebel, as they should. We’ll have another war on our hands, one where we’ll be forced to chose between fighting alongside our family that we love, or for Vilkerland, and justice,” I observed. “This is the moment when I stop that war you predicted ten years ago from coming.”
The entrance flap to the tent rustled, as Lore entered, followed by M’Tek. Lore’s pale blue eyes shifted back and forth between Lia and me. More slowly than was necessary, Lore approached, dragging a chair close to us. M’Tek paced near the entrance to the tent. Lia reached for my hand, weaving her fingers between mine before gripping my hand too tightly. Her eyes remained fixed on Lore the entire time.
“You’re recovering your strength more quickly than I expected, Pet,” Lore observed. She reached a hand forward to brush her finge
rtips over the scar stretching across my neck. In the process she spread her hand across my throat, applying slight pressure to the still healing wound. For only a moment I sensed a threat in her action, but then she relaxed her hand, easing it down to my shoulder. “I’d no idea you were so ambitious, Pet’Wyn,” she whispered, leaning close to inspect the scar across my throat. “You once told me you cared nothing for power,” she added. “I believed you then. What has changed?”
“My concern is for peace, not power, Lore,” I said evenly. “I’m trying to prevent another war.”
“Are you, old friend?” Lore asked in a deceptively sweet tone.
Lore’s hand tightened on my shoulder as she focused on me, her blue eyes piercing through me. She no longer appeared either calm or gentle, but fierce. I met her gaze steadily, refusing to react, though I knew Lore wanted some display of anxiety, or at the very least submission, from me. Lore stared into my eyes until Lia reached for her mother’s hand, still on my shoulder, easily drawing both Lore’s hand and her focus away from me.
“Mamma, please,” Lia said gently. “You must realize Pet’s right.”
“So I’m Mamma again?” Lore asked sharply. “I don’t know that Pet’s right. What I realize, and of course what Pet realizes, is that my army is weak,” Lore replied, gazing at her daughter for only a moment before focusing on me again. “It doesn’t matter which of us is in the right, does it, Pet?” Lore snapped, her eyes showing the deepest of fury. “But even with my army weak, are you certain you could fight me and win?” she asked. “M’Tek would side with me. Could you fight the both of us?”
“Could you fight Pet and me, Mamma? Would you, Mata?” Lia asked, her tone a warning, her gaze shifting between the two Queens. Lore glared at her daughter. “My loyalty is with Pet. You must realize I’d die before I’d allow you to harm her.”
“Would you pit my daughter against us?” Lore asked me, shifting her focus back to me.
“No,” I admitted. “I’ve no wish to fight another war. That’s what I’m trying to avoid,” I said calmly. Lore nodded. “It’s the reason I bring this up now, unarmed, wounded from fighting your battle, and in your tent. You will never find me more vulnerable, or easier to kill, and you have never been so indebted to me. It’s your choice how you respond now.” Lore laughed and stood again.
A Fortunate Woman (Fortune's Favor Book 2) Page 38
