“A bit of drinking would do you some good,” Jace suggested. “It might loosen you up a bit, perhaps remove the stick from your backside.”
Narine spun toward him, her eyes wide, her mouth working without any words emerging. Adyn burst out laughing.
Glowering at him, Narine gathered herself and replied, “I am not pretentious.”
He snorted. “Prove it.”
“How?”
“Kiss me.” He tapped his lips. “You know you want to.”
She glanced toward the sailors on deck who had stopped to watch the drama. Her cheeks felt hot, and it wasn’t from the sun. Turning back toward Jace, she said in a haughty tone, “I’d rather kiss the goat.”
Jace glanced toward the animal tied to the main mast. “That can be arranged.”
He then advanced toward her, his intense gaze forcing her to retreat until she backed against the ship’s rail.
With his face a mere foot away and his eyes locked with hers, he said, “The problem is you worry far too much about what others think of you. I find it odd for such a pretty, intelligent girl. The world could be yours if you’d just choose to claim it.”
She noticed his eyes glittering like gold in the sunlight. “What do you mean?” The words slipped out, soft and breathy.
“You left the throne to your brother rather than fight for it.”
“He is stronger than I am, better connected.”
“Will he be a wise and fair lord?”
She swallowed hard and shook her head. Eldalain scared her, and she feared he might become worse with increased power. “No.”
“So you left the citizens of Ghealdor to suffer beneath a man who would rule by fear. I know something of people, Narine. I have spent my life observing others, detecting their weaknesses, exploiting them. I can tell if a person is good or bad by the way they treat others, by the ethics they display. In you, I see a good person who could be great. You should have more confidence in yourself and place less value in how you believe others see you.”
Narine wanted to lash out, deny the accusation, but she could not. Deep inside, she knew there was far too much truth in his words. Like a castle stormed and overwhelmed in a siege, her defenses crumbled, leaving her with little choice but to surrender.
“What would you have of me?” The words were little more than a whisper.
He slipped his hand along her cheek, cupping it as he stared into her eyes. In those amber pools, she saw an intensity, a heat attempting to ignite something inside her. He leaned closer until his cheek touched hers and whispered, “Stop trying to be the girl you believe people expect.” His breath in her ear was a warm tickle, sending a tingle down her spine. “Be the woman you wish to be.”
When his head turned, she felt drawn to him, unable to resist. Their lips met, a light brush at first, followed by something more urgent. When his hand pressed against her lower back, she wrapped her arms around his neck, their bodies pressed close together. His body felt warm, firm, and fit. The world spun with heat and color, her heart racing. He pulled away, leaving her wanting more.
The sound of applause drew her from the spell. She turned and found every one of the ten sailors on board grinning as they clapped. A few whistles arose, joined by several inappropriate comments. Narine pushed Jace backward and turned away, her cheeks flush with embarrassment.
“This is what I mean, Narine,” he said from behind her. “Reacting to them is the equivalent to ceding control. You will likely never see these sailors again. Why do you care what they think? Why give them the power over how you behave? Never mind what you feel is appropriate, when others realize you are beyond their influence, they will respect you for it.”
Gripping the rail, she considered his words. I wish I could see the world as he does, she thought. What would it be like to do as I wish and not consider how others perceive me? Although an appealing thought, she wasn’t sure she could behave in such a manner.
She turned around and saw Jace walking away, heading toward the quarterdeck. Adyn stepped close and put a hand on Narine’s shoulder as she continued to watch him.
“You are drawn to him,” Adyn said.
“What?” Narine turned toward her. “Oh. The kiss. It was nice.”
Adyn snorted. “With the way you melted, you are lucky you had the rail to lean against or you may have collapsed into the water.”
“I did not melt,” Narine retorted in what felt like an overreaction.
With a chuckle, Adyn said, “Fine. You didn’t enjoy the kiss.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“What are you saying?”
Narine looked at Jace again, the man talking to the first mate, Zard, both laughing at something. She worried it was about her, until realizing that was exactly the point he had been trying to drive home. She frowned in thought. The thief was a mystery in many ways, including his effect on her.
“I don’t know what I am saying. He does make some valid points,” she admitted.
Adyn gave her a sidelong look. “Everything he said were things I have been saying to you for years.”
Narine blinked, realizing it was so. “Huh. Perhaps I needed to hear it from somebody else.”
“Someone with dark eyes and a rippled torso?” Adyn grinned, her eyes filled with mischief.
Again, Narine felt her cheeks growing flush. “I wouldn’t know…”
“Oh please. Did you think I would allow you to sneak away from camp without watching over you? I was there when you spied on Jace at the river.”
The image appeared in Narine’s mind as it had so many times since that morning. She had wondered repeatedly what it would be like to run her hands over his body. The thought brought her pulse to throbbing.
“I wasn’t spying. I was merely–”
“What did he just say to you?” Adyn scolded. “Don’t be the person others think you should be.”
Narine shook her head and sighed. “It’s not that easy. All my life, I have been guided by perception, and you now wish me to do otherwise.”
“Not just me.” Adyn pointed toward Jace. “He, as well.” She leaned against the rail and stared toward the water. “He is perceptive. He sees your potential is more than you believe. Think on it and see where your heart takes you.”
Jace stood near the quarterdeck, leaning against the rail while tall, green cliffs slid past the ship. Here and there, narrow ravines ran down to the water, some with trickling rivulets, others by gushing waterfalls. The channel the ship had entered was no more than ten miles from shore to shore, growing narrower the deeper they went.
“We must be close now,” Jace shouted to the man at the helm.
“We will reach Shear near sunset,” Captain Overton replied.
Jace looked up at the cliff looming hundreds of feet above. The sun had already fallen below the ridgeline. Sunset could be no more than an hour away.
The ship cleared a bend where the rocky cliffs thrust a few hundred feet into the water. Beyond was a natural bay filled with ships. Battlements stood along the shore, protecting the buildings within. Behind the fortress, a zig-zagging roadway led up the cliffside. Two fully loaded wagons made a slow descent, the mounts fighting to keep the wagons from rushing downhill. The area was thick with Farrowen soldiers. Among them, workers offloaded wagons into the holds of the ships.
“This must be the Shear Garrison,” Jace shouted.
“Yes,” Overton replied. “And it appears active, as if the army is preparing to set sail.”
I wonder where they are heading. Could it have something to do with what happened in Ghealdor?
The ship passed the bay and the garrison disappeared, replaced by the glorious views of the canyon walls.
Narine appeared on deck and walked toward him. His gaze lingered on her briefly. Her hair was down now, flowing over her cloak-covered shoulders. The air had grown cooler since the sun became obscured by the tall cliffs, casting the ship in shadow.
“It’s beautiful,” she
said as she stopped beside him, resting her forearms on the rail.
“Yes, more so than I had imagined. Although I have visited Shear, this is my first time sailing the channel.”
She nodded and continued to stare toward the calm water between the ship and shore. Here and there, small craft were tied to docks, often near small cabins visible through the tree-covered hillside. Jace wondered why people decided to settle in a location so remote. He missed the city – the people, the food, the conveniences…the greed. It was an emotion he understood and often used to his own benefit. Marquithe was no more than three days from Shear. Soon, he would be back home and in his environment.
He realized Adyn was not nearby. “I’m surprised your nursemaid allowed you out of her sight.”
Narine glanced at him with an arched brow. “Adyn decided the ship is safe…even with you aboard.” She smiled, which turned to a chuckle. “She would punch you for calling her a nursemaid.”
He smiled and nodded. “True. I would likely do it anyway, just to see the look on her face.”
“I’m not surprised. You seem to flirt with trouble more often than you do with girls.” She looked at him. “Sometimes you are predictable, other times quite the opposite.”
He watched the breeze tease her golden locks. “How so?”
“The things you said to me earlier… I found them painful to hear.”
But did you enjoy our kiss? he wanted to ask, but instead replied, “Do you wish me to apologize? If so, you’ll be disappointed.”
She shook her head. “No. I actually found it painfully…insightful.”
He arched a brow, hope stirring.
Narine gazed off toward the steep, wooded shoreline. “I have spent my life trying to be who others thought I should become. It is the way of things for many women, but more so for royalty. From a young age, I was taught perception is more important than reality. Accordingly, I have spent my life behaving appropriately for my position.
“Given my current circumstances, I would like to change that.” She turned toward him, and he stared into her aqua blue eyes. “It may take some time and patience, but I will try.”
Jace was unsure why she had confided in him. She wouldn’t approach you if she didn’t care. He took a deep breath and said, “I will try, as well.”
Her brow furrowed. “Try what?”
“To not goad you into a reaction, even though it is so easy.” He grinned.
She pushed him playfully and laughed. “You are as bad as Adyn.”
“Isn’t she your friend?”
“Yes. My best friend. Often my only friend.”
“Perhaps that is why you enjoy my company.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Yet here you are.” He extended his arm in a sweeping motion. “This ship has plenty of space, but you chose to stand beside me.”
She sighed. “Yes. Please don’t rub it in. I am still working through this.”
“Through what?”
“Don’t make me say it. Just…let it be for now.”
Jace shrugged. “As you wish.”
Her gaze returned to the shoreline as the ship drifted past a steep rock outcropping hundreds of feet tall.
After a moment, she spoke, her tone serious. “There is something else you should know.”
“All right.”
“There is another reason I left Eldalain to claim the throne unchallenged. Have you heard of Lordess Pherelyn?”
Jace recalled hearing the name in the past. “Didn’t she rule Farrowen a long time ago?”
“Yes. What else do you know of her?”
He shrugged. “Very little. Frankly, I never cared much about wizards, lords, or your history.”
“You should. History can teach us much.”
With a snort, he said, “Like what?”
“Rather than making a mistake yourself, wouldn’t it be better to learn from someone else who already made the same mistake?”
His face twisted. “Why would I repeat someone else’s mistake?”
“Exactly.” She smiled.
Rolling his eyes, he said, “What of this Pherelyn? Why bring up some woman who died centuries ago? Am I about to repeat her mistake?”
“No. I want avoid her mistake.” She took a deep breath, as if seeking resolve. “You see, she is the only woman to ever become a wizard lord.”
I have never heard of a woman ruling a wizardom. Jace hadn’t ever given it much thought before. “There is a reason for this information, I assume.”
“Will you stop interrupting me?”
He chuckled. “Sorry. Bad habit.”
“I should say so,” Narine replied with a wry expression. She turned toward the shoreline, her gaze growing distant. “Two thousand years ago, the eight wizardoms were formed. Those eight wizards are each famous in their respective wizardoms. One of them was named Lord Beneficious, the first ruler of Farrowen. As you may suspect, he ruled many years, leading his people to over a century of peace and prosperity. Unfortunately, he was the first of the wizard lords to be challenged. Until Pherelyn came along, the wizard lords were considered immortal. She proved otherwise.
“After killing the man and taking the throne, Pherelyn acquired the power of a god. Overwhelmed by such power, she became something horrible.
“Men are physically stronger than women, often better at combat and acts of war. The same holds true for magic. In constructs of energy and physical manipulation, men excel far beyond what a wizardess might achieve. Conversely, women excel in areas where male wizards are weakest. Among those strengths are healing, illusion, and mental manipulation. With the power of a god, Pherelyn used those abilities to dominate Farrowen. I won’t get into the details of the atrocities she committed, but consider this… Imagine someone who can dominate your will forcing you to do anything they wish, even if it meant killing yourself. An example included a dignitary from Orenth who had slighted her by not bowing deeply enough. He spent the remainder of the day sitting on top of the palace wall, peeling off layers of his own skin with a paring knife. The man eventually bled to death, but not until he had skinned himself completely, screaming in pain the entire time.”
Jace imagined being under someone’s spell, unable to guide his own will. He could think of no worse fate.
“Through force of will and the power of a god, Pherelyn built Farrowen into the most dominant wizardom ever known, but the achievement came at a steep price. She is the reason the roadways crossing Farrowen are paved, something no other nation has. Despite being land-locked, Marquithe became a center for trading because of those roads. It took five decades to lay many millions of stones, and many people died in the process.
“Finally, a wizard named Rochellan Brack rose to become the High Wizard of Shear. Rochellan then conspired with the Wizards Guild in Marquithe to kill Pherelyn and claim her position. They gathered every bit of information about Pherelyn and fed it to the man so he could concoct his scheme. He visited the palace in Marquithe and pretended he was smitten with Pherelyn. Tall, athletic, and handsome, Rochellan looked more like a warrior than a wizard. Knowing the woman’s preferences, he courted Pherelyn using every trick he could conceive to manipulate the woman until she fell prey to his charms. They agreed to marry, and she invited him to her bedchamber to consummate the marriage. Later the same evening, while she slept, he snuck off and returned with a massive axe. He decapitated her with a single stroke.
“As you are aware, wizard lords can heal themselves, and a female wizard lord would be able to heal just about anything. Losing one’s head is an exception, perhaps the only one.
“As agreed, Rochellan rose to become the next wizard lord of Farrowen and went on to rule for two centuries.
“Since Pherelyn’s death, no woman in the eight wizardoms has occupied a throne. The masters at the University and every Wizards Guild across the continent would do anything to prevent another reign such as Pherelyn’s.”
Narine fell silent while Jace conside
red the story.
“You avoid a claim for the throne because the other wizards would stand against you?”
She nodded. “Yes. Worse, I wonder if I would become like Pherelyn. I saw what power did to my father and how the thirst for it has corrupted my brother.”
He put his hand on her back. “I doubt you have it in you to become a ruthless, heartless ruler. It just seems…outside your nature, regardless of what power you held.”
Narine turned toward him. “You don’t understand. The power one gains when they become a wizard lord comes from a god, Jace. How can man be trusted with such power?”
“I am talking about trusting you, with or without the power of a god.” Something she had mentioned earlier nagged at him. “You mentioned women being skilled with mental manipulation.”
“Yes.”
“You can do this? You can make others do as you wish?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Even for women, it is much more subtle than that. Besides, they don’t teach Domination, the construct Pherelyn used, at the University. It is now forbidden.”
“Then what do they teach?”
“Useful things, such as healing mental illness, blocking painful memories, building confidence, instilling courage… Many are helpful. Most are harmless.”
“Shear, straight ahead!” Captain Overton shouted.
Jace looked beyond Narine and saw the docks along the shore, the castle on the hilltop hundreds of feet up, and the city in between. I had best avoid the castle, he thought, recalling his last visit. High Wizard Gerald Wrenthal had almost died that day. I don’t need another incident like what happened during my last stay in Lionne.
10
Shear
Shear, Narine thought, staring at the city for the first time.
As part of the curriculum at the University, she had studied each wizardom, including the major cities and their history. Shear derived its name from the steep cliff where it was built. It was also among the oldest man-made cities, favored by its natural harbor, the mild climate, and the protection from the elements offered by the cliffs.
Fate of Wizardoms Boxed Set Page 41
