by Dianne Keep
She felt dizzy from his touch. “I healed her? Fully?” Bree touched her head. The bangles hit her skin. The diamond reflected her golden light. It was a pleasant sight. “How could I forget something like that?”
“You were a little frazzled. In need of a distraction.” Khrisk took her hand. “But I think we’ve been gone long enough.”
An electric shock ran up her arm. She couldn’t move.
“Let’s go.” He smiled and tugged at her arm.
She looked at their entwined fingers. Zings shot all over her body. “I’m glad you’re back.”
“Me too.” He led her down a passageway. Her alhor sparked and swirled around Khrisk. He didn’t mention it. Maybe he didn’t notice? Of course, he notices. She tried to call her alhor back, but it didn’t pay her any attention.
When they reached the door, Khrisk looked at his arms, chest, and legs. “Still haven’t gotten it under control?”
Her cheeks flushed. “I guess not.”
He shook his head and pressed a brick. The door swung open.
About a hundred guards stood behind Fara, all of them aiming their laser pistols at the wall’s secret entrance. Why were they there? She didn’t remember seeing them before, but she didn’t recall Khrisk taking her on an expedition of the wall either.
Had there been a disturbance? Khrisk let go of her hand and went to the soldiers. He glowed faintly for few seconds and then her alhor left him.
Rishi Fara ran over and embraced her. “We were all so worried.”
“Didn’t you know I was with Second Zeir Khrisk?” Bree’s quad surrounded them.
The Rishi glanced at Khrisk. “Yes, of course. I’m not feeling quite like myself.” She squeezed Bree’s hands. A gentleman approached, a courtier, from the look of his bright orange silk suit. Fara held out her hand. The man halted. “I won’t be able to return to the banquet tonight. So, I must tell you good night. I’m sure I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night,” Bree said.
“And thank you.” Fara smiled and left with the courtier.
Bree stood in the huddle of her quad for a few minutes staring at the ground, hugging herself. Something was missing. She went back through her memories from the last couple of hours. Some of them were blurry. She always remembered every minute with clarity.
Purple light spread over the ground. Bree looked up. Ehre walked through the crowd of soldiers.
“Are you okay?” She lifted the amber gem off Bree’s skin, inspecting it. “How do you feel?”
Bree smoothed her dress and noticed her sash had disappeared. “I’m fine. I think. A little confused. Does healing people do that?” She glanced around. The sash was nowhere in sight. A pang of sadness slipped out. Probably trampled by the clumsy soldiers littering the courtyard. Khrisk was still speaking to the soldiers.
“Sometimes.” Ehre released the charm. “The Resh insists you return to the hall. Do you feel up to it?”
Bree touched the flowers in her hair and set a smile on her face. “I can manage.”
“Resh Osling will be pleased.” Ehre took her arm and they walked into the dining hall.
Ehre returned Bree to her seat, while her quad stationed themselves by the pillars behind her. Ehre went to Osling’s side and his face transformed as Ehre spoke, with something other than joy, it was beyond delight.
She had done well. She had healed Fara and activated a relic. Once her other talents returned, she’d be out of rehab. And married. It wouldn’t be so bad. Bayan might allow her memories to return after a few years and after she produced an heir or two.
Speaking of Bayan, he wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
The chandeliers glowed. Their yellow light mingled with the pink haze of the early evening coming through the doors to the courtyard. The bulk of soldiers had dispersed, and with them Khrisk. Her heart skipped a beat. Get a hold of yourself.
The blue pudding was still at her place, so she ate it while glancing around the hall. Most of the people there had finished their meals and were in groups talking or laughing. A few wandered out to the courtyard.
A servant came and whispered to Osling. He got up, leaving her by herself at the table. How long did she have to stay?
“Bored?” Khrisk’s hand touched her shoulder for the briefest moment.
Her skin tingled where his hand had been. “No. You?”
“Desperately.” He sat in Bayan’s chair and fiddled with the silverware. “I missed you while I was away.”
“Is that why you stole me away into the wall?”
He rubbed his hands on his pants. “Not exactly, no.” His eyes wandered to her hair and settled on her neck. “Your dress is beautiful. I don’t think I had a chance to tell you yet.”
“Thank you.” Bree noticed how well his back suit clung to his muscles. “You look—”
“Don’t say it.” Khrisk smiled. “I didn’t choose these.”
“I can tell, but the clothes fit you well.”
Khrisk smirked. “I didn’t get to congratulate you properly earlier. I must apologize. Bayan is thrilled.” His smile didn’t falter.
“Are you really saying you’re happy for me?”
Khrisk’s glorious smile faded. “You’re not? Happy?”
“No.” Her heels bounced on and off the floor. “I was worried you’d be upset. I have no idea why.” Staring at her plate, she whispered, “I’m….” What was she? She was used to stuffing her feelings away.
His hand shot out as if to touch her, but instead it raked through his hair. “I’m obligated to congratulate you.”
Bree nodded.
He tapped his fingers on the blue tablecloth. “I’m to marry Karra Elissa Sana. The Resh and my father made the arrangements.” He leaned in. “I found out last month.”
“Oh.” Air left her lungs like she was wearing the dreaded corset again. Pain racked her middle.
“She’s a good match for me. Her father is a favorite in Osling’s court.” Khrisk’s hand inched closer to her plate. “Won’t you wish me happy too?”
“Congratulations.” She put her hand on the table and their fingers touched. Home. He felt like the lovely pine forest and glistening mountains. The place she’d dreamed about before it burned her to ashes.
“Do you think I’m meant for Bayan?” Staring into his ocean eyes, she knew the answer.
“Yes. No one matches you better.” He withdrew his hand.
Liar.
Bree agreed with the voice.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Bree’s nightmare from the previous night had replayed. All. Night. Long. Only this time with Khrisk. They both stood in the majestic pine forest near the blackened plains and burned all night. And, this morning, the sweet mint leaves weren’t kicking the ashy aftertaste in Bree’s mouth.
Watching him writhe in agony had scored her a new octave in screaming, or so Tosha had told her. She gulped down a tiny glass of the red gunk Gallie sent for sore throats and nearly threw up.
Could she hate her life more? She glared at the purple fluffy thing hanging on her wardrobe. Here hung the possibility.
“This was not part of my dress fitting yesterday.” Was Bayan upset because she’d made flirty eyes with Khrisk? Bree called upon her power to disintegrate the purple disaster waiting to torture her body. Nothing happened. Her alhor wasn’t in the mood to pounce on it either. “When do I get to select my own clothing?”
“Never.” Tosha dragged a lint brush over the gauze. “You’d wear pants and tunics with boots and smell like dirt.”
Bree rubbed some cream under her eyes. Her dark circles were worse than yesterday. “I happen to enjoy the way dirt smells.”
“You would.” Tosha held up a new vase of spark lilies. “Flowers? Bayan sent two-dozen during the night. I think we should take it as a hint that he wants you to wear them.”
“It appears that way.” Bree stood while Tosha yanked the corset strings. With Feli’s trick, the stays didn’t pinch as much. Her bruises migh
t get the chance to heal. “I think I’ll ask him if I can pick out my own dresses.”
“I think you’d have a better chance of skinning an ogog.” Tosha flung the purple gown over Bree’s head and arranged the swathes of fabric. She gathered Bree’s hair and started pinning.
“What in the cursed lands is an ogog?”
Tosha waved her hand, “Never mind.”
“I look like a fluff monster.” The dress billowed out with ruffles hiding all her curves. If she had the sash Fara had given her, she’d have a way to create a waistline. She still wasn’t sure how to tell Fara she’d lost it. “I don’t need the corset. No one will see any of me.”
“You’re right.”
With the corset off, Bree could finally breathe. After her hair was done and the matching accessories were in place, she waited on the balcony, smiling at all the sentries watching her. Most of the little green lights from their pointers were concentrated over her heart. How fitting.
The morning air smelled crisp and new with a hint of the flowers from the garden below. Sunlight warmed her face, and Bree closed her eyes. Today will be better than yesterday. No voice—yet. No alarms triggered. She might get to see Khrisk again. Her inner barricade rattled. Stupid, treacherous emotions. He’s getting married. I’m getting married. And not to each other.
“Good morning,” Ehre said from Bree’s bedroom.
“I was expecting Bayan.” Bree walked in, closing the balcony doors. “Do I have lessons today?”
“No. Today, I am taking you on a tour.” Ehre set a breakfast tray on the side table. “What are you wearing?”
“A fluffy purple monster. Do you like her? Her name’s Elissa.” Bree hoped Khrisk’s Karra Elissa looked like a big, puffy fiend.
“You’ll have to change,” Ehre said.
Today was going to be great. Flat cakes and ham scented the room. Bree lifted the lids and poured neyne over all of it. The first bite tasted glorious in her mouth. “Where are we going?”
“We need to leave as soon as possible.” Ehre paced the room, eyeing the door every five seconds.
“Expecting someone?”
Her mentor twisted her hands. “I’m just, we have to ride far, and I have to make sure you’re back before dark.”
“Sounds exciting.” Bree sipped the breakfast tea and grimaced at the sour aftertaste. “Is this laced with something? Because I had really hoped Gallie wasn’t trying to kill me.”
“If she was given the chance, she would. She might even volunteer.” Ehre reached for the cup.
“What do you think?” Bree handed her the mug.
Ehre took a sip. “Why would they think this would work on you?”
“What would work on me?” Bree gulped the last few bites of her breakfast.
“Deern. It’s an herb known to instill loving, or at the very least, passionate thoughts. Bayan must have put them up to this.” She dumped the tea into a potted plant. “I used it once on someone I thought I loved.”
“Intriguing.”
“It was a young girl’s crush. Nothing more.”
“Young girl? As in twelve? You can’t be much older than me. And I’m not twenty. Or I think I’m not. Unless…. Are you hiding an aged and wrinkled woman underneath your skin or something?”
“No.” Ehre frowned.
Knots coiled in Bree’s stomach. “So, he’s trying to make me love him?”
“I think Bayan’s worried about the way you kept staring at Khrisk last night. Not to mention the greeting he gave you. I thought...well, it doesn’t matter.” Ehre mumbled that last bit. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her black greatcoat. “Go change.”
Bree clapped her hands and skipped to the dressing room. “Riding actual horses to a place I’ve never been. For a tour. That might take all day. My life just got a whole lot brighter.”
“You’ve been there.”
“Then why the tour? You specifically said a tour.” Bree shucked off the hideous gown and dove into her riding clothes. The smooth material of her tunic rippled against her skin. She plucked the lilies from her hair, placed them in a bowl of water to keep them fresh, and then decided to tuck one behind her ear.
“We’re going to the arena,” said Ehre.
“That’s not fun and it won’t take all day.” A horrid sense of foreboding snuck into Bree’s bright mood.
◆◆◆
At the stadium, Shane seemed upset as he helped her dismount. She had the urge to ask him what was bothering him. Maybe Bayan’s love potion attempt was going awry. She’d never concerned herself with any of the guards before, except when she wanted them to walk a little faster through the palace courtyards.
Shane was different. She wanted to talk to him like she did with Tosha. There was no time though, or privacy.
“Why do I need a tour of the arena?” Bree shoved her gloves into her jacket. The cold bite of bitterness nipped at her. She wanted mountains and sunshine. Not more stone and metal and tight spaces. “Won’t I be watching the candidates from the top levels?”
Ehre walked toward one of the metal healing boxes. Three of Bree’s guards drifted away to posts near the entrance, leaving Shane next to her. After looking around a moment, Ehre stepped inside.
Bree followed. “Why am I in a healing room?”
Khrisk. Dressed in the finest riding clothes she’d ever seen, lounged on a cot in the corner. “I didn’t think Bayan would appreciate me visiting you in your room.”
“That makes perfect sense. He passed me a love potion this morning.”
His eyebrow lifted. “Bold of him.”
She shuffled forward. Her body wanted to be closer. Just stop. This is stupid. We don’t—can’t—even like each other. Why would we? But her body ignored her thoughts. Her hands moved to push Ehre out of the way.
“How did you sleep?” That was a perfectly normal question. It wasn’t why won’t you marry me, or won’t you throw Karra Elissa off the roof. Both of which would be awful, not to mention totally unacceptable.
Khrisk chuckled. “Not as well as I’d hoped.”
Ashes gurgled up Bree’s throat, filling her mouth with a sooty taste. “Me neither.”
“I think I hear something.” Ehre winked and stepped outside.
Bree smiled at Ehre’s back and sat down next to Khrisk. He smelled of pine, rain, and all things wonderful. “Won’t Bayan know you were here at the exact same time as me? Would he care? We can be friends, right?”
“Friends is a good word for us.” Khrisk sat up and folded his hands in his lap.
Her alhor spread over his hands, slowly running up the length of his arm. Bree hoped he wouldn’t notice. “I didn’t get the chance to ask how your mission went. Did you find whatever it was Osling wanted?”
He leaned closer. “It was good and bad. I found more than I was supposed to.”
“And that’s good and bad?”
“For you and me, it is.”
Neither of them broke eye contact. Bree’s pulse thudded. “I’m sorry to hear that.” She leaned closer.
“Me too.” He wrapped his arm around her. “I missed you every day.”
She relaxed against him. Nonsensical as it was, this was what she wanted. He felt like home. “No, you didn’t.” She nudged him with her elbow. “How could you?”
“Are you saying you didn’t miss me?” His face contorted in pain, but his eyes laughed at her.
“How could I? I don’t remember you from before and we only spent one day together.” Though, if he left now, she’d miss him. Every. Single. Minute.
He released her and buried his face in his hands. “My heart is wounded.”
“Stop that.”
He peeked through his fingers, smiling.
“Are you nervous?”
“About what?” His eyes searched hers.
“The Ranking. Having to do it all over again.”
“I’m not afraid of Rysa’s animals. I’ve seen worse.” Some emotion she couldn’t name flashed
across his face. “Osling wants his son to survive. I placed first in my Ranking. It’s logical for me to participate again to keep Bayan safe.” He leaned closer. “Are you worried about me?”
“Maybe.” She held her breath. Her alhor covered most of his torso and both of his legs.
“Don’t be.” He sighed and turned away. “How are you feeling today after healing Rishi Fara last night?”
“Fine. I’m having nightmares, but otherwise, I feel the same as any other day.” Her alhor contracted. “Why?”
“Just checking.” Khrisk stood and paced the metal room. He stopped in front of her, pulled the spark lily from her hair, and breathed deep. “I love spark lilies.”
Ehre entered. “We have to go. We are expected at the site before noon.”
Khrisk tossed the lily on the cot and ran his hands over his pants and through his hair. “I’ll ride behind you with my bodyguard.” His beautiful grin reappeared. “He’s Tosha’s brother.”
“Tosha has a brother?” Bree asked. Her maid had mentioned her family before, but not that her brother was Khrisk’s personal bodyguard.
Khrisk nodded.
“What’s at this site?” A pit of snakes came to Bree’s mind.
Ehre took her by the arm. “You’ll see when we get there.”
Outside the stadium, twenty guards on horseback waited with a blond giant of a man holding the reins to a magnificent gray stallion.
“Bree, allow me to introduce you to Thac Romoon,” said Khrisk.
Shane and the other quad member separated so Bree could meet Khrisk’s bodyguard. “Hello, nice to meet you.” She had to tilt her head to see his face. He looked exactly like Tosha, stood at least a foot taller than Khrisk, and was twice as wide. “Your sister is really wonderful.”
“You’ll have to tell her hello for me.” Thac’s voice matched his size. “I won’t take leave until the Second Zeir goes in for the Ranking.”
“I’ll make sure to do that.”
Thac handed Khrisk the straps to the gray stallion and then mounted his own horse with unnatural elegance for one his size. Bree and her quad mounted their horses, and Ehre rode next to her within the quad’s protection.