The World of Samar Box Set 3

by M. L. Hamilton

  “Things should start looking up soon. The poison is working its way through your system, but apparently, your body will mend almost completely.”

  Jarrett rolled his head on the pillow and regarded his companion. “Almost?”

  Kendrick grimaced. “We’re just not sure. Your arm was badly infected by the time we reached Adishian.”

  Jarrett narrowed his eyes. “We?”

  Kendrick sighed. “It’s a long story and I don’t think you’re up for it. Give yourself a couple of days, then I’ll update you on everything.”

  “How long...” His voice failed him and he swallowed against the continuing dryness. “How long was I...”

  “Unconscious?”

  Jarrett nodded.

  “Four days, including the two it took to get to Adishian and the two since you’ve been here under...” He paused. “...under her care.”

  Jarrett knew who the her was. His angel, Tyla Eldralin.

  “Where is she?”

  “She’s here,” came the voice from his dreams.

  She came to a halt behind Kendrick, placing her hand on the Nazarien’s shoulder. Kendrick gazed up at her with an expression Jarrett had never seen before, but he didn’t spare his companion much of his attention. She demanded his complete focus. He couldn’t believe that any creature was as beautiful as this one. He’d thought perhaps it had been a figment of his feverish dreams, but staring at her now, he knew it wasn’t.

  Her brows drew down into a pretty frown and she motioned the Nazarien away. Kendrick rose reluctantly and backed toward the door, but he never removed his eyes from her the entire time.

  She placed her hand on Jarrett’s brow, then reached for his left arm. Jarrett was surprised to realize he hadn’t even felt the arm until she touched it. Then it began to tingle directly over the spot her fingers lay.

  “The bandage is clean,” she said as if she was cataloging symptoms, “and there doesn’t appear to be any fever.” She glanced at the Nazarien. “Has he taken any water?”

  “A little. I was afraid to give him too much.”

  The beautiful creature turned her attention back on her patient. “That’s good,” she said, offering him the most stunning smile he’d ever seen. “We don’t want to go too fast.” Taking the seat the Nazarien had vacated, she reached for his left hand and held it within her own. Again he felt the strange tingling sensation race over his hand and up his arm. “You have warmth in your hand.” Smoothing the covers, she then folded her hands in her lap. “How do you feel?”

  Jarrett could only stare at her in confusion. When? He hadn’t felt like much of anything, except a lot of raw nerves, until she walked into the room. Now he wasn’t sure how he felt, but he sure as hell didn’t care anymore.

  “Fine,” he said.

  She laughed. Jarrett could only blink in rapt adoration. He’d never heard a more delightful sound. “I think you feel anything but fine; however, I appreciate the courage it took to say that.”

  Jarrett wanted to reach for her hand again, but he didn’t have the strength. As if she’d read his thoughts, she placed her hand within his, his right one now so that he could feel it. He gave her a weak smile, he was so delighted.

  Kendrick shifted uncomfortably behind her, drawing Jarrett’s attention. The Nazarien was frowning. “Don’t you think he needs more sleep, Your Majesty?”

  She glanced at the Nazarien over her shoulder. Black hair cascaded down her back with the motion. “I think he’s had enough already,” she said. “However, you do appear to be rather exhausted. Why don’t you catch a little sleep before supper?”

  Jarrett would have shot a smug look in Kendrick’s direction, but he didn’t have the energy. Kendrick’s blue eyes cut to Jarrett’s face, then back to Tyla’s. He seemed to be struggling with himself. Jarrett suspected he wanted to protest, but didn’t know how to do so with someone like Tyla Eldralin. She was a presence to be reckoned with, Jarrett had to admit. After a moment of silent debate, he gave a nod and left the room.

  Tyla turned back to her patient. Her grip tightened briefly on his hand. “Actually, he’s right. You need sleep in order to heal.”

  “Don’t go,” he managed to say.

  She touched the back of her fingers to his cheek. “I won’t until you’re asleep.”

  Jarrett wanted to turn in to her touch, but he suddenly couldn’t make his body respond. Against his will, his eyes blinked heavily a number of times and his breathing grew deeper. He mumbled something to her, but even he didn’t recognize the words, then he was drifting pleasantly between reality and the dream world.

  “Let go,” came her voice in his ear. “Sleep and heal.”

  And Jarrett let go, sliding into the realm of sleep where there are no dreams to disturb one – a healing sleep.

  * * *

  Three days Jarrett drifted between sleep and a sort of semi-wakefulness. People came and changed the bedding, they came and changed his bandage, and everyday someone came and gave Jarrett a very thorough sponge bath that not only annoyed the Terrian, but caused him no little amount of embarrassment.

  Between these events, others came and poured various fluids down his throat. He recognized a few: water, Stamerian, and a salty broth that tasted suspiciously like chicken; but others were indefinable. As he had faith in Tyla Eldralin’s healing ability, he didn’t waste the effort it took to ask them what it was they fed him.

  What he did reserve his energy for was the brief meetings with the lady herself. She came daily and surveyed his care, then deigned to sit with him for a few moments, urging him to begin the process of living once more. He found himself desperate to please her in any small way, so when he wasn’t sleeping, he started working on regaining some control over his muscles again.

  It was both distressing and more difficult than he’d imagined. Most of all, it proved to be a very humbling experience.

  When he’d been a young boy, he’d suffered frequent bouts of parental abuse that had left him weak and wounded. Recovery had taken time, but a young body heals more rapidly than an older one. Since he’d come to manhood, he hadn’t suffered any debilitating illnesses or anything more than a minor injury while training, so he had no recent experience by which to compare this recovery.

  Jarrett was a large man, tall, well-muscled, so he expected a certain level of power to be his by right of that size. To find that he didn’t even have the strength to sit himself up in bed was distressing. To find he needed the assistance of others to perform the most basic and personal tasks of living was devastating.

  Still he was young and determined and he had a powerful motivation. By the end of the three days, he was able to sit for longer periods of time and he’d even managed to hobble across the room to relieve himself on his own.

  Unfortunately, the recovery was longer than his patience, and boredom set in. Kendrick was good to assuage some of it. He came each day and told a part of the strange tale that led to their arrival in Adishian. Jarrett couldn’t get over the fact that he had no recollection of that journey whatsoever.

  When he thanked the Nazarien, Kendrick acted confused. Jarrett persisted in his thanks, even though he knew the Nazarien faith shunned such benedictions. It had been Kendrick’s duty, according to the laws of the order, and Kendrick had simply been performing it.

  For Jarrett, this was also a humbling experience. He knew Kendrick didn’t like him overly much, but to know that the man had gone to such desperate means to save his life was impressive. He had to truthfully ask himself if he would have been so committed in the same situation.

  Through a silent agreement, they avoided any mention of the Adishian Queen during the early days of Jarrett’s recovery. Whenever she chanced to visit her patient while Kendrick was also visiting, the tension between the men was palpable. It was also slightly ridiculous, but where such emotions lay, there isn’t any sense of sensibility.

  Both of them knew Tyla Eldralin was off-limits. It was like worshipping the sun because
it gives you warmth. Worship it you might, but possess it you never will. Kendrick and Jarrett knew Tyla Eldralin was not available for a number of reasons. She was married to the King of Adishian, and she was Talar Eldralin’s daughter. Both facts were enough to eliminate such amorous feelings, but more than all that was the lady herself. She was affable, she was gentle, and she was sweet beyond reason, or so Jarrett thought, but she didn’t seem to realize her two visitors had anything else on their minds except the duty to which they were commissioned.

  Not that Jarrett blamed himself or his companion for having less than puritanical thoughts. Jarrett could honestly say he’d never met a more beautiful woman. And if her attributes ended there, it would have been enough to quicken his pulse for the remainder of his natural life. Yet when you added a keen intellect, an incredible healing talent, and a latent power one could feel even if he knew little about such things, Jarrett felt sure there was no man alive who would not worship such a complex little package. Then there was the fact that the lady had saved his life.

  He couldn’t look into that exquisite face and not remember that he wouldn’t be alive at that moment if it hadn’t been for her. Kendrick had brought him across the valley of death, but she had delivered him from its very gates. She had found him when he no longer wanted to be found. And she had freed him of the nightmares that had imprisoned him.

  So, while Jarrett didn’t blame Kendrick for his infatuation, he did realize a rivalry was already brewing between two men who were already rivals. To Kendrick’s credit, the Nazarien was honorable enough not to press his advantage when his rival was decommissioned, which is why they both avoided any mention of their hostess in those first few days. Jarrett knew it was a moratorium that wouldn’t...couldn’t last forever.

  During the days that Jarrett spent recovering, Kendrick began the task of learning why they’d been summoned to Adishian. He had daily meetings with the King of Adishian and his advisors. Jarrett suspected he knew a great deal more than they had when they’d first taken the commission, but he kept it to himself, talking about other things to occupy their time.

  Tyla had been generous with her personal library and she brought books to the Terrian. What he read when he wasn’t exercising his muscles or napping, he shared with the Nazarien. Many of the books told the history of Adishian. They proved interesting in light of the few facts Kendrick shared from his daily audiences with the King.

  However, the truce between them was a short one, necessarily so. Jarrett wasn’t a man used to being inactive, nor was he in the habit of letting someone else do his work for him. He’d been commissioned to partner the Nazarien in this venture and he fully intended to fulfill that commission. Before he’d even gained a measure of his strength back, he began demanding for information from Kendrick’s daily meetings, and such information invariably meant that the time was coming when the companions would be forced to discuss the very thing that had brought them here. Jarrett knew it would be a tense conversation, but inevitable.

  Jarrett and Kendrick must discuss Tyla Eldralin.

  “We need to talk,” said Jarrett.

  Kendrick gave him a bewildered look. “About?”

  “The Queen. I need to know exactly what happens in those meetings you have with the King.”

  “When you’re well enough...”

  Jarrett’s jaw tensed. He’d known a confrontation was unavoidable, but he was reluctant to begin it just the same. Kendrick had stood by him when he needed him most. “I’m well enough now.”

  Kendrick’s eyes narrowed. “I think this is something that can wait...”

  “No!” said Jarrett and surprised them both with his anger. “I want to hear everything that’s said in those meetings.”

  Kendrick rose and his expression closed down. “And I say it isn’t important now.”

  Jarrett pushed himself up in the bed, ready to leave it if necessary, but the door opened and Muzik’s large, smiling face appeared.

  Jarrett tore his eyes from Kendrick only moments before the large man had clasped him in an unceremonious embrace, a booming laugh escaping his lips. “Thought I’d never see you again,” he said warmly and settled his huge frame on the bed between the two companions. Kian appeared in the doorway and padded into the room, lying down before the windows and resting his massive head on his forelegs.

  Jarrett smiled at Muzik and cast a glance in Kian’s direction. “I’m glad to see you too, Muzik. I guess I also owe you my life.”

  Muzik patted him roughly on the shoulder and laughed. “Think nothing of it, I was only happy to help after that incident in Cambia,” he said, coughing in embarrassment.

  “Why didn’t you tell us you were a captain of the Blue Battalion?”

  Muzik settled back and shot a glance at both Jarrett and Kendrick. “I was sent to Cambia in search of you, but I was to go in civilian clothes to draw as little attention as I could. Lord Tarnow felt sure that if you made it through siege lines, you’d be drawing plenty of attention yourselves. Then I found you, but I had to let you go. There are those in Cambia that report directly to Rarick in Sarkisian. It got too sticky and I had to keep attention from myself. I thought I’d catch up with you quickly enough, but Lex Prestar caught you first.”

  Jarrett mulled over Muzik’s story. It didn’t all seem to fit. Everywhere that Muzik went he drew attention merely by his size and by the fact that a dog traveled as his companion. And then there was the incident at the tavern with Tosa. As if the man read his thoughts, he leaned close.

  “Understand this, Jarrett Murata, I am a sworn protector of Tyla Eldralin, sworn to it by Lord Tarnow. I don’t think I have to impress upon you how important I feel this duty to be. Lord Tarnow sent for you to act as her protectors, but I felt the need to test what sort of men had been sent, I needed to test their convictions and their honor.” He leaned back and Jarrett scrutinized the large face and saw there a touch of what it must mean to be Tyla Eldralin’s sworn protector.

  “And did we pass?” he said cautiously.

  Muzik smiled and pressed his shoulder with a massive hand. “So far, but believe me, I won’t be letting my guard down.”

  “No, I don’t suppose you will until we leave for Loden.”

  Muzik’s face grew serious and the small eyes narrowed. “Do you think I’ll stop then? I have sworn my life to the protection of Tyla Eldralin, she is my single charge and the only thing I hold dear. While you’re in Adishian, nothing you do that concerns her will escape my notice and when you leave I will go with you as your shadow.”

  Jarrett was speechless. Behind the enormous captain, Kendrick’s face grew troubled, but the tension that had passed between Jarrett and the Nazarien was not there with Muzik’s words. Neither one would have dared to deny Muzik’s claim.

  As they sat in silence, the door opened once more and in glided Tyla Eldralin. She looked about the room, at each of the faces lifted to meet hers. Muzik and Kendrick both scrambled to their feet and bowed, and Kian lifted his heavy head.

  “Your Majesty,” muttered the large man, but she lifted her hand to silence him.

  “Muzik Andrada, you know better than to be formal with me,” she said and cast a smile in his direction. Muzik’s face lit instantly, but he didn’t seem to have words for her. She turned her steady gaze on Kendrick and the Nazarien tensed noticeably. “As for you, Kendrick Andel, you’ve no need to rise on my account. I think you’ll find I take my position as Queen of Adishian very lightly.”

  “But I take my position very seriously, Your Majesty,” he said, “and therefore, I am at your command.”

  She moved closer to the Nazarien and placed her hand on his arm. Kendrick flushed and Jarrett felt a wave of jealousy pass through him. “I release you from my command,” she said. “It’s not my right to command any man, despite what Lord Tarnow may think.” She turned and her eyes fell on Jarrett.

  He felt his chest constrict and then her thoughts lightly brushed his. He was struck by the fact that she had r
ead his thoughts so easily, his deepest feelings and emotions were an open book to her. No matter how hard he might try, he wouldn’t be able to stop her.

  She took a seat beside him on the bed and touched his wounded arm. “I see you’re feeling much better, good enough to sit up.”

  Jarrett nodded.

  Suddenly Kian rose to his feet and pressed past the Nazarien, moving to Tyla’s side and laying his massive head in her lap. She withdrew her hand from Jarrett and stroked the dog. “So you’ve been treating Kian well, Muzik,” she said, looking back over her shoulder.

  Muzik smiled. “Better than I take care of myself, Your Majesty.”

  “I’ve no doubt of that,” she said and her eyes fell on the Nazarien. “What do you think of my friend, Kendrick?”

  The Nazarien flushed visibly again. “I think he’s a magnificent animal.”

  “Yes, he is magnificent, one of the best companions a person might wish for. One of our hunters found him as a pup and brought him to me. I took care of him and then set him free, but he doesn’t seem to want freedom. He found his way back inside the castle gates and howled until he was let in. He hasn’t left my side since, unless I ask him to accompany Muzik.” She fixed her eyes on the Nazarien. “Don’t you find that curious, that an animal would chose my company over freedom?”

  Kendrick swallowed and his discomfort showed plainly in his face. “No, Your Majesty, I don’t find that curious. I can imagine almost anything would choose your company over freedom.”

  Jarrett was surprised by Kendrick’s reaction. He knew enough of the Nazarien to know their feelings toward women. The Nazarien were an entirely male order and until Talar Eldralin, a very chauvinistic one. They would protect a woman, would even give their lives for her safety, but they ultimately believed that women were procreators and nothing more. Any open display of desire for a woman was shunned and any show of servitude to a woman’s command was cause to be ostracized. Talar Eldralin had changed that a bit with his love of his wife, but even despite his example, the Nazarien still retained their beliefs in celibacy and male domination. To see Kendrick, an avid student of their schooling, seemingly infatuated by a woman was a surprise, but then Jarrett felt that few men would have been able to resist the charm of Tyla Eldralin.