By The Skies

by J E Mueller

  “They have their place, but I wouldn’t give them that much credit.” He scoffed. “There are always people to hire for that.”

  I was more than thrilled that food was being brought out now. Punching him in the face might be the only option tonight if I was forced to talk more with him, and that was not ladylike. Mother would die of horror, but if I was being honest, that might also solve a few problems.

  The food kept Eastyn fairly well occupied and he tried to rejoin conversation with his father and mine. That was more than fine by me, even if talking over me and my mother was less than polite. The fewer words I needed to say to him, the better. Maybe I could get through this.

  As dinner finished, dessert was brought out and conversation continued to stay away from me. Mother happily took over parts, discussing different traveling concerns for a trip to Magnolia next week. Father also wanted to go to Elysburg next month but was worried about snowfall that far north and wanted to make sure he was home before I returned from school.

  It was hard to believe we were less than two months away from winter break. That would not be enough time away, but just enough time to be duel ready.

  “Let’s take a stroll about the gardens,” Mother suggested as silence fell after everyone finished eating.

  “A splendid idea.” The Lari nodded and stood. “It will be too soon before the winter falls, and I’ve heard great things about the estate since I last visited.”

  “It’s been some time. Come see the changes we’ve made.” Father motioned for Percival to follow him.

  I knew it was still too early to head off to bed, but not by much. I could suffer through a group stroll, and the gardens were truly lovely even if the company was not.

  As we headed out the back to the gardens, Eastyn offered out his arm for me to take. It was not worth causing a fuss or stroking my mother’s ire to decline. Begrudgingly, I accepted, offering a nod instead of a smile. His arm felt oddly moist, as if he had sweated through his coats. I was going to need another bath just from this short contact.

  When the group stalled by a new fountain, Eastyn pulled me along. “Let’s see what else there is here.”

  “Does the new fountain not please you? I’ve hardly seen it myself.” I stopped and was met with a quick tug.

  “It’s a fountain, and I’d love a moment with just you,” Eastyn insisted, smiling pleasantly.

  I wanted to gag, but aside from his rather Sedimentary manners, he wasn’t being as bad as I expected and there was nothing wrong with continuing the stroll. The garden wasn’t that large, and we were near the end. It took one turn and less than a minute later for him to realize that truth as well.

  “For a lovely estate, this garden is rather… small. I was expecting more from the Derite.”

  I bit back my initial retort, not liking how he cursed my father’s title. “You jest.” I gave a small fake giggle with ease. “Of course it is small! Our lands are known for the woods and hunting. The garden is a lovely respite from the wild, not the main attraction after all.”

  Eastyn didn’t appear to know that, but he covered it up well enough. “True, but that does not do well for us right now. How can I enjoy time with just the two of us when it’s such a small garden and it’s already starting to get dark?”

  For starters, you could leave me alone—but I wasn’t going to say that. “You make good use of your words for the time given. You already know that though, your letters have shown it.”

  Eastyn stopped walking as we reached the last of the flowers before the garden wall. “But they have done little for me getting to know you.” He spun me to face him and kissed me hard, without warning.

  I tried to push him off but he held me tight and close, trying to force his way into my mouth. His arm wrapped tighter around me while his other rather sweaty hand held my head in place. Eastyn was far stronger than I had expected, sending a shiver down my spine as I continued to struggle against him.

  He finally pulled away. “You’re all mine, dearest Kareia. You don’t need to be shy about a simple kiss.”

  “Shy?” I gasped. “Sir, you did not gather my permission to touch me in such a way.” I was able to finally put a step between us. “I am not shy and I am not one to be manhandled.”

  Eastyn raised an eyebrow. “You’re my Promised, I don’t need additional permission. Are they not teaching you a thing in that silly school of yours? No matter, once we wed things will be sorted right and you’ll find things are much easier this way.”

  The step wasn’t far enough away. I should have known better, and yet was surprised when he had me locked in his grasp again. I wanted to call my magic, and teleport away, but knew it was better to hide that until the duel. If he thought I was nothing but a healer, I had all the advantage. I pushed down the bubbling power, as much as I felt the urge to use it.

  I endured the kiss, letting him think he won that much. I refused to kiss him back, no matter what he thought. His eyes glimmered with mischievous delight as he pulled away.

  “See, nothing so bad in a kiss?” Eastyn crooned as if the battle was won.

  He knew not the war on the horizon. Instead of replying, I turned and walked briskly away. He caught up fast, chuckling as he looped his arm through mine and forced me to slow down.

  “I love your spirit. It’ll be nice to see where that feisty attitude can be redirected,” Eastyn commented, seemingly oblivious to my hatred of him.

  I continued to bite back my comments, knowing he wouldn’t see my side anyway. I wasn’t a beast to tame, and he was one to believe any woman should be broken and subservient, never shying away from her husband's will.

  Ha. As if I were that type. He was lucky I didn’t punch him in the nose. It could only improve his looks.

  I frowned as I realized no one else was outside anymore. I had wrongly hoped being back in a group would quell Eastyn’s attitude.

  Eastyn chuckled as he realized the same thing. “It would appear our elders have already gone in for the evening.”

  “A wise decision. I am sure everyone is tired from traveling. I know I am,” I hoped the last statement was firm.

  Eastyn tugged on me hard, forcing me to stop abruptly as he kissed me again. He was smart enough to keep his death grip on me and I could only wonder which gods I ticked off to deserve this treatment.

  His hand moved down my back and grabbed my behind firmly and I shoved at him, causing him to laugh into my mouth but not let go. Whatever he lacked in brains from what I heard, he clearly made up for in brawn—a memo I hadn’t gotten. There was little more he could do though. Any other grabbing would give me a way to move, and I was not going to waste it on a brisk walk. I would run inside if I needed to.

  “And you claim to not be shy,” he whispered as he finally broke the kiss, arms still tightly around me.

  “Not wanting to kiss you has nothing to do with being shy.” I hoped my eyes shot daggers, but the desired effect wasn’t reached.

  Eastyn just chuckled. “Now now, isn’t this far more fun than anything else we’d be doing? Well, there are a few more fun things, but we’ll have to work our way there.” He winked at me and it took all my composure not to gag.

  “No.” I tried to shove him away, if I couldn’t escape I could at least show my disagreement.

  “You’ll be dreaming of my lips all over you soon.” Eastyn chuckled again, once more forcing a kiss on me. Instead of sticking to my lips, he trailed his kisses down my neck. A disgusted shiver ran through me, causing him to interpret wrongly. “See? You say no, but your body says yes. You should just let yourself enjoy me.”

  “You are wrong.” I glared at him.

  Eastyn wasn’t really paying attention though as he pulled me as tight against him as possible and whispered in my ear, “Soon, I’ll be making all your dreams come true.” His lips were on mine again, blocking any more replies. Roughly, he shoved us over a couple of steps and against a wall, giving him a way to hold me hostage and let his hands wander.
/>
  I shoved him roughly. “Don’t touch me!” I hissed, hoping the venom poured off my words.

  “You’re mine, it’s silly to resist so much.” He smirked, his smile twisting into psychopathic delight.

  “I am not yours, nor will I ever be,” I shot back, not caring anymore.

  “I don’t concede the arrangement,” he stated with ease. “We’re good for one another, you just don’t realize it yet, and that’s okay. You’ll see. We’ll make things work.”

  Eastyn kissed down my throat, moving to the small cleavage he could reach.

  “Just leave me alone.” I felt frustrated tears break loose from my eyes.

  Eastyn kept one hand tightly around my upper arm as his other gropped me. “All of you is Promised to me. I wish I could have courted you better, but you refused to write. At least we’ll have much to discuss now.”

  “I don’t want to be with you.”

  He cupped my face, clearing a tear away with his thumb. “You’re allowed to be unsure and nervous. It’s only natural for a silly-headed girl to be. I assure you, I’ll take care of you.” His lips met mine, softly at first before getting too eager. He forced his tongue inside my mouth while he continued to feel what he pleased, grabbing me as much as he enjoyed.

  When he finally broke away my tears were streaming more than I wanted, but there was no stopping them. “Shhh,” Eastyn said as he wiped them away. “When will you learn?” He shook his head, clicking his tongue at me. “You did say you needed to study often so I will break it down for you. This works so much better if you give me what I am requesting. Just a kiss goodnight. Then you can go off to bed. I’m certain you must be exhausted if you haven’t reached the correct conclusion yet.”

  It was clear he was trying to manipulate me into believing he was being reasonable. He would keep me here as long as it took to get what he wanted. I knew no help would come. The servants weren’t about to mess in affairs involving someone of such high status. If there was any doubt before that this needed to end, it was all washed away, grossly, by too much saliva.

  I couldn’t muster up a reply. Everything in me felt defeated. I would not be allowing this mistake to happen again. There would be no alone time with this Promised. Dragons be praised.

  “Is your silence understanding? Or are you confused, my love?” Eastyn asked, not bitterly or angrily. The words were flat and without emotion. He knew I understood, and I knew this was him demanding a response.

  “I am not confused,” I replied tiredly, giving in. “I understand.”

  A devilish smile crossed his face. “I’m so glad we could come to an agreement. Working together isn’t so hard.”

  Correcting him that there was no agreement and no working together wasn’t going to save me. I had no choice but to give in and kiss him back.

  He kissed my lips softly and I stiffened out of reflex before forcing myself to kiss him back. Encouraged, he kissed me harder, and more deeply, groping me all the while until he was satisfied.

  “You are amazing,” he breathed softly as he moved away from my lips.

  “It’s late. I want to go to bed,” I replied, sharper than I meant to.

  “That’s hardly the right way to behave around a guest.” He frowned.

  “You got your kiss.” The words were like daggers on my tongue.

  “The movement, yes. It was a fantastic start. I think we can get through one more step tonight before we say good evening.”

  When would this end? “What do you want from me?” A tired sob escaped my lips. Too many women I had seen go from lively to obedient housewives. Is this how they all gave in?

  “There’s an excellent start. I want to believe your kiss.” His smile played innocent while his words did not.

  A show. He wanted a show, and I was tired, so tired and unwilling to play. Did I have a choice? I knew I did not.

  Instead of waiting for him to say more, I kissed him hard and fast, wrapping my arms around his neck, entangling my hands in his hair. It felt slick and oily, making me want to pull back. Eastyn wouldn’t approve, and from the way his hands were moving now, he was truly enjoying this show.

  Please let it be enough.

  When we parted he looked pleased. “That’s better. I’m certain that now we’ve got the basics down, the rest of this visit will be far more enjoyable.”

  I suppressed a comment about him leaving tomorrow bringing me endless joy. “I’m glad you’re pleased.” That seemed to be the most I could manage to appease him.

  He smiled, looped his arm through mine, and finally let us move away. “It’s late, we should retire for the evening.”

  I tried hard to suppress my relief, not wanting to deal with any more of his nonsense. The second we were inside I bolted for my room, not caring if my actions had recourse.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Mother was angry at me for not leaving my room quickly in the morning. She repeatedly came to the door to try and hurry me along. It wasn’t happening. Potions refused to give me energy, or settle my nerves.

  After three of them I decided I needed to stop or I might start seeing side effects. Soaking did nothing to wash away how disgusted I felt. I was tempted to use hotter water and scold everything away. At least my magic healed any bruising from being pushed into a wall. No soreness remained. Everything felt like it was mother’s fault. Her anger meant nothing to me. She could just wait.

  “You need to be at breakfast, socializing with our guests. With your Promised,” she hissed at me as I slowly went through my wardrobe.

  “That Promised you picked for me is disgusting. He would not keep his hands or mouth off of me!” I didn’t want to get into the details, not with her of all people, but she needed to know that much.

  “I fail to see your point.” Her words were flat.

  I turned and stared at her crossed armed no-nonsense posture. “Excuse me?” I raised my tone, a terrible offense to my mother. “Certainly you want more for me.”

  “I am giving you everything,” she replied with an eyebrow raised. “These boys, they are fools. Play his game. Being married to a Lari means you will have everything you wanted. You play your cards right and you can do as you like. Do you want to gather herbs from across the globe? Phrase it right and he’ll be eating out of your hand. So what if you have to sleep the lackluster specimen of a man. You’ll be able to have everything and bring your family honor. Stop your whining.”

  Maybe my mother’s marriage was a loveless one after all. Was this just her playing her cards right? Did she get everything she wanted from manipulation?

  “I’d rather have a partnership. This relationship is not for me,” I replied evenly.

  “It doesn’t matter what you think at this point. I doubt he’ll concede.” Mother waved it off with the flick of her wrist. “Now get ready.”

  “I could duel him,” I pointed out.

  She laughed hard. “You? You are a healer. You have zero offensive gifts. No extra talents. No unexpected magics. You don’t stand a chance. Now, if you are not downstairs in short order, I’ll send Eastyn up to you.” She turned on heel and left.

  I hadn’t been expecting this turn, but it wasn’t as if I truly knew my mother. She kept me away for most of the year. If power was what she wanted, of course, she wouldn’t care how she got it, even if I was uninterested in applying her tactics. With a sigh, I put on a simple outfit and quickly went down for breakfast. There was no reason to give two controlling people everything they wanted.

  I made it to the table just as food was being brought out.

  Mother smiled. “Ah, there’s my tired daughter. I’m sorry the trip from school wore you out so. I’ve got good news for you.”

  I kept myself poised and polite. “I am as well. I wasn’t expecting it. What is the good news mother?”

  “Our guests will be staying for two extra nights.” She beamed, the darkest of smiles spreading across her lips.

  Percival gave a laugh. “I’ve heard nothing but
good things of the game here. I cannot wait to see what the lands have to offer.”

  Father beamed proudly. “There should be plenty of elk and boar this time of year. It’ll be a fun trip.”

  “Oh, that does sound splendid!” I smiled. “I do hope all of you enjoy it.” I cast a smile to Eastyn.

  “It should be great fun. It’s always nice when you get to find and conquer your prey.” Eastyn sent me a slimy smile.

  I fought back a shiver, reminding myself they would be gone most of the day, and very, very tired later if they even came back at night.

  “That you’re right about, son!” The Lari laughed and my father joined in with him.

  Breakfast quickly turned into conversation about the paths and trails they wanted to take. This was perfectly fine by me. Distance would help me get my head sorted.

  It thrilled me to pieces when they set off without so much as a goodbye and as the day continued on, I was at peace. The woods around the house were lovely and I was able to get some easy potion supplies. I started to make rejuvenating potions for magical fatigue, to ease muscles, and to bring about energy. It took up so much of my focus I hardly noticed the time slipping away.

  Dinner was surprisingly quiet. With no one having yet returned, it was just mother and me. She hadn’t a word for me beyond reminding me to visit the prayer room and thank the dragons for all my blessings.

  It was hard to tell what she meant. Was I supposed to be grateful for my Promised? Or the quiet day? Either way, I was thankful for the peace and had no trouble offering them my praise for that.

  I had just slipped into bed when mother knocked on my door and let herself in.

  “Quick, grab your robe. We need you to heal the Lari.”

  Ah, this wasn’t a surprise. It wasn’t much of a hunting trip if one of the party didn’t return injured. While there was one on staff, I knew mother wanted to show off my gifts. There would be no peace until I obliged, and if I were being honest knowing someone was injured would give me no peace.