It all seemed surreal, hearing it so bluntly put, followed by a hearty roar from the crowd. He waited for the cheering to settle before continuing. Krose looked at Rienna and their eyes locked. She wanted to frown all of a sudden. She could swear they were saying goodbye, but she knew that wasn’t possible.
“Rienna was the one who united us, the very first to take this journey, although when it started, none of us could have predicted it would lead to this. We were regular people, motivated by fear, lust, anger, revenge.”
That last word was certainly meant for her, although some of their other comrades could say the same.
“Tonight we celebrate a world that might not have been! Tonight we celebrate life!”
The cheers rose up again and the lights that were on them shut off and a great explosion of fireworks lit up behind them. At first, Rienna started to panic—the last time she had a celebration end with explosions, it had been the event that had changed her whole life and ended the lives of all she loved most. She felt a pair of hands on her shoulders and when she turned, Krose’s lips were on hers, sensual, soft and full of unspoken need. She leaned into him but he broke off the kiss with a smile and slipped away into the crowd.
At this point, Rienna was more than a little shocked and the excitement was leaving her drained. Seije was at her side again and she yelled over the crowd that she was going to look for him alone. Seije wasn’t stupid enough to object as she shoved her way through. Her frustration built; she could not find Krose anywhere but she was determined to do so. She made her way to the Tribute and entered the busy bar, near nauseous from the heat and stink of alcohol but pushed her way to the bar where she entered.
The bartender started to bar her way but noticed who she was and let her pass through with a smile. She made her way to the kitchens but still didn’t find him. She saw a ladder leading to the roof here so she figured she’d see if she could find him in the massive crowd at least. Probably futile, but she really needed air now or she’d be sick.
It was a bit of a climb but when she reached the roof, it was much quieter. Despite the noise in the bar and kitchen and the noise of the crowd, being a couple stories up was turning the cacophony into a peaceful humming. The fireworks still crackled in the sky like a wondrous mockery of her own growing garden at the cottage. As much as she loved that cottage, she still couldn’t bring herself to call it ‘home’.
Lucky for Rienna, Krose happened to be sitting up here alone. She should have guessed, seeing as how he and Dinsch seemed to have a fondness for roofs.
Krose could clearly hear her clumsy shuffling but kept looking down on the crowd as Rienna sat beside him. Rienna had fully intended to give Krose a piece of her mind but now that she found him, words seemed to have left her.
Rienna watched the crowd with him for a while and found she was calm when she felt the need to speak again. She ruffled his shorter hair affectionately, but he still wouldn’t face her yet.
“I didn’t think I’d have time to talk to you at all. This whole night has been overwhelming for me,” Rienna admitted, thinking her voice sounded stupid, weak and whiny and wishing she could take it back.
Krose shifted to look at her and smiled, leaning back on his elbows to get a better look at her. She reflexively punched his shoulder, but then she hated when a man was smug in the way he affected women. He just laughed and rubbed at the spot.
“I know—I’ve been a poor host. I’m sorry” was all Krose gave her. He was enjoying making her angry, she realized.
Rienna frowned and tilted her head.
“You have not. This is more than I could have imagined,” Rienna started but then paused. “I’m proud of you.”
She realized it was hard to look at him. Her hair had been escaping its bindings all night and she attempted to tuck it behind her ears while she looked away. She heard Krose move and he grabbed at the bindings and released her hair to her surprise, just watching her hair billow softly in the breeze.
“It’s longer now. I like it. If I didn’t know better, I’d think time hasn’t touched you since the day we met,” Krose told her, his voice rumbling with approval. It was that visceral sound that always managed to fill her with need. She reached for the fastening of his pants and his hand stopped her. She lashed out and slapped his face, so he trapped her hands. She started to struggle but he rolled her over and pinned her with his leg and upper body, forcing her to look at him, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
“Things are different now, Rienna. I’ll always be here for you, but not like this, not anymore. You deserve better,” Krose told her, releasing one of her hands to stroke her cheek. The kindness made a tear escape and he wiped it away too.
“People keep saying that! I don’t want better,” Rienna said unhappily.
Krose laughed gently and shook his head. He reached into a back pocket and pulled out a large wrapped object. He sat up and pulled her back up with him. He put the gift in her hands. Curiosity overrode whatever else she felt. She started to open it but he stopped her again.
“Not now, Rienna. Not even here. I want you to wait until you are ready for the truth. It’s not a thing that you can look at lightly. But it’s yours and you are the only one who is meant to have it.”
Rienna frowned again.
“You’re killing me, Krose. I can’t have you and I can’t open your gift. This is no way to end a night,” Rienna belted out in frustration.
Krose let out a short laugh and shrugged apologetically.
“For all my planning, I couldn’t seem to make this part of it right… I love you, Rienna; you know that. I also know that you’re still treating everything like an ending and it’s just the beginning. So much is ahead, for all of us, but until you start really believing that, no one is going to be able to make you happy.” His eyes met hers sadly but he smiled. “You might want me now, but I think you’re still searching and I need to move on too. Find someone who knows I’m it. You’re far too dear to sacrifice for that gamble.”
Rienna couldn’t even argue with him because he was so sincere and it was true. She touched his lips with her fingers, slowly tracing them down to his chin where she lingered and studied him. She traced her fingers down his neck, stopping at his collar and resting a finger in the dent above his collarbone.
“I wish you could have been the one for me,” Rienna confessed.
“Me too.”
“Then why aren’t you?”
Krose smiled confidently.
“Because it’s too convenient.”
Rienna was so taken aback that she laughed. Krose joined in and they both laughed until it hurt then gasped for air. It was an outburst of sadness, regret, anger, an outlet and an admission for them both. Rienna moved to leave, realizing there was nothing more to be said. She tucked the gift in the tight straps that held her sword’s sheath. Krose took her hand and helped her back down the ladder so they could join their friends.
Rienna watched Krose go back to his managing and watched Dinsch and Seles dancing. She wasn’t sure where Seije had gone off to but was ready to call it a night. She wondered where her room was and an usher showed up to her escort her while she wished Arden were here to console her, to fuck away the frustration and pain that lingered. She lay in the bed and let tears roll from her eyes onto the pillow, saying Krose’s name aloud into the room. She debated telling him he was a coward, but in the end, so was she and she did not go.
When she was finally sated in sleep, she was blessed with dreamless sleep.
Despite having gone to bed early, Rienna still woke up late, alone in the big luxurious bed of the suite and naked. It was her nakedness that made it harder to be alone. She had a lover sometimes but not the kind that warmed her bed all night and woke with her in the morning. Really, that was her own damn fault because she never had a shortage of men willing to do that. She also knew she was lucky they put up with her at all.
She slipped off to the bathing room to clean her teeth and found a ro
sewater bath waiting for her, delighted to find it was just warm rather than hot or cold. She hoped she wouldn’t regret letting things go with Krose—he was one of the few attentive men she had ever met that would remember little details like that. She thought she might find a robe to slip into waiting in the armoire after but again, he outdid her and there was a single lightweight dress in her favorite hue of blue hanging there on a satin padded hanger. Damn, but this man was a special kind of expert at revenge.
Rienna let the dress fall over her naked body, pretending for a moment it was a lover’s caresses. She moaned softly in her revelry and noticed at that moment she wasn’t alone and spun towards the open window to see Arden’s pleased smile as he sat in the window.
“How long—“ Rienna started but Arden interrupted. “You’re not really here, are you?”
It was an odd question but the glow around him told her that this was just a hologram, one of the ways they communicated in the former City of Sorrows. It was not a form of magic, but a boon of technology.
“Just the right length, I’m told, but no, I haven’t been here long. Just long enough to manage a bit of a cock twitch watching you make love to a dress. Should I take a number?”
Rienna rolled her eyes. Sometimes the advantage of his youth was a disadvantage when he ran at the mouth, but she smiled and turned slowly so he could appreciate the view. He let out a low whistle.
“No panties?” Arden asked, but she was no longer annoyed and laughed instead.
“I’ll be changing again before we leave. I can’t ride in this,” Rienna admitted.
Arden looked like the cat toying with the mouse now.
“You didn’t bring that dress, did you? Your pretty green man left it for you…” Arden clearly stated it but there was a question in it too.
Rienna laughed again.
“Pretty? And green, at that! I’ve never heard anyone call Krose that. Handsome, yes, even sexy, but never that,” Rienna stalled right back, wondering at his game but not taking the bait.
“He’s got it bad for you,” Arden stated, not jealously but he still bubbled with contained curiosity.
Rienna sighed and nodded.
“Which is why I’m going to have to give him space. He pretty much told me he was setting about getting over me last night,” Rienna told him unhappily.
“You could change his mind,” Arden told her. “He’s much better for you than I am.”
Rienna didn’t want to start the day in anger but she seethed at that.
“The men in my life always seem to presume to know what’s best for me. Yes, I could change his mind and it would only be prolonging his misery. I’m not ready to give anyone my heart, if I ever am, and he deserves that. I’m just glad he realized that too.”
Arden shrugged and the projection changed as he became solid in front of her. She backed up, shooting a look of warning at him.
“Don’t you dare ruin this dress, Arden,” she hissed at him cattily.
Her butt hit the edge of the counter and when she frowned down at it, he lunged forward, grabbing her upper thighs and hoisted her up to sit on the ledge. She grabbed his upper arms reflexively, expecting his lips to crush hers but he just looked at her trying to catch her breath. He watched in amusement as her sudden lust quickly cooled to discomfort.
“What is it?” she asked warily.
“Nothing, I just like looking at you.”
“Tease. You’re overdressed,” Rienna told him, started to undo his shirt but he stopped her. She couldn’t wait to sate the frustration she had fought last night.
“Just the pants, dear; I can’t be gone for too long—my brother is keeping me busy,” and he undid his pants himself, setting his erection springing free and eager. He shoved up her dress and slid into her tight warm sheath with relative ease.
“At least the dress sped things up for us,” he rasped into her ear as he teased her with slow deliberate strokes in and out.
Rienna lifted her hips impatiently to take in his full length, groaning as she pressed her breasts against his chest.
“You were right though,” she breathed out through gasps. “I have no complaints about the length.”
“Take a number,” he countered.
Sex was always hotter when he made her angry.
Rienna resisted the urge to smooth out her dress where it had bunched on her thighs during her episode with Arden. She knew it wouldn’t escape Krose and she certainly wasn’t trying to rub a sore spot with him, but it was all in her head. The dress was fine; it was just her conscience that pestered her.
Rienna found it odd that Kalhmera had brought Arden to her just to sate her physical lust. It seemed like sacrilege to use a goddess for a booty call. She hadn’t asked for it, of course, but she had to wonder about Kalhmera sometimes. She wished she hadn’t been so impulsive with the visit now. She wanted to know more about Arden’s past. The twin brother and his deceased little sister. Did she seem too cold to care?
Again, when Rienna met up with her friends, she and Seles gushed over their dresses and the men enjoyed the show. She noticed Krose’s pleased smile seeing her wear that dress. She waved at him, hanging out at the bar with Seije and made her way over to them.
She eyed the brothers, smiling at how different they were. Seije was all business, all the time. Krose had been the freespirited one but now he was a bit more business than before too. Their smiles were similar but Seije’s was always less bright and more guarded and he always looked uncomfortable sitting or relaxing.
“Did you two find time to talk? It’s a shame we have to go today—the time has gone so fast…” Rienna told them sincerely.
Krose shrugged and took her hand in both of his.
“You can come any time you like, stay as long as you want, no charge. Just bringing you here is increasing my revenue to the point that I can barely keep up. My temp staff is definitely welcome on as permanent and I wouldn’t mind if they made a few referrals at that. A good deal of the guests are staying a few days longer. My brother and I didn’t have much new to say though, seeing as how we correspond. You really can’t stay?”
Rienna knew that would be a bad idea. She could, of course, but it would weaken his resolve having her here. She shook her head regretfully.
“You know I would love to, but a girl in town named Lily is helping me with a garden and if I don’t pick her up, she’ll make the journey alone. She’s a pretty little waif of a girl and I would hate for anything to happen to her.”
This was true enough, but Lily wasn’t going to come until the day after, once she was settled back in at home. Lily was pretty determined to help Rienna though and it did worry her for the girl to travel alone.
Krose nodded, clearly grateful she didn’t accept. He held up his glass in a toast to her.
“To Rienna!” he shouted, catching the attention of the patrons in the bustling bar.
“To Rienna!” came the uncoordinated but jovial replies and cheers. She blushed and dipped her head to all of them in thanks.
The remainder of their time there slipped by in a blur and Rienna’s heart sank as their visit came to an end; she was enjoying a casual tour of Neibelung with her friends at her side, although it was a bit awkward for her to see Krose and Seije struggling make up for lost time. Awkward but heart-warming nonetheless.
Rienna had tears in her eyes as she waved goodbye to her friends and they shuttled back to the inn in the north. Rienna changed into her second outfit here, a riding dress with short puffy sleeves in a spring green and yellow combination. She paid one of the innkeeper’s daughters to French braid her hair and the girl added a few silk yellow flowers to it as well. Rienna never felt so spoiled as she had in the past couple of days and would miss it. Of course, her ensemble was not complete without her sword and dagger changing into matching green and yellow sheathes.
They rode for a few hours before Rienna cried out in anguish. Seije fell back on his horse to see what was wrong.
“Se
ije, I left the gift Krose gave me back at his inn!” Rienna lamented, but Seije reached into his pocket and took out a wrapped package.
“You mean this one?” Seije asked, holding it out to her.
“Oh, thank the goddess… How did you know to look for it? I didn’t tell anyone about it,” Rienna asked him.
Seije shrugged. “Krose mentioned it. Told me you were forgetful. He wasn’t wrong.”
Rienna really didn’t relish the idea of them talking about her at all.
“Did he tell you what it is?” Rienna asked now.
Seije shook his head and smiled.
“Are you that afraid to find out?” Seije asked her now.
“I don’t know if I will ever be ready for whatever truth he is giving me…” Rienna admitted.
“He did say he asked the Goddess to help. There’s a “Goddess” now, is there?” Seije asked curiously.
Rienna could kick Krose for letting that slip. Seeing as how Kalhmera hadn’t struck him down dead, maybe she was not so strict over who knew the secret. In time, it may not be a secret at all anyway. What shocked her more was that Krose had not minded asking the new Goddess to help him with this gift. A Goddess-involved gift of truth was an even scarier thought. They made good time on the road back and Seije deposited Rienna at her cottage and laid a kiss on her cheek before leaving to return to his duties at the castle. Maybe it wasn’t so strange since the Goddess certainly did smaller favors without complaint.
Rienna shrugged and stripped off her weapons and dress (and panties, of course as she made her way to her couch to rest). She detoured instead to the bathing room where she drew a bath and sunk into it, the water hovering between her closed lips and nose as she drew her legs to her chest. She wondered if she was driving herself towards misery. There would come a day when men did not line up to fill her calendar, when she would probably end up with too many cats so she could talk out loud without feeling like no one listened. It wasn’t that she needed a man in particular, but she thought that a human companion was certainly on the list.
She missed Arden, but for all intents and purposes, she knew what they had wasn’t lasting. The friendship, yes, but Arden was young and he needed a sweeter sort of girl in the long run. Her thoughts would return to Krose, as much as she hated it. She really hoped he wasn’t just blowing steam, that he really meant to get over her, because she wasn’t so sure she could say the same.
The Truth about Heroes: Complete Trilogy (Heroes Trilogy) Page 73