Luks’s throat grew tight, squeezing his words small. “You’re a noble man, Your Highness.”
“Then I should probably claim you, shouldn’t I?”
Luks couldn’t control his reaction to these words. His expression of mingled surprise and hope moved Kholya to take his hand.
“I confess I feel a bond with you, my lord,” Luks said shyly.
“Then there is nothing more to say.” Kholya stood. “I have to return to duty. I wish you to stay with Pearl and care for him.”
“Of course, master.”
Kholya was no great lover; he’d never had time for courting. However, the look on Luks’s face inspired him. Putting an arm around Luks’s waist, he kissed his forehead. “I’ll come back for you,” he said as he left, and he kept his word.
“HOW DO you feel?” Luks asked when Sheyn woke nearly a day later.
Sheyn thought about that for a minute. “My head aches a little.” He sat up and groaned. “I ache down to my bones,” he amended.
“Drink this.” Luks handed Sheyn a cup with steam curling out of it.
“Will it take the pain away?”
“No, it’s just to warm your stomach and give you a reason to get out of bed. Stretching your muscles will take the pain away.”
Sheyn drank the hot broth and put on the robe Luks gave him. “This is new,” he said with a note of interest in his voice.
“It’s from Prince Kholya’s hoard. I thought you’d like it. It’s grand and fancy like you.”
Sheyn slid his arms into the long, fur-trimmed sleeves of the black velvet robe. It fell in soft folds to the floor, and the fur collar came right up under his chin. “It’s so warm,” he said, hugging himself.
“It suits you.” Luks picked up Sheyn’s cup and filled it again. “You must be hungry.”
“I must?”
“I keep telling you, healing is very draining.”
Sheyn sat abruptly. “I feel so odd. On one hand, I’m intensely curious about what happened, and on the other, I’m afraid of what you’ll say.”
“Eat this.” Luks handed Sheyn a bowl. “Once, daaksim had the power to heal others, but the ability faded until daaksim could only heal themselves. Until now.”
“I don’t understand why I—”
“I don’t either,” Luks broke in. “I don’t understand why the Goddess would choose—” He stopped in midsentence. “But it makes me very hopeful.”
“Of what?”
“That daaksim will one day be restored to our rightful place.”
“Your rightful place is as a free man, not a pet.”
“Don’t be hateful.”
“I can’t help it.” Sheyn set the empty bowl down. “I feel so strange. I don’t like it.”
Luks learned forward and put a hand on Sheyn’s forehead. “You’re a little warm, but that’s just the Goddess’s fire in you.”
“More of your magic talk.”
“Just because you don’t believe in it doesn’t mean it isn’t real.”
“Actually, you’ve got that wrong, from a philosophical standpoint, but I know what you’re trying to tell me.” Sheyn bit his lip. “I can almost accept the idea of a deity channeling power through me, but the feelings I’m having make me uncomfortable. I’m sorry if I’m unpleasant.”
“What feelings?”
“Just now, I felt I should apologize to you. A few months ago, it wouldn’t have occurred to me. I’d have told you to take me as I am or find someone else to talk to.”
Luks smiled. “You’re such an aanki.”
“I don’t know that word.”
“It’s what we call a spoiled child.”
“I see.”
“It wasn’t meant as an insult. You’re charming.”
“If you say so. May I have one of those?” Sheyn pointed to the tray of seeded cakes. “Or two.”
Luks handed him the tray. “Does your head still ache?”
“No. I feel quite well now.” Sheyn stood and stretched. “I’m still a little tired, but otherwise, I’m well.” He ate the last bite of the little cake and brushed the crumbs from the front of his robe. “I should thank the commander for this.”
“I’ve already thanked him for you.”
Sheyn looked into Luks’s eyes. “You bedded him!”
“I knew I couldn’t hide it from you.”
“You look happy.”
Luks smiled. “I wish the same happiness for you.”
“I just need a good bout of bedplay, is that your opinion?”
“That’s not what I meant. You wouldn’t be so troubled if you would accept your destiny.”
“You keep saying that.”
“But you don’t believe it.” Luks took Sheyn’s hand.
“I don’t want to.” Sheyn pouted. “And I don’t want to feel this way.”
“What way?”
“I want to see the barbarian.”
“Prince Kashyan?”
“Yes, Prince Kashyan, if he really is one.”
“He may be a bastard, but his mother was a queen of Savaan and a princess of Macsaar before that. His blood is royal enough, especially if King Yevdjen was his father, as the rumors have it.”
“It’s maddening, but I actually crave his presence at this moment.”
“I’d like to sympathize with you, but I think this is a good thing.”
“He saved me.” Sheyn went on as though Luks hadn’t spoken. “He never hesitated even after he saw what he’d be fighting. Neither did Djenya. What kind of men do they breed in Savaan?”
“They follow the old ways in Savaan. Duty and honor are sacred. By the time their boys are five, they’ve been sent away to the home of a nobleman to be taught a warrior’s skills. They return home at twelve and the rest of their training is up to their sires. It’s not very different in Sumadin, except that Sumadinim send their sons to camps run by the military.”
“So Kashyan has spent his entire life either fighting or training to fight.”
“Like all Kandaari men.”
“Except you,” Sheyn pointed out.
“Daaksim aren’t considered men.”
“What?”
“We’re not considered women either,” Luks said hastily.
“Then what are we?”
“We’re just ourselves.”
Sheyn was about to retort when the guard knocked. Luks called out, and the door opened. The guard came in a few steps and held out his hand.
“Some Black Hawks brought this for Pearl,” he said.
Sheyn came to take the piece of cloth, and the guard went back to his post outside the door.
“What is it?” Luks asked as Sheyn took the fabric by two corners and held it up. Luks gasped. “That’s a Muergathi battle standard!”
“What am I going to do with such a thing?”
“I told you they’d go raiding,” Luks said. “It’s your fault if they get in trouble with their commanding officers.”
“All right, but what do I do with this?”
“Send it back. Here.” Luks thrust a quill pen at Sheyn.
“What am I supposed to write on?”
“The flag. Say that you’re flattered, but it isn’t a suitable gift.”
“What would be suitable?”
“Flowers or some such, but not this!”
Sheyn smiled at Luks’s indignant expression, but he wrote the note and gave the battle standard back to the guard.
THE SURGEONS were amazed at Kashyan’s recovery but insisted that he remain in bed for at least one day. He wasn’t pleased and asked them to send a message to his brother. Kholya responded to Kashyan’s request by sending two men to escort Sheyn to his brother’s bedside.
Sheyn was not happy to be woken up, and he walked between the troopers in sullen silence. The soldiers didn’t intrude on what they saw as grave concern for Prince Kashyan and waited outside the door as Sheyn went in.
“You look well,” Kashyan said, his gaze traveling from the to
p of Sheyn’s head to his feet and back again.
“My injuries healed almost instantly.”
“Good.” Kashyan hesitated before he spoke again. He wanted to talk about how his wounds had healed so quickly, but he wasn’t sure how to approach it. So he asked about something else that was weighing on his thoughts. “How is Djenya?”
“Did no one tell you?”
“What?”
“The demon killed Djenya.”
Kashyan was silent for a moment. “He shouldn’t have tried fighting it alone.”
“If you’d let me carry a sword, Djenya wouldn’t have been fighting alone.”
“Go away.”
Sheyn stood up.
“You saved my life,” Kashyan said. “But your words cut me deeper than the demon’s talons.”
“I was wrong to say it. I’ll leave you alone.”
Sheyn walked out of the room, leaving Kashyan staring after him.
LUKS PICKED up the remains of the midday meal and crossed the room. After setting the dishes on the side table, he filled the khai pot with water and hung it over the hearth fire. He added a handful of khai leaves and came back to sit with Sheyn.
“Your visitor will be here soon,” Luks said.
“What visitor?” Sheyn looked up from picking at the embroidery on his robe.
“Prince Kashyan. The physicians have released him.”
“You knew of this and didn’t tell me?”
“I was afraid you’d find a way to avoid him if you knew beforehand.”
“Sneaky,” Sheyn said, not without admiration.
“I’ll be leaving soon. Prince Kholya has requested my presence.”
“Leaving me alone with the savage. How convenient.”
“It isn’t convenience. We planned it this way.” Luks smiled. “And you can save those glares. They don’t affect me.”
Luks spent a little time primping and then left. It seemed like moments later to Sheyn when someone knocked. The door swung open before Sheyn got to it, and Kashyan came in.
“I came to thank you,” Kashyan said. “You saved my life.”
“I was just keeping my end of the bargain.”
“Should I take back my thanks?”
“I don’t—” Sheyn clenched his hands into fists as he fought back a wave of intense emotion.
“Are you all right? If you need more rest, I can—”
“No!” Again Sheyn battled the surge of emotion. “You can stay, if you want.”
“You look ill.”
“Well, I’m not. I’m as fit as… as you are.”
“Actually, I feel a bit weak.”
“Sit,” Sheyn said. “Luks made khai, if you’d like some.”
Kashyan grimaced. “I hate the taste.”
Sheyn found himself thinking how adorable the expression was on the big man’s face and coughed again. “Is there anything you’d like?”
Kashyan met Sheyn’s eyes and held his gaze for several moments before looking away.
“What?” Sheyn asked sharply.
“I don’t know how to talk to you.” Kashyan pushed the wild hair back from his face. “I know how to talk to a daaksi, but that doesn’t work with you.”
“Just say what you want to say.”
“I need ale.”
“Now there’s a taste I can’t abide,” Sheyn said. “Would you like me to send for some?”
“No. If I start drinking this early in the day, Djenya will….” Kashyan’s voice trailed off as he remembered that Djenya would never tease him again.
“I’m sorry,” Sheyn said sincerely.
“It’s just so hard to believe that he’s gone. He’s been at my side for ten years, since I was fifteen and put in charge of my first troop. The best lieutenant I could’ve hoped for and the best friend. It feels so strange without him.”
Sheyn reined in hard on the impulse to put a hand on Kashyan’s head and murmur something soothing. “I’m sorry,” he said again and then words tumbled from his mouth faster and faster. “It’s my fault he’s dead. I know that. If I hadn’t wanted to go outside, he’d still be alive.”
Kashyan looked up with tears standing in his eyes. “Djenya couldn’t have wished for a better death. He fell in battle while protecting you. And he had a foe worthy of legend.”
“He was so kind to me, even if it was only because he wanted to top me.”
Kashyan’s lips curved up in a small smile. “He did, at that, you and the Sumadi boy both.” He paused. “At the same time.”
“Did he have a reputation as a lover?”
“He was a legend among the troops for his stamina and appetite. Hearts will break the length and breadth of Savaan when his death becomes known.” Kashyan paused. “I should ask Kholya if he’s sent a message to Djenya’s family. His wife will—”
“Wife?” Sheyn sat on the cushion that Luks usually occupied. “He had a wife?”
“You’re surprised?”
“Yes, but I shouldn’t be. Even if he preferred boys, your culture would demand that he take a wife and do his best to get sons on her.”
“Djenya loved women as much as he loved men. You look surprised again.”
“Well, that is a little unusual.”
Kashyan frowned. “No, it isn’t.”
“It is in my land.”
“In your land, a man must choose between women or men?”
“Not so much choose as….” Sheyn pursed his lips. “How did we get on the subject of sex?”
“I mentioned Djenya’s wife.”
Sheyn shifted in his seat. His reyl had been growing harder since he’d sat down near the barbarian, and he was terrified Kashyan would notice. “That’s right,” he said. “But are you telling me that everyone in Kandaar loves men and women equally?”
“I don’t know how women feel about it, or the rest of the nation, but Savaani men don’t limit themselves in that way.”
“That’s… I’m… I’m a little surprised,” Sheyn said.
“I suppose your way is better.”
“I didn’t say that.” Sheyn shifted positions again.
“I like men,” Kashyan said candidly. “Women don’t stir me.”
“Nor I.” Sheyn picked up a pillow from the floor and held it on his lap.
“I seem to have found a way to talk to you without a fight.”
“I only fight when I’m provoked,” Sheyn said defensively.
“Easy,” Kashyan said. “I came here because I wanted to ask you about what you did. Kholya swears you put your hands on me and healed my wounds.”
“I don’t know how it happened. I remember being furious that you were going to die because of me and wishing so hard that you would live. Luks tells me it was his Goddess working through me. I think that’s nonsense, but I don’t have another answer.”
“I don’t know how to say this, but since you came to see me in the surgery, I feel that I want—” Kashyan swallowed and started again. “I want to be as close to you as I can.”
Sheyn looked away from Kashyan. He had a clear choice here, but which was the wiser one? In the end, he told the truth. “I feel the same.”
Kashyan held out his hand. Sheyn looked at it for a moment, noting the scars and calluses and the small hawk tattoo on the web of his thumb.
“I won’t hurt you,” Kashyan said.
“I know.” Sheyn swallowed nervously and fell back on the thing he was good at: negotiating. “I think we should redefine our bargain.”
Kashyan smiled in spite of himself. “I’m listening,” he said.
“Apparently, you and I are caught up in some mystical nonsense that would have me obeying your every command and being available for sex whenever you’re in the mood.”
Kashyan’s smile broadened. “The way you talk used to annoy me so much. Now….” He chuckled. “Djenya was right. It’s charming.”
Sheyn narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think you’re taking me seriously.”
Kashyan chuckled
again. “You’re adorable.”
“Are you trying to make me angry?”
“No. Does that word offend you? Djenya used to say it to pretty girls and boys.”
“So you’re trying to… seduce me?”
“Why would I need to seduce you? You belong to me.”
Sheyn quelled his first reaction to Kashyan’s words when he saw the gleam in Kashyan’s eye. “You’re joking with me,” he said accusingly.
“Believe me, I’m as surprised as you are.”
There was silence for a few minutes, and then Sheyn spoke. “Tell me what you expect from me.”
“Do as you said you would. Treat me with respect when others are around.” Kashyan cleared his throat. “And I will care for you as best I can.”
“Will you help me get home?”
“If it was possible—”
“Why isn’t it?”
“Get the Sumadi boy to explain it.”
Once again, Sheyn quashed his exasperation and tried a new tack. “All right,” he said. “Until I can find a way home, I’ll stay with you.”
Kashyan tried suppressing his grin and failed.
“Why are you smiling? Did I say something amusing?” Sheyn asked.
“Everything you say is amusing.”
Sheyn stood up. “This isn’t going to work,” he said.
This time, Kashyan managed not to smile. “Tell me what you expect from me,” he said.
“You want my respect? Then respect me in return.”
“I’ll do my best.” Kashyan got to his feet. “I’m going now to let my men see that I’m well, but I’d like to visit you again later.”
Sheyn bit his lip, but he couldn’t stop the words from coming out. “I’d like to see you too.”
Kashyan smiled, and Sheyn found nothing to object to. In fact, he found Kashyan’s smile incredibly attractive. There was something in the way that the barbarian’s pointed canines dented his lower lip that made Sheyn’s legs go weak. Sheyn couldn’t recall feeling quite like this before, and it made him uneasy.
“I’ll return this evening and eat with you,” Kashyan said.
Sheyn nodded, not trusting his voice, and watched Kashyan walk to the door.
“You look very fetching in black,” Kashyan said from the doorway, and then he was gone.
The Bastard’s Pearl Page 15