by Jenna Glass
Chanlix opened her eyes. Her heart ached, and it was all she could do to hold back tears. “Maybe things will be different once we…get used to it.” Even fighting tears, she found a smile. “If I know Kailee Rah-Kailindar, she will try to push us together with both hands.”
Tynthanal laughed softly. “That she will,” he agreed. “It might almost injure my manly pride how desperate she is not to come between us.” He shook his head, still smiling fondly. “I’ve never met anyone quite like her.”
“Nor I.” She laughed again. “Nor, I suspect, has anyone in all of Seven Wells.” Unconsciously, she found her free hand resting on her belly. In the evenings, when she was not racked with morning sickness, it seemed almost impossible to believe that there was a new life growing within her, that she would in just a few months’ time be a mother.
Tynthanal saw the gesture and raised her hand to his lips, giving her knuckles a kiss. “She seems truly happy for you,” he said, “despite all the nasty whispers she knows she’ll hear when your pregnancy becomes public knowledge. She is more than capable of being deceitful—as we’ve both seen—but I don’t think she has an unkind bone in her body.”
“It seems hard to believe, given the way she’s been treated by Rhozinolm society. But I know you’re right. She might chafe under her stepmother’s rules and expectations, but she has never in my hearing said an unkind word about her.”
Tynthanal nodded. “I complained about Lady Vondelmai’s habit of speaking over her, and Kailee leapt immediately to her defense.”
“She even likes Mother Mairahsol!” Chanlix said, still wondering how such a thing could be possible. She told Tynthanal about Kailee’s desire to rescue Mairahsol from the Abbey of Khalpar.
He raised an eyebrow at her when she finished. “And do you believe she will quietly accept your answer?” he asked in a tone of polite skepticism.
Chanlix wrinkled her nose. “That doesn’t sound like her, does it?”
“No, it does not. Keep a close eye on her.”
“Of course. Kailee might not have an unkind bone in her body, but Mairahsol is made of them. Not that anyone in the Khalpari delegation is a joy to be around.”
“I will be more than happy to see the last of them,” Tynthanal agreed.
Silence descended, and Chanlix alternated between thinking it companionable and uncomfortable. It stretched impossibly long, their hands still clasped on the sofa between them.
“I suppose I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow,” he finally said, and Chanlix regretfully released his hand.
She wanted to ask him to stay, felt somehow that she should, and yet there seemed little reason. They had said all that there was to say, and there would be no dramatic, romantic last night together.
“Sleep well,” she said, for those seemed the only words her mind was capable of conjuring.
“And you,” he replied.
She wanted to throw herself into his arms and cling to him for all she was worth. She wanted to drag him into her bed and make this last night of his bachelorhood last for the rest of eternity. She wanted to scream and rail at the unfairness of the universe—and at the quirks of their personalities that made them draw away from each other despite Kailee’s wishes.
But she did none of those things. Instead, she saw him off with an almost chaste kiss on the cheek. She stood for a long time, staring at the door she had closed behind him, before she was finally able to tear herself away and prepare for bed.
* * *
—
Chanlix changed clothes three times before she finally settled on a gown of light blue silk with a deep blue lace bodice and lace trim around the hem. She fingered the folds of fabric anxiously as she studied her reflection in the mirror and tried to recognize herself. She’d bought the impractical gown several months ago, but had never nerved herself up to wear it. She was far more comfortable in simple dresses in subdued colors and with as little ornamentation as possible.
But some occasions required her to dress in a manner deemed appropriate for her station, and she was grimly determined that today of all days, she would dress and act like the Grand Magus of Women’s Well. No matter how many cracks had already formed on her heart and how wide they would grow by the end of the day.
The temple was one of the smallest Chanlix had ever seen. Thanks to the royal council’s decision to recognize and accept the worship of the Mother of All, the majority of the religious practitioners in Women’s Well favored the Mother of All temple, which was far larger. Chanlix could only imagine how Lady Vondelmai would have reacted to the suggestion of having the wedding there, despite its more accommodating size.
The traditional temple could comfortably seat only around fifty guests for the ceremony, although a much larger celebration was planned for the wedding feast, which would take place in the palace. Chanlix felt as if every one of those fifty pairs of eyes was staring at her as she entered the temple and took her seat at the front with the rest of the royal council. It wasn’t true, she knew. There were certainly some who would find her presence uncomfortable—Chanlix was very glad her pregnancy was not yet public knowledge—but based on her day-to-day interactions, she did not believe anyone was especially scandalized. It was only her own self-consciousness that made her feel so eager to flee.
Princess Alysoon arrived almost on Chanlix’s heels. The sovereign princess took her seat of honor, with Prince Corlin, decked out in his best dress uniform and looking very much like a young man instead of a boy, to her right. Alysoon then put a talker on the chair to her left, activating it. A small image of Queen Ellinsoltah and Lord Kailindar shimmered to life before the bird’s beak. Alysoon greeted the long-distance guests, then pointed the bird toward the altar.
Chanlix caught her breath when Kailee and Tynthanal made their grand entrance. Chanlix had always admired how Tynthanal had looked in his white military shirt, and she had fond memories of the early days of Women’s Well, when she would frequently see him with one of those shirts halfway unbuttoned, cuffs rolled out of the way for work. Even when dusty from manual labor, the gleaming white had set off his nut brown skin, and Chanlix had caught many a woman ogling him when he couldn’t see.
He looked ever so much more resplendent now, dressed from head to toe in traditional wedding white. His hair had been combed and oiled into a thick club at the nape of his neck, and no one who didn’t know him well would see any hint that he was anything but a contented bridegroom. He smiled at Kailee with what looked like genuine warmth—though she herself could not see the expression—and that smile froze for only an instant when he caught sight of Chanlix. A hint of panic showed ever so briefly before he blinked and banished the expression. Then he offered Kailee his arm and guided her to the altar, where the priest awaited them.
Chanlix sat through the entirety of the ceremony, but she could not have recounted afterward a single word that had been said. She blamed her pregnancy for her constant need to battle against tears, and sometimes she had to actively tune the words out to cling to her mask of stoicism. Just because nearly everyone in the room knew she loved Tynthanal and had hoped to marry him herself didn’t mean she had to make a grand display of her grief and pain.
Then the ceremony was over, and it was time for Tynthanal and Kailee to preside over their first feast as man and wife. Chanlix was certain Kailee’s invitation—exhortation—for her to attend the wedding included the feast, but she found the ceremony itself was as much as she could bear. Hoping Kailee would forgive her lack of fortitude, Chanlix did not join the knot of revelers who made their way joyfully through the streets of Women’s Well to the royal palace.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
When Kailee had decided she and Mairah should take a walk down to the Well to stretch their legs and breathe the fresh air, Mairah had all but laughed at the notion. Every day, she and Norah shuttled back and forth between the inn and th
e Academy, flanked by their four guards, who refused to allow them to deviate from their path. Within the Academy, two guards were in the room with them at all times, with the other two stationed just outside. If Mairah or Norah should leave the room even to use the privy, a guard would follow on her heels and pound on the door if he thought she was taking too long.
Mairah and Norah might be wearing dresses instead of their robes and might not be shackled, but no one could miss their status as prisoners, no matter how many times the guards declared themselves to be “escorts.” Which meant a spontaneous jaunt to the Well was out of the question.
Mairah smiled sadly, surprised at how she longed for the sight of anything other than the walls of the Academy or the inn. “I don’t believe I will be allowed such a privilege.”
“Nonsense!” Kailee declared, turning to address the two guards who were in the room.
Norah scowled at Mairah and said loudly, “We have much important work to do and must not waste our precious time in frivolity.”
Mairah managed not to roll her eyes, but it was a near thing. They were both still playing at trying to cure the plum blight, but it would be a miracle if anyone actually believed that was what they were doing.
Kailee smiled over her shoulder in Norah’s direction. “I’m sure your own diligent efforts are enough that you can spare Mother Mairahsol for a half hour.” Making it clear that her invitation applied only to Mairah.
One of the guards opened his mouth to voice his own objection, but Kailee spoke first. “You won’t have any problem with me kidnapping Mother Mairahsol for such a short time, will you?” she asked with a sweet smile.
A smile that was lost on the guard, who seemed to see nothing but her milky white eyes. Even after three weeks of spending most of their daylight hours at the Academy, there was not one of the guards who seemed to have grown comfortable seeing women with their Mindseye open.
“She is needed here,” the guard said shortly.
Kailee put her hands on her hips. “I am sure the ways of Khalpar are very different from those of the continent, but I doubt that our guest customs are so dissimilar. Mother Mairahsol is a guest of Women’s Well, and I am sister-in-law to our sovereign princess. You do not seriously mean to interfere with my attempt to show common courtesy to a guest, do you?”
The guard looked momentarily taken aback. Apparently, he’d considered his refusal to be the last word on the matter. But of course their entire delegation had entered Women’s Well in the capacity of guests and in an outward show of friendly cooperation, even if neither side believed the show. It would indeed be rude for the guards to refuse Kailee’s offer of hospitality if she was going to press for it, which it seemed she was.
Without waiting for the guard’s response, Kailee turned back toward Mairah and held out an arm. “Come, Mother Mairahsol. Let us walk.”
The guard still looked like he was on the brink of refusing, but Mairah rose from her bench and quickly took hold of the arm Kailee offered. Kailee started boldly forward, practically dragging Mairah with her. The guard had to scramble to avoid having Kailee walk right into his chest. Mairah bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing, remembering Kailee’s stories of her “accidental” clumsiness.
As Mairah and Kailee started down the hall toward the Academy’s front door, the four guards exchanged a few hasty words; then three of them decided to follow Mairah, leaving only one of their fellows to keep an eye on Norah. In case Mairah didn’t already know which of the two of them was under the most scrutiny.
Kailee, of course, had her own honor guard now that she was part of the royal family of Women’s Well, so the two of them were tailed by a total of five men from the moment they set foot outside. There was some masculine jostling for position and priority that made both women smile, but eventually their little procession made its way down the main street toward the road that led to the Well.
The town was brimming with activity, with people bustling to and fro, taking advantage of the still-pleasant temperature before the sun climbed to its zenith. It was a society unlike any Mairah had seen in Khalpar. Most of the buildings were of wood, and the vast majority of the people on the streets were dressed in unadorned homespun, marking them as commoners. And yet unlike in Khalpar, there was no outward sign that these commoners suffered from any kind of deprivation, and she did not see a single beggar nor any scruffy street children. The mood of the place seemed downright cheerful, people greeting one another as they passed in the street. The few gentry she spotted seemed to share in the general good cheer, and she was taken aback when she realized those gentry were as likely to exchange greetings with commoners as with one another. In Khalpar, it would be considered impertinent for a commoner to speak to one of the gentry without invitation.
The buildings and the bustle tailed off as Mairah and Kailee neared the spring that housed the Women’s Well. The land, undisturbed save for a few footpaths, was vibrant and bursting with life, thick with tangled bushes and young trees. Trees that, while small, had clearly grown quite a lot faster than expected, for they were tall enough to provide respite from the sun. The air smelled green and crisp, and a gentle breeze rustled through the leaves. Mairah glanced briefly over her shoulder and saw that even her three brutish guards were intrigued by the place, their gazes wandering to take it all in.
“I love the way it smells in here,” Kailee said, taking a deep breath and then sighing with pleasure.
“It’s beautiful,” Mairah said, realizing the tension that had rested between her shoulder blades and in her neck for weeks had relaxed. “I wish you could see it.”
Kailee smiled. “I do see it, in my own way.” She turned her head left and right. “So many colors.”
Mairah stopped for a moment so she could open her Mindseye and look. She couldn’t suppress a gasp at how thick the elements were this close to the Well. She’d found the abundance exciting when she’d first opened her Mindseye in town, but she’d never been this close to a Well before and hadn’t known what to expect.
“It’s not just beautiful,” she whispered. “It’s breathtaking.” And Mairah wondered if Kailee had consulted with the sovereign princess before bringing her here. If she were sovereign, she would have forbidden untrustworthy visitors such as her delegation access to the place.
Kailee led her to the edge of a crystal clear spring that gave off a faint hum and made the ground beneath their feet vibrate ever so slightly in a way Mairah would have expected to be uncomfortable and strange. Instead, that hum eased a little bit more of the tension out of her shoulders.
“Give us a little privacy,” Kailee called over her shoulder to the guards. “There is only this one path, and you need not be right on top of us to keep watch. We will be discussing female matters that I guarantee you have no desire to hear.”
Once again, Mairah had to swallow the urge to laugh. Kailee’s honor guardsmen showed no reaction, but the three Khalpari men all looked faintly green and stopped well out of earshot as Mairah and Kailee approached the edge of the spring.
“You are a master of manipulation,” Mairah murmured admiringly.
Kailee grinned. “Surely every woman learns at a young age how to repel men with the threat that they might have to hear about female matters?”
Mairah snorted softly and had to concede the point. They stood together in companionable silence for a few moments. Mairah tried to memorize every detail of the place, every scent and every sight and every sound, for she had never before experienced the blissful peace that settled inside her in the healing presence of this miraculous Well. She wondered if King Khalvin would be so bound and determined to destroy it if he had stood where she stood. But all she had to do was take a quick glance at her shifting, uncomfortable guards to realize that not everyone experienced the Well in the same way.
“Do those ‘female matters’ you wanted to discuss have an
ything to do with your wedding?” Mairah asked, just in case Kailee’s words had had a purpose other than chasing the guards away. Even with her isolation and her poor grasp of Continental, Mairah was aware that Kailee had married into a difficult situation. Considering what was rumored to be going on between Lord Tynthanal and Lady Chanlix, Mairah wondered if a traditional wedding night had happened at all.
Kailee laughed. “No, no. It was just a ruse, I promise.”
“So you are…happy?” Mairah asked tentatively.
“Blissful,” Kailee confirmed. “For the first time in my life, I do not have to ask permission to leave the house, nor give a full recounting of every hour of every day to someone who is sure to disapprove of at least half of it. I have the honor guards, of course, but my husband has assured me he will not question them about my whereabouts, nor will they attempt to tell me where I may go or to whom I may speak. I can’t imagine I would have been able to say the same of a man of Rhozinolm, even had one been willing to marry me.”
There was an unmistakable glow in Kailee’s cheeks, and Mairah was happy for her, even as a part of her worried that the novelty of freedom would wear off and her husband’s prior entanglement might cause her pain. She bit her tongue to stave off the impulse to pry, for she was certain Kailee already knew about her husband’s relationship with Lady Chanlix. There was very little that escaped her attention, and if Mairah had heard the whispers, then so had she.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” Mairah said instead, surprised to find tears prickling her eyes. “It would have been a tragic loss if I’d returned to Khalpar without ever seeing this Well, even though I’d never have known what I’d missed.”
Just the thought of returning to Khalpar was enough to dispel some of the ease the Well had granted her. Becoming the Abbess of Khalpar had once been her most coveted goal—a goal worth killing for—yet how paltry that prize now seemed.
Kailee pitched her voice so low that the guards couldn’t have heard them if they were twice again as close as they were now. “Have you ever considered not going back?”