Quest for the Sun Orb

by Laura Jo Phillips

*****

  “Why is she still sleeping?”

  Tomas, Tiari thought from the clouds of sleep that were just beginning to thin around her. He sounded worried.

  “Maybe she was injured in some way that we can’t see, or drugged.”

  “She’s fine, Tomas,” Karma said in a low, soothing voice. “She’s in shock and her mind has retreated. She’ll awaken when she’s ready.”

  “I want to stay here with her,” Tomas said.

  “Of course you do,” Karma replied. “There is no reason why you shouldn’t. You are engaged, and anyone who doesn’t yet know it need only look at your egora.”

  Tiari wondered what that meant. “If you need anything, call for Lashi or Caral, or ask them to fetch Zakiel or myself,” Karma said.

  “Thank you, Karma,” Tomas said. “For everything.”

  “You’re welcome, Tomas,” Karma said. “Don’t worry. She’ll be fine. Tiari is an exceptionally strong woman. She just needs to process what has happened.”

  What has happened? Tiari turned that phrase over in her mind as she continued to float toward consciousness.

  Una. Her eyes snapped open and she found herself staring into a pair of worried brown eyes only inches from her own.

  “Tiari,” Tomas breathed softly.

  She felt tears sting her eyes as her memory cleared. Tomas pulled her from the bed and held her tightly against him, but she forced the tears back. She would not shed another tear for the sister of her mother. Not. One. More.

  When she was certain she had herself under control, she looked up into Tomas’s face and knew that he was angry. She also knew, from the tender way his arms held her, that his anger was born of fear. She reached up and touched his cheek lightly, drawing his attention to her.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “So very, very, sorry.”

  Something about the set of his shoulders loosened and he took a long, deep breath. “I almost lost you, Tiari,” he said. “I have been trying, these past hours while you slept in my arms, to think what I would do if you were no longer in the world with me.”

  “What did you decide?” Tiari whispered.

  “I cannot go back to the way I was, Tiari. I cannot be alone again now that I know what it is to have my other half, to be whole. Without you, there is no life for me.”

  Tiari’s heart stuttered in her chest. “Tomas, do not say that,” she said. “I cannot think of a world without you in it.”

  “Then you understand how I feel,” Tomas said.

  “Why are you angry?” she asked.

  “Because you risked your life, and nearly lost it,” Tomas said. “It may be many, many years before I get over that. If I ever do.”

  “I did not risk my life, Tomas,” she corrected gently. “I went for a bucket of water.”

  “You should not have gone alone,” Tomas said. “I should not have allowed you to go alone, but that is my mistake. One I will not make again. That is not what I meant, though.”

  “That is all that I did,” Tiari replied, unwilling to touch the other statements he’d made. This wasn’t the right moment for that discussion. “Unless you are angry that I fought back.”

  “Of course not,” Tomas scoffed. “I cannot begin to tell you how relieved I am that you were able to do that, though I have decided that you need to learn to use two swords. I don’t want you unarmed like that again.”

  Tiari nodded, in full agreement with that idea.

  “I am angry, Tiari-mena, because you struck two blows intended to injure before you struck the killing blow. You, alone, against two opponents, and you tried to warn them off.”

  “I know,” Tiari said with a sigh. “It was foolish of me. You don’t know the worst of it.”

  Tomas’s eyes narrowed slightly as he waited for her to continue. “I allowed him to draw his sword after I drew mine.”

  Tomas closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe in, and out, and in. It would not be a good idea to yell at her. She was safe and warm in his arms, and those that had threatened her were dead. When he thought he’d calmed himself enough he opened his eyes and looked at her.

  “Tell me all that happened, Tiari mine,” he said. “Leave nothing out, please.”

  Tiari hesitated, but the expression on Tomas’s face told her that he needed to know what had happened. She simply could not deny his need, so she did as he bid, and proceeded to tell him everything.

  When she got to the part where she’d risked wounding Pavid rather than killing him straight away, his arms tightened around her, but he did not interrupt. When she spoke of her aunt attacking her back, he leaned down and rested his cheek on the top of her head, breathing in the warm scent of her silky curls. When she spoke of her decision to use Una’s greed against her with the poison ring, he heard the regret in her voice, felt the pain in her heart. Her hesitation to kill her aunt was not the same as her hesitation to kill the man, Pavid.

  When she was finished he called to Caral, and asked for food and drink to be brought for her, keeping her face tucked against him so that her tears would be seen by no one save himself. After a few moments Tiari wiped her face with the square of cloth he handed her and looked around. She already knew they were in her chamber of the women’s tent, but she was confused by the fact that she could see.

  “What time is it?”

  “Mid afternoon,” Tomas said. “The rain wasn’t too bad until about noon. Then it hit so hard we couldn’t see where we were going. Zakiel called a halt and we made camp. There is no sense risking lives over a half day’s travel.”

  “I don’t hear any rain,” she said.

  “It just took a break,” Tomas said. “It will rain more before the day is done.”

  Caral entered the chamber with a tray. She set it down near them and smiled gently at Tiari. “If there is anything else you need, please don’t hesitate to call,” she said. Then she turned and left as quietly as she’d entered.

  “You can let me up now,” Tiari said.

  “I’m not sure that I can,” Tomas argued, pulling her tightly against him. Then he lifted her from his lap and set her carefully on the edge of the bed beside him. He handed her a plate of food from the tray and poured the tea while she ate. As she ate, she considered all that had happened that morning.

  “Tomas,” she said. His eyes met her own and she saw the bleakness there. It suddenly hit her that he had lost his parents to the beyond. The two most important people in his young life. Today he had been forced to face losing her the same way.

  “I will not take responsibility for what Una and Pavid did this morning,” she said. “Nor will I grieve another moment for her. However, I do take responsibility for my own actions. I promise you, I will never act so foolishly again. By thoughtlessly going off to fetch water alone without telling anyone, I hurt you, and placed your happiness in jeopardy. Not only that, but I risked the very future of Rathira. If I had died, the Sun Orb could not be claimed.

  “My only excuse is that I have never meant anything to anyone before, Tomas. Whether I lived or died has never mattered. I am not used to having people care for me, or need me for anything.”

  Tomas smiled faintly. “Do you see this?” he asked, pointing at the gold bead set into the top row of his egora.

  “Yes,” Tiari replied. “I’ve never noticed that bead before, though. Is it new?”

  “Yes, it is,” Tomas replied. “Today is the first day I’ve ever worn a gold bead on my egora. I spent hours last night working it into the proper position to announce to the world that I am engaged to be wed. I spent the remainder of the night dreaming of the day I would move it into the center, the position of a married man, indicating that I have found the one person who will be the center of my life.”

  “Had you died today, I would have replaced the gold bead with a white one, forever ending any possibility that I would ever wear a gold bead in the center of my egora.” Tomas took a long, deep breath, then met Tiari’s blue eyes with his brown ones. “I cannot los
e you, Tiari mine,” he said starkly. “You must understand that you matter to many people now, me more than any. You hold my heart in your hands. If you should fall, it will shatter into a million pieces.”

  “I cannot promise to never die, Tomas,” Tiari said. “I can only promise that I will never be so careless again. Will that do? Will you forgive me?”

  Tomas sat his cup down on the tray, then took her plate and cup and set them down as well. Then he pulled her gently into his lap. “It will do, Tiari-mena,” he whispered. “Now that I know all that happened, there is nothing to forgive. I understand what you did, and why you did it.”

  “Thank you, Tomas,” she replied. “Now, will you do something for me?”

  “I will try,” he replied, hoping she wasn’t about to ask him to leave. He wasn’t altogether certain that he could do that yet.

  “Kiss me, Tomas,” she whispered. “Kiss me until we both forget all that happened this morning.”

  “I may have to kiss you for a very long time to accomplish that feat,” he warned hoarsely.

  “Then you better get started,” Tiari replied. Almost before the last word was spoken, Tomas took her mouth with his own, thrusting his tongue between her lips with a fierceness that both surprised and aroused her. The heat she’d felt the evening before when Tomas had kissed her was now an inferno.

  She met him with equal passion, losing herself in the taste and scent and feel of Tomas. She wasn’t even aware of her own soft moans as the kiss went on and on, breaking only briefly for quick gasps of air. Her hands were in his hair, attempting to pull him even closer, without her knowing how they’d gotten there.

  When he began trailing kisses down her jaw, to the side of her neck where he nipped her lightly before licking the small hurt, her body jerked in heated response. Her breasts were tight, her nipples so hard they ached, and deep in the center of her body she felt herself begin to swell and throb. She quickly became swept up in the intensity of the hot, liquid passion that flowed through her, obscuring everything and everyone but herself and Tomas, and the intensity of their shared desire.

  Tomas groaned when Tiari’s body arched against him, her need matching his own so perfectly that he was lost in a haze of arousal before he knew it. He wanted her. He needed her. They were engaged, they were alone, they were already on her bed. All he had to do was remove their clothing, and take her.

  When he lifted his head and stared into her eyes, he knew that she would not object. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. He reached for the hem of her nightshift, which had pulled up nearly to her knees, and stilled as a single shred of sense cut through the haze.

  He could not do this. They could not do this. To take her now would be to condemn all of Rathira to the Eschaton. His fist clenched around the delicate fabric as he struggled with himself.

  “Tomas, please,” Tiari whimpered. “I need...something...please.”

  Tomas squeezed his eyes shut, fighting not just his desires, but also his need to satisfy Tiari, to give her what she so desperately needed. He held his breath, his entire body so rigid he thought he might shatter. Then, finally, he opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

  “It’s all right, Tiari-mena,” he said, his voice raspy from his silent battle. “I will give you what you need.” He released his grip on her nightshift and slid his hand beneath it and up her thigh, shuddering at the smooth, incredibly soft feel of her skin. He stroked her lightly a few times to get her used to his touch, then leaned down to claim her mouth in another hot, deep kiss. When she arched against him again, he slipped his hand to the inside of her thigh, which was, impossibly, softer still. He ran his hand along the seam between her legs until she parted for him, then, his hands shaking with anticipation, he brushed the silky curls guarding her softest, most feminine flesh.

  He groaned into her mouth as he dipped his fingers into the moist heat between her nether lips, nearly climaxing when her body opened to his touch without hesitation. He explored her delicate folds with his fingers, smiling when she tore her mouth from his as she gasped in surprised pleasure. Then he found the little nub of her clit and began stroking it.

  Tiari had never felt anything remotely like the feelings Tomas was wringing from her body. It never occurred to her to be embarrassed, or to worry that what they were doing was wrong. She loved him, he loved her, and he would never, ever do anything to cause her harm. So she relaxed and allowed herself to enjoy the experience. When he again caressed that one spot that seemed more sensitive than any other, she saw stars as her body arched and her head fell back against Tomas’s strong, steady arm. A moment later she felt the heat of his mouth against one nipple through her nightshift, and gasped in surprise again. Who knew that such feelings were possible? Karma’s description of sex hadn’t conveyed the true depth and intensity of pleasure involved, and for a moment Tiari wondered why. Then Tomas stroked her again and the question drifted away on a new wave of sensation.

  Time lost all meaning as he continued to stroke her clit, the pleasure rising higher and higher until her body began to tense and she tried to pull away. It was too much, she thought, she couldn’t take any more.

  “Easy, Tiari mine,” Tomas said, his voice trembling as he pulled her closer. “Relax and let it happen.”

  “I’m afraid,” she gasped, uncertain what it was she was afraid of, but sure that something very big was about to happen.

  “I need this,” Tomas said, gazing deeply into her eyes. “Please, give me this, my love.”

  Tiari nodded. She would never deny him anything that he needed. “Try to relax, I will not let anything bad happen to you.

  Tiari nodded again, trusting him, then let herself get lost in the pleasure again as he resumed stroking that one spot, over and over, faster and faster. Her eyes closed, her body arched, the pleasure built and built until once again she felt that something big was going to happen and began to tense.

  But Tomas knew what was coming, and got there first. He leaned down and captured her mouth with his own while at the same time he pinched the nub of her swollen, pulsing clit between his fingers just hard enough to send her over the edge. He took the scream of her first orgasm into his mouth, then joined her helplessly when her climax sent a flood of moisture to bathe his hand.

  Their bodies strained against each other as they came in wave after wave of pleasure. He released her clit when her sensitivity became too much for his touch to be pleasurable and stroked her thighs in a motion meant to soothe rather than arouse. They held tightly to each other for long minutes, until they’d both caught their breath and their bodies relaxed.

  “You are so beautiful, Tiari-mine,” Tomas said, kissing her gently. “Thank you for giving me that.”

  Tiari blushed, but didn’t try to hide her face. “That was...amazing.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t have words for how I feel right now.”

  “Nor do I,” Tomas said, smiling. He tugged her nightshift down so that it covered her properly, then sighed. “I have to confess that I very nearly allowed us to go too far. I apologize for that.”

  “Too far?” Tiari asked, confused.

  “I very nearly took you, Tiari-mena,” he said. “I wanted to. I wanted to make you mine so badly that I honestly don’t know how I was able to stop myself.”

  “But I am yours,” Tiari said. “And you did stop. I thank you for that because I never even thought of it.”

  “We will have to be more careful,” Tomas said. “I don’t think we can take such a risk again. On the bright side, we will reach the Hidden Sister in a few days. Once the sun orb is claimed, we will be married, and will have to wait no longer.”

  “Will it be better than what we just did?” Tiari asked.

  “As difficult as it is to believe right now, yes, Tiari-mena, it will be much, much better.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Bredon pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders and hunched more closely over his small fire. For two and a half days and two ni
ghts he’d seen nothing but the same cold, dark fog, the same bare stone path, and nothing more. He’d heard...things...in the distance. Screams, howls, growls and once a low, maniacal laughter that had nearly frozen the blood in his veins. But none of the sounds were nearby, as far as he could tell. He’d noticed that sound acted strangely here, so he didn’t fully trust his ears. Instead, he relied on his Hunter senses, and forced himself to stay alert. It wasn’t easy to do when the fog frequently lulled him into a false sense of peace.

  “We should reach the center in a few hours,” Marene said.

  Bredon knew that Marene disliked the fog nearly as much as he did, though he didn’t know why. He’d occupied himself with trying to break further through her barriers while traveling through Darkly Fen. Her emotions were almost too easy to discern now, but he still only got occasional flashes of the thoughts behind them. And he was running out of time.

  “Will this infernal fog cover the center as well?” he asked.

  “I have no idea,” Marene replied without her usual curtness. Perhaps she was as tired of this as he was. “Let’s go. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can be done with this.”

  “We shall continue when this fire has burned down,” he said.

  “Why wait?”

  “Because this is the last of the firewood,” Bredon said. “After this I will have no warmth, and no light. I will not waste what is left.”

  Marene remained silent, which was just as well. He had no desire to spoil these last moments of warmth with her nattering in his head. Before long the flames of his tiny fire went out, but he waited until the coals began to cool before getting to his feet. The diplo had eaten the last of the grain while he’d used the last of the wood. He wished he had water for it even though he knew full well it could go another week or more without it. He patted it on the neck, then mounted.

  “Bredon,” Marene said after he’d been walking for a few minutes.

  “Yes?”

  “How much of what happened that night do you understand?”

  Bredon’s hands gripped the reins so tightly that the leather dug into his calloused palms. He did not have to ask her what night she referred to. There had only been one. He forced himself to relax his hands, one finger at a time, before answering her. He would not give her the satisfaction of his anger and frustration.