by Raine Thomas
There were mutters of complaint and murmurs of agreement as gazes once again latched onto Amber. She forced herself not to roll her eyes.
“Now,” Blue said, again facing the crowd, “we can all introduce ourselves one at a time. And everyone else can wait their blasted turn.”
“It is not as though you are in charge, Blue,” Samuel asked. He looked highly affronted. “You are the oldest unpaired Lekwuesti for this very reason.”
That piqued Amber’s interested. “What reason is that?” she asked.
“His poor manners,” Samuel said. “He has not even introduced himself properly to you.”
There were more murmurs of agreement and quite a few sneers and shaking heads. She saw Blue acknowledge the oversight with a slumping of his broad shoulders.
Before he could turn and say something to her, she nodded. “Very well. Please, let’s get on with the introductions.”
It took over an hour. Her head was spinning with names and faces by the time they were done. It was really a waste, too, since she had made her decision so early in the process.
“Thank you for taking the time to introduce yourselves to me,” she said to the room when the last Lekwuesti had made her introduction and offered to create her a new wardrobe. “You each have much to offer, and my decision isn’t easy. I’d like to ask that you give me a moment to consider this in private.”
“Of course, kyria Amber,” they said, and began filing out the cottage door.
“Blue, I‘d like a word with you,” Gabriel said before the Lekwuesti strode out the door.
“Of course, archigos,” Blue said, his surprise evident. There were several glances in his direction as the last of the others shuffled outside. The door closed behind them. He turned to face Amber. “I would like to apologize for failing to properly introduce myself, kyria Amber.”
She waved a hand. “I understand the need for manners and protocol, Blue, but I’m a simple gal at heart. You were looking out for me, and that was more important at the time than extending a formal introduction.” He bowed his head in acknowledgement and thanks. She gave him a considering look and asked, “So, are you going to offer to show me your skills?”
He blinked at that. “I noticed you have not shown an interest in demonstrations. And the fact is, we can all do relatively the same things.”
She nodded. “The key is using your skills with an understanding of the being who you are doing those things for, right?”
“Certainly.”
“What do you think I’d ask you to create if I wanted a demonstration?”
“Something related to music,” he said.
She felt Gabriel’s surprise. “Why would you guess that?” she asked.
“You are wearing a serviceable but unadorned shirt and pants with functional boots. This tells me you are not focused on wardrobe. Your only jewelry is the ring on your left ring finger and you are not wearing any cosmetics and, quite frankly, you do not need them. You showed no real interest when food preparation was mentioned. You have said you are a ‘simple gal,’ which tells me you do not feel it necessary to be surrounded by pretty and elaborate furnishings. But when one of my peers mentioned having a good singing voice, you pursued a line of conversation with her.”
“You’re very observant, Blue.” She paused consideringly, then asked, “What do you consider to be the most important quality in a Lekwuesti?”
“Dependability,” he said simply.
Now, she grinned. He couldn’t have given a more perfect answer. “Blue, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership.”
And when she saw realization sink in and his eyes went wide with shock, she laughed.
Skye greatly enjoyed getting to know the Lekwuesti who had been chosen to meet with her. They were all polite and charming and falling over themselves to please her. While she certainly didn’t need anyone kowtowing to her, she could admit it felt kind of nice to be so thoroughly sought after.
Unfortunately, she was having the hardest time figuring out how she would ever decide who to pick. The problem was, there wasn’t anything to distinguish one Lekwuesti from the next. They all behaved in much the same way. By the time candidate thirty-seven walked up, Skye was quite anxious and wishing that Pavati wasn’t already paired with someone else. It would have made things infinitely easier.
Caleb had known who she would pick within a minute of walking into the room. She had watched him walk in, scan the group, nod and then lean against the rear wall of the cottage with his arms crossed over his chest. At first, she had been humored by his confidence. He thought he knew her so well that he could identify her future Lekwuesti in one glance? Sure.
But now she started wondering who he had seen that had so clearly made a mark. In truth, no one had set off any “I’m the one” tingles to her intuition. It was actually quite disheartening.
She watched the remaining Lekwuesti move to the front as the previous group shuffled to the back. Her smile had begun feeling false about ten minutes before. And when the first female in this group elbowed another female beside her to get the chance to speak with Skye first, something she had witnessed on several other occasions, she let the smile drop altogether.
Sighing, she shifted her gaze to the left and found her attention caught by a very young-looking female on the outskirts of this group. Her one-piece skin suit in eye-popping magenta with lavender zig-zags showed a delicate, waiflike figure. She wore lavender boots that went all the way up to mid-thigh and a wide lavender belt that sat low on her hips. An assortment of jewelry covered her ears, arms and neck. In contrast to the stylish outfit, she wore a nondescript white cap over her hair.
Skye went through the motions of listening to the Lekwuesti make their introductions and offer her all kinds of things. Then she waited for the waif’s turn. She was mildly surprised when she noted the three lavender markings around this Lekwuesti’s eyes indicating a second ability. She was even more surprised when she realized the Lekwuesti’s eyebrows were silver. She thought it made her face quite fascinating.
“Hello,” the waif said in a much quieter voice than her peers. Her eyes were alight with hope.
Then Skye noticed a few of the Lekwuesti around her talking behind their hands and staring. The waif’s eyes shifted uncomfortably from Skye’s when she realized she was being talked about. The hope in her expression died. That made Skye’s ire rise.
“My name is Evangeline,” the waif said in her soft voice. She gave Skye a hesitant smile. “I like your hair. It is very pretty.”
Although she wasn’t the first to say so, Skye sensed she was the first who meant it. “Thanks, Evangeline. If you don’t mind my asking, why is it you’ve got your own hair covered up?”
Once again, Evangeline shifted her gaze away as the beings behind her exchanged looks and nudges. Her cheeks filling with color, she said, “My hair is…unusual.”
“I see.” Skye turned and looked at Caleb.
Without a word, he pushed himself away from the wall and walked to the door. Opening it, he said, “Everyone out except Evangeline.”
The Lekwuesti directly in his line of sight took one look at his expression and hurried out the door. A few others balked and started to complain, but Caleb raised an eyebrow and once again crossed his arms over his chest. No one else uttered a word as they all filed past. He shut the door firmly behind them and then walked back to where Skye sat in a chair at a small café table. Pulling out the second chair, he waved Evangeline toward it.
“Oh,” she said, her eyes widening. “Thank you.” She took the seat, completely bewildered.
“What’s your other power?” Skye asked curiously as Caleb went back to leaning on the wall.
She shifted uncomfortably. “Well, I can change the color of anything organic.”
Skye’s eyes lit up. “You mean, like hair or skin?”
“Sure.”
“Cool! Can you give me a dark blue streak next to my light blue one?”
&n
bsp; “Oh. Of course.” Evangeline waved her hand toward a strip of Skye’s hair, generating a glow of lavender light as her power surged. Then she produced a mirror and handed it to Skye so she could see the resulting streak of dark blue. “I can change it back whenever you want.”
“That is so fierce!” Skye marveled over her reflection with a wide smile. Then she put the mirror down. “May I see your hair now?”
Although she was obviously reluctant, Evangeline reached up and removed the cap. Glimmering silver hair cascaded down to between her shoulder blades. Skye sucked in an awed breath.
“How beautiful!” she declared. “Why would you cover it up?”
Blinking, Evangeline replied, “As I explained, it is unusual. It invites others to talk about me.”
“Well, I personally think they’re all jealous. You’re absolutely lovely, and I love the fact that your hair isn’t exactly like anyone else’s.”
“Why don’t you change the color if you don’t like it?” Caleb asked.
“My power doesn’t work on myself.”
Skye reached out and took one of the Lekwuesti’s hands with a smile. “I happen to think your hair is perfect, Evangeline. And perhaps when the others realize that it was at least in part because of your hair that you will be pairing with one of Saraqael’s daughters, they’ll stop talking about it in a negative way.”
“You…want to pair with me?” Evangeline’s voice reflected incredulity.
“If you’d welcome it.”
The happy tears in Evangeline’s eyes were all the answer Skye needed.
Chapter Thirty-One
James couldn’t form a coherent thought. His heart thundered mercilessly in his chest. He heard his blood pulsing in his head as he struggled to breathe. He knew if he opened his eyes that his vision would be a complete blur.
It was absolute ecstasy.
Eventually, though, he pulled himself away from Olivia’s delicious and consuming kiss. He pressed her against his chest as they both tried to catch their breath and some semblance of control. It was a wonder they hadn’t fallen from the tree they had climbed nearly half an hour before, after Caoilinn had left them in the forested park to explore on their own. They hadn’t been in the tree long before Olivia had climbed onto his lap, wrapped her long legs around his waist and promptly made him lose all track of time.
She laughed against his chest. Sorry, she thought with a great deal of humor and no remorse.
He smiled and hugged her tighter, rubbing a hand down her back. I can’t think of a better way to spend a free hour than making out with my wife, he returned, using the human term she had taught him.
Laughing again, she pulled back a bit and caught his gaze. “Well, thanks for letting me distract you.”
“It was truly my pleasure,” he said. He kissed her again, lightly this time. “But Gabriel and Caleb said your sisters have just finished pairing with their Lekwuesti. We’re supposed to go and meet them.”
She nodded. “And then it’s time for the ritual, right?”
“Yep. And since you all only slept about an hour at the Orculesti homeland, we’re hoping you’ll only need half that time to rest here. We can head right to the Corgloresti homeland this evening. We’ll be done with all of the rituals by the end of the day tomorrow or the day after at this pace.”
He carefully shifted her so she could balance on a nearby branch. Then he started the climb down before her, wanting to be sure there wasn’t any danger before she left the safety of the foliage. It wasn’t long before they were both on the ground. Since he didn’t see anyone or anything around, he determined it was safe enough to move out of the park and head toward their family.
As they stepped out of the trees, Olivia brushed the twigs and debris from the skirts of her sage green sundress and then bent to adjust the strap of one of her brown sandals. Her hair was a little disordered due to his roaming hands, so he reached over to brush a couple of stray curls back into place.
His Gloresti senses surged an instant before she would have died. As though in slow motion, he went from running his fingers through her soft hair to shoving her bodily toward the ground.
He wouldn’t be able to say later what it was that alerted him to the targeted arrow. Maybe a glint of its deadly tip flashing in the sunlight. Possibly the twang of the weapon as the missile was released. But he would always remember the slice of pain that rushed through his forearm as the arrow flew past them. He would remember Olivia’s startled gasp as he shoved her off-balance and they both hit the ground. And he would remember the sight of her neck and collarbone suddenly blossoming with blood from where the arrow had managed to score her flesh despite his quick actions.
He rolled them both back into the safety of the trees within a second of hitting the ground, his protective instincts at their full height. Then he surged to his feet. As he sent out thoughts to Gabriel and Caleb, he dragged Olivia as far into the cover of the trees as he dared without getting them lost from possible aid.
The fire that burned in the wound to his forearm was incredible, all but doubling him over when it fully hit him. Knowing the pain was unusually intense, alarm coursed through him. And when he saw Olivia clutch at her neck and heard her sharp cry of pain, his alarm turned to understanding horror.
He stood in indecision for a moment, wanting to run back to the edge of the woods to see the tip of the arrow that had struck them, but not wanting to leave her side. Ultimately, his instinct to protect her overrode everything else. He fell to the ground beside her, yanked his tank top off and held it pressed against her neck. The amount of blood pouring from her injury seemed too much for a light flesh wound. He didn’t even realize that he was losing blood nearly as quickly until his head swam. It took all of his focus to keep upright.
“Where are you hurt?” Gabriel suddenly asked from right behind him.
James realized a bit blearily that he hadn’t even heard his siblings approach. How long had he and Olivia been sitting there? Clenching his jaw against his pain, he swallowed hard and lifted his tank top from her neck in answer to Gabriel’s question. They could all also see the wound on his forearm when he pulled away from her.
Olivia’s cry this time was almost hoarse. Because Gabriel was right beside her, she grabbed his pant leg as she thrashed on the ground. He knelt beside her.
“Hang on, Liv,” he said in calm tones. He looked up as Amber knelt beside her.
James heard Gabriel’s thought toward his wife as he looked back and forth between him and Olivia: Their eyes. As another intense wave of pain hit him, provoking a choked scream that started in the back of his throat as he fought it back, he looked more closely at Olivia’s eyes. The normally green irises were ringed with black. His worst fears were confirmed.
Skye hurried over to his side. As Amber sliced her palms with Gabriel’s dagger and held her hands over Olivia’s neck and collarbone with her healing light flaring, Skye wiped her wet cheeks with her hands, then sliced her own palms. She reached out and held her hands over James’ wound, causing a different wash of light. The relief was almost instantaneous.
She gave him a small smile. “It’s the best I can offer.”
“I’ll take it,” he said, trying to keep his raging emotions in check. He focused his gaze on Olivia as Skye leaned forward to keep her tears falling onto this injury. Light ebbed and flowed.
Caleb walked up then, his expression dangerous. James shifted his glance briefly to his brother and realized he had gone to the edge of the woods to scout for further danger. He had also recovered the arrow. He held it pointing down, its black tip easily visible. James clenched his jaw against his rage as he looked back toward Olivia.
That was when he realized that Amber looked troubled. Perspiration covered her face as she leaned over Olivia, who was now clutching her abdomen and sobbing. A fresh wave of fear rushed through him.
The baby.
Skye knew she had done everything she could for James. The fact that her blood was imm
une to the curse combined with her easily flowing tears had sealed his injury and reversed the effects of the curse on him in amazingly short time. It also helped that the curse hadn’t had very long to take hold. Where once his dark blue eyes had been ringed in black, they were now clear. His forearm now had a thin red scar very similar to Amber’s, but there wasn’t a thing she could do about that. She guessed Amber might be able to remove it.
Suddenly, he wrenched his arm from her grip, his attention focused on Olivia. She glanced at her sisters and realized immediately what had caused his reaction.
She scrambled to Olivia’s side as Amber started pulling Olivia’s skirt up, ultimately baring her waist to her healing touch. Skye’s vision was blurred by her tears, but she saw the blood spotting her sister’s thighs. She heard the anguished sound that James made. Caleb knelt beside his brother and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Gabriel held Olivia’s hand in a fierce grip.
I don’t know if I have enough energy left to save the baby, Amber thought toward Skye. Tears were trailing down her cheeks, blending with sweat. They caught each other’s gazes.
Skye nodded resolutely. We can do this. They will not take this baby from her.
She took the dagger, and before anyone could stop her, ran it over the soft skin of Olivia’s lower abdomen. It caused her to cry out in further pain and shock, though she surely sensed Skye’s intent because she was projecting it. Then, rather than using her still-bleeding palms, Skye ran the dagger across her right wrist, directly across the mark that rested there.
When she leaned over Olivia’s new wound to combine her tears and the blood from her wrist, the resulting light blossomed blue-green.
Olivia bucked in response, then came to rest. She shifted her tear-filled gaze to her sisters. “I think it’s working,” she said in a whisper.