“You sound so sure. I wish I could catch some of your confidence.”
“You can. I’ll show you how.” Magnus pushed me back into the sand, pressed his body the length of mine, and covered my face with kisses.
It turns out kisses are very contagious.
26: MAGNUS
As childish and silly as the urge was, I wanted to ride into T’hath Academy with Kymber and present her to her brothers. I wanted to see their expressions when she slipped off my horse. If I saw anything other than giddy happiness, heads would roll.
I pressed soft kisses to her neck as I tried to convince her.
“No, Magnus.” She placed a hand on my chest. “The answer is no. I don’t want to know if they helped Tariq. I don’t care anymore. T’hath is a shadow of its former glory. In fact, it’s practically closed. A facility in Brink trains up young warriors now. The academy’s success died with my father. Let it go.”
“Nonsense. Daxal was as good with a sword as Tanit. They had no shortage of instructors. Something is rotting in the woodpile.” I rolled off her and propped myself up on my elbows. “And there are some things about your story that don’t make sense.”
“Are you calling me a liar?”
“Of course not.” I sighed. “I just don’t understand. If we go on the assumption that Portis is innocent of arranging your kidnapping, none of this makes sense.”
“How so?”
“Well, my brother couldn’t very well have gone into the academy and asked your brothers if they’d seen you. All of Jalartha knew you were dead and buried in a mass grave on the Marilian battlefield because that’s what Tariq had told them. So what did he say to Portis the day you saw them together? ‘Please don’t think I’m insane, Portis, but I need to search the T’hath grounds for your dead sister?’” I shook my head. “What excuse did he give for being there?”
“He visited you too. What did he give as the reason?”
“That’s what’s so odd. He didn’t give a reason. He sent a courier from Adamar with a note asking if he could visit me at Seacrest. Why didn’t he just come and knock on my door himself?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“I think he was afraid you were already at Seacrest. I’d know the full story of his betrayal then, wouldn’t I?”
“I guess I see your point.” Kymber traced a gentle finger over my jaw. “What are you thinking then?”
“Garai must’ve threatened Tariq within an inch of his life if he didn’t find you. Imagine the previously deceased Kymber Oryx, alive and loose in Calari with a story of horrific lies and betrayal. It must’ve terrified them.” I sighed. “In any case, I sent the courier back with a message of welcome, but Tariq was pale and unsettled when he arrived at my home. He kept looking over his shoulder, not listening to a word I said. Mrs. Toolwin dropped an iron kettle full of water in the fireplace and he nearly jumped out of his boots in the foyer. I wonder what he would’ve done if you’d been here. Would he have tried to take you?”
“When you put it that way, it doesn’t make sense.” She bit her lip. “And you wouldn’t have allowed him to take me, right?”
“Of course not.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “Do you think you’ll ever want to go and see your brothers?”
“I don’t know.” She threw me a half-hearted smile. “Ask me again when I’m a little better at defending myself.”
I knew she’d refuse, but if I were going to mete out punishment, Garai and Tariq had to be drawn into the open.
She wouldn’t like being used as bait, but I’d already put the word out that she was living with me seaside in Adamar.
27: KYMBER
Promise sang a lovely metallic song when Magnus slammed his sword into mine. The vibration that traveled down my blade was a force unto itself.
I held for a moment before the muscles of my arms failed. I made an effort to control Promise as I lowered her, but her tip fell into the sand like dead weight. “I can’t do this anymore today.”
“Why not? What’s wrong?”
I put my hands on my knees and tried to catch my breath. “Maybe it’s the beach. The sand. Can we train on solid ground for a while?”
“What do you mean, ‘it’s the sand?’” Magnus lowered his sword.
“I don’t feel as though I’m able to plant my feet securely. It’s throwing me off balance. I have to work twice as hard to stay upright, and my technique is suffering as a result.”
“What if you have to fight on sand someday?”
I took a deep breath and prepared for an argument. “You make a good point, but I think fighting on the beach is limiting me. The sand shifts under my feet. I can’t concentrate. Let’s work up behind the house for a while.”
He tilted his head. “Is that the truth or an excuse for failure?”
“Don’t start that again.” I sheathed Promise across my back. “I’ve improved and you know it. I just . . . I seem to have hit a plateau down here.”
He didn’t look convinced, so I tried a new approach. Two could play his little game.
“Or maybe you just don’t want me to get any better. That way you can throw the word ‘failure’ in my face and not be wrong. Perhaps this is all a big show to frustrate me and keep me under your thumb. Are you afraid I’ll be better than you? I was at one time, wasn’t I?” I planted my hands on my hips.
Magnus’s mouth dropped open. “You impertinent little . . . You have three seconds to be on the steps up to the house.”
“Or what?”
“Or this.” He rushed me. I turned to run but the world spun circles as I was lifted up in those brawny arms and thrown over his shoulder.
“Poor Magnus. Still so easy to aggravate.” I roared with laughter as I pounded on his back. “Put me down. You’ll hurt yourself.”
He tried to take a bite out of my buttocks, which only made me laugh harder. The ground beneath me turned to blue sky and then he was cradling me in his arms like an infant, wearing that crooked grin. “Gods, how I’ve missed you. I love you, Kymber.”
I stiffened. “Magnus . . .”
“You don’t have to say it. I don’t care if you never do, but I want you to know. I love you with every breath I take. It’s as wide as the ocean and twice as deep. You’re stubborn and impossible and aggravating, and I love you to distraction. You’ve brought me back to life, woman.”
I took his face in my hands. All angles and planes with a hint of stubble. Sweet, demanding, persistent Magnus. He smelled like the sea and sand and wine, and he was mine, damn it. Now and forever.
“Listen to me,” I said, unable to look into his eyes for all the questions there. “I think I could love you. I think we could . . .” I stopped there. “Please be patient with me.”
Somehow, we both ended up in the sand, him on top of me and his tongue plundering my mouth. Surprised and yet not, I curved my body against him as a tickle of desire surged through me, cold and foreign at first.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I returned his kiss with enthusiasm and pondered the feeling, finally allowing it to be, as one would rekindle a sputtering flame.
Perhaps Garai hadn’t killed that part of me after all.
28: MAGNUS
I couldn’t sleep a wink that night, so I saddled Fitz and headed into Adamar to see Jarl Aldi.
It was still dark when I tied my horse to the post in the street. Jarl’s rooms were directly above his office and, as expected, he had candles burning. Jarl rarely slept. He seemed to spend his days seeing patients, his nights reading.
I tossed a small pebble at his window. “Jarl!” No response, so I tossed another. “Jarl Aldi!”
His head soon appeared over the sill. “Magnus. What are you doing here at this hour of the morning?”
“I need to talk to you. Will you come down and let me in?”
“I should just give you a damned key for as often as you’re here. Give me a moment and I’ll be down.” He pulled his head inside.
The door to
his office swung open moments later. Jarl was wide awake and barefoot, dressed in a tan nightshirt that dropped to his knees. The faint scent of wine wafted out from behind him.
I sniffed the air. “Where did you get potato wine?”
Jarl laughed. “You have the nose of a hound, Tyrix. I got a few bottles from Mable Torak for removing a wart from her nose without leaving a scar. It’s excellent if a bit strong. Would you like a glass?”
“You know I would.” It was rare to get that kind of wine in these parts, as potatoes didn’t grow well here.
“Come on in then. I do hate to drink alone, but I had no choice tonight.” Jarl moved out of my way.
I settled myself on the divan as he filled a goblet for me. “What brings you here at this hour?” he asked.
“Kymber.”
He stopped to stare at me. “Is she well?”
“Yes and no. She’s been affectionate with me, which pleases me.”
“Oh?” Jarl’s eyebrows rose. “In what way?”
“Nothing scandalous. I get short glimpses of the woman she was.”
“What’s the problem then?” Jarl sat down beside me.
“I don’t know exactly. It’s nothing I can put my finger on.” I took a long sip of wine and chose my words carefully. “She seems to have hit a barrier of some sort.”
“A barrier according to her? Or a barrier according to you?”
I ignored the jab. “She got to a certain point in her training and stopped improving. I can’t figure out if it’s physical, mental, or a combination of the two.” I took another sip of wine. “I was hoping you’d have some suggestions for me.”
Jarl ran his fingers around the rim of his goblet. “I warned you, Magnus.”
“I know you did, but there’s no reason she can’t be what she once was.”
He skewered me with a look of pure disgust. “No reason? She was brutalized for eight years. She lived in a cave and starved for the last two. Do you understand that her scars aren’t just physical? They’re mental. Why can’t you just be grateful you found her alive?”
“I am grateful, Jarl, but I’m not going to let human excrement like Garai and Tariq get away with what they’ve done.”
“Listen to yourself. Was getting a sword into her hand your dream or hers? Is she doing this for you, or because she truly wants to fight again?”
I stiffened, feeling as though Jarl had slammed me against a wall. I didn’t have the answers to his questions, so I mumbled nonsense. “Well, she must have some interest. She’s doing everything I ask her to do.”
“Of course she is, you bonehead! She learned obedience from Garai. She had to find a way to keep the bastard from hurting her, didn’t she? Are you truly that blind?” Jarl shouted.
“She was one of a kind. You know that.” I jabbed a finger at him. “There are men out there who would kill to have her skill with a blade. She was the best. I can’t let her throw her talent away. I believe in her, Jarl. She can do it.”
“That’s wonderful, Magnus. Good for you. And what if she can’t? What if she gives it her all and falls short of your expectations? Will you believe in her then? Will you love her even if she can’t fight anymore?”
“I will always love her!” I shouted. “That’s not even a question.”
I had not expected my conversation with Jarl to go this way. Reassurance and hope – those were the things I wanted to hear from him. The only things.
“I have to find a way to tap into the old Kymber,” I said. “I know she’s in there somewhere. I have to dig until I find her.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“By prodding and poking and pushing. By angering her any way I can. I used to push her hard at T’hath. I did it not long ago by pretending I was going to kill her if she didn’t draw her sword. And it worked. It worked, Jarl. She wrapped her hand around the hilt of that new sword and pulled it. I know her inside and out. I know what motivates her and–”
“At least you did.” His eyes narrowed. “Once upon a time.”
“I still do. I’ll think of something that hits her right in the heart. Forces her to react, to think about what she was and what she could be. She’ll be furious at first, but she’ll know I’m doing it for her own good.”
“Is that right?” Jarl said smoothly.
“It is.” I lifted my chin.
Shaking his head, he looked away. “Well, it sounds like a recipe for disaster to me, but you’ll do as you please. I guess you didn’t spend enough time pressing an ice pack to your swollen eye at T’hath. Can’t you just back off and love her?”
“Yes!” I clenched my fists. “And no.”
“It’s a dangerous game you play.” Jarl took a gulp of wine and shook his head. “But far be it from me to try and change your mind. It would be easier to turn a storm away from Adamar with my bare hands.”
“Maybe.” I was just being contrary now.
“The word is out there that she’s alive and living at Seacrest. That information could only have come from you. On purpose. What do you think you’re doing?”
“I want Tariq and Garai to know she’s with me. I want them to try something foolish.”
“So you gave away her whereabouts to draw them out.” Jarl chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “You don’t fear them enough, my impetuous friend. News travels fast in Calari. If she can’t fight, one of them will snatch her at the first opportunity.”
“No. Not with me protecting her.”
“Who’s protecting her now?” Jarl lifted his brow.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re here. She’s at Seacrest, presumably fast asleep. Can Tomas or Mrs. Toolwin defend your home against Garai and his men?”
A cold chill invaded my soul. I hadn’t thought of that. “I have to go.”
I ran down the stairs, through Jarl’s office, and into the street. I mounted Fitz and turned him at a full gallop toward home.
The truth ran through my veins like ice water. I couldn’t always be there to protect Kymber. She had to fight. Not just fend off blows from an enemy sword but really fight, or I’d lose her again. To Garai or Tariq, and perhaps this time they truly would kill her.
She had to tap into what she’d been. I had to find a way to make it happen. Infuriate her, fill her with a sense of outrage so strong she’d put the past behind her and become a warrior once more.
I spurred Fitz onward through the early morning light, a plan already taking shape in my mind.
Two days later Kymber and I faced off near the fountain behind my house.
“Get your sword up, Kymber. I could’ve killed you a dozen times already.” I circled her, Bloodreign’s tip pointing straight at the pulse that beat in her neck.
She moved with me, denying me her back. Good. I stepped forward, swung, and knocked her sword right out of her hand. It flew through the air and landed in the fountain with a splash.
I straightened. “Something bothering you?”
“Where did you go a couple of nights ago?”
“I couldn’t sleep so I rode into Adamar to talk to Jarl. Why?”
Her gaze moved over my face. “It was the middle of the night.”
“I know. I’ve done it before. Jarl doesn’t seem to need much sleep.” I put my hand on her shoulder. “You look tired. Are you ill?”
She threw my hand back at me. “Don’t touch me.”
“Kymber, what’s wrong?” I sheathed my sword. “Where do you think I went?”
She narrowed her eyes and widened the distance between us. “To talk to Tariq. Or Garai. Or both.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but I was honestly so stunned I couldn’t think of anything to say.
“I knew this wouldn’t last. It was all an illusion.” She glared, her eyes hard as stone, her jaw clenched. “I knew I couldn’t trust you.”
“I went to speak with Jarl. I swear it. Ask him.” I stared back. “I am innocent of your accusations. I would never do anything li
ke that.”
She crossed her arms and turned away. “I’ve been having nightmares.”
“Do you want to tell me about them?”
She shook her head. “No. But I was awake the past two nights with them.”
“I can see you’re exhausted. If I’d known you were awake, you could’ve ridden into Adamar with me.”
“Even in my sleep he keeps us apart,” she mumbled.
“Who?”
“Garai.”
“That’s just fear talking.” I swung around to face her. “Listen, I didn’t bring you home with me, feed you like a queen, and work to get a sword into your hand just to turn around and hand you back to that animal. I want to help you, but you have to trust me.”
She fisted her hands. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“You turn into him. In the nightmares. It happens every time. I’m enjoying your touch . . . your kisses . . .” She swallowed hard. “And then I open my eyes to find Garai staring down at me. Laughing.” She blew out a breath. “And I’m helpless again.”
I took her into my arms, surprised when she didn’t push me away. “I’m not going to whisper meaningless platitudes. This is probably always going to be a struggle for you, but you’ve come a long way in a very short time.”
She sniffled and laid her head against my chest. “I don’t think I’ll ever be what I was.”
I mentally disagreed. She’d once had an uncanny way of making adversity work for her. We just hadn’t hit her trigger yet.
But we would.
I had to put my plan into action. It was extreme, smacked of malice, but it would definitely ignite a fire. She would probably hate me when all was said and done, but I was sure she’d fight like she’d never fought before. All would be well if I could just open her eyes to the possibilities.
We had to deal with the nightmares first. “Will you sleep with me in my bed tonight?” She inhaled sharply; I gave a short laugh. “Not for any nefarious purpose on my part. I’ll be right beside you if a nightmare wakes you up. You’ll know I’m not Garai.”
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