Nica's Legacy (Hearts of ICARUS Book 1)

by Laura Jo Phillips

  “I don’t know, but Mrs. Cartwell personally came over and got her, then led her out of the ballroom.”

  “Oh, that’s not good.”

  “No, it isn’t,” Ian replied. “I suspect she sneaked in and if I’m right, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that she’s been banned from the Cartwell’s home for a while, if not forever.”

  “Sounds like she had it coming,” Bree said.

  “Yes, I’m afraid I have to agree with that.”

  “You don’t seem upset about it though,” Bree observed. “I’d have thought you would be.”

  “To be honest, I’d have thought so too. But I’m not.”

  “Are you still planning to marry her?”

  Ian finished his brandy, then got up to pour himself another. He answered while his back was still to Bree. “I haven’t asked her, but she’s the best choice genetically.”

  “Wow, that’s romantic,” Bree said dryly.

  “Romance has nothing to do with it, Bree,” Ian said stiffly as he returned to his chair. “This is about doing what’s right. Our world is fading and there are only a handful of us with the power to do anything about it. Whatever’s happening to Apedra, none of us are strong enough to heal it any more. The best we can do is slow it down, but even that takes more and more effort every year.”

  “Will Apedra die, Ian?”

  “Not if we can help it, no. We think we still have another ten or fifteen years before that happens so long as we continue to work at it the way we are.”

  “Do you think you can work like this for another fifteen years?” Bree asked softly.

  “I’ll do what I have to do. We all will.”

  “What has all of this to do with Flora?” Bree asked, deciding to change the subject.

  “We know that when a Sylvan marries another Sylvan their children are usually Sylvan, and likely very powerful. We’re all agreed that those of us who aren’t married need to get married and have children as soon as possible, preferably to another Sylvan. If we’re lucky, some of us will have children capable of much more than we are. Maybe they’ll be able to heal Apedra once and for all before it’s too late.”

  “If you had a child today, he or she would only be ten to fifteen years old, Ian,” Bree pointed out. “That’s a lot to put on a kid.”

  “We know,” Ian said with a sigh. “We should have begun this years ago. But after thirty years of the same slow, steady decline, no one expected the deterioration to speed up the way it has the past few seasons.”

  “Well, I still don’t know why you’d pick Flora,” Bree said. “She can’t make anything grow but flowers, Ian, you know that. What good is that going to do anyone?”

  “It’s the power itself that matters, not what she does with it. Our children will, at the least, have power matching ours, which will help. But they’ll have a chance of being more powerful than either of us, and that’s what we really need.”

  “Surely there are other Sylvans you can marry.”

  “She’s the only one within ten years of my age, and both capable and willing to have children.”

  “I understand what you’re doing and why, and I’m proud of you for wanting to make such an enormous sacrifice, but I honestly don’t think it’ll work.”

  “It’s simple genetics, Bree, of course it’ll work.”

  “That’s just it, Ian. You’re talking about getting married and having children, and there’s a lot more to that than genetics. There has to be some heart in there somewhere or it won’t work.”

  “What won’t work?”

  Bree shook her head. “I’m sure you’ll have powerful children with Flora. But they won’t be created out of love. They’ll be born to do a job, and they’ll figure that out pretty quickly, don’t think they won’t, and it won’t matter if they’re only ten years old, either. Do you really think they’ll grow up to love Apedra the way you do, just because they carry your genetic material? Because I think they’ll be far more likely to resent the hell out of Apedra, maybe even blame it for their loveless childhoods. If that happens, they’ll be more inclined to find another world to live on and leave Apedra to its fate, and you will have sacrificed your life and happiness for nothing.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” Ian said, but even he heard the doubt in his voice.

  “Maybe not,” Bree said diplomatically.

  “I have to do what I think is right.”

  “Yeah, I get that,” Bree said with a sigh. She set her glass down on the small table beside her chair and stood up. “I might as well go to bed now. Thanks for a wonderful evening, Ian.”

  “You’re welcome, little sister.” Ian watched Bree leave, then drank down half the brandy remaining in his glass, leaned his head back against the chair and closed his eyes.

  ***

  Queen Eibhleann frowned down at the sprites hovering before her throne. “You are certain, Nim, that the Changeling is hiding inside a human?”

  “Yes, Highness,” Nim said, nodding his head nearly as fast as he fluttered his wings. “Positive.”

  Eibhleann lowered her chin in a nod of acknowledgment. Better than any other creature, sprites knew scents. She did not doubt Nim, just as she had not doubted Min. Why they would doubt each other was a puzzle to her.

  “Have you any idea which human?”

  “No,” Min said apologetically. “There were far too many of them to tell.”

  “Not to mention the food,” Nim added, then grunted when Min elbowed him in the ribs.

  “It did not see you, did it?” she asked.

  “Oh no,” Min replied hastily. “We were very careful, Highness.”

  “I think the Bright Lady saw us,” Nim said, forgetting his agreement not to say anything about this until they were both certain. Min glared at him and he blushed, his face going from grass green to sickly yellow. He bowed his head and let his wings droop in silent apology, then looked back up to Eibhleann. “Min does not agree.”

  “That would be extraordinary even for her,” Eibhleann murmured softly. She noticed that the sprites were glaring at each other again, but she ignored that. Even the Queen of the Tuatha De knew better than to get caught in a disagreement between two sprites. They were tiny, kind hearted, and usually quite willing to help, but they could be unbelievably stubborn.

  “There is little power in the world right now, too little for the Changeling to hide within a pure heart,” Eibhleann said. “It must have found a corrupted human to ride, one who welcomes darkness. Let that be a clue for you.”

  “Yes, Highness, thank you,” Min said.

  “It is so difficult to see a human’s heart, Highness,” Nim complained, earning another look from Min. “They hide their true selves so deeply.”

  “Don’t we all?” she asked archly. Nim blushed again but she politely pretended not to notice. “Be very careful, both of you. We cannot afford to lose either of you.”

  “We will be careful,” Min promised. She glanced at Nim, then sighed. “Highness, what shall we do if the Bright Lady really does see us?”

  “You are sprite and I am not, so that decision must be yours,” Eibhleann said carefully. “If you seek my opinion, I would say it’s better that she learns you’re real than she doubts her own eyes. Everything depends on her, and if she questions her senses, all could be lost.”

  “Thank you, Queen Eibhleann,” Min said. “We will keep that in mind.”

  ***

  After eight years of waking up in passenger liners, hotels, and dorm rooms, Nica wasn’t startled to open her eyes to surroundings she was only vaguely familiar with. She wasn’t sure why she was awake in the middle of the night, but she did know that she wouldn’t be going back to sleep soon. Maybe it had something to do with Nance’s headache elixir. Since her headache appeared to be gone, she didn’t think she had room to complain.

  She sat up, reached for the lamp on the bedside table, and turned it on, then blinked several times in the sudden light before tossing the covers as
ide and climbing out of bed. She crossed the bedroom, her feet sinking into the thick carpet, entered the dressing room, then the bathroom. The suite was beautiful and luxurious, with rich fabrics and furniture, but it was also very old fashioned. There were no vid terminals, no voxes, no comms, no electronics of any kind, which was difficult to get used to. Bree had warned her not to turn on her hand vid, so she couldn’t even read.

  She returned to the bedroom a few minutes later, grabbing her hair brush off the dressing table as she passed, looked at the bed, then went to sit in the window seat. She opened the drapes wide and looked out, but it was too dark to see anything. She sighed and reached for the thick braid Nance had woven into her hair for her before she’d gone to bed. Her head had hurt so badly that she hadn’t even brushed her hair out first, so now was a good time to remedy that.

  She unraveled the braid, separated a section, and began brushing. It was a long process that she enjoyed, even if it did take a lot of time. She hoped to be sleepy by the time she was finished, but she wasn’t. She set the brush down and sighed. She needed something to read. It didn’t matter what it was. Just…something.

  She got up, went into the dressing room and got the sapphire blue bathrobe she’d bought earlier that day and slipped it on over her sleep shorts and camisole. She’d forgotten to buy slippers, so she left her room and headed for the stairs in her bare feet, glad for the small baseboard lights that lit her way. They weren’t bright enough to see much more than her immediate surroundings, but it was enough.

  She paused at the bottom of the stairs, trying to remember where the library was that Bree had shown her earlier that day. After a moment, she turned right, then right again into a wide hallway. She passed three doors, then came to a set of double doors and smiled. This was it. She turned the knob and stepped inside.

  ***

  After Bree went upstairs to bed, Ian sat and sipped his drink while trying not to think about Nica Vinia. He forced himself to think of Flora instead, but when he did all he saw was her face that evening when she was attempting to insult Nica. He couldn’t help smiling to himself each time he thought of it. Nica had shown such unflappable grace, brushing off Flora’s poison with a flick of her eyes while maintaining her poise. He’d never seen anything like it and admired the hell out of it.

  But it was Flora that he had to marry. He grimaced as he remembered some of the things she’d said about Bree. Well, maybe not Flora, he thought. But it couldn’t be Nica, either. It had to be someone of Apedra, someone with power, someone with whom he could have powerful children.

  He set his empty glass aside and stood up. Enough, he decided. He had a big day tomorrow and it was late. As it was he’d only get a few hours of sleep.

  He left the study, turning off the lights and closing the door behind him, and walked up the hall toward the staircase. He spotted light coming from beneath the library doors and stopped, surprised. Who would be in the library at this time of night? Certainly not Bree. She rarely read. None of the staff would borrow a book without asking first, and none had. That meant either someone had left the lights on, or it was Nica.

  He stopped, staring at the light as he had a brief argument with himself. He wasn’t sure whether he’d won or lost, but he reached out and opened the door anyway. He entered quietly, his eyes traveling the length of the room, spotting Nica immediately at the far end. She wore a short blue robe, her unbound hair hanging down her back to her waist in a fall of rich brown silk, her legs and feet bare, one finger stroking the spines of leather bound books as she moved slowly along the width of the shelf.

  Ian cleared his throat softly, not wanting to startle her. She flinched, but didn’t jump, then looked back over her shoulder at him. “I apologize if I disturbed you, Ian,” she said, her voice soft and warm. Intimate.

  “Not at all, Nica,” Ian said, closing the door behind himself. “I was on my way to bed when I saw the light and thought to turn it off. How’s your headache?”

  “Completely gone,” Nica said. “I’ll have to thank Nance in the morning. Her cure worked amazingly well.”

  “Do you usually get such severe headaches?”

  “No, that was a first for me,” Nica said, then pulled a book off the shelf and turned around. “I woke up a while ago and couldn’t go back to sleep. I always read before bed, but Bree said I shouldn’t turn on my hand vid. So, here I am. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “No, of course not,” Ian said. “Please feel free to help yourself whenever you like. I’m afraid this collection doesn’t get used nearly as much as it deserves.”

  “That’s sad,” she said with a sigh. “I love real books, but it’s too convenient to carry an entire library on a hand vid or a reader not to use them. My Aunt Lari has a library like this in her home. She was a historical librarian on Earth before going to Jasan, and shared her love of books with me.”

  “My father loved books, too,” Ian said. “This library was started by my great-great-grandfather, but I think my father collected about half these books himself.”

  Nica smiled as she hugged the book to her chest, and Ian knew she was about to say goodnight and leave. “Are you interested in Druids?” he asked, pointing to the book she was holding.

  Nica nodded. “I noticed you have an entire section of books on the subject that I’ve never heard of before. My Aunt Summer would love to see them. Aunt Glory would, too.”

  There were several chairs scattered around the library with small tables and lamps beside them. Ian walked toward the pair closest to where Nica stood and sat down, inviting her to join him with a wave of his head. She hesitated, then sighed softly as though giving in to some internal struggle before taking the chair across from him.

  “Why would they be so interested in Druids?”

  “Because they’re a part of Earth’s history that no one knows much about,” Nica said, pretending not to notice how interested Ian was in her answer. She considered mentioning the possible connection between Clan Tigren and Druids, but it was too late to jump into what would undoubtedly be a long conversation.

  “I thought you were from Jasan.”

  “I am,” she said. “Actually, I was born on Terien, but I’ve called Jasan home since I was six. Aunt Summer, Aunt Lari, well…all of them except for Glory…were originally from Earth.”

  “You have an enormous family,” Ian said, satisfied that her interest was mere curiosity.

  “I do, and I don’t,” Nica said. “I have one sister, Honey. She’s about twenty years older than me, and one great-aunt, Berta. That’s it for blood relatives unless you count my sister’s twelve children.”

  “Your sister has twelve children?” Ian asked in surprise. When she’d told him that she had twelve nieces and nephews, he’d assumed she had several siblings.

  Nica grinned, an expression that lit up her face, made her eyes sparkle, and caused his heart to skip a beat. “Four sets of triplets, nine boys and three girls, and they’re all absolute monsters. The girls will be seventeen soon and they’re the wildest of the bunch. The youngest just turned eight.” In spite of her words, it was easy to see and hear how much she loved her nieces and nephews.

  “Why do you call those other women aunt?” he asked curiously. On Apedra, aunt was a familial word. Perhaps it was different on Jasan.

  “Do you know anything about Clan Jasani?”

  “No, I’m afraid not,” he replied.

  “Well, let’s just say that I have lots of honorary aunts and uncles,” Nica said, then shrugged. “It’s complicated, and too late to go into now.” Ian stood up when she did, searching for some way to keep her for just another minute or two.

  “Allow me to walk you back to your room,” he said, making it a statement rather than a question because he knew she’d say no. He nearly smiled when she opened her mouth, closed it, then nodded reluctantly when she realized there was no polite way around it. He opened the door, waited for her to go through, then turned off the light. They walked side by sid
e through the halls and up the stairs to the guest wing in silence. They stopped in front of her door and turned to face each other, neither of them reaching for the doorknob to her room.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, reaching up to brush a strand of hair from her face, not quite daring to let his fingers linger.

  “Will you do me a favor, Ian?” she whispered.

  “If I can, yes,” he whispered back.

  “Kiss me,” she said. “Just once, so I’ll know what it feels like. I promise to leave Apedra tomorrow if that’s what you want, and I won’t tell Bree why.”

  “You’ve never been kissed before?”