by D. E. Morris
Nuala gazed up at him, her bottom lip going between her teeth. Her chin quivered and when she spoke her words were almost inaudible. “I never thought I would hear those words again. I didn't think I would ever want to.”
Cavalon raised her hands to his lips, kissing her knuckles before letting her go. With one hand he tugged at the jade-eyed golden snake that wound around his left bicep and pulled it off. As he held it, he looked at it with a slightly furrowed brow. “This armlet has been passed down to every Light Elemental since we were created. I gave it to my first wife, but after she was gone and I had it in my possession once again...it has never left my arm. Until now.” He held it before her in presentation and met her eyes. “I want you to have it. If you'll have me.”
Blinking, Nuala shook her head. “Cavalon, I cannot accept this. I am neither Gael nor Elemental. It should stay with you.”
“It will, because you will always be with me, and we will have a family that it can be passed down to.”
She sniffled and looked at the armlet, a quiet giggle passing her lips. “I do not think it will fit me quite the way it fits you.”
Cavalon chuckled. “It can be adjusted. Does that mean you'll wear it?”
Almost bashful, Nuala nodded and held out her arm. Cavalon wasted no time in slipping the armlet over her hand and up to the middle of her left bicep. Gentle, he wound the malleable metal until it clung to Nuala the way it had to him. As soon as he finished she lifted herself up on tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him. Cavalon wound his arms around her waist and held her close, savoring the warmth of her body against his and the perfection of the moment. Once someone noticed Nuala's new accessory word would spread quickly and he knew dissent would be in the air.
“I love you,” she whispered against his lips.
He returned her words, running a hand over her hair and the silky plumage of her wings. It had been so long since he'd felt this needed and loved, longer still since he'd felt he was worthy of it. Nuala rested her cheek against his chest and he kissed the top of her head. For some reason the Giver had deemed him deserving of this precious woman and her son he loved as his own. Closing his eyes, Cavalon vowed at that moment to do everything within his power to keep them both safe and happy for as long as he was allowed to be with them.
Chapter Fourteen
Ashlynn's eyes slid closed and she rolled her head from side to side to work out a knot forming between her shoulder blades. “How many more?”
“Just one, Your Majesty.”
She cast a quick glance at the waiting guard. “How my husband managed to get himself out of these meetings today...” With a sigh she nodded. “Let them in.”
The doors were pushed open at her command and several people were ushered inside, four older and two younger. The reason for this meeting was clear to Ashlynn at a simple glance and she was happy it was the sort of request she would end her time in chambers with. Her fingers linked together and she rested her hands in her lap, offering the group before her a congenial smile as they all bowed.
“Thank you for taking the time to see us, Your Majesty.” One of the older men stepped forward. He was well dressed with a sword at his side and jeweled buttons on his doublet, clearly a man of money. “My wife and I, as well as Lord and Lady Merton, have come to ask for your blessing for a marriage between our children.” He turned and beckoned the younger couple forward. “My daughter, Lady Genevieve MacIntyre and her betrothed, Lord Edmond Merton.”
The young couple bowed once more and Ashlynn felt her smile grow. The two held hands and stood close together, and there was love evident in their faces. “I am touched you would seek my blessing, but this is something that has not been done since my father and mother sat on this throne.”
The two looked at each other, but it was Edmond who spoke for both of them. “With respect, Your Majesty, both of us were brought up with the old traditions in mind. Our parents had their unions blessed by High King Nir and High Queen Siobhán, and they have had fruitful marriages. We want the same for our marriage and feel a blessing from you and the high king would be the very thing to assure us as much.”
Ashlynn's smile only dimmed a bit. “Unfortunately High King Jaryn has business to attend elsewhere and it has kept him from my side today, but if you will take my blessing I will gladly give it.”
The couple hardly hesitated. “Of course! It would be a great honor.”
Rising, Ashlynn descended the few steps that elevated the royal thrones and held out her hands, taking a hand from both Genevieve and Edmond in her grip. “I pray you will be richly showered with blessings from the Giver for all the days of your marriage. May you raise a strong family and always be tied together by unshakeable bonds of love.” She let their hands go and each person offered their thanks before taking their leave. Ashlynn was only alone for a second, however; almost as soon as the three couples had gone, her ladies came sweeping in.
“Can we rescue you now?” asked Lilia, smirking as she linked her arm with Ashlynn's.
“Rescue me?”
“You've been stuck in here all day,” Zarra whined, “and it's so lovely out. Let's have tea in the garden!”
Ashlynn couldn't help but laugh. “Haven't you three anything better to do? How long have you been waiting out there?”
“For some time,” Mairead admitted. “Someone else has been hoping to catch your attention as well.”
Ashlynn looked at the young woman with question. Mairead's brow lifted and the corners of her lips curved upward. “Let us at least take a walk. Your admirer may yet be around.”
With Lilia's arm still hooked with hers, Ashlynn left the throne room, Zarra and Mairead walking beside them. The halls were always busy with courtiers, guests of the castle, and visiting peoples from different kingdoms. As the four women walked, Ashlynn kept her eyes open for whomever Mairead alluded to but saw no one in particular that seemed interested in gaining more than a passing look from her. She didn't bother to let go of Lilia as they strolled together. As Ashlynn began feeling more like herself and settling into an easy routine, she'd grown quite close with all three of her girls, especially Lilia. It was no secret they were in her favor and as the high queen, Ashlynn could treat the three girls as near equal if she chose. They'd become good friends instead of mere students learning the ways of court from her.
“It's been too quiet here,” lamented Lilia. “Can't we throw a ball or something? Invite people from other kingdoms? I'm tired of seeing the same faces over and over.”
“Not until Badru and Cavalon decide what is to be done about Nealie and her child.”
Lilia groaned. “What is there to decide? Find the child, make sure she is safe, and move on.”
“It s not as simple as that,” Mairead scolded. “Whoever killed Nealie could be after all the Elementals. Badru and Cavalon are trying to learn as much as they can before going on a hunt for someone they cannot even identify.”
“What about the little girl?” asked Zarra. “Wouldn't it be safer for her here at court? She'd be protected here and if Badru and Cavalon were to stay and help her learn about what she is-”
“You just want to find an excuse to get Cavalon back here.”
Zarra's cheeks flushed, her green eyes wide. “Shut up, Lilia!”
“Your Majesty.”
The group stopped as they rounded a corner and came face to face with Jessiah. He was cleaned up, the wounds to his face healing nicely, and his stay at Altaine had provided him opportunity to find less travel-worn clothing. For the quickest moment Ashlynn didn't recognize him but when she did, she offered him a polite smile. “Jessiah. How are you?”
“Well, thank you. It's a beautiful day, isn't it?”
“It is indeed. My ladies and I were on our way to the gardens. Would you care to accompany us?”
A grin lit his face. “It would be my greatest pleasure.”
Lilia let go of Ashlynn, but not before the two women shared a nearly imperceptible smi
rk. She fell back to walk a few steps behind Jessiah and Ashlynn with the other two girls, two guards trailing as well. Jessiah glanced at their small parade with amusement. “It's hard to catch you alone, isn't it?”
“That is the point.”
Each person they passed in the halls and even out into the open walkways paused in what they were doing or conversations they were in, all to bow and curtsy respectfully as Ashlynn passed. Years of this had blinded her to the heads that bent and she paid them no notice at all. Jessiah, on the other hand, seemed to grow more entertained with each person they walked away from.
“Life is certainly different here than at Lerranyth.”
“How so?”
Jessiah shrugged. “High King Donnchadh likes to have a certain level of...shall we say...drama, at the castle.”
This made Ashlynn chuckle under her breath. “To each his own, I suppose. I happen to like the peace of Altaine, but do not be fooled; it is not like this all the time. We definitely have our days of drama as well.”
“But you don't thrive on it.” Jessiah clasped his hands behind his back as they passed into the gardens, his head turning this way and that as though to take everything in at once. From her peripheral, Ashlynn watched him. He was like a curious little bird in his motions, almost fledgling-like with his wondrous gaze. “I must say, your gardens are spectacular.”
“Thank you.” She looked around now as well, happy with the floral scents that filled her senses. The roses were especially perfumed this year and she walked toward a bush full of pink ones. “How are you finding your stay here, besides the lack of drama?”
“I'm finding it much to my liking. Siness has flourished under your rule, it would seem.”
Ashlynn's answer was a small polite smile. “Is it very different from what you remember?”
“It is indeed. When I was here it was still a war-torn land. I will admit I was skeptical of how your rule would progress, given that you spent many of your years in Caedia in a tiny kingdom.”
“My heart was always here.”
Jessiah nodded, a smile on his lips. “And it shows.” He plucked one of the roses from the bush and carefully removed a few of the thorns before presenting it to Ashlynn. With whispers at her back from her girls, she accepted the rose with a nod of thanks and held it in her fingers as they continued to walk. “Forgive me if this is too personal,” said Jessiah, “but I have always been curious about your husband, the High King.”
“Oh?”
“How did a lowly bard ever win the heart of a future high queen?”
The question made her laugh. “It was no easy thing. I met him first when I was in Caedia. Jaryn was part of a small group of entertainers brought in for a night. My father was hosting a wealthy family and wanted to have a grand welcome for them. I have never been one for much fanfare and so attended with no small amount of irritation. I practically made it my mission to neither smile nor laugh the entire night, all to spite my poor father for showing off so extravagantly. Jaryn noticed as much and tried his hardest to break my scowling demeanor.” Her smile was nostalgic. “He tried jokes, juggling, bad songs, good songs, pretending to fall over his own feet. It nearly did not work.”
“Nearly?”
She nodded, gaze dropping to the rose in her hand. “When the party was over and I was leaving for my room, he stopped me by the doorway. He spoke not a word but held up his hands to show me they were empty, then rolled up his sleeves to show me he was not hiding anything. He said, 'I've never played for a crowd that didn't leave laughing and I'm not about to start now.' Then he cupped his hands together, one on top of the other, blew on them, and when he opened his hands there was a pink rose. 'If my terrible singing couldn't at least bring a smile to your face, maybe this can.' And he handed it to me.”
Jessiah breathed a sigh of understanding. “So that's why there are so many pink roses out here.” He looked at Ashlynn. “Did he make you smile?”
Her laugh was quiet. “He did indeed. When I came to Siness for the invasion on Montania he found me here. He brought me a whole bouquet of pink roses and said one smile was never enough, that his new mission in life was to make me smile as often as possible. He was pledging himself to me. Of course I wanted nothing to do with it and was in the middle of something, so I told him to stay put while I finished what I was doing and he said he was not going anywhere. He did not lie; Jaryn has been in Siness and has held my heart since then.”
“Now you have a beautiful boy together.”
Ashlynn beamed. “He is beautiful, isn't he?”
“If I am to understand correctly, if anything happens to you, heaven forbid, he would be the next in line as the Elemental Dragon of Earth, right?”
Though there was nothing particularly threatening about the question, Ashlynn felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She twisted the rose between her fingers and kept her eyes on their path. “Yes, that is how it works for our kind.”
“What happens if an Elemental passes and they have no heir, then? Does their power simply fade away or can it be saved somehow?” Ashlynn spared him a sideways glance, cautious, as they rounded a bend that would take them back to the castle. Seeing her eye him, Jessiah added quickly, “It's an old myth that an Elemental can be...created, for lack of a better term...if their life force is consumed by another before the dying Elemental is gone completely.”
Ashlynn stopped and turned to Jessiah, squinting against the sun as she looked up at him. “I have never heard such a thing in my life and I am not comfortable continuing this conversation.” She recalled Cavalon expressing his unease with Jessiah and remembered how Badru's nonchalant reply put her concerns to rest. With the quick change in topic and Jessiah's eagerness, however, she could understand the Badarian's reservations a great deal more. “Why are you so interested in the Elementals?”
“I'm sorry if I upset you,” Jessiah replied quickly. “To be perfectly honest, I'm just trying to get to know you better.” With pursed lips, Ashlynn resumed her stroll back to the castle, Jessiah hurrying to catch up. “Like I said, life at Lerranyth is quite different than it is here and...” He trailed off awkwardly before giving her a hesitant half-grin. “I've been thinking of staying here in Siness. I've known Donnchadh since I was a lad, but I grow tired of the way he rules his country. I want something different, something less uncertain. He's old and his mind slips sometimes. Here I could be away from that, perhaps buy some land.” He glanced over his shoulder at Mairead, Zarra, and Lilia, all who had fallen silent as they followed so they could listen. Jessiah smiled at them before returning his gaze forward. “Maybe find a woman to share my life with. You don't happen to have a sister, do you?”
“I do, but she was recently spoken for.”
Jessiah scratched his chin. “I truly didn't mean to pry. It was a poor attempt at finding out more about you and the rule with which you run your country. I apologize.”
He sounded sincere and Ashlynn felt a twinge of guilt. Since the events of Mirasean she'd begun to flinch at every shadow and question every unfamiliar face. It was unfair of her but it had become a default reaction. “An apology is not necessary,” she said at length. “Perhaps a change of subject. If you wish to relocate to Siness I cannot see why you should hesitate. Though you have served under your high king for many years it is not uncommon to want different things after a time. He should not begrudge you that.” They were passing through the outer castle halls again, the open air still warm around them. “As for land and a family, that is a thing that can certainly be found here.”
“I do hope I haven't lost your favor with my questions.”
Ashlynn didn't answer and her smile was stiff. There was someone walking toward them and she looked up, relieved upon seeing a familiar face. “Badru.”
“May I have a moment with you alone?”
“Of course.” She looked at Jessiah with a slightly warmer smile than before. “If you will excuse me.” He nodded and bowed before turning on his heel
and disappearing down one of the inner corridors. Ashlynn looked at her girls and they curtsied, then followed Jessiah at a safe distance. When it was only her guards left with them, Ashlynn let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in. It made Badru frown.
“Is everything all right?”
She waved a dismissive hand. “I'm sure it is. Is everything all right with you? You seemed troubled.”
“Not troubled, really. I have decided to leave for Bás.”
Ashlynn blinked. “What about Cavalon?”
The older man shook his head, brow wrinkling. “I would rather keep him safe where he is. If this village is as terrible as they say it is, housing all the ill and dying of Ibays, I would feel better going on my own and not exposing anyone else to what might be contained within its walls.”
“But you're both Elementals. Wouldn't that keep you from getting sick?”
“It will definitely slow down the process and perhaps even defend against some disease, but there is no way to know the outcome if we are exposed to so much at once. We are not invincible.”
Taking a breath in, Ashlynn clasped her hands together before her. She grimaced at Badru with embarrassment. “I couldn't wait.”
Badru raised a confused brow. “For what?”
“For you or Cavalon. I sent one of my messengers to Bás to find out if the child is truly there and to see what we could learn of her if she is.”
“Ashlynn,” Badru chided, “you should not have done that. If anyone finds out we are searching for her and finds her before we do-”
“They won't. My messengers are discreet and will bear the pain of torture to keep what they know is a secret.”
This answer did not appease Badru and his frown only deepened. “You have put the girl at great risk by doing this. Now I have no choice. I must go and find her myself. If she is in Bás, I will take her away before anyone else has a chance to learn where she is and do to her what was done to her mother.”