Kaleb put himself physically between the two, but not before Dai shot back a venomous, “Pretty words from someone who sat at the feet of said nobles for years.”
Aedith raised a hand to silence Belinda before she could give the angry retort that was clearly at the back of her throat. “It’s one job. Three girls. Two full companies. When it’s over, if we are ever asked again, we will say we find ourselves ill-equipped. Maybe we’re in another country and simply unable to make it in time. Maybe we suggest another company.” She raised a sardonic eyebrow. “However, as it stands at the moment, we don’t have a polite way to say no.”
Belinda turned on her heel to stalk to her room. Ito, who had been having a heated staring match with Dai, turned to follow her out. Dai glared after them both, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Aella and I exchanged worried glances. There were hotheads in the company; those three were not among them.
Aedith sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I suggest you enjoy your time in Dabsqin, dragons aside. Have a good time tonight and tomorrow. Rest. We have a long summer ahead of us.”
At supper that evening, Twelfth Company ate and played games as they had before. Among the mercenaries the mood seemed light as ever—on the surface. In fact, if I were an outsider, I might not have noticed that anything was amiss. However, since I had got to know the men and women around me, I had become accustomed to certain things, like Belinda’s teasing laugh and Dai’s quiet murmurs during dinner. Neither of those were present, and the light tension in the air continued to tighten throughout the meal.
It wasn’t just that they weren’t speaking to each other, but that they were also being stingy with their conversations with everyone else. It was hard to pretend like nothing was wrong when the normally gentle Belinda snapped at me for offering her a plate of almond-topped green beans.
The only reprieve from the tension was Lady Famai. She came late to the meal, not long after Ito and Belinda had removed themselves, and Luke had already disappeared with a maid. That was a pity. Luke would have appreciated how beautiful Lady Famai looked. Tonight, she was wrapped in an incredible azure silk with gold embroidery. The sleeves were elegantly flared at the ends and heavy looking.
“She could have changed,” Aella muttered out of the corner of her mouth when I indicated it, but I shushed her.
The lady’s eyes were lined with similar colors to her attire: blues and golds that made her eyes seem to sparkle. Her hair had been separated into sections and then looped into a beautiful bun on top of her head, which was studded with dangly bits of gold chain. Her feet, when they peaked from beneath her dress, were shod in ornately embroidered slippers. She even smelled gorgeous, the soft scent of sandalwood wafting from her fan, which she used not just to cool herself but to accent her words, of which she had many.
She took delicate bites off her plate in between lengthy speeches, which her audience—Timon and Hedda, Kaleb, and a few other men and women—listened to with rapt attention. I was too far away from her to hear what they talked about, but once Lady Famai seemed to sense me watching her. She searched the room before catching my eye. When she did, she smiled so sweetly that I had to smile back, though I declined her head and fan tilt, which indicated I should come over. That was too grand company for the likes of me. Now that I knew her true rank—and as impossible as it was to forget that rank, since she was dressed so splendidly—I knew I would only make a fool of myself.
In any case, Aella and I were in the midst of a card game with a few other patrons of the inn. Everyone had a hand of cards that were painted with pretty but simple images like flowers, frogs, or rabbits. The goal was to empty your hand by getting as many matches for those cards as possible. This could be done by asking your opponent if they had a card that matched your own. If they did, then they had to give it to you, but if they didn’t, they would yell “Go foraging!” and you would be forced to draw two cards from the deck at the center of the circle.
The group of players wasn’t large, just me, Aella, Cassandra, as well as two men who were traveling together. Cassandra was an easygoing woman, and she didn’t care to talk about the dramatics of the company meeting as some might have, which was a relief. The men were fishers from the southeast, and they had many stories from their time on the road that had Aella and me near crying with laughter.
The candles had all been lit by the time I excused myself for bed. Some of the folks had wandered into “too much to drink” territory, and though it was funny to watch them caterwaul their favorite ballads, I didn’t like to stick around much longer than that. Some people got overly friendly. Harold, for one, got too touchy for my liking.
I was halfway up to my room when a pair of hands settled across my shoulders and squeezed. Grimacing in distaste, I rammed an elbow backward.
“Guess wha—”
I registered the voice as Aella’s, a moment too late, as my elbow jabbed the softness of her unbraced gut.
I could see as I whirled to face her that she had stepped back as the hit had connected. That had lessened the strength of the blow, but it had clearly hurt all the same. She made a pained noise as I cupped her elbows. She used both hands to brace herself on my shoulders, hunched over.
“Gods! Aella, I am so sorry,” I gushed. “I didn’t know it was you!”
She whapped me gently across the side of the head. “I was going to tell you that you looked lovely tonight in your new clothes. I might not now.”
I smiled. If she could joke, then she wasn’t too badly damaged. “I’ll say it then. You looked lovely too.”
She did. When I hadn’t been gaping at Lady Famai, I had been staring at her. Somewhere in her bags she had kept a flowy black tunic, olive green leggings, and a sheer black scarf that she had wound around her hair and shoulders—as was fashionable in the south. She had traced her eyes in kohl, as many of the local men and women did, something I had not been brave enough to even attempt. She was no court beauty like the lady, but the whole ensemble made her dusky golden skin come alive. She had her own kind of arresting glamor, like her mother, which I liked better.
She wiggled her shoulders at me suggestively as she noticed me looking her over. “You think so?”
“Yeah,” I said, voice suddenly husky.
I kissed her then, gently, my heart in my throat. It had been an impulse. I hadn’t kissed her in so long, I’d almost forgotten what it was like. Even on nights in Forklahke, when alcohol made me daring, I had hung back. Nai had once insinuated that drink had been at the core for my feelings for Aella. That had made me uncertain, even months after she had spoken them. I was sober now though.
Aella’s head reared back. Her eyes were wide with surprise as they searched my face. Whatever she found there must have satisfied her. Her lips were firm and soft as she kissed me back. When my head began to swim, not unpleasantly, I pulled away again. Our eyes met, and I felt a jolt in my gut. The way she was looking at me brought heat to my neck and cheeks.
When she kissed me again, one feeling kept coming back—that this was right, in a way that kissing, and petting had never felt right with anyone before. Gods, it had not even felt this right with the two of us before. In the past, I had always felt awkward and unsure. The timing had never been right with us. The timing felt right now.
She took me by the hand, and giddily we made our way back to the room we shared. Every so often one of us would pause to press the other against a wall, or we would duck into an alcove as a servant came by. I didn’t want to share this experience with anyone else, not even for a moment, and it seemed she felt the same.
Aella lit the small candle by the doorway as we came into the room. Then, she was easing me onto my bed. I was careful not to bump her injured leg. There was more kissing. The flute music being played for those still on the patio seeped through the floor boards. She smelled like cinnamon oil. The heat from our bodies brought the scent to life.
We lay together after, her head resting on my chest, my arms wrapped a
round her, our breathing slowly becoming even again. My fingers traced a thread of a scar that swept up her spine. She was only a year older than me, but marks like those belied how much more of the world she had seen.
Unbidden, those thoughts opened the door to less happy ones. Despite how cozily she nuzzled against me, I was suddenly painfully aware that I could have lost her this morning. I could yet lose her as the winds blew us toward the capital and Master Noland. Our time together could end in a breath the next time we went into the field.
Perhaps that was why she and all the other mercenaries were in and out of each other’s beds as often as they were. Nai had been only too happy to share her experiences in romance, so it had been a long time since I’d carried the illusion that only people in love bedded one another. However, it hadn’t occurred to me that they might for reasons other than mere pleasure. If it always felt like this… to feel this sated, this secure and happy, even for only a moment, that had to be a commodity in our line of work. Was that what this had been?
I tried to force those thoughts away, to stay in the moment with her. It was hard. I ran my finger up a particularly nasty looking scar, and my finger stuttered along it as my hand shook.
“What are you thinking about?” Aella’s question whispered across my skin, raising goosebumps.
“What am I thinking?” I stalled.
“Mhmm.” She raised her head slightly, and with a delicate finger she traced the place over my heart. “Your heart started to beat faster just then.”
I shook my head. “I was wondering if it’s always like this.”
“How do you mean?” Her voice was lazy with sleep.
“I’ve never been with anyone before this. Man or woman. Is it always…” This intense? This wonderful? “Like this?”
“No. It’s not.” When she didn’t immediately elaborate, I whined and rocked her. She opened her eyes and smiled up at me. “This was wonderful Taryn. I hope that’s what you meant when you said, ‘like this.’”
I bent with some difficulty to press a kiss to her forehead. “Yes. That’s what I meant.”
“Good. I’d hate to sully my reputation by ruining your first night.” Aella snuggled closer to me. “Let’s get some rest. The morning always comes sooner than you think it will.”
I couldn’t help it. When I woke and Aella was nowhere to be seen, part of me panicked. She had changed her mind. She had gotten what she wanted and was off enjoying some new distraction. A worse thought slithered around all the others: I had been bad at it. She—
A key slid into the lock from the outside, and Aella entered. In her hands were two steaming mugs of something that smelled like cinnamon and cardamom. I sank back against the feather pillows with a gusty sigh.
“What?” Aella asked, joining me back in bed.
“I thought… I thought maybe…” I flushed, unable to finish the sentence.
She gave me my drink as she sat next to me. “You thought I’d abandoned you for the next conquest?” she asked, ever direct. I nodded mutely, taking a sip of what I found to be some sort of chai. “Well, I haven’t. We can have breakfast with the rest of them, but I thought getting waited on would be a nice way for you to start your morning.”
“Shouldn’t I be the one getting you things? You were the one who was wounded yesterday,” I protested.
“Nonsense,” she said tartly. “You had your own little scare in the market, and I feel fine. Though if waking up without me makes you panic, we might have to develop some sort of note system…”
I looked down at my mug, grimacing. “I’m sorry. I was being silly. I know that it’s not as though you owe me anything more than last night.”
She stroked a hand down my cheek, her gaze affectionate. “Taryn, I was only playing. You have to know that you mean more to me than just a roll in the hay.”
I blinked at her stupidly. “I do?”
Her smile widened with a barely contained chuckle. “I wouldn’t have encouraged mother to save you if that was all you were. I’d have moved on then and there and forgotten you by the time I had returned to the barracks.”
I gaped at her, shocked. “Aella, that’s horrible.”
“Ok, maybe not the last part,” she hurried to amend. “But the first part is true. I knew from the moment I saw you outside of that inn—”
“The Black Gryphon,” I reminded her.
“The Black Gryphon,” she repeated dutifully. “I knew then that you’d mean something to me.”
“You knew you wanted to bed me,” I pointed out shrewdly.
She inclined her head reluctantly. “Yes, but then I got to know you. You’re sweet, and you think about things—sometimes too much.” I grinned as she pinched my cheek lightly. “You make me think about things. You’re strong. This past year might have broken some people.”
She still hadn’t removed her hand, and I leaned my head into it more firmly, shutting my eyes. “I’m not asking for anything. I don’t want you to feel obligated toward me just because you took me in.”
She kissed me softly, and my stomach did that terrible, wonderful curl. When I opened my eyes she traced my lips with her thumb, her face still close to mine. “I should be saying those things to you. You do like me, right?” Suddenly there was something vulnerable in her joking tone. “You didn’t sleep with me because you thought you owed it to me?”
Blindly I set my mug on the small wooden end table. I took her hand in both of mine, pressing it to my chest. “You saved my life.” She opened her mouth to protest, but I interrupted her. “But it’s not just that. When I heard you yell… down in the sewer…I realized I don’t know what my future looks like without you in it. I don’t want to know what that kind of future looks like. I care about you very much, Aella. I’m only sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
She ruffled her loose hair out of her determined face. “I was happy to be your friend. Believe that, ok? I knew that was what you needed more than anything after what happened, and I suppose a part of me didn’t know how to be anything else. But if you want more, that’s what I want too. I care about you too, Taryn. I hope you know that.”
My cheeks were warm with a red blush. “Yes, I suppose I do.” I took a drink of the tea to hide my face.
“You suppose?”
I thought back on the things she had done for me since I’d known her. “No. I know.”
“I don’t know much about this sort of thing,” she admitted, scratching the back of her head. When I merely looked at her, she elaborated. “The more than one night and then leaving sort of thing, I mean to say. But I’ll try to figure it out.”
“You don’t have to do that…” I shook my head. “Really, I’m not asking for anything to change. We could stay friends.” My heart ached at the thought.
“No, but I want things to change.”
A small smile wouldn’t come off my lips at her anxious tone of voice. “I do too.”
She beamed from ear to ear and kissed me again, much more soundly. Then she bounded from the bed. “Good. We can figure the rest out as we go. Let’s get dressed. I was seeing a few early risers straggling in as I got your drink from the kitchen. The rest of them will be awake within the hour.”
I guzzled the dregs of my tea and dressed quickly. As we strode down to the courtyard, we linked our pointer-fingers loosely together. Lucas looked up from his tea as we came in. He took one look at us and smirked.
“About time. I can’t believe it took you two this long.”
I flushed. We had walked with looped arms before. How could he tell something was different? Self-consciously I smoothed my hair with my free hand.
“You’re just jealous,” Aella raised an eyebrow imperiously at him. “Or am I wrong? Did you somehow manage to lure one of the merchant ladies back to your bed last night?”
“Not my style.” He stuffed a heavily herbed piece of egg into his mouth, talking around it as he waved his fork at us. “I’ve been setting the ground-work with one of the servi
ng girls—Sabine. The one I was talking to last night? She had to get back to work before we got too far. Tonight will be different though. Word will have got out that mercenaries are fighting dragons in the sewers; Aedith will have us on a longer leash, and I’ll have time to convince the nice young lady to play on the wild side.”
I squinted at him in an exaggerated way. “Yes. You do look a little unkempt.”
Grinning, he waved a hand at me. “I look rugged, and you know it.”
There was nothing I could say to that—he was right. Even with the sunburn, he managed to look rakish and charming. I did ask if Lady Famai had been spotted; she was not at breakfast. Hedda, who overheard, informed us that it was not uncommon.
“A great lady such as that, she’ll have many calls to make while in the city. It’s not as though she can neglect them,” she said wisely. “As the wife of an eastern diplomat, these social visits are as much for business as pleasure.”
Harold was gulping juice from a goblet that was comically small in his hands. He set it on the wooden table a little too hard, belched, and snickered. “She’s probably off diddling with the local men. Noble chits are always looser away from their own courts.”
Tess kicked him under the table before anyone else had a chance to say something. The two were friends— almost inseparable—but they weren’t exactly nice to one another. “Stuff it, you oaf. I swear, it’s like you want the whole world to know you’re a moron.”
“I’m not—” he protested, but she barreled over him.
“I heard one of the bards last night sing about how her husband saved her from a marriage to an old man back wherever cursed place she’s from. Didn’t catch the rest of the song though.”
Another woman who I didn’t recognize spoke, her rich voice dreamy, “Elyria, to the east. They say she was a house bird. Never allowed outside of her rooms for fear she would be stolen away. She was a daughter from her father’s first wife, and the jealous second wife arranged for her to be married to a scraggly old man when she came of age. Before the marriage could take place, Sir Ralph, a duke’s son from Donegal, paid a visit on behalf of his father, who had recently been delivered to the court of the Dark Lady. He saw Lady Famai and fell in love with her instantly. Their servants passed letters back and forth between them, and Sir Ralph stayed months longer than he had planned. He hunted with her father and took tea with her stepmother, until finally he could convince the father to allow their engagement. As far as I knew, this all happened several years ago. Marriage treaties take time to create. I think their marriage came about this past spring.”
Of Dragon Warrens and Other Traps Page 22