“All right,” I said hesitantly.
Lore leaned forward and hugged me, pressing a kiss to my cheek before she got to her feet. She headed toward the door as my mind raced trying to come up with some way to stop her looking for Lia.
“She’s probably in her room getting ready,” Lore said, as she opened the door. “I’ll let you finish your bath,” she added, closing the door behind her.
I was on my feet in a second, and back in my bedchamber. Lia was sitting on my bed, already dressed in my clothes, with a look of amusement on her face.
“Well, that was absolutely brilliant, Pet,” she said, laughing. “Mamma will be searching all over the palace until she finds me,” she observed. “When I eventually turn up she’ll berate me for the next week over where I was and with whom, and why my hair was wet.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, “I wasn’t thinking. What are you going to do?” I asked, feeling bad for placing her in that awkward position.
“Don’t worry. I’ll think of something,” she said, grinning at me. “Usually you’re better at this, though. You’re slipping, Pet,” Lia said, standing up. “Will you check the hall? I’d rather not be found sneaking from your apartment with wet hair, while wearing your clothes.”
-CH 7-
By the time the joining ceremony was to begin, M’Tek, Lore, Lia and I had all told Ania we believed she should back out. With such a show of support in favor of calling it off, Ania, of course, had no choice but to go through with the disastrous match. The ceremony was beautiful at least, forcing me to dodge praise over my artistic talents all evening. I wanted as little blame for Ania’s decision as possible.
It was an interesting start to the season, though. Ania and Fen’Tun were the celebrated couple of every ball throughout the subsequent months, easily attracting all unwanted attention from Lia. Still we were cautious in our behavior, even though no one was really watching us at that point.
My relationship with M’Tek was growing stronger again, and we rode together a few times a week. With every ride M’Tek seemed to covet my horse more, continuously trying to trade jewelry and lucrative estates for him. I, of course, refused. By then I saw Khol as more Lia’s than mine, anyway. Otherwise, I might have given in to my cousin. Lore relaxed after the joining, again becoming the kind woman I once adored, as well as pleasant company on the occasional walk.
In all, the season was a success, I believe, until that final ball. Lia was stunning in a simple dress made of finely woven black silk. She wore a necklace I had commissioned for her after our tour of Baneland. It was platinum, and designed to resemble torppine vines, with amethysts to make up the flowers and tiny black diamonds representing the torppine berries. In her hair I fastened amethyst pins to match the necklace. I had difficulty keeping both my eyes and hands off her, but I was vigilant while within sight of her mothers.
We dance together a few times, but no more often than I danced with M’Tek and Lore. But then Lia and I slipped away, as we were wont to do, toward the end of the evening. I held her hand as I led her toward my favorite view of the Luminous Gulf. When we stood at the edge of the cliff, Lia leaned back against my chest, staring out into the glowing blue water, her hair lifting in the sea breeze and tickling my face. It was a moment of complete perfection.
“Do you think the sea has a soul?” I asked Lia, as I wrapped my arms around her from behind, relishing the smoothness of her shoulder when I trailed my lips across it.
“You mean like our forest at Vilkerdam?” she asked as I continued the progress of my lips along the line of her neck.
“Yes, like our forest,” I said against her skin. “We’re calling it Lauderdam now, darling,” I reminded her.
“I don’t sense the sea in the way I do the forest,” she replied.
“I’ll miss this view,” I confessed raising my head to gaze out at the glowing sea. She turned around in my arms, pressing her lips to mine urgently. Her arms tightened around me for a moment.
“I don’t care about views, Pet,” Lia said, drawing back to gaze at me with the sweetest expression on her face. “I just want to wake up every morning, in our bed, naked beside you,” she whispered. “I want to have you anytime I desire you, which is always. We’ll be in bed forever if it’s up to me,” she teased, kissing the tip of my nose. “We should go to Baneland to join as soon as possible. We’re no closer to gaining their approval today than we were at the beginning of the season. I need to love you openly. I’m tired of all of this sneaking around.”
“And how long have you been sneaking around?” Lore asked from behind me. Lia froze in my arms, her eyes focused beyond my shoulder. I released her and turned around to face Lore.
Lore’s blue eyes were cold and slightly fierce, reflecting the moonlight vividly. Her posture was stiff with rage. Instinct kept me standing between Lore and Lia, preferring Lore’s wrath focused on me.
“Lia, darling, go back to the palace,” I urged her, trying to remain calm. “Let me speak with your mother alone.”
“Absolutely not,” Lia said firmly. “I’m not leaving you alone with her.”
I took Lia’s hand firmly in mine and walked past Lore, hastening back toward the palace. Lore and M’Tek had this uncanny ability to call each other from distant places, and I knew M’Tek was already headed out to confront us. In fact, we encountered M’Tek before we reached the back garden. I halted, facing her, and wondering if she’d harm me in front of her daughter.
“Please, M’Tek, allow Lia to go back inside,” I said. “She doesn’t need to witness this.”
“Witness what?” M’Tek asked, looking past me to Lore who had followed us. “I don’t understand. What’s going on, Lore?”
“I already told you. Your cousin seduced our daughter,” Lore said in a frighteningly calm voice. “From what I overheard, it began at Saranedam, before the start of the season.”
“Is this true, cousin?” M’Tek asked me.
“It wasn’t like that,” Lia interrupted. “I was the one. I seduced her. Pet resisted.”
“Wait for me inside, Lia,” Lore commanded from behind me. “We’ll talk about this after I deal with Pet.”
Lia’s fingers tightened against mine as her other hand encircled my wrist. She wasn’t leaving me willingly. I tried to gauge how angry M’Tek was, but for some reason I felt Lore was the more threatening of the two. I turned away from M’Tek to watch Lore, deciding she was more likely to be violent in that moment than M’Tek.
“Why, Pet?” M’Tek asked from behind me. “You’re smarter than this, more shrewd. Did you actually think you’d get away with it?”
“I love her,” I replied, still watching Lore. “Lia and I want to join, if you’ll allow it. I’m not trying to get away with anything. I’m the highest-ranking noble outside your immediate family, and I hold a tremendous amount of land and wealth. I’m a suitable partner for Lia, far more so than Fen’Tun was for Ania. I’ll spend every moment of my life making her happy. We don’t need to fall out over this. Please, give us your consent.”
“Shiroane, I need your help!” Lore called loudly, keeping her eyes on mine the entire time.
My friend Shiroane appeared from the garden entrance within moments, and approached with three other guards, all of whom I recognized as my helpers while I was decorating the hall for Ania’s joining ceremony. I turned to face Lia, and her hands came to the sides of my face. She was clearly terrified, her beautiful grey eyes wide with anxiety. She kissed me with an urgency born of desperation as I wrapped my arms around her.
“I’m so sorry, Pet,” she whispered against my lips. I drew back, wanting to see her eyes, to reassure her. “I wasn’t thinking. It’s my fault. I wasn’t careful enough. You said they wouldn’t hurt you. I won’t let them hurt you.”
“It’s not your fault. And no one is hurting anyone, darling,” I said quickly. “It will be easier for me to explain everything to them once you’re inside, though.” She gripped me tighter in response, and I
didn’t have the will to pull away from her embrace. “Remember, how much I love you. Everything will work out. I only need to settle everything with your mothers. Now go with Shiroane, Lia.”
I heard Lore telling Shiroane to take Lia up to her apartment, but no one moved on us for a moment. And then two of the guards took hold of me, easily bracing my hands behind my back. I understood it was pointless to resist them, and that absolute compliance was the best way to avoid being injured in front of Lia.
Shiroane and the other guard had the more difficult task of subduing Lia without injuring her. She fought like a trapped animal against their cautious restraint, her golden hair falling loose from the clips I’d secured it with only a few hours earlier, as she struggled to free herself. Clearly, they were a great deal stronger than she was, but she was frantic, making their task difficult. They carried her, kicking and fighting, around the side of the palace and out of my line of sight. Still I could hear her calling me until she was inside the palace. I fought the tears pooling in my eyes, determined to conceal my weakness.
Lore approached me, and before I even registered she’d raised her hand, she struck me. I turned my face, refusing to accept the disgust I read in Lore’s expression, as my eye began to throb, and I tasted blood inside my mouth. My jaw ached from the blow, but I couldn’t raise my hand to rub it because I was still restrained.
“I trusted you above anyone, Pet,” Lore said in that too quiet, eerily calm voice, still standing close to me. “I made you my Prime. I brought my innocent child to you for guidance. I loved you entirely. How could you do this to me? How could you throw my love in my face this way?” she asked, sounding almost vulnerable for a moment. Then her expression hardened. “What you’ve done is treason. You will not return to Saranedam Palace. You will not step foot in Nogeland again on pain of death. You are no longer Prime of Nogeland, or…”
“You can’t do that, my love,” M’Tek interrupted calmly. “Banishing her from Nogeland is well within your power, but a Prime is chosen for life.”
“Are you suggesting I execute your cousin?” Lore snapped, turning her attention from me to M’Tek for a moment as my blood rushed in my ears, and my cheek and eye throbbed. “Do not doubt my resolve. By Deus, I’ll order her death, M’Tek, if you think it’s the only way to remove her from power.”
“You will not execute my cousin,” M’Tek said, her tone cold and unyielding. “I took you as my queen, not my master. Lareem is essentially my palace, just as Saranedam is yours. These guards are mine, even Shiroane.”
“So if we were at Saranedam Palace, I could execute her, but because we’re here you think I can’t?” Lore asked, challenging M’Tek. “That’s preposterous.”
“You misunderstand me, my love. At Saranedam, I’d be forced to fight you if you attempted such a reprehensible act. Here, it simply won’t happen,” M’Tek explained gently. Lore glared at her. “You can say that Pet is no longer your Prime if it will appease you, after all, she’s been banished already, so I doubt she can fulfill her duties now, but it won’t change the law.”
“Fine,” Lore snapped at M’Tek, before her gaze returned to me. “You are no longer The Grand Duchess of…” Lore began again.
“You’re overstepping again,” M’Tek interrupted sharply. “My cousin was born to her title. I’m the only person who can strip The Grand Duchess of Tannuk of her Fae title.”
“Then strip her of her title and banish her from Faeland!” Lore commanded.
“I will not,” M’Tek replied calmly. “Banishing her from her home, the place she’s lived and ruled at your bidding for nearly fourteen years, is an adequate response for her actions, my love,” M’Tek said evenly. “My cousin is misguided when it comes to matters of the heart. We both know this about her. Regardless, she’s still a member of my family, and I love her. That will not change, whatever stupid blunders she may make.”
“You call seducing our daughter a stupid blunder?” Lore asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Clearly she was frustrated with M’Tek. “Are you actually defending her after what she did?”
“Pet hasn’t only offended you, Lore. Lia is my daughter too,” M’Tek replied firmly. “Still, my cousin meant no harm. She wasn’t trying to injure Lia, or take advantage of her. Weren’t you watching them together? Every move Pet made placed her between where she sensed danger, and Lia. And she kept trying to reassure Lia, even after the guards arrived. Pet is deeply in love with her. Lia was telling the truth. She seduced Pet,” M’Tek added.
“You are truly remarkable. Now you’re trying to blame Lia,” Lore replied, glaring at M’Tek. After a moment Lore’s attention shifted back to the two guards who were still holding me. “Escort this woman to her apartment and assist her in gathering her belongings,” Lore commanded. “Afterward, take her to the west entrance and wait with her there. She’s leaving tonight,” Lore said, turning to M’Tek. “I am a Fae Queen, M’Tek. You will not stop me from evicting her from Lareem Palace.” M’Tek’s gaze shifted from Lore to me, as she considered the situation.
“Do as Queen Loredana commands,” M’Tek said to the guards, before turning her back to me.
The guards held my arms loosely as they walked me around to the side of the palace. Once out of sight of Lore, they released me and followed a couple of steps behind, a demonstration of respect I would not have expected under the circumstances. Their names were Jarek and Toref. We had worked well together when they assisted me with decorating the hall. I remembered the one called Jarek picking at me as I tottered on a ladder thirty feet in the air. I was tempted to ask them to allow me a moment with Lia, but refrained. It would put them in a dangerous position with Lore if they agreed. Anywhere her anger focused just then could be deadly.
Without attempting conversation, they helped me gather my clothes. They were polite, allowing me to handle anything private, and folding my gowns as if they were fragile. When my trunks were packed, Toref left us for a moment, returning with staff to carry my belongings.
Less than an hour later, I was at the west entrance of the palace, waiting for the horses to be tacked. M’Tek approached from the side door of the palace, halting beside me.
“This was unfortunate,” M’Tek said calmly. “I’d hoped we would be spending the summer solstice at Saranedam Palace with you.”
“I’d hoped that as well. Thank you, for protecting my title,” I said.
“Of course,” she replied, waving her hand dismissively, as if what she had done for me meant nothing. In that moment, it meant a great deal. “But why didn’t you come to me months ago with this?” M’Tek asked. “It might have gone differently if you’d begged permission. I realize Lore wants Lia to join into a predominant Noge family, but as you pointed out, you’re the third most powerful person in the twin sovereignties. We might have found it strange at first, but we would not have refused your request to pursue Lia.”
“I’m sorry if I offended you, cousin, but you’re wrong. Lore would never have given consent. You must see that,” I said firmly. “You described me as misguided, and called my behavior a stupid blunder. I disagree. I didn’t set out to fall in love with Lia, but it happened, and we’re good together. You have one daughter trapped in a miserable joining. Allow Lia her happiness. You saw her with me. You know she loves me. She won’t give me up. Help Lore to see that.”
“I’ve done all I can. It’s out of my hands now,” M’Tek said. “I’ve never seen Lore this angry. She actually threatened to have you executed. It was an empty threat. She never would have carried it out, even if she had the power. I hope you believe that.”
“You know your queen better than I do,” I replied, though I was uncertain in that moment whether or not M’Tek was correct. “Cousin, will you do one small favor for me?” I asked cautiously.
“If I’m able,” she said.
“Will you see that the grooms bring me another horse, instead of Khol?” I asked. “Lia loves the gelding. I want her to have him.”
/> M’Tek shook her head and squeezed my shoulder before leaving me. She spoke with a guard, and I waited as she sent him to the stables with instructions. When she focused on me again, she appeared sad.
They brought the horses, and began readying them. To my surprise, I was being given my original contingent of guards. When Fiora was brought in place of Khol I offered M’Tek a small nod in gratitude.
“It’s not exactly a fair trade,” M’Tek said. “Fiora’s in no way Khol’s equal, but she’s an excellent horse, and you’re already familiar with her. My daughter loves you. She wouldn’t want you on a strange mount after being turned out in the middle of the night.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“I hope you’re not thinking of heading for Tannukyn Hall,” M’Tek said. “That estate’s been shuttered for almost fifty years. I inspected it on a recent visit to the south, and it didn’t appear inhabitable. I found roof leaks, broken windows, and cracked walls, and I don’t doubt there are several varieties of vermin living in the place. It will take months to make it an appropriate dwelling for you. I own the estate adjoining it,” M’Tek started. “You’ll need to hire staff, but it’s clean, and in good condition. You could stay there as long as you like, while you make the repairs needed for Tannukyn.”
“I appreciate your concern, cousin,” I said, genuinely touched that she was being so generous under the circumstances. “I have a property in Baneland in good condition. I’ll head in that direction.”
“Very well,” was her reply. “You might be wise, leaving Faeland for the near future, under the circumstances.”
When it was time to go, she patted my shoulder, rather than embracing me, before I climbed up on Fiora. Within an hour and a half of being discovered by Lore, I was leaving Lareem Palace. Even I couldn’t have predicted my fall from grace would occur so rapidly.
Part II
-CH 8-
We made it through Smugglers Pass around noon the following day. At that point the pass was little more than a trade route devoted to transporting torppa to Faeland from my estates. In order to avoid pirating, I had undertaken the great cost of guarding the road, and so it was safe at that time. Also, the weather was on our side, and so the crossing was easy. I saw no sign of bandits, only a herd of goats, in the company of a sleeping Vilken boy and his dog, not far from the road. The dog watched warily as we passed, but the boy slept on.
A Fortunate Woman (Fortune's Favor Book 2) Page 13