by T J Muir
She hadn't come all this way to be thwarted by such petty details.
Cautiously, she pushed the door to the bedroom open, taking care to be silent. Should she just call out? The moons were thin slivers but high enough in the sky to cast soft light into the room. There was enough light to make out a lump thrashing around under the sheets. Should she call out? Go over to wake him up? A sudden, familiar laugh startled her.
“Findal?! What are you doing here?”
The relationship between Findal and Trey hadn’t been a secret. She and Jay had spent a lot of time with Trey and Findal. Their foursome of friendship had ended the night they returned from boating, to learn of the deaths of Trey’s father and brother-- the night Trey inherited the da’harat, a role he had never expected or wanted. That night he became Zo’Trey of House Zayam. Diya hadn’t thought Findal would still be connected to Trey, who would need to make a political marriage.
Clearly she was wrong, she realized, watching as the mass of blankets exploded into chaos. With a howl, one figure rolled off the other. Trey landed on his bedroom floor, red-faced and naked as the day he was born. He snatched madly at the bed, latching onto a pillow and bringing it down in front of him while, simultaneously, scrambling to stand up. Findal grabbed the blankets, wrapping them around her while Trey stood there, mouth agape, holding a pillow in front of his naked body. Diya wasn't sure who was the most embarrassed.
Diya was the first to recover as the other two scrambled for their clothes. “Umm. I'll just... I'll wait in the front room.”
A few moments later, Findal came out from the bedroom, tying a belt around Trey’s robe. The rich, dark blue belt was embroidered with stars, constellations and the tower that was the symbol of House Zayam. Findal took one look at Diya and hurried across the room.
“It's so good to see you, even if it’s when sneaking into Trey’s bedroom in the middle of the night,” Findal said, squeezing Diya tight.
Then it hit her, how it must look. She stiffened, embarrassed. “No, no,” she stammered. “I wasn’t… I mean.. I didn’t…”
Findal laughed and hugged her closer. “I know you never would. We all know your heart belongs to Jay.”
Diya sighed, relieved but saddened to think about Jay again. The four of them had spent so much time together.
“How terrible it must be for you.” Findal said, loosening her grip and looking at Diya closely.
Did she mean losing Jay? She must. Unless Findal already knew about the marriage proposal from Hak’ket? Would Trey be aware of the politics within Pavan’s da’harat? Diya decided it didn’t matter and hugged her back, remembering all of the times they had spent together as a group. The parties, the outings, the boat. She felt the tears well up and run down her face. She felt overwhelmed, and this was the first sympathetic friend on the battlefield that her life had become.
“Diya,” Trey's voice distracted her for a moment. She wiped her eyes.
“Trey,” she paused, unsure if she should be using his full name now that he was a da’har. While he wasn’t her da’har, he still held a superior rank. Did he expect to be treated as the da’har, or was he just Trey, her good friend? She looked at him, eying him closely. He looked different somehow. She glanced over at Findal, causing them both to blush.
“I didn't mean to--”
Trey laughed, his old bright carefree self for a moment. “I am taking our good friend's advice.”
Diya looked back and forth between her two friends. “What am I missing?” she asked.
Clearing her throat politely, Findal said, “I'll just go find something besides this robe to put on and let you two talk.” Pausing in the door, she turned, adding, “And Trey, be polite. Light some candles and offer your guest something to drink.”
“Oh, right. Yes, lights first and then something to drink.” He said, turning up the wicks on three of the oil lamps in the room, giving enough light to see by without attracting attention from the rest of the house. “It's good to see you,” he said, walking over to a glass cabinet filled with bottles and decanters. “Wine or brandy?” he asked.
“Wine, thank you.”
Trey nodded, reached for a large decanter and poured a bottle of wine into it. He then picked up three glasses from a silver tray next to the wine rack.
She looked around the room, feeling awkward. Everything looked the same. The large open common area where they had spent so much time, glass cases filled with family relics, tapestries against the walls- a slightly deeper shade of blue than her own House. Couches where they had told wild stories and played card games now sat empty.
It felt strange, being in Trey's private suite, no party, no cluster of friends there, but this also was not formal. Trey walked over to one of the couches with the decanter of wine. He stopped by the end of the couch, biting his lip, uncertain and frowning slightly.
“I came because I was hoping you could tell me what happened with Jay,” she blurted out. “He just...left. Do you know anything? Where did he go?”
Trey turned back to face her, gesturing to the couches, and then waited for her to sit down.
He placed the wine glass into her hand and another one onto the table before settling onto the couch across from her.
He waited until she took a sip of wine.
Diya felt him watching her.
“Did you get his letter?” Trey asked. “He felt terrible, not coming to see you before he left but there was no time. Events happened very suddenly.”
“What happened?” she asked, looking up, her voice sharp. “What events?”
Swirling the brandy in his glass before taking a sip, Trey was unreadable in the dim light. “How much did he tell you?” he asked.
“He didn’t tell me anything,” she snapped. That was the whole problem.
“In the letter, I mean,” Trey said, shifting his position on the couch.
Diya took a breath and reminded herself this wasn’t Trey’s fault and that he was a friend. “Sorry. I shouldn’t be angry at you,” she said and then shook her head. “He told me not very much. He said that he had to leave, that he had been working for So'har Hak'kar and that my life was in danger. He said he hoped to find a place that would be safe, for us.” She added the last bit as an afterthought, trying to reassure herself that there would be a happy ending for them.
Another sip of brandy and then he looked back at her. He leaned forward slightly and faced her directly, his hands clasped between his knees. “How much did you know about his past?”
When had Trey become so measured? She remembered Trey as vibrant and spontaneous, quick to laugh or to take a dare. Very different than Jay. She supposed the two friends balanced each other out.
Jay. Memories of Jay talking about his fish merchant parents clashed with the memory of Ren's sneering accusations How much do you know about your bastard half-breed lover? Tears welled up. “Please. Just tell me everything you know.”
The long pause made Diya uncomfortable. “What he told me came as a shock. Are you sure you are ready to hear this?”
A momentary chill made her shiver causing her to pull her coat closer. “He'd want me to know the truth. I'm sure of it.”
Trey nodded and looked down at his hand for a moment before looking up at Diya. “Jay came to me, about ten nights ago in the middle of the night, in a complete panic. He wasn’t making sense and what he tried to explain came out in a garbled mess. He came to me asking to take his leave. More, he was coming to warn me about Hak'kar. I was shocked to learn that my father and brother’s deaths was not a tragic accident. From what he told me, Hak'kar was behind it, and I have no reason to doubt him. Evidently House Charam has been scheming for quite some while, and Hak’kar was about to make a move against my House. Jay’s information proved to be accurate. What’s more, he gave me some sound but unconventional advice,” Trey said, looking up as Findal joined them, tucking her feet up on the couch next to Trey at an angle so she also faced Diya. Her slender form tucked into a small bundl
e. Her light brown hair still looked a bit tangled as it curled around her neck and spilled over her shoulders as she slipped a small piece of chocolate into her mouth.
“It's true,” Findal said, reaching for her glass, “Trey has told me everything.”
“Jay, I mean Jedda, told me-”
“Jedda?”
“That is his real name.”
Diya shook her head, trying to take it in. Yet another lie. She wanted to challenge Trey but she knew Trey wasn’t a good liar. Besides, her friend had no ulterior motive, no reason to deceive her.
“Let me start at the beginning. It will make more sense that way.”
Diya nodded, cradling the wineglass between her two hands, staring down into the dark depths of the red liquid. She looked into the glass as though she were staring at the blood pouring out of her heart. She was afraid of what else she might find out. What if Jay's whole plan had been to ruin her, so that Hak'kar could force this marriage?
“Did you know that Jedda is an orphan?” Trey took a sip of brandy, and watched her closely. “There is no wealthy family. No family at all.”
That couldn’t be right. He had talked about his family. Hadn’t he? She tried to think back. All she could remember were vague mentions. Now that she thought about it, she realized he had changed the subject whenever it had come up. She remembered their first real argument. It had been when she had pressed for information about his family. At the time, she had been hoping his family had enough wealth or prestige to consider an official match between them. An orphan? Diya looked up sharply, challenging Trey’s revelation.
Trey shook his head. “No family. He didn’t say much beyond that. I told you, he was terrified when he came to me and we didn’t have long. His connections in Tatak Rhe all seem to be through Hak’kar, except for a merchant that seems to have been good to Jedda. Turil? No, Turner, I think the name was. Jay asked me to make sure the man was okay. I think that connection may have been before Hak’kar. It sounded like Jay had worked for Hak’kar for some time. He didn't say how long he had been in Hak'kar's service. Before you can ask, he didn't say what he did for Hak’kar and I didn't press him. I think he was sent here in order to spy on us and report information back to Hak’kar. I have no idea how much Hak’kar knows, but at least, he did promise that he never brought harm to anyone.”
That much Diya believed. Jedda had a very kind and sensitive nature. She could never imagine him hurting anyone.
Findal shifted her feet and buried her face behind her cup, conspicuously silent. Trey turned so he could face her. “What?”
She sipped her wine and looked up at Trey. “Don't get me wrong, I liked Jay, but here this man shows up, out of nowhere, and he becomes the best friend you ever had. You invited him into your home. He was even on your inner counsel, and we knew nothing about him. Then he tells you this story, and before you have time to think, he has three of your favorite personal horses and a big bag of gold, no questions asked.”
Trey glared at her and clenched his jaw.
Findal reached out and put a hand on his arm. “I'm just saying. . . A man you know nothing about tells you he's a liar and working for the man who killed your father and brother and you trust him even more? Also, I am so sorry Diya, but what were his intentions towards you? Was Jay seducing you all part of Hak'kar's plan? His last act was to convince Trey to distrust his entire household. How do we know that wasn't an act as well?”
Hearing the situation described like that made Diya tense up. It sounded suspicious. Findal made Jedda sound like a dangerous man who had plotted against them all. She looked at Trey to see if he agreed with this perspective.
Diya watched as Trey stiffened and heard the glass clink loudly on the table. His tone was calm, but she could tell that he didn’t like the way Findal questioned his judgment. “I trust Jay. Jedda. He looked me right in the eye and told me the truth. If you had seen him, you wouldn't doubt him. He could have lied. He could have just left without a word. He didn’t. He came to me for no other reason than to warn me of the threat to my family. His fear and panic were real. He fully expected me to call my guards.”
Diya wasn't sure if his tone came from defiance or from guilt.
“It's just – all of these things happened, and who was right there in the middle of it all? This handsome charming stranger none of us knows.”
“Whose advice do you think it was that helped devise the very scandal we have been so busily attempting?” Trey waved his hand back towards the bedroom, his tone daring Findal to defy him. “I seem to recall you sneaking in through a side entrance under the cover of darkness. All this, on Jay’s advising. Remember that.”
Diya looked back and forth between her two friends. What am I missing? What scandal? Were they hoping to get caught having an affair? Would that force a formal marriage arrangement? Could that work for me also? She tried to follow their argument, hoping it would begin to make sense. She knew better than to ask what was going on in the middle of a fight.
Findal straightened up, leaning against the back of the couch and opened her mouth to say something. From the look on her face, Diya didn’t think it would be kind.
“Please, stop,” Diya said. “I don't want to cause a fight between you.”
“It's okay. We aren't fighting,” Trey said. He smiled but there was no twinkle in his eye.
“This isn't the first time we have had this conversation,” Findal added, her words sounding stiff. “I'm just trying to point out that Trey doesn't have the luxury of blind trust. Not anymore,” she turned so she faced Trey. “You have your family to think of and the entire da’harat. Twenty three so’har rely on you being sensible. The next kind soul may not have the best interests at heart, even if Jedda did. We still don’t know the truth.”
Diya saw the muscles in Trey’s jaw twitch as he clenched it. Then, he took a breath and stretched his fingers, releasing his tight grip on the brandy glass. “I understand. I do,” as he looked at Findal and his expression softened.
Diya realized Trey was absolutely in love with Findal, even if she didn’t always do what he said or agree with him.
He patted Findal on the arm. “It isn’t just about me. I have a greater responsibility and can’t afford to take risks.” He grinned. “But I know you'll be watching out for me,” he said as he smiled sweetly and bent over, kissing her on the cheek.
Diya felt like she was spying on a private moment. She coughed politely and sipped the last of her wine, putting her glass down on the table between them. “Do you know where he went?” she asked, trying to steer the conversation back to the relevant aspects.
Trey shook his head. “Sorry. That I don't know.” He paused to refill Diya's and Findal's glasses. “It didn't sound like he had a real plan. He did have his man, Kirrin, with him as well as Cham.”
“The foreigner? The halfbreed with the h'katta?” Diya asked. She didn’t remember much about Cham. He seemed nice enough and had formed a strong friendship with Jedda after the night when they had all taken the h’katta drug. She tried not to be jealous of their connection, telling herself it was because they shared a common bond with both of them having a mixed heritage. Cham seemed sensible, and Kirrin looked like a man people would think twice about crossing. “So he wasn’t alone, at least. That’s something.”
Trey nodded. They both looked toward Findal, who had taken a breath, as though she were about to say something. She held up a hand. “It's okay. I'm not saying anything.”
“Far more important than who Jay is or isn't, is what he relayed about Hak'kar.” Trey added.
“Yes,” she blurted out. “He plans to force me to marry his horrid son. I won't do it,” Diya said, voice firm and defiant. “I won’t.” She looked to Trey as though he could save her even though he was not her da’har, her sovereign.
He nodded sympathetically. “He was right, you absolutely cannot marry the man,” Trey said, face suddenly dark. “If Hak’kar has his way, you will be nothing more than a dispo
sable carrier for an heir. Jedda made it clear that to marry into Hak'kar's family would be the death of you. It would also serve as Hak’kar’s way in to another House’s council. I didn’t need Jedda to tell me that.” He glanced over at Findal, as though trying to demonstrate his growing political acuity.
Trey’s understanding of politics held no interest for Diya, as tears and panic welled up again. “Can you help?” she asked. “There must be something you can do. You're a Da'har,” she said, knowing how desperate she sounded.
“I can't. Your fealty is to Pavan, as is Hak’kar’s. I have no authority over Hak'kar and no leverage with either of them. It is simply too soon for me to try to influence anything with your Da'har's politics. I’m still figuring out how to run my own da’harat. If there is anything I can do to help you, I will. I just don’t know what I can do.”
The chance that Trey would have some magic solution had been small but Diya still felt a pang of disappointment. She had turned to Trey as her friend but also because she knew he had more power than her own family or Hak’kar.
“I'm sorry. I shouldn’t have asked,” she said, looking down at her hands.
“Don’t be silly,” Trey scoffed. “I’m your friend. I would be insulted if you didn’t ask me to help. I am not abandoning you, not by any means. You know that, right?”
Diya felt tears welling up again but she swallowed hard and nodded. “Thank you, so much. Both of you,” she said, turning to look at Findal. “I’m so happy for the both of you. I hope your plan works. You deserve to be together. To be happy.” Part of her couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy though. Why did they get a chance for a happy ending when her own heart was breaking?
Trey smiled at her and shook his head playfully. Then he looked serious for a moment. “He’ll come back. I’m sure. He’s a good man and he loves you. And if I hear anything, I will send you word. I promise.”
Diya felt a tightness around her heart. Trey’s words were reassuring. She nodded back at him. “Thank you. I want to believe that. It’s just not knowing anything.”