Darkness: A Guardians of Orana Novel

by Nancy E. Dunne

  “Ginny, can I ask you something?” Khujann said as they approached the gates. The Sahi Kalah stationed there bowed their heads as he passed, and he nodded to them in response.

  “Khuj, you can ask me anything,” she said. “By the way, your language lessons paid off, your common tongue is flawless these days! Maybe you should try asking me in Elvish?”

  “No. Papa won’t allow me to speak it, Ginny, you know that.” Khujann’s eyes narrowed as he looked at her.

  “Yes, I do, but your Papa isn’t here right now, is he?” Her ice-blue eyes twinkled as she grinned conspiratorially at him. He matched her grin.

  “No, no, he isn’t, in fact,” Khujann said in perfect Elvish. “How was that? You are ever the excellent teacher, Ginny.”

  “It was perfect!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands with glee.

  “Do I sound as good as Papa when he speaks it?” Khujann asked. Gin tried to hide the pain in her heart at his question before it surfaced in her eyes. Sath hadn’t spoken Elvish unless he had to since Kazhmere died. “What? What is that face for, Ginny?” Clearly, she wasn’t fast enough.

  She smiled up at the young Prince. “It is so good to hear the language of my kind now and then and to be able to speak it. After too much Qatunari, I fear everything I say sounds like a purr.”

  “No, your Qatunari sounds like a hiss,” Khujann said, poking her playfully and accidentally knocking the wind out of her. She bent over double, trying to keep her balance as she gasped for air. “GINNY!” He stopped and scooped her up, pulling her close to him in a hug that was doing more damage than good. “I’m sorry, Ginny, please be okay! Do I need to fetch Papa?”

  “Just…not…so…tight…” Gin said, still gasping for air. “Can’t…breathe…” Before she could stop it, the spirit of her ancestors that gave her the power of the Nature Walker surged forward to create a shield between her and whatever was causing her pain. Khujann dropped her immediately, his arms blown off of hers with tremendous force.

  “Ow…” Khujann shook off the stunning blow, and Gin looked up at him as she wheezed, sucking in gorgeous large gulps of air, and smiled. The smile faded—her eyes filled with worry as she searched his face.

  “I’m sorry, Khuj, I hope I didn’t hurt you.” She looked around for his guards and saw him holding up a hand to them.

  “I’m fine, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “It’s okay, you just have to remember that I’m a bit more fragile than you Qatu…and that you are a lot stronger than I am.”

  “And that you can knock me into next week if I step out of line, right?”

  “And don’t you forget it, your Highness.” The Prince grinned, blushing to the roots of his fur. “You are definitely not the cub that used to cling to my neck when I carried you around in Aynamaede,” she said as she tousled his fur.

  “Hardly, I’m taller than you are, for a start!” Khujann said with a wry smile. “Ginny, Papa says that the wizard is gone and can’t hurt me anymore, so why do I still have all these guards?” He looked over his shoulder to see the quad following him as they always did, then looked back in the direction they were moving down the corridor to the grand front gate of Qatu’anari. “I get that I’m the Prince and all, but Papa worries too much.”

  Gin rubbed the fur on Khujann’s arm. “He loves you, mahshuk, that’s all. You’re his only son, and with Kahzi gone, you’re the only heir to the throne. You are very important, don’t forget that.” Khujann grinned at her correct use of the Qatunari word for ‘sweetheart’ as Gin wrapped her arms around her own waist, hugging herself for a moment. “But you are right, with Ben gone, you are safer than you…”

  “I told you not to mention his name,” Sath hissed from behind her. Gin froze in place, and then took a deep breath before speaking. “It is even worse that you call him by your affectionate little nickname for him.” How had she not sensed his presence? The last trip to Aynamaede must have left her more tired than she had thought.

  “And I told you not to sneak up on me, Cat,” she said in Qatunari. Sath stalked around in front of the two of them, feigning annoyance, but Khujann saw through his father’s ruse. It was clearly all Sath could do not to break out in a huge grin, if only at the improvement in Gin’s Qatunari. She sensed his surprise through their bond and then felt it turn.

  Gin, I didn’t think I COULD sneak up on you.

  She felt his worry and was equally concerned. Was her tracking ability slipping? No, it was just fatigue. Gin tried to convince him to relax as Sath shifted his attention back to Khujann. “Papa, you need to speak to Ginny in her language sometimes,” the Crown Prince said, drawing himself up to match Sath’s height. The Rajah glared back at his son. “Don’t get mad at me, she wasn’t part of the wizard elf’s plan to take me, it wasn’t her!”

  “It was BECAUSE of me, though, Khuj,” Gin whispered to him. Sath sighed loudly.

  “Whatever,” the young male responded, still staring at his father. “She lives here with us and… Well, just think about how much you like it when she speaks our language rather than the common tongue! Unless you don’t care about making her happy…”

  “That’s enough, son,” Sath said, and the tone in his voice told his son that the discussion was over. “My relationship with Gin is my business, got it?”

  “Not doing any business that I can see,” Khujann muttered under his breath as he pushed past his father and started to walk across the bridge. Sath caught his son by the scruff and hauled him back until they were nose to nose. They stared at each other for a moment, and then both started laughing.

  “That was a lot easier when you were a cub,” Sath said, grinning.

  “I didn’t talk back that much when I was a cub!” Khujann replied, his grin matching his father’s. Sath released his son and gave him a sound clap on the back before they continued across the bridge.

  “No, you were much, much worse then,” Sath said. He looked back behind them for Gin. “You coming, Gin?” he called out over his shoulder.

  “Of course, where else would I be?” she said, smiling. This was home for her now – sort of, anyway. Gin spent little time in the Great Forest after taking her station as Nature Walker and Guardian of the Forest. She was welcomed back to Aynamaede as though royalty – once word spread that the Nature Walker had returned—but she was not as comfortable in that role as Sath was serving as Rajah. It was decided that the High Council would continue to serve the citizens of the treetop city – after replacing almost all of the members and making it a public entity. The Nature Walker would remain the liaison between those who called the Great Forest home and their deities, Sephine and Kildir, as well as the conduit for the magic they bestowed upon their faithful. Four times per season, Gin returned to the Great Forest to greet her people, hear their petitions, heal as many afflictions as she could, and preside over marriages and funeral rites. Sometimes the Forest felt more like home than others—at those times, the trips home never seemed long enough for her. She loved her time on Qatu’anari, and the Qatu treated her as one of their own, but she was never there long enough either. The constant traveling reinforced within her the uncertainty of where her real home really was.

  Sath and Khujann seemed the only real family she had now. Kaewenye and Iseabel, her wood elf cousins, were progressing well in their studies and didn’t need her guidance anymore. They didn’t even come to see her with the other young ones in the tree city when she visited. Cursik, Lairky, and her parents were dead. Nelenie—her childhood friend who was like a sister to her—was presumed dead; Gin hadn’t heard from her in ages. She tried not to dwell on thoughts of the audacious blonde paladin – it hurt her heart too much to think of the what-ifs that come with a life lived as a mercenary warrior. Tairneanach was thriving in Tee and Nehrys’s home as their nanny, and Hack and Elysiam had left on an extended hunting trip alone.

  Recent relations among those who called Orana home – save the dark elves, of course – were peaceful; as Guardians, G
in and Sath had little to do other than perform ceremonial duties and keep watch in case the dragons returned from the Dark Side of the World. Sath settled back into life as Rajah of his people. Hulan had served as Prince Consort and Regent for Khujann during the hunt for Taeben that kept the Rajah away from the palace, but now that Sath had returned to Qatu’anari, Hulan was no longer needed in the Regent role. Hulan had taken Sath’s place in the Fabled One’s hunting party and was now a full member of the Fabled Ones. He performed diplomatic duties in the role usually held by the First Wife now and then, but for the most part, Hulan stayed out hunting. Gin was sure this was due in no small part to Khujann’s resemblance to Kazhmere, Hulan’s true love. He loved the Prince as his own cub, but he had not been the same since Kazhmere’s death. Gin wondered if he was with Hack and Elysiam and if they were all keeping safe. A life lived rough on the hunt was exciting, but also very dangerous.

  In sharp contrast to that, life in the Qatu city was ordered and regimented. Thanks to Sath’s discretion, no one but his closest advisors and Hulan knew of Gin’s involvement in Kahzmere’s death, so she was welcomed to Qatu’anari with open arms. She wasn’t sure if he had done that because of any feelings he had left for her, or just to make sure he didn’t have to expend extra resources to keep her safe—both, perhaps. Kazhmere had been very well-liked, and her death and subsequent pronouncement as Princess Royal had been a cause for weeks of mourning in Qatu’anari. Gin worried from time to time that her presence was another reason for Hulan’s absence. To any outside observer, the Rajah and the Nature Walker were perfectly matched, but privately Gin and Sath had a rough road still ahead of them. She knew that there were rules she had to follow to regain his trust after everything that had gone before. Gin considered him for a moment, letting the memories wash over her. “One day,” she said quietly, “we will work on regaining my trust in YOU, Sath. But not today.”

  “Did you say something?” Sath asked without looking back at her.

  “Nope,” she replied, grabbing his tail as she had during the early days when they would hunt together, and she didn’t want to get lost. Sath smiled wide and picked up his pace as Gin followed along, her mind wandering as she held on tightly to his tail. At first, when they returned from their maiden diplomatic trip as Guardians and were probably as close as they had ever been, Sath had talked of making her First Wife, but the citizens of Qatu’anari were not so thrilled with that idea. An outsider as First Wife was bad enough, but a wood elf? The race that had abducted the Prince? That was impossible in the hearts and minds of the Qatu people.

  So just Gin she remained while in the Qatu city, though she did take on the surname of the royal family to give herself some status in her new home at Sath’s insistence. He had mentioned it to her only moments before Taeben had found them at the guard tower on the border, and she found that Ginolwenye Clawsharp suited her very well. Time went on, and the more the citizens protested the idea of her becoming First Wife, the less Sath mentioned it, and the further apart they seemed to grow. They were still friends—close friends; in fact, Gin considered Sath to be her best friend and loved him—but nothing more than that seemed possible. She had come to realize that she was okay with that.

  Gin had also not told Sath anything more about her time with Taeben than she had told Tee the night she turned up in the guild hall seeking sanctuary, and she thought it was better that way. He did not need to know the details of her treatment at the Temple to the Mother Dragon and other places where they traveled. The wizard’s death had given her some of the closure she needed, and she knew that one day she would be able to trust Sath again as she had begun to do when they were merely members of the Fabled Ones. One day. Once that happened, they could work to build his trust in her and her kind. But often she woke in the night, soaked in sweat and rubbing the back of her neck to rid herself of the phantom tingle she felt there. One day seemed farther and farther away.

  Before she realized, they were climbing the steps to the palace at the center of the city. Sath ran a hand across the stone head of the statue of a tiger that guarded the entrance, and the large feline purred in response before switching its gaze to stare warily at Gin. “Will those cats EVER remember who I am?” she muttered angrily.

  No, probably not. The statues are enchanted only to recognize other Qatu, Gin, you know that.

  I do, yes.

  Gin scowled and felt Sath’s chuckle through their bond. The large marble doors swung shut behind them, and she automatically turned left to head to her quarters. She had been on a long walk with the Prince, and their short conversation in Elvish had left her feeling a bit homesick and longing for quiet, away from the rumbling growly sounds of the Qatu. There were still months to go before her next trip back to the Great Forest as the Nature Walker. “I will take my dinner in my quarters tonight if you don’t mind, Sath?”

  “Gin, a word, please?” Sath said, smiling softly as she stopped in her tracks. “Khuj, you have some studies to finish before we eat, do you not?” The Prince grinned impishly at his father and then headed for his own quarters, the four Sahi Kalah at his heels. Gin did not turn around to face him as she searched his mind for a clue about what he wanted to discuss, but found only those barriers—the barriers that she had not taught him to erect in his mind.

  “Can this wait, Sath? I’m just exhausted, and I’d like a hot bath and my bed after I eat if you don’t mind.”

  Sath frowned. “Um, no, I don’t mind, but Gin—have I done something to upset you?” Gin took a deep breath and turned around to face him, a smile plastered across her lips that did not spread to her eyes. She knew that Sath could tell she was lying but found that she was too exhausted to care. The low purr had gotten louder, but he was not trying to pry. She was thankful for that at least.

  “Of course not. Shall we go to the throne room to talk? Gin was wary—ever since they returned to Qatu’anari, she had been waiting for the other shoe to drop that would mean her exile from the city at best or her death at worst. She could not let go of her guilt over her part in Kazhmere’s death, and she didn’t expect that Sath would either.

  “No, I thought perhaps my quarters would be more comfortable?” Gin stared at him. “No, no, no, I didn’t mean that.” Sath sighed loudly in annoyance. “I just thought we could sit and talk for a while—and my quarters are pretty comfortable.” Gin nodded and turned on her heel, heading down the short flight of stairs to the royal apartment. Sath followed closely, unable to contain the grin that was spreading across his face. Once there, Gin settled herself on one of the large cushions in the sitting room of the royal apartment. She could not help thinking of the first time that she had been here—when Tee dragged her in before Sath in the middle of the night after she’d turned up in the guild hall seeking sanctuary. Sath followed and then dismissed the Sahi Kalah that had been assigned to the room. “Now then, you and I need to talk.”

  “I’ve been expecting this, really, Sath,” she said.

  “Na’hina, Gin, don’t you ever stop interrupting me?” Sath grumbled. “There is no way that you could be expecting what I’m about to say unless you’ve gotten a lot better at spying.” He ran a hand over his head, chuckling. His smile faded in reaction to her stony gaze. “But I would know if you were doing that, wouldn’t I? In the bond, I mean, I would know that-”

  “I know that you need a First Wife, Sath,” Gin interrupted, steeling herself against another outburst from him. “It won’t hurt my feelings. It is not the way of your people for the Rajah to only have one wife or one heir.”

  Sath stared at Gin, his teal eyes saucer-like in disbelief. “That is what…you think that I…Ikara’s TEETH, Gin!” He cracked each of his large knuckles in turn and then beamed a toothy grin at her. “That used to make you jump every time I did it. Glad to see it doesn’t anymore.”

  “You can thank your son for that, he has picked up that awful habit, and I have become quite accustomed to the sound,” Gin replied flatly. “Now, Sath, what di
d you want to say? I would like to go to bed before Exdes sets in the sky if you don’t mind.”

  Sath growled low in his chest in frustration. “I want to take a sabbatical of sorts, like the ones we used to take with the Fabled Ones.” He searched her eyes as he spoke. “But this time, it is just to be you and me, no one else.”

  “Why?” Her question was simple, but it almost pushed the Rajah’s patience over the edge.

  “Why what? Do I need a reason? We have not hunted together, just the two of us, since..well…I can’t remember when,” he said, switching to the common tongue, his tone clearly exasperated. “Ailreden wanted more than anything that you and I clear our…differences, back in the day when the only difference between us was that I was the Bane of the Forest. You know that I had your journal, and I read it so many times that I felt like I knew you even before the day when he sent us out together to find Gaelin.”

  Gin’s face clouded over. When Taeben had died, all of the blocks and controls he had set up in her mind had vanished, and she knew that he had killed the kindly mage and taken his powers. Now the mention of him made her desperately sad. “Poor Gaelin. He deserved better than he got,” she said.

  “Agreed. Anyway, Gin…you and I need to take this journey together. So much has happened with…everything, and I feel like we need time to get to know each other again.” Gin looked down at the floor, studying the pattern on the rug as she nodded in agreement. Sath slipped across the room and took her chin in his hand, lifting her eyes back to his. “I want you to be First Wife – my ONLY wife—but you can’t be if I don’t know you.”

  Gin’s eyes nearly fell out of her head as she stared at him. “You want me to…but I’m not…I mean, I’m just…wait, what?” Sath chuckled. “Can you try that again in Qatunari or Elvish because I’m sure I didn’t understand…”

  “You heard me, Gin. Now, what do you say? I have our supplies ready to go, all you have to do is agree, and we will be on our way,” he said, holding onto her chin a bit longer than he probably should have but happy that she hadn’t pulled away from him. “Khuj will be fine; he has tutors now and the quad to protect him, and he is nearly a grown male now. Hulan will help him in matters of state.”