Dance With the Enemy (19 page)

Chapter 30

Elenya couldn’t get outside fast enough, though every step felt hindered by her increasing bulk. Redahn was right. She would not have minded his absence. Now she had to wonder what was being said between him and the King. And then there was Shemek… Her thoughts jumped about, her emotions flaring. She’d been so angry with Shemek after his outburst in the infirmary, so angry she hadn’t tried to seek him out either. But she still cared about him. Seeing him at The Masters’ house, behaving more like the man she knew, confirmed that. Their ties were strong. They’d been friends for far too long. Had he not been the first man to ever kiss her?

She paused, her lids closing to veil the heavy emotion that threatened tears and an overwhelming confusion.

“Ya?”

As if she’d conjured him, Elenya’s old friend was by her side. His scent, his presence, the soft touch to her elbow by a known hand … it was her undoing.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, pulling her in to circle her with his arms, holding her as she sobbed against his chest. “I have to go. You know I do,” he told her when her tears subsided and she pulled back to look up at him.

Moving away, Elenya shook her head, a sad sigh escaping her. “Oh, Shemek. Your world is so simple still. If only
that
was all.” She snorted and turned to leave only to stop again. “Don’t you see? Whatever happens to my warrior and his family… it all affects my future, my baby’s future.” Elenya thought she saw a momentary flash of that man she’d witnessed within the walls of the infirmary, though his face quickly softened again. No doubt it was hard for him to see her carrying another man’s child, even though it was something they’d both always known she would do.

She stepped forward and touched Shemek’s cheek with a gentle palm. “And then there’s you, my friend.” She moved her hand down to trace the pattern over his heart where her tears had wetted his shirt. “You’ve been badly hurt. Are you sure you’re ready to fight again? I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t know you were somewhere sharing this world with me.” She looked up into his eyes where she knew she’d see a mirror of her own emotions.

His voice laced with mirth, he echoed her words back to her. “Your world is so simple still, Ya.” He laughed at her wide-eyed response. “Lord Redahn is right, you know. It is much preferred by all warriors to die serving, no matter what, than to sit in idleness and watch life pass them by. Besides,” he whispered leaning in to kiss her forehead, “I don’t believe any of us ride out with the intent to die, but rather with the desire to help others retain their lives. We’ll be okay. All of us.” He tapped her nose and pushed her away. “I believe your corisans have received quite a show today. Pray they are loyal and your honor is not called into question.”

Elenya nodded. If he only knew all they’d seen. She laughed, feeling suddenly giddy in the presence of this man who had all but confessed his love for her under the stars of Aleone. She kissed his cheek and turned once again to take her leave. “God be with you and the other men,” she called back. “The lives of many I hold dear now rest in your hands.”

Shemek watched Elenya, marveling that she had grown even more beautiful during her days within the walls of Zanak. Careful to choose a surefooted path, she made her way to where the trio of corisans waited for her. He saw her smile at Lady Larina and nod her head at both men. He could see by their responses that they were all endeared to her. He wasn’t surprised.

He waved when she turned to look back at him one last time before disappearing into the forest.

“She has a lot to learn about living safely outside the confines of Aleone, in knowing who her friends are as opposed to the ones who are her true enemies.”

Startled by the voice behind him, Shemek laughed. He turned to the man who had appeared, undetected, not two steps away.

“You are a stealthy one, Lord Redahn.” With a quirked brow, he added, “Perhaps someday you may have the chance to surpass even me.”

Ever the arrogant one, Redahn answered him with a rippling snort. He leaned in and tapped the young warrior in the spot darkened by Elenya’s tears. “I know things, my young
friend
. You will do well never to forget that.” After staring at one another for several moments, Redahn turned and began to walk away. “Come along. I believe we have much to discuss before you leave tomorrow.”

Chapter 31

Tension mounted within the walls of Zanak making every day of waiting for news more unbearable than the last. Elenya felt especially apprehensive as the time of the baby’s birth grew closer. She was anxious to have Tahruk back by her side and was hopeful the fighting would end so her mother and sisters might visit her around the time the baby came. She missed her family even more as the days of her confinement stretched on. Nothing seemed to occupy her besides the counting of those insufferable days. She was pleased to note her testiness had succeeded in keeping even Redahn away, though sparring with him might have been a welcomed distraction.

That’s what she was thinking about when an excited runner burst through the garden entry some forty-eight days after the small group of fifteen men had ridden out to determine what was going on with Corigan’s King and the missing men of Dorengar.

“They have returned!” he huffed out, bending at the waste, his hands on his knees as he sucked air after his fast-paced run from the Centrehead.

Nema asked him if they were able to locate the missing men and what they had learned, all the while the boy shook his head, his too long locks sticking to the moisture on his cheeks.

“No, my lady. Our men are back. The men of Dorengar have returned, or are returning, rather. They were on the outskirts of the Centrehead when I was dispatched.”

Elenya sat forward in her seat. “Dorengar?” she whispered almost afraid to believe.

Without waiting for more information, Nema began barking orders to make sure everything was ready for the men’s return. After lining out the servants, she turned to Elenya who had remained seated, nerves causing the butterflies in her belly to begin a high speed flutter. “I’m going to meet them. I think you should stay here.” She motioned for Elenya to sit back down when she started to rise. “I’ll send him to you, love, though I’m sure it would take a whole team of warriors to keep him away any longer than he has to be.”

“Are you sure they’re among the returning men?” Elenya asked.

Nema chuckled. “Of course, otherwise the runner would have been dispatched with different news.” She bent to kiss Elenya’s cheek before holding out a hand to her sister. “Come, Neria. Let’s go bring them home.”

Elenya remained in Zanak’s main garden unable to concentrate on anything but waiting, the time ticking by at an unbearably slow pace. She knew the men had to follow certain protocol, including a visit to brief the King before the warriors were dismissed. Still, Tahruk’s delay in coming to her grieved her. She was sure her father had hastened to her mother’s side at a much faster pace.

Shemek’s words echoed in her head, her heart breaking with each moment that went by. Bereft, she leaned forward, her head down against crossed arms on the table with the tears she’d attempted to hold back breaking through. She wasn’t sure if it was her sniffling that shook her midriff or the pressure of her bent body that upset the life within her and set the baby to kicking.

“Shh, my Little One.” Her thoughts to her baby were whispered in her ear causing her to jerk her head up and turn to face a slightly thinner, longer haired, yet otherwise unchanged Tahruk. Disbelief colored her features as she stared at him, her eyes roving over him to confirm her initial assessment. Hunched beside her chair, one arm on the table, the other around the back of her seat, he waited.

“Oh. My lord,” Elenya whispered, finding her voice at last, even if her vocabulary was lacking. “Oh.” She cupped his face between her palms then allowed her hands to fall to rub down his arms then back up to rest on his chest. She needed to feel him, to assure herself he was really there.

Tahruk laughed, though quickly sobered at her next words.

“I thought you had chosen not to come back to me.” Her hands fell to what little lap she had left when he stood abruptly. Confusion and concern replaced the relief of just a moment before.

“My father suffered an injured arm in their final skirmish. I had to assure he was settled…”

“But, he’s okay?” Elenya was almost afraid to ask.

Tahruk nodded. “Nema and my mother are both cossetting him as we speak.”

Elenya felt some relief, though his eyes still held a hint of heaviness indicating all her warrior had gone through the past few months. She moved from her seat and went to stand behind him, slipping her arms around his waist and leaning her head against his back. He turned in her arms and encircled her with his own, his chin resting against the top of her head.

“Oleander.” He breathed in deeply. “That scent wafting through the settlement was all that kept me going some days,” he told her. She knew by the husky sound of his voice it wasn’t so much the flowers’ essence, but their scent on her that had sustained him.

Elenya leaned back to look at him, the action causing her belly to press against him more firmly. The baby’s kick exacted a surprised hoot from the warrior who pushed her back some.

“Look at you!” His eyes wide, he dropped to his knees, both hands splayed over the round mound that moved beneath his touch. They both laughed. “How soon?” he asked after several awed moments of simply taking it all in.

“Very soon. The midwife said yesterday she expected four weeks, give or take,” she answered as he rose and pulled her back to him.

“Son or daughter?”

Elenya laughed again at his excitement. “Oh, heavens! Who knows such until the child is born? Though if I had to say, I would choose son, simply because of the strength of the imp’s kicks. He is a feisty one!”

Placing his hands on both sides of her face, Tahruk held her firmly yet gently as he gazed into her eyes. “Being away from you was the hardest thing I have ever done,” he whispered before closing the distance between them, his lips brushing hers softly at first then becoming more demanding. Clinging to his waist, she leaned into him as best she could.

“I missed you so,” she breathed against his neck when he finally broke the kiss, his arms tightening to keep her close.

“Did you miss me as well?”

“Redahn!” The word sounded very much like a swear.

Redahn tutted at her and shook his head. “I suppose it wouldn’t do to have you giving me the same welcome you gave to him, even though it’s been me who has kept you from getting yourself into trouble all these months while he’s been an absentee husband.”

Elenya tensed, her forehead crinkling in irritation until he pushed away from the garden entry. She relaxed slightly, thinking he meant to leave. Instead he crossed to the table where she’d been seated when Tahruk arrived.

“I will not miss your lack of attention in the least now that your brother has returned home, Lord Redahn,” she quipped, crossing her arms awkwardly over her belly when Tahruk nudged her toward the table. Reluctantly, she took a seat near her brother-in-law, where she glared at him in open disdain.

“I see my time away did nothing to bring the two of you closer.” Tahruk chuckled, cutting off whatever response Redahn had been about to offer. Elenya noted he was definitely more at ease with his brother than he had been before, though the reasoning escaped her. Regardless, her husband was home! She sighed and smiled in Tahruk’s direction, earning her a snort from Redahn that she ignored.

“I hear thanks are in order for watching out for her, my brother,” Tahruk mentioned while absently removing two glasses from the tray brought in by a serving girl. He sat one before Elenya surprised by the glare she leveled on him.

“It was
you
who set him on my tail, then? Next time please forego doing me any favors, thank you.”

“Not me!” Tahruk threw up his hands in a defensive stance. “You may blame our great grandfather for your troubles, my lady.”

“King Andorak! Seriously? Why in the world would he do such a thing?” Elenya asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

A look passed between the brothers that she didn’t understand, though the arrival of yet another servant pushed all thought of it from her mind. He shifted impatiently waiting for one of the brothers to acknowledge him so that he might deliver the note he held in his hand. After more brotherly bantering, Tahruk finally reached for the note and unfolded the parchment. A secretive smile covered his face as he read. The occasional glance at Elenya while he read told her the note must have something to do with her. She frowned, waiting for him to finish.

“Tell them I said yes,” he told the servant after he refolded the paper and slid it down the table farther away from Elenya.

“Well?” she asked, her brows lifted impatiently.

“I do believe you grow more testy by the day, Elenya. Perhaps now that my brother is home you’ll relearn how to relax,” Redahn declared with an air of indifference that caused her to stick her tongue out at him.

Again Redahn tutted at her. “I thought we’d talked about better uses for that tongue.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her, earning him an eye roll and a growl.

The corners of Tahruk’s mouth twitched as he ran a hand down her arm causing her to shiver. “Perhaps she’s tired, Brother. I seem to recall our sisters claiming discomfort as the time of their babies came closer.” He leaned close enough Elenya could feel the warmth of his breath on her ear and cheek. “Perhaps we could return to our chambers to rest before our special guests arrive. Would you like that, my lady?” he asked her quietly before nuzzling her neck.

Elenya’s body tensed as a familiar tingle engulfed her, making her forget all about the contents of the note. She turned to look at him with the realization of just how quickly breathing became difficult in his presence. “Yes,” she answered on a whisper, already sliding to the edge of the chair so she could rise. Tahruk stood and offered assistance with a hand beneath her elbow. He pulled her close to his side as soon as she gained her balance.

Redahn snorted and reached for the abandoned note only to have Tahruk grab it before he could get ahold of it. “All in good time, Brother. All in good time.” Tahruk laughed turning back to Elenya.

“You’d better consult with your elders to make sure the
rest
you have in mind is okay for a
lady
in her condition,” Redahn called after them.

“Is it not okay?” Elenya could be heard asking as they walked out of the garden.