Dragon Harper (17 page)

“But Koriana—”

“She’s your problem,” Vaxoram declared.

“What do you mean?” Kindan asked.

“You know what I mean,” Vaxoram replied. “The two of you practically burn the air with your stares.”

“But—”

“She likes you, Kindan,” Vaxoram told him frankly. “Perhaps more.” He smiled. “And it’s obvious that you love her, too.” His smile faded as he added with a shake of his head, “It’s a pity she’s the Holder’s daughter. It’ll never work.” Before Kindan could respond, Vaxoram’s mouth opened in a great yawn. “If you’ll let me,” Vaxoram said, “I’m going to bed. I’m no good to you the way I am.”

“Sure,” Kindan agreed.

“And send Conar up, too,” Vaxoram said in a tone that was half-order, half-suggestion. “He’ll be useless without some rest.”

“But that will just leave me and Koriana,” Kindan protested.

Vaxoram nodded, his teeth gleaming in the dim light. “Yes, it will, won’t it?”

“I spoke with him,” Kindan called as he reentered the Archive room. “He’ll be all right.”

Conar glanced up at him and nodded, then yawned in exhaustion. Koriana smiled at the younger boy, then surprised herself with a yawn. Sure enough, just as she finished, Kindan yawned himself.

“Conar, you should go to sleep,” Kindan ordered.

Conar blinked at him then shrugged and started to tidy his pile of Records.

“Leave them, just get some rest,” Kindan added.

As the young boy left, Kindan glanced over at Koriana.

“I’m staying,” she declared resolutely.

“You should get some sleep, too,” he said.

“So should you,” she replied, turning over another ancient Record.

“I will if you do,” Kindan declared. “Otherwise, I feel duty-bound to keep you company.”

Koriana didn’t respond, her attention fixed on the gleaming Record in her hands.

“This is odd,” she said. She gestured for Kindan to come over. Kindan approached slowly, his eyelids feeling heavy. “Have you ever seen a Record like this?”

As she turned to hand him the Record, their hands touched briefly. It was as though sparks had flowed between them. Kindan found himself looking not at the Record but at Koriana’s brilliant blue eyes. He reached for her other hand, pulling her up out of her seat. Koriana rose and let him take it, her eyes locked on his. Her lips parted and he felt her breath gently on his face. He placed the Record carefully back on the table and drew her toward him. She came willingly, her eyes level with his.

Koriana closed her eyes and their lips met and Kindan wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into a tight embrace. Then he closed his eyes and felt only the touch of her tongue and the softness of her lips. He heard only her breathing, heard when it altered to a faster pace, felt when her arms squeezed him against her, felt his hands in her hair, her hands in his, the supple warmth of her body against his.

“Oh, Kindan,” she cried when they finally broke the kiss. She buried her head against his and he turned and kissed the soft folds of her neck. Her breath coming faster, she pushed him back and looked at him with tear-spangled eyes, “What are we going to do?”

Kindan hugged her tight to him again and she responded willingly. “I don’t know,” he whispered into her ear. “All I know is that I love you, Koriana.”

She pressed herself tightly against him, then pulled back and kissed him gently on the forehead. “I love you, too, always and forever,” she told him fervently. They kissed again, long and slow, savoring the sweetness of each other, hands moving tenderly over each other’s body.

Emotions swelled up in Kindan that he’d never had before. Immense tenderness, overwhelming desire, deep passion. They amazed him as much as they frightened him. At long last, his body still quivering with passion, Kindan pulled back from Koriana, who murmured in protest, then nuzzled against him once more.

“We need rest,” Kindan said, pulling back and tracing the line of her cheekbones with his hands. Koriana opened her eyes and smiled at him.

“It’s too long to walk back to the Hold,” she said. “Where shall I sleep?”

“You can sleep with me,” Kindan said impulsively.

Koriana lowered her hands to his waist and pulled him tightly against her body. “I like that!” she declared with a devilish look in her eyes.

Kindan turned, holding on to one of her hands, and led her from the Archive Room, glows still unturned.

In the cold night in the courtyard, Koriana draped herself on him for warmth. Kindan had to shush her as they entered the apprentice dormitory; she was giddy with emotion and Kindan was afraid that everyone would hear them, but he finally got her into his bunk and pulled himself in alongside.

“I’ll get too hot with these clothes on,” Koriana declared, pulling off her trousers. Kindan was scandalized, he’d never been in bed with a woman before, let alone in the apprentice dormitory. But Koriana was right and Kindan found himself pulling off his trousers, also. Koriana nuzzled against him and Kindan thought to kiss her once more, but he spied a gleam in the dark—Vaxoram was looking at him impassively. Kindan froze for a moment, then nodded toward Vaxoram in understanding. Vaxoram held his eyes for a moment longer, then nodded himself and rolled over.

“We must go to sleep, Koriana,” Kindan whispered to her.

“If you say so,” Koriana replied drowsily, throwing her arm over him. Kindan found himself cuddling her head with one arm, stroking it softly while her breathing grew shallower and shallower as she drifted off to sleep. If anything, Kindan mused as he looked at her sleeping face, she was more beautiful asleep than awake.

“Come on, get up!” Vaxoram said urgently in Kindan’s ear the next morning. Kindan rolled over away from the noise but found his arm trapped. “Get up, Kindan!” Vaxoram said again, then disappeared.

Kindan opened his eyes and found himself looking at Koriana’s sleeping face. His left arm was asleep, trapped under her shoulder.

“Koriana,” he called softly. She jerked and then was still. “Koriana, wake up!”

She jerked again and Kindan leaned back to look at her. Her eyes were open and wide with fear.

“We’ve got to get up before the others wake up,” he told her. She nodded in understanding. Kindan looked around for their trousers and found them folded neatly on the end of the bed. He handed Koriana’s to her and she took them gratefully, trying to slide the trousers on under the blankets. Kindan motioned her to stop, grabbed his trousers, and quietly left the bed dragging them on. Koriana followed suit, the noise of her exertions masked by Kindan’s.

Dressed, Kindan motioned for her to precede him toward the door.

Outside, Koriana giggled with delight as she sprinted forward, dragging Kindan along behind her with a tightly clasped hand. She whirled around to face him and pulled him against her like a dancer. She kissed him fiercely and declared, “I’ve never felt so alive!”

They kissed again for a long moment. The dark night turned gray and they shivered in the early-morning air.

Koriana pulled away from Kindan, her expression suddenly concerned. “What will we do? Mother will know that I stayed here.”

“And Master Murenny will know that you weren’t in the journeymen’s quarters,” Kindan added with a grimace. He thought for a moment, leading Koriana aimlessly across the courtyard. Then inspiration struck. “How about if we say you fell asleep in the Archives?”

“But why didn’t you wake me?” Koriana asked, her face a mixture of curiosity and mock-outrage.

“I tried, but I couldn’t,” Kindan suggested. “You were too tired.”

“You’d fallen asleep, too,” Koriana retorted. “At your table and you didn’t notice that I was still there.”

“If that’s the case,” Kindan said, “then when we woke up we’d be heading to the night hearth for some
klah.
”

“Excellent,” Koriana agreed. “I could do with some
klah.
”

Giddily, they traipsed down the steps to the kitchen only to freeze in fright as they heard footsteps following behind.

“Kindan?” the Masterharper called as he caught sight of him. “Are you—?”

Murenny spotted Koriana and his face went inscrutable, although Kindan wondered if for a moment the Masterharper’s eyes weren’t twinkling with some diffused delight.

“Lady Koriana, I thought you had returned to your Hold,” Murenny said stiffly.

“I—”

“We fell asleep,” Kindan finished. “In the Archives.”

“I see,” Murenny said in a dry voice. He glanced back up the stairs. “And is Vaxoram still there?”

Kindan thought fast before shaking his head. “I think I sent him off to bed and then—”

“I interrupted him,” Koriana interjected. “And then we went back to the Records and—”

“Well, fell asleep,” Kindan finished, doing his very best to look chagrined.

“And now?” Murenny asked with a slight nod of his head.

“We woke up and thought to get some
klah
before we went back to work,” Kindan said.

“And perhaps breakfast?” Murenny suggested, gesturing for them to continue. He glanced around and asked Koriana, “Where is that marvelous gold fire-lizard of yours?”

Koriana gave him a startled look and was only saved by a triumphant squawk as Koriss appeared at the top of the stairs and flew down to perch on Koriana’s shoulder.

“Ow!” Koriana exclaimed, quickly reaching for Koriss and moving her to the crook of her arm. “Your nails are just too sharp, dear.”

Koriss looked up at Koriana, faceted eyes whirling red with growing hunger.

“We’d better feed her right now,” Murenny said, chuckling. “Then perhaps she could bear a message to your parents?”

Koriana looked skeptical. “She’s not yet quite as adept as Kindan’s Valla, Masterharper,” she temporized, looking down fondly at the small gold. “But I can try.”

“Well, I’d hate for you to lose her,” Murenny responded. A fire-lizard given poor directions could easily get lost or, worse, lost forever
between.

“We’ve been neglecting her training,” Kindan said, grimacing.

“Perhaps later in the day, then, or tomorrow,” Murenny suggested.

“Oh, no!” Koriana protested. “We’ve got to keep searching the Records.” Kindan understood her concern: while it would only take a moment to send Koriss on her journey, their worry about her safety would completely distract Koriana—and Kindan—until they received news of her arrival.

They entered the darkened kitchen and made their way to the night hearth. Kindan grabbed some tongs, filled a kettle, and hung it over the glowing coals. He then went back toward the kitchen ovens and glanced inside, surprised to see bread already rising.

“What are you—” Selora’s voice bellowed from the back room as she raced out, only to stop as she spotted Murenny. “Oh, Masterharper, I didn’t see you.”

“No problem,” Murenny said dismissively. “Kindan, Koriana, and I were just trying to steal an early breakfast.”

“The rolls are almost done,” Selora informed him. She glanced sharply at Kindan. “With a bit of help,” she added, “I could have them glazed with sugar and ready to eat, if a bit hot.”

“That sounds marvelous!” Koriana exclaimed.

Kindan nodded and moved to follow Selora. “What do I need to do?” he asked as he headed toward the back room only to find the Masterharper following him.

“Many hands make short work,” Murenny called cheerfully, pushing up his sleeves.

“Too many cooks spoil the broth,” Selora responded sourly, holding up her hand. “No disrespect, Masterharper, but you’ve been banned from the kitchens for the duration.”

“Duration?” Koriana asked, brows raised.

“Of my life,” Murenny confessed unhappily.

“Burnt a sevenday’s worth of cooking,” Selora added, shaking her head in sad acknowledgment.

“Well, I can help,” Koriana offered.

“You’d be better off helping the Masterharper,” Selora said, pointing toward the hearth. “He’s the only man I know who can burn water.”

Reluctantly, Koriana accepted this suggestion and followed the Masterharper back to the hearth. Murenny contented himself with puttering around the large room, turning over the glows.

In the back room, out of earshot, Selora shot Kindan a sharp look and asked pointedly, “And where did he find you two?”