Nightshade (18 page)

Darry laughed at the statement, the words clearing the last of her thoughts. “Quick now, Princess.” She took Jessa’s hand and stepped to the door, pulling the gate inward and guiding Jessa forward. “Off you go and down the path.”

“What of you?”

“I shall see you within.”

“Do you promise?”

“I promise.”

Jessa’s skirt swept through the doorway. Darry watched her until she was gone, and then she moved back into the clearing to retrieve her sword. Her gaze caught on the ground and she stilled.

The Moonblood orchid sat in the grass at her feet.

She felt once again the sensual touch along her lips and throat, and a sweetness so absolute moved within her body that she had to close her eyes. Her arousal awakened further within her blood, her stomach tightening and her thighs tense. She had never meant for it to happen, but she knew as well that so much beauty held so close was cause enough for the heavy throbbing between her legs, whether she had wished for it or not. Her muscles clenched of their own accord and she caught her breath at the ache.

She’s not like you, she’s not.

Darry fastened her blade and picked up the fragile blossom, then placed it in the side pocket of her jacket as gently as she could. She crossed back through the night and closed the door, locking the memory of holding Jessa in her arms among the flowers and moonlight of her mother’s garden.

*

Jessa walked along the outer balustrade. Joaquin’s hand was hard around her upper arm as they approached her chamber door. Her eyes were down as the stones passed beneath them, and for a moment she thought of refusing his authority and pulling free. She thought to defy him no matter the consequences.
And why shouldn’t I? My rights are the same in this place, perhaps. We are no longer beneath the arch of the Jade Palace, you fikloche.

“Next time,” Joaquin jerked her about and Jessa was forced to look up as her shoulders hit the door, “you will not run away when your duty is clear, yes?”

Jessa said nothing, waiting, her own temper rising.

Joaquin yanked one of the clips from her hair. The veil fluttered across her face, revealing her features. “At the next fête you will sing until your throat bleeds, is that understood?” When Jessa remained silent Joaquin gave her a violent shake, her shoulders bouncing against the door. “Is that
clear
, you
sallah
cunta
?”

Darry stood in the darkness of the curving corridor farther down the terrace.

“Will my voice so enrapture the court that the High King will weep and give you everything you want, Joaquin?” Jessa said at last. “Is that your best play? To sing him a lullaby?”

Joaquin opened his mouth to respond and then shifted to his left in obvious surprise. Darry stood but a few yards away.

“Lady Darrius.” Joaquin let go of Jessa, straightening and taking a step back. “May I help you?”

A cold edge to her voice, Darry said, “Your manners are very poor, for a Prince. In the heart of an enemy land, hell and gone from the safety of your father’s throne. Your men are camped almost ten leagues away, under close guard at Los Capos and outnumbered nearly ten to one. Not even your horse is at hand, should you feel the need for flight.”

Joaquin lowered his hand to the pommel of his rapier. “And why would I wish to flee?”

Jessa watched her, standing so straight and certain, so very strong. Darry’s stance was casual and yet Jessa knew that within the blink of an eye she might have her sword drawn. She looked at her brother.
Best watch your tongue, fikloche. You’re not dealing with chattel anymore.

“You have insulted me,” Darry said.

“How so, Princess?” he said.

Darry smiled. “I watched as you danced with a dozen women, my Prince, and yet not one of them was me.”

Joaquin laughed, pushed from his anger by the unexpected statement and the playful tone.

“Did you forget?” Darry asked sweetly, almost teasing him.

“No, Princess. I did not forget.”

A slight pout crossed Darry’s features. “And so you snubbed me.”

“Only a little. You seemed so admired that I was jealous.”

“You should not have been.”

“Were you waiting for me?”

“I was.”

For a moment, Joaquin was unsure if she told the truth or not, so delicate was her voice and so sensitive her eyes. He felt a surge of desire at her beauty. Despite her clothes the fact of her attractiveness could not be denied.
I would see you on your hands and knees before me, yellow hair
. He smiled at the picture within his head.
I would have you know my sword, yes?

“Another time perhaps, good Prince.”

“Yes, another time.”
You do not lack for nerve, cunta, I will give you that much
. “Sleep well, Jessa,” he said and turned to go.

Jessa waited until he disappeared down a staircase. She turned back and found Darry looking at her with curious, gentle eyes.

“I hope you’ll not take offense,” Darry said, “but I do not like your brother very much.”

Jessa stared at her for a heartbeat, then laughed, covering her mouth.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes,” Jessa said and lowered her hand. “Yes, Darry, thank you.”

“I didn’t cause you more trouble, did I?”

“No, Darry, you did not.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Joaquin is used to getting his own way. You interrupted his temper, and so now it will simmer in forgetfulness until he feels I’ve done something else wrong and he wishes to berate me.”

“I could hit him on the head for you, if you’d like.”

Jessa chuckled, wanting to reach out and straighten Darry’s lapel, though it needed no straightening. “Yes, that might be nice.”

“Off I go then.”

Jessa grabbed Darry’s arm. She tried not to laugh as she pulled her back. Darry stepped close and looked down at her, smiling in such a way that the dimple pressed into her left cheek, Jessa fought back a sigh at the sight of it.
Bloody hell, woman, it’s only a dimple.
“Do not.”

“No?”

“No, Darry.”

“I only wanted to say good night to you.”

“And saved me instead,” Jessa said.
Again, I think, yes?

“If you say.” Darry was standing much too close and she stepped back abruptly, as if frightened. “I bid you only the sweetest of dreams, my Lady.”

Jessa was caught again in the same swell of emotions she had experienced when her visions had blossomed in full, only this time she had no questions and very little confusion. Only a clear recognition and a dark heat of wanting at the surprising truth of it all. She remembered the softness of those lips beneath her fingers and the feel of Darry’s throat moving, so much life reaching out to her within such a simple thing.

She responded without thinking and took hold of Darry’s jacket.

Jessa placed her mouth on Darry’s and kissed her gently, a slow, lingering taste of Darry’s lips pliant against her own. Darry’s hands brushed her waist and for a heartbeat Jessa wondered how it would feel to be held within those strong arms…but Jessa stepped back, their hands touching briefly before she turned and took refuge within her rooms.

Radha looked up from the comfort of the divan. Jessa covered her mouth with her hand as she collapsed against the door. “Jessa?”

The very center of her world was tilting, the wheel turning smoothly and slipping from its axis. She could even sense the threads upon the Great Loom pulling tight around her and was lost as the random runes of a hundred spells drifted through her head. The reality of what her life had always been began to rush away from her, as if caught by the current of a flooding spring river.
Vhaelin essa…she tastes as sweet as her words.

Radha sat up. “I can feel your majik along my bones, child. Are you all right?”

“Yes.” Jessa pushed away from the door and moved within the darkness, seeking escape among the blacker shadows of her dressing room.

Radha lifted her head and opened her eyes, her whispered prayer to the Vhaelin drifting into the distance upon the morning breeze. She pulled lightly at her shawl and the worn, fringed fabric slid from about her head, as she turned from the balustrade railing and returned to the rooms that were her and Jessa’s. As she closed the door behind her she let her senses reach out, listening for Jessa.

The main chamber was silent and Jessa’s bed was empty, the sheets and soft blankets in a tangled mess on the feather mattress. Jessa’s tossing and turning had kept her awake until just a few hours past. It had been time for her prayers anyway, so she had risen in a gentle mood despite very little sleep.

She sensed Jessa’s presence in the privy beyond the dressing room and approached the door, asking her question before advancing any farther. “Will you not tell me how the evening went?”

Jessa looked up from where she sat upon the edge of the tub. “Hmm?”

“You’ve said nothing since last night.”

“What need do I have to tell you of a party you have no interest in? And besides, were you not drifting in the shadows?”

“Too many people,” Radha lied. “Are you troubled? Did you not sleep?”

“I’m fine.”

“But something bothers you?”

“Nothing bothers me.”

“You did not have to sing?”

Jessa looked down at her hands. “No. I did not have to sing.”
I was rescued by a beautiful woman instead.

“I shall find the herbs today. We may work the spell tonight.”

“Yes, that’s fine, Radha.”

“Do you not wish to see what the waters might hold?”

“Are they always true?”

“They offer but a path, you know this,” Radha said, answering a question she had answered for years. “If you do not wish to follow the path offered, you do not have to. There is free will in all things and the Vhaelin never punish, should you not care for what is shown. You understand this as well as I, Jessa.”

“I know.”

“If you do not like what they—”

“I did not say that,” Jessa said. “I never said that, Radha.”

“They cannot tell you what is in your heart. If you are searching for the truth, this is yours to find. And you have the right to question whatever you would like.”

“Yes, I know.”

“What your heart needs,” Radha said, “such a thing is your quest, and yours alone. It is not so easy, I admit this, but you will know when you find it.”

“How will I know?”

“It will feel like nothing else ever has,” Radha said, moving into the washroom. “It will throw you across a distance though you do not move. And you will wish to sit down, though you are sitting already. It will confound you and thrill you and make you dizzy with joy. And very angry at times as well, and you will forget your words. You will know it when you find it, I promise.”

“It sounds annoying.”

Radha laughed and kissed Jessa’s cheek. “Yes, it is. Very much so,” she said. “Take your bath now, child, and stop bothering me. You’ll be late to break your fast and that is poor etiquette.”

“Yes, Radha. And if I refuse to take a bath as you tell me, will you scold me and hit me on the head?”

Radha narrowed her eyes, pulling at a braid. “I might.”

Jessa grabbed Radha’s hand and held it between her own, studying the soft, almost fragile skin and the wrinkles of age. “I love you, Radha.”

Radha put her other hand in Jessa’s hair, petting her as she had when Jessa was a girl. “I know.”

“Do you love me too?”

“Yes, child, you know I do. And that will never change.”

Jessa’s visions swarmed up and she allowed free rein as she held Radha’s hand. She let them move through her and speak as memories do, feeling them stir her thoughts and her emotions. She wanted very much to know the truth of her heart. She could not hide from what had been shown to her, nor could she run away.

And more importantly, she had no desire to.

*

They spent the day after the fête at their leisure. No official council meetings were held, and Cecelia declared that after such a gathering, no duties were so important that they could not be suspended until the morrow. That Malcolm and Joaquin had ridden to Los Capos for the day, and Owen and Armistad had disappeared behind closed doors in the early hours, had only made her decree easier.

Darry was surprised but she welcomed it. She wanted nothing more than to be in Jessa’s presence. She had not slept well and her lack of rest was dragging at her. She felt in need of time, and a day of freedom seemed like the perfect remedy.

Jessa’s kiss haunted her, and the taste of her lingered on Darry’s lips long into the night. It had been a tender gesture of gratitude and nothing more, Darry understood that, but it followed her like a ghost nonetheless. And she felt her desire still, a low, heated pulse of want drumming through her veins. If she could just spend time with Jessa during a normal day, the passion of her feelings would fade, and her thoughts as well.