Tears of War (37 page)

He crossed the courtyard in long strides. “Toren, I said Kalila stays with you in that room. Not leave her alone when you feel like it.”

Toren looked over his shoulder then back at Kellinar. “She is still in the room. She is safe.”

Kellinar brushed past him. “Yes, just like she was safe when Sadira took her.”

Toren caught his arm. “Who are all of these people?” He eyed the soldiers warily.

Kellinar glanced back and waved his arm absently at the group. “Toren, this is everybody. Everybody, this is Toren.” He pulled his arm away and strode into the hall. Stupid. He should have taken her back with him. Kellinar didn’t draw an easy breath until he yanked open the door to the study and saw her standing in front of the empty fireplace.

“Your brother has trouble listening. He was to stay in here with you.”

Kalila laughed but it held a bitter sound. “Do you really think if Sadira had shown up that me being in this room with Toren would have saved me?”

“Actually, yes. It would have saved you both.” He scowled. “I placed wards over the windows and door. Anyone trying to pass through that used Shadow magic would have found a nasty surprise. It wouldn’t have held them for a long period of time, but maybe long enough for me to get back to you. However, Toren passing through the wards weakened them.”

She looked away from him. “Oh, we didn’t know.”

He crossed the room and took her chin in his hand, forcing her to look up at him. “You are not a Dragon Rider but that doesn’t mean you aren’t important. You have a purpose. If you want to fulfill it, you will have to be more careful.”

Kalila stepped back, pulling her chin away. “I will be more careful.”

He nodded. “Good. Now come with me. There are quite a few people in the courtyard. Hemmen sent the Defenders you requested.”

A look of surprised relief swept over her face. “He did?” She took a deep breath. “You have no idea how much more confident that makes me.”

Kalila followed him back to the courtyard. As they stepped into the darkness, Toren saw her and walked over. “Who are these soldiers? Why are they here?”

She looked at the gathered men. Hemmen had sent fifty Defenders. Kalila lifted her chin slightly. “They are here by my request to be my personal guards.”

“Foreign soldiers? Are you insane, Kalila? You really will have everyone against you.” Toren glared as if he could somehow put sense into her.

Kalila gave him another of her frosty, high and mighty looks. “I will have every hand against me anyway. At least this way, I know my guards can’t be bought.”

Five women flowed out of the evening shadows. All of them wore dark blue robes, and their hair hung in a multitude of small braids with blue and white beads at the ends. The oldest approached and stopped in front of Kalila. Kellinar saw the gratitude spread across her face.

She bowed her head slightly. “Thank you Katian, for coming.” She glanced at the others. “All senior mages?”

Katian nodded. “Dhovara thought it best to be on the safe side. I agreed with her. I don’t think when it comes to Shadow Riders that we can take too many precautions.”

The Defenders moved into defensive positions, already taking up their task. The leader strode over to where Kalila stood. “I am Arryn Warrick, Hemmen’s brother. My second is Hammel. We will work in shifts.”

Kalila smiled graciously. “Thank you, Arryn.”

A tall woman in silver robes with long red hair spilling down her back, flowed to her side. She gazed at Kaila with pale blue eyes. “I am Lalani, your advisor. I will help limit your mishaps when handling your nation as well as other things.”

“Thank you for coming.”

Toren looked at Lalani. “What experience do you have ruling a nation?”

The Silver mage gave him a cool look. “Twenty-five years ago, I was the heir to the Boromari throne. As the eldest child, I was groomed for the position from the time I could walk and talk. In Boromar, we have no…restrictions against a woman ruling the nation. It is based upon birth order and capability, not whether one is male or female. I grew up working alongside my father until it came to light that I possessed Spirit magic in my twentieth year.” She smiled slightly, her tone cool. “Boromar does not follow the barbaric laws dictating the slaughter of magic users. We keep up the pretense to avoid the backlash from other nations—although thankfully that pretense can be done away with now—but the ‘private executions’ in Boromar are an illusion. Magic users who turn themselves in have been sent to Galdrilene for the past two hundred and fifty years.”

Lalani turned her eyes back on Kalila. “I am well-versed in running a successful nation. As a strong Spirit mage, I will also be able to sense the emotions in a room and within a specific person at close range. I will be able to tell if someone is lying to you.” She glanced briefly at Toren. “In the event of a visit by Shadow Riders that is above the abilities of the mages—and it will be—I can send for help. I am not a Dragon Rider so I cannot send direct thoughts. However, I can send the sense of need to either of the two Silver Riders, bringing help to Markene in a matter of moments.”

Kellinar clapped Toren on the shoulder. “I told you she would be well protected. Against everyone.”

Toren swallowed and eyed the mages nervously. “I guess she will be.”

“Shryden and I will stay until tomorrow morning after you have made Kalila queen. Then we’ll give you a lift to Galdrilene.”

Toren frowned. “Who is Shryden?”

Kellinar pointed at the blue dragon filling a good portion of the courtyard. “My dragon.”

“And you want me to ride on him?” Toren’s eyes were wide.

Kellinar chuckled. “It won’t be that bad. Perhaps for now you should figure out where all of these people are supposed to sleep.” He frowned and glanced around. “Where is the rest of your family?”

“I had them all stay in their rooms with guards at their doors.” He motioned everyone into the keep. “Once everyone is settled, I will have them come out.”

Within an hour, Toren had his possessions moved from his apartments in the east wing of the castle and several beds brought in. Kalila chose to share the group of rooms with the six other mages. She didn’t say anything, but the occasional glimpses of fear Kellinar saw in her eyes told him she didn’t want to sleep alone.

More beds were brought up and placed in the rooms across the hall for the Defenders. They would never be far from her. Kellinar felt she would be safe. Well, as safe as anyone was with Shadow Riders in the world.

He collapsed in the large, comfortable bed in the room given to him for the night on the same floor as Kalila’s apartments. Exhaustion flooded him as he laid his head on the large, soft pillow. Despite feeling incredibly tired, Kellinar lay on his back and stared at the ceiling. He had spent the past week in Galdrilene and found his missed Anevay’s soft body next to his. In the same week he’d been separated from Taela and he missed her next to him as much. He exhaled and wondered when the day would come when they could all be together again. The night dragged on for several hours before he finally found sleep.

K
alila woke with a start and sat up, her heart pounding as she looked up. Only the ceiling. No Ranit perched on a ledge, staring at her with empty eyes.

A hand touched hers as Lalani leaned over the bed. “You are among friends.”

She blinked a few times, trying to remember where she was. That’s right, she was in Markene. Early morning light crept around the edges of the heavy curtains hung at the windows. Windows heavily guarded by wards made by Katian with linked powers of the mages.

She lay back against the pillows as Lalani pulled away and glided from the bed, listening to the others stirring in the next room. She wasn’t alone. Kalila took a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart. Damn the Fates for allowing Sadira to infect her dreams.

Kalila swung her feet over the side of the wide bed and stretched. Today Markene would have a queen for the first time in its history, and in all likelihood, many hands would turn against her. There was always the possibility some would accept her, but she didn’t hold out a lot of hope.

It didn’t matter. She had protection and it had to be done. Markene would fall apart without a firm hand. A couple of years ago, Kalila would never have dreamed that hand would be hers. The last time Kalila had seen her home, she’d been fifteen. With her coming out ball over, she’d had several men vying for her hand. Beautiful dresses and picking the right husband from among her father’s approved selections had consumed her thoughts. Now at seventeen, she stood ready to take control of the nation, ready to take her father’s place. The girl Kalila had once been was destroyed and the woman that had been forged in the Kormai now took her place—her beauty marred with so many scars, no man would ever want her again.

Not that it mattered. If she never took a husband she didn’t care. All of the things that had mattered before no longer held any importance. Her light blue tower robes were more than adequate. Fancy dresses no longer had the allure they once had.

Kalila slid off the bed and walked to the wash basin to rinse away the sleep from her face. After running a brush through her hair she pulled the sides up. With quick twists of her wrists, she wound the front section of her hair into a neat bun on her head, leaving the rest to fall in honey-blonde waves down her back.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror. The wide, ropy scars that ran down the one side of her face and onto her neck were clearly visible with her hair pulled up. People would just have to deal with it. Kalila stood for a moment longer, gazing into her own blue eyes. They looked the same, but there was a hardness to them now of innocence lost. She searched for any hint of the girl who had laughed and danced without a care in the world. After several long moments she looked away. There was no sign of that carefree person.

Lalani gazed at her from across the room. “It does not do to mourn the past and what was lost. You need to be strong and face forward. How do you expect to see the blade coming at your front if you insist on looking behind you?”

Startled, Kalila turned to the woman. “I thought mages weren’t able to read thoughts.”

The Spirit mage gave a slight shake of her head. “It is true, I cannot see into your mind. However, I can sense your mourning and easily read where it comes from. Reading people is what I do.”

Kalila looked back at the mirror. Lalani was right. Such was life, it moved on. She mentally pulled away from her past and what might have been and turned to face the here and now.

Kalila pulled the light blue robe of the Tower of Air and Water over her head then buckled the belt, a shade darker than the robe, loosely around her waist. She looked up as Katian strolled in.

The older woman smiled. “You have a big day today.”

“I know.” Some of the worry she felt must have filtered into her voice.

Katian patted her shoulder. “Your tower sisters will be with you every step of the way.”

Kalila smiled back and pushed her nerves away until they were nothing but a small ball in her stomach. She couldn’t let any of it show today. If there was any hope of letting everyone know their new queen was not to be trifled with, they could see nothing but calm confidence.

A soft knock on the door made her turn. She glanced into the adjoining room to make sure everyone was dressed before calling out, “Come.”

The door swung open part way and a Defender looked around it, his sharp blue eyes sweeping the room. “Your brother is here to see you, my queen.”