Rise of the Faire-Amanti (The Ascendant Series Book 3) (7 page)

“Of course ya have, and sure they’re welcome,” Lore said in a lyrical voice. “‘Tis a pleasure to meet ya both.”

The pure love and ease she sensed between the couple warmed Kyr’s heart. “Thanks,” she said. “A pleasure to meet you, too.”

“Come on inside,” Xander invited. “We’ll set a couple of extra places for ya.”

Kyr instinctively waited for Ty to enter the cottage right behind the couple so he could check for danger, though she didn’t sense any intent to harm from anyone in the household. She made sure to enter close behind him to avoid drawing any curiosity, since it was considered more polite for males to allow females to enter a room first. By the time Xander and Lore turned to look at them, she was standing by Ty’s side.

“Why don’t I help set the table?” Kyr suggested, knowing that it was customary for Wrym females to offer their assistance whenever possible.

“That’d be lovely,” Lore said. “Xander, why don’t ya go prod the two troublemakers along? They’re sure to be into somethin’ they shouldn’t by now.”

Rolling up his sleeves in a dramatic fashion, Xander gave a nod and small salute and turned to head towards the back of the cottage where two loud voices argued over who was hogging the cake of soap. Kyr couldn’t see down the hallway leading to what she assumed was bedrooms and a bathing chamber. The main room they had entered consisted of the cooking area and family living space. A long table separated the two areas. She got an impression of a cozy, comfortable home before turning her attention back to their hostess.

“Those two will be the death of me,” Lore sighed, turning and walking over to a tall wooden cabinet next to the cooking fire. She pulled out two bowls and handed them to Kyr. “Thanks, Kaya. There should be room for you and Tavin on the far end of the table there. Might be a little cramped, seein’ as your man is twice the size of some.”

Smiling at Lore’s wink, Kyr turned to make room at the table. She noticed Ty had finished his surreptitious inspection of the home and was now looking towards the hallway. They could both hear Xander taking control of the soap war. Loud giggling filled the room.

“We’ve some spoons in that bin, if ya’ve a mind, Kaya,” Lore said as she lifted the heavy lid off the pot over the fire using both of her hands and a thick towel.

“Of course.”

Kyr reached into the bin for a couple of spoons. When she turned to place them on the table, she noticed Ty’s gaze drift down. A little girl with soft orange curls toddled out of the hallway. She was so small that Kyr had no idea how old she was. Neither she nor Ty had ever been this close to such a young child, though. She sensed his curiosity as the girl stopped and blinked up at him with guileless blue eyes highlighted by long, curling lashes.

“The stew’s ready,” Lore announced. Kyr realized she had dipped a spoon into the broth and sipped it. “Would ya bring over one bowl at a time for servin’, Kaya?”

“Sure,” Kyr said, picking up the bowl closest to her. Her gaze remained on Ty, though. She barely heard when Lore began filling the bowl and explaining who sat where at the table.

“I’m here,” the little girl declared, spreading her arms wide to punctuate her announcement.

Ty’s eyebrows lifted. “So you are,” he replied soberly.

“Careful with this one, Kaya,” Lore said, once again catching Kyr’s attention. “‘Tis mine, and truth be told, I’ve been eatin’ enough for three this pregnancy.”

Kyr shared another smile with the pretty woman, who rubbed a hand over her round belly before turning back to the stew pot. An unexpected twinge of envy struck her as she set the stew in the proper place on the table and gathered up the next bowl. This family had relatively little, and yet they had everything Kyr had ever wished for. How nice it must be to have so few worries and so much love.

And that’s what we’re fighting to preserve
, Ty gently reminded her.

I know
, Kyr thought, shrugging off the unwelcome feelings. Her lips curved as she noticed the little girl’s arms lift towards Ty.

“Up!” she declared. When Ty just looked at her in confusion, she added, “Uppy! Up!”

Kyr sensed Ty’s reluctance as he obediently bent down to pick the toddler up. He held her awkwardly at arm’s length, seemingly unsure what to do with her. The child wasn’t bothered by his obvious inexperience, though. She wriggled in his grasp and used her arms and legs to climb along his body until she was plastered against his side with her small arms around his neck. Out of instinct, Ty brought one arm up to support her bottom and used the other hand to brace her back.

“Oh,” Lore said, spotting her daughter for the first time. “That’d be little Rose. Thanks for catchin’ her, Tavin. Yen-Ki knows she’d usually be over here under our skirts, tryin’ to get hot stew dropped on her head.”

“No problem,” Ty replied.

Kyr stifled a laugh as she handed another bowl to Lore. Ty’s mild sense of panic wasn’t lost on her. He felt as though he might break the little girl, even if her grip was as tight as the seal of a space cruiser’s windshield. As Kyr placed the full bowl back on the table, she noticed Rose pulling at Ty’s sleeve.

“Pretty,” Rose cooed when she revealed the scrolling pattern on Ty’s forearm.

Distress shot through Kyr. Those markings would identify Ty to anyone who saw them. They were the brand of the
Dem-Shyr
, imposed on Ty when the Guardians gave him his abilities.

Reacting much more calmly than Kyr, Ty carefully adjusted his sleeve to once again cover the markings.
Please don’t tell anyone
, he thought to the child.

Through Ty’s thoughts, Kyr heard Rose’s simple reply of, ‘
kay
. Kyr’s shoulders relaxed and she focused on putting the last of the stew on the table. Xander, Ivyn, and Fyrn piled out of the back of the cottage a minute later, and they were soon all gathered around the table enjoying their meal.

Ivyn and Fyrn were full of questions for Kyr and Ty. Their parents tried to stifle them, but Kyr and Ty knew they were curious, too.

“We’ve been travelin’ for some time,” Kyr explained between bites of the delicious stew. Lore had added some freshly baked bread to the meal, and Kyr was struggling not to reach for a third piece to fill the seemingly bottomless void in her belly. “Surely you’ve heard the news from the palace by now.”

“Oh, I have!” Ivyn affirmed around a mouthful of stew.

“No talkin’ with a full mouth,” Lore censured, but her attention was more on Kyr. “We know of the Ascendant’s passin’, of course.”

Ivyn swallowed his stew. “She didn’t just pass, Ma. She was killed by the
Dem-Shyr
.”

“
Dem-Shyr
!
Dem-Shyr
!” Rose called out, bouncing in her seat beside Ty and waving her soup spoon. Much to Ty’s bewilderment, she hadn’t wanted to leave his side, so her tall chair had been placed beside his to keep the peace. Kyr exchanged an uneasy glance with him over the commotion.

“The reports have been a might sketchy on that point,” Xander said, his gaze moving thoughtfully from Rose to Ty and then back to Kyr. “Don’t suppose ya know more than the reports have let on?”

“Well, now,” Lore interrupted, “I’m quite sure Kaya and Tavin haven’t been roamin’ the countryside without good reason, but this isn’t appropriate talk for the dinner table.”

Xander reached over and covered her hand on the table. “You’re right as ever, my love.” Looking back at Kyr, he asked, “Have ya had many adventures on your travels? I’m sure that would keep Ivyn here satisfied for a bit.”

Smiling, Kyr thought of some of the things she’d experienced in the last few lunar cycles alone. “Oh, I can think of a few.”

* * *

Between the hearty meal and the warmth generated by the glowing embers of the cooking fire, Kyr was lulled into a sleepy stupor as she and Ty waited on a couch after helping to clean up. Xander and Lore wanted to get the children ready for bed, so Kyr curled against Ty’s side and fought to keep her eyelids open. Ty idly ran his fingers through her hair, contributing to her lethargy.

She didn’t feel herself drop into sleep, but a noise had her jerking back awake. She nearly clipped Ty’s chin as she looked around, disoriented. Xander and Lore had entered the room and were taking their seats on the second couch across from Kyr and Ty. Kyr gave her eyes a quick rub and sat up to look more alert.

“Sorry,” Xander apologized, reaching beside him and taking Lore’s hand in his. “It’s never a quick process to settle ‘em all down.”

“I can imagine,” Kyr said with a smile, clearing her throat when it sounded a little creaky. “Thanks for goin’ through all this trouble.”

“‘Tis no trouble, and ya sound like ya’ve got news to share.”

“We do.” Kyr glanced at Ty, unsure where to begin.

“We’ve wondered about the reports from the palace,” Lore prompted in a quiet voice. Her gaze moved to the hallway, an indication that she didn’t want to be overheard.

“They’re false,” Ty said before Kyr could speak.

“I knew it!” Xander cried, hunching his shoulders when Lore shushed him. “Sorry, love. But haven’t I said since we heard the news that there was no way ‘twas true? The
Dem-Shyr
was a good man with an unblemished reputation.”

Lore looked troubled. She obviously understood the significance of this news more quickly than her husband did. “I…well, I admit to wonderin’. The tales ‘round here lent themselves to a secret romance ‘tween the Ascendant and the
Dem-Shyr
. The way they said the Advisor caught him…well. It all sounded unlike all the reports we’d heard about
Dem-Shyr
TaeDane.”

“Ya like romanticizin’ things, love,” Xander said with a squeeze of her hand. “But whether or not there was love ‘tween the
Dem-Shyr
and the Ascendant, I can’t believe he’d do such a dreadful thing.”

“You’re right,” Kyr confirmed, taking a deep breath to keep from blurting out just how right they were. “The
Dem-Shyr
was influenced to do what he did. And he wasn’t the only one. Many people have been influenced to commit crimes, and were then sent to the Dark Lands as Outcasts.”

Xander now shared his wife’s concerned expression. Kyr read from their thoughts that although they had suspected the news about the
Dem-Shyr
, they never considered that there were even more problems at the palace. Both of them were wondering how Kyr and Ty had come by such information, whether they were even speaking the truth, and if they had been foolish to trust them so blindly. Lore’s gaze once again drifted to the hallway, but this time out of worry for her children.

“We’ve traveled from the palace,” Ty explained, “where we saw much more than we wish we had. Believe us, we don’t want to be the ones sharin’ this news with others.”

Both Xander and Lore looked less uncertain now. Kyr could tell that they were putting themselves in Ty and Kyr’s position. Empathy filled their thoughts.

Warming to Ty’s approach, Kyr leaned forward with an earnest expression. “No one pays the Wrym any mind at the palace. We go about our business and often see things…hear things. I can personally confirm what you’ve been told about
Dem-Shyr
TaeDane and Ma’jah Kyr.”

Lore’s eyes widened. She exchanged a look with Xander that spoke volumes. Kyr knew she was piecing together what they’d just been told. Lore thought of how awful it must have been for the
Dem-Shyr
, picturing how devastated Xander would feel if he was influenced to kill her.

“When we realized what had happened, we left the palace as quickly as we could,” Ty continued, trying to distract Lore from her disturbing thoughts. “Truth was, we were worried. If such a terrible thing happened to two of the most powerful people on the planet, what does that mean for the rest of Alametria?”

Xander nodded slowly. “I take your meanin’. Great Yen-Ki. What
does
this mean?”

“We’ve been workin’ on figurin’ that out,” Kyr responded. “Everywhere we go, we learn a little more. People tell us stories of friends or family members who did somethin’ out of character, like they weren’t in their own minds. We’re amazed at how many stories we’ve heard, and that’s the truth. Seems whatever happened at the palace was merely one instance of this influencin’ goin’ on.”

Lore brought her free hand to her lips. “Xander, what about what Valyn told us?”

“Do you really think…Yen-Ki, I suppose it could be.” Xander frowned ominously. Looking between Ty and Kyr, he said, “There’ve been stories about the council.”

Kyr read easily enough from his thoughts that he was referring to the Wrym’s governing council. She had met the three head council members, Halda, Nevyll, and Syd, at the celebration introducing her to Alametrian society. She inferred from Xander that there had been some questionable decisions made recently. Not wanting to break character, she asked him to explain.

“As ya surely know, the council has historically been just in its decisions,” Xander told them, waiting until he received their nods. “Well, lately, that hasn’t been the case.”

“Our neighbor, Valyn, told us his cousin was sentenced to work the ditch diggin’ detail for three lunar cycles just because he was two hours late gettin’ his land leasin’ fee paid,” Lore said. “‘Twasn’t his fault the weather washed out the roads leadin’ to the council seat.”

“Land leasin’?” Kyr repeated.

“Yeah,” Xander said. “Haven’t ya heard of the fees imposed by the Ascendant?”

Kyr’s back stiffened as Xander’s thoughts reached her. Apparently the story from the palace was that she had come back from Earth where there were taxes imposed to own land, and had decided to implement that same concept on her home planet. Although Xander and Lore had welcomed the Ascendant’s return and had believed in the hope she offered their planet, the fees hadn’t sat well with them.

“Those fees weren’t imposed by the Ascendant,” Kyr insisted. Although she tried to keep the anger from her voice, she knew her tone was off when Xander and Lore blinked in surprise.

“Kaya’s right,” Ty said, embracing Kyr around her shoulders in both support and gentle warning. “Seems to reason those fees were imposed by the same person behind all of the influencin’.”