They talked for what seemed like hours about nothing. Small things they learned about each other, and yet neither of them dug too personally into the other's life. He noticed her beauty intensify with the light cast from the stars and moon. A yearning to kiss her filled his heart that he dared not act on.
He wondered if she struggled with the same thoughts. Both of them had gone silent, and their faces were only inches apart. Her eyes appeared downcast, as if staring at his lips. He couldn't help but stare at hers that only seemed to sparkle more under the stars. She shifted closer, and he responded, making their lips only slivers apart.
Her body tensed, and she flushed a deeper scarlet than she had before. She pulled away and swiftly got to her feet to take a few steps back. Searon stood up with her too quickly for her to escape. He gently stroked the hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. His touch made her suck in a deep breath and freeze. Her heart raced, he could hear it, and he could feel it. He stepped closer, lips only breaths away from her. She abruptly fell back, dodging the gentle touch of his lips as they leaned for her.
"I should go.” Anaela bit her bottom lip with an intake of breath.
"Do you want to?" Searon asked.
"It doesn't matter; I need to," Anaela whispered.
"Please don't," Searon begged.
"I'm sorry." Anaela stalked off into the night.
Chapter 45
S
tarlyn sat on the front porch of her cabin and watched the sunrise. Hummingbirds flew all around her, sucking nectar from flowers; she smiled and held out a finger. One bird looked at her sideways, only inches from her face, before it settled down on her outstretched hand. Not many people could calm animals like her. Even many kheshlars couldn't keep a busy hummingbird still for long, but Starlyn had learned from her friend Anaela. Wood kheshlars seemed much more a part of nature than high kheshlars. She wished she knew more, but as far as anybody knew, Anaela was the only one.
The air was calm and her surroundings clear. Peace. If anything, Sudegam represented peace. Although she was just outside the gates of the city at her cabin, she was still close enough to enjoy the serenity that surrounded the city. She realized how guarded the kheshlars were from the outside world. The king didn't let them stray to the human territories or to any common foes. He seemed to keep his people contained and oblivious to anything outside their own realm. Starlyn wished everything were simple again, without threat, and only stillness. Yet she wondered how boring such a life would seem now.
She looked up as the scarlet humming bird leaped from her finger and fluttered into the air while her dearest friend approached wearing a white dress. A pearl necklace hung around Anaela's neck, and a single azalea was tangled in her hair. Starlyn still remembered the day she found Anaela: alone, bloody, and scared surrounded by the mangled corpses of her brethren. She had been the only survivor of her race. At least, that was what everybody believed. Her memories were lost prior to waking up and seeing Starlyn, and her company that stalked the draeyks searching for her sister. That had been a long time ago, and ever since the two had remained close.
"Anaela, what brings you here?"
"Does one need a reason to visit an old friend?"
"Yes, one does."
"Very well…it's about your charming friend Searon," Anaela admitted.
Starlyn could hear the way she rolled his name off her tongue. A clear compassion, yet fear shook the wood kheshlar's speech. She coughed before looking away and turning scarlet.
"Do you like him?" Starlyn raised an eyebrow.
She knew her friend well and could see the interest in the woman, but Anaela remained so caught up in the rules of the high kheshlars. Starlyn didn't blame the woman since she remained under study after arriving as the only wood kheshlar seen in hundreds of years; the last one seen since their falling out with the high kheshlars. She looked into Anaela's eyes and saw that they didn't look at her, but through her, swirling in galaxies of memories and passion.
"It does not matter whether I do or not. We are kheshlars. It cannot be. In time, he will pass from this world to his creator as the mother continues to give me life until time itself stops."
"What if things were different? If we could choose...haven't you ever wondered?" Starlyn asked. Memories of her own swirled through her mind, of times spent with Noraes.
"Every day…what is your fascination with the human?" Anaela asked.
For a long time, Starlyn had wondered what it would be like to be with a human. She pursued Searon for a short time, intrigued by him since he was the first she had ever seen. Yet she soon realized he was too damaged for her, and his interest wasn't there. Elsargast had forbidden any such activity, and yet there had been no logical reason for it. It seemed only foolish because humans had such short lives. Still, it should be a choice.
"It's not him, it's...nothing," Starlyn paused. "Searon is a good friend to me; he's saved me, and I care about what happens to him as much as I care about what happens to you."
"He is a good man," Anaela smiled. "Handsome and charming too, but things cannot change. I need him to stay away from me."
"Is that for his benefit, so he won't get hurt? Or is it that you're afraid of yourself?"
"Starlyn…please," Anaela pleaded.
"Very well," Starlyn sighed. "And I suppose you want me to tell him."
"Just kind of push him in the other direction for me," Anaela sneered.
"If his mind is made up, there is no way I can change it. He can be...hardheaded," Starlyn half smiled.
"He was there at the lake during the night…and I think he's still there," Anaela mentioned.
"I'm sorry, Anaela, but men will be men," Starlyn said. "I do wonder why he went there."
Anaela nodded and stalked off. Starlyn stared after her, knowing the real reason why her friend was there. If she wasn't interested in Searon, she would have been straightforward about it. Instead, she came to Starlyn to keep him away because she knew she wasn't strong enough to. She liked him and was afraid she couldn't resist temptation. Starlyn had already fallen to temptation, and she wasn't planning on preventing her friend from it. She smiled.
Fate is unexplained and sets its own course. It happens if it's meant to be.
* * *
Searon awoke under a purple-and-crimson sky with a stick lodged in his side. He rolled over to see Karceoles above him shaking his head as the sun rose. The sight spooked him, and he flinched backward.
"Get up, you useless scarecrow," Karceoles said.
Searon sighed as he got to his feet with a yawn. He looked around and realized he wasn't in the hospital bed he had fallen asleep in. Instead, he stood beside a lake and remembered wandering to it late in the night.
"Why were you sleeping next to a pile of deer waste?" Karceoles asked.
Searon leaped up from the ground, searching the area but seeing nothing. He continued searching the ground, even glancing at his armor but neither saw nor smelled anything.
"Made you look," Karceoles chuckled.
"What are you doing here...besides annoying me?"
"Do I need another reason?"
"Fine." Searon brushed off his shoulders and began to walk away.
"Searon," Karceoles called.
"Yes?" Searon turned around.
"Starlyn wishes to talk to you; find her at her cabin."
"Okay."
Searon hadn't ever been to Starlyn's cabin before, but he knew where it was, near a lake enclosed with trees. However, it happened to be on the other side of the lake and quite a walk. He admired the simplicity of her home as he neared it. It was all but secluded without anybody neighboring her, and a thin stream curved in front of it. Searon had to cross a wooden bridge to her porch where a lone rocking chair sat swaying in the wind. He cautiously walked up to the door carved in patterns of stars with holly hung above it. He knocked gently.
Starlyn answered the door with a smile and gestured for Searon to step inside. He complied. All around, the walls were a display of maps, scrolls, and paintings. One fresh painting caught his eye on a canvas by her desk. A hungry crow floated over a battlefield, where a warrior held a kheshlar in his arms as he tried to escape his foes. Starlyn swiftly covered it in cloth when she noticed him staring at it. He only grinned in return.
"I heard you were at the lake," Starlyn said.
"Something woke me up last night, and I went for a walk."
"So you could find Anaela?"
"Not partially. I only meant to get some air. So she saw me?"
"Yes, and she wants you to stay away."
"I didn't know she was there. I walked to the lake to enjoy the view. However, I did not know which view I would come by."
Starlyn smiled, and she walked to her kitchen and grabbed two wooden goblets. One she handed to Searon while she took a drink from her own. He stared at his for a moment, admiring the craftsmanship of the wood; up past the stem were carvings of a moon and stars. Searon brought the goblet to his mouth for a slow sip and was surprised at the taste.
"Wine?"
Starlyn only smirked as she finished her goblet. "I'm not asking you to stay away from her. Only tone it down a little. She'll come around."
Searon grinned and nodded. He finished what was the strongest red wine he had ever had, making his body feel numb, and most of his pain sped away.
"Is there anything else?"
"Yes, where are you staying? They told me you grabbed your belongings from the infirmary.”
"I don't know, but I don't want to be there any longer. Everything is too white. Where is the rest of the army?"
"They are just outside of town on the east. Sh'on is staying with them, as the rest of the captains are in guesthouses. They are growing tired of eating vegetables and fruit, but that is all we will allow them to eat around Sudegam's borders,” she said.
"I reckon I will go stay with them."
"No, you can stay here. There is plenty of room out here while I sleep in the back," Starlyn insisted.
"I don't want to impose."
"Do not be silly, Searon. Besides, you need time to heal, and wouldn't you rather be closer to Anaela?"
"If you insist," Searon responded, half grinning.
"I do." Starlyn tossed him a wool blanket and left toward her room.
Chapter 46
B
irds chirped in a chorus with each other, awaking Searon in the morning. He lay on a couch with his eyes opened as he took in the melody of the various birds outside. They were soothing to him as he struggled to his feet. He could not remember a more peaceful night of rest. The wine had really relaxed him, and he was thankful. The sun shone brightly through the cabin, and he wondered what time it was. It appeared nearly midday, and he couldn't remember the last time he slept so late.
He walked around wondering where Starlyn got off to. She was nowhere in the main room of the cabin or outside. Cupboards were partly open throughout as if she left in a hurry. He went to the back room and knocked gently, feeling the hardened wood under his knuckles. Everything was quiet, and after a moment he tried knocking again before giving up and stalking back to the front room. He took a deep breath, inhaling pine that soothed his nose and throat. The cabin smelled like it was still fresh, and even although pine always held a fresh smell compared to other woods, he wondered if her cabin was alive and still growing. He shook the thought from his head and grabbed his claymore as he paced out the cabin.
Something unsettling rolled inside of his belly as he left. He couldn't think of any reason for her departure without telling him, and he began to worry about her whereabouts. She drank as well, so her tolerance of the dream wine must have been much higher than his own because it put him right to sleep. He stopped in his tracks as he realized he hadn't had any dreams of Victoria or his son. It was one of the few times he hadn't had nightmares of the draeyks’ attack. Shivers traveled down him as he looked around.
He stood inside Sudegam on a gloomy day; the sun hid behind luscious white clouds in an overcast sky. Wind gusted across his face, giving him chills, and he continued walking into the city.
Searon stopped when he found a shop called Herbal Enchantments and decided to go inside for a look. Outside, a pile of gray stones stacked tightly together to make an oval building. At the door, a rectangle of real grass grew while all around it was dirt. Searon wiped his feet on it and opened the door.
Inside, shelves were everywhere with herbs and flowers of every color. They ranged from green to red to blue to white to yellow. Each had labels and was categorized as either seasonings, medicinal, conditioning, or essence.
"May I help you?" a tender voice asked.
Searon turned to stare at the counter where he saw the strangest kheshlar he'd ever laid eyes on. Her appearance differed completely from any other kheshlar. Her skin didn't match the pale blue of the kheshlars, or even pale green of Anaela, but instead was dark milk chocolate. At first, he wasn't sure if she even was a kheshlar until he noticed her silver eyebrows that didn’t seem to match her shoulder-length ebony hair. She smiled, showing her beautiful white teeth that nearly blinded him.
He walked over to the counter and put his hand out. "My name is Searon."
"I know, you are well known, even for us kheshlars. My name is Aliuqa. Is there anything you are looking for?"
"I am just looking. I have never been in a shop like this before," Searon admitted.
"Ah, well, there are some herbs that may be useful to you on your journey; follow me.”
She walked into a back room through a maroon sheet that hung on the wall. Searon followed, and she pulled the sheet out of the way for him to step inside. The silk brushed across his arm and gave him shivers as he entered.
Inside were no windows, but the entire room was lit by candlelight. Lavender candles filled the shelves at every corner and let out a flowery scent. The aromas of the candles and all the herbs were causing Searon lightheadedness. Most of the smells were lovely separately, but as they blended together it caused him dizziness.