Bound (17 page)

She closed her hand over the pendant and sighed. Tavis wasn't coming, she decided. Either he had given up on trying to argue with her or he was trying to convince one of the others to help him stop her. She turned away from the dresser, where the rose from that morning still lay, and let her vision shift back to normal, intending to really get ready for bed this time when something caught her eye.

In the middle of the room, a shimmer was forming. It reminded her of the air over a hot fire. As she watched, it darkened and became opaque, then almost solid, the shape of a man. Her eyes widened as the details formed themselves out of the shadow. A bare minute after she had noticed the shimmer, the man from her dreams stood in front of her: Marcius. Everything was the same, the light blond curls, the ice blue eyes, the smile. Even the clothes, simple, lightly embroidered and in an older style long out of fashion, was the same as in her dreams.

She had wanted to scream when she saw the haze forming, but that desire was gone. She stared, amazed and fascinated. After a moment, she realized that he wasn't completely solid, that she could see the bed faintly through him. The small voice of reason was screaming for her to get out, that she was in danger. Most of all, it wailed that Marcius should not be able to reach outside of the Mirror they had trapped him in because magic was impossible there. But she found herself unable listen. All she could remember was Eliar's doubts that Marcius had killed his partner, all she could see was the inviting look in his eyes.

After a length of time Fay could not have measured, the image seemed to flicker once, then twice. The look on Marcius' face became agitated and he raised his hand, offering it to her, palm up and fingers slightly splayed. She looked at it for a moment, then back up to his eyes, which were pleading as the image began to flicker more frequently. She took a hesitant step forward, afraid of what the increasing unsteadiness of the image might mean. She reached out, unsure what to do and he smiled for a moment before the image disappeared entirely.

She stared at the spot where he had been standing. She shifted all of her senses this time, but could detect nothing, not even a residue of spellwork, and there was no trace in the room other than her own and Tavis', fading now. Marcius had never really been there. For a moment, she thought she must be going crazy, but then she realized that an image cast from somewhere else would not result in anything at its destination, for the spellwork took place elsewhere. She stood where he had been and the room felt empty to her in a way that reminded her of when Tavis had left the night before.

Fay realized after a moment that the pendant was still in her hand and looked down at it. A strange thought occurred to her. Would she dream of him tonight? Had he simply been trying to invite her to their nighttime assignation? Hopeful and suddenly so excited that her fingers became clumsy, she got changed for sleep and crawled into the bed. She held the pendant clutched in her hand and fell instantly asleep.

When she opened her eyes into the dream, she returned Marcius' smile eagerly, but then hers faltered slightly. She could feel someone behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the same faded image of Tavis, only now he was dressed as he had been in the Gardensia. She thought again of how handsome he looked.

"Faylanna," Marcius called softly and she turned back to him. He had taken a few steps closer, but was still out of arm's reach. She closed the distance and, as he welcomed her into his arms, slid her own around him. "Ah, my sweet. I knew you'd see the right path."

The uncertainty in his voice betrayed his words, but she didn't contradict him. Instead, she spoke teasingly, "I know your name."

He froze. "How could you, when I've never said it?"

"El- Someone told me. He recognized my description of you when I told him about the dreams." She didn't know what had made her change her mind at the last moment about saying Eliar's name, but Marcius' reaction to her words made her glad of the discretion.

He pulled back and grabbed her shoulders roughly. His voice was furious as he spoke rapidly. "You told someone of these dreams? Never, you must never ever do that again. No one can know, it wouldn't be safe. Faylanna, why did you do that, betray me like that when I've trusted you? Who did you tell? It was him, wasn't it? You told him!"

Her eyes were wide and she was cringing from his outrage as he shook her. She didn't understand why he was so angry. Abruptly he stopped and released her shoulders so quickly that she fell to the ground. Trying not to cry, she looked down at her knees as she drew them to her chest, seeking to protect herself from another attack. His behavior made her afraid in a way that Eliar's words hadn't. Marcius' rage made even the darkness that surrounded their pool of light begin to turn red. She closed her eyes tightly and told herself that she just needed to wake up.

A hand dropped onto her head and tried to stroke her hair, but she flinched back, her feet peddling on the ground. His voice came from above her. "Faylanna, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost control like that. I know you don't really understand what's going on here, how dangerous it is to speak of this, but it is. There are those who would try to come between us, and I wouldn't survive that. I need you, I've told you how much I need you, my sweet."

She looked at him, hunkered down in front of her, responding to the regret in his voice, but still a little frightened. He held a hand out to her, but she didn't take it and his face fell. "I suppose they told you how horrible I am, that I'm a murderer and worse."

"I- They said, well, they weren't convinced about the murder."

He tilted his head. "Truly? I thought everyone believed the lies. Faylanna, I was innocent of it all. But I guess I'll never be able to make you believe that now. Do you see why I wouldn't speak my name? I knew it would only poison you against me."

Marcius turned and began to walk away, his head down. She scrambled to her feet, turning as she did so. A distant part of her noted that Tavis was gone, but she was already up and calling out, "Marcius, no. Don't go. I didn't mean- I don't believe them. If you were innocent of one, why not all of it? I believe you."

He turned back to her so fast that she nearly stopped in surprise. He pulled her close and nearly crushed her to his chest, whispering into her hair, his voice rough with an odd combination of relief and need. "My Faylanna. Always be mine. I must have you. Surely you can feel the same yearning for me that I have for you. We were made for each other. He can never give you that, never offer you even part of what I can. He can never be worthy of you."

One of his hands slid down to grip her waist, holding her against him as he leaned back to look at her. His eyes were suddenly full of a hunger she didn't understand and in her surprise at the change, she tried to pull back. He held her fast and placed his lips on hers in a deep, passionate kiss that she could not help responding to as everything outside of the two of them retreated from her senses. As she kissed him back it only seemed to increase his frenzy. Suddenly his hands were everywhere, caressing her hair, her neck, down her side. There was a moment of confused disorientation when she realized that his hands were on her bare back, fingers running down along the ridge of her spine. At the same time, she realized that she was pressing herself against his naked torso and she wondered where their clothes had gone. The only thing remaining on her was the pendant. She began to wonder why that had remained, but then his lips on hers parted, hers going with them, and his tongue was in her mouth, thoroughly distracting her from thinking. A hand cupped her breast while the other continued to slide down her back, caressing the swell of her buttocks, then her hip. His mouth released hers finally, and, as she tried to recover her breath, she felt his tongue glide over her stiffened nipple. She gasped as the sensation shivered through her. His hand caressed down the outside of her thigh then began up the inside, his fingers trailing lightly along her skin.

A sudden shaft of sunlight brought Fay instantly to full, slightly disoriented consciousness. Her breathing was ragged and fast and she could feel sweat covering her whole body, except where the pendant lay against her chest. That was still cool to the touch. Her eyes finally adjusted to the light and she saw a maid bustling around the room.

"What's going on?" Fay asked, still collecting herself after that dream.

"Mistress Lydia sent me up to wake you while there was still breakfast, Visconta. She said that you wouldn't want to miss it," the maid replied as she dropped a curtsey.

This did not help as much as Fay had thought it would. She rubbed sleep from her eyes, starting to sit up. "What time is it?"

"Nearly mid-morning." The maid curtsied again and left the room.

Fay sat on the edge of the bed, fingering the pendant, trying to understand how she could have slept so long. She shook her head and threw back the covers, crossing the room to get dressed. She saw a package on the dresser beside her bags, a note tied to the string that held the package closed. She took the note and read it.

Faylanna, welcome back to Rianza. - Soval.

With delight, she untied the package and lifted out a deep green dress made of fine linen with gray silk accents along the sleeves. More gray silk was cross-tied around the bodice. She put it on immediately, and was amazed to find it was exactly her measure, though Soval hadn't made anything for her in years. She would have to visit to thank him.

As she admired the dress in the mirror, the pendant again caught her eye. She knew she wouldn't be able to leave it behind, but also that she shouldn't wear it where anyone might see, and the way the square neckline of the dress was cut, it wouldn't be possible to hide the pendant. She didn't understand her reluctance to be seen with it, when it so clearly belonged with her, but then a memory of her dream with Marcius distracted her, causing a flush to rise in her cheeks and her breath to quicken again. After a few moments to collect herself, she took it off and put it in a discreet pocket at the side, just below the waist of the dress. She hummed as she went downstairs.

Chapter 11

As Fay walked into the dining room, the sound of the continuing debate washed over her. She sat down as they all stopped speaking and grabbed a pastry, as well as a cup of tea. Tavis glanced up at Ki with a sour expression, but he was busy reading a sheet of paper and seemed not to notice. Eliar and Lydia were focusing on their breakfast, as if to avoid meeting Fay's eyes. She wasn't sure how to interpret the situation and waited for someone to break the silence.

"Faylanna, we appreciate the offer you've made, particularly given your feelings about Calder," Eliar began, and her heart sank. She already knew the rest, but let him continue, "but we can't put you in this kind of danger, not to mention the potential danger to everyone else if he were to use the opportunity to take you away with him. We still don't know enough about his plans to judge that risk."

"That's exactly why I offered, because we don't know enough." She paused, trying to control her own rising irritation. No one spoke, so she went on, losing her battle and hearing the anger in her voice. "So you're just going to let him do whatever he's planning? Are you going to do anything to stop him?"

"Of course we don't intend to let him continue unchecked," Eliar said stiffly. "We will find a way to discover his plan that doesn't endanger you. Tavis is right. There's a reason we went to so much trouble to get you into the city undetected. Yesterday's outing went well, but you were in company the whole time. Also, I'm sure that Calder now knows that you're in the city, even if he doesn't know where you are, and he's likely ready to take you on a moment's notice. You have no idea how badly he wants you back in his grasp, but we do."

"I don't know how badly he wants me?" Fay tossed the remains of her breakfast back down onto her plate and stood up angrily. "I had to flee Voleno and practically ride down two of the men he sent to detain me! How can you think I am unaware that his overriding desire is to see me back at Iondis?"

She glanced around the table and saw that only Ki would meet her gaze. His own was firm, unyielding, and she knew then that no argument from her would budge them. Before any of them could speak, she whirled and left the room, not even caring where she went. She pushed open the first door she came to and found herself in the kitchen. Continuing through, she went out a door that promised sunlight and air. Laid out before her was a garden, private and surrounded by a stone wall covered in trailing greenery. A burbling sound drew her along the path to a small pond fed by a cascading fountain. She lowered herself to the stone bench beside it and tried to make herself think rationally.

Why didn't they trust that she knew what she was doing? She was certain that, on his own, her father couldn't force her to do anything, no matter what they believed about this agreement he'd supposedly made. She knew she was stronger than him, something that Eliar at least had to be aware of, so she didn't understand why they refused to let her do this. She wondered if they still thought that she was like her father. They couldn't believe that she would go willingly with him even given the opportunity, not all of them. Not Tavis, certainly, she thought. A hot tear flowed down her cheek at the thought of him. The one person she had believed would understand her relationship with her father was standing in the way as she tried to stop him. I have to find a way, she thought, a way out of this house that they won't see. She knew the front door was out of the question. She rejected the idea of the windows in the sitting room too, and not just because that wouldn't be dignified. She was certain that they wouldn't let her near the front of the house alone. She knew too little of the house to even be sure that there was another way out besides the main doors.

Frustrated, Fay stood and walked along the path in the garden, trying to think. As the path began to loop back toward the house, she saw a break in the ivy-covered wall. Her heart nearly burst with delight as she saw a closed wooden gate blocking an arch in the stone. A glance around told her that no one could see her. She put her hand on the iron latch, which moved soundlessly, allowing her to slip out and close the gate behind her. She joined the morning traffic moving along the somewhat familiar avenue and lost herself in the crowd, happy to have found a way around them all.