Lion's Bride (22 page)

“In time.”

“If you don’t send her, she’ll go anyway. She believes that she can lose herself in the city.”

“Not from Vaden. She’d need four walls and an army to keep him away from her.” He muttered, “And even that may not be enough.”

“Four walls and an army,” Kadar repeated. “That sounds uncomfortably like a prison. Thea has just escaped from one prison. She would not tolerate another.” His gaze narrowed on Ware’s face, and then he gave a low whistle. “You mean it.”

“She will live.”

“That’s why you brought the mulberry trees here. You were making a nest for her. A safe, cozy nest, behind stone walls. You were providing her with everything she needed to lure her to stay. That’s why you had me bring Selene. It was to be her own little world.”

“Why not? She would have been very comfortable here.”

“And what if she’d chosen not to stay?”

Ware met his gaze. “She would have been very comfortable here.”

“By all the saints.” Kadar shook his head in wonder. “I’ve underestimated you, my friend. I didn’t think you capable of such subtle machinations.”

“I’ll have no more innocent blood on my hands.”

“So you seek to protect your entire world.” He tilted his head. “Was I to be imprisoned in your castle also?”

Ware didn’t answer.

Kadar laughed. “You were going to do it. I cannot believe it.”

“I’m no fool. I hoped to persuade you to leave me, and if you would not—” He shrugged. “I’ve told Abdul that from now on four men are to protect you at all times.”

“So you’re putting me behind a wall of guards instead of stone.”

“Until I can convince you that life would be both safer and more pleasant in some far-off land.”

“But not as interesting. I’d miss seeing you attempt to keep Thea imprisoned here at Dundragon.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but Thea can’t remain at Dundragon. Vaden knows about her, and he may have already told the Grand Master. If something happened to me, he’d know exactly where to find her, and I wouldn’t be here to defend the fortress. I have to find a safer place for her.”

“She prefers to find her own hiding place and take her own chances.” He sighed as he saw Ware’s implacable expression. “I fear I’m not convincing you.”

“How long before her silk arrives?”

“Wednesday of next week perhaps.” He nodded as he understood the relevance of the question. “You’re wondering how much time you have to find this haven? You have at least a month.” He smiled sardonically. “She wishes to repay your kindness by creating a banner for you. Though she may decide to wrap it around your neck and throttle you with it.”

“A month…”

“I’d be curious as to how you intend to find a haven for her in this land when you can find none for yourself.”

“I’ll have to consider,” he said. “But I
will
find it.”

“And after you find it, you have only to convince her to use it.” He turned away. “All this talk of prisons has made me uneasy. I think I’ll go to the tower to see my falcons. Do you know, I’m tempted to set Eleanor free today.”

“You’ve trained her too well. She would only come back to you.”

“One never knows. At least I’d have the satisfaction of knowing I’d made the attempt.”

“Thea isn’t Eleanor,” Ware said. “It would be unwise of you to become confused.”

“You’re warning me?”

“I’m reminding you…of Jedha. If Thea was killed, you would bear the guilt. You’ll have your own Jedha. I promise you that you’d not like the nightmares that would come after.”

Kadar’s smile faded. “A persuasive argument. Perhaps I’ll wait awhile and see what comes of this search for a haven.”

Ware smiled without mirth. “I thought you would. It’s all very well to have a tender heart, but you must strike a balance. We can never have everything we wish. A price must always be paid.”

“And Thea must pay it?”

Ware turned back to the window. “She won’t be the only one.”

THE SILK WAS BEAUTIFUL, shimmering with a pearllike luminosity on her standing frame.

Thea always loved this moment of anticipation before she began. Soon glowing stitches of color would unfurl on that silken canvas.
Her
stitches,
her
design. She reluctantly turned away from the silk, sat down at the table, and picked up her pen.

But what design?

She closed her eyes and emptied her mind of everything around her. Ware. Think of Ware.

She could hear the sound of birds in the trees below her window, the soft rush of wind.

Or was it the whisper?

Not yet. Soon.

Ware. Ware’s banner.

She opened her eyes and began to sketch. It came slowly at first, and then faster. No doubt. No hesitation. Soon every stroke of the pen came with absolute certainty. The picture in her mind was so clear, she could see every detail.

Strange, it had never been this clear before….

“You must eat,” Jasmine said from the doorway.

“Later.” Thea drew the gold thread through the silk.

“Now. You’ve not eaten at all today.” Jasmine closed the door. “And only scraps for the last three days. You’ll become ill.”

“No, I won’t.”

“And Selene says you don’t sleep.”

“Of course I sleep.” She wished the woman would go away. The gold was dazzling against the creamy silk, and she felt a rush of pleasure. Every stitch brought her that same deep satisfaction and anticipation.

“Not much.” Jasmine crossed the room and stood in front of the loom. “I’m not sure I wish to learn this skill if it drives one out of one’s senses.”

“I’m not out of my senses. I’m working.”

Jasmine snorted. “All the hours of the day and night.”

“I want to finish the banner so we can go to Damascus.”

“You’ll not finish it at all if you go blind from working by that dim candlelight.”

Even working by candlelight hadn’t damaged the quality of the work. Every morning when Thea examined the embroidery, every stitch done the night before was perfect. She bent forward and guided the needle through the silk.

“You’re not listening to me,” Jasmine said.

“Leave the tray. I’ll eat later.”

She scarcely heard Jasmine leave the chamber. Another silken stitch, another rush of intense pleasure.

The design was growing, coming alive beneath her needle….

“Thea?” Selene whispered. “Please come to bed.”

“Not yet.”

Selene sighed and settled down on the floor beside Thea’s stool. “I’ll be glad when you’re finished. I’ve never seen you like this.”

“I want it to be beautiful. It’s
got
to be beautiful.”

“If Lord Ware were here, he would not permit you to suffer like this for his sake.”

Suffer? Thea almost laughed aloud. Working on the banner was as far from suffering as could be imagined. It was like living in a beautiful dream and working to make that dream even more true and shining. “Lord Ware is not here?”

Selene shook her head. “He and Kadar left four days ago.”

“Where did they go?”

“I don’t know. But Kadar said he’d be back within two weeks’ time.”

Oh, well, it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but the complexity of the pattern, the tightness of the stitches. No, that was wrong. There was something that did matter. Ware had to be safe. “Did he take Abdul?”

“No. He had a large escort, but Abdul stayed here.”

But Ware was protected. Good. Now she could return her concentration to the banner.

Selene studied the embroidered silk on the frame. “It looks as if you’re almost finished.”

Thea nodded.

“It’s beautiful. I don’t think you’ve ever created anything this wonderful.”

Thea knew she hadn’t, and it was growing stronger and more beautiful with every stitch.

“But it makes me feel uneasy. There’s too much…power.”

“That’s good. A banner should have strength and splendor.”

“It’s hard to look away from it. It fascinates.”

Thea didn’t answer.

“The other bolts of silk came last week. I left them in the wagon. There’s no use unloading them when we’ll need to take them to Damascus. Isn’t that right?”

Just a few more stitches and she could start on the scarlet. What had Selene asked? Something about the silk and Damascus. “You were very clever to think of getting the silk.”

“You’re not listening.” Selene sighed as she got to her feet. “I’m moving back in here with you again. It’s the only way I’ll be sure you get a little sleep.”

“Whatever you say.”

“And an entire army of turtles are eating the lions in the courtyard.”

“I’m sure it will be all right.”

Selene shook her head and moved over to the bed. “Nothing will be all right until you finish that banner.”

It was done.

Thea wearily straightened her back and stared at the banner. Three weeks and the most intense labor she had ever lavished on any work.

Glorious.

The banner still had to be hemmed, but the design was finished. The scarlet and gold leaped from the silk canvas and held her captive. She could not look away from it.

For an instant she experienced a flash of uneasiness. Selene was right. There
was
power here.

But wasn’t all beauty power?

And, of course, she could look away from that splendid scrap of silk.

She stood up and arched her back to rid it of stiffness. She felt strangely hollow, as if she had poured everything within her into the vessel of the banner.

Well, her strength would be replenished after she rested. She carefully took the silk off the frame and folded it. She would hem it after she woke and then give it to Ware.

If he was here. Selene had not mentioned his return. He might still be gone. This chamber had been her entire world for the last few weeks. The castle could have been seized by Saladin and she would not have known it. She would have to ask Selene when she woke…

She took off her gown as she moved across the room. Selene was sprawled inelegantly over the entire bed.

“Move over,” she whispered, nudging her.

Selene opened sleepy eyes. “Is it finished?”

Thea nodded as she crawled beneath the cover. “All but the hemming.”

“I’ll do that for you.”

“No, I have to do it. I have to do it all.” Her lids felt as if they bore weights. “But…tomorrow.”

Selene threw an arm over her and nestled close. “I’m glad it’s over,” she murmured.

Yes, it was over.

“You’ll do it at once?” Kadar asked as he watched the drawbridge being lowered.

Ware nodded. “There’s no use waiting. The longer she’s here, the longer she’s in danger. There’s no telling when the Grand Master will decide to strike.”

“I’ve no liking for this,” Kadar said. “It’s not a good thing.”

Didn’t Kadar think he knew that? “Then find another solution to keep her alive. God knows I cannot.”

“She will hate you.”

Ware nodded and spurred his horse across the drawbridge.

Selene was walking toward them across the courtyard, thin, small, but militant as the soldiers in the column behind him. “I’m glad to see you,” she said. “Why did you not come earlier?”

“Where is your sister?”

“Sleeping. She’s been sleeping for four days. She wakes only to eat and goes back to sleep.”

Ware frowned. “She’s ill?”

Selene shook her head. “Only weary unto death. She wanted to finish your banner before we left.” She turned to Kadar. “Your falcons are doing well. I think they like me better than they do you.”

Kadar grinned. “I wouldn’t be surprised. They probably feel a kinship for you. You have the same fierceness as Eleanor, while I’m a meek and gentle man.”

Selene grunted derisively. “As meek as a striking cobra.”

“Cobras can be meek as long as one is careful not to tread on them.” He got off his horse. “And it’s unkind of you to compare me to a snake. I regard myself as a lion. Or perhaps a leopard.”

“We leave tomorrow,” Ware told Selene. “Wake your sister and tell her to prepare for the journey.”

Selene’s expression lit with eagerness. “Damascus? So soon?”

Ware didn’t answer directly. “Tell her to prepare for the journey.”

Selene smiled brilliantly, turned, and ran across the courtyard.

Ware turned to Kadar. “Will you go or stay here?”

“You think to exempt me from blame?” Kadar shrugged. “I’ve always enjoyed journeys. Besides, the blame would still be mine even if I hid myself away from her wrath. You don’t intend to tell her where we’re going?”

“It would make the journey more difficult for her.”

Kadar grimaced. “And for us.”

Ware didn’t deny it. “She will be happy once she becomes accustomed to—”

“Save your arguments for her…and yourself.” Kadar moved across the courtyard. “I’ll tell Abdul that we leave tomorrow. I suppose we’re taking him this time?”

Ware nodded. “We may need a diversionary force.”

“Do you think Vaden followed us?”

“I know he did.”

“Then he’ll follow us again. How do you hope to hide her whereabouts from him?”

“Once she’s safe, it won’t matter if Vaden knows where she is. She’ll be safer there than at Dundragon.”

“You once told me Vaden could find his way into any stronghold, and that was why you kept the torches burning bright.”

“Then I must make sure Vaden won’t pursue her until he’s killed me.” He smiled sardonically. “And I’m sure that you’ll fly to her rescue like one of your falcons, if that happens.”

“If she’ll ever trust me again.”

“She’ll trust you.” It was Ware whom Thea would never trust again.

“And you may live longer than any of us. This Vaden can’t be as formidable as you’ve said.”

“No? I’d wager he’d rival your Old Man of the Mountain.”

“Let’s hope you never have an opportunity to compare. The old man was not at all pleased when you trespassed on his domain. I barely managed to pluck you away before he sent an assassin to slit your throat.” Kadar sighed. “Little did I know what a problem you’d become to me.”

“You can always go back to him. In truth, I believe that would be an excellent idea.”

“A covey of assassins surrounding me instead of a wall of soldiers?” Kadar shook his head. “Do you never give up?”

“No.” He could not give up trying to save them. No matter what the cost, they had to survive. “Tell Abdul to be ready at dawn.”

“Wake up! We’re going to Damascus, Thea.” Selene jumped on the bed and bounced up and down. “You’ve slept enough.”

Thea drowsily opened her eyes. “Damascus?”

“Lord Ware is back. We’re to leave for Damascus tomorrow morning. We must make preparations.”

Her gaze went to the folded banner on the table. “We can’t go. I haven’t finished—”

“You can hem it later and send it to him.” Selene’s face was luminous with excitement. “Damascus, Thea. It’s starting…. Our whole life is starting.”

Thea wished her head didn’t feel as if it were stuffed with cotton. She shook her head to clear it.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you excited?”

“Of course I am. I’m still half-asleep.” She hugged her sister before slowly sitting up in bed. She felt terribly fragile. The hollowness she had experienced right after she had finished the banner had not vanished entirely. “I don’t know why I’m still so groggy.”

Selene wrinkled her nose. “Because you didn’t sleep for three weeks. It was most strange.” She jumped off the bed and pulled Thea to her feet. “But you can’t sleep any longer. We have too much to do. What is first?”

“Go ask Jasmine to order me a bath.” She tried to think. “And then go make sure the silkworms will have enough leaves for the journey.”

Selene nodded and ran from the room.

Perhaps she would have time tonight to hem the banner. No, she must talk to Jasmine and Tasza and make sure they knew how to care for the trees. Oh, well, perhaps Selene was right. She could send Ware the banner once they were settled in Damascus.

But she didn’t want to send it. She wanted to see his face when he saw what she had created for him.

But her work had been as much for herself as for him. Once she had started, the banner had possessed her.