Quest for the Sun Orb (36 page)

Bredon wondered at the suspicion, storing the hint away for another time.  “Because you are inside of my body,” he said with as much disgust as he could muster, which was quite a lot, actually.  “What other reason could there be?”

“What makes you think I have nowhere else to go?”
Marene asked, suspicion gone. 

“If you do, then I wish you would go haunt them and leave me in peace,” he muttered as he mounted his diplo and turned its head toward the dark bank of fog, having made up his mind to enter now.  There was no sense in waiting another day for the inevitable. 

“I have enough power to hold the demons at bay so long as you remain on the path,”
Marene said smoothly, but again Bredon knew she was lying.  He didn’t know who had cleared the demons from the southern half of Darkly Fen, but he did know that it hadn’t been Marene. 

“And what happens should I veer off the path?” he asked.

“You do not want to find out,”
Marene warned. 
“So, don’t.”

“Very well,” Bredon said, trying and failing to see what she was hiding.  Sometimes he got information, sometimes not.  There was a pattern here.  He hadn’t quite figured it out yet, but he would. 

Setting that problem aside for the moment, he braced himself, urged his diplo into a brisk walk, and entered Darkly Fen without a backward glance.

*****

“Why is she still sleeping?”

Tomas
, Tiari thought from the clouds of sleep that were just beginning to thin around her.  He sounded worried. 

“Maybe she was injured in some way that we can’t see, or drugged.”

“She’s fine, Tomas,” Karma said in a low, soothing voice.  “She’s in shock and her mind has retreated.  She’ll awaken when she’s ready.”

“I want to stay here with her,” Tomas said. 

 “Of course you do,” Karma replied.  “There is no reason why you shouldn’t.  You are engaged, and anyone who doesn’t yet know it need only look at your
egora.”

Tiari wondered what that meant.  “If you need anything, call for Lashi or Caral, or ask them to fetch Zakiel or myself,” Karma said.

“Thank you, Karma,” Tomas said.  “For everything.”

“You’re welcome, Tomas,” Karma said.  “Don’t worry.  She’ll be fine.  Tiari is an exceptionally strong woman.  She just needs to process what has happened.”

What has happened?
  Tiari turned that phrase over in her mind as she continued to float toward consciousness. 

Una.
  Her eyes snapped open and she found herself staring into a pair of worried brown eyes only inches from her own.

“Tiari,” Tomas breathed softly.

She felt tears sting her eyes as her memory cleared.  Tomas pulled her from the bed and held her tightly against him, but she forced the tears back.  She would not shed another tear for the sister of her mother.  Not.  One.  More.

When she was certain she had herself under control, she looked up into Tomas’s face and knew that he was angry.  She also knew, from the tender way his arms held her, that his anger was born of fear.  She reached up and touched his cheek lightly, drawing his attention to her. 

“I’m sorry,” she said.  “So very, very, sorry.”

Something about the set of his shoulders loosened and he took a long, deep breath.  “I almost lost you, Tiari,” he said.  “I have been trying, these past hours while you slept in my arms, to think what I would do if you were no longer in the world with me.”

“What did you decide?” Tiari whispered.

“I cannot go back to the way I was, Tiari.  I cannot be alone again now that I know what it is to have my other half, to be whole.  Without you, there is no life for me.”

Tiari’s heart stuttered in her chest.  “Tomas, do not say that,” she said.  “I cannot think of a world without you in it.”

“Then you understand how I feel,” Tomas said. 

“Why are you angry?” she asked.

“Because you risked your life, and nearly lost it,” Tomas said.  “It may be many, many years before I get over that.  If I ever do.”

“I did not risk my life, Tomas,” she corrected gently.  “I went for a bucket of water.”

“You should not have gone alone,” Tomas said.  “I should not have allowed you to go alone, but that is my mistake.  One I will not make again.  That is not what I meant, though.”

“That is all that I did,” Tiari replied, unwilling to touch the other statements he’d made.  This wasn’t the right moment for that discussion.  “Unless you are angry that I fought back.”

“Of course not,” Tomas scoffed.  “I cannot begin to tell you how relieved I am that you were able to do that, though I have decided that you need to learn to use two swords.  I don’t want you unarmed like that again.”

Tiari nodded, in full agreement with that idea. 

“I am angry, Tiari-
mena
, because you struck two blows intended to
injure
before you struck the killing blow.  You, alone, against two opponents, and you tried to warn them off.”

“I know,” Tiari said with a sigh.  “It was foolish of me.  You don’t know the worst of it.”

Tomas’s eyes narrowed slightly as he waited for her to continue.  “I allowed him to draw his sword after I drew mine.”

Tomas closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe in, and out, and in.  It would not be a good idea to yell at her.  She was safe and warm in his arms, and those that had threatened her were dead.  When he thought he’d calmed himself enough he opened his eyes and looked at her. 

“Tell me all that happened, Tiari mine,” he said.  “Leave nothing out, please.”

Tiari hesitated, but the expression on Tomas’s face told her that he
needed
to know what had happened.  She simply could not deny his need, so she did as he bid, and proceeded to tell him everything. 

When she got to the part where she’d risked wounding Pavid rather than killing him straight away, his arms tightened around her, but he did not interrupt.  When she spoke of her aunt attacking her back, he leaned down and rested his cheek on the top of her head, breathing in the warm scent of her silky curls.  When she spoke of her decision to use Una’s greed against her with the poison ring, he heard the regret in her voice, felt the pain in her heart.  Her hesitation to kill her aunt was not the same as her hesitation to kill the man, Pavid.

When she was finished he called to Caral, and asked for food and drink to be brought for her, keeping her face tucked against him so that her tears would be seen by no one save himself.  After a few moments Tiari wiped her face with the square of cloth he handed her and looked around.  She already knew they were in her chamber of the women’s tent, but she was confused by the fact that she could see.

“What time is it?”

“Mid afternoon,” Tomas said.  “The rain wasn’t too bad until about noon.  Then it hit so hard we couldn’t see where we were going.  Zakiel called a halt and we made camp.  There is no sense risking lives over a half day’s travel.”

“I don’t hear any rain,” she said.

“It just took a break,” Tomas said.  “It will rain more before the day is done.”

Caral entered the chamber with a tray.  She set it down near them and smiled gently at Tiari.  “If there is anything else you need, please don’t hesitate to call,” she said.  Then she turned and left as quietly as she’d entered.

“You can let me up now,” Tiari said.

“I’m not sure that I can,” Tomas argued, pulling her tightly against him.  Then he lifted her from his lap and set her carefully on the edge of the bed beside him.  He handed her a plate of food from the tray and poured the tea while she ate.  As she ate, she considered all that had happened that morning.

“Tomas,” she said.  His eyes met her own and she saw the bleakness there.  It suddenly hit her that he had lost his parents to the beyond.  The two most important people in his young life.  Today he had been forced to face losing her the same way.

“I will not take responsibility for what Una and Pavid did this morning,” she said.  “Nor will I grieve another moment for her.  However, I do take responsibility for my own actions.  I promise you, I will never act so foolishly again.  By thoughtlessly going off to fetch water alone without telling anyone, I hurt you, and placed your happiness in jeopardy.  Not only that, but I risked the very future of Rathira.  If I had died, the Sun Orb could not be claimed.

“My only excuse is that I have never meant anything to anyone before, Tomas.  Whether I lived or died has never mattered.  I am not used to having people care for me, or need me for anything.”

Tomas smiled faintly.  “Do you see this?” he asked, pointing at the gold bead set into the top row of his egora.

“Yes,” Tiari replied.  “I’ve never noticed that bead before, though.  Is it new?”

“Yes, it is,” Tomas replied.  “Today is the first day I’ve ever worn a gold bead on my
egora
.  I spent hours last night working it into the proper position to announce to the world that I am engaged to be wed.  I spent the remainder of the night dreaming of the day I would move it into the center, the position of a married man, indicating that I have found the one person who will be the center of my life.”

“Had you died today, I would have replaced the gold bead with a white one, forever ending any possibility that I would ever wear a gold bead in the center of my
egora
.”  Tomas took a long, deep breath, then met Tiari’s blue eyes with his brown ones.  “I cannot lose you, Tiari mine,” he said starkly.  “You must understand that you matter to many people now, me more than any.  You hold my heart in your hands.  If you should fall, it will shatter into a million pieces.”

“I cannot promise to never die, Tomas,” Tiari said.  “I can only promise that I will never be so careless again.  Will that do?  Will you forgive me?”

Tomas sat his cup down on the tray, then took her plate and cup and set them down as well.  Then he pulled her gently into his lap.  “It will do, Tiari-
mena,”
he whispered
.  “
Now that I know all that happened, there is nothing to forgive.  I understand what you did, and why you did it.”

“Thank you, Tomas,” she replied.  “Now, will you do something for me?”

“I will try,” he replied, hoping she wasn’t about to ask him to leave.  He wasn’t altogether certain that he could do that yet.

“Kiss me, Tomas,” she whispered.  “Kiss me until we both forget all that happened this morning.”

“I may have to kiss you for a very long time to accomplish that feat,” he warned hoarsely. 

“Then you better get started,” Tiari replied.  Almost before the last word was spoken, Tomas took her mouth with his own, thrusting his tongue between her lips with a fierceness that both surprised and aroused her.  The heat she’d felt the evening before when Tomas had kissed her was now an inferno. 

She met him with equal passion, losing herself in the taste and scent and feel of Tomas.  She wasn’t even aware of her own soft moans as the kiss went on and on, breaking only briefly for quick gasps of air.  Her hands were in his hair, attempting to pull him even closer, without her knowing how they’d gotten there.

When he began trailing kisses down her jaw, to the side of her neck where he nipped her lightly before licking the small hurt, her body jerked in heated response.  Her breasts were tight, her nipples so hard they ached, and deep in the center of her body she felt herself begin to swell and throb.  She quickly became swept up in the intensity of the hot, liquid passion that flowed through her, obscuring everything and everyone but herself and Tomas, and the intensity of their shared desire.

Tomas groaned when Tiari’s body arched against him, her need matching his own so perfectly that he was lost in a haze of arousal before he knew it.  He wanted her.  He needed her.  They were engaged, they were alone, they were already on her bed.  All he had to do was remove their clothing, and take her.   

When he lifted his head and stared into her eyes, he knew that she would not object.  She wanted him as much as he wanted her.  He reached for the hem of her nightshift, which had pulled up nearly to her knees, and stilled as a single shred of sense cut through the haze. 

He could not do this.  They could not do this.  To take her now would be to condemn all of Rathira to the
Eschaton
.  His fist clenched around the delicate fabric as he struggled with himself. 

“Tomas, please,” Tiari whimpered.  “I need...something...please.”

Tomas squeezed his eyes shut, fighting not just his desires, but also his need to satisfy Tiari, to give her what she so desperately needed.  He held his breath, his entire body so rigid he thought he might shatter.  Then, finally, he opened his eyes and took a deep breath. 

“It’s all right, Tiari-
mena
,” he said, his voice raspy from his silent battle.  “I will give you what you need.”  He released his grip on her nightshift and slid his hand beneath it and up her thigh, shuddering at the smooth, incredibly soft feel of her skin.  He stroked her lightly a few times to get her used to his touch, then leaned down to claim her mouth in another hot, deep kiss.  When she arched against him again, he slipped his hand to the inside of her thigh, which was, impossibly, softer still.  He ran his hand along the seam between her legs until she parted for him, then, his hands shaking with anticipation, he brushed the silky curls guarding her softest, most feminine flesh.

He groaned into her mouth as he dipped his fingers into the moist heat between her nether lips, nearly climaxing when her body opened to his touch without hesitation.  He explored her delicate folds with his fingers, smiling when she tore her mouth from his as she gasped in surprised pleasure.  Then he found the little nub of her clit and began stroking it.

Tiari had never felt anything remotely like the feelings Tomas was wringing from her body.  It never occurred to her to be embarrassed, or to worry that what they were doing was wrong.  She loved him, he loved her, and he would never, ever do anything to cause her harm.  So she relaxed and allowed herself to enjoy the experience.  When he again caressed that one spot that seemed more sensitive than any other, she saw stars as her body arched and her head fell back against Tomas’s strong, steady arm.  A moment later she felt the heat of his mouth against one nipple through her nightshift, and gasped in surprise again.  Who knew that such feelings were possible?  Karma’s description of sex hadn’t conveyed the true depth and intensity of pleasure involved, and for a moment Tiari wondered why.  Then Tomas stroked her again and the question drifted away on a new wave of sensation.