Tempered Hearts (Hearts of Valentia Book 1) (5 page)

Grinning, he couldn’t help himself. “I’d like to revise a previous statement, if you’ll let me.”

His expression colored her cheeks, so he attempted to tone it down some.

“What statement, Highness?”

“I think your father is likely a very brilliant man after all.”

Her thin, dark brows bunched together in an altogether adorable look of confusion. “Highness?”

Stopping to turn and face her, Darius smiled, feeling lighter than he had in a very long time. “Any man who values a woman’s mind over all else, is a man I have much in common with.”

When even her ears turned bright pink, he had to squelch his laughter. It was unexpectedly amusing to fluster her.

“Arden, dear, are you quite all right?” Duchess Tanarien asked as she and Ingram caught up.

“I… Yes,” she said, shaking off his comment. “Yes, I’m fine.”

The Duchess sniffed and cast an appraising look at Darius. “Well, it’s a bit chilly to linger much longer on foot. I think it’s best we head back for tea.”

His temporary good mood soured, realizing he’d been enjoying himself and had completely forgotten the bite of winter still in the air. “That sounds like a very good idea, Your Grace.” He held his palm out, indicating their path back to the castle. “After you.”

It was strange that the notion of enjoying himself would make him miserable. After all, shouldn’t he want to feel better? Unexpected guilt scratched at him. How long had it been since he had a private conversation with a woman that he wasn’t keen to get out of as soon as possible?

Not since he said his last goodbye to Naya and watched her walk out of his life for good.

The guilt only worsened when he glanced at Arden’s face, seeing how happy she was. If she knew his heart lay elsewhere, her expression would likely have been very different.

Eventually, he’d have to tell her, of that much he was sure, but until then, he’d treasure her contentment.

Chapter 5

Arden

She held it in as long as she could, barely able to close her bedroom door before she was spinning around the room, collapsing on the bed in a fit of giggles.

“It was wonderful, Elena.” She hugged a pillow, still laughing. “We actually talked to each other, and the things he said, the interest he took in me… I feel as though I might burst into a million tiny pieces I’m so happy!”

Elena leaned up against one of the posts and grinned. “You see? I told you it wasn’t as bad as you thought.”

Arden sat up abruptly, fixing her with a serious look. “Can we go see this horsemaster now? I have so many things to ask! If I can get a head start on knowing what his interests might be, I’m sure we’ll get on even better.”

The elf’s shoulders trembled with silent laughter. “Wouldn’t it be better to wait until after lunch at least? There’ll be plenty of time to see Vennic.”

She flopped back again. “I know, I just… well, what am I supposed to do with myself when he’s off ruling or whatever it is he does all day? I might have things to do after the wedding and such, but what do I do now?”

“What did you do all day before you came here?”

“Bothered Paitra with silly concerns about life, read, experimented with acidic and base reactions to various minerals, questioned Paitra about elvish customs and their roots in the culture…”

She was smiling until Arden got to the part about experimenting, when her expression shifted into a mask of confusion. “Experimented with what now?”

“I was conducting resistance tests on different types of metal combinations, but all of my supplies are elsewhere so I can’t really continue until the rest of my things arrive.”

She blinked, then shook her head to clear it. “I’ve no idea what that means, but I’m sure it’s fascinating.”

Arden chuckled. “Admittedly, my favorite part is when I get high-energy reactions with different colored sparks. The fires I could do without, but—”

“Fires?”

She waved off the concern. “Just little ones. Some metals react quite violently with common substances, even water. So long as you’re careful in what you do and take proper precautions, there’s no harm in it.”

“And Paitra knows you do this?”

Standing, Arden wandered over to the bookshelves, scanning the titles for something interesting to occupy herself with. “Of course. She assists me more often than not. She asks me all the time if I’m working my way up to alchemy, but as far as I know I haven’t any magical talent to facilitate that.”

“Thank the stars for that much,” she said as she joined her. “Imagine the fuss you’d cause if the court found out you use magic as well.”

Arden cracked open a book on Genda’ri folklore and rifled through the first few pages. “Well-controlled magic is nothing to fear,” she said. “Anything can be dangerous when not in moderation.”

“Have you ever seen a haegaroi, my lady?”

She looked up at the elf, unsure what she meant by the question. “The Torn Ones? Not precisely, no. Aerenhall was one of the safest places to be during the war. Why?”

Elena shuddered and turned away, her thoughts replaying scenes Arden couldn’t begin to guess at. “My lady might have a different opinion on magic if she’d seen one.”

Wincing at her comment, she hadn’t considered she’d strike a nerve with that subject. It never bothered Paitra much, as she knew magic wasn’t of interest to Arden, but she also hadn’t recently been subject to invasions by monsters conjured from the Void. Looking closely, she saw the emotional scars on Elena’s face, etched into every line of her expression.

Arden closed the book and reached out to her, laying a hand on her arm. “I spoke carelessly, Elena. I apologize. If you’ve need of an ear to listen, I’m more than happy to do so.”

She took a shaky breath, and a weak smile replaced her pained expression. “Thank you, my lady. I’ll be all right, but your offer will be remembered should I need it.” She swiped at an eye and set her shoulders before setting off for the door. “I believe I’ll see about your noon meal. Your mother may have instructions for me, but if there’s no plan for a gathering, I’ll bring a tray up for you when I return.”

Arden watched her leave, still feeling like a heel for not thinking of her feelings when the subject of magic came up, but she resolved to do better in the future. So many in the kingdom had soured towards the use of magic, as it was magic that caused so much destruction, she needed to be more mindful of what she said. She might be of an objective mind in most things, but that was no excuse for inconsiderate speech. Especially given the role she was about to take, each and every word she spoke could potentially be a weapon.

Rather than torture herself over actions she apologized for, she took her book to the table by the window to read as she waited to hear about lunch. A good story always took her mind off of her own small problems, and the Genda’ri folk tales promised to deliver the reprieve she was looking for.

Darius

“Would you think poorly of me if I said I might’ve had a look at the Lady Arden today?”

Darius rolled his eyes, but didn’t interrupt Vennic as he cleaned the hooves of a new stallion. “Think poorly of you for looking? Should I?”

He shrugged. “I was simply curious about her. I saw you while you walked the grounds today.”

“And?”

“She’s very lovely.”

He hummed in agreement. “She is. Her eyes are especially unique. There aren’t many from the eastern reaches of the kingdom with blue eyes, and few with such a striking shade of it. Anything else?”

“She speaks elvish.”

He crossed his arms, grimacing a little. “I thought you said you had a look. Were you eavesdropping?”

Vennic chuckled, but didn’t look up. “Perhaps a little, though not on purpose. I was walking this horse through the apple grove when I came across you. I don’t think I’ve met another noble outside the Imperium who speaks elvish. Not aside from you anyway.”

“And your point?”

At last he stopped, releasing the stallion’s hoof. His gray-green eyes turned up to the prince, a kindness within them that he generally only reserved for when he was about to deliver unpleasant news. “Did you consider my advice from yesterday?”

“Of course I did. Why?”

“It was the first time in six months I’ve seen your heart so light. I’m happy for you.”

Kicking a piece of hay from his boot, Darius scowled at it. “She’s rather difficult to dislike, as it were. I worry for her, though. The lady is only just past eighteen, and isn’t as jaded and world-weary as most of us are.”

“You’re concerned about her feelings then, is that it?”

“She deserves better than me, Vennic.” He glared at the floor. “A woman like that, she deserves all of a person.”

He scooted his stool closer and lifted the horse’s rear hoof. “I don’t think it’s for either of us to say what another person does or doesn’t deserve. And how is it you care so much already? Only yesterday you were fuming and plotting ways to get out of this. What happened?”

“My friends gave me advice is what happened,” he grumbled.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Vennic straighten, slowly turning. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“I’m not saying anything, Vennic.”

He released the hoof without finishing the cleaning to stand, pick raised accusingly. “You like her, don’t you?”

Darius swatted the pick out of his face. “Did you not hear me? I already said she’s difficult to dislike. I’m actually wondering if she’s met anyone she hasn’t been able to sway.”

Vennic grinned like a cat, slapping him on the shoulder as he did so. “Then the rest should be easy for you. An arranged marriage to a beautiful woman you like after only a day? Any other man would think you a fool to not realize your good fortune.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face, frustrated. “You’re missing the point entirely. It’s
because
I like her that I’m miserable. She should be loved, not condemned to a life of only being pleasantly tolerated, and I…” A long, drawn out sigh clawed its way from his lungs. “I don’t think I can offer her any better than that.”

“So, let me get this straight.” He crossed his arms and leaned up on the other side of the doorway. “You say most arranged human marriages are miserable, but you’re a lucky singularity who gets to be with a person you genuinely like and that’s not good enough for you? Tell me, what would happen if you sent her away now?”

Cringing, Darius saw where he was going with his line of thinking. “Her family would suffer the consequences of a severe disgrace, she’d be matched with one of the lordly buffoons I heard mention of, and I’d get stuck with someone I liked far less and potentially could hate in a matter of weeks.”

“Precisely. Why fight this so hard, Darius? Perhaps it’s not your absolute ideal situation, but it seems like it might be as good as you’re going to get.”

“Again, it isn’t me I’m concerned with at the moment.”

“The same could be said for her. At least with you, you know she’d be with someone who would treat her with respect and care. I’ve met many of the nobles here, and I can’t say as much about them.”

“Surely there’s someone who—”

“But it isn’t up to her. You know that. And if you step away from her now, likely as not she’d have very few suitors. It disgusts me how little humans value women, but the truth of it is that Lady Arden would become the woman rejected before her marriage, and who would accept your reasons and not assume the worst of her? Could you relegate her to that fate?”

His frustration grew with every argument Vennic presented, and he wasn’t sure how much more common sense he could stand. “No, you know I couldn’t.”

“Then you agree this might be the very best either of you can hope for?”

“Perhaps,” he said, his temper rising as he pushed off the support beam. He needed to escape and let Vennic’s words sink in before he piled on more. “But meet her first, then tell me you’re perfectly satisfied selling her off to a man with no heart to give her.”

He spun away and headed for the exit. The weather turned while he spoke with Vennic, and a cold blast of wind hit him the moment he stepped outside. Harsh and unforgiving, it was all too fitting a reminder of the hand life dealt him, and what it demanded as payment for peace in a kingdom.

Arden

After two days of almost no contact with the prince, Arden was worried and restless. While Duke Ingram assured her he was simply very busy, her doubts crept back in, making her question whether or not the walk through the castle gardens was as wonderful as she first thought.

She was pacing her room after the noon meal, unable to sit still even to read for all her trying. Her mother had retired for an afternoon nap, so she wasn’t there to chastise the fidgety behavior.

Elena glanced up from where she sat, mending a small tear in a petticoat, and made an exasperated noise. “If you take a look outside, you might see the weather’s finally cleared up.”

Arden’s steps halted, and she looked out the window. The rain that kept her penned in for a day and a half had stopped at last. Without missing a beat, she snatched the sewing out of Elena’s hands and all but dragged her to the door.

“Wonderful afternoon for a ride, wouldn’t you say?”

She giggled. “You’d better bring your cloak, my lady. It’s winter still.”

Barely pausing to bundle up, they fled the claustrophobic suite she’d seen far too much of in the endless hours of tedium and walked as swiftly as they could down through the castle and out a side exit. They passed storehouses and armories, pausing only briefly at the blacksmith stall, and finally found themselves at the royal stables. They took a moment to straighten their appearances before Elena opened the small door beside the larger one for horses and equipment.

“Master Veyrun?” Elena called out. “Are you in, sir?”

“If you’ve come with the hay, just leave it by the door,” a voice answered from a stall near the rear.

Elena urged her forward with a hand on her back, but Arden’s steps were slowed by the loud strikes of a hammer coming from his direction.

She cleared her throat. “Not the hay, sir, but if you have a moment—”

“If you’re not here with that, I haven’t the time today.”

Curious to see what all the banging was, Arden crept toward the back, moving so as not to disturb the horses that looked as restless as she felt. When she peeked around the open top half of the stall gate, she saw immediately what the problem was.

“I’m very sorry to disturb you, Master Veyrun,” she said to the willowy elf with a mouthful of nails and bent over a horse’s hoof. “I can see you’re quite occupied. Perhaps there’s a better time I could speak with you?”

As he looked up and her face registered, the nails fell from his lips, tinkling as they hit the ground. “You’re…” He scrambled to set the hoof down and pick up the nails he dropped. “I’m terribly sorry, my lady. I wasn’t expecting visitors today.”

“Please don’t apologize. I don’t want to cause you any trouble if you’ve too much to do.”

He straightened and sighed, motioning helplessly to the horse. “The mounts keep throwing shoes, is all. I’m checking every one of them to try to mitigate the problems before they injure the horses. As there’s twenty mounts in this stable alone, you see where I might be having a rough time of it.”

“Haven’t you anyone to help you?” she asked.

“Hans and Joli are seeing to the horses in the other two stables for the soldiers’ mounts, but it’s slow going.” He set the hammer and nails on a small corner shelf, along with a spare shoe, and let himself out of the stall. “But where are my manners? You’re the Lady Arden, correct?”

She smiled pleasantly, as he had a kind way about him, though not at all in the fragile sense. “Correct, horsemaster. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Elena’s said quite a bit about you.”

He bowed at the waist, and she met him with a small curtsy. “Elena?” he asked, looking around to where the handmaiden hid herself.

“Yes,” she said, pulling the other woman around to stand beside her, pretending not to see her fierce blush. “I’ve been terribly restless cooped up in the castle, and she suggested we see you to ask about taking a short ride while the weather was clear.”