The Drifting (49 page)

Kalis spots my entrance and gives me a smile in greeting, eyes twinkling.  It’s obvious they have been enjoying the wines from the Laurel Clan who produces the best lomis berry wine in the realm.  Their brand is the most sought out and most expensive of wine due to the flavor and potency of the
special type of
lomis berries used.  I glance over at Milina and Glynnis as they move to the table
,
Mellis eagerly giving up his seat for Milina.  Glynnis sits as far as she’s able from Ziri, who continues to watch her every move.

“I was wondering when you’d get here,” says Kalis as she slips her hands around my waist.  She clumsily tiptoes up to kiss me and I turn my head so that her kiss lands on my cheek.  I try to pull away but she holds on tight, moving to my side as we walk toward the table. 
I pull
away from her once we reach the others.  I take her by the arm and sit her down in her seat
and I walk away.  I move
to the head of the table
, pulling
out
a chair up next to Alorn who seem
s
to be the only one not drinking.

I look over at Kalis’ men, Dalim and Cili who’s become a favorite of Kalis’.  Dalim has be
en Kalis’ right-
hand man from the beginning and have been at her side no matter the situation.  An older man, a human, I
find
to be a warrior in his own right, honest and loyal to the king. 

I watch Kalis rise again.  She grabs one of the wine bottles and makes her way over to me, her eyes locked with my own.

“Careful, cousin,”
says Alorn. 
“She seems a bit tipsy.”

I sigh,
“Yeah, I get that.  Never seen her like this.”

“Well, it could have been her encounter with Lily,”
say
s
Alorn casually.  I give him an arched look and he shrugs at me. 
“She and Julia headed up to their suites early and they bumped into Kalis on the way there.  I happened to be close by and prevented any of Kalis’ questions to be answer
ed
…particularly the one when she asked for Lily’s name.”

I glance back at Kalis.  Even though she
’s
never met Lily, she knows
Lily’s
physical description and Kalis is no fool.  I have to know if she suspects Lily’s alive.  It’s only one more night and I have no reason not to trust her, but our last encounter gave me concern.  In her state of mind and her feelings about me, I can’t be sure what she
will
do.  She’s only a little tipsy…perhaps I can sober her up and come clean with her.  She’s been more than a friend and it’s the least I can do to save whatever friendship we have left.

“I need to take care of this,”
I tell Alorn.  He gives me a nod and pours water from a pitcher set next to him
and
hands me the pitcher
. 
I get up to meet Kalis
and
take
the
pitcher from
Alorn. 
I tak
e Kalis by the hand and as we pass
Alorn, he grabs the wine bottle from her and places it back on the table.  She
yanks
her hand from me
to reach
for the wine bottle, bumping into the table and spilling Alorn’s water.  He keeps the wine bottle at arm’s length
as
I grab at her hand again, pulling her after me. 

“I have been waiting for you all night,” says Kalis as she leans into me, laughing. 

“Yes, we need to talk, but not unless you’re sober,” I reply.

She tries to pull her arm from me, frowning, “Don’t you want me, Tharin
?
”

As we round the corner, I yank her around to face me, “Stop it, Kalis.  Why are you doing this?  You don’t get drunk with your men, and you certainly don’t do it in front of me or my brothers.”

She pushes my hands off her and steps away, turning her back toward me.  I reach for her, but she moves
farther
away to only turn back on me angry and sober.  “When were you going to tell me, Tharin?  How long were you going to use me?”  She turns away again, shaking her head.  So, she knows.  I breathe deep
ly
and walk up behind her, taking her gently by the shoulder.
 
After a moment, I move forward grabbing her by the hand, “Come on.” 

We make our way outside and through the courtyard.  As we cross to the main tower and around the passageway
leading
to the
Summer
Garden
, I spot Sema, Julia and two men making their way toward the south end of the tower.  If I wasn’t on my own mission with Kalis, I would have followed them to see what they’re up to.  The south end of the tower only leads to a small harbor area where fishermen
’s
boats are located.  I dismiss them for the moment and continue to the garden where Kalis and I have spent many happy moments.

I let her hand go and move to the bench that Tolan and I shared earlier, but Kalis moves closer to the stone railing
to look out
at the garden.  Miniature panswas light up, dancing about like fireflies in the early evening.  I sit on the bench, placing the pitcher of water next to me.  The water is mixed with clear simi berries, a counter to the intoxicating lomis wine.  When I saw it sitting next to Alorn, I knew then that he had planned to partake in the celebration.  But Alorn doesn’t like to lose control at any time.  When he’s had enough, he drinks the simi water to clear his head and cleanse his system from any effects of the wine.

“Do you love her
?
” ask
s
Kalis without turning around.

“Yes. Yes, I do,” I answer
truthfully
.

She turns to me, sadness in her eyes and asks quietly, “And you couldn’t trust me enough to include me in what’s going on?  I get it, Tharin.  The announcement of her death was a cover to protect her, to get her here for the Seating.  But, you made a fool of me.  I thought I was more than just the captain to your father’s guards.  And even if there’s nothing left between us, I at least thought I was a trusted friend.”

I get up and move to stand beside her, facing the garden as she remains with her back leaning against the railing.  “I’m sorry.  My intentions were to come back here and do it the proper way, to tell you in person and ask for your understanding, your forgiveness.  But as the trip went on
,
events happened that changed our course, changed our plans.   Things just escalated and one thing led to another.  And, here we are.”

She’s quiet for a moment, then turns to face the garden.  “You should have been honest with me from the beginning.  I would have liked to have met her formally and move past this, past you.  I won’t lie and tell you I’ll be okay, because I won’t be, not for a long time.  But I will tell you that
we
will be okay…” she hesitates before finishing, “as friends.”

I put my arm around her shoulder and pull her close.  She hugs me back and I kiss her forehead.  Even now I can feel her pain and I wish I could make it go away, but I don’t know how.  So instea
d I hold her close for as long as
she needs me to.  It doesn’t take long before she moves away, smiling up at me. 

“I think we should drink to your upcoming wedding.”  She walks over to the bench and takes the water pitcher, bringing it back to me.  “To you and your new bride,” she says as she offers me the simi water. 

I smile at her,
happy and grateful for her forgiveness.  I take
the pitcher and
take
a long swallow of the cool drink.  I hand it back to her as I look into her eyes and see the slow change come over them.  They’re no longer smiling, instead they slowly turn cold and the smile on her lips disappears as she steps back.  Not taking a drink from the pitcher
,
Kalis dumps the contents out before placing it on the railing.

It takes only a second before I feel the effects of the simi water, but not what I expected it to do, considering I didn’t drink any lomis wine.  It takes another second to realize there was more than simi berries in the water.  The numbness starts with my fingers and runs up my arms.  They fall heavily at my sides as the numbness crawls over my shoulders and down my back.  My legs feel heavy and lead-filled and I feel them move forward, trying to reach for Kalis, but she steps back from me.  My throat begins to constrict and breathing becomes difficult as my lips
go
numb.  I try to speak, but I only hear mumbling coming out of my mouth despite the ringing in my ears.  I look at Kalis, shaking my head slowly at her.  She gives me a sneer and her eyes grow dark.  She reaches out and slaps me hard across the face.  I try to reach out to grab her, but my arms remain at my side, heavy and useless.

I shake my head again, trying desperately to clear it.  My legs go from under me and she catches me, throwing my arm over her shoulders and taking most of my weight.  Although my body seems to have no control, my mind is aware of what’s going on…somewhat.  Every now and then I try to shake my head, trying to keep my eyes open.  The edges of my vision become fuzzy and putting one foot in front of the other becomes more and more difficult.  I recognize where we’re heading using secret passages only my brothers, cousins and I know of, and I briefly wonder at how Kalis would know of them.  Somewhere along the way we’re met with someone else, but I can’t make out his face.  His voice is distant and somehow familiar, but I can’t place it at the moment.  I try to struggle, but my body isn’t cooperating.  The most I can do is throw my head back.

When I come around again, I know we’re in my room
as
they throw me on my bed.  The voice belonging to the man says, “He’s heavy.  You won’t be able to do anything with him,
kitten.  T
he potion ha
s taken the action out of him.
”

“Shut up and help me get his clothes off.”

I try to protest when they jostle me
to remove
my clothes, but again, my body is unresponsive.  I try to focus my eyes where the voices are coming from, but all I see are their fuzzy silhouettes, blurred and unrecognizable…even Kalis.  Kalis.  Lily was right…she really didn’t take the news well. 

I hear her say to her companion, “It will be a while.”  I hear her move closer to him and he gives a quiet laugh.  She offers, “So, how about a drink?”

Then all goes black.

~ * ~

Chapter Thirty-Four

~ Lily ~

I must have fallen asleep.  I sit up, rubbing at my eyes and looking about the dark room.  I reach to wake Julia up only to find the bed empty and our last
moment
together rush back at me.  I lay back down, hugging my pillow and missing my friend, feeling a sense of loss.  I lay still for a moment, sinking deeper under the soft cover
that
must’ve fluttered down from its perch
to cover
me while I slept.  I let the feel of the pillows and blanket comfort me as I slowly close my eyes, letting sleep take me once again.

My eyes
fly
open and I turn to lie on my back.  I promised myself I would see Tharin tonight.  It’s strange that even though I’ve been tired, I thought he would at least come to visit me.  I lift my head up to look around the dark room once again.  Huh, I guess he’s waiting for me to go to him, which is most likely the case.