The Jewel of Kamara (The Delthenon Chronicles) (37 page)

Her
face softened as she stared into the wise, old eyes that had guided her thus
far. “I do too.”

She
lay on her bedroll in the early hours of the morning, watching Nic as he slept.
Her father was right about him. He would have chosen love over his duty. Did it
make him less of a man? Like King
Hulion
, who allowed
Queen
Letish
to betray the kingdom? She hated to
think that he would have turned a blind eye if she had done something that was
detrimental to the kingdom.

But
he hadn’t chosen her over his crown. When she left, he’d let her. He didn’t
come after her. He did choose his people over her. Yet deep down she knew that
if she had stayed he would have wed her against the people’s wishes. That was
still choosing love over duty, wasn’t it? But she couldn’t think less of him
for it. She could no longer judge him and expect more from him for the simple
reason being that he is a ruler. She had been foolish, like most people, to
believe that rulers were to have all the answers and to never put a foot wrong.
At the end of the day, they were all human. They all had flaws. And she felt
nothing but guilt for having judged him so harshly in the past.

As
she watched him now, she felt such a strong surge of love for him that it
shocked her. She had not known that she even had the capacity to love so
strongly yet here she was, with a man she loved so dearly that her heart and
body ached for him.

“Nic,”
Tempani whispered and nudged his head with her own.

“Sleeping,”
he murmured.

“Will
you marry me?”

His
eyes flashed open. “What?”

“I
thought you were sleeping,” she giggled.

He
sat upright, almost pushing her from the bedroll. “Well I’m awake now,” he said.
“Are you serious?”

She
nodded shyly, a blush creeping onto her creamy complexion. “In a Kalaowin
ceremony first. And then when you’re king again, we’ll do it again. For
Kamara.”

Nic’s
eyes darkened, and the smile disappeared from his face.

Tempani
reached up and ran her fingers over his lips. “I thought you’d be happy,” she
whispered. “Do you not want to marry me?”

Nic
rose from the bed and pulled on his breeches. “Why do you want to marry me?”

She
laughed softly. “I thought that was obvious.”

He
sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. “I’ve wanted to marry you from the
moment I realized girls weren’t the enemy,” he said slowly.

“But
now you don’t?”

“Oh
no, I want to. Believe me,” he said. “And I will do it to help you unite the
kingdom.”

She
kneeled behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, kissing his neck
as she spoke. “Are we going to celebrate?”

He
pulled her arms off him and stood up, shrugging a shirt over his body. “We
should go tell your tribe.”

She
stared after him as he pushed through the flap, tears burning in her eyes. He
may as well have just slapped her in the face. What had she done wrong? A
proposal was supposed to be a wonderful thing. Was he unhappy that she had
asked him and not the other way around? Kalaowin tradition dictated that the
woman had to do the asking. She was doing the right thing. She thought he would
find it romantic. That he would be pleased. But perhaps he had seen it as too
forward. Too undignified. Or maybe he did not want her now that she had lain
with him.

Her
eyes were red when she joined the excitement outside, but no one seemed to
notice. Or if they did they must have put it down to tears of joy. He placed
his hand on the small of her back but touched her nowhere else. Since he’d
arrived here he’d had no problems holding her hand in public. Hugging her,
kissing her. But now it was as though he could barely stand to touch her.

She
accepted her friends’ congratulations with a forced smile. She nodded along as
Dahlia talked excitedly about wedding plans.

In
front of everyone he seemed happy, but she saw that his smile didn’t meet his
eyes. She couldn’t understand it. He had wanted to marry her for so long, and
now they were finally doing it and he had gone cold on her. What had happened?

She
turned at the commotion from the other side of camp and groaned as her
niska
approached, her face clouded with anger.

“You
can’t marry a Kamari,” she hissed. “Especially a royal one.”

“I
thought I could choose my own husband.”

“He
is the enemy.”

“The
enemy is still in Fenella. Not here,” she snapped.

“What
are they saying?” Nic whispered to Chae as he struggled to keep up with the
rapid exchange between the two women.

“She’s
not happy about the marriage,” Chae whispered back.

“I
gathered that much.”

“You’re
the enemy,” Madoc chimed in.

“There
was once a pact made between an old Kamari king and an old Shiasa to unite the
two through marriage,” said Tempani. “Now we are
honoring
that.”

Her
niska
spat on the ground. “That king was a liar.”

“Well
Nic isn’t, and I want to marry him.”

“You
must marry a Kalaowin.”

“Why?
I have found my match, and he has agreed to marry me.” She was putting on a
brave face in front of her grandmother, but on the inside, she felt like
falling apart. Yes, he had agreed to marry her, but she wasn’t even sure now
that he really wanted to. Was she fighting her
niska
on this for nothing?

“It
is disrespectful to the Kalaowin people.”

Tempani
sighed. She was tired of fighting her
niska
on
everything. It seemed to just be one thing after another with her. Nothing was
ever good enough for her.

“I
wish to plead my case before the elders,” Nic said. “Give me a chance to prove
that I am not like my ancestors.”

The
older woman glared at him for a moment and then nodded curtly before hobbling
away and barking orders at
Keer
.

Chae
grinned and clapped Nic on the back. “You’re one brave man going up before the
elders.”

“Do
I really have any other choice?”

“What
are you going to say?”

He
frowned. “I have no idea. Perhaps I should speak with your father and Darby and
see what they recommend. If things don’t go my way tonight, I doubt there’ll be
a second chance.”

Tempani
fought back tears as she watched him go. She wanted to tell him not to bother.
He shouldn’t feel obligated to marry her just because he’d taken her virginity.
She was sure she’d be able to find a man willing to overlook that.

She
forced another smile onto her face when Dahlia linked her arm through Tempani’s
and once again started talking about the wedding. By the time the elders
convened, Dahlia had planned as extravagant a wedding as possible despite
Tempani’s insistence that it would be a simple, tribal affair. And if they ever
did get the opportunity to marry before the Kamaris, it too would be simple.

She
stood quietly beside her friends as the fire crackled, and Nic stepped forward.

“I
stand before you tonight, a former king of your northern cousins.”

He
remained silent as they hissed.

“My
people turned their backs on me. Betrayed me and aligned themselves with the
man responsible for killing my father. For killing the daughter of your beloved
Shiasa. I no longer belong to them. I am a man without a people.”

He
glanced over at Tempani, and she gently nodded her head at him.

“I
have been offered salvation here. A second chance at life. She has been kinder
to me than I probably deserve and forgiven any sins I have made. In return for
her generosity, I pledge to allow her to shine. To not stand in her path but
behind her, where as a true husband of a Shiasa, I belong.”

The
Shiasa watched him closely, her black eyes studying his every move, every blink
of his eyes as she judged each word he spoke.

“I
will offer my opinion if that is what she seeks, but I will never force a
decision on her. My encouragement will be given without a moment’s hesitation
and my respect and faith in her will never waiver.”

He
walked over to her and reached for her hand. “I will provide her with an heir
so the line may continue. She will be my priority.”

She
forced a smile on her face. It had not escaped her that he hadn’t offered to
love her unconditionally. She just wanted this day to end so she could talk to
him privately. She had to know why, after pushing her for marriage back in
Fenella, he suddenly seemed so cold on the idea. Yes, he had agreed to marry
her, but he didn’t seem thrilled by the idea.

“I
have heard enough,” Chae translated for Nic as his
niska
spoke. “I do not like you, and I never will.”

Nic
frowned. He had blown it.

“I
lost my daughter to a northerner.” She glared at Otto, who returned her stare.
“You all take what does not rightfully belong to you.”

Nic
opened his mouth to argue. Chae elbowed him and shook his head.

“Unlike
the northerners, we are a smart people, and we learn from our pasts. You have shown
respect for us by stating your case, and you have not run away like a coward.”

Otto
groaned and shook his head.

“If
she has chosen you, I will not stand in her way.” Chae paused in his
translation to clap Nic on the back. “But heed my warning,” he said quickly as
his
niska
glared at him. “If you betray our people,
your treacherous blood will be spilled.”

With
that she hobbled away quickly, allowing the tribe to push forward and offer
their well wishes.

Tempani
accepted them graciously, but when her jaw began to hurt from smiling, she
grabbed his hand and forced him to follow her to the woods. When they were far
from prying ears, she turned around and punched him hard on the arm.

“What
was that for?” He asked, rubbing his wound.

“If
you didn’t want to be my husband, you should have just said no.”

“Of
course, I want to be your husband.”

“Then
why are you being so distant? This should be the happiest moment of our lives,
and you look like you’d rather be anywhere but here. And you’ve barely touched
me since this morning.”

“Why
do you want to marry me?” He asked for the second time that day.

“You
know why.”

He
nodded. “Because it will strengthen the ties between the Kalaowins and the
Kamaris. If we win, we will be united.”

She
stared at him. Shocked at what she was hearing. She gripped his face between
her hands and forced him to look her in the eyes. “I want to marry you because
I love you. I know life with you and without you, and I never want to be
separated from you again.”

“And
the fact that I am the rightful heir to the throne doesn’t have anything to do
with it?”

She
smiled as she kissed his lips. “It’s just an added bonus.”

“That
it is,” he said as he pinned her against the tree and kissed her.

“You’re
being pert again,” she giggled. “Just because you’re about to be my husband
doesn’t mean you can have your way with me.”

He
stared at her, and she trembled under the intensity of his gaze. He left a
trail of kisses from her earlobe, down along her jaw and falling just short of
her lips. “I guess I can wait,” he breathed.

She
groaned as he inched his face away. “I can’t.” She pulled him back to her,
molding
her body into his and covering his lips with hers.

—

The
day of their wedding approached and brought with it the beginning of a cold
snap. Tempani was in her tent, shivering from nerves and the cold, as Dahlia
and Zadi helped her pull the brown fur lined dress over her head. It was a
simple dress, but she liked that. Today was about their love, not what she
wore.

Her
niska
pushed through the flap, holding something in
her hands. Tempani craned her neck to get a better look, but she hid it behind
her back.

“Not
yet,” she scolded. She looked her granddaughter up and down and then turned to
Zadi. “Braid her hair. She must wear it like mine.”

“It
looks nicer loose,” Zadi said as she fanned it around Tempani’s shoulders.
“See?”

She
turned to Dahlia and pointed at Tempani’s hair. “Braid.”

Dahlia
swallowed hard and stepped up to Tempani. “What does she want?” She muttered.

Tempani
laughed and squeezed Dahlia’s shoulder as she explained quietly what her
niska
wanted.

Dahlia
nodded and got to work on Tempani’s hair. She worked slowly, fumbling every now
and then under the stern gaze of the Shiasa.

Tempani
found it difficult to calm herself down as the noises from outside grew louder.
People were making their way down to the lake. Soon she would be a married
woman. She would be able to call Nic her husband. The idea of it brought a
smile to her lips.