Touch of Iron (The Living Blade #1) (45 page)

Nora shook her head, confused. When Suranna was so close it was hard not to want to kiss her. She backed away. You couldn’t cast off tyranny simply by becoming a different kind of tyrant. A world in which women treated men the way they had treated women was just as shit. Not worth making.

The smiling queen drew a circle before her with her fingers, smoke trailing from them, pulling a handheld copper mirror out of thin air.

“Look into the mirror.”

She did, expecting to see Diaz in a vision once more. She gasped, hand reaching for her cheek.

Her face was mending. The scars left from the explosion at the Temple of the Wind were knitting themselves together, the skin was smoothing, the damage was being undone. The tingling increased until it was like an itch.

“Shinar is a place of desire, Nora,” Suranna spoke, but Nora was transfixed by her own reflection. “Anything you desire can be fulfilled, child. Anything.”

D
iaz was working through his
sword-fighting routine on his own. Nora stood by the door of their house on the lookout for Shade and watched Diaz go through his drill, while touching the taut skin of her still scarred face. He spent most days in their rooms now, and when Nora wasn’t out making money in the fighting pit, she trained with him again. Now, though, dusk had fallen over the temple, and she enjoyed when the lights softened the gathering darkness into a golden glow.

“Try not to come home drunk,” Diaz called over his shoulder.

She rolled her eyes at him.

“Yes, Mother. I heard you the first time.” She spotted Shade jogging around the corner and hurried toward him.

“Hey!” he said, a little flushed from jogging.

“Let’s go.” She gave him a peck on the cheek and hooked her arm under his.

“Everything all right?” he asked.

“I just want to leave before Diaz gives me a curfew,” she said. Shade laughed, and for a moment the shadows under his eyes were gone. Nora smiled. “So what’s the plan tonight?”

“Are you hungry?”

“No.”

“Do you want to sit around in the library with Owen?”

“Tempting, very tempting. You sure know how to take a girl out.”

“I think I might know a few bars we haven’t yet been to…”

“Great, let’s go.”

“…but if this really were a date, I thought you might want to spend it in a way you could actually remember tomorrow.” He grinned at her sheepishly.

Nora laughed. “I’m game. Where are we going?”

“Somewhere we’re not supposed to.”

“Now you’re talking.”

He led her through the main streets first, then through the industrial parts of Shinar, past the cauldrons of the laundry and the steaming kitchens, down alleyways that became tunnels so tight they had to walk through them sideways. Beyond she saw the light of dusk, an orange sun balancing precariously in a red stone bowl. They stepped into the last of the sunlight and stood in a natural ravine filled with long rows of fragrant herbs, tended beds of vegetables, and date trees as far as Nora could see. The setting sun had already cast a deep shadow in the ravine. The night wind brought refreshment from the heat, the scent of fennel, and the chirping of insects. Streams gurgled their melodious songs. A verdant, vibrant scent hung over the gardens, a soothing balm after the barren red stone. The gardens were empty. No one else was around. Nora took a deep breath.

“Like it?” Shade stepped closer to her and took her hand in his.

“It’s incredible.” So peaceful. So beautiful. She squeezed his hand. “Thank you for this.”

“Well, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t hoped it would inspire a certain…mood.” He grinned. “Come on, let’s walk. There are fields of flowers here, too, for the perfumes. Some only bloom at night.”

And so they walked through the rows of lush green life, content to just be near each other, brushing against each other to feel the other’s presence, sometimes accidentally, sometimes not so accidental. Every now and then Nora would stoop low and inhale the scent of the flowers around her or touch the springy leaves of the plants. Shade led her into the middle of the gardens where an oasis of date trees rustled their branches in the breeze.

“I used to come here a lot,” Shade said, touching a low-hanging branch of a lemon tree. “Hung around an elderly couple who worked here. She had retired from her…work here, and he had stayed with her. Really sweet together. They let me help them sometimes, though now that I think back on it, I might not have helped that much but just ate my way through the vegetables.”

“Didn’t you get enough in the temple, you poor starved boy?” Nora smiled. Shade was wiry, but not from hunger.

“Oh, we did. More than enough.” He hesitated and gave her a sidelong glance. “The children who are born here and aren’t given over to Shinar in sacrifice get everything and more. We were spoiled rotten with treats and sweet things, rich clothes, attention of the Great Mother, and her protection, of course. No one could touch us.”

Nora thought about what Suranna had told her about her own origin. She would have grown up like Shade, a servant of the temple.

“You make it sound like it was a life to be envious of,” she said.

He shrugged and looked up into the velvet sky of many colors. “I didn’t know life to be otherwise. But…I liked life here more.”

They held hands, and turned toward each other.

“Shade,” Nora started, leaning in closer.

“Yes?”

“I’m glad you brought me here.”

“How glad are you?”

She laughed, her lips brushing against his. “Very glad.”

“Undress, then.”

She snorted with amusement and felt him smile under her lips. They shared a look. Then his lips pressed against hers, his tongue hot and greedy. He pulled away suddenly, and they broke apart, breathless.

“Come with me.”

Shade grabbed Nora’s hand and pulled her away from the pathway, toward the date trees. She followed, giggling, pushing branches out of her way as they ran faster, always faster, until they reached a small artificial clearing among the tall trees. In the middle of the clearing was a pool filled with water, its surface black with depth, a cistern to keep the gardens fresh and alive. They halted abruptly, and Nora rowed with her arms to avoid falling headlong into the round pool reflecting the stars, a piece of sky cast on the ground. Shade, grinning, gave her a push and she shrieked, splashing into the cool wet.

Underneath the surface a quiet pressed against her eardrums, the only sound her beating heart. She opened her eyes and looked down as she felt her sandals slip off her feet. She saw no floor beneath her. Only the surface was lit; below yawned the pitch dark. There was no way she could tell how deep the cistern was. She resurfaced and took a singing breath. Treading water, she wiped her hair from her eyes. Shade had bent down low over the cistern and was grinning.

“Are you wet now?” he asked, eyebrows waggling.

She moved an arm over the water and sent a wave splashing at his face, making him laugh.

“You didn’t know I could swim. What would you have done if I had drowned?”

“I’d have saved you.” He threw out his chest and flexed his biceps.

“You’ll pay for this.”

He laughed again, pulling off his shoes as she swam a few strokes to the rim of the cistern. She hoisted herself up and hooked her fingers under his belt, pulling him down with her. As he broke the surface, she flung more water at him, and for a few minutes they splashed around, dipping under, relishing the respite from the heat of the day. Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her close once more.

Nora hooked both of her legs around his waist, nearly weightless in the water. They were still panting heavily from the play fight. Shade pulled his head back as she leaned in to kiss him, a teasing smile on his face widening as he swam both of them to the rim of the cistern. Pressing her into the stone that was still warm from the blaze of day, he made his next kiss slow, burning against the chill of their wet clothes in the night breeze.

“Tell me to touch you again,” he whispered between kisses.

“Touch me.” Nora bit into the flesh of his earlobe. “Oh gods, if you don’t touch me I’ll scream.”

He chuckled and took her nipple between his fingers, playing with it until she moaned and arched against him. She pulled up his wet shirt while his hands moved over her body. He groaned loudly as she squeezed her thighs tighter around him, excited by his touch and his readiness.

“Gods, I want you,” he murmured, his breath hot against her clammy skin. “I really want you.”

He let go of the rim to hold her with both hands, and they went under. She kicked up and broke through the surface the same time he did. He made a face as she giggled.

“I’m sorry,” Shade said. “I can’t. Not here.”

“It’s hard without a foothold.”

“That’s not what I meant. I meant this place…maybe wasn’t such a good idea.”

He let her go and climbed out of the water, reaching down to give her a hand up. The water dripping from them spattered darkly on the red ground.

“We’ll go someplace else, then.” Nora rose, taking his hand. “Come on, show me.”

He laughed without humor.

“It’s not this place, Nora. I thought if there was any place I could…you know…it would be here. At least better than in one of the houses. Better than in your rooms with Diaz watching.”

“What is the matter with you? Why are you bringing him into this?” Nora pulled her wet shirt back down, aware that the chill made her nipples stand out anyway. She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Oh, please.” Shade gave her a look. “As though I’m not simply a substitute. As though you weren’t imagining him whenever you closed your eyes just now.”

“I was not—” Nora gritted her teeth. “Fuck you, Shade.”

“Not here in my childhood memories. Not with the feeling that you’ll get what you need, get up, and walk out on me.” He sighed. “Look. I’m trying not to be an asshole.”

“Well, you’re failing, then.”

“But I don’t want to feel like you’re just another customer.”

He knelt before her among the palm branches, eyes earnest, shoulders sagging, still dripping wet. His blond hair was plastered to his skull, making his features stand out more, making him look more like his father.
Damn it all.
That wasn’t helping.

“What am I to you, then?” she asked softly.

Shade shrugged.

“I’m not sure. But maybe we’ll find out someday.” He rose and tried to brush off the red clumps of dust on the knees of his trousers.

“Someday?” The hairs on her arms rose, but not because of the wind. “You mean when we’re back on the road, like a quickie up against a tree?”

He half grinned.

“Well, no. That’s not what I had in mind. Though I like your dirty way of thinking.” He cleared his throat. “I meant when all this is over.”

He doesn’t know
, she thought.
And I am not the one to tell him. I can’t tell him. Can I?

“I wonder sometimes,” Shade continued, oblivious. “Prince Bashan has the Living Blade and goes off to be emperor. Master Diaz goes off to become guardian of the order in the north or whatever. Owen becomes a pilgrim master somewhere. What are we going to do then? Ever thought about that? Become sellswords like Garreth? Maybe make up our own crew? We’ll have loads of time then. Together.”

Her stomach felt like it was going to heave.

“Oh gods, Shade.” She shook her head as he reached for her hand.

And the hits just keep on coming
. She opened her mouth to tell him he was going to die, then closed it again. What had he ever done to her that she should be so cruel? To tell him people would just use him all his life, right up to the manner of his death—that was no service.

“I, I need to tell you…” she stammered.

“Yes?”

She couldn’t tell him. Suranna had told her that the sacrifice had to be willing. If he didn’t know he was going to be sacrificed, how could that count as willing? Bashan would never get the Blade. And, oh my gods, she really couldn’t tell him, because what if by telling him, he would then choose to become the sacrifice? His blood would be on her hands, whether he went willingly or not. Fucking hell. She needed to talk to Owen. She needed to take Shade in her arms and give him what he wanted. She needed to get out of this temple. And she needed…she really needed…

“I really need a drink now.”