Errant Spark (Elemental Trials Book 1) Page 8

  While they stood outside Clarity’s stall, talking of nothing, a series of small, surreptitious noises and a quiet growl caught the mage’s attention. Putting a finger to his lips to silence her, he spun on his heel and jerked open the door of the next stall.

  Torina Kylan tumbled out and onto her hands and knees in the straw at his feet, Astraeus bounding out after her. She blinked up at them in surprise, her mouth opening on a startled ‘o’. Hay was stuck to her gown and she had a smudge of dust on the tip of her nose.

  “Kylan!” Sarene cried, stamping her foot in outrage and ignoring the eager pup bouncing around her in excited circles. “What are you doing in here? Where’s your nurse?”

  “I’m not a baby, Sarene. I don’t need a nurse all the time!” Her expression changed to one of uncertainty and she looked at Jex. “I was bored, and lonely. I saw you coming and so I hid, because I thought, since you were with Sarene, you’d send me away if you saw me.”

  “And you were right.” Sarene sniffed and folded her arms. “Listening to private conversations is very unbecoming to a torina. I should tell Mama. You know she doesn’t like it when you do this.”

  “No!”

  The two sisters glared at each other. Astraeus returned to his mistress’ side and whined softly. Kylan buried one hand in the fur at the scruff of his neck and scratched him distractedly.

  After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Jex cleared his throat. He put out a hand and pulled Kylan to her feet, helping her brush away the clinging debris, and patting the dog’s head once or twice. Sarene threw up her hands.

  “You shouldn’t be out here alone. Come along and we’ll take you back inside.” She started towards the open stable doors.

  Kylan put her hands on her hips. “No. I don’t want to go inside. It’s hot in my room and Nurse is no fun today.”

  “You’re going in.”

  “I’m not!”

  Jex interrupted before the argument could escalate. “She doesn’t have to go. I don’t mind her staying, if you don’t.”

  “Well, I do!” She rounded on him in fury. “I have no intention of spending my afternoon with a baby and her smelly dog clinging to my skirts. If you want to, that’s your own business.”

  Jex looked just as startled as Kylan had a moment before. “Come now, Sarene—”

  “Don’t patronize me! I cannot and will not tolerate their presence. If you’re going to insist she stay, then you two are welcome to each other. I’m going inside to find more suitable company! Come and find me, sir mage, when you’re done playing with children.” She stormed away and they watched her go.

  “Well that was certainly uncalled for,” Jex commented after a few moments, “Is she always like that when she doesn’t get her way?”

  “Yes. She never wants me around.” Kylan scowled at the swiftly-retreating back of her sister. “She says I stole Mama from her when I was born, and I sort of think she hates me.” Her scowl melted and tears welled in her doe-like eyes. Astraeus leaned his head against her leg with a mournful sigh.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Jex countered, “No one could hate you.” He reached out and rubbed his thumb against her cheek, catching the single tear that fell. She gave him a wavery smile.

  “You really don’t mind if we stay with you?” The little girl sounded hopeful, fit to break his heart.

  “Of course not. You seem to be more pleasant company than your sister just now, anyway.” Jex shot an acid look in the direction Sarene had gone. True, the little torina’s spying had been clumsy and impolite, but the older girl’s explosion of temper had been a severe overreaction. There was nothing wrong with a healthy dose of curiosity, after all.

  Kylan sniffled and hugged him, arms wrapping around his waist and squeezing tightly. A little startled by the act, he quickly recovered and returned the embrace, rubbing her back with one hand. When she stepped away a minute later, her tears had vanished. She seemed to be as naturally cheerful as she was affectionate and he suspected, if the eavesdropping had been any indication, mischievous as well.

  “Is your horse here?” she asked brightly, her brief unhappiness clearly forgotten.

  “He is indeed. Would you like to meet him?”

  “Yes, please!”

  Kylan and Astraeus followed Jex down the wide cobblestone row. Horses of all sizes and colors poked their noses out of stalls and whickered at them as they passed. Stopping before a stall near the very back, Jex tapped on the wooden half door and clucked his tongue. The blood bay stallion within whinnied and kicked at the door with one hind hoof, making Kylan jump and back away. Astraeus growled softly, hackles raised.

  “That’s enough, you,” Jex scolded. The horse turned around and put his head over the door, butting it playfully into the mage’s chest. Jex stumbled back a step, laughing, and ran a hand over the velvety nose. The animal blew out a short breath and rested his chin on the mage’s shoulder.

  “He’s very big,” Kylan said in a small voice, “Does he bite?”

  “Not anyone I don’t tell him to. Isn’t that right, Phetos?” the mage cooed. The stallion snorted and tossed his dark mane, then began nuzzling Jex’s tunic for hidden treats. Discovering only empty pockets, he nipped his owner and Jex let out a startled yelp. The smack he gave the animal was met with bared teeth and narrowed eyes.

  The torina giggled. “You named your horse after the hero in Absent Winter?”

  “As a matter of fact, I did.” Jex turned to her, surprised. He shoved Phetos’ head away from his own with a grumble and another warning to behave. “How did you know that?”

  Kylan gave him a lofty smile. “I read a lot.”

  She produced a cube of sugar from her pocket and offered it up to the animal. He lipped it delicately off her flattened palm, whiskers tickling her small fingers.

  “I think you’ve just made a friend for life.” Jex crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, well out of biting range. He kept a watchful eye on Phetos as he spoke. “What else do you read?”

  “Everything,” she answered, reaching up to scratch under Phetos’ chin, “I liked Absent Winter, but Dragons in the Mist is my favorite. I’ve read it three times.”

  “’There is no adventure so great as that in a book. If a traveler cannot enjoy the journey over and over again, and find something new each time, there is no use in reading at all‘,” Jex quoted.

  “E.N. Moranscote,” Kylan supplied at once.

  He squinted at her in mock suspicion. “Aren’t you nine?”

  “Almost ten!”

  “I didn’t read Moranscote till I was twelve.”

  “Mama likes him and she reads to me at night, or at least she did before she started getting so tired. She taught me to read when I was…” she considered, then shrugged. “I don’t know, but I was little. I can’t remember a time when I couldn’t read.”

  “You live in the perfect place, then, little torina. The Imperial library is unrivaled.”

  “You can call me Kylan.”

  He sketched her a quick bow. “And you may call me Jex, if you like.”

  “Does Turris Arcana have a library, Jex?”

  “It does, though not so grand a one as yours.” His quiet exhale was one of longing. “A deficiency I mourn most regularly.”

  “Did you bring any books from there?”

  He produced a slim volume from within his tunic and showed it to her. Giggling, she dug into a pocket of her skirt and pulled out a book of her own. Jex caught the half-eaten apple that tumbled out after it and tossed it to Phetos, who began crunching contentedly.

  “I overheard Sarene talking about a tour. Did she take you to the library?”

  Had the little girl been following them from the beginning? He dismissed the idea even as it came; he’d have seen her, or at the very least, heard her or Astraeus at some point.

  As if reading his thoughts, she answered the unspoken question. “I was coming out of Mama’s room when she offered to show you around. I know how m
uch she likes the horses, so I figured you’d end up here eventually. I came in and waited.” She put her book away. “How did you know I was here, anyway?”

  “I heard you moving in the straw, you sighed once, and the door creaked when you leaned against it,” he answered without hesitation, “The little noises will give you away every time, and so will the dog.”

  Kylan looked crestfallen. “Oh. I thought I was being really quiet.”

  He patted her shoulder in consolation. “Lurking without being discovered is a skill that takes practice and patience to learn.”

  “Do you know how to do it?”

  The smile he gave her was enigmatic. “I might.”

  “Want to see the library?”

  “Lead on.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Mama, I’ve sent for one of the kvinnas from Cyril.”

  Aelani looked up from the pool of saffron embroidery silk in her lap. Her oldest daughter stood at the threshold of the sunny day room, her hands clasped behind her back and earnest concern creasing her brow.

  “Anya, I’m fine. It’s early yet and every pregnancy is different. I may be more tired than I remember, but nothing is amiss, daughter mine.” Aelani tried to soothe her eldest, though a secret niggle of anxiety wormed its way through her belly. She patted the cushioned seat beside her. “Come and sit with me awhile. Your uncles have just left and I find myself wanting the company of my children.”

  “The Grand Council?” she guessed, “Papa told me about their proposal. It’s ridiculous and they should know better.”

  The tora nodded. “Yes, indeed they should, but some things never change.” She patted the seat beside her again.

  Anya came into the room and settled beside her mother, but persisted solemnly. “I’m still worried. Vasi de’Curande is the best healer and midwife in all Egalion and she would be discrete. I’ve gotten to know her well in the last few years and I’d feel better with her in attendance. You’re…” she trailed off.

  Aelani’s rich laugh rang through the room. “I’m too old for another child, is what you were going to say. It’s true, love, and there’s no use dancing around the point. I didn’t expect to bear any more after Kylan, but the Goddess has blessed us and everything will be fine. You’ll see.” She set the little tunic she’d been working on aside and took her daughter’s hands. “Besides, your uncles will be with me, as they were when each of you was born. This baby has brought our family together in one place, and it’s been far too long since that happened.”

  Anya set her jaw and drew herself up, a pose Aelani guessed she’d learned from either the kvinnas or her father. “Nevertheless, Vasi will be here within a fortnight, or perhaps a little longer. Please, Mama, it couldn’t hurt. I know it’s barely past midsummer, but the sooner she’s here the better Papa and I will feel. Especially with things…as they are.”

  Aelani gave up and nodded her agreement. Anya was like Brinon; prone to worry and with little patience for uncertainty and even less for formal channels. There were hints of Eryk in her daughter as well, and the likeness had only become more apparent as she grew older. Once a plan of action was set, there was no stopping them.

  She sighed. If it eased their minds for one of the sisters to be present, then she would not object, and if Anya had already sent for the woman as she’d said, there was nothing to be done about it now anyway.

  Truth be told, she was bothered by her pregnancy. She was in her forty-fifth year, an age at which most women did not bear children and she truly had believed herself incapable of conceiving again. This baby exhausted her as none of her three previous had and it was starting to interfere with her duties as tora, loathe as she was to admit it. The evidence of her lessening ability to actively participate in matters of state was getting hard to ignore, as proven by the recent visit of her twin brothers.

  Eryk and Jordin had gravely discussed the events of the council meeting from earlier that week, a meeting she had missed because she was too tired and ill to rise from her bed. Anger blossomed in her breast as she recalled what they’d said about the scheme put forth by Councilors Porcus and Wastrel. Long had she struggled with those two and it seemed that they, along with several of the more avaricious members of the Grand Council, would waste no time in raising their ugly heads in her absence. How they continued to be reelected every term was beyond her, and she could only assume bribery or intimidation was involved. Investigations had never turned up any solid proof of such behavior, and thus they returned year after year to complicate an already tedious process.

  How dare they suggest marrying her seven-year-old daughter to a man who was old enough to be her father! It was an appalling notion, even for them. Yet it was also clever in a way that was unlike their usual machinations and she had to wonder if they’d truly been the engineers of the proposal.

  Thankful as she was for the support and intervention of her brothers, she felt a stab of guilt for having left Brinon to face the vultures alone. He was more than capable of handling them, she knew, but she still felt she should have been there to remind everyone that they were a united front in all things. He’d come to her after the meeting, but had said nothing of the council’s designs and her brothers had discussed it for several days before bringing it to her attention. Hurt was liberally mingled with the guilt she felt.

  At that instant, the door flew open and Kylan skipped in, dragging an amused-looking Battlemage Xander in her exuberant wake. Jex halted just inside the doorway and somehow managed to give a neat genuflection, even while her daughter was pulling on his sleeve. Aelani hid a smile behind her hand.

  “Mama, Mama!” the girl cried, hopping up and down in her excitement. “Guess what?”

  “Kylan,” Anya interjected with patient affection, “there’s no need to shout. I’m sure the kitchen doesn’t need to hear your news.”

  The little girl sighed noisily, rolled her eyes, and lowered her voice to something less than glass-shattering, though none of her eagerness was lost with the diminished volume. “Guess what?”

  Aelani smiled. “What?”

  “No, Mama! Guess!” she insisted.

  “I haven’t the slightest clue, other than that it must have something to do with your new friend,” she replied with a laugh, throwing her hands up in surrender.

  Kylan clapped and bounced on the balls of her feet. “Jex speaks Atromorese and he promised to teach me! And he’s read Absent Winter and Dragons in the Mist and—”

  “Wait a minute!” the mage protested, “I told you to ask your mother first!”

  Anya blinked in surprise. “Do you indeed speak Atromorese?”

  He ducked his head. “I do, Torina Anya.””

  “Fluently?” she pressed, head tilting slightly in interest. A contemplative expression crossed her face, and anyone who’d spent time in the presence of Tor Brinon would have recognized it at once. More than ever in that moment, Anya was her father’s child.

  “Yes, and I read and write it as well, although, I’d rather it not become widely known if you don’t mind. I didn’t intend for your sister to find out, but it seems her little ears are more perceptive than I would have thought”

  The mage was starting to look a little self-conscious. He ran a nervous hand over his hair. Atromorese were widely hated and feared in Egalion, and he had more than his own safety to consider. This situation had the potential to become extremely complicated.

  After a quick look at her mother, Anya agreed to his request. Jex couldn’t help his parentage and she had no wish to bring strife to him.

  “You have my word, Battlemage Xander. None will learn of this from me.”

  “Thank you.”

  The conversation drifted to other topics, but Aelani had retreated into her own thoughts, allowing the ebb and flow of voices to wash around her. It was clear that Jex feared discovery, and not just for his own sake. She, at least, had known his secret long before this day, however.

  Eryk had come to her years and years ago
, accompanied by Jex’s terrified young guardian. Jex, it seemed, had been caught in the act of lifting her brother’s coin purse in the market. The child had easily evaded the city guard, using what Eryk described as ‘quite clever and advanced illusion magic for someone with no training’. He’d followed the five-year-old thief home and sought permission to take the boy to Turris Arcana for instruction. Upon discovering the family was in the kingdom illegally, he’d asked his sister and brother-in-law for papers. They’d provided them, after hearing the woman’s tale and Eryk’s, but it appeared Jex didn’t know that.

  She would ask her brother about it later, but for now the beginnings of a plan came to her. She tugged mental strings and gathered tendrils of thought until she had the makings of what she hoped would save her Kylan.

  “Girls,” the tora said softly, “leave us. I wish to speak to our guest alone.”

  “But, Mama. Can he teach me? Please?” Kylan pleaded, “Pretty, pretty please?”

  “Let me discuss it with your father first, my love,” Aelani answered, “Now go with your sister. Anya?”

  “As it please you,” Anya replied at once, rising to her feet and bending to kiss her mother’s cheek. “I’ll come back and have tea with you later, if you wish.”

  “I would like that very much. Come and kiss me before you go, Kylan?” Aelani held out her hands and her daughter came forward and put her arms around her carefully. Her growing belly between them made the embrace a little awkward and Aelani had to lean forward to receive the asked-for kiss. Kylan gave it with a giggle, then gingerly placed both palms on her mother’s stomach.

  “Can I kiss the baby, too?”

  “Of course you can.” She heard the mage cough and over Kylan’s dark head, she saw him politely avert his eyes.

  Kylan then insisted it would be unfair for Jex to be left out and stood before him with her face raised until he capitulated. Taking a knee to bring himself on a level with her, he accepted the kiss graciously. Aelani felt something warm suffuse her heart at the sight and tears prickled at the corners of her eyes. How could anyone even consider sending this precious, loving girl into Atromore?