A Bond of Three (32 page)

Sorran shook his head. “Not yet. I will await your decision. Please, give me some time alone.” He became still. “I am sorry, Tanish. I had thought I could go through with this, but as I drew near to you, all I could feel was sorrow that he is not here with us.” He swallowed. “May the Maker grant you wisdom.” He bowed low and then walked briskly through the assembled guests, his cloak flapping behind him.

King Beron and Queen Vasha rose and followed him after sending a bewildered look in Tanish’s direction.

Tanish stood there, stunned into immobility, as the muttering intensified.

I have to get out of here.

Malin stepped forward. “Come with me, Your Majesty.” He gestured with his staff toward the royal private chambers. “You should not be here now. I will see to it that the guests leave.” He glanced at the guards stationed around the room and nodded to them, stirring them into action.

Tanish nodded numbly, his feet moving automatically.

Malin led him into the small chamber where his father used to meet his most senior advisers and eased him into a chair. He reached across the table and poured out a glass of wine. “Drink this, Your Majesty.” He held out the glass to Tanish, who stared at it uncomprehendingly. “Drink, Tanish,” he added gently. He pressed it into Tanish’s pliant hand and then sat next to him.

Tanish took a few sips before drinking deeply until he had drained half the glass. He placed it on the table and stared at it. “This is a nightmare, Malin.” His head was reeling from the shock. Beyond the door, he could still hear the noise from the departing guests.

Malin’s eyes were sad. “You have my sympathies, Your Majesty. I knew this day would come, but I had not anticipated its arrival so soon.”

His words found their way through the fog of confusion that surrounded Tanish. “You knew?”

Malin lowered his gaze. “Your Majesty, I am neither blind nor deaf. When the decision was made to announce your betrothal, I was not surprised by your reaction. Did you think I could not see what was happening in this palace?” He lifted his chin. “How long have you loved Feyar?”

Tanish stiffened. He was about to rebuke Malin for his bluntness, but something stopped him. Malin had always been truthful with him and had treated him with kindness.

And now I need an ally.

“Since we first met,” he admitted in a low voice.

Malin nodded. “And Sorran?”

Tanish sighed. “I love him.
We
love him.” He met Malin’s direct gaze. “There are things that happen here which I do not fully understand, Malin. It is enough for you to know that the three of us are….” He fell silent.

How do I describe our bond?
Words failed him.

“Connected?” Malin suggested. When Tanish widened his gaze, Malin smiled. “As I said to you, these eyes see much.” He cleared his throat. “What will you do?”

Tanish forced out a bitter laugh. “Sorran would have me rewrite the laws of Teruna. And I know from conversations of old that Feyar would have me do the same.”

Malin let out a patient sigh. “Then perhaps that is what you should do.”

Tanish opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when the door to the chamber flew open and Feyar strode in, his
cashor
loose about him.

“I have been to speak with Sorran,” he announced, paying no attention to Malin. His eyes blazed. “He is distraught. He says he will stay here, but I do not believe him. You must
do
something, Tanish!” Feyar’s chest heaved violently, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Tanish groaned. “What would you have me do?” He put his head in his hands. He had thought the day could not get worse.

“Change the laws! You are the king!” Feyar yelled. “You answer to no one!”

“
Except the people of Teruna!
” Tanish shouted, his voice cracking. Both Feyar and Malin stared at him, their mouths open. Tanish got to his feet and paced the room. “Laws are written for a reason. I cannot simply change them on a whim.” His head ached.

“But who wrote those laws, and why?” Feyar demanded.

“A good question.” Malin stroked his chin. “One that demands further research, I feel. There must be an answer somewhere.”

Feyar seemed to notice Malin for the first time. Malin regarded him calmly, and Feyar gave him a brief nod of acknowledgment before bringing his attention back to Tanish.

“And until you have found such an answer, I… I cannot continue as before.”

Tanish froze. “What are you saying?” Cold spread throughout his body.

Feyar’s eyes were full of misery. “I cannot…
be
with you. Not when Sorran is in pain. To do so feels as though I betray him.” He gulped. Tanish sensed the conflicting emotions that rampaged through him: regret, sorrow, anguish…. Feyar knelt at his feet, head bowed. “Forgive me, Tanish, but to be with you when my
dorishan
is suffering… this is wrong.” He raised his eyes to meet Tanish’s gaze. “I pray you will receive wisdom to do what is right.” He rose to his feet and made as if to leave.

“Feyar.”

Feyar stopped at the threshold and turned to him.

In spite of his shock at Feyar’s words, Tanish gave voice to his fears. “Sorran will not see me, I think, but he should not be alone.” His stomach churned at the thought of Sorran, alone in his chamber. Tanish could feel his misery rolling through him. “Our
corishan
needs you. You know how easily dreams torment him. It is my wish that you be with him at this time.”

Feyar studied him for a moment. “Your first thought is for Sorran’s welfare.” He gave Tanish a look full of affection and pride and then bowed his head. “As you command, Your Majesty.” He drew in a deep breath and looked Tanish in the eye. “For all our sakes, Tanish—find a way forward.” He left the chamber, his back straight.

Tanish sank into his chair. “I have lost them, Malin.” In spite of his words to Feyar, he wanted to go to his chamber, shut out the world, and scream at the injustice of it all.

Sorran will not marry me. Feyar will not be with me. I have three people demanding that I rewrite Teruna’s laws.
He would have laughed bitterly were it not for the fact that Malin would have thought him to have lost his wits.
All this but one day after my coronation.

Malin regarded him in silence, as if contemplating his next words. Finally he sighed. “You are an intelligent man, Your Majesty, but at this moment, you are not thinking clearly. You already know where to seek the answers.”

Tanish frowned. “I do not understand. Where would I find such information?”

Malin smiled, and from beneath his black cloak he withdrew a familiar key on a chain around his neck. “In the
Sanrual
.”

Chapter 23

S
ORRAN
OPENED
his chamber door and sagged with relief when he saw Feyar standing there. He bade him enter, and as soon as he had closed the door behind him, he threw himself into Feyar’s strong arms. He shut his eyes and breathed in Feyar’s warm, masculine scent, letting it fill his senses. Feyar stroked gently up and down his back, holding him close.

“Have you seen him?” Sorran asked at last. He could feel Tanish’s emotions, the pull of their bond stronger than ever.

Feyar kissed his hair. “Yes, my
dorishan
.” He fell silent, but Sorran did not need his words to sense the sorrow in him.

This bond is both a blessing and a curse.

Feyar pushed him away and stared at him, dismay etched across his face. “Never say that, Sorran. I thank the Maker for this… miracle that connects us.”

Sorran realized he had spoken aloud. He bowed his head. “Forgive me. I am tired and overwrought. The conversation with my parents has robbed me of all energy.” He stepped away from Feyar and sat on his bed.

Feyar knelt at his feet. “Tell me of it, if you can.”

Sorran sighed. “I could not tell them why I had not gone through with the marriage, of course. My mother was concerned for me and tried to reassure me that all would be well, but my father….” He lay back, arm across his eyes. “First he ranted about Aroman, about how he would drag him in chains back to Vancor and then have him executed. Then all he could speak of was the alliance. Does Tanish mean to continue with it? How could I do such a thing? Did I not realize that I was placing both Teruna and Vancor in danger? Or that I was playing into Kandor’s hands, creating disruption and uncertainty?” Sorran pushed out his tension in a weighty sigh. “I have failed him.”

“You have
not
failed him,” Feyar said vehemently. “You did what you felt was right. Just as I did when I told….” Silence fell.

Sorran uncovered his eyes and propped himself up on his elbow to regard Feyar. His lover’s cheeks glowed. “What have you done?”

Feyar swallowed. “I told Tanish I would not be with him until he found a solution.”

Sorran regarded him without a word. Then he shook his head. “We are behaving like petulant children who want their own way.”

Feyar’s expression grew pained. “Do not say that,
terushan
. I only thought to make Tanish see that we could not continue as we were. He must do something.”

Sorran glanced toward the window. The sky was already dark, the first stars emerging.

And somewhere in the palace Tanish is alone, in misery.

He could feel it. And it was their fault.

“I am so weary,” he confessed. His fatigue was bone-deep. He looked around the room. “I have not slept in this room for many nights. I have grown accustomed to falling asleep with you and Tanish surrounding me.” The thought brought a lump to his throat. “I do not want to sleep alone this night.”

Feyar rose to his feet and slowly untied first his
cashor
, then his robe, letting them fall to the floor. He stepped naked out of the puddle of fabric. “Nor shall you.” His voice was soft. “Tanish bade me stay with you.”

Sorran stared up at him, his heart heavy. “I… I cannot….”

Feyar climbed onto the bed and placed a finger on his lips. “I know. We shall not make love,
dorishan
. I could not…. All I wish is to sleep with you in my arms.” His dark eyes were large and round. “My heart aches also.” He untied Sorran’s robe and slipped it from his shoulders, Sorran shifting to help him remove it.

Sorran pulled back the covering and got into the bed. He opened his arms and drew Feyar to him, feeling him tremble. He held Feyar close, his lips pressed to Feyar’s ear. “Then hold me,
corishan
. Be at peace, at least for a few hours.”

Feyar settled in his arms, and Sorran listened as his breathing grew more even. He closed his eyes, seeking to shut out the world.

But I cannot shut off my awareness.

He could feel Tanish, feel his pain, his torment.

May the Maker grant you peace, my love
, he told his lover silently.

“Y
OUR
M
AJESTY
,
you must rest.”

Tanish raised his head to stare at Malin. “I have no need of rest.” Parchments were strewn over the table in front of him, taken from various chests around the
Sanrual
.

And not one of them contains anything that might help me in my quest.

Tanish was beginning to despair.

“Your Majesty….”

He ignored Malin, focusing instead on the document before him.

“Tanish, you have been down here for three days. Have you slept? Eaten?”

Tanish gave a weary sigh. “I slept for a few hours, but my dreams were troubled.” Food had been forgotten. He had not seen Sorran or Feyar. He longed to feel their arms around him.

There will be time for that when I have found an answer.

In his darkest moments, Tanish feared such an answer did not exist. He had been so full of hope when he had first descended into the coolness of the
Sanrual
, but as the days progressed and he found nothing, that hope had fled him.

“If I send down some food, will you eat it?” Malin pressed him. Tanish stuck out his chin, and Malin sighed. “You cannot continue thus, Tanish. You will become ill.”

“Are there matters that clamor for my attention?” Tanish demanded. “Insurmountable problems that require the king’s presence?” When Malin fell silent, Tanish gave a satisfied nod. “As I thought. Then leave me be, Malin. Send food if you must. I will eat it, I promise. But I have to keep searching.” He glanced around the chamber, its lamps burning brightly. “There has to be something here.”

Malin peered into the opened chests. “How many of these chests have you investigated?”

“Nearly all of them.” Tanish let out a groan. “I know more of Teruna’s history than I thought it possible to know. Our land has changed greatly throughout the centuries, Malin, but I have found no mention of the
Seruani
.” He scowled. “I do not understand how that can be.”

Malin’s brow furrowed. “It is indeed strange.” He looked beseechingly at Tanish. “Let me help you. Surely two pairs of eyes are better than one.”