Dance With the Enemy (12 page)

Chapter 20

Elenya could smell the sea air as they neared the passage opening. Elation took hold blotting out the disappointment of the moments gone by when the reality of their families’ intertwined histories had been highlighted once again. Before he’d commented on Aleone’s shortcomings, she’d begun to believe they might find a way to live beyond that contemptuous shadow. The wedge of their ancestors’ mistake threatened to lay heavy if she allowed it, though now all she could think about was the sight that lay somewhere before them.

“Yes, Little One. We’re almost through the passage. Though I must warn you, the opening puts us very near a steep drop to the water’s edge.”

Elenya realized he was cautioning her not to get over exuberant and rush forth. She nodded. It made sense that the entrance was disguised lest Zanak become a target for every vagabond who wandered by. This whole crazy tunnel system made sense, actually, except for the access to the castle. True, it had been useful that time with Voringlock. Still, there were pieces of this family’s existence that puzzled her, though putting it all together was not foremost on her mind with the smell of the sea and anticipation both gaining strength inside.

The next turn revealed a layer of thick brush, limbs and vines that appeared to grow down from what must be the hilltop that formed the ending of the elaborate passage system. Tahruk stopped before the jumbled mess, motioned her with a single finger to wait, which Elenya did in silence. The warrior stood and listened before carefully pulling aside a layer of the covering and peering outside. Elenya breathed deeply, welcoming the scent of the moist, salted air into her lungs, though it brought with it a wave of homesickness. She touched the silk bag draped over her shoulder to hang at her waist and felt the letters to her family inside while murmuring a silent, hopeful prayer. She thought about the hastily scribbled note to Denya.

He is beautiful, just as we’d imagined,
she’d written
. Hair as dark as the night, and eyes a deeper blue than any sky you might imagine. His countenance, while oft times cloudy, can be gentle and tender beyond imagine. I believe him to be a good man, overall, and hopefully willing to move us beyond the feud that has fueled our families for all these generations.

His family, however, is truly divided and a lot that will take time to understand. I haven’t much time so will tell you more in a later writing. I am most hopeful that Father will see fit to bring you all to the Centrehead soon. It is quite beautiful here and my lord is taking me to an Aleone bound ship in the harbor as soon as I complete my notes. A harbor! I shall once again smell the air wafting from the sea! No doubt it shall make me miss you more than I already do, my sister.

Much love to you all. You are, as always, in my heart and I send kisses to all.

Elenya knew Denya would share her words with Taliana at least. They would sigh and giggle and verbally chastise her to one another for not providing more details. What silly girls they were.

Girls. She frowned, hit with a sudden, sobering thought. They would soon be young women. She wondered if her father had designs to send them to the Centrehead. If they were forced into the grouping of the Dremis maidens, being unmarked, would they be at the mercy of any man who chose them? The thought of any of them moving into a life as a Lady of the Courts caused Elenya to clutch her stomach and squeezed her eyes closed. That was one life she would not wish upon anyone, especially the ones she loved. She hated that the world where she lived considered such a position an honor. Their one hope would be a match with one of the lesser warriors. She looked at Tahruk’s back, his head somewhere beyond the vines still. Could he, would he help her secure positions for her sisters? Her face flushed with anticipation as she began forming such a plan.

Tahruk turned at that moment. He studied her flushed features, his own face washed with concern. “Are you okay, my lady?” he asked, moving quickly to her side.

Elenya nodded, swallowing hard before she answered. “I’m just excited. The anticipation has me all a flutter.” It was a truthful answer, even if a bit misguiding.

The warrior stared at her a moment longer then nodded. “No one is about. We can easily scale the path and be on our way.” He was already pulling at a rope that seemed twisted within the vines. He was explaining that it would be used to secure her about the waist to keep her safe should she lose her footing.

Elenya stopped him with a hand on his arm. She hadn’t seen this path they must cross yet, but she felt sure all her scurrying about the hillsides of Aleone with Schemek and her sisters had prepared her well to hold her own. Tahruk dropped the rope that had been fighting him.

Relief settled in when she saw the path. It was wider than expected, though still ended with a treacherous drop to the water’s edge beneath a jagged cliff. She and Shemek had wandered along paths much more dangerous at times. Oh if her parents had known! The thought made her giggle, garnering a puzzled look from the warrior.

“It’s better than I expected, my lord. I am much relieved,” was the explanation she gave, though she was a bit concerned about a patch of vines that covered the trail not far before them. She was milling over her ability to cross it safely in skirts when Tahruk tightened his hold on her hand and pulled her through more hanging vines into what appeared to be little more than a dense section of the woods at the base of the hill. Elenya frowned, her sense of direction momentarily thrown off as he led her through this wooded passage, moving them farther away from the sea. She understood when they exited into the woods above the harbor. They would come in as if they’d traversed through the forest, leaving no one to speculate about a secret tunnel system.

“Brilliant.” The words tumbled out unexpectedly.

“What?” Tahruk asked, his head snapping toward her.

Elenya smiled. “Nothing, my lord. Thank you for bringing me here.”

He returned the smile before slightly squeezing her tiny hand still held firmly within his. Working it to where her fingers were loosely weaved into his, she leaned her head against his bicep, hugging his arm close with her other hand. The act gave her the same sense of security she felt when he held her. She sighed when he bent to kiss the top of her head.

Elenya smiled. If she wasn’t careful, she could easily fall in love with this man at her side even knowing he had the power to, and probably would, break her heart. Still, as they made their way to the ships in the harbor, she reveled in the feeling, very much living her dream, even if it was only for the moment.

The harbor was quiet as one might expect for midafternoon. All cargo would have been loaded that morning, the crew dispatched at lunchtime with demands to return sober and prepared for a quiet night aboard the ship so they might set sail at first light. The familiarity of the setting heightened Elenya’s excitement, as did the idea of perhaps seeing men from home that she’d know.

“My lord,” she whispered, still clutching herself close by his side. “I do not recognize any of these ships.”

“No?”

She shook her head and Tahruk smiled.

“Perhaps because it’s a new vessel for Aleone?” he offered.

Elenya’s frown was heightened by her shrug. She hadn’t considered such. She knew her marking had opened doors for Aleone, and she supposed her match to the King’s finest might well have prompted her people to invest in luxuries beyond what they had before. Still, as best she could tell, these ships were much larger than anything owned by the ship masters of Aleone. She considered which one might have had the reserves to purchase such a fine vessel.

Her thoughts were interrupted, alarm bells going off when Tahruk stopped by the largest ship in the harbor, loosed himself away from her and began to climb the gangplank. Her hand still held in his had her following him upward.

“My lord!” she squealed rather loudly, stopping him when her physical resistance could not. “You cannot, you
must not
board a ship without the permission of the captain or the owner. Doing so will bring bad luck to the journey.”

“Ah, Little One. Put your worries aside.” He turned and attempted to continue his climb. This time, she pulled back with all her might, and although she was no match for the mighty warrior, he did stop at her urgings. She frowned at his chuckle.

“You may have no regard for the men who must make this voyage, but I shall not allow you to merely laugh away their safety, believing my concerns to be laughable superstitions.”

She had pulled her hand away from him and stood, fists on hips, glaring up at him from her position further down the plank. Tahruk’s explosive laughter at the sight of her only fueled her anger. With a snarl, she turned on her heel, throwing her hands in the air as she began to stomp away, railing him as an insufferable beast not worthy of his title as the King’s finest if he could not even show these shipmen proper respect.

Her exit failed. Tahruk had her caught against him by the waist, a hand over her venom-spewing mouth before she’d managed half a dozen steps from the ship. Only his barely contained laughter as he turned her to face him let her know she was not in the trouble she should expect for going off on him. Her brows drew down, lips twitching beneath his hand.

“Your worry is unfounded because I have permission, my lady,” he whispered to her, his smile widening as if he held the world’s largest secret. “
I
am the owner of that fine vessel. Or at least I am until it sails into Aleone harbor within three days’ time.”

Elenya stared at him, her eyes imploring his, attempting understanding. “What are you saying, my lord?” She finally relented and asked after pulling his hand from her mouth.

“Look at the name of the ship, Elenya.”

She did as directed.
Petit Cadeau. Small Gift
. Still…

“This is my gift to Aleone,” he said, when she frowned and shook her head. “It’s a small token for the gift they have given me.”

Elenya stared at him for a moment more before her brows finally pressed upward. Her mouth fell open in most unladylike fashion, though she quickly closed it when Tahruk raised his own brows.

“You…you commissioned a ship for my people? A ship this fine? It must have cost you a fortune…”

He pressed a finger to her lips. “Shhh. There will be no talk of cost. And I did not commission the ship. I could have done so, though when I learned this ship, having sailed on her maiden voyage less than three months prior, was to be sold, I realized she was perfect.”
Not unlike you
, his sweeping assessment of her had Elenya blushing before leaning into the warrior, kissing the fingers that still pressed against her lips. She turned her face up to his, hopeful he would understand she desired his kiss.

Tahruk groaned and glanced back over his shoulder before complying with her wishes. Elenya realized only after they broke away that he was concerned about the men who had remained aboard the ships who now acted as audience to her wanton behavior. The blush that stained her cheeks when their whooping and hollering reached her ears would not soon leave. Tahruk chuckled when she pulled away and buried her face in his chest.

“Come, Little One,” he whispered after kissing the top of her head. “Let’s see if we can find the captain of this fine vessel to take our letters to the shores of Aleone.”