FORBIDDEN TALENTS (46 page)

“
Very good,
”
Dahleven said.

“
No, my lord. We’re behind and losing ground.
”

“
Odin’s eye!
”
Magnus swore.

“
At this rate they’ll collapse in less than a week,
”
Stenner said.

First the water and now the walls
. Dahleven clenched his hand where it lay on the parapet, feeling the insidious, undermining vibration travel up his arm.
“
Do what you can.
”

*

“
Are you sure you want to go?
”
Ragni reached for Utta’s hand, interrupting her packing. They were to leave the Elvenholt at first light, taking only what they could carry. The reindeer couldn’t go on this journey.
“
There’s no shame in staying here, and I’d rather you were safe.
”

Utta laughed but didn’t pull away.
“
And let Saeun have you all to herself?
”

Ragni felt her genuine amusement. He knew she must be joking, but this wasn’t the response he expected. His surprise must have shown on his face.

Her smile grew wider.
“
What irony that we now consider being guests of the Fey ‘safe!’
”
Then she sobered.
“
I’m not foolhardy, my lord. I can help. Lady Celia is not the only one trained in the use of bow and knife. Don’t look so surprised! My father is more broad-minded than you think.
”

Freya’s tits
. Had he once thought of Utta as merely competent and dutiful? Was he alone so blind, or were all men surprised by the women they married?
“
You are even more of a prize than I knew. It makes me doubly incl
ined to keep my treasure safe.
”

Utta rolled her eyes and chuckled.
“
Does that sort of talk usually work for you?
”

Ragni felt heat rise in his face.
“
I said it badly. I just want to protect you. It’s my duty and my right to do so. But more than that, I like you. I don’t want you to come to harm.
”

Utta’s smile was straightforward and genuine, as was her feeling of affection.
“
I like you, too,
”
she said almost shyly.

Ragni relaxed.

“
But I’m still going.
”

Of course she was. He’d heard once that in ages past women obeyed their menfolk. He was sure now that it was a myth.
“
I won’t forbid you.
”

Ragni felt her amusement and satisfaction flare, but she only said,
“
Thank you, Ragni.
”
After a pause she squeezed his hand.
“
You know, you should ask Saeun to be your
elskerinne
.
”

Ragni missed a beat, taken off guard. Was it always going to be like this? He was seasoned in the maneuverings of the nobles and the priesthood, and he’d
thought
with his experience and Talent that he’d understood the ladies, but these women were keeping him off-balance. He’d told her Saeun had been his lover, but she didn’t know all of it. At least this he could surprise her with.
“
I already did. Just before you arrived in Quartzholm.
”

Her response disappointed. She wasn’t shocked, only pleased.
“
Wonderful!
”
She clapped her hands together.
“
Then that’s all settled.
”

“
No, it’s not. She didn’t say yes.
”

Now she was shocked.
“
She didn’t? What was the girl thinking?
”

“
To be fair, she never answered one way or the other before she had to run from Quartzholm.
”

“
And you haven’t asked her since?
”

“
It’s not so simple, as you well know. Her use of magic will cause any number of problems.
”

“
Once, it would have. But this quest, this alliance with the Elves will have a cascade of consequence, Ragni. We’re all supposedly ‘Fey-marked’ now. When we return after saving all humankind from the Dark Elves, perceptions will change—both about the Elves and about the use of magic.
”

“
Not if Wirmund has any say in the matter. And since he’s the Overprest
…
”
Ragni looked at her, daring her to come to a different conclusion.
“
And her use of magic is against the law.
”

“
Well, then, you should change the law. It’s unjust. Saeun must be your
elskerinne
.
”

“
So I’ve been told.
”

*

“
Lady Saeun.
”

Saeun stopped packing at the sound of Treskin’s voice and lifted the moss curtain.

“
Your presence has been requested.
”
He had a peculiar expression on his face.

“
By whom?
”

“
The Aspen Mother. Get your cloak and your snow shoes. You’ll need them.
”

Saeun paused a moment, waiting for some explanation, but Treskin said nothing more. Sighing, she caught up her cloak and shoes and followed him silently through the passageways and out into the cold, snow-laden forest. He’d elaborate in his own good time, she supposed. She could wait him out. She hated begging for information like scraps from the table.

Birds chirped and fluttered from branch to branch as they passed, dislodging clumps of snow. Sunlight danced on ice crystals, dazzling her eyes. They’d traveled some distance when she couldn’t stand the mystery anymore. Treskin might think it amusing to thrust her into a situation without any preparation, but she didn’t. She was about to ask when Treskin turned to stare at her with wide eyes.

“
You really don’t know?
”

Saeun gazed at him, startled.

“
I thought since she asked for you
…
since you talk to the trees
…
”
He shook his head.

So he wasn’t holding out on me
.

“
She is their Eldest, the root from which all her family have sprung.
”

“
The Aspens?
”

“
Yes. They are all connected, and she speaks for them. When she speaks at all.
”
Treskin gave her another peculiar look.
“
For many, many years the Mother has spoken only in response to the Spring Rites. Now she summons you
…
by name. In winter, no less.
”

Saeun shivered.
“
What does she want with me?
”

Treskin helped her over a deadfall.
“
You’ll have to ask her.
”

They climbed a hill and descended into a wide, shallow valley. The fir trees thinned. There, across a snow covered meadow, was a huge aspen grove. A few golden leaves still clung to the branches, fluttering in a chill whisper of air.

“
There she is,
”
Treskin said, starting across the meadow.

“
Where?
”
Saeun saw only the trees.
“
Do you mean she’s the whole grove?
”
Would eyes open in just one trunk, or would a hundred pairs of eyes peer at her?

“
No. Yes.
”
Treskin sighed, blowing a cloud of breath out forcefully.
“
She’s
in
all if it, but she’s not the whole. She’s the Mother. Her daughters are part of her, as she is part of them.
”

Saeun nodded, though she didn’t really understand.

They were nearly across the meadow when a woman stepped out of the grove. A whole woman, not just a pair of eyes in the trunk of a tree. She was tall and slender and dressed all in shades of gray. It made Saeun think of mourning garb.

“
Greetings, sister-son’s daughter.
”
Her voice rippled and flowed like music; her hands fluttered as she spoke.

Sister-son’s daughter
?
“
Greetings, Mother.
”
She hoped that was the right way to address her.

The lady came closer. Her eyes were very old, but she moved with a firm step. Her hair was a mixture of grays and browns that were nearly black, and it wasn’t hair exactly. The strands branched like delicate twigs around her shoulders.

“
So long gone,
”
the Mother said as she lifted a hand and touched Saeun gently on the cheek.
“
But a whisper of his soul remains in you.
”

“
In me? Who?
”

“
Do your people not keep to the way? They once were strong in it. They danced with the groves and knew our names. We gave each other strength.
”

Saeun glanced at Treskin.
What is she talking about
?

Treskin just smiled and crossed his arms.

“
I don’t understand.
”

“
Long ago your mothers’ mothers wove their magicks among us, and we welcomed them. At times we mingled. And sometimes, rarely, a child came of it. I hear a breath of our sister-son in you, daughter.
”

“
In me?
”
No. It’s not possible
. She knew her lineage. Like anyone of noble birth, she could name her forebears back ten generations and read the record of them for ten generations before that. They were all plain,
human
, stock.

“
Blood doesn’t lie,
”
Treskin said.

“
Why are you telling me this? Will I take root and sprout leaves?
”
Freyr and Freya
!
What will Ragni say
? He seemed to accept her magic calmly enough, but this? She’d known that last night was their last time making love, but she’d thought that they’d have the journey at least to enjoy each other’s company.
Don’t mind the moss growing over my toes, dear; my great-great-grandfather was a tree-spirit
.

The Mother smiled.
“
No daughter. Your blood is too weak to join us in the grove. But you are of us. You are not alone.
”
She gestured, and a woman barely out of girlhood came out of the forest, carrying a small sapling with its roots bundled in a shimmery silver cloth.
“
You go to face a danger to us all. Away from us, we cannot help you, so one of us must accompany you. Dances-in-Light has asked to go.
”

The younger woman stepped forward and handed the sapling to Saeun. It was no taller than a two-year-old child, and not as heavy.
“
Take me to your home and plant me there. Then I can call our sisters to help.
”

Grief threatened to choke her.
“
I have no home.
”

Dances-in-Light smiled softly.
“
Our roots always know the soil of our sprouting. Your heart knows its true home.
”

Quartzholm and Ragni
. Whether she could go there and be with him or not, that would always be home. Saeun looked doubtfully at the girl.
“
How can you help? Quartzholm is under siege. Are you a warrior? Are the others?
”

Dances-in-Light shook her head.
“
We do not fight as humans or Elves do. But we can help. Take me. We will stand with you. You will not face the winds alone ever again.
”

Saeun’s heart thudded.
Never alone
. Never to be cast out, as she had been by her brother’s wife, as she had been for her magic. The tree-woman’s words reverberated in her soul, even though she didn’t believe them.

Never return a gift unopened
.
“
What do I do?
”