Heir of Pendel (A Pandoran Novel, #4) (33 page)

"Hey." I smiled. "Okay if I come in for a minute?"

She glanced at Thaddeus then back to me. "As long as you promise to take him back out with you." A weak smile followed.

"Oh, come on." Thaddeus said, straddling the chair backwards. "You even admitted I haven't been as irritating as usual."

Her eyes narrowed on Thaddeus. "That's only because I was sleeping most of the time you were here."

Thaddeus snorted.

Yes, she was definitely feeling better. I approached her slowly and took a seat on the end of the bed. "Vera…" I started. "I'm so sorry. About this."

"Why are you sorry?" she asked. "You didn't poison me."

"I know, but it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't come. I should've been better prepared, and maybe—"

"Would you stop with the 'everything's my fault' prattle?" Vera groaned and leaned her head back on her pillow. "No wonder you drove Daria mad. We are all going to die, Alexander. Some day, some way. It'll happen. You can't stop it. I know. Shocking. So get over yourself and let me die if I want to."

I looked at her and burst out laughing. Thaddeus chuckled too, and Vera's mouth cracked a smile, and then I thought maybe—just maybe—we really would be all right.

Vera remained in bed the rest of the day. Her health continued improving, but she was still weak, and Lif insisted she rest. In order to get her to rest, Lif infused every pain tonic with a sleeping draft, much to Thaddeus's irritation. She didn't spend much of the morning awake.

Sometimes Thaddeus tended to her, but it was mostly Lif. Lif and Ehren didn't speak much to one another, but that wasn't to say they didn't get along. Their discourse floated mostly around practical matters, and when it brushed near the edges of opinion, both were quick to retreat. I sensed these necessary evasions disappointed the healer, but he said nothing.

After lunchtime, Thaddeus traded shifts with Lif and joined Ehren and me at the kitchen table for a game of Kings. That's when Laena arrived.

At first I'd thought she'd come early with news from her father, but then she pulled up a chair and sat beside me. Right beside me.

"Ah, playing Kings, I see." She observed the cards we'd laid out and leaned a little closer to me in order to do so. Silky strands of her long hair tickled my forearm, and her perfume overwhelmed my senses.

"Would you like us to deal you in?" I asked, laying down my wizard.

"Mm, I believe I'll watch, Aegis Del Conte." Glittering swirls of silver and green curled like a masquerade mask around her large purple eyes. Her long lashes blinked, slow and hypnotizing.

I blinked too, severing the effect, and I turned my attention back to the game.
Fraelings
. I'd have to be careful around her.

I scooped up the cards Thaddeus had laid down on his last turn.

Thaddeus grunted. "Apparently, Del
Can
. I quit."

I laughed as Ehren gathered up the cards to deal another round.

"I take it Aegis Del Conte is winning…?" Laena asked.

"Destroying is more like it. For five rounds." Thaddeus folded his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes on me. If there was one thing Thaddeus hated, it was losing at games of strategy. "You been sandbagging, Del Can't?"

I smiled innocently at him. He scowled.

"Have you two played this game together often?" Laena asked, looking between us.

"Often enough to know he's been holding out on me all these years." Thaddeus was still glaring at me.

I laughed, pulling the cards off the table Ehren had set down for me. I cleared my throat and gestured to Thaddeus. "I believe the loser goes first…?"

He grumbled as he looked through his cards, but before he made his first move, he glared over them at me one more time.

"May I?" Laena leaned closer to peer at my cards, pressing her breasts against my arm in the process.

I held my cards even closer and leaned a little away from her. Not much, but just enough to let her know I didn't want her seeing my cards, or leaning against me.

Her eyes twitched with something dangerous.

"It's nothing personal," I said. "I like to keep my cards close."

"Close." Thaddeus scoffed. "No, you don't keep them close. You keep them buried so deep not even the worms can find them."

I laughed and was glad to see Laena grin. I seized the opportunity. "My lady, I'm sure Thaddeus would be more than willing to let you see his cards. In fact, I may even suggest he needs you. For luck." I winked at Thaddeus.

Thaddeus picked up a card from the discard pile and chucked it at my head. I dodged and chuckled as it fluttered past.

"Come on over, Princess." He was still scowling at me, though he motioned to the space behind him. "And please feel free to spell my hand while you're at it."

Laena laughed softly and, thankfully, scooted over to Thaddeus. He let her watch his hand as he played, and, by the end of the next few rounds, Laena was practically in his lap. She laughed at all his jokes and pawed over him as if he were a soft kitten. Ehren and I exchanged a glance, but there wasn't much either of us could do. One didn't blatantly refuse the attentions of a
fraeling,
unless you wanted to reap curses upon your head.

"I think I'm done pretending to lose for the day." Thaddeus leaned back in his chair after the third round, satisfied despite his losses. Laena took the opportunity to slide into his lap. He looked a little surprised, but he didn't push her away.

"You sure?" I asked. "I'll stop pretending to win next round if you want."

He glowered, but that smirk appeared. "No, thanks, tempting as it may be."

"Then since you're done with that nonsense, why don't you come with me to the fountains?" Laena ran her fingers through Thaddeus's hair.

"The fountains?" he asked, eyeing her.

"Yes, they're natural hot springs in the heart of the city, and they look positively magical at sunset," she said.

Ehren got up to put the cards away. He knew his cousin better than anyone, and he was keeping out of this.

"I'm sure it is," Thaddeus grinned at her, "and I appreciate the offer, but I'm needed here."

"Because of the girl?" Laena's tone was velvety as she tickled the back of his neck. "I assure you my uncle can take care of her by himself. There's no need for you to stay locked up here when you are in such an exquisite city. Come, let me show you the fountains. Or maybe if you can't, then perhaps Aegis Del Conte might join me?" Her gaze slid over to me.

"Thank you, but I need to write a few letters before nightfall." Which was partially true. I did need to write a few letters, but they didn't need to be written this second.

Laena looked disappointed, but she didn't push me on the issue.

"On second thought, you're right," Thaddeus said. "And I've always wanted to see the city of Imbdell. Mind if I leave for a bit, Del Can't?"

Without being too obvious, I gave Thaddeus a look that said
are you sure you know what you're doing?
He returned my warning with a look that said
calm down, I got this
. I wondered what he had up his sleeve. I shrugged. "Go right ahead."

He winked at me, and he got up from his chair and followed Laena out the Venias' front door. I felt a presence behind me and I glanced over my shoulder to see Vera standing in the doorway to her room. I had no idea how long she'd been standing there, and her presence burned in the room like the desert sun. Her face wasn't pale any more, either. Actually, its color was heightened and she looked as if she might have a slight fever.

"You're awake," I said, standing out of my chair.

Vera's eyes whipped to me so fast and looked so murderous, I froze mid-stand, my hands on the edge of the table. And then she went back into her room and slammed the door shut. The wall sconce rattled in her wake.

"What was that about?" Ehren asked from where he stood beside the bookshelf, now frowning at Vera's door.

"I'm not sure," I said, though I had an idea.

Thaddeus didn't return until dark. The Venias had gone to bed, I'd said a quick good night to a sleeping Vera, and then I rolled out my mat—compliments of Lif—on the floor near the warm hearth. I heard Thaddeus's tread on the walkway outside their front door, and I turned over on my mat just as he opened the door.

He was alone and his hair was dry.

He looked around until he spotted me lying on the mat, and then he closed the door quietly behind him. "Where is everyone?" he whispered.

"They just went to bed," I whispered in reply.

"How is she?" He headed straight for Vera's door.

"Sleeping," I said.

He rolled his eyes with a grunt. "Figures. Hocus Pocus needs to lay off the sleeping drafts. I don't care what he says, but they're too strong."

"What are you doing?" I asked. His hand was on the doorknob, and he was about to turn it. I had the sudden notion that was a very bad idea.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" He looked down at me as if I were an idiot.

"I told you she's sleeping."

"Fine, I'll be quiet."

"Why can't you wait till morning?" I asked, but he'd already opened the door and slipped inside.

I leaned back on the mat and sighed. One…two…three…

There was a loud slam against the door, so hard it rattled on its hinges. I was surprised he'd made it that long. Also, had she thrown the crucible at him?

A bewildered Thaddeus rushed out of the room and shut the door behind him.

"The blazes is wrong with her?" he asked, eyes wild.

I certainly wasn't going to answer that question. "I don't know," I said. "Why don't you go to sleep? Lif left you a mat over there." I pointed to the roll at the foot of the couch.

Thaddeus stood before Vera's door, staring at it as if he wasn't sure what to do.

"Go to bed," I said. "Maybe it's a side effect of those sleeping drafts you keep going on about. Anyway, you can talk to her in the morning."

"Yeah," he murmured. "Okay." He ran a hand through his hair as he walked over to the mat in a stupor, casting furtive glances back at her door before unrolling his mat near me. He set a bundle on the floor beside him.

"What's that?" I asked, noting the material was of Arborennian make.

"Oh, it's for V," he said. "She lost her blades back there by the portal, so I picked up a couple of new ones for her. Thought it might entice her to stop accepting Hocus Pocus's sleeping potions and get out of bed."

A beat. "You got her…knives?"

"Yeah." Thaddeus shrugged as if to say "So?"

"I thought you went to the fountains."

"Don't be daft. You really think I'm stupid enough to go with a
fraeling
to a hot spring?"

"No, but I also had no idea what you
were
doing."

He snorted. "I just wanted to see the city…see if I could find new weapons for V and maybe find out a little information for you while I was at it. Of course, I didn't tell Princess Pixie these were for V, which was why I didn't even have to pay for them." He winked at me. "And what better escort than Lord Frosty's daughter?
Everyone
and their glowing
nix
wanted to help me. The only hard part was keeping Laena's hands off me, and let me just say that is no easy task for any young woman." He preened as he lay back on his mat.

"And…Laena didn't mind?"

Thaddeus looked at me, his fingers splayed on his chest. "I can't believe you have so little faith in me. Del Can't. I'm hurt. Don't get me wrong, Laena is quite charming—even for a
fraeling
—but this is
me
we're talking about. It's like…throwing a daisy at a carnivore. I'm not even remotely interested. Besides, if you really wanna know, I think it's
you
she's after. Wouldn't stop asking questions about you. Seriously, she asked so many questions it would've given a lesser man a complex. Like…is he really as talented as they say? What does he do in his spare time? How does he like his bread buttered, and should that butter be room temperature or chilled?"

I narrowed my eyes at him and he laughed.

"Well, I may have made up that last bit, but she
did
seem particularly interested in Rook."

For some reason that made me uncomfortable. "You didn't tell her anything, did you?"

His eyes simmered with irritation. "Do I look like an idiot? …Wait, don’t answer that."

I rolled onto my side, turning my back to him. "Good night, Thaddeus."

He snickered. "Night, Del Can't."

Vera refused to see Thaddeus the next morning. She refused to let him take one step into her room. Thaddeus was so confused and even a little hurt by this, I finally decided to intervene.

"Hey, why don't you let me try?" I asked Thaddeus, gesturing to his unaccepted gift.

He threw up his hands. "Go right ahead."

I scooped up the green wrap, walked over to Vera's door and knocked lightly. Lif hadn't given her as heavy a dose of the sleeping draft today, so I knew she was awake. She had been all morning. "Vera, it's me," I said. "May I come in a moment?"

I took her silence as a good sign, so I eased the door open and slipped inside. I noted the crucible lying on its side on the floor beside the door, and I pinched my lips together to keep from grinning. She looked much better today, just as stern and angry as always.

"Good morning," I said. "How are you feeling?"

"Ready to get the blazes out here," she barked at the window, then looked at me. "Any word from Lord Dommelier yet?" She sounded as if she wished I'd heard from Lord Dommelier yesterday.

"No." I took a seat in the chair beside her bed. "But Ehren believes the sword will be ready sometime tomorrow."

Vera nodded once and looked back at her window. "I'll be ready."

"About that…" I said, setting the small bundle beside her on the bed.

She peeled her gaze slowly from the window and set it upon the little green wrap in question.

"Open it," I urged.

She looked up at me with severe eyes.