Lord of the Fading Lands (22 page)

Well. Ellie had definitely managed to ruffle Kelissande's feathers. It had been a long time since the lovely Miss Minset had struck out at her with such a lack of finesse. Surprisingly, the insult didn't cause even the tiniest wound. Suddenly Kelissande's eyes went wide. "By the gods, who is
that?”

Ellysetta glanced over her shoulder and saw Rain Tairen Soul striding boldly down the street. Sunlight glinted on the myriad blades bristling from his black leathers, and his long hair blew back off his fiercely handsome face as he walked.

A thrill of pride coupled with the swift bite of desire shivered up Ellie's spine. She straightened to her full height. "That," she replied, "is the crazy half-man who has claimed me.”

"He is magnificent." The words were a bare whisper. Ellie doubted Kelissande even realized she had spoken aloud. Her dazzled blue eyes seemed to drink in the sight of Rain as he approached. She turned to Ellie and smiled. "You must introduce him to me.”

Ellie's satisfaction shriveled to a heavy rock that sank to the pit of her stomach. Never once in her life had she known Kelissande not to get her way when she had that hungry, determined look in her eye, and now Kelissande wanted to meet Rain? Ellie wanted to scream "No!", rip out Kelissande's silky blond hair, and scratch her perfect skin.

"Of course," she replied politely. And she wondered how she would survive the torment of Kelissande Minset's perfect beauty calling Rain's attention to Ellie's many physical flaws.

Rain sensed his
shei'tani's
unhappiness as he drew near. Her gentle face, with its dusting of golden freckles and large, expressive eyes, was set in a carefully composed mask, and the glowing aura of compassion and fresh innocence that called so sweetly to his ancient soul was dimmed. Something had wounded her tender heart. Or
someone,
he corrected when Ellysetta quietly introduced him to the sun-haired woman beside her. The blond girl was physically beautiful, but darkness hung about her like a shroud.

"Hello," the young woman purred. "Mistress Minset." He did not bow. Somehow she was to blame for his truemate's distress. Such a woman would receive no honor from him. He turned to Ellysetta.
"Shei'tani."
His voice was a caress. He did not touch her—it was not the Fey way. But he reached out to her with a warm weave of Spirit.
« What has made your heart sad?»
When she did not reply, he sent the same question to Bel.

«
The golden one with the dark soul said unkind things and took the laughter from your shei'tani's eyes,»
Bel replied with disgust.
« We did not know what to do.»
Had Kelissande Minset been a man, she would have found herself facing bared Fey'cha steel. But she was a woman, and no Fey warrior would ever harm even a dark-souled female except to save lives.

"Come on, Ellie!" A chorus of childish voices called out from a short distance away.

"I'm coming!" Ellysetta called back. To Rain, she said, "The children and I were just about to play a game of Stones." She paused in the process of turning away. Hesitant invitation and uncertainty flickered in her gaze. "Would you … like to join us?”

A harsh, mocking laugh rang out. "For the gods' sake, Ellie, he's a king," Kelissande sneered. "Kings don't play Stones in the park with a bunch of filthy peasant children.”

Rain saw embarrassment redden Ellysetta's cheeks. "I'm sorry," she said. "I wasn't thinking." She turned away quickly.

"Shei'tani."
He started to follow her, only to stop in his tracks when Kelissande grabbed his wrist. The instant her skin touched his, the mean, grasping ugliness of her soul poured into him. Her thoughts were hateful and self- indulgent. She was beautiful, Ellie was not. She was the one who deserved a king for a mate. Rain was handsome and powerful, and Kelissande had decided she would have him. Stealing him from Ellie Lack Grace would be child's play.

With a grimace of distaste, he grasped Kelissande's wrist and removed her clinging hand. Deliberately, gritting his teeth against the soul-eating darkness that emanated from her, he gripped her other wrist as well and bent close to her beautiful face.

"You dare too much, foolish Celierian female," he growled. He let power flare in his eyes, and enjoyed the fear that blossomed on her face. How could she think a truemated man would ever have eyes for anyone but his own mate? Stupid woman. Ignorant, primitive, ungifted, dark-hearted creature of no worth. "Even were she not my truemate, I would choose Ellysetta over you every time. Do you think a Fey Lord cannot see past your pretty face to the ugliness inside? All your beauty, all your wealth, could not make any Fey desire you.”

He bound her in weaves of Earth and Spirit to keep her still and grasped her heart-shaped face with frightening gentleness. He felt her terror, and it made him smile, made the tairen roar and flex its claws.
«Hurt my shei'tani again in any way, and female or not, you will have made an enemy worth fearing. This I do promise you.”

«Rain . .

Even as Bel's warning voice sounded in his mind, Rain felt the waves of Ellysetta's emotion roll over him, misery bubbling with hurt and anger and disappointment. And something unexpected that Rain recognized as—Jealousy?

He lifted his head and found Ellysetta staring at him. Her eyes were huge in her fine-boned face, filled with accusation and, yes, jealousy. He gazed at her in bewilderment. Why would she feel such a thing? Had he not claimed her? Had he not set aside even the memory of his love for Sariel to court her? Did she not understand what that meant?

Directly on the heels of that thought, common sense asserted itself. Of course she did not understand what the
shei'tanitsa
bond meant. She'd been raised Celierian, not Fey.

Thrusting Kelissande from him, he straightened and held out his hands to his truemate. "Ellysetta—”

"The children are waiting. You and Kelissande can join us or not, as you desire." She spun away and marched off. The elegant line of her spine was stiff as a board, and her thick, flame-red plait twitched behind her as she walked, reminding him of an angry female tairen's very dangerous tail.

It wasn't jealousy. It wasn't. Ellie wasn't stupid enough to be jealous just because Rain Tairen Soul responded like all men did when the beautiful Kelissande Minset cast a lure their way.

Betrayal. That's what it was. She felt betrayed. He had dazzled her with his masculine beauty, his power, his tairen- fierceness, until she'd actually begun to believe that her plain drabness didn't matter to him, that he saw beauty in her.

"Shei'tani."
His hand, so strong, so warm, touched her shoulder.

She shuddered from the instant wave of helpless need that flooded her. Dear gods, when he touched her, all she wanted to do was fling herself into his arms. She wanted to forget about the tender way he'd cupped Kelissande's perfect face, absolve him for the quiet words he'd murmured so close to Kelissande's soft lips.

Ellie wrenched herself out of his grasp. Pride. It seemed she actually possessed some. And it would not let her accept a touch from the same hands that had just caressed Kelissande.

"Go back to Kelissande," she snapped. "I'm sure there are many more sweet words you'd like to whisper in her ear. "His eyes opened wide in surprise, then narrowed. "I was not—”

"Not that it matters to me," she interrupted. "I haven't put any claims on you. And despite the claims you've made, you're free to do as you like.”

His beautiful lips compressed into a thin line. "And this would not concern you?”

"Of course not," she scoffed.

"You lie.”

"I don't lie." But she was lying now. And wretched because of it.

«
Shei'tani ... Ellysetta ... you don't understand—”

"Get out of my head!" Angry, she wished she had the power to thrust him out of her thoughts, imagined the satisfaction of her anger taking the form of two giant hands that picked him up and flung him out of her mind. A split second later, she felt his surprise followed by a bruising jolt of pain. His pain.

The Tairen Soul staggered.

She couldn't stop the rush of concern that sent her lurching towards him. "Rain?”

He put a hand to his head. "Flames, woman, you pack a punch.”

"Are you all right?" She bit her lip to stop its trembling, tried to harden her heart against him. She failed miserably.

"Aiyah.
Surprised mostly." He shook his head. "Your jealousy is flattering,
shei'tani,
but unnecessary, I assure you.”

"Jealousy?" Her spine became a steel poker, her jaw a hard, thrusting rock of feminine outrage. `Jealousy?" She clenched her fists and wished she dared to hit him. Instead, she sniffed and turned away, forcing a tight smile to her face as she met the curious, interested gazes of a dozen or more children. "Come, children, let's play Stones.”

As his young
shei'tani
presented Rain with her back, the sound of silent Fey laughter rang in his head. He gave Bel and the others a scorching look, but that only made them laugh all the more. Not that anyone but a Fey would know it. They would not dishonor their King by any outward display of amusement.

He glanced over his shoulder. The Kelissande creature had wisely retreated. She was now ringed by a bevy of panting Celierian fools, dull-witted mortals blind to all but her beautiful exterior. Rain dismissed them. As long as the woman kept clear of his
shei'tani,
he would not concern himself with her.

He turned back to his truemate. She was smiling at the children, laughing as she played their stone-tossing game, doing her best to ignore him.

How different she was from the dark-souled one. And how much more intriguing than he had first thought. She was one surprise after another. Fey-gentle. Tairen-proud. Woman- passionate. And jealous when she thought her mate's attention had strayed. He savored that thought. A woman did not feel jealousy if her emotions were not engaged.

And a wise man did not let it fester.

With sudden purpose, Rain shed his Fey'cha belts and the harnesses holding his sheathed swords. Naked of steel, he stepped towards the ring of playing children.

"It would please me to learn this game," he announced. That earned him all manner of surprised looks, from the children, the Fey, and his
shei'tani.

"It is a child's game," Ellie told him warily. "Surely nothing that would interest a king." There was an emphasis on the last word, accompanied by a glance in Kelissande's direction.

"Ah, but I am tairen as well," he told her. "And tairen delight in games." It was true, though he had not indulged in tairen games since the Mage Wars. She was his truemate, and he was pledged to win her. If a child's game could help him achieve his aim, then play it he would.

He sent a warm, moist weave of Air, Water, and Fire whispering up her throat and curling around her ear. She shivered and gave him a warning look. The fire in her eyes made the tairen in him growl with appreciation. Tairen females were not timid. They were, in fact, often more dangerous than their mates. "Come," he murmured, his voice low and seductive. "Teach me this game." Satisfaction rumbled in his throat when he saw her nostrils flare in awareness of his pursuit.

She explained the rules with a quick breathlessness that pleased him. Stones was a game of aim, dexterity, and speed. The object was to make a path from one side of a grid to the other by landing your stones on connecting squares, while keeping your opponents from stopping you and simultaneously doing your best to stop them. If two stones landed on the same square in the grid, the two players had to race to it by stepping only on those squares occupied by their stones; whoever reached the disputed square and claimed the opponent's stone first won control of the square, while the other player forfeited his stone. The first player to build an unbroken path across the grid won the game.

"Are there any other rules?" he asked, when she was finished explaining. She shook her head. "Good." Inside his mind, where Ellysetta could not see, Rain smiled. It was a tairen's smile, full of teeth and cunning. "And will you grant me a boon if I win this game?”

"A boon?”

"Aiyah.
Surely there must be some reward for winning."

"Such as what?”

He ran a finger over her lips. "A kiss, I think.”

She swallowed. "A kiss?”

"I hunger for one.”

She blinked and visibly struggled to collect her thoughts. "And if you lose?”

"Then I grant
you
a boon.”

"Anything?”

"Anything." What would she ask for? A shame he would not find out. He raised a brow. "Well? Do we have a wager?" He enjoyed her wary frown. She knew there was some catch, but she had yet to figure it out.

"Yes," she finally agreed. "It's a wager. If you win, I'll give you a kiss. If anyone else wins, you'll grant me a wish— anything I want." And with that, the game began. On all levels.

Ellysetta loaned him a spare bag of stones. His were purple with a gold line painted across the diameter of each stone. The players took their spots along the borders of the grid, four on each side, with Rain standing beside Ellysetta. The game began with each player, in turn, dropping a stone on the grid square at his or her feet. It was simple enough, and if truth be told, rather boring, but within three or four plays, things began to get interesting as throwing distances grew greater, paths crossed, and the play converged on the center of the grid.

To his surprise, Rain truly enjoyed himself, and not just because he was looking forward to his reward once he won. In the Fading Lands, even before the Mage Wars, children had been rare and precious, adored and protected by even the most soul-shadowed warrior. Their youthful innocence and wide-eyed delight in the world appealed to the gentle heart that lay at the core of every Fey. The Celierian children, laughing as they leapt like little goats across the Stones grid, were no less appealing for all that they were not Fey.

Even the other warriors were not immune to the lure of childish joy. Fey laughter rang out across the common mental path, accompanied by the picking of favorites and good- natured teasing. No one placed bets. They all knew Rain Tairen Soul played this game to win.

At last, all the players but Ellysetta and Rain had lost their stones. Rain tossed his stone, deliberately landing it on Ellie's square. Like two elf bolts fired from an Elvian fingerbow, the pair of them darted across the grid, leaping nimbly from square to square. She was laughing as she raced across the grid, still laughing as she plowed into his chest when she made the jump to the disputed square he had reached first.

He absorbed her weight easily, and when she raised her face and laughed up at him, he was stunned anew. She was a gift from the gods, this woman with her gold-sprinkled skin, eyes clear and green as lush spring glades, and her soul that shone bright as the Great Sun itself. Aching to kiss her, he instead stepped back and showed her the red-and-green-striped stone in his hand. "I believe your stone is forfeit, Ellysetta," he told her. He tucked her stone into the pocket on the inside of his tunic, close to his heart. "Do you forfeit the game as well?”

Her eyes had followed the path of his hands and were now fixed on the small vee of pale flesh revealed by the opening of his tunic. At his question, she blinked and dragged her gaze back to his face, the bright smile on her lips not quite masking the hunger in her eyes. "Me? Forfeit a game of Stones?" She forced a laugh and danced away. "Never!" She raced back to her home position on the grid. Pleased with the exchange, he followed at a more leisurely pace.

As he prepared to throw his stone to win the game, she inched closer to him. "Take care with your aim," she advised him, smiling. "If you miss, I have a chance to win.”

"I will not miss.”

"Care to wager on that?”

Interested, delighted by her daring, he raised a brow "What did you have in mind?”

"If you don't win on this play, I want to go flying." She paused. "On tairenback.”

"And if I win?”

"Your choice.”

"Agreed." Rain lowered his lashes over eyes that suddenly glowed with heat and satisfaction. Taking wing with his
shei'tani
astride him would be no hardship.

Still, no Fey ever lost a challenge on purpose, and he would not be the first, especially not with so many warriors looking on. Taking aim, he drew back his hand and loosed his last stone. At that precise moment, his
shei'tani
stood on her toes and blew directly into his ear.

His entire body clenched. His throw went wild. Rather than landing with Fey precision on the winning square, his stone hurtled through the air over the heads of squealing, ducking children, skipped three times across the surface of the river, and sank like … well … a stone. Ellysetta was bent double, laughing. "I win," she gasped between laughs.

"Aiyah,"
he grumbled, eyeing her with new appreciation. That little move was sneaky enough for a tairen. "This wager. But I will win the game.”

She regained her composure and tossed her next stone towards an unoccupied square that would bring her one toss away from winning the game. Her aim was true, the arc of her throw perfect. The stone descended … then hit an invisible wall of Air and bounced back to land on a disqualified player's square. "What!" Ellysetta exclaimed. "Oh, foul!" She turned to him, laughing all the while she attempted to pretend outrage. "I cry foul!”

"Ha. As if you could." Rain tossed his last stone with negligent ease, this time using Air to direct it to its proper destination. It landed in the farthest row of the grid, completing his line. "I win.”

"You cheated," she accused. "More than I did," she added when he raised a brow.

"Nei,
I did not.”

"You used your magic to win.”

"You never said I couldn't." His voice simmered with masculine satisfaction. "When you wager with tairen, take care with your words.”

Leaving the children to their game, he led her towards a copse of trees beside the river and pulled her close.
Shei'tanitsa
need, never far from him, rose up in swift, insistent waves. "I would collect my prize.”

"Now?" she asked nervously. "Here?”

"Now," he confirmed. "Here.”

Ellysetta's lips were soft and warm, her eyes solemn, nervous, and wide open. He smiled against her mouth, gently licked at her lips with flickering, teasing touches of his tongue followed by tiny nibbling bites. «
You taste of honeyed cream, shei'tani. Open your mouth to me.»
His hands splayed against her back, clutching her slender body closer as she hesitantly complied with his command. Triumph, pleasure, desire, and protectiveness swirled through him as he laid claim to the secrets of her mouth. Timid at first, she accepted but did not respond to his kiss.

«Do not fear this, »
he urged.
«Do not fear me. Feel what you do to me, feel how I need you.»
Deliberately he lowered the protective barriers that were as much a part of him as his leathers and steel.

Need and desire poured over her like warm honey, and she gasped against his mouth, closing her eyes against the almost painful pleasure that claimed her senses. He did desire her. Though it made no sense to her, she couldn't deny it. Kelissande, for all her beauty, couldn't make him feel what she, plain Ellysetta Baristani, did. The knowledge was heady, intoxicating. There was such longing in him, such loneliness. It as like a void crying to be filled, and she could feel herself being drawn to it, needing to bring him peace.