Nightshade (16 page)

“For certain. Go and dance with your beloved.”

Emmalyn nodded and stood. “I’ll come find you.”

“All right.”

Emmalyn kissed Jessa’s cheek, a gesture that obviously startled Jessa. Emmalyn smiled, pulling lightly at a braid.

Jessa smoothed at her skirt and closed her eyes, then pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. She saw within her mind’s eye as Darry walked beneath the arch and her heart beat fast at the image. She reached for the single bracelet cuff that Radha had allowed her to wear, searching beneath the silk of her left sleeve to find its carved metal glyphs. “
Patroona tu an eesha
,” she whispered.

Radha’s words echoed in her head.
And what will you do when your vision comes at last, Jessa? Will you accept what it shows you, no matter what it is?

I should’ve known it anyway, for no one has ever struck my blood so deeply before.

Am I backwards then? Darry is backwards. Her love is for women. She wants the touch of a woman, and…she wants. What do you want, Darry?

Jessa closed her eyes tightly to bar the image of the man’s hands on Darry’s body and the way he had fondled her breast with a lustful touch. And he had kissed her. “
Fikloche
piton
,” Jessa said under her breath, her anger flashing.

She shook her head in surprise.

And what am I to do about it anyway? I am here for Malcolm to judge and that is my path.
And though the Vhaelin preach free will in all things, I’ve known little enough of such matters. What would a woman such as Darry find within the likes of Bharjah’s chattel? I’m not much of a prize for one so bold, be they man or woman.

Bloody hell, but she’s lovely. You’re so beautiful, Darry.

Are these the thoughts of a backwards woman? Wanting to touch her, her skin, wondering what her kiss would…
A surge of pleasure blossomed in her chest and spread in a wondrous manner. She felt Darry’s weight between her thighs once more and caught her breath, a heavy pulse of desire aching sweetly between her legs.
Essa ahbwalla…
She pressed her hands to her thighs and pushed
…that’s rather lovely, yes.

A breeze lifted and Jessa turned her face, taking a slow, sweet breath. It swept her hair away from her face like a gentle touch, and the scent of lilacs filled her head.

Darry had stepped deeper into the shadows as her sister passed, uncertain of why she hid but following her instincts as always. She waited until Emmalyn was beyond the curve in the hedgerow before turning back and finding Jessa.

Darry’s heartbeat quickened as Jessa savored the breeze, a warm flood of appreciation filling her chest. She took a deep breath and expelled it slowly.
Such an amazing woman, yet you may never have her as you wish to.

Darry looked to the ground at her feet and thought of that long-ago night when she had seen Aidan for the last time and how everything had ached so with want that her hands had shaken as never before. Aidan was the only lover she had ever truly known, and her memories could not help but emerge as her emotions stirred at Jessa’s beauty.

What she felt now was different. It was more, and it was terribly fierce, even in its innocence. But Aidan was all she had to compare it to, so her thoughts tumbled backward in time. Their last tryst, it had been almost a week since they had met alone and she had been set upon seeing Aidan no matter the cost. She had known something was wrong, had felt it in her bones.

And it was a lie.
She
was a lie. Well, no…that’s not true. She was real enough, as was everything we shared, the pleasure and the words we spoke. And though we were young, I can’t believe that what we whispered was all a dream. Though I remember well the cold words you spoke that night, Aidan, instead of finding laughter and the taste of your kiss.

Your cruelty was most certainly not a dream.

Darry’s mouth had a bitter taste as she recalled her first lover. Her only lover, as far as the word mattered, for though she had known other women, she had not been in love since.
It never occurred to me, Aidan, that I would not be enough. That the love I gave would mean so much less than others might offer. Not sweet enough. Not smart enough to know what you needed. It hadn’t occurred to me that my love wasn’t strong enough to be what a woman needs.

She made out the shadowed hilt of her sword and twisted her left hand upon the pommel. She had, as of yet, been unable to answer many questions where her heart was concerned. What would her family do if she were to love in the open, with no regard for the consequences? Would a royal daughter with a backwards bent be accepted? Or would she be disowned, as no doubt Malcolm would campaign for. She and Aidan had hidden themselves from both of their families, and seeing now how it had all turned out, it had been the best for all concerned.

“
Hesha anna, shaloona tu mahdree
?”

Darry looked up at the soft voice, not so much startled but confused as to how someone could be standing so close without her knowledge.

Jessa saw the sadness in Darry’s eyes and wanted to smooth her hand along Darry’s cheek. Would that soothe the almost-animal ferocity that played just beneath? The question surprised her so deeply she was unable to move.
What am I to do now? Do I ignore this? Can I even do that?

“I don’t understand,” Darry whispered.

“Why do you look so sad?”

And then it was gone, the honesty and raw emotion of what Jessa had seen. It was replaced by a clear expression, one that was just as true but held nothing of the answer to her question.

“I was thinking of someone who’s no longer here,” Darry said. “A friend. From a very long time ago.”

Jessa reached out tentatively and grasped Darry’s hand. “I’m sorry.”

Darry studied their hands and gently squeezed Jessa’s fingers before letting go. “Just a stray thought. I’m sorry to have upset you.”

“You did not upset me, my Lady, but I—”

“Darrius,” Darry interrupted. “Or Darry, remember? Please call me either. I’m not much of a lady.”

“You did not upset me, Darry.”

“You are well, though?”

“Yes,” Jessa answered, suddenly nervous, although it was a strange sort of wonderful that made her so. This was the first time since their encounter at the garden pond that they had been alone.
With nothing and no one to steal you away. Was it you, Darry? Was it you the wind caught and stole from me like smoke?

“I hope,” Darry replied. “I hope I didn’t offend you when I suggested you shouldn’t sing. I would like to hear you sing very much, but there were so many people.”

“I did not want to sing, Darry, not at all. And I was looking for you and couldn’t find you. Until you arrived, that is.”

Darry grinned. “I thought with the crowd I would let you know where I was.”

“Yes.
Everyone
knew where you were, didn’t they.”

“Perhaps.” The humor was thick within Darry’s voice as she glanced into the leaves above. “I think Bentley enjoyed it all very much, at least. He’s very bold.”

And you are not?

“I didn’t mean to take you from your rest. If you’d like to be alone.”

Jessa could see Darry’s hesitation and wondered if she was nervous as well, though she thought not. A wave of warmth blossomed deep within her chest.
I saw you beneath the bossa and I wanted…I wanted.
“You promised me flowers, Darry. Orchids that bloom in the moonlight.”

“Orchids,” Darry said happily. “I promised, yes.”

“You did.”

“But not within these gardens.” Darry leaned forward as if she shared a secret. “They grow within a very different garden.”

“There are
more
?” Within Lyoness, one garden was a paradise unrivaled. More than one was unheard of.

“For certain. Will you come with me?”

Jessa nodded and Darry stepped to the side, lifting the low-hanging branches back as Jessa moved through the opening.

“There is a story behind these orchids.” Darry gestured to the path that wove from the clearing and to their left.

“Then you must tell it to me.”

“May I tell you first how very beautiful you look?” Darry asked. “I’ve never seen such a dress before, interweaving Lyonese and Arravan styles. You wear it extremely well. No other woman here looks quite so lovely.”

Jessa blushed as the compliment cut deep. “Thank you.”

“I think that the dressmakers of Lokey will be even busier now, before the Solstice festivities.”

Jessa frowned as they walked, not understanding.

“You will have created something of a stir,” Darry said. “The women of court will want to partake in such a new fashion.”

Jessa laughed. “I shall tell Radha then. She’ll be most amused.”

“Lady Radha?”

“Radha made my dress.”

“Truly?”

“Yes.”

“She doesn’t seem, well, she seems more the type for herbs and healing soups for when your stomach aches. And for scolding you when you’ve not taken a bath as you should, no matter that you are a woman full grown.”

Jessa laughed in earnest. “For certain.”

“To the right, Jessa,” Darry said as another path opened before them. “And did she knock you on the back of the head when you disobeyed?”

“No,” Jessa answered, amused.

“My mother used to.” Darry’s hand rubbed there. “She has a cracking good swing, and she wears a ring that if it catches you just right? It can cause a strange echo to rattle in your skull.”

Jessa laughed yet again.

“Sort of like a coin within an empty bucket.”

“Are you saying that your head is empty?”

“I have been accused of that, yes.”

“I don’t believe it,” Jessa said.

“It’s true.” Darry spied the path before them. “It’s just here.”

Jessa felt Darry’s touch at her elbow and she faced the hedgerow on their right. “This is a garden?”

“Look closer.”

Jessa studied the riot of vegetation and saw within the plants an irregular shape to their growth and a channel of deeper shadows that lifted from the ground. “There’s a door!”

Darry nodded and reached to her vest. “It is my mother’s garden,” she said, looking troubled as she pulled at one of the black buttons.
She tried carefully to detach the chain that was looped around it. “Fancy clothes with their bloody buttons can be a good-for-nothing nuisance.”

Before she could stop herself Jessa covered Darry’s hands with her own. “What are you doing?”

“Key. This is the Queen’s Garden. It requires a key.”

Jessa pushed Darry’s hands aside and untangled the chain from the beautiful button. Her heart was racing and she wondered what she was doing, though it felt so right to be doing it, to be standing so close. “You’ll pull it loose,” she said in quiet reprimand. “And you should try the laces of a Lyonese corset if you wish to experience a nuisance.”

Jessa let the delicate gold chain slide through her fingers. She pulled the catch free and smoothed at the vest once more. As she realized what she was doing, she stilled her hands, the heat from Darry’s body searing her skin.

Their hands met as Darry took the chain, a crooked stone key hanging in the air between them. “Do you wish to open it?” she said with a grin. “It is the only key other than my mother’s.”

“How…” Jessa cleared her throat lightly, finding it too hard to breathe standing so close. “Did she give it to you?”

“When I was a girl,” Darry said. “I was…struggling with some things, and she said that we might share it. It made me feel special, that we had a place just for us.”

Jessa raised her hand and Darry laid the key in her palm.
Still warm from your body
. She closed her eyes as the stone seemed to vibrate against her skin. “Is it all right that I go in?”

“Yes,” Darry said, “I want more than anything to share such a place with you.”

“You do?”

“I can think of no one better. Open the door, Jessa. Let me show you the Moonblood orchids.”

Jessa stepped to the ivy-covered door, spying the keyhole as she pushed a cluster of leaves away from the handle. The key slid within the opening and she turned it. The door popped open in answer.

Darry took Jessa’s hand and led her beneath the gate, careful of Jessa’s dress before she retrieved the key and pushed the door shut. “I give you the Queen’s Garden.”

Jessa tightened her grip around Darry’s arm and her senses filled at the presence of a thousand flowers. The plants still held some of their colors. The lamps from the palace were many and filled the night with a golden glow.

Tall stalks of sunflowers shot up from within batches of foxglove and hyacinths, and tulips and drooping bluebells were so heavy that they were falling over. Flowering ivy exploded up a trellis made of weathered wood, and periwinkle sprawled everywhere, wild and chaotic as it lay scattered among the rest.

“You have chicory!” Jessa exclaimed, and Darry let go of her hand as Jessa moved deeper in the garden, cupping the delicate blue buds that would open only in the morning light. Jessa laughed with joy. “It is my Radha’s favorite. She likes it in her karrem.” She turned to the blue flag, closing her eyes as she pressed her nose to the silken petals. “And lupine,” she said in a whisper. “Lupine dies so quickly in the clay of Amendeese Province. It’s good for healing salves if cured properly.”