Time Dancer (27 page)

“Queen Myla?”

“Her magic is second only to her love. Her heart would have crumbled had we not granted her permission to remain with Taric. But we didn’t foresee the dangers of such a union.”

“Dangers?” Jana massaged her brow. “What dangers? Salome remained and married my father. My half-sisters are fine. There is no danger there.”

“Your father, though a valiant warrior, didn’t carry the same magic in his blood as Taric did. Taric carried his mother’s magic in his blood. Queen Tarsha was, and is, a most extraordinary woman with untold power. The mingling of those two bloodlines is potentially deadly. No human can withstand inheriting from both. Batu was lucky. Warric was not. The heartmate curse tore his mind, and the blood magic destroyed it.”

Ranier’s throat moved, as if he were swallowing back regret. “And so we accept our role in Warric’s misery, and ultimately in Kya’s death. That is our shame. We can permit no more desolation to be created and shared. No other call will be answered. The gates have been closed forevermore.”

Jana nearly managed a smile at that. At least no one else would be cursed to feel this horrendous agony, this emptiness.

“We Old Ones shall watch and if any others in the Segur line ever show hints of such power, well—” he shrugged his shoulders in a purely human move of resignation, “—that magic is best removed entirely before another tragedy occurs.”

“Then my unborn niece is safe?”

“Yes. A small comfort, but all I can give you.” Compassion radiated from him and sympathy shaded his gaze. “I am truly sorry.”

Despair came with her understanding. “He’s never coming back to me, is he?”

“That, Jana, depends on you.”

“What do you mean?”

Silver threaded through his long hair, crystal buried in ice. It caught the sun’s glow and glistened. “What would you sacrifice for his return?”

“Anything. Everything.”

He held up one long finger, halting her. “Think. He cannot claim his life for he gave it to you. You cannot exchange your human life, for that defeats the purpose of his return. Would you sacrifice another? Your sister? Your father? Perhaps your unborn niece? Which life will you give for Darach’s?”

Horror clamped her throat. “I can’t. Those aren’t mine to choose.”

“So we are at an impasse.”

The fountain and the solitary bird were the only sounds. Unheard was the shattering of her heart. Her chest squeezed tight to keep the shards inside. She never knew dying was so painful.

“Even magic has limits,” she whispered.

“Yes, it does. The only thing in existence that has no limits is love.”

Love. The one thing she had but would never hold again. Tears blinded her and her belly cramped. Darach was truly gone, forever.

A sob worked at her throat, choking her with its size. Her body shook. Like a caring grandfather, Ranier opened his arms and held her as she wept. His comforting words took none of her hurt away but she welcomed them because they were in Darach’s language, the cadence of pure magic.

Time had no meaning. She wept until her throat was raw, her eyes swollen and her energy drained. When she could cry no more, he wiped her cheeks with a gentle thumb. “Sweet dreamer, I wish I had the power to take your pain away.”

“Would you have taken Darach’s child away?”

He blinked. “His child? You don’t carry life.”

The last breath of bitterness eked out with her scoff. “But if I had, would you have taken that, too, to keep the balance?”

Contemplation angled his head. “That was not an offered choice.”

“Then I’m glad I don’t carry because that would’ve been too difficult to decide.” Sudden fatigue pressed down like a landslide. “I’m so tired.”

A gentle hand stroked her hair. “My presence and this dance have taxed you greatly. Close your eyes. Rest here, in my garden. You will wake in your own time.”

She didn’t have the strength or willpower to argue. Sliding to the soft grass, she pillowed her head on her hands. “Ranier?”

“Yes, child?”

“Tell Darach that I love him and always will.”

“He knows. Sleep.”

She closed her eyes to let sleep descend. Her fingers crept up but didn’t find her necklace. It too had been taken from her. A final tear leaked out. “Goodbye, my love.”

* * *

Dusk had fallen by the time Jana opened her eyes. She sat, rubbing the dried tears from her face. Hollowness echoed inside her. The bustle of the courtyard had slowed. Wagons had been filled and left, the blacksmith’s hammer was silent, and the clang of soldiers training absent. A hearty scent of meats cooking signaled the dinner hour but she never moved. The kirk bells chimed, announcing vespers, calling all who toiled to rest. There was no rest for Jana.

A rumble grew beneath her bottom. Above her head, the oak limbs trembled and dark green leaves fell in a premature autumn flight. Jana craned her head, looking for the cause, but could see nothing. The rumble increased, vibrating the ground. A thudding began in her chest. Breath stilled in her lungs.

The air filled with a static, a barely audible sizzle that stood each tiny hair on end. From a cloudless sky, a rolling drum sounded. With a
whip
-
crack
, pink lightning speared down twenty paces away. Sparks flew, and smoke wafted from the scorch mark.

A small crack in the ground broke open. Mounds of soil and silt pushed up, spilling away. One hand thrust from the earth. An arm appeared, then the crown of a head, dark hair coated in dirt. A second hand emerged.

Jana knew those hands. Tear-filled laughter bubbled from her belly. He clawed from the debris, pulling from the earth, straining until his body was free. His chest heaved with exertion as he collapsed, coughing and gasping air.

Sweat and mud streaked his face and his silk was torn, gaping wide along one knee. His gloves overflowed with rocks and dirt, pulling the belt low on his hips. His lips were cracked, parched dry as if he’d been baked. Red rimmed his eyes and he blinked as if the waning light hurt. Blood coated his raw fingertips. There were scrapes along his forearms.

He was the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen.

“
Nayeli
, I have returned.”

She threw herself at him. Those gloriously hard arms embraced her as he fell back. His hair spread along the grass like a blanket, rippling as a harsh cough racked him. Her hands shook but she couldn’t stop touching him. Her fingers traced the line of his brow, the slope of his nose, the wedge of his jaw.

So many words died in her mouth. Her tongue couldn’t voice anything.

Thank
you
.
Thank
you
for
giving
him
back
.

How
was
he
back
?

Pulling away was torture but she had so many questions.

She kissed his hand, the mineral-dense dirt unnoticed against the feel of his skin beneath her lips. “How are you here?”

“I was given a new choice.” Squeezing Jana’s hand, he sucked in a slow breath then forced his eyes to meet hers. “The price for my life was another life. I can never give you a child, Jana.”

Ranier’s contemplative look suddenly made sense to her. He’d found a loophole, just as Rycca had ages ago. It was a chance to give them a life together. Her eyes closed and she whispered a silent thank-you to the wise Old One, who loved his kind as a grandfather and did anything in his power to make them happy.

When she opened her eyes, Darach looked scared, as if she’d rebuke him. She laughed. Would anyone turn down a diamond because the wrapper had a tear? “I don’t care.”

“But we will never have a family.”

“Blood doesn’t create families, love does. There are hundreds of children who have no one. We could be that family, you and I.”

A spark enlivened his face. “An orphan? Like young Argot.”

“Yes. There are so many like that. I don’t need a baby, Darach. I need you.” He kissed her. The winter-mint taste of his lips nipped and nibbled until she had no breath. She pulled back only when desperate for air. “Batu has found fault with the last three captains Papa trained. I’d say you have a position, if you want it.”

“I’d like that,” Darach whispered. Wiping the loose dirt from his face, he rose and pulled Jana to her feet. “I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy.”

“You already did it.” She squeezed his hand. “You came back.”

He dropped his brow to hers, his arms looped around her waist. “Love proved stronger than all the magic in creation,
nayeli
.”

Laughter poured from her. “Come on. I can’t wait to see Batu’s face when he sees you.”

She tugged him toward the castle but he stopped her. “There’s more I must tell you.”

“More?”

“The Old Ones found a soul in accord with their own on the other side.” He squeezed her hand, as if unable to let go. “Queen Tarsha. Somehow, she and the Old Ones worked enough magic to bridge the veil and hold open a doorway for a brief moment. Kya was willing so they sent me to carry her soul across the realms. Warric has his bondmate for eternity.”

Jana’s eyes blurred again. “That’s so wonderful.”

“Warric gave me a message, but I don’t understand it.”

“What message?”

“Queen’s bishop five. Checkmate. Winner take all.”

Jana’s shoulders slumped. “He’s happy and safe. That message is going to give peace to his family. I can’t imagine a more precious gift.”

A small quirk lifted the corners of his lips. “Nor could I. But may I try?”

From the pouch at his waist, he pulled out a single stone and extended it to her. It was an emerald twice the size of her thumbnail, smoky green with a raw luster.

“I have no magic. I’m just a man. I had to be born in pain, in struggle as a human, so the Earth once more became my mother. But I still recognize the riches of the Earth. I saw this on my climb and thought, when polished and set in gold, it would be a fine addition to your...” His brows grooved low as he looked at her neck. “Where’s your turquoise?”

Jana wrapped her fingers around the emerald and her arms around his shoulders. “I don’t need it anymore. I have you.”

Darach looked at the Claiming Tree, choosing a clear spot just above his head. His wide smile gleamed as he emptied the dirt from his glove, donned it and used a claw to carve a heart.

“You’re supposed to ask my father first,” Jana chided with no heat.

Not the grime on his skin nor the tears in his clothes could diminish Darach’s regal bearing. His chin lifted with pride.

“Make no mistake,
nayeli
. I claim you as mine. We fought death, time and magic for one another. Nothing will keep us apart.”

Epilogue

“How much longer are you going to make everyone wait?”

Batu pursed his lips then looked up at Feena. “I don’t know. A while yet.”

“Five minutes.” She sighed. “I’ll go calm the audience.”

The study door closed soundlessly behind her. Parchment tapped softly against the desktop as Jana straightened the stack of decrees. She realigned the quill, closed the wax box, laying the seal stamp atop it, anything to fill a few minutes. Although her official role was now advisor, she acted more as his friend, giving Batu support when he needed it most. Her duty had never been as heavy as this moment. “It’s time.”

“Time. There’s never enough of it. I’ve always known they’d go together but I never realized I’d...” Batu leaped from his chair and paced. He stopped, staring into the cold fire pit. “I can feel him, you know.”

“Who?”

“Papa. He’s here.” His eyes closed. “He told me this minute would be frightening, but I didn’t understand. These past moons, it’s been easy to just believe he and Mama are off on a holiday. But if I walk out that door, then I have to admit that they’re really gone.”

Jana rubbed his arm. “It was a peaceful passing and they went together, as they lived.”

“Warric would be making jokes now.” A bittersweet smile curled his mouth. “And thanking God that he wasn’t in my shoes. I miss him.”

She looked to the far wall where her husband leaned in quiet watch. Darach’s captain’s uniform was black with a small dark red crest above his heart. His long hair was clubbed back tightly and carved his cheekbones to high arches. The summer tunic left his biceps bare. He still wore his gold cuff but now four dagger points had been marked into the flesh above it. One clawed glove hung on his belt, resting behind a sword at his hip. Eight summers in this realm hadn’t dimmed his raw magnetism. Her heart raced just looking at him, knowing he was hers and that she was his.

Their gazes met and held. She nodded. Darach kicked off the paneled wood and picked up the deep ruby robe. He held it wide. “Your Highness?”

The respect booming in Darach’s deep baritone raised Batu’s head. A gulp worked his throat but he stepped forward. Darach spread the robe over his shoulders and Jana moved to tie the velvet ribbon at his neck.

Sudden fear arched across the nearly crowned king’s face. “Wait. Give me a few more moments.”

“More time will not change this.” She pressed the refashioned scepter into his shaking fingers. “You were born for this.”

He nodded but made no move to leave the study. The silk of her gown rustled gently as Jana walked to Darach. Her hand slid into his, rough skin scraping a tingle across her palm. He smelled of icy wind and cinnamon. A secret smile curved her lips.

It had taken them five summers but now a branch of Bearcub Haven stood in each province—feeding, clothing and educating orphans. Just last summer they’d taken in abandoned twin toddlers. Mava and Maric loved to feed their new papa bits of cinnamon bread. He’d growl like the bear he used to be and chase them around the nursery, catching and smothering them in kisses.

A loud exhale drew her gaze back to Batu.

“Remember what Paron Myrtlewood said? I’m the bridge between the old way and the new. I told Darach a long time ago I couldn’t imagine how he came here knowing nothing about this world. But he did. Eldwyn needs to be guided into a new era and I have no idea what lies ahead. I only hope I can do half as well with my task.”

“You will succeed,” Darach said.

Batu smiled at them both. “Of course I will. I have the very best of friends at my back.”

Darach opened the double doors and led Batu from the room, their pace measured and formal. The grand hall teemed with expectant faces, bright with the glow of watching history unfold at a royal coronation. Jana glanced out the window and fingered the emerald hanging from a gold chain at her neck. The roses swaying in the breeze widened her grin. The past was never far away and the future endless with possibility. It was a good time to live and love.

* * * * *