Warlord (25 page)

Liam looked up, and reached for one. "They are one of my favorites."

The warrior smiled at me. "I was taught to cook them by a master."

Liam's face stilled as the warrior bowed and left us.

"He's right, you know." I nodded to the board. "You should have moved your ehat to block me."

The odd expression on Liam's face was still there.

He picked up the ehat, and ran his thumb over the detailed carving. He seemed distracted somehow.

"Another game?" I reached out to set the pieces in their positions.

Liam didn't look up. Instead he kept his gaze on the ehat and cleared his throat. "Lara? How does Marcus?"

His tone was offhand, as if it didn't really matter, but something gave me pause. "You know Marcus?"

He looked up then, those hazel eyes flooded with pain. I drew a breath, as he turned away, and I could clearly see the bonded piercings, the wire running along the outside of the ear, the beads and small trinkets woven within.

I sat my mug down, dazed.

Isdra nodded, then took a deep breath. "Lara, Marcus was bonded."

"Really?" I jerked my head around, to spot Marcus behind us. His chin was on his chest, and he appeared to be sleeping in the saddle as his horse walked along. "But his ear
—"
I stopped myself. His left ear had been burned away in the accident that left him scarred.

Isdra nodded again. "Aye, his ear spiral melted away with his flesh. I do not know the details, Lara."

"Oh, Goddess. Was she killed, Isdra?"

Isdra shook her head. "I will say no more, Lara. For lack of knowledge, and for courtesy."

"Goddess," I breathed out. "You are Marcus's bonded."

Liam jerked his head in a nod, but didn't look at me.

I had to remind myself to breathe. And breathe again. Marcus was bonded. Marcus was bonded to a...

My world seemed to shift around me, as if all of my assumptions of the world were wrong. I breathed again, and remembered to speak. My voice sounded like it was coming from a long way away. "He is well, when last I saw him, when I asked that he be my Guardian."

"You did?" Liam smiled. "I had not heard that. I bet that caused a furor."

"It did." I frowned suddenly. "Is that why you rejected him? Because of his—"

The room went ice-cold in a moment, and those hazel eyes pierced right through me. This was a Warlord of the Plains that sat before me, and he was well and truly angry. "Were you of the Plains, I'd kill you for that insult."

I bit my lip, but didn't look away. "Then why?"

"By Marcus's choice," he snapped as he slammed the ehat piece down and rose to his feet. He started to pace, back and forth before the platform, a very angry Warlord of the Plains. But I felt no fear.

His anger was aimed at himself.

"'This worthless carcass is not your bonded,'" Liam snarled. "That is what the stubborn, stupid man told me." He talked with his hands, gesturing to the air. "I begged him to return to me until he threatened to go to the snows, regardless of his oath to Keir." Liam stopped and rubbed his face with his hands. "It's two campaigns now since I've seen him."

I caught my breath. "Two years?"

Liam let out a ragged breath. "He serves Keir. And never comes to the Heart." My face showed my thought, and Liam caught it in an instant. "He's here, isn't he?"

I nodded, picking up the poor abused ehat figure. "I've seen him."

"Do you know how hard that is for him?" Liam shook his head, and crossed his arms over his chest. "His loyalty to Keir is absolute." He examined me intently. "And to you as well, it seems."

Suddenly, Keekai's words to Marcus when she'd seen him made perfect sense. "He worried about you. When Keekai arrived, she told him that you hadn't been hurt on campaign."

Liam sagged. "But he didn't actually ask, did he?"

I sighed, looking at the ehat carving. "No."

"When Keir brought Marcus back to me, and Marcus recovered enough to speak, the first thing he did was call me to his tent and announce that the bond had melted away in the fires, along with his ear." Liam struggled with the words.

"He pushed you away because of his scars, didn't he?" I asked, softly. I placed the ehat on the board. "It would affect your status, wouldn't it?"

"What of it?" Liam cried out. "Do you know how empty the days are? How empty my arms are at night?"

He turned to pace again, so he didn't see me blush. That was something I wasn't ready to think about. My people didn't. . . such a thing was not approved of. And it was one thing to know that Firelanders had those kinds of relationships. I'd known that. Certainly Osa had made it clear.

But now it was someone I knew, someone I cared for. I swallowed hard. Marcus, who had protected me with his blades and cared for me when I'd been so deathly ill.

Marcus, who I considered a friend, had bonded with a man.

I swallowed hard.

Liam still prowled, and I watched his hands clench into fists. I couldn't deny the longing in his voice. I'd heard it in my own, when I spoke of Keir.

"I will not give up," Liam vowed. "One day I will find a way across the plains that he has placed between us. I'll have him back, at my side, I swear it by—"

"Warlord."

Liam and I both jumped, and turned to see his warrior pull the flap aside. Liam frowned. "Yes, Rish, what is it?'

"Word from the Council."

Finally!

Finally, I'd see the Council. I fussed with my hair as I tried to match Liam's stride. Wiping imaginary crumbs from my tunic kept my nerves at bay for a moment.

What I really wanted was a moment to change, to put on that red dress, to arm myself against the foe. At least I had my satchel. I adjusted it on my hip, tugging the strap into place between my breasts.

We'd been told the summons was urgent, and Liam had offered to escort me, along with Amyu and my warrior-priest guards. I accepted gratefully, although I couldn't help but wonder if he didn't want to try to get a glimpse of Marcus.

The Council tent appeared, looking even larger and more imposing. I trotted to keep up with Liam. We entered the tent to find the area filled with people. Liam headed toward the main area between the fire pits and I followed close behind. He stopped, and I stepped to stand beside him.

Off to the left, I saw Iften and Wesren, standing with the warrior-priest Gathering Storm. Their faces were not welcoming, and I turned away, grateful that Liam and Amyu walked with me between the fire pits.

The Eldest were ahead of us, standing on the base, the tiers behind them filled with Elders. I looked around, and suddenly familiar faces filled my sight. Atira, with a wide smile, and Heath just behind her. Joden, his face still so filled with pain. I gave him a smile, and then behind him—

Keir!

Joy rang through my entire body, and I ran toward him without thinking. "Keir!"

My arm was grabbed by one of the warrior-priests, who jerked me to a stop. My satchel shifted, and I lost my balance, stumbling a bit, as one of the other guards grabbed my flailing arm.

"Take your hands off her!" Keir's voice cried out, and there was movement around me, but I was still trying to find my feet.

"Hold." Essa's voice boomed out. "HOLD."

Everyone around us stopped moving, and I managed to look up, to find a furious Keir being held back by Simus and Liam. I made eye contact, and smiled, trying to reassure him.

"Release her," Essa directed, and my guards obeyed. "Xylara, Daughter of Xy, are you hurt?"

"No," I answered, readjusting my satchel on my hip.

"There is to be no contact with Keir of the Cat," Essa chided.

"As if a hug would hurt. Or a word of greeting," Keekai said as she walked past, heading toward her seat. "Foolishness, if you ask me."

"Then it is well you were not asked." Wild Winds appeared, to take his seat beside Essa. "Still, the treatment of the Daughter of Xy was too rough. It will not happen again." He gestured, and my guards melted away.

"Lara, are you alright?" Keir asked, still seething.

"I'm fine, belov—"

"As if you really care!" Antas stood, and walked over to face Keir. "You, who have dallied with another, even as your so-called warprize attempts to claim you."

Dallied? Did that mean what I thought it meant? I flushed, and then went cold at the idea that Keir would turn to another while—

"Lower your hood, and show all how true you are to the one you would bond with." Antas pointed at Keir. "Do it now,
warrior."

There was absolute silence in the tent as Keir glared at Antas. But then his expression changed slightly, and his eyes crinkled in silent humor. Keir lifted his hands and lowered his hood to reveal a small purplish bruise on his neck. A love bite.

Oh Goddess above.
I blushed bright red, heat flooding my face.
My love bite.

Keir arched an eyebrow as the Elders reacted to the sight.

Antas, however, was nearly foaming at the mouth. "You see? You see? He has broken faith with this Xyian even before she—"

It took everything I had to say the words aloud before the entire Council of Elders. "I put that there."

"Eh?" Antas twisted to face me.

I drew a deep breath, and raised my voice. "That is my mark on his neck."

As the group reacted to that, my blush deepened, if that was possible. Then I made the mistake of looking at Keir, and had to cover my mouth to prevent myself from laughing. He looked so smug.

Simus was under no such handicap. He was howling with mirth.

Antas was scowling, as were Essa and Wild Winds. "How so?" Antas snapped. "You have been kept apart from—"

"Her bath." Amyu spoke. "It had to be during her bath."

I looked over my shoulder to see that she was none too happy either. I turned back to face the Elders. "It was in my bath," I admitted. "Keir snuck in to see me."

As one, the Eldest turned to glare at Keir.

Keir shrugged.

Simus laughed and slapped him on the back. "The skies favor the bold."

Antas paused as a ripple of laughter swept the room again. "So you talked to Keir, despite our rules, despite our—"

"We didn't waste time talking," I snapped right back, glaring at him. Then I realized what I'd announced to the room, and blushed bright red.

"HEYLA!" Simus shouted. "Truly, the attraction between Warlord and Warprize is as the heat of the summer!"

Joden's head jerked up at that, and the movement caught my eye. He gave Simus a startled look, and then looked at me, as if seeing me for the first time.

The Eldest were all talking among themselves. I saw Keekai up on the tier, and she gave me a bright look. I looked over at Keir again, and he gave me a warm smile, full of reassurance. I flushed a bit under his approval, and smiled back, content.

Essa stepped forward. "Daughter of Xy. You speak the truth when you say that you did not talk to Keir of the Cat?"

"I did not. We ..." I kept my eyes on him, resisting the urge to look down. "We spoke only with our bodies, Eldest Singer."

"What does she know of truth?" Antas growled. "She lies at any time, as she sees fit."

"I do not!" I replied hotly, stepping forward to face the Eldest Warrior.

"You lied to Atira of the Bear." Antas folded his massive arms over his chest, and sneered at me.

"How so?" I demanded.

"Atira of the—" Antas bellowed, but Essa cut him off.

"Before you bawl out for a truth, we will call this senel to order." Essa turned to face the Elders, who began to settle down. He turned back, and gestured to someone behind me. Amyu appeared, with a folding stool, that she set up for me between the fire pits.

I adjusted my satchel and sat. Amyu remained at my shoulder, standing just behind me.