The Diplomat (24 page)

It was clear Elise was bringing herself near to tears. The light shimmered in her eyes, and her voice struggled to express memories still capable of causing pain. “Don’t burden yourself any longer,” said Rema. “I’ll tell you my tale. It’s far sweeter.”

Elise gave her a grateful look. “Please do.”

“I was seventeen.”

“Really? So late?”

Rema pinched Elise’s hand. “Don’t interrupt. I was seventeen, and I’d just passed the final diplomat’s exam. There were six or seven boys who’d graduated as well. We chose to celebrate at the Azure Lion, a tavern popular among the men of Arann for the many attractive women who dance, serve and entertain there. I wore my best pair of silk trousers and a loose blouse.”

“I can picture you in it now.”

“What did I say about interrupting?” Rema laughed. “Come, now, attend to what I’m telling you. We arrived just before nightfall. Our party sat upon a circle of cushions in one corner, laughing and drinking, while the incense drifted and settled about us. It was all very lively.”

“I’m going to interrupt you again, because I must know. How did the boys treat you?”

“When I first joined the college they were very unsure about me. In time, I won them over. Some of them fell in love with me, I suspect, but that sort of thing happens to me all the time.”

“You make my adoration of you sound so commonplace.”

It was hard not to feel courageous beneath the waning light, kept company by creaking timber and lapping waves. “Believe me, you are far from commonplace. Many have sought my hand, but none compare to you.”

Elise giggled. “You have no idea how sweet those words sound to me.”

“Back to the story. A young woman was there that night, moving among the patrons. She had long, tan legs and eyes as dark and intense as smoke. It was her business to flirt briefly with the men, whisper something sweet into their ears, convince them to buy a drink and move on. Every boy was excited for her to reach us, because each was convinced that she would see him and fall madly in love.”

“Go on. I’m quivering in anticipation.”

“When the woman came to us, she looked at the group before picking whom she thought was the prettiest young man there. She sauntered up to me, draped her arms over my shoulders and dropped into my lap. The moment my chest met hers, she realized her mistake. But when I felt the heat of her body, I knew I didn’t want her to leave. So I held her, gazed into her eyes and said, ‘Don’t fly away, my dove.’”

“Did she melt?”

“She was nervous and confused. As I talked to her and flirted with her, however, she grew comfortable in my lap. The other boys giggled like children and nudged each other, while the tavern owner glared at her, wishing she’d move on to the next customer. But she remained, laughing at my jokes and smiling as our heads brushed. By the end of the night she was caressing my shoulders, nuzzling my neck and whispering in my ear.”

“Keep going!”

“Night grew long, and the customers began to leave. The incense thinned, the dancers slowed and some of my companions made their farewells. Finally, the tavern owner came to our group and said the girl was needed elsewhere. She pouted, pressed her lips to the back of my neck and excused herself. I sat there hardly able to breathe. I couldn’t smell anything but her perfume or feel anything but her heat. The remaining boys teased and congratulated me, while I sat dizzy, only gradually understanding what these feelings meant for me. What they told me about the woman I am.”

Elise issued a dreamy sigh. “How lovely. Is that the end?”

“Not quite. I stayed for some time longer before bidding my friends farewell. She was waiting for me in the humid night. Without saying a word, she took my hand and led me down an alley, where she pressed me to the wall and began to embrace me. At first I stroked her face, but then I moved my attentions to her breasts and thighs. We both wore loose clothing, nothing to impede exploring hands.”

Elise’s shoulders moved with the quickness of her breath. “Every last detail. I mean it.”

“She had obviously never had a woman before. She touched my body tentatively, as if amazed by what she was doing. But I yearned to please her and refused to be timid. I squeezed her buttocks as tight as I could. I cupped her breasts and held her nipples between my teeth, teasing them with my tongue. I slid my fingers inside her, gasping as I felt her wetness. I kissed her anywhere that could be kissed—”

“Stop,” said Elise, her voice shaking. “If you aren’t going to make love to me the second this story ends, you’d better just stop it now.”

“I thought you wanted all the details.”

“I’ll be frustrated all night imagining it now, visualizing myself in that girl’s place.”

“Then let’s spare you further misery by changing the subject. Now I’ve shared this tale with you, return me a favor in kind. Tell me about magic. How did you learn it?”

“Give me a moment to cool.” Elise exhaled. “Right then. When I was seventeen, a magician came to court. I convinced him to part with some of his books and apparatus, and I set myself the task of understanding it all. To be honest, I wanted to find ways to hurt Calan. I worked for months, following instructions, and succeeded in giving him the itching plague. Him and half the people in the palace. That was my first lesson in magic.”

“And that’s why you don’t use it to harm others?”

“Exactly. I prefer to help them. There were many healing recipes and spells in the books, and collecting the various reagents proved a pleasant diversion. It was gratifying to see people cured, to know that I was the one who had brought solace to them. That kind of magic is the work of simple nature combined in little known ways. Some people wouldn’t really call it magic at all.”

“Explain it to me.”

“Natural magic involves manipulating the relations between things in this world. It took me some time to understand it, but when it became clear, it didn’t just explain magic—it explained life. We’re all part of something greater, all joined to one another. The correspondences are stronger in some unions than others, but all return to the same source. You, me, Calan, Ormun, all the good and bad.”

“And failed Lyornan assassins, I assume. How did you make that man lose his ability to respond to questions?”

“With subtlety, care and understanding. Everything from words to minerals has power and resonance. Think of it as a piece of string joined to millions of other pieces of string. If I pull one string, I can make the others tremble, but it takes a very skilled hand to control which strings respond and which stay still.”

“And you have those very skilled hands?”

It had been a gamble, but Elise’s low, delighted laughter was sufficient compensation. “Innuendo? Really, Rema. Tell me, how is it you don’t already have a lover back in Arann?”

Now that was a topic best delayed. Elise would not react well to the knowledge that Rema was accustomed to loving many women, promising them nothing, and that one woman in particular—Jalaya, sweetest Jalaya—shared her bed most nights. It was, at least, a one-sided problem, for Jalaya would surely not begrudge Rema this passion; as much as they enjoyed each other’s bodies, jealousy could hardly exist between two people who made no claim over each other’s hearts. But Elise was different, though Rema still struggled to articulate to herself how.

“I try not to have lovers,” said Rema, speaking slowly. “That is, anyone who expects me to be at their side for long. I travel much.”

“Which suggests you will abandon me too, not long after depositing me in this tyrant’s clutches.” Elise’s voice trembled. “Don’t you understand that what keeps me alive is the hope you love me the way I love you? I need to believe that even while you feign defeat, in your head you’re scheming ways for us to be together.”

It was tempting to end the conversation now, walk away and attempt to patch the wounds later, but Muhan had been right. Elise needed this chance to clear her heart. “I understand.”

“Then give me a sign! Let me know that I’m not throwing my heart into a well with nobody waiting to catch it. I’ve played it your way. I think I’ve read your hints, but I’m never certain. All I want is some confirmation that I’m not just deluding myself. You do love me, don’t you?”

The lie reached the tip of Rema’s tongue, but she stilled it there. The suffering she had brought to Elise meant she deserved to only ever hear the truth, even if that truth might damn them both. “Yes, Elsie. I do love you.” The confession left her weak. “I’ll do whatever I can for you. But there’s no way we can be together. Not the way you want.”

Elise crept closer, still holding Rema’s hand. “You’re wrong, my love. We will find a way. I just need to know that you’ll be waiting for me.”

Yet again a lie came to mind, only for Rema to stop it. She put her arms around Elise’s waist, braving the warmth of that tantalizing body. “Even if we can only be together in mutual yearning, then it will be so. I owe you that much.”

“Rema, my beloved.” Elise released a shuddering breath. “I don’t want this embrace to end. I hate what Ormun has done to both of us. We’re so near to happiness, and he’s the only thing standing in our way.”

“He stands in the way of many more happinesses than our own. But he’s a difficult, complex man. You’ll understand when you meet him.”

“I’m going to free you. I’ll rescue you from hating yourself for the things you have to do in his name. Your father was right. There’s no power greater than virtue, and I’ll prove it to you.”

Rema pressed her cheek against Elise’s fragrant hair. She wanted to undress her, to kiss her and love her. Instead, she held her for as long as she dared, this woman who was both her captive and the captor of her heart.

Chapter Seventeen

On the twentieth day of travel, the navigator spotted land, and a delighted cry rose from the deck. Rema stood at the ship’s edge and watched as sheer white cliffs broke the horizon. The line marked the coast of Lastarel, the seaboard kingdom that neighbored the Pale Plains. The sight told all on board they were mere hours from home. Some distance to the west, beyond where the water struck against the cliffs, Arann’s southern flank met the Sea of Red Winds—the great ocean passage between burning Amantis and frozen Ostermund. Rema had spent the last few days describing the imperial capital to Elise, though her words could offer only a faint image of the city under whose weight the world bowed.

The ship sped through the water as if even the sails were encouraged by the nearness of their destination. The captain rampaged above deck, bellowing orders that nobody needed, while Elise, Rema and Muhan watched the unfolding coast. As the land slipped by, Elise marveled aloud at the colors of the cliffs and the white trees that perched atop their peaks.

The voyage had tanned Muhan even more deeply, and his face was now a rich shade of brown. “It has been six years since I laid eyes on Arann. They say it still grows.”

“Endlessly. We should divide it into two cities to make it easier to administrate, but that would require more capable urban planners than we have.”

“What kind of people can I expect to meet at your court?” said Elise. “Surely not everyone is as wicked as Ormun.”

“Many good people didn’t survive the coup.” The cliffs began to dip toward the sea, introducing a dazzling line of beach. “But yes, I have friends at court, and enemies too.”

“Enemies? Why?”

“I’m powerful, I have Ormun’s ear and I’ve been around a long time. And I have certain ideals. For some people that’s enough.”

They admired the passing coast until the sight lost its wonder. Muhan disappeared below deck to play cards while Elise returned to the book that she was reading, her hair shining in the sun. Rema walked across the broad deck, curious to see the view from the stern.

“You must be excited.” Bannon’s voice startled her, and she tried to regain her composure as he emerged from behind the wheelhouse. He rested his weight against a post and grinned at her, his blond hair ruffled by the breeze. “Not long now until you’re back at that mansion of yours. You made it sound awfully pretty.”

“I haven’t seen you for days. I was beginning to think you fell overboard.”

“And yet you sent nobody to search for me.” Bannon curled his lips into a comical pout. It was an unfortunate consequence of Rema’s career that she was forced to consort with murderers and villains; such was the price of a diplomat’s pragmatism.

“I assumed you can swim, and I suspect you’re half sea creature anyway.”

“You’re bold to be cheeky while you still owe me money. Knowing what I do about you and the princess, I might fathom a way to make you owe me more still.”

“I doubt you’d blackmail me. I can’t imagine you have any appetite for a crime that sees nobody killed.”

“You read me well.” Bannon spat on the deck and scuffed the saliva with his boot. “I’m disappointed. I was hoping to see a shiver of fear in that steady face of yours.”

“You’ll get your money and your property, so stop blustering. I’ve already fulfilled a third of our bargain by getting you here.”

“Hell, I think you should have her. He’s got nineteen wives, more than enough for any man. One is more than enough, some’d say.” Bannon directed his unnerving gaze toward the coast. “I’ll be glad to get off this ship. The sailors are beginning to spin legends about me. Apparently I bit the head off a teething infant just to stop him crying.”

“What are you intending to do in Arann? Is there any chance you’ll live a decent life, bring no harm to others?”

“The richer I am, the less harm I’ll have cause to do. Unless I get bored.” Bannon shrugged. “I admire that you stand up for your principles, because I respect anyone who shows spirit. But I don’t have principles, Rema. I have goals, and in the way of those goals are sometimes obstacles, and when there are I remove them.”

“It haunts me that I’ve rewarded you for the damage you’ve done. There’s no chance that any good will come from you, is there?”

“If there’s money in it, I’ll do good, bad, whatever. You can’t understand me any more than a mountain can understand a fish. You see someone in pain, you feel sorry for them. Me, I feel nothing. I’ll hurt them, save them or kill them depending on what needs doing. I’m a man of brute facts.”