“You’re the king. You have to go. They need you.”
I’m your father. I have to stay. You need me
. He did not say the words aloud, but they tore at his heart, even though he knew that Pevre was right and that the tribe would see to Kenver’s healing and his safety.
Instead, Jair took Kenver in his arms and hugged him tightly, memorizing the smell of his skin, the silk of his dark curls, and the fierceness with which Kenver hugged him back. “When it’s safe, when things are quiet again, I’ll send for you. You’ll learn the ways of both worlds, your mother’s and mine. The court will know you are my son.”
He stood, lifting Kenver in his arms, and gave a last look at the stars that glowed in the night sky above the barrow. Wordlessly, he felt Talwyn’s presence slip around him, embracing him and Kenver, and his hand touched the amulet at his throat, the charm that linked them over the distance of space and death. “I’ll be back,” Jair whispered, as much to Talwyn as to the boy who burrowed his head into Jair’s shoulder.
And I’ll be with you
, came the silent reply.
J
olie’s going to be disappointed when she hears you won’t be returning permanently to Dark Haven.” Jonmarc Vahanian grinned and took another swallow of brandy. He walked a few steps to a chair near the fireplace, satisfied that the remaining pain of the battle wound to his leg did not demand too prominent a limp. His right arm was held close to his chest by a sling, still needing a few weeks for the bones to knit despite the healer’s work. For now, he wore his scabbard on the right.
“If I know Jolie, she’s probably got all the talent she needs to set up the most profitable brothel in Dark Haven,” Aidane rejoined. “But Kolin and I will be keeping an eye out for other
serroquettes
who need to leave Nargi, so I’m sure to find her a replacement.” She laughed and met Kolin’s gaze with a lingering look.
Jonmarc rolled his eyes. “Newlyweds.” He finished the last of his brandy and shifted with a wince to accommodate his leg. Though the battle healers had assured him everything had been set as right as their magic would allow, the injuries twinged painfully. He knew that Carina’s
magic could fix the rest, but that was the least of his reasons for wanting to return to Dark Haven as quickly as possible.
“Speaking of which,” Kolin murmured as the doors to the small parlor flung wide and Berry burst into the room, with Gethin trailing several steps behind. If Berry was worried that her entrance was not sufficiently queenly, she gave no indication, though Gethin was shaking his head in good-natured amusement.
“Jonmarc! Thank the Goddess you’re free of the healers.” She gave a critical look. “How’s the leg?”
Jonmarc shrugged. “Nothing Carina can’t put right. By the Dark Lady, she’s patched up worse.”
“True enough.” Berry paused just long enough for breath. “I figured that as soon as you could sit a horse you’d be riding off for Dark Haven, so I wanted to make sure you knew that we’ve set a wedding date.”
Jonmarc looked from Berry to Gethin, unsure of what reaction was expected. Aidane looked astonished, while Kolin’s expression gave nothing away. “You’ve set a date? So this means you’ve decided to accept Gethin’s… alliance?”
Berry grinned. “As if you hadn’t expected that, after all the notes you sent me from the front about him.”
Gethin looked warily from Berry to Jonmarc. “You were reporting on me? To her?”
Jonmarc gave another shrug. “Only the truth. Someone had to make sure you were…”
“Not going to be a ruthless maniac,” Kolin supplied.
Gethin grimaced. “Thank you… I think.”
“Just part of the job of the Queen’s Champion,” Jonmarc replied. “Have to admit I was relieved; your father only just lifted the old death warrant on me, and if she’d
have turned you down and there was a fuss, I didn’t fancy having the warrant reinstated if I had to kill you.”
Gethin gave him a sideways glance, as if he considered asking whether or not Jonmarc was kidding, and thought better of it. “Then I guess we all have reason to celebrate,” he said dryly.
“We’ve set the date in the spring,” Berry continued, dropping unceremoniously into a chair next to Jonmarc. Although her gown attested to her rank, Berry’s auburn hair fell loose around her shoulders, and it was clear that Principality’s new queen had no interest in stuffy protocol when no one official was watching. Jonmarc chuckled to himself.
Gethin has no idea what he’s gotten himself into
.
“That’ll give you time to go home to Carina and spend some time with the twins before you have to come back to the palace.”
Jonmarc’s attention snapped back to Berry. “Return?”
Berry turned her most calculatedly innocent grin on Jonmarc. “You’re Queen’s Champion. The Queen’s Champion stands at her side throughout the handfasting to make sure the bride and groom live through the wedding. It’s tradition.”
Gethin chuckled out loud, and Jonmarc glared at him, but he gave a resigned sigh. After everything they had been through, Jonmarc often felt as if Berry was his oldest daughter rather than his monarch. “Just as long as the chaperoning ends before the wedding night.”
“Yes,” Gethin said.
“Now there’s a thought,” Berry said simultaneously with an impudent grin.
“I happen to know a healer who could give me a
convenient outbreak of hives,” Jonmarc replied with a pointed look at Berry.
“And if I don’t send you on your way soon, Carina may be tempted to give hives to me, instead,” Berry said and chuckled. “Much as I hate to see you go, your horse is ready at the stable, and everything’s provisioned. Am I correct that Kolin and Aidane will go with you?”
“Yes. Lord Uri’s made connections in Nargi for us to smuggle
vayash moru
to safety,” Kolin replied. “We’ll go back to Dark Haven to gather what we need, and then head to Nargi.” He made a shallow bow. “We’re grateful for your hospitality, but there’s work to be done,” he said and took Aidane’s hand.
Berry sobered as she looked from Kolin to Aidane and then to Jonmarc. “I’ll miss you,” she said quietly. “Besides, with everyone else, I have to wear those awful, stiff gowns and pretend to act like—”
“A queen?” Gethin finished with a grin.
“Exactly.”
Jonmarc chuckled. “Here’s a thought. Once the wedding is over, you’re welcome to slip away to Dark Haven for a visit. I’m certain we’ll be up to the rafters with
vayash moru
and
vyrkin
refugees when Kolin and Aidane get back from Nargi, and Carina would be glad to have her best assistant back to lend a hand.”
Berry looked wistful. “You don’t know how good that sounds.” She sat up taller, changing from hoyden to young monarch in a breath. “We’ve got a kingdom to put back together now that the war’s over, and while I know it seems silly to put so much effort into a wedding, it’s an historic first alliance between Eastmark and Principality, so it’s a huge diplomatic issue.” She sighed. “On the other
hand, now that Gethin’s actually here in the palace instead of off at war, it won’t hurt to have a few months to get to know each other.” A grin spread across her face. “Although it’s too late for Gethin to back out now.”
To Gethin’s credit, the glance he gave Berry assured Jonmarc that Gethin had reasons beyond affairs of state for staying in Principality. Though Berry had confided to Jonmarc that she was “pleasantly impressed” with the Eastmark prince, she knew that it was in Principality’s best interests to go forward with the marriage, regardless of sentiment. Jonmarc hoped that time would forge a bond of affection, if not love. On the other hand, it was clear that Gethin was quite taken with Principality’s feisty queen, and that he had gone from sullen pawn to willing consort.
“Maybe I can convince Carina to bring the twins to the wedding,” Jonmarc said with a wink. “Just to liven it up.”
“I’m counting on it,” Berry replied. “Bring the Blood Council and the
vyrkin
, too. If we’re going to make a fresh start of things, let’s do it right.” She could not resist casting a mischievous glance toward Jonmarc. “Of course, when the time comes for an heir, I’ll be expecting the Queen’s favorite healer to make the trip up to take care of everything.”
A look of momentary panic crossed Gethin’s face and Berry burst out laughing. “Don’t worry—I think we can wait on that for a while. A long while. I just thought Jonmarc should let Carina know… for later.”
“Later,” Gethin replied, swallowing hard as he regained his composure. “Much later.”
“Good to see you back in one piece, Jonmarc,” Neirin, the Dark Haven grounds manager, greeted Jonmarc,
though he looked askance at the sling that bound Jonmarc’s right arm. A stable hand ran up to take the reins of Jonmarc’s horse, and Jonmarc looked up at the moonlit façade of the Dark Haven manor house and let out a long, relieved breath.
“Not as good as it is to be back,” Jonmarc replied, running a hand through his hair as he looked for a light in the window of the upstairs room that was the nursery. He matched Neirin’s pace as they headed for the broad front steps. “Thank you for the updates you sent to Principality. It’s nice to have some idea of what’s going on when I get home.” He stopped halfway up the steps and looked out over the courtyard. “What’s the refugee count?”
Neirin shrugged. “A couple of hundred, give or take a few. Lord Rafe has started taking some of the new
vayash moru
to his villa, and the Blood Council voted to turn the properties they seized from Astasia into lodging for the refugees, which has taken some of the burden off Dark Haven.”
“Astasia’s manor housing refugees? I like it. She won’t be needing the place anymore.” Jonmarc paused. “Where’s Carina?”
Neirin smiled. “Awaiting your arrival. Kolin and Aidane arrived just before dawn with news that you weren’t far behind. No guarantee on whether she’s had any sleep—I’m told that the twins have a very healthy appetite.”
Jonmarc gave his cloak to Neirin and sprinted up the steps two at a time, ignoring the pain in his leg. He paused for a moment at the door to the nursery, listening, and then turned the knob and eased the door open.
Carina sat in a chair near the fire, holding a sleeping infant. Lisette was walking slowly back and forth near the
windows, singing quietly to the bundle in her arms and glancing at the night sky. Both Carina and Lisette turned as Jonmarc entered, and for a moment, the scene in front of him was so much as he imagined it would be that he felt unable to move.
“Welcome home,” Carina whispered, with a nod toward the child in her arms. Jonmarc felt his heartbeat speed as he grew closer, straining to get a first look at his daughter. He bent to kiss Carina’s cheek. She looked at him with concern. “You’re limping. And your arm—”
He shrugged. “Nothing you can’t fix. I didn’t want to stick around Principality City until it was properly healed.”
“In other words, you left against healer’s orders.”
“Maybe.”
Carina smiled warmly. “I’m glad some things never change.” She edged back the soft cloth that wrapped the infant she held. “Corinn, this is your daddy,” she whispered to the sleeping child. At her words, the baby stretched, opened her blue eyes just a sliver, and then settled back into the curve of Carina’s arm.
Jonmarc found himself entirely at a loss for words. He realized that he was holding his breath, and that his heart was pounding in his throat. Strong emotion was nothing new to him; he was well accustomed to fury and vengeance, hatred and fear. Before this moment, he thought he had some experience of love: with the strong bond he shared with Carina, the intense and tragic feelings he had for his late wife, Shanna, and for the parents and brothers he had loved and lost as a young man. He was unprepared for the ferocity of the emotion that swept over him, an unsettling mixture of tenderness and a viscerally primal need to protect, whatever the cost. Jonmarc looked down
on the perfect features of Corinn as she slept, and he knew without question that the price of his soul had been named.
Lisette moved silently to stand beside him. “There’s someone else you need to meet,” she said, and gently held out the sleeping baby. Jonmarc took the bundle awkwardly in his left arm. He was aware of how large his calloused and scarred hands seemed, broadened by years of wielding a sword and before that a blacksmith’s hammer, compared to the tiny child nestled within the blankets. Once again, he caught himself holding his breath, afraid that any movement would wake the baby. He forced himself to breathe, and he let himself relax as Lisette nudged the blanket aside to reveal a tiny face.
“And that’s Kai,” Carina said, her voice just above a whisper.
“You’re holding her well,” Lisette said with a chuckle. “Carina and I weren’t sure whether you’d ever held a baby before.”
“I was the oldest of four,” Jonmarc replied absently, trying to memorize the tiny, perfect features of Kai’s profile. “My mother had no problem handing the youngest to whoever was available. It was a simple choice. If I wanted to eat, someone had to hold the baby. And I always wanted to eat.”
Kai shifted at the sound of his voice, and her small lips pursed. Her eyes opened, blue like her sister’s, and she stared at him with a wide-eyed, unfocused gaze. Jonmarc found himself awkwardly at a loss for words.
“Hello, little one,” he murmured. Kai gave a little hiccup and her eyes slowly drifted closed. Gingerly, Jonmarc made his way to a chair facing Carina and sat down,
holding Kai close to him, marveling at the steady rhythm of her breath.