Wild Blood (Book 7) (25 page)

“Would you go?” he asked her quietly, taking her hand.

“To see all the wonders of a human city of stone with you?” Lahti chuckled warmly, squeezing his hand. “Need you ask? And if you were there, who could keep me away?”

“But I’ve not yet heard Ria say that she desires such a position of rulership, or such a mating, and the choice must be hers,” Rowan said calmly. “We make no prisoners of our children as you do your bound beasts.”

Suddenly all eyes turned to Ria, who squirmed under the scrutiny.

“Neither of us has agreed to anything yet,” Cyril said suddenly, rather sharply. He climbed a little stiffly to his feet, pulling Ria up after him, to her vast surprise. He turned to Ria and spoke more gently. “Can we talk for a moment?”

Ria nodded gratefully, glad to be away from the sudden attention, and followed Cyril a short distance away. When he would have stopped, however, Ria pulled him farther from the group, back into the altar area.

“If I can still hear them,” she said practically, “the elves can probably still hear us.”

When they were comfortably out of earshot, however, they both hesitated uncomfortably. At last Ria broke the awkward silence.

“Cyril, I’m so sorry you were hurt,” she said slowly. “But why did you have to come after me?”

“Well, you seemed so certain you’d be all right in the forest,” Cyril said with a sigh. “But Mother and Father were just as certain you were as good as dead, and I suppose I had my doubts, too. I’d have waited—I promised, didn’t I? But Mother and Father were getting ready to charge right into the forest after you, and I thought it’d be better if I came, too, so that maybe Mother and Father wouldn’t be quite so hard on you when—if they found you. I even thought that maybe if we found you and you
were
all right, maybe I could persuade them to let you stay for a while, at least.

“We got into the forest all right, going in near the swamp where Mother’s tracking spell showed you’d gone,” Cyril continued. “We got through a whole territory without trouble, judging by the markers—that must’ve been the Hawk’s Eyes Rowan mentioned. But we’d hardly crossed the markers when it seemed like every elf in the forest attacked us, and they chased us deeper into the forest—no chance of getting back out, so all we could do was keep going until we had enough time to stop and let Mother cast a spell to hide us. Even with that protection, we still ran into two more patrols and didn’t do much better.” He shrugged ruefully. “I guess Dusk was right—horses are hard to conceal in the underbrush. But at least we’re alive. I’m just glad you didn’t run into any of that trouble while you were alone.”

Ria remembered the plain-looking elves who had given her mother the necklace and the food. They’d seemed so friendly. Had they been the ones who’d wounded Cyril?

“I wasn’t really alone,” Ria confessed. “My mother—Chyrie—met me not long after I entered the forest. She must’ve been watching for me. Nobody bothered me while I was with her. Then she disappeared as soon as she brought me to Valann.” She sighed sadly at the memory.

“Have you thought about—well, you know,” Cyril said awkwardly, not meeting her eyes. “What we talked about before you left.”

This time it was Ria’s turn to look away.

“Cyril, I really, really like you,” she said slowly. “I even love you in a way. When I saw you were hurt—well, I guess I’d rather they’d have hurt me than you. I even missed you when I left, a little. But I don’t know if I could—I mean, if we—” She shrugged helplessly. “I just don’t know if I could be somebody’s wife and have children.”

“Valann told me you might be a child for many more years, maybe more than another decade,” Cyril said slowly. “I could stand that, I suppose, if you could stand me taking other women to my bed.”

Ria grimaced. Cyril thought he was being accommodating, but the whole idea seemed so—so artificial. Wouldn’t she be, in truth, just the hanger-on Lord Sharl had told her she might become, with no true marriage to Cyril, no inclination for rulership?

“Then why marry
me?”
Ria asked slowly. “Why not marry some lady you can tumble with and have heirs like you’re supposed to?” She hoped almost desperately that Cyril wouldn’t lie to her, mouth some ridiculous romantic speech.

Cyril looked at the ground, then sighed and met her eyes again.

“I know you feel like everyone’s trying to use you,” he said. “And I’m doing it too, aren’t I? But you and I are friends, true friends, at least. If I don’t marry you, Mother and Father will arrange some other marriage for me, probably to some noble lady who’s been schooled from birth for rulership, and I’d be bound for life to a woman whom I might not even like, and we’d spend our lives playing power games against each other. And Mother and Father would still find some way to use you to make an alliance
with the elves—or Rowan would.

Ria was silent. She wanted to believe the elves were above that kind of dealing, but from what Valann had told her, Rowan had been more than willing to use him—whether because of his part-human blood or his status as Chyrie’s son—very similarly. And then there’d been the way everybody’s eyes had fastened on her even as Rowan said the choice was hers. Even if Ria was able to stay in the forest—and after her miserable time so far, she was rather less certain that she wanted to—what use might the elves make of Chyrie’s daughter who had spent all her life among humans and knew their ways so thoroughly? And more—she was Cyril’s friend and foster sister. Rowan would likely have some use for that relationship, too.

Ria groaned and held her head. Before they’d come to Allanmere, everything had seemed so simple. Now, even though Rowan had said the choice was hers, there seemed to be no choice she could make that left her any chance for happiness or freedom.

She saw understanding in Cyril’s eyes, and Ria wondered whether Cyril had thought through all the same choices she had. He’d been a prisoner from birth, too, Ria realized; he’d just decided to make the best of his cage until he was the one holding the keys.

“There’s nowhere to run for either of us,” Cyril said softly. “I suppose the only difference between us in that respect is that I never had anywhere I could dream of running
to.
But we have one advantage left—our friendship. If we marry, Mother and Father will abdicate in our favor—they have to, to get Rowan to deal with the city and make the alliance they want. They’ll still try to use us, but
we’ll
be the High Lord and Lady then. They can advise us—and by the gods, I hope they do—but we’ll make our own decisions. And we, at least, know that we’ll never try to use each other.” He shrugged, then grinned the engaging grin that was so much like his father’s. “We care for each other. We can trust each other. And who knows? Over the years we might even come to love each other, too.”

Ria sighed and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. However did Cyril weave his way through all these complications? It was just too much for her, too much.

Surely Cyril was prepared for rulership of Allanmere, just as surely as she was not. But she
could
trust him; she knew that much, at least, and friendship was something she
could
understand.

“You promise,” she said at last in a small voice, “No itchy gowns and formal dinners and books and embroidery? And you won’t object if I spend some time in the forest with my brother?”

“I promise,” Cyril
said, his voice heavy with relief. “And I’ll make Valann and Lahti—or any other elves—welcome at the palace anytime they want to come.”

Ria closed her eyes. She was trading her freedom for a power she didn’t want and a destiny she’d much rather flee, with only her trust in Cyril to assure she wasn’t trading everything for nothing. But she could make the trade herself, or, in one way or another, it would be made for her. She sighed and spoke the words to seal her fate.

“I’ll marry you, Cyril.”

“As they all want,” Cyril said, his eyes twinkling. “But we’ll do it for our own reasons. And when we’re High Lord and Lady, we’ll be no one’s tools.”

He held out his hand and Ria took it, and quietly they walked back to the clearing where the others were waiting.

“I’ve agreed to marry Cyril,” Ria said quietly.

There was a long moment of silence. Lord Sharl and Lady Rivkah exchanged glances of relief; Rowan and Dusk nodded with satisfaction. Valann gave Ria a rather calculating glance, then grinned; Lahti appeared to have little understanding of and even less interest in the politics of Allanmere’s government.

“Then when you and your mate speak for the human clan of Allanmere,” Rowan promised, “Inner Heart will bargain with Allanmere, and I will try to persuade Hawk’s Eye as well. They’re a small clan, but they’ll be a valuable ally, living at the edge of the forest nearest the city, and they might have use for weapons and even help defending their territory against the Blue-eyes. Perhaps other clans will agree to bargain with the Allanmeres when they know the daughter of Chyrie, savior of the Heartwood and beloved of the Mother Forest, speaks in part for the Allanmeres.”

“And as soon as we can have the wedding, Rivkah and I will turn over the seat of Allanmere to Cyril and Ria,” Lord Sharl promised. “If Dusk has the true gift of foresight and there
will
be a second invasion, there’s no time to be lost beginning preparations.”

“The first thing to do is make sure all the elven clans are well armed, alliance or not, especially the border clans,” Cyril said immediately. “Maybe that will foster goodwill among the clans.”

“More likely the border clans will use those same weapons against any human who ventures too near their territory,” Lord Sharl corrected with a scowl.

“It would be advantageous if the Inner Hearts could witness your mating ritual,” Dusk suggested. “They’ve never seen Chyrie’s daughter.”

“We can’t hold the ceremony in the forest,” Lady Rivkah protested. “It’s just as important that the people of Allanmere see the wedding.”

“Perhaps we could have two ceremonies, one in the city and one in the forest,” Cyril suggested. “If we simply—”

Ria turned her back on the conversation. It made no difference to her whether she was married in the Heartwood or the city, although she was curious to see the Inner Heart village. Somehow the whole issue no longer seemed to concern her. The decision had been made; the details didn’t really matter, did they?

To Ria’s surprise, Valann and Lahti rose and came to her, Lahti embracing Ria as Rowan had done.

“The human lord Sharl rushed us so, I had no chance to greet you,” Lahti said rather reprovingly. Then she smiled radiantly and embraced Ria again; Ria was struck by how much taller than herself Lahti was. “But you who were born of one womb with my beloved Valann, you’ll be to me as dear as my own sister.”

How odd, to have a sister, of sorts at least, whom she’d never met before. But then, she’d never met her brother before today, too. Ria found she rather liked the idea.

“I’d like to have a sister,” she said shyly. Will you and Valann really visit us at the city?”

“Valann is half of human blood, and our child, too, will share that heritage,” Lahti said, folding her hands over her flat belly. “Dusk is right—Val and our child should learn something of these people whose blood they share. And I’m curious, too, to see the city and its people.”

“I’ve had only one day to meet my sister,” Val added, taking Ria’s hand. “Besides our absent mother, you’re my only blood kin. I’m glad to spend my time learning to know you and the world you’ve lived in. But you must come to the forest, too, and spend time among our clan. They’ll welcome you with great joy.”

“Oh, I want to,” Ria said quickly. She reached down to scratch the itchy rash on her legs. “Not—not now. But soon.” She hesitated. “I expect we’ll have to go back right away for the wedding, whatever Rowan says. I don’t suppose—would you come back with us, stand beside me at our wedding?”

Val and Lahti exchanged glances. Lahti turned and looked back over her shoulder in the direction of Inner Heart, and a fleeting expression of pain crossed her face. When she turned back to Valann, however, she smiled and nodded.

“We would be honored to stand beside you at your mating,” Val said, smiling as well.

Ria sighed with relief. She’d been so afraid that from the moment she stepped outside the Heartwood, her life would be nothing but endless politics and meaningless formalities. At least with her brother and Lahti in the palace, there’d be somebody else to talk to when Cyril was too busy, somebody who really didn’t care about politics and formalities.

Then she grinned. With Val and Lahti at the palace, life would be anything but ordinary and boring. There’d be stories to tell and to hear, new games to learn and to teach.

“One thing troubles me,” Lahti said slowly. “Dusk’s vision. He said you were walking to meet your sister, bearing a gift that would give her freedom. What was the gift?”

Val shrugged.

“Who can say?” he said. “Perhaps the gift was our kinship that will return her to the forest, even if only from time to time. Perhaps Dusk was merely wrong. He said Ria was walking unseen toward the forest, but she came with Chyrie.”

“No, I did walk unseen,” Ria corrected. “All the way from the inside of the city and part way across the open ground between the city and the forest.” She was fascinated with the idea of Dusk’s vision; Lady Rivkah had told her that true foresight was very rare indeed among mages. But there was nothing Val could give her that would give her freedom, not now.

“But I have nothing to give you,” Val said regretfully. “Nothing but my friendship and my love. Our mother whisked me from my hut with only the clothes I wore. My whole clan would have brought you gifts, if we’d known you were here.”

The thought of a whole clan prepared to welcome her and celebrate her arrival, High Lady-to-be or not, made Ria feel a little better. Still, she reminded herself, they’d be celebrating not the arrival of Ria, but of Chyrie’s daughter.
That
thought was rather less satisfying.

“I would give you freedom if I could,” Valann said more soberly, taking Ria’s hands. “If this mating is wrong for you, tell me. I’d fight to my last drop of blood to spare you a mating against your choice. I know Rowan would say the same.”