26
Two days after he and the others managed to sneak out of Salanis, Wellion stood on the deck of a private vessel, looking out at the rising sun. The first port city they’d stopped at had been a bust, but at the second one, they’d managed to convince a trader heading to the Empire to let them board his ship. It had cost them quite a bit of coin, and he’d been forced to part with Xia, as they could not bring horses aboard the vessel. But they were finally on their way, with the wind to their backs and the sails flying high abovethem.
“I’ve never been on a ship before,” Tariel said, her eyes shining as she looked out at the ocean. She stood next to him, her delicate hands braced on the railing as the ocean breeze played with her long black hair. “It’s veryexciting.”
“Neither have I,” Wellion said softly. He wanted to reach out and catch one of the strands, to twirl it around his finger and see if it was just as soft and silky as it looked. Instead, he merely moved toward her a bit, close enough for her to feel his body heat. The breeze carried her lilac and sunshine scent toward him, and he sucked in a deep breath, his blood growinghot.
“It smells wonderful, doesn’t it?” Tariel said, taking in a deep breathherself.
“Yes,” he said, giving in to temptation. He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, savoring the feel of her smooth skin against his rough fingers. “Youdo.”
A blush colored Tariel’s cheeks. “Wellion…” she began softly, looking up at him through her lashes. She bit her lip, and Wellion held his breath as she reached up to place her hand overhis.
They had stayed in a flea-bitten inn last night, in far too close quarters for any of them to be truly comfortable. But even so, Wellion had caught Tariel’s repeated glances toward him. He knew that she desired him, and that if he had coaxed her outside, perhaps snuck into an unused room or even a broom closet, he could have takenher.
But Tariel deserved better than that, especially if he was to perform the ritual that Zolotais had told him about. He did not want to make love to her with the moldy scent of mops or rat dung surrounding them, but in a proper bed, or at least on cleansheets.
Footsteps creaking on the deck interrupted their moment, and the others approached. Yarim raised his eyebrows at them, but Calrain and Riann didn’t even blink. It was as though they had expectedthis.
“I thought we might take a minute to talk,” Calrain said, leaning against the railing next to Tariel, “about what we’re going to do once we reach theEmpire.”
“The trader has agreed to drop us off on the other side of the strait,” Yarim said. “We’ll be quite a ways from any of the main cities, so it will be awhile before we have to worry aboutdisguises.”
“You will be the only one who has to worry about disguises,” Zolotais pointed out as she materialized next to Yarim, “considering you are under a death sentence, and the others arenot.”
Yarim scowled. “Don’t remind me,” he muttered. “I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to openly show my face in theEmpire.”
“Perhaps we can do something about your sentence once we are better established,” Tariel said soothingly as she laced her fingers with Yarim’s. “I know this must be difficult for you, but I am so grateful you are coming along. We needyou.”
“I know.” Yarim kissed her forehead, seeming to brighten up a bit. As the only native Maroyan amongst them, they would be dependent upon him as aguide.
“Perhaps if you manage to work your way up into a high position, or gain the favor of someone at court, you can someday do something about Yarim’s situation,” Zolotais agreed. “But for now, he will definitely need to be disguised. Perhaps you should make him ahandmaiden.”
“Handmaiden?” Yarim sputtered, and everyone else laughed. “Why can’t I be a member of theharem?”
“Disguising you as a womanwouldbe very effective,” Zolotais said primly. “You are of small stature, and if we found the right clothing andmakeup—”
“Absolutely not,” Yarim said firmly. “It was bad enough having Wellion on my arm with his breasts hanging in my face. I won’t subject myself tothat.”
“It wasn’tthatbad,” Wellion teased, but he couldn’t blame Yarim for protesting. He had not been thrilled about having to pose as a womaneither.
They spent most of the day lounging about on the deck, while Zolotais and Yarim made them go over their language lessons once more. Tariel seemed to have a fair grasp on the Maroyan language, and Wellion was improving, but Calrain and Riann were still woefully behind. Wellion was glad that they had at least two people with them who were fluent in the language—the last thing he needed was for one of them to get ripped off by traders, even if they had amassed a small fortune in gold by thispoint.
“Look,” Riann said eagerly, pointing forward. “Land, upahead!”
They raced to the dock, and Wellion’s heart raced faster at the sight of a desert cove. The white sandy beach sparkled in the midafternoon sun, and the palm trees waved gently in the breeze, almost as if they were welcomingthem.
“It looks divine,” Tariel said happily. She lifted her face to the wind and closed her eyes. “So warm,too!”
“We certainly won’t be needing our cloaks,” Calrain said, but Yarim shook hishead.
“You’ll want them when we’re traveling across the desert,” he said. “They may be hot, but the fabric will shield us from the sun.” He gestured to the water skins they had brought. “We’ll need to use those sparingly, but they should last us until we make it to the firstvillage.”
The captain pulled up as close as he could without grounding the ship, and Wellion and the others disembarked, rushing down the plank and into the waist-deep water. It was warm and enticing, and so clear Wellion could see to the bottom. Fish darted around his sandals, and he laughed as one of them nibbled at histoe.
“Come on,” Tariel shouted, wading toward the shore. “Let’s put our things down and goswimming!”
They unloaded their packs far away from the lapping waves, then stripped down to their underthings. Wellion felt a white-hot surge of lust as Tariel pulled her dress off, leaving on only a small pair of linen underpants barely large enough to cover her sex. She winked as she caught him staring, then raced back into the ocean, her breasts bouncing before they disappeared beneath thewaves.
