I shook my head at the man yet found myself climbing into the saddle. The feel of a horse under me was grand.
“No offense, but your quadoth are far below a steed this fine.” I patted my mare’s neck. Teryn chuckled softly as we trotted out of the barnyard, taking a right lane that led past the grand gardens, and out of the protected grounds of Avolire. He sat a horse well. So far, I had found nothing that the man did where he did not look compelling.
The northern gate was closed, but we were granted passage with ease. Once outside the grounds, we rode along a narrow band of thick trees that hugged the sea cliffs. These were royal hunting grounds that were hopefully going to be opened to the people of Celear by Aelir to aid them in putting food on the table. Umeris had been fighting the idea tooth and claw, citing ancient bylaws, but Aelir was standing fast against the upbraiding of his grandsire and many other rich elves who enjoyed the bounty of the small, wooded area but wished tohoard the wealth. I suspected that would be made into law soon, but for now, we had the tract to ourselves.
“Jaska,” I said as we paused to admire a small pond after startling a small red doe and her fawn.
“I bring you to a remote romantic pond, and you speak another man’s name. I am truly crushed.” Teryn sighed as he slid from his horse and strolled to the pond. I did the same, letting the reins fall loose. Gwedel would not run off, and if she did, we were close enough to home that she would return to the stables. As I neared, the smell of sand sage slipped into my senses, warming my nose and lungs as I breathed it in. “Perhaps my powers of seduction are fizzling away as I grow old.”
“Do stop,” I said as I stepped up next to him to look down on the white and gold fish paddling about in the pond. Gifts from a foreign dignitary from a far-off land beyond the uncharted islands northwest of Knight’s Way called Sai Gayesh. They were said to be magical fish that granted wishes if one spoke the language of their people. No one here spoke that tongue nor had ventured to the unknown isles for several hundred seasons. Perhaps with a growing navy that had a queen who loved to sail at the helm, our people would once more sail off into adventures to find the lands of the mystical pond fish. “You are far from fizzled out.”
“It does my ego good to hear that you think so. I would have hated to waste such a rare bottle of wine if this plan went cocks up, as the pixie princess has been known to say.” He dropped down into a crouch to drag his fingers along the surface of the water. The fish swam up to him, sucking on his fingertips, which made him laugh. “What amazing creatures. They seem to almost wish to speak to us.”
I squatted at his side, placing my fingers into the cool pond, his shoulder and mine touching. The brush of him against memade my cock swell in my breeches. Just the merest rasp of cloth to cloth had me stiff.
“I mentioned Jaska as a means to discover what was on your mind when you stood with him,” I asked, dropping to one knee to reach into the cool waters a bit further. The fish were beautiful creatures with long flowing tails. Their scales glowed under the bright light of the moon sisters. “Many people are whispering that you’re now to be considered a traitor as you took the side of a treasonist.”
“Hmm, yes, I assumed the tongues would set to wagging,” he replied, sitting down to remove his riding boots with small grunts as each came free. Then he moved to sit at the edge of the pond to soak his feet. I watched spellbound as the fish nibbled softly at his toes. Teryn giggled like a young miss getting her first kiss. It was enchanting. I sat beside him, unsure if I wished to have fish tasting my toes just yet. “They tickle,” he explained, fish now swimming round his bare feet as if to fan them with their elegant tails. “I stood with Masha and an innocent boy, not a traitor, although I felt great sympathy for them all. His cause is just, but his actions horrendous.”
“Yes, that they were.” I toed off one leather shoe wary of any water creature. I’d once been grabbed on the balls by a crab as a lad. That was the last time I allowed a handsome young man to goad me into wading in the surf nude. “I too understand the plight of the poor in our lands, perhaps better than most who sit in the throne room bedecked in jewels, finery, and slapping their imported Sandrayan fans.”
“That is why you are a just guardian for the people and the king, for you represent the best of what an elf from the streets can accomplish.” He leaned back on his hands, arms locked behind him, to stare at the stars winking above. I slipped my foot into the water slowly. Teryn chuckled. I looked over to seehim gazing at my toes touching the pond. “It is not lava, my dear, just water. They have no teeth.”
Rolling a shoulder, I eased my entire foot in. Two large fish swam over to taste my toes. I jerked at the sensation but left my foot submerged.
“So you stood with the woman and child. Commendable. She will hopefully adapt well in your household. Being from the Black Sands, she and the boy should not mind the heat.” I wiggled my big toe. A slim fish, more gold than white, rubbed its side along it like a cat would a leg. The sensation was enjoyable if rather odd. “I hope they do not cause any problems for you. She is, and will remain, a rebel.”
“True, but she knows she has to put her children first now that her husband will be gone from their lives.” He sighed, allowing his arms to fold so he could recline on the thick grasses. “Whatever discussion Kenton and Aelir had late into the night must have swayed the king as I was sure Jaska would be facing execution.”
I laid back as well, one foot in a shoe, the other in the water. The scent of sand sage wafted by whenever the gentle winds of the Silvura washed over us.
“It was a lengthy talk, as most are between them, but I think that at the heart of it is that Aelir is a kindhearted man. Killing Jaska would have only created a martyr.”
“That is true. He will be a hero though, and those are difficult to wipe from the memories of the people. Being sent to the mines is a fitting verdict, if not a cruel one.”
“Is it crueler to be swinging a pickaxe until you are too old to lift one or swinging from the gallows?”
“A very deep and philosophical question, my dear.”
I moved to lie on my hip, to face him, to admire his profile in the moonlight. “That is twice you have called me dear. Are you sure you should be using such endearments?”
He did the same, rolling to his side to stare at me. “Do you not wish to be lovers any longer? Is that why you have erected a wall between us?”
I rolled my lips over my teeth as I thought. “I would like nothing more than to remain lovers, but the facts are that you are a noble member of the Vahasi’s Court, and I am a guard. Also, you are leaving within a few days.”
“Am I?” He reached out to caress my cheek.
“Yes, I…are you not?” I could not think clearly with his hand on my face. The warmth of his skin, the subtle aroma of sand sage and Teryn pulsing off his wrist fogged my thoughts.
“I had not planned on it. I have been given two generous offers that I am thinking I might accept, that is, if there is a certain guard captain willing to let me fully into his heart.” His fingertips skimmed down the side of my head, the pads outlining my ear as my pulse doubled.
“Offers?” I asked, my tongue unable to form anything more than one word now, it seemed. By Ihdos, what this man did to me with a mere touch…
“Yes, one from the king to remain here in Celear as a permanent envoy as we move forward with more open trade, naval operations, and an extended hand of friendship. Also, I spent a few hours chatting with Beirich Drayath. He and his husband run a school for druidcraft that is growing by leaps and bounds. They are in desperate need of teachers as the wood elves tend to not wish to come into the city, and so he extended a proposal for me to consider taking on the role of a head scholar in the arts of metamorphology with an honorary credential in the Sandrayan magicks. So, if I accept those positions, I will be living here in the capital for quite some time.”
“Oh.” I felt the stones in the wall that I’d been hurriedly building between his heart and mine starting to crumble. Amazing. With just a few whispered words, he had kicked downthe barriers. Barefoot as he was, they crumbled as if made of paper. “Would you remain in the halls of Avolire?”
“No, the king has added an incentive of a small land grant on the outskirts of Celear. I have ridden out to look upon it with my son and daughter. The holding is charming—a well-tended cottage with enough rooms for light company, a small stable, several fat cows, and a staff of four. While I make no claim to be a farmer, the appeal of waking up to the cock’s crow with you at my side is enough to tempt me into accepting both offers.”
