“Now you listen very carefully,” Jileana said. “Are you listening?”
He gave a ginger little nod, aware of the knife tip that was just shy of breaking his skin.
“There are better ways to earn gold and I am going to prove it to you. In fact, you don’t need gold at all to make your way in the world, live comfortably, and eat and have a bath whenever it pleases you. Besides, you are no killer, Dremu. You know it as well as I do.”
“B-but if I fail, the finia will beat me or order my death. I cannot stay here! She will find a way to punish me for failing to do as she demands!”
“Ah. So it is the finia who is behind this. Thank you. I was wondering who it might be. It was so clearly not your own idea. Tell me, Dremu, what do you know of my people?”
“Only that you are to be feared, that you are deadly and dangerous and that I should run in the other direction if I ever lay eyes on one of you.”
“Hmm. Then you know we are powerful and we are able to do things no one else can, yes?”
“I…guess so.”
“Then will you believe me when I say I have the power to make your life better?”
He swallowed again, nervous and confused. Dremu couldn’t understand why she had not killed him the moment she got the advantage of him. He couldn’t understand how she was talking about giving him what was, for all intents and purposes, a reward. For that is what it would be. A life as described by her was all he had ever wanted, so it would be the ultimate reward from his perspective. Why? Why would she give that to him after what he had just tried to do to her?
“I do not believe you, but I am willing to put myself in your hands and to see what comes of it. After all, it’s clear you have the upper hand and can do what you wish with me. You would be within your rights to have me killed to answer for my crimes against you.”
“No one is going to die tonight. Not you and not me. But you will learn to live…and to trust. Now come.” She pushed off him and gained her feet. She held out her hand to him and helped him up.
“What is this?”
Jileana whirled about at the sound of Jaykun’s demanding voice, quickly hiding the knife behind her back and standing between Dremu and Jaykun. “Jaykun! What are you doing up here?” she asked with a bright smile.
“Looking for you,” he said with a frown. “And here I find you with this boy?”
“Oh! You mean Dremu?” She laughed, hoping she didn’t sound nervous. Clearly Jaykun had seen her sitting astride Dremu. Now he was angry and distrusting. He was…jealous. Yes, that was it! The temper in his tone and the aggressive tension in his body…He was jealous! “Dremu and I have just met. He was telling me something very interesting about the finia. He claims it is she who has been behind the attempts made on your lives.”
“And how does he know this?” Jaykun asked.
“He…he overheard someone talking in the halls,” Jileana lied with an inward wince. She was not a very good liar, but she did not want Jaykun to punish Dremu.
“The fortunary,” Dremu piped up meekly.
Jaykun absorbed this with stony silence for a moment. “Very well. We’ll handle the finia.”
“Dremu will be coming with us tonight,” Jileana added hastily. “I am in need of a good servant and he was wanting a change of scenery.”
“Oh. I see,” Jaykun said slowly.
“Are you ready? We should be leaving as soon as possible for Serenity,” she said.
She heard Dremu inhale sharply and then another of those nervous gulps.
“Are we not going to eat first?”
“There isn’t time to eat, travel, and get you somewhere where you can…before dusk,” she said, moving past Jaykun briskly, hiding the knife in the folds of her skirt as she did.
Jaykun appreciated her discretion, that she wasn’t going to tell everyone she met about his curse. He narrowed his eyes on Dremu and felt doubt swirling around inside him. He could have sworn she had been astride him, a position that was not easily achieved if they had just bumped into each other. It had seemed more blatantly sexual to him. Why else would she…?
He caught himself in the thought and the emotion accompanying it. What did it matter to him what she may or may not have been doing sexually? They had no commitment to each other, no ties. If she wanted to fuck his entire army, it should make no difference to him.
But damn, it did make a difference to him, he thought as he followed her back into the castle and down the stairs. At the very least she could wait until such time as they were done with each other.
But she was such a free spirit, going wherever she wanted to go from one moment to the next. It was one of the parts of her personality that drew him so inexorably toward her. But he found he was not of a mind to share her with anyone. The whole point of him going on this trip so precipitously was so he could spend more time with her.
The thought made him stop in his tracks. Wait. No, he thought. He was going to Serenity as an ambassador, in order to begin negotiations for erecting temples in Weysa’s name. That was the main reason for going. He was not going just to be with a woman. He was not leaving a newly conquered city—which needed him to take the reins of it desperately—in his brothers’ hands at such a crucial time just so he could—
“Jaykun? Is something amiss?”
He blinked and realized Jileana and Dremu were looking at him curiously. That was when he realized he had come to a halt.
“No. Nothing,” he muttered, pushing past them and moving on.
“I-I-I don’t w-want to go to Serenity,” Dremu whispered to Jileana. It was clear he was terrified by the thought.
“Either you come to Serenity,” she whispered back, “or I tell him you tried to kill me. It is your choice. Previously you said you had no choice but to kill me. Well, now you have choices. Live with me or die by him. Which do you choose?”
Dremu gave her a look. “Live of course,” he said. “Who would choose to die? But…Serenity? I have heard stories…”
“Most of which are probably lies or exaggerations. Don’t worry. It is a very nice place. You will learn to love it.”
“But how will I be able to—?”
“Trust me,” she said softly, reaching to squeeze his forearm. “You are under my protection and guidance. All will be well.”
Dremu took a deep breath and nodded.
“Jaykun, Dremu can carry any belongings you wish to bring with you. He will act as servant for you.”
“I have my own servants. I will bring one of them.”
She moved up to him and put a hand on his arm to draw him to a stop. “Dremu and no others.”
“Why?” he demanded to know.
“Passage to Serenity is limited and I must choose very carefully who to bring. You and Dremu may come; all others must stay.”
Jaykun didn’t like it. Why was she suddenly taking an interest in this person she had just met? It didn’t make any sense to him.
But the fact was that the passage to Serenity was controlled by her, and as a visiting dignitary, he had to be the one to accede to whatever Serenity’s customs were…for now. That might change later if he found the people of Serenity intractable about building the temples he requested. But he did not wish to consider the ramifications of their potential refusal. Not at present, in any event. He had more than enough on his plate as it was. He would have put this trip off if not for the limitations on their travel. He chose to ignore the voice in his brain that whispered he could have just as easily done this in the springtime as now.
“Very well. Have it your way,” he muttered to her. Then he led the way to his rooms. Sitting on the floor was a small trunk. He pointed to it.
“Take that, boy. You will be in charge of my belongings. If anything happens to them, it will be your head. Understood?”
“Yes, my lord,” he said, and with all haste he went to fetch the trunk, lifting it with a small amount of difficulty but managing without complaint in the end.
Jayk
un turned to Jileana. “I need to say goodbye to my brothers and manage this news about the finia. Shall I meet you at the docks?”
“No. Not the docks,” she said with a shake of her dark head. “The cove.”
“The ship is anchored near the cove? Why does it not just come to the docks?”
“All will be explained. Just meet me at the cove.”
“Very well, then,” he said, reaching to ring her about the back of her neck with one strong, demanding hand. He jerked her close and seized her mouth with his, laying claim to her in front of the other male, making certain Dremu knew who owned her affections at that time. He tried not to examine the proprietary impulse too closely as he let her go slowly, taking in the smile she gave him and feeling the better for it.
Then he took his leave of her and headed for his brothers in the dining hall, the servant following steadily behind him.
“Well, brothers, I am off. Do I look the diplomat?” he asked, indicating himself and the finer than usual clothing he was wearing.
“Every inch,” Dethan said.
“Jaykun, I must protest again,” Garreth said. “Now is not the time for you to leave.”
“No, it is not ideal,” he agreed. “But if I do not go now, I will not be able to until the summer when you return, and by then I hope to be laying siege to Moroun or perhaps one of the cities on the far continent. No. Now is the better choice.”
“Methinks you are thinking more with other parts of your body than with your brain,” Garreth said with a frown.
“Enough!” Jaykun said, slamming a fist down on the table. “I will not listen to you and your half-conjured ideas as to my motivations in this. Just…just manage this city for the next few days. That is all I ask. Please.”
“You know we will,” Dethan said soothingly. “Whatever your reasoning, we are here for you, willing to do whatever is necessary. Now be off with you. All is in good hands here. You can be assured of that.”
“Thank you, Dethan,” Jaykun said with a sigh. “Garreth, forgive my temper.”
“You do not like to be questioned. You never did. Which is no doubt why I always questioned you,” Garreth said with a chuckle.
“No doubt,” Jaykun agreed, smiling. “See you in a few days, brothers! Try not to foul up my city in the meanwhile.” He turned toward the door, caught sight of Dremu, and belated remembered to tell his brothers about the finia. “Oh, and you should know that it is the finia behind the attempts on our lives.”
“How do you know this?” Dethan demanded.
“This boy overheard the fortunary giving commands,” he said, nodding to Dremu.
“I thought the finia was under guard,” Garreth said.
“I allowed her limited visitors,” Dethan said. “I thought the fortunary would be harmless enough. It isn’t as though he were her vizier or her head of guard. I see now my error.”
“It is not our way to imprison the leaders of the cities we conquer,” Jaykun said. “They are usually harmless enough without gold or armies or advisors.”
“Usually. Perhaps we have been too lax with our methods,” said Garreth.
“It has worked for us in the past,” Dethan said. “The finia is the exception, not the rule.”
“Very well. The finia’s life is forfeit. And the fortunary will fare no better. Are we agreed?” Jaykun said.
“We are agreed,” Dethan said. “Now you best get going. You need to be on that island before dusk.”
“I am well aware,” Jaykun said dryly.
“And no dallying on the ship! This is a diplomatic mission! Some comportment please!”
Jaykun rolled his eyes and turned his back on their laughter, heading out of the castle and toward the cove.
The sun was quite low in the sky by the time Jaykun and Dremu reached the cove and it was making Jaykun nervous. There was no way, he thought, that they would make it to Serenity in the hour before dusk and also be able to find a safe place for his curse to come upon him. The island was just too far, and given the wind of the moment, they wouldn’t travel fast enough. The last thing he needed was to be on a wooden ship when the curse struck. It would immediately be burned to cinders and ash.
He would simply have to tell Jileana that they could not leave until after juquil’s hour. She would not like it—for some reason she was in a desperate hurry—but there was nothing to be done about it.
As they approached the cove, he peered out over the water in search of a ship. There were none to be found anywhere on the horizon. No dingy was rowed in and waiting for them. All he could see were the rocks of the jetty and a colony of seals and morari sunning themselves atop them.
As he entered the cove, he saw Jileana standing there waiting. She was completely naked, holding her dress folded in her hands. Jaykun sucked in his breath at the sight of her. He had truly never seen anything so beautiful in his life. Her skin was warm and dark, her long hair streaming down her back in a silky black cape. He balked at her nudity, however, in front of this other man. He walked up to her, shielding her from the servant. But luckily for him the boy had averted his gaze and was nervously trying not to look at her. Good, he thought. He didn’t want this Dremu to look at her. He didn’t want anyone to look at her when she was like this.
But she walked around his shielding body and presented her dress to the boy. “Put this in the trunk as well,” she said.
Dremu hastened to do as she asked, dropping the trunk on the sand, opening it, and shoving the dress inside.
“You are not going like this, are you?” Jaykun demanded.
“We do not wear much in the way of clothing in Serenity. It is too confining and drags us down. You may want to remove your clothing as well.”
“I will not! I’m not going to present myself naked in a foreign court!”
“As you wish,” she said simply. “Dremu?”
“N-no, my lady. I-I am fine like this.”
“Very well, then,” she said breezily before Jaykun could work himself up over her inviting a servant to get naked with her. “Let’s go!”
Then she ran into the water.
Jaykun just stood there and stared after her, at a total loss. Where in the eight hells was she going? Did she expect them to swim all the way to Serenity?
“Come on!” she called out gaily.
“Jileana, what in the eight hells are you doing?!” Jaykun shouted out to her.
“It’s here. Under the jetty. Come on!”
Under the jetty? Jaykun wasn’t sure he had heard her right. But sure enough, she dived downward.
That was when he began to realize there was a lot more to this than had been immediately apparent to him. Things began to click: Finding her naked on the beach. The way she had said he couldn’t get to Serenity by ship. The way she had treated everything like a new and wondrous experience…as if she had never experienced the world before. The fact that there had always seemed to be something a little…otherworldly about her.
He suddenly began to strip down, disrobing faster than he ever had before in his life, throwing his clothing and boots at the hapless servant, who stood quivering at the water’s edge with his trunk.
The instant Jaykun was naked, his heart racing with a combination of fear and excitement, he plunged into the water and chased after her. When he reached the place where she had dived down, she popped back up, her hair slicked back and a laughing smile on her face. The water was cold but not frigid and he felt very exposed being naked with her.
“What are you?” he demanded of her.
She smiled again. “The Krizans call us prava. But that is a derogatory name. You would probably call us selkies. These are all my people.” She indicated the seals diving from on the rocks, entering the water and swimming down beneath the jetty. “Look. See?”
She dived under the water and he watched as she swam around him, her long woman’s body suddenly changing shape into that of a sleek seal. She surfaced again croaking out a happy sound, dived back under the w
ater, circled him again, then came up as the woman he had come to know.
“Beneath the water, built into the jetty, is the portal to my home. To Serenity. You have to swim down and through it. Come on, Dremu!” she shouted out.
Dremu stood uncertainly at the water’s edge, holding the trunk in his quaking hands.
“B-but the trunk, my lady!”
“It will be as nothing in the water,” she said.
Then she lifted a hand, rotated it in a circular motion, and the trunk became light as a feather in Dremu’s hands. Stunned by this magic, and swept along in the current his life had been caught up in, he found himself splashing into the water. He had to follow. He had to. He was finally going on an adventure, an adventure no one else would ever be able to lay claim to. His adventure. It was an amazing thing…It was better than gold.
Jileana waited until Dremu and the trunk had joined them.
“You will be able to see the portal straight away. It glows. Just follow me through it!”
She dived down and the men had only two choices: follow or go back to shore. Of course, each for their own reasons, they chose to follow her.
Jaykun felt as though his life had suddenly become completely surreal. He should really give this some thought. He shouldn’t merely jump in without thinking of the consequences. But, he realized, that was exactly what he had been doing ever since he first met Jileana. Jumping in with both feet and letting himself be swept away with hardly a thought to the consequences. It was probably because his life was so written out for him already. He had a role to play and no choice but to play it. He was slave to the whims of a goddess. At least in this small thing he was able to make a free choice, to choose to go or not to go. Oh, he had cloaked it in the cape of diplomacy, telling himself it was still in Weysa’s best interest, but in the end…in the end, it had been about what he wanted. And what he wanted was her: Jileana. He didn’t know how long he wanted her, but he wanted her now to the exclusion of all else.
He gave the briefest thought to his brothers. But he pushed that concern aside as well and dived down beneath the blue waters.