Summer was ending and it was time for him to go home, but his brother needed to be in good order first. He could not leave Garreth without ensuring his well-being. And in Dethan’s opinion his well-being was not attached to Sarielle’s.
The wyvern was flying circles around them. First high, then low. He stopped only twice … both times to snatch a kloiy from the ground, subsequently devouring the large wild beast and spitting out its horns. Sarielle began to sing. To the children or to the wyvern, Dethan could not tell, but it was loud and joyful. She didn’t have a stellar voice, but it was nice and melodic. Certainly able enough for the lullaby she was singing. When Garreth joined in, Dethan rolled his eyes and sighed.
He had never been so grateful to see city walls before. He believed the only thing comparable would be when he finally saw the walls of the city housing his wife and son at present. That would be a glorious day. A day he looked forward to. Hell, he might even sing a lullaby, even though he had a horrid singing voice. Unlike his brother Maxum, who had the voice of a bard and the charm to match. But he would sing to his son. Quietly, so as not to hurt the boy’s ears. Just loud enough for him to hear the love in his papa’s voice.
When they reached the keep the children, seemingly boundless with energy, went squealing through the hallways. The adults congregated in the main hall.
“I think I liked them better as changelings,” Dethan said dryly.
“Be of good cheer, brother,” Garreth said with a chuckle. “It is a good day and we are all safe behind walls. Now we can do what you’ve been begging me to do. We can get to the business of rearranging this city. To that end,” he said, turning to Sarielle, “my brother and I have a proposition for you.”
“Oh?” Sarielle gave him a look that told him she had a counterproposition.
“What would you say if we told you we wanted you to become bennesah of Kith?”
Sarielle went stock-still, like an animal in the forest that suddenly realizes it is being hunted.
She laughed nervously. “Do not tease me,” she said hesitantly.
“I am not teasing you. I am entirely serious. I think the new bennesah of Kith should be a former slave. Only then can the slaves gain the equality they deserve.”
“Yes, but … the Kithians would never accept the rule of a scourge.”
Garreth frowned. “I told you not to call yourself that.”
“But I have to!” she snapped at him. “That is what the Kithians will be thinking! You told me what the governess said to you. The way she behaved. That is exactly the way everyone else will behave! There will never be acceptance. The minute you leave, the government would be overthrown, and you would have to conquer this city all over again!”
“Then I will not leave until there is acceptance. I will force acceptance upon the Kithians.”
“Garreth, you must do this thing slowly. Too much change will incite rebellion,” she counseled soothingly. “Choose a Kithian who is not a scourge. One who favors the abolishment of slavery and one whom you can trust to rule in your stead. There must be a new bennesah, but it cannot be a scourge.”
“I wholly disagree,” Garreth said. “I think it has to be a slave who becomes ruler. I believe it could be you. You could rule here with the twins, ensconced in safety and set in comfort, for the rest of your lives.”
“I can see we aren’t going to agree on this,” Sarielle said anxiously.
For Dethan’s part, he was growing more pleased by the second. He may have just found the perfect wedge to drive between his brother and this woman. His brother was an idealist, always expecting more of people than they were usually able to give. In Garreth’s world, there was no reason why a slave could not rule. In Garreth’s world, slavery could be abolished with just a word. He didn’t understand that slavery was a matter that ran deep in people’s lives, minds, and hearts. It could not be plucked out like some weed in a garden. Strangely enough it was Sarielle who saw this and understood it. It made Dethan respect her. But respecting her didn’t make him change his opinion that she was to be separated from his brother at the first possible chance.
“The twins and I will be fine whatever I choose to do,” she assured Garreth. “You need not worry about us. Now, I do not wish to talk about this any further.”
“But we will talk about it again,” Garreth said.
“If you insist,” she said, looking troubled once again. She moved away from Garreth with a frown on her lips. She went out of the room, looking for the children.
“I don’t understand her,” Garreth said to Dethan, frowning as well.
“I know. You would think she would be grateful,” Dethan said, purposely baiting his brother.
“Exactly. She would make a very good leader. She has all the qualities. All the strengths.”
“I can see what you see in her,” Dethan said. “She is not being appreciative of your offer, or of you for that matter. She was a slave. Anything beyond slavery should be viewed as a gift.”
“Yes,” Garreth said. “I will have to pursue this some more.”
“That is, provided she is willing to listen. She seems a little stubborn to me.”
“She is simply strong willed. It is one of her most attractive qualities.”
“If you say so.”
“I do. Now, I am weary from the journey and could use a bath besides. I’ll take my leave of you, brother.”
“We will continue the business of the city shortly?”
“Of course.”
“Good. Because I have a wife to get home to and the season grows short.”
“I am aware. I might just have to winter here.”
That would be bad, Dethan decided instantly. His brother closed away with that woman for all the winter wanings? Garreth would simply grow more attached to her, and when he had to leave, the pain would be tremendous. No. One of them had to be gone before the winter set in. And Dethan thought he would have a better chance at removing Sarielle and the twins from the equation if he planned it correctly. And soon. She would be less willing to leave as time wore on and she began to realize what a treasure his brother was.
Dethan was well aware of what a good man his brother was. Garreth would make any woman the finest of husbands. But husbanding was not in his brother’s future. Not the kind a woman like Sarielle would come to expect. True, Dethan had sought a wife almost immediately after being released from the eight hells, but that had been a matter of wedding to conquer a city. Perhaps in the future his brother would take wives to secure a city, but Garreth could not marry for his heart.
Garreth went to his rooms, unable to shake the feeling of true disappointment that assailed him. He stripped away the majority of his clothing and called for a bath. He was soaking in the tub when there was a knock on the door.
“Come!” he called.
The door opened and admitted Sarielle. She saw him in the tub and immediately went over to him, kneeling beside him. She looked eager to talk, which he found funny because she had just removed herself from conversation a little while earlier.
“You chose a slave,” she breathed, her hands going to his bare arm.
Puzzled, he frowned. “I have. I’ve chosen you.”
She looked surprised at that.
“I … I meant for the twins’ governess. You chose a scourge.”
“Moyra. Yes. When I met her a few days ago when we were looking for the bennesah at his house. She seemed to have a care for the children and I didn’t want them being mistreated simply because of prejudices,” he said. He met her eyes. “And I feel the same about you. You should not be treated differently than any other intelligent, good woman simply because of the color of your skin. Because as far as I can see, that is the only difference between the scourge and the rest of the Kithians.”
“It is enough. Enough to mar the vision of those around us.”
“I can see that. It doesn’t follow that that is the way it should be.”
“You are right,” she agreed w
ith a smile. “That is not the way it should be. But it will take time. Time you say you do not have to spend here. So … you must do what is best for your purposes, not for what is in your heart.”
“I do not think we are going to agree on this,” he said with regret.
“No, perhaps not. But it doesn’t follow that we can’t discuss it calmly and rationally as two intelligent beings.”
“Now it is you who is right,” he said with a smile.
“I like it when you smile,” she said with a smile of her own. “It changes the whole of your face. I insist you do it more often.”
“Do you not like my face otherwise?” he teased her.
“Oh, I like it otherwise. I merely like it more with a smile upon it.”
“Then perhaps you will put a smile upon it more often.”
“Hmm, and how do you propose I go about this?”
He suddenly reached over the side of the tub, lifted her up, and dragged her into the water with him, fully clothed. She cried out and tried to push away from him.
“At least let me undress! My skirts will soak up all the water!”
“Very well, but do so from here,” he ordered her.
She hastened to stand in the tub, water sluicing from her clothing, and quickly loosened the ties to her dress, then drew it over her head and dropped it by the side of the tub. She had not been in the tub long enough for her skirts to take on much water, but they still landed with a plop. Garreth grinned at her. Naked and chilled, she quickly lowered herself into his lap and beneath the water, her back settling against his chest.
“Is this a common thing for men and women to do?” she asked.
“It will be a common thing for us to do,” he promised her.
She shifted in his lap. “You are awfully lumpy.”
“I blame you for that. You are positively delectable naked.”
She gave him one of those soft violet blushes. He swept her hair to the side, baring her neck to his kiss. “I don’t like it when we argue,” he said.
“Neither do I,” she said.
“We’ll try not to make a habit of it. Agreed?”
She nodded. “I haven’t properly thanked you for coming after me and the girls and rescuing us from Vinqua.”
“You need not thank me. It was all Koro’s doing. Where is he at present, by the way?”
“He has gone back to the Asdar Mountains. But he is close by if he is needed.”
“Do you anticipate him being needed?”
“This city has many enemies, thanks to the bennesah.”
“Is that so?” Garreth frowned. “I didn’t know that.”
“He has kept them at bay with the wyvern and Vinqua. You no longer have Vinqua on your side and I suspect you would prefer not to use Koro if it can be avoided.”
“Your assumptions are correct. You have told me Koro is young and I have come to realize it takes great effort on your part to corral him.”
“But he is very protective of me,” she pointed out. “He would fight to the death for me … as you have discovered. Wyvern families stay close all throughout their lives. Even if they nest in different areas, they stay in contact telepathically or nest in the same caves together. They share treasure with one another. Actually, sharing treasure is part of the mating dance. Wyverns are attracted to how much sparkle there is in the other’s scales. It hints that the wyvern has an excellent hoard. The male brings the female to his nest and gives her gifts; at the same time the female is checking out the male’s nest. If it’s more glorious than hers, she will most likely choose that male. Then they combine their nests and are a mated pair until one of them dies. The female hunts and the male watches the eggs and hatchlings.”
“And neither will mate with another wyvern, for life?”
“Mmm, I didn’t say that. I don’t really know the answer to that. But I do know that wyverns feel emotions as deeply and passionately as we humans do. Including love and a sense of betrayal. Koro’s loyalty to me runs very deep. It would be a challenge to him if I were to ask him to do something that conflicted with what his mate desired. Luckily I don’t have to worry about that for a while.”
“So they communicate telepathically with one another?”
“Parents do with their children and mates do. Koro tells me he would ‘know’ his mate when he could talk to her the way he talks to me. So … that was my conclusion. Oh, by the way, I owe Koro some shiny things in thanks for his services. He would be happy with armor or cut glass or anything shiny or sparkly.”
“I think we should be able to scrounge some stuff up. How much?”
“Not much. Just four or five things should be fine. He already has a very well-lined nest.”
“All the more reason you should stay here,” Garreth pointed out. “Koro has made a home for himself here. Nests don’t travel well and he would probably want to stay close to his mother.”
“I can travel without Koro. There will come a time when I have to let him go anyway. He needs to be free to live his own life. To raise his own family and be content and happy, not a slave to a selfish person trying to protect a city by using him. Endangering him.”
“Is this bond between you, the one that makes you a wrena—is it forever?”
“Yes. To him I am soulbound. He knows that I took his egg and nursed it until he hatched. I’ve told him the story many times. But sometimes he doesn’t fully understand that I’m not a wyvern. He thinks one day I will change to look like him or he will change to look like me.”
“And is it limited to just being able to talk to him? Does the wrena ever manifest other abilities?”
“Just the telepathy and being soulbound. The mystical connection that has us manifesting each other’s injuries or health.”
“What about what happened to the bennesah?”
“It was Vinqua and not my doing. He told me he had silenced the bennesah so he could not tell us about the changelings once we captured him and began to ask questions.”
“I am not fully convinced.”
“Well, I am. I have been a wrena for nine turnings. Nearly ten. I have never manifested anything other than my telepathic connection with Koro.”
“The twins are barely ten. You became a wrena when they were just babies.”
“Our parents were dead. We had no options. My sisters were about to be sold off to an infant slave trader when I left for the mountains. Slave traders buy children cheap, raise them, and sell them when they are of age. I suppose it is an investment in the future.” She was quiet a moment. “You must be careful. The bennesah’s enemies were many. Once word of his death spreads … there will be problems. They will look upon this city as being vulnerable once more. They will test your strength.”
“And they will find it inviolable,” he promised her. “But you see … this is what would make you a good bennesah. You see into the future. You think about what must be done for the sake of the city.”
“I would serve better as an advisor to you,” she insisted. “Let’s not talk about this. I do not want to quarrel with you.”
“Very well.” He picked up a sponge, and after lathering it up with some soap, he began to wash her arms, taking care to get each of her fingers, around her wrist, and all along the length of her arm. He used slow and methodical strokes. Careful and caring ones. “Tell me of the bennesah’s enemies.”
“There is one in particular. The Zizo, from a neighboring city only a short distance to the west. The city is called Zandaria, which means ‘glittering jewel.’ The Zizo are miners. The city sits on rich deposits of many kinds of gems, and it is said the waters there are full of gold.”
“And why are they enemies of Kith?”
“The bennesah coveted Zandaria’s riches. When his coffers were empty and he could not tax any higher than he already had, he began to plot against Zandaria. Using Vinqua, he made their caravans heading to other cities think they had arrived in those cities and made a good trade for their wares, only to realize late
r that they had been robbed. Once the Zizo figured out it was the Kithians stealing from them, they started a war. I was asked to bring Koro down on them, and Vinqua worked his magic. The Zizo quickly learned they could not defeat us. But the two cities have been bitter enemies ever since.”
“Do you know what god they worship?”
“Diathus, goddess of the land and oceans. That which provides them with their riches.”
“Which makes them a part of Xaxis’s faction, the faction of gods against Weysa.”
“Faction?” Sarielle asked.
“The gods are at war … split down the middle.” He filled her in on the different factions. “To take worshippers away from one faction and aim them at the other is at the heart of my goals. Tell me … this Zandaria … You said it is only a short distance away?”
“Yes. Why? You cannot think to lay siege to them!”
“Why not?” he asked as he moved her forward and began to wash her back.
“The rylings, for one.”
“Rylings?”
“They are a tribe of fairies who protect the city.”
“Hmm. Fairy magic is not to be trifled with,” Garreth agreed. “But if we turned away from every city because it would be difficult to conquer, we would never make progress. Every city has its weakness. Yours was your bennesah’s hubris—and his dependence on the wyvern and the fear it instilled. Not to mention your inadequately protected walls.”
“I know. I became a wrena to ensure the comfort and unity of my family. But it made me a prisoner as well.” She sighed as he moved on to her chest, washing the sponge across her breasts, abrading the nipples gently with it. “Will you look for weaknesses in Zandaria’s defenses?”
“I will discuss the strategy with my brother. You should not worry about these things.”