He snorted. “I don’t know how to be anything else. When you kill people for a living, it’s not smart to get introspective. But when someone shows you a mirror, and it reflects back an image different from what you always thought was there, it’s hard not to look.”
“Major Therrik isn’t your twin across time or your reflection in the mirror. What he did doesn’t have anything to do with the man you are today.”
“No? We seemed to have shared a lot of the same...”
“Prejudices?”
“Outlooks.”
“Maybe he also had a run-in with a sorcerer at some point in his life that left him scarred.”
“I’m not scarred.”
“Please, Vann. You’re a giant, swollen, angry knot of scar tissue.”
“Do you say such things to all of your lovers?” he asked.
“I haven’t had any lovers lately.”
“Odd.”
She shoved him. He deserved it.
“The point is that you are not him,” Lilah said, “and you didn’t make the mistakes he made. You’ve chosen not to let your outlooks dictate your actions. You would never betray someone who trusted you.”
“You seem rather certain after only knowing me for three days.”
“Because I trust you, and you never betrayed me during those three days.”
Vann tried to swallow, but a lump had formed in his throat. He didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t used to people having faith in him, or caring enough to come find him and try to make him feel better.
“Perhaps, in time, you could let go of some of your anger and learn to relax more often.” Lilah recaptured his hand. “Especially if you have someone whispering loving thoughts in your ear and giving you a massage now and then.”
“A massage is not what you promised me in exchange for my cordiality,” he said, sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her into his lap. Despite his teasing and what she had promised, he felt more inclined to give her favors now. He wondered if the application of such favors would be audible down in the camp. He smiled, remembering that she had been less reserved than he expected when they’d been enjoying each other’s company in that alcove.
“Vann, are you going to be a greedy lover?” she teased, sliding her hand up his chest to his shoulder.
“Extremely greedy. What else would you expect from a hard man?”
“Terrible double entendres, among other things.”
“You started it.”
“Did not.”
He kissed her before the conversation could devolve into further silliness. Encouraged by her roaming hands, he let his drift upward, stroking her through her shirt, finding delightful curves to cup. He decided he did not care if they made noise that would be audible in the camp.
Greetings, humans! a perky voice spoke into his head.
Vann groaned. Lilah gasped and pulled back, looking around.
“I doubt he’s anywhere nearby.” He rested his hand on the back of her head, trying to guide her lips back to his. But before he made progress in this endeavor, his sword flared to life, the green glow visible even with it in the scabbard.
“What—”
Flaps sounded, and a breeze stirred Vann’s hair.
Bhrava Saruth, now in his massive, golden-scaled form, rose into view. His talons latched onto a protruding rock beside the ledge, and it took all of Vann’s manliness to keep from squawking and crawling back into the tunnel. Rationally, he knew the dragon was on friendly terms with him—or at least had no plans to incinerate him—but the great beast still had a presence that could make a man lose control of his bodily functions.
Fortunately, that did not happen. It would have been difficult to explain, especially with Lilah in his lap. Not that she would have noticed. She was gaping over her shoulder at Bhrava Saruth while holding onto Vann much more tightly than she had been before. He slid his arms around her protectively.
“What do you want, dragon?” he asked, half-expecting Sardelle to be astride his back. But Bhrava Saruth had come up alone. Or perhaps he had been sent up alone.
I believe you mentioned a dinner, Bhrava Saruth said into his mind.
“We’re not it, are we?” Lilah asked.
“I don’t think so,” Vann said.
My high priestess has suggested that dinner might happen sooner if I give you two a ride back to the fortress. Will there be sheep at the meal? And mango tarts? I adore tarts.
“Who doesn’t?” Lilah murmured.
“Unless your buddy, the general, brought tarts, you won’t find them in the cupboards of the mess hall. There may be a box of dehydrated sheep bits somewhere.”
“Ew, Vann.”
“The supply ship doesn’t exactly spoil us.”
Vann sighed and lifted Lilah from his lap. He couldn’t be too grouchy, considering the dragon was offering them a ride, and they had no way across that gap in the trail without one. Still, he lamented that he would have to wait many hours to resume what he had started with Lilah. Whose idea had this dinner been, anyway? He frowned down at her.
She laid her hands on either side of his face and kissed him.
Dehydrated bits sound unpalatable, Bhrava Saruth said. Perhaps I will go hunting for a fresh sheep. Climb onto my back. I will allow you to join me on the quest for proper meat.
“Should we be alarmed or honored?” Lilah asked, inching closer to the dragon.
“More one than the other, I’m sure.”
“The heroes in Time Trek get to ride dragons. I’m going to find it an honor.”
Vann decided not to mention his tendency to get airsick.
Epilogue
A knock sounded at the door, and Vann sighed. He’d been about to head out for some exercise before twilight came to the mountains, but now he would likely get stuck dealing with some new emergency for the next three hours.
“What?” he asked.
Lieutenant Kraden poked his head through the door, hesitating before committing any more of his body. “We finished sorting through the supplies from the ship, sir.”
“And?” Vann braced himself, expecting another shortage or some lesser disaster.
“You have mail, sir.”
“Mail?”
“Yes, sir. It smells nice.” Kraden leaned further in and held up a box wrapped in brown paper and tied with a bright purple ribbon.
“You smelled my mail?” Vann asked, more perplexed than annoyed.
The sight of the box—the ribbon—filled him with anticipation. Was that from Lilah? Who else would send him a package? It had been more than three weeks since she left to return to her university, and he missed her company. A lot.
During the two weeks she had spent cataloging the dragon fossils and researching the Referatu artifacts, they’d had more time to get to know each other—intimately and otherwise. He had gotten better at interpreting her paleontologist jokes and had been rewarded with beaming smiles every time he said something witty in reply. He planned to find some books on the subject so he could more reliably be witty. She seemed to think he had a brain. He didn’t want to disabuse her of the notion. The last few weeks had been lonely without her company; it would be worth putting in some effort to ensure she wanted to see him again when he escaped this loathsome duty station.
“Not on purpose, sir.” Kraden risked scurrying inside to deposit the box on the desk. “It’s aromatic. Maybe someone sent you flowers.”
“Enclosed in a lightless box, yes, I’m sure.” Vann waved for the lieutenant to depart. He didn’t want a witness when he opened his mail. “Go home, Kraden.”
“Home, sir? To my room? It’s still a half hour until the end of the workday.”
“Yes, I’m letting you go early. Sing about my magnanimity to the other soldiers, will you?”
Judging by the perplexed expression on the lieutenant’s face, there would not be songs in the mess hall tonight. Kraden did manage a head bob and a, “Thank you, sir,” before disappearing.
As soon as the door closed, Vann lifted the box, giving it a curious sniff before untying the ribbon. Lavender. It didn’t grow up here at this frigid altitude, and he felt a nostalgic twinge, thinking of the capital. Had Lilah put in that request for a transfer to a university down there? She had said she would, but who knew what she had decided once she returned to her normal world. Maybe she had realized she had been crazy to think about changing her life for some soldier who had no idea where the future would take him.
“One way to find out,” he muttered, untying the ribbon.
As he unwrapped the package, he tried to remember the last time someone had mailed him something. A few years ago, his brother’s wife had sent him jars of jam made from blueberries produced on the family land. He had given the cloying stuff to a lieutenant with a sweet tooth.
Vann poked into the box, hoping for something more interesting than jam. He pulled out a tin that seemed to be the source of the lavender scent. A tea strainer and a note dangled from it, tied on with more ribbon. After eyeing the tin suspiciously, he opened the note.
Vann, I had lunch with Sardelle and mentioned I was putting together a care package for you. She insisted on sending you some kind of relaxation tea. I’m told it’s been blessed by a dragon and will soothe your tense muscles. It’s possible Sardelle and her dragon just want to drug you, but she seemed sincere in desiring to make your life more pleasant. I won’t, however, be offended if you stuff it in a desk drawer. We both know the best way to soothe your muscles.
Indeed. He grinned wickedly at the memory of shared massages that had led to other things, and set the tea aside.
He poked further into the box and found a tin of butter crackers, a wheel of cheese, salt-cured bacon, and a trio of exotic meat jerkies. Three books lay nestled into the bottom, the first three novels in the Time Trek series. There was another note stuck inside the first one. He felt ridiculously pleased at this hunt for goodies and messages. It was like being a boy again, receiving birthday gifts.
Vann, I will be slightly more offended if you stuff these into a desk drawer without trying them. At least take a peek at the first one and let me know what you think of the story. The characters are enjoyable, but I would love to discuss the historical and scientific inaccuracies with you. You’ll find several errors in regard to Before Dominion crossbows! In case the novels ultimately aren’t to your taste, I’ve included a couple of recent publications that you may find more appealing.
He slid two magazines out of the bottom of the box, the most recent issues of Tactical Bow and Blade and Military History Explored. Ah yes, he would enjoy catching up. It didn’t even matter that they smelled of lavender. He would give the books a try, if only to meet this Commander Asylon she had occasionally compared him to. And her promise of inaccuracies sounded like a challenge to him. He would make a list.
Vann spotted two envelopes under some crinkled paper stuffing and slid out a card with a photograph of Lilah in it. She sat in a chair with her legs crossed, wearing a shy—maybe embarrassed—smile, perhaps because her skirt was arranged in such a way that it displayed a lot of leg, and her blouse dipped low enough to similarly fuel his imagination. He swallowed, noticing right away that she wasn’t wearing the promise necklace that had once led him to assume she was still married. He blinked a few times, surprising himself with emotion at how much that unspoken signal meant.
A longer message waited for him inside of the card.
Vann, I felt extremely silly—and chilly—posing for this, but a... relative... promised that a man gets lonely up there and would want a memento of his lady.
His lady. Yes, she was. He felt his chest swell with satisfaction. She hadn’t decided to return to her regular life and forget about him, after all.
I won’t ask you not to stuff it into a desk drawer.
Hardly. He would sleep with the photo under his pillow.
I do hope you will enjoy these small items, but the main reason I am writing is to inform you that I will be moving to the capital next month, to prepare for my new research position at the small but highly respected Erenhurst Science and Mathematics College near the harbor. I also wanted to send you this time-sensitive application for employment. I haven’t had much luck in talking your superiors into reassigning you, but I have learned that King Angulus does think you’re a competent soldier. That may help, if you find yourself interested. This application is for a position that is opening soon and which you might enjoy as an alternative to commanding an entire outpost—or teaching young upstarts at your military academy.
An application for employment? Vann stared at the words, reading them again to make sure he hadn’t misunderstood. He looked at the second envelope. Did she think he would retire from his career to manage some ice cream parlor in the capital? He did wish to join her down there, but he couldn’t imagine leaving the military unless it was to accept some nobler employment. What could possibly be better suited for him?
King Angulus is seeking a new captain of his personal guard, someone with the background necessary to train his existing men to be even more capable of protecting him and those he cares about. It sounds like many people will be applying, but with your experience, I thought you might be a more suitable candidate than most. I understand that the guard exists outside of the military, so you would no longer be obligated to salute any overly witty generals you encountered. You could also frisk those generals when they visit the palace. I thought this position might appeal to you, since it would allow you to live in the capital and work closely with the king, but please disregard if it doesn’t.
I miss you and hope to hear back from you soon.
Love, Lilah.
Love? They had talked of a possible future together, but they hadn’t used such charged words. He didn’t even know if he was capable of speaking in terms of love. But to imagine the word coming from her lips... it warmed his heart. As did the rest of the package. Even the suspicious tea. It was nice to have someone care.
“Captain of the guard?” Vann thoughtfully pulled the application form out of the second envelope.
He’d never considered leaving the military and applying for a private security job, since that seemed a step down from being an officer, but working for the king would be as prestigious as being a soldier. It would also keep him in the capital where he could see Lilah all the time. He might even have a steady schedule and regular hours. A novel idea. Working in the castle might not be as exciting as going on missions to enemy nations, but since Iskandia and Cofahre weren’t technically at war right now, there might not be any more missions on the horizon. Besides, how often did colonels get sent on covert missions? If he requested a return to the capital as a soldier, he would probably end up back at the academy teaching.
After checking to make sure he hadn’t missed any more photographs of Lilah, Vann slid into the chair at his desk and withdrew a couple of sheets of paper. He propped Lilah’s picture against the box, so she could observe while he filled out the application. Maybe she could keep him from saying something that would offend the king.
THE END
Afterword
Thank you for picking up Shattered Past and coming along on this adventure. If this was your first experience with this world, and you would like to read more, I recommend starting with Balanced on the Blade’s Edge, where we first meet Ridge and Sardelle. If you’ve already read the whole series, feel free to stop by my website or Facebook page to let me know what you want to see next. You can also sign up for my newsletter to be alerted when new books are available.
Lastly, if you have time, please consider leaving a review for Shattered Past wherever you picked up the novel. Reviews do a lot to help authors sell books, so we definitely appreciate them. Thank you!
Table of Contents
Title Page
Foreword
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
C
hapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Afterword
Lindsay Buroker, Shattered Past
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