Lady of Stone, page 15
As she recognized Thana, her recent memories rushed back. It had been a night of firsts, including a first kiss that still made the forbidden stir inside her, made her imagine what would have happened if the manor hadn’t been attacked.
If she hadn’t killed someone.
Another first.
Also initiated by Thana.
Sylph slipped out from underneath the thin blanket. Thana’s eyes stayed shut, her black lashes standing out starkly against her pale cheeks. She looked so peaceful as her chest rose and fell rhythmically. Her lips were a very pale pink, and Sylph thought again about what it had been like to kiss her. For a moment, she wanted to repeat the experience, but the death seemed to stand between them.
When Sylph stepped from the small room into the stable proper, soft light greeted her, and the horses whickered. She set about feeding them, a task she’d often undertaken at home. She wondered where the pasture was, if the grooms just let them mill about the yard under watch or if they grazed nearby. The manor no doubt had fields, probably a village, but she didn’t know where it would be, so she left all of them in their stalls.
Even with all her musing and with all the busy work for her hands, the deaths kept a steady drumbeat in her mind. It had felt so good to let go. And that seemed different than self-defense, different from a desire to protect Thana or the countess and her family. It felt like…murder.
Thana’s idea.
With a snarl, Sylph turned from the horses and stomped outside. The air was still smoky, and no one in the manor stirred, though she noticed that her things had been piled just outside the door. That was for the best.
What would Countess Carisse do with the blasted and burned trees? Pull them down? Even if she replanted, she wouldn’t erase last night for many years to come. And new plant life couldn’t replace human ones.
She told herself she was being maudlin, not fair to herself or Thana. She would have lost control eventually. She could still recall the feel of that siren pyramid; it had felt like trying not to touch a thing that already lived inside her. If its wielder had come any closer, she would have slipped anyway, would have killed Thana and herself and maybe destroyed the manor and those within. Even with her guilt, she couldn’t believe that outcome would have been better than this.
Would Thana feel guilty, too? Or would her conscience be clear when this destruction could lie at Sylph’s feet? Thana had shown many kindnesses, but doubt still lingered. Sylph didn’t know people, had always had a hard time reading them ever since her maid had betrayed her when she was little. Was everyone capable of that kind of turnaround? Even Thana had a hidden self, keeping passion behind anger.
Oh, that kiss.
Sylph turned her face up, trying to find cleaner air, and breathed deeply. That kiss seemed almost worth the guilt that followed.
A soft sound made her turn. Thana stood in the stable doorway, blinking wearily. When their eyes met, Thana smiled, but Sylph saw an edge there, some twist that spoke of an emotion she couldn’t read. Anger? Embarrassment? Disgust? Doubt? Nothing positive could cause a smile to slip.
Sylph turned away, anger burning her chest. She had not asked to be so far out of her depth, nor for any of this. Thana began speaking, planning, clearing her throat a lot and talking as if nothing had happened, but her voice had a strained quality that set Sylph’s nerves on end. Thana chattered as she rummaged through the luggage. She nattered as she put things in the stable, and she moaned about the countess’s hospitality until Sylph wanted to put her hands over her ears. It all sounded so false. How in the spirit’s names were they supposed to keep going like this?
“I mean, they haven’t even left anything to eat,” Thana said before looking in another bag. “Oh, here’s some bread. I guess they did leave something, but how are we supposed to get the horses ready?”
“Why don’t you stop talking and figure it out?” Sylph snapped. It felt as if her father spoke through her, and the surprise on Thana’s face shamed her, but her father got things done. No matter what, he kept moving forward, even if on the wrong course, and that was what Sylph needed right now. She needed to get out of this place of death, and she needed Thana to come with her.
So…
Sylph grabbed a bridle from the wall and stopped in front of her horse. “Pay attention.”
The words or the tone seemed to spark something in Thana, and she obeyed. Sylph took her brusquely through the process, then had her repeat it on the other mount, correcting her quietly but firmly when she erred.
“Get the bags,” Sylph said when they finished with the saddles.
Thana’s mouth dropped open. “Why don’t you get them?”
Sylph mimicked one of her father’s epic sighs. “If you require help, all you need do is ask.”
“I…you…” Face flushed, she marched to the luggage and picked some up, stomping past Sylph to load the saddlebags.
“That’s the way,” Sylph said, guessing the condescension in her voice would only make Thana move faster. “Softly now,” she said as she packed. “You don’t want to pull the saddle out of place or cause the horse to stumble onto your foot.”
“I hope it steps on yours,” Thana said in what she probably thought was a mumble.
“What was that?”
Thana’s ears went red. “Nothing.”
Sylph nodded, and when they set out, she took the lead, all her other emotions buried under the satisfaction that everyone and everything was in its place.
* * *
Thana ground her teeth. Sylph had been leading them for an hour, and she’d been mercifully quiet after her behavior that morning. Thana was torn between wanting to tell her off and wanting to plead that they go back to the closeness of the night before.
But they’d been in danger, even during the kiss, even before that, in the bedroom. No doubt that had been the source of their feelings. Peril and forced proximity had spawned something they’d mistaken for actual passion.
She rolled her eyes, much as she would have done if Gunnar had used those words to excuse away his feelings. She still wanted to kiss Sylph as much as she wanted to shake her. Her hesitance sprang from the idea that Sylph was back to denying that she felt anything. The thought of being the only one who wanted a relationship was too humiliating to live with.
So she would be silent.
And seethe.
At least being angry distracted her from the guilt of telling Sylph to use her power to kill someone. Maybe that same guilt motivated Sylph’s lady-of-the-manor routine. She hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone, and Thana had made her. Sort of. And when it came down to facts, Sylph was a lady, would one day be a duchess, and she owned much more than a manor. Thana had no place in that life.
After another clench of her jaw, Thana made herself focus. She was lucky Sylph was as good at geography as she was at recognizing nobles because Thana had no idea where they were. Thana had told her that they should go north of Marienne, to the road Sylph had taken when traveling from her home to the city. It was the closest road to the outer wall of the palace, where the massive gardens lay and where she’d experienced the pull of these new pyramids. Thana didn’t quite know what she expected to find there, but it was a place to start. From there, they could visit the other sites of pyradisté attacks or mishaps. Maybe they could piece together a likely location for the source of this new crystal, and then…
Thana bit her lip. She didn’t know what then. Deduce how it was different from regular crystal? Academically, she was curious, but did it matter? Perhaps she could convince those mining it to stop. If she couldn’t, she supposed she’d have to ride back and tell the queen.
Which would make her a traitor in the eyes of most pyradistés. The Umbriels controlled magic by controlling the flow of crystal from the mines north of Allusia. Headmaster Cyrus clearly hoped this new crystal could put some of the power back in his hands.
Maybe he’d even start the civil war back up again.
Thana leaned her head back, stretching her neck. She missed the moments in this adventure when her biggest problem was whether to kiss Sylph or not.
It was nearing midday when they finally reached the road that led from Marienne to Farraday’s northern territory. Sylph remained chilly and silent. Thana went back and forth between wanting to soothe her and wanting to throw something at her. From the road, she could just see the large wall surrounding the palace grounds and thanked the spirits that they would now be forced to speak.
“Can you feel the pyramids in the wall from here?” she asked, hearing the archness in her tone but unable to do anything about it.
Sylph narrowed her eyes and shook her head. She dismounted and took a few steps toward the wall, letting the reins of her horse slip through her fingers.
Muttering, Thana dismounted, too, and grabbed the reins of both animals. She wanted to snap that she wasn’t m’lady’s groom but hesitated. If Sylph wanted to piss her off, she wasn’t going to give her the pleasure.
Except she couldn’t hide her irritation. She never could. “Nothing?”
“No.” Sylph sighed. “I might not even be able to feel a special pyramid at this distance.” She turned, frowning. “And this is only the outer wall. If someone had been bringing the new crystal down this road, I wouldn’t have felt it from inside the inner wall, in the garden proper.” She shook her head and stared into the middle distance. “Unless they were carrying it in the wall’s shadow, but why would they do that when they wanted to hide from the Umbriels?”
“Even if they wanted to avoid the road,” Thana said, “they wouldn’t travel closer to the palace.”
Sylph strode back, hand out for her reins. Thana practically threw them at her. She only turned her chin up farther. Fantastic. If it rained, she might drown.
When Sylph remounted, Thana opened her mouth to ask where she was going, but Sylph heeled her horse toward the wall, and Thana had to hurry to catch up. Sylph pulled up so quickly, Thana nearly ran into her, horse shying.
“What are you—”
Sylph lifted a hand for silence and dismounted again.
Gritting her teeth, Thana followed. “Listen—” When Sylph kneeled in the dirt, Thana stuttered and finished with, “What in the spirits’ names are you doing?”
“No one’s been through here recently,” Sylph said, studying the ground. She stood and brushed off her hands. “And I can feel the pyramids from this distance.”
“How would you know if anyone had been through here?” Thana asked, not bothering to hide her ire.
“Hunting is a noble’s pastime,” Sylph said loftily. “I’m a fairly proficient tracker.”
“And here I thought hunting was mostly about having enough to eat.”
“Only for peasants.”
Thana felt her cheeks catch fire. “I thought we were past this nonsense, yet here we are again. What in the spirits’ names is wrong with you?”
Sylph was the picture of pretty confusion, eyes wide. “What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean. This nobles and peasants shit. You don’t talk to me all day except to say nonsense like that?”
Her confusion remained, but Thana couldn’t believe it was genuine. “What is it that we’re supposed to be past?” Sylph asked. “There are nobles, and there are peasants, and we are part of those respective classes. Why does that make you so angry?”
Thana clenched her teeth and stepped forward, determined to be heard. “If we’re so far apart and will always remain so, why did you kiss me back last night?”
Sylph swallowed, and her gaze flicked to Thana’s lips. “I…wasn’t thinking at the time.”
“How about now?” Thana took her face in hand and kissed her again, swallowing her gasp.
Chapter Thirteen
As before, when Sylph’s lips met Thana’s, her mind became quiet. Only this time, it wasn’t to avert some great catastrophe. Class and status and worries fled. Anger and fear and frustration mutated into hunger, and she put her arms around Thana and drew her closer.
Thana’s hands went from her face to tangle in her hair. A thousand options flashed through Sylph’s mind as Thana’s soft body molded to hers, but her hands seemed to wander without her permission. She caressed Thana’s back, her hips, giving her buttocks a firm squeeze.
Thana moaned, and when her touch skimmed over the curve of Sylph’s breast, her legs threatened to buckle. She tried to stay standing, but Thana half collapsed with her, both kneeling before lying down, and Sylph clung to every sensation rocketing through her body.
Thana’s lips delighted her neck, her ears. When Sylph found the gap between Thana’s shirt and trousers, she seized the opportunity to explore the bare skin until Thana panted in her ear and began a journey of her own, finding the most wonderful places to linger.
Thana mumbled something, a question.
“Yes,” Sylph said. Whatever it was, she wanted it. Thana’s ear came near her mouth, and she traced it with her tongue.
“Ah,” Thana said with a gasp. “Wait, wait.”
The last thing Sylph wanted to do was stop, but she pulled back, forcing her hands to still as Thana pulled her shirt down between them. “What?”
Thana swallowed and breathed hard. Her eyes seemed like pools of ink, and her hair spread over the grass like a raven’s wing.
“My raven,” Sylph asked, “what’s wrong?”
Thana looked at her curiously, amusedly, before she sat up, taking Sylph with her. “Someone’s coming.” She squinted into the distance toward some moving shapes.
Right, other people existed. Sylph stood and straightened her clothing. Whoever it was couldn’t find her rolling around in the grass like a—
Like a peasant. With a peasant. Shame flooded her. She tried to argue against those thoughts, but they were as much a part of her as any other. She gritted her teeth and helped Thana up. There, she told herself, as if helping Thana to her feet would dismiss all she knew about the circumstances that separated them.
“Come on,” Thana said, plucking her sleeve. She grinned as she led them back to the horses. “I know you’re still reeling from those kisses, but we should get under cover.”
“Yes,” Sylph said, returning her smile, happy to let her think that was the reason for her hesitation, not wanting to ruin the moment by speaking the truth again, even if it had been truth that made Thana kiss her in the first place.
* * *
Part of Thana wanted to ask herself what in the spirits’ names she was playing at. She’d been pissed that Sylph said they were noble and peasant, but that didn’t mean it was wrong. All the kisses in the world would not erase it.
And none of it mattered right now, she told her busy brain. She wouldn’t have stopped what had been shaping up to be an epic session of lovemaking just to philosophize. Someone was coming this way, and there was a chance that it was someone they didn’t want to meet.
Sylph’s dazed demeanor made Thana preen a little. It was good to know that a long stint of celibacy hadn’t robbed her of her skill. Though from what she’d gleaned, Sylph didn’t have much experience for comparison.
She told her mind to shut up again.
The trees on the opposite side of the road had been cut far back, a deterrent for brigands and footpads. Thana was certain that the other travelers saw their dash for cover, but there was nothing for it. It was slower-going under the trees, but they continued north while watching the road. When the other travelers didn’t pass, Thana looked back. If they’d entered the forest in pursuit, they weren’t yet close enough to see.
“What do we do?” Sylph asked.
“I don’t know.” Her plan had been to follow the tales of rogue pyradistés until she found the source of the crystal, but it was clear they couldn’t do so in a day. And how could they rest when every other sign of life had them fleeing?
“They must have turned a different way or stopped,” Sylph said.
“Maybe.” Thana pulled to a stop, giving in to aggravation. “I don’t know what to do,” she muttered. She wanted to ask if they could just go back to kissing but didn’t have the confidence.
Sylph gave her a sympathetic look that became a blush, and Thana wondered if they were of the same mind, kissing-wise. She grinned.
“All we can do is keep going,” Sylph said.
True. If the travelers had pursued them into the forest, they would be slowed by the trees, too, and could be outpaced.
“Can you feel any pyramids?” Thana asked. She brought the detector out but sensed nothing. Then again, she’d never been a skilled hand with it. Her inadequacy struck again.
“No,” Sylph said faintly. Then, “Wait.”
It was good to know that even her skill had limits. Thana handed the detector over. “This should help.”
Sylph stared at it for a moment before she turned away. “No, thank you.” Her cheeks were crimson, but by her arch tone, Thana knew it wasn’t from passion.
“I know you’re worried about setting them off—”
“About being forced to do so.”
Thana took a deep breath, now guilty as well as irritated. “I didn’t intend to make you feel forced. They were trying to…” She didn’t know exactly what they’d intended. Kill or capture, she was sure of that. Or had she been the only one at risk? With the comment about the queen, the enemy pyradistés might have only been after Thana. At the time, it hadn’t seemed that way. She’d felt like they’d been willing to hurt everyone to get at her.
Before she could even begin to explain or apologize, Sylph gave another haughty sniff, her chin inching up, and Thana’s stomach dropped. Lady Sylph was about to put in another appearance.
“I don’t need the detection pyramid because I shall never need it. It’s enough to know I can feel pyramids from a distance. I simply need more practice ignoring them.”
Thana’s first instinct was to yell, an urge she’d been repressing for hours. Her second was to return to the aggravated, ashamed state she’d been stewing in all day. But they’d connected, both emotionally and physically, and a new emotion rose in her now, a stubborn anger that refused to be hidden.
