Flame of War (Binding Words Book 5), page 10
part #5 of Binding Words Series
“Huh... might as well. I’ll make it as long as nothing delays me.”
A silver streak blurred into the distance and Sean frowned. “Did you leave some with Aria?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you for thinking ahead. Some days, I think I’d forget my head if it wasn’t firmly attached.”
“We’re ready to go when you are,” Ven smiled.
“Let’s keep going, then.”
Once he reached the main road, he slowed his pace until he wouldn’t stand out, but was still covering ground fast. When he came into sight of the walls, he started to jog. Because he was on foot and not carrying a bag, he didn’t have to stop to talk to the guards.
Deciding he wanted to shower, Sean headed for the back of the house. “Ven, let them know I’m bathing and will be up shortly, please.”
“Yes, sir,” Ven said when Sean jumped the fence to the backyard.
Stepping into the bathroom, Sean found that it was empty, though the dampness in the air told him the room had been used recently. The clothesline near the cupboards was full of female clothing.
“Wonder who was up that early to bathe?” Sean murmured as he began to strip.
He didn’t get in the bath, so he was clean and dressed in fresh clothes in minutes. Sean shook his head at the clothes that had been waiting for him, as they were the best he had. Making a mental note to thank Fiona, he went inside and to the dining room.
“Welcome home, husband,” Fiona greeted him with a smile and kiss. “The others will be along shortly. I’ll do what I can for Prita.”
The door opening behind him had Sean shift to allow the others into the room. “Morning,” he said, giving them kisses in turn.
“We did not expect you back so soon,” Myna purred, stepping aside for Ryann.
“But we’re glad you’re back,” Ryann said, giving him a kiss.
“Where’s Aria?” Ida asked after she collected her own kiss.
“I’ll tell the story over breakfast,” Sean told her.
“You’re already dressed for tea,” Chastity smiled, collecting her kiss last.
“Someone left the clothes for me in the bath.”
“You’re welcome,” Andrea said as she came out of the kitchen. “Lilly is almost done with cooking. Should we take our seats?”
“Sounds good,” Sean said after giving her a kiss. “Thank you, dear wife, for the forethought with the clothing.”
Andrea was beaming as Sean seated her. “You’re welcome, husband.”
“As for Aria,” Sean said once he had sat down, “she told me what happened to make Evan hate her.”
Lilly came out and served them while Sean repeated Aria’s story, and then told them about running into Prita. He finished by explaining his new abilities to cast combat magic and fly. Lilly was staring at him in shock while the others just shook their heads in amusement.
Finishing up the frumenty, Sean sighed happily. “That’s where we are now. How did the interviews go?”
“We have most of the positions filled,” Fiona said. “They will be by just before dinner to Bond.”
“Okay, so I have tea, then work at the third bathhouse, and home for Bonds. Busy day again.”
“When can we try out the battle magic?” Ryann asked.
“At the new house for some of it. The fireball will require leaving the city,” Sean said. “I’ll walk you through it all when we get to the new place. I’m assuming it has a bigger yard?”
“It does,” Fiona agreed. “You’ll see tomorrow.”
“Fine, keep your secrets,” Sean chuckled.
“Ladies, we all have things to do,” Fiona said with a grin. “Let’s get to it.”
They collected kisses as they left. Sean was left alone in the room with Lilly once the exodus was over. Sean stood up to go, but stopped when Lilly called out to him.
“Sean?”
“Yeah?”
“About my Bond... does that mean I’ll be able to do what you were just talking about?”
“In time,” Sean replied. “You had energy before Bonding with me, but it wasn’t a deep well. Go slow; energy exhaustion is bad.”
“I will, I was just curious. You can do so much more than any other person I’ve heard of and all without strain, from the stories I’ve heard.”
“I have a hard time with statements like that,” Sean said, looking away from her. “I know I’m different, but I don’t honestly know how much. I’m just doing the best I can for those I care for. I’d be happy to just craft things and live a peaceful life, but assholes keep trying to cause trouble.”
Lilly shook her head. “Maybe one day, you will understand. Thank you for including me in your growing family, even if I am only staff. Have a good day, Sean.”
Sean watched her go and wondered about her words. Leaving the dining room, he found Ryann sitting in the main room. “Ry?”
“I’m waiting to go with you to the Oaken Glen, at least. I’m not sure if I’ll be going to the manor for tea.”
“Huh, good point,” Sean admitted. “Ven?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Can you ask Amedee about Ryann coming with us?”
“Right away, sir.” Ven shot away as soon as the words left their mouth.
“We’ll have our answers soon,” Sean chuckled. “Where’s Ida?”
“With Fiona and Myna. They went to the new house to get it finished today.”
“Andrea and Chastity are downstairs?”
“Yeah. The two of them are closer than even Ida and me. Maybe closer than Fiona and Myna.”
“Well, they did start a relationship with each other first,” Sean said. “Though it is amusing how you all are pairing off. It’s good... makes me worry less about you not getting love. I still feel bad I can’t be with all of you all the time.”
“If you could do that, you’d be as godlike as Andrea and Chastity believe you are,” Ryann laughed.
Sean’s eyebrows went up. “What?”
Ryann coughed, “Huh?”
“They don’t really think that, do they?”
Ryann sighed. “They do take their adoration of you a bit further than the rest of us.”
Sean rubbed at his face. “Fuck. How bad is it, Ry?”
“They don’t think you can do anything and everything,” Ryann said, but she didn’t look at him when she said it.
“But they think there isn’t much I can’t do?”
“Yeah. To be fair, Sean, look at everything you can do and what you’ve done for them, specifically Chastity. I think she started it.”
“I guess that makes sense. Not sure I’m comfortable with it, though.”
Ryann took a deep breath before she said, “Sean… I don’t blame them. Look at everything you do... you brought Myna and me back to life. You collect Talents like they are simple things to learn and give them to your friends and allies with almost no price at all. There has never been another like you.”
Sean blushed. “Ry, you can’t be serious.”
“They are, and I am to a degree, too, Sean.”
“Sir, Amedee said to bring Ryann with you. She can even accompany you to tea, as Ryann is your wife and not just a guard.”
With the moment broken by Ven’s arrival, Sean nodded. “Thanks, Ven. Ven, are the others happy?”
“Yes, sir. More of my kind are just waiting for their current employment to end so they can join us.”
“Ven,” Ryann said softly, “tell him how they see him, please.”
Ven hesitated, “I thought Fiona said it would disturb him.”
Sean felt his hackles go up. “Oh gods.”
“He already found out about Andrea and Chastity. Might as well lay it all out for him.”
Ven hesitated before nodding. “If it goes badly, I’m letting Fiona know you told me to.”
“Yeah, I figured.”
“Sir, soon after we began to gather, a small following sprang up. You are treated with reverence far in excess of any other being on this planet.”
“Ven?” Ryann sighed.
“I’m getting there,” Ven said defensively. “You might be viewed as our king or hero.”
“Or?” Ryann prodded Ven.
“Or… god…” Ven finished slowly, waiting for Sean to react badly.
Sean took a seat on the sofa and rubbed at his face. “Fuck. I have a cult of Messenger Fairies?”
“More like a following,” Ryann said. “It’s likely to grow beyond them, Sean. Do you not see how Joseph and the other smiths have been looking at you since the other day?”
“Huh?”
“Of course you don’t,” Ryann sighed. “It borders on hero worship already. You just gave them all Talents and energy, Sean. You asked for nothing and gave it to them... maybe unintentionally, but it still happened. You don’t ask them for anything. In fact, you apologized to them and were worried you had hurt them. Try to see it from their viewpoint.”
Sean sat there for a long time, thinking about it. “I didn’t want this,” he finally said. “I’m just me... not some hero or minor god. I just want to make things and love my wives.”
“We know,” Ryann said softly. “The smiths do, too, which is why it only makes it worse. Instead of lording it over them, you just want them to be happy and share with them.”
“Fiona knew all of this?” Sean asked.
“We’ve talked about it and she said you not knowing until as late as possible was best. We all agreed, as we were worried how badly you’d take it.”
“I can’t change it,” Sean said. “Ven?”
“Yes, sir?” Ven asked hesitantly.
“Please remind them I’m fallible. Remind them of it over and over again. I’m not a god, I’m just me. I won’t try to stop them, but please do your best to temper them. Please?”
“Sean?” Ven said, landing before him. “We know. All of us do. We’ve seen the errors and mistakes. We will make sure it’s known, but that also means we can help you. By doing the things you can’t, we can make it less likely that you’ll make a mistake. That is what we are trying to do.”
Sean looked at Ven with a resigned expression. “Can’t talk you all out of it, can I?”
“No, sir.”
“Okay, Ven, as long as you tell me if they get out of hand. Deal?”
“Deal, sir. On behalf of the clan, we shall revere you but remember you are fallible. We will do our best to help you in your endeavors.” Ven said the words with solemnity.
Sean felt a weight on him and nodded. “I did ask for a deal. Very well.” Looking at Ryann, he gave her a tired smile. “We’ll be discussing this as a family tonight.”
Ryann gave him a tight smile. “Yes, husband.”
Taking her hand, he squeezed it and kissed the back. “Ry, you did the right thing to tell me. It would have been worse if it had gone on too much longer without my knowing.”
She squeezed his hand back. “Okay, Sean.”
“Let’s get going to the Oaken Glen. I feel like I could use a drink right now and being early isn’t a bad thing.”
“As you wish, Sean. I should go change real quick if I’m going with you.”
“Good point.”
Chapter Twelve
The Oaken Glen was quiet when they arrived. Sean gave Allonen a wave as they took a seat off to the side of the room. A maid Sean didn’t know came over to get their drink order and swiftly brought them back.
“Sir, Allonen would like to know if you want the Dame informed that you are here,” the maid told them when she set their drinks down.
“Might as well. We’re pretty early, but we weren’t going anywhere else today.”
“I’ll let him know. Thank you, sir.” With a curtsy, the barmaid left them alone.
“Funny... now that I wouldn’t mind as much if someone flirted with you, no one does.”
“That is amusing,” Sean agreed, taking a deep drink of the ale he had ordered.
“I hope Fiona isn’t upset with me,” Ryann murmured, sipping her hot cider.
“She won’t be,” Sean said. “If I’m not upset, she can’t be.”
“Hope so.”
They were finishing their drinks when the same maid came to their table. “Sir, if you and your wife will follow me? Dame Mageeyes has asked that you be brought to her.”
Following the maid, they were taken to the Dame’s office. After polite greetings, Sean and Ryann sat across from Mageeyes. Mageeyes was wearing a light blue silk dress with a high collar, studded with small gems. She took in their clothes with a smile.
“Sean, Ryann, so good to see you both again. Tea wasn’t scheduled for another couple of hours. I was surprised you were here already.”
“Didn’t want to ruin the clothes,” Sean said.
“That would work for anyone but you,” Mageeyes laughed lightly.
“Fair enough,” Sean shrugged. “Any chance we can go earlier? It seems the day after tea for me is going to be busy.”
“I can ask. I didn’t expect you to be so eager to go.”
“Not eager, but if I have to go, I’d rather it was done with.”
Mageeyes sighed, “Pura, will you inquire for us?”
“Yes, mistress.”
“It shouldn’t be long until we hear,” Mageeyes said. “How did your time outside the walls of the city go, Sean?”
Sean just stared at her for a long moment. “It went well. Not even going to ask how or what you’ve heard.”
Mageeyes pouted at him. “Why do you insist on not playing at all?”
“Because it’s not who I am,” Sean replied.
“Mistress,” Pura said, landing on the desk, “she’s agreed to see you when you arrive.”
“Hmm, interesting. Please have the carriage made ready.”
“Yes, mistress,” Pura zipped away.
“It will take them a couple of minutes,” Mageeyes told them. “Sean, please do your best with Lady Sharpeyes. She is more understanding than most of the Lords and Ladies, but she is still a noble and deserves respect.”
“I’m not going to try being an ass,” Sean said. “I respect that she didn’t let them kill Aria and tried to stop most of the idiocy at the party. The fact she doesn’t get along with her son and husband is good and bad. She’s likely to want me to be her cat’s-paw.”
“If the conflict is going to happen anyway, is it so bad to have an ally?” Mageeyes asked.
“Is she really an ally at that point, or am I just a scapegoat if things go wrong, Amedee?”
“That’s a fair question, Sean. We shall have to see what she says.” She nodded before changing the subject, “The second bathhouse is opening tomorrow. Your wives certainly did the lion’s share of work on it.”
“We try to make sure he can focus on the things he’s working on,” Ryann said.
“I was meaning to ask, Ryann, is that the same dress that was destroyed at the party?”
“It’s been fixed,” Ryann said defensively.
“Of that, I have no doubt,” Mageeyes said. “It’s just unusual to see a woman of your station in the same outfit so soon after she wore it the first time.”
“It looks bad on Sean?” Ryann asked.
“Not this time, but it will if you are seen in it a third time without other dresses between now and then.”
“We’re going to get more dresses,” Ryann said. “They’re just not done yet.”
“I’m sure having a skilled seamstress as part of the family helps some,” Mageeyes smiled. “Even with her working at the bathhouse most of the day.”
Sean frowned. “Marjorie is making your clothes, Ry?”
“All of our new dresses,” Ryann said. “She’s getting paid for them, but Fiona thought it would be best to have her do them. We can just tinker with them, if needed.”
“That’s good,” Sean said, seeing Ryann’s uneasiness. “I’m sure they’ll look great.”
“The first sets are supposed to be done tonight and sent over to the new house. Fiona was going to ask you to see Marjorie to get sized so she can make more clothes for you, too.”
