Wave-Touched, page 6
The moment the guards left the room, Nalika turned her icy gaze on Veyl. “How does it feel to be the one with all the power?”
Irritation flared in Veyl, bringing that taste of lightning to her tongue. “Considering this is the first time I’ve had any since the day we met, I suspect you know the answer to that better than I do.”
“Fighting amongst ourselves will gain us nothing,” Jinau remarked, taking a seat to the right of the head of the table. After sniffing at the contents of the mug there, he smiled and took a long drink.
“She’s not one of us,” Nalika snapped.
Before either of them could respond to that, the door opened again, and four guards escorted Kyril and Ceris in. Veyl’s core temperature seemed to rise when he stepped through the doorway, making her feel feverish. He had cleaned up and wore simple black pants and an ivory shirt that someone had provided for him. One of his guards approached Veyl as Nalika rushed over to Kyril, grasping his arm in a warrior’s greeting, only to be pulled in for a brief embrace.
A sting of envy shot through Veyl.
“Calloch! We were afraid they had killed you.” The tension in Nalika’s voice hinted at the familial bond he had with his crew.
“Would you like some of us to stay in the room?” the guard asked Veyl.
She watched Jinau stand and step in when Nalika moved back, also taking Kyril’s forearm in a warrior’s greeting, then pulling the Feral ahnkreth into a rough, one-armed embrace.
“It is good to see you,” the Charmer said.
“And you, my friend,” Kyril replied.
Of course, they were friends.
Veyl absently placed a hand on Ceris’s shoulder when the tall beast walked up beside her. “I’m fine. I’ll call if I need anything. Thank you,” she said, dismissing the guards.
As the door shut behind them, Jinau returned to his chosen seat. Kyril’s gaze moved to Ceris, then to her, and her chest tightened, making it substantially more difficult to draw a breath. When he walked toward her, memories swept in, putting her back in his room, his hands exploring her bare skin. She flushed, and the corner of his mouth quirked up in a knowing smirk. Those silver-blue eyes held her prisoner, keeping her pinned to the spot when he stopped before her, standing closer than appropriate. She yearned to reach for him, but she had to abandon that part of their relationship. They both did. If his people considered him not good enough for her, hers were going to have even stronger opinions about it.
Trying to focus past the longing to step into his arms, she said, “Be aware that my father can–”
“See and hear through the eyes of his beasts,” Kyril interrupted. “I know, and I already checked. For now, we have no spies.”
“When I heard you had come here, I…” The fear that she had kept hidden from everyone, even herself, rushed to the fore as she stared into his eyes. The rest of the room disappeared. “Why did you do it?”
He chuckled. “I seem to recall you asking me to.”
“I should not have done so. If something had happened to you, I never…” She swallowed hard, grasping for her composure. Distance. Their relationship was purely about politics now. “It would have destroyed Kitria.”
His smile said she wasn’t fooling him. His gaze shifted to the spiral shell in her hair. “You’re still wearing it.”
For all her good intentions, when he leaned in, she didn’t hesitate, meeting him halfway, the touch of their lips lighting a fire that swept out from her core to her extremities. His hand moved into her hair, and she parted her lips for him, deepening the kiss. All her thoughts of maintaining a proper distance between them burned to ash in a fire she seemed to have less control over than she did her ability.
When they parted, he stayed close, his hand cupping her cheek. “Do you have any idea how glorious it is to be kissed by you here?” he murmured.
“Why is it different here?”
“Because you’re in control. You have no reason to fear me, and you need nothing from me, yet you still chose to do so.”
She met his intense gaze and said softly, “You may be mistaken about what I need.”
Kyril kissed her again, pulling her closer with a gentle pressure on the small of her back.
“Deeps spare us! Do we have to watch this?” There was a thud as Nalika dropped into a chair.
Kyril drew back and smirked at his subordinate ahnkreth, who was now drinking deeply from a mug. “You’re free to look away at any time.”
Veyl flushed. Here she was, not only kissing him, but doing it in front of the people she was supposed to be leading in negotiations. Though it didn’t ultimately matter who they were, it wasn’t proper behavior regardless of who was watching. How could she hope to have a productive conversation with them now?
“Look at it this way, Nali,” Jinau said. “We can count on her to put genuine heart into fighting on our behalf, given her clear personal interest.”
Nalika took another swallow from the mug. “At least the mead is decent.” Her gaze moved from the drink to Veyl, their eyes meeting for a moment in which Veyl realized the woman was offering her an opportunity to change the focus of the conversation.
“It’s Vanrian Black Mead, made using evalis fruit.” She walked to the edge of the table, gesturing to the tray that held two stoneglass bottles with overlapping wedges of the juicy black fruit arranged neatly around the edge.
Kyril moved the second and third chairs on the right away from the table, then he sat in the first one and claimed a piece of fruit. Ceris sat on the floor next to him in the newly created space, his head rising above the height of the table like a regal addition to their gathering. The wave dancer looked healthier already, his coat showing a little of its former luster now that he was back with his bonded companion.
As Veyl settled in the seat they had left for her at the head, Kyril peeled a chunk of meat off a grilled pheasant and handed it to Ceris. She couldn’t hold back a fond smile.
He turned to her then. “I imagine you’re hungry after that sparring session with your prince.”
“You saw that?”
He nodded. “It turns out my room has a better view than I initially realized. The academy is impressive, but watching you fight was even more so. You do it exceptionally well, Ahninveth.”
“Thank you,” she said, heat rising in her cheeks again, “but he’s still not my prince.”
He picked up the open bottle and topped off their mugs. “Eat.”
In truth, she was famished, and therefore grateful when Jinau broke the stalemate by piling food on a plate for himself. The rest of them followed suit, focusing for a few minutes on partaking of the generous meal before moving on to less pleasant affairs.
“The academy outside… is it for mind-crafters?” Kyril asked.
Veyl nodded, washing down her last bite with more mead. “We have another one in the city for everyone else, but the one by the palace has instructors for all the different mind-crafting abilities.”
Kyril’s eyes met Jinau’s for a second. “The city is astounding, at least what I have seen of it. If they ever trust us enough, I would love to see more.”
“I hope we can reach that point, but before we discuss our strategy for doing so, I need to understand something.” She waited until Kyril gave her his full attention. “Why did you come here? I can’t believe you’re foolish enough to have risked everything for the sake of a pretty girl.”
“You are much more than just a pretty girl, Veyl.”
Jinau snorted and shook his head at them. “To answer your question, Seh’hali—”
“What?” Kyril interrupted, his piercing gaze cutting into the other man.
The satisfaction in Jinau’s expression made Veyl wonder if he had intended to catch Kyril by surprise. “That’s right. You missed that part.” Jinau’s gaze shifted to her. Something in the way he looked at her then, as though she was a cherished treasure, made her uneasy. “The murmurings began amongst the tribal Qwilki after Veyl drove off the Ukhen’kya. A few days later, your sister offered to take her in because an incident with her ability put her in danger of being executed by the council. The two of them started helping people out around Dagony and the surrounding areas, which earned her more attention and respect. When she got dragged into the sea by a kel’inuk after saving Nagi’s life, and a wave dancer pulled her back out, there was no longer any doubt. She is Seh’hali ne Kunua.”
Veyl expected Kyril to scoff at that. Instead, he answered with a solemn nod and took her hand, placing a kiss on the back of it. “I had my suspicions when Ceris reacted to her like he did.”
“Enough superstitious horseshit.” Nalika scowled at Kyril. “Why do I get the impression Jinau knows more about why you insisted on bringing that prince here than your own crew?”
Kyril turned his attention to her, keeping hold of Veyl’s hand. “Because he does. Don’t take it personally, Nali. We couldn’t risk too many people knowing in case it ended badly. One can’t be too careful when two of the countries they are courting the wrath of have Evokers.”
“This isn’t about…” Her jaw clenched and she glared at Veyl. “You don’t honestly intend to bring your little Vanrian khesran into that?”
Jinau pinned Nalika with his stare for a moment. When she grabbed her mug and took another swallow of mead, he spoke into the tension-filled silence, his attention moving to Veyl.
“You already noticed that the council does not represent the true population of Thaelis. To be considered for a seat on it, you must have pure lineage traceable to the original Vanrian homeland. Before the Devastation, a resistance was gathering, planning to strongly encourage a change in leadership. But then the Unclean brought the sickness. While it ravaged the populace, the council quarantined, along with their most loyal soldiers, on one of the smaller islands, leaving the rest of us to fend for ourselves. The Devastation killed too many members of our movement and left all of Thaelis weakened. We no longer had the numbers to risk provoking a civil war, especially with the Ukhen’kya lurking on our doorstep, so we have been biding our time, trying to rebuild.”
Kyril took over from him. “Seeing how Sarket’s leaders resented and feared Vanris’s might, then hearing you speak of your country, rekindled a faint hope in me. After you and I spoke that afternoon, when you asked me to take your prince—” a glint of amusement lit his eyes when she frowned at him “—back to Vanris to warn your people about Thrasser, I sought Jin out. It was a long shot, and a risky one, but if Prince Jaysen would vouch for us, we might leverage the warning we carried on your behalf and his history with your family to open negotiations with Vanris and seek an alliance to overthrow the Thaelian council that ordered us to attack and take your people.”
“Only Jaysen threw you to the tethdraks once you got here.” Veyl closed her eyes and extracted her hand to rub at her temples, trying to fight the headache these new revelations inspired. Somehow, she had landed herself in a room full of Thaelian insurgents. As if the entire mess hadn’t been complicated enough already.
“Yes, but now that you’re here…” Kyril let his unspoken suggestion hang in the air between them.
She opened her eyes and went to pick up her copy of the agreement, tossing it to him. “I wish I had known some of this before I signed that, though it might not have made much difference. I had to accept terms I would have preferred not to in order to convince them to send me here.”
Kyril unfolded the pages and started skimming through them. When he finished, he left it on the table and got up, coming to stand in front of her. He brushed his fingers down her cheek and brought them under her chin, gently urging her to look up at him.
“And did you plan to fulfill every line of that agreement as it’s written?” he asked.
“I…” She met his eyes, realizing what he was getting at. “No. I will not see you put to death. I had hoped to convince my parents to protect you, although right now I suspect they would prefer to execute you themselves.”
“If we can persuade Vanris to ally with our side in this, those pages are meaningless. The council will cease to exist.”
“But what would that mean? What exactly do you want my country to do?”
“We may find the answers in that very agreement. If Vanris sends ships to collect your people, maybe they could aid us in overthrowing the council and help us hunt down and destroy the Ukhen’kya.” A fire sparked in his eyes, ignited by deep-seated hatred for the Unclean, who had taken so much from him, and perhaps for the Thaelian council as well.
“What makes you believe we can talk them into such an undertaking when there is unrest in Vanris and King Thrasser is clearly planning something?”
His regard remained confident and composed. “That’s where your knowledge of your country comes in. With you helping us, we have a much better chance of winning them over than we would have had otherwise, even if Jaysen had stood up for us.”
Before she could respond to that, he leaned down and kissed her, an achingly soft and lingering kiss that made her determined to prove him right. When he drew back, she met his eyes, lifting her chin away from his touch. Digging into the pouch at her belt, she pulled out the opalescent shell and put it in his palm, folding his fingers around it.
“Kitria sent this for you.” Reluctantly releasing his hand, she returned to the table and looked from Nalika to Jinau. “If I am to have any hope of winning my parents over, I need to understand exactly what our goal is.”
***
Nearly two hours passed before an attendant knocked on the door. The food and mead were long since gone. The man entered at Veyl’s invitation and bowed to her, casting an anxious glance at her companions.
“Khesran Veyl, the council is ready for your group to join them.”
The rest stood when she did. “Give us five minutes, please.”
When the attendant bowed and stepped out, shutting the door behind him, the other three eyed her curiously, and Veyl pinned them with her gaze one at a time.
“As agreed, we will not mention the insurgency today and instead focus on the contents of the Thaelian council’s agreement to see how they respond to it. That will provide us with valuable information we might use to our advantage in the next session. It will also give the council here a chance to adjust to the three of you while you help me try to make a positive impression and keep the discussion from turning hostile. Are we all in accord?”
“A positive impression might be a lot to ask for, Seh’hali.” A faint, teasing grin curved Jinau’s lips. If he was nervous at all, he didn’t show it.
She shook her head at him, longing for that level of composure. “There will be at least one Evoker in that room, aside from Nalika. Keep that in mind. We need to stay consistent and united in our thoughts and our words.” For Veyl, the risk of her mind wandering to Kyril’s kisses was a greater one than any danger of exposing her Thaelian companions’ planned rebellion.
“You must be skilled at that type of deception to be an insurgent when your opposition has Evokers,” Kyril offered as reassurance.
A consideration that might be worth pointing out to her parents in their dealings with the anti-mind-crafter groups in Vanris. Later though, after they deemed it safe to disclose the truth to them. “I suppose we are nearly ready, then.” Veyl glanced toward the door. What if she proved to be the weak link in this chain?
“What else is there? We didn’t need five minutes for that,” Nalika grumbled. The woman appeared to hide her unease behind her temper.
Veyl turned to the primary reason she had asked for that time. Stepping around the table corner, she looked up into Kyril’s eyes. He had made it quite apparent that it was pointless pretending she didn’t long to be close to him, at least behind closed doors. The slow smile that eased across his lips sent a shiver through her.
“I’ll only have so many chances to be alone with you,” she said, moving to kiss him.
This time he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against him. She melted into that embrace, savoring the strength in him that was intimidating, arousing, and reassuring all at once. Sliding her arms around his neck, she opened her mouth to encourage a more intimate engagement, moving one hand into his hair where he had added Kitria’s token to a braid. The need pulsing through her threatened to overwhelm her, the demand in his kiss and how tightly he held her telling her he felt it too. How she wished this would all disappear. That they could be together without complications and politics. That could never happen, though. This was certain to end in heartbreak, but she couldn’t resist the temptation of him. She was like a wave, destined to crash upon his shore again and again, but never to stay.
When she pulled away, slightly breathless, he brushed his fingers along one cheek. “You can do this, Seh’hali.”
“Don’t you start calling me that too.” She stepped back from him, despite how desperately she wanted to stay close to his warmth. “I’ve trained for this most of my life. I’m more concerned about the three of you.” She managed a grin that projected far greater confidence than she felt. Now if she could only pull that deception off during negotiations. She met his eyes, lingering within reach of him. “I could simply tell my parents the truth.”
Kyril met Jinau’s eyes and shook his head. “No. Not yet. The fate of our country hangs in the balance. Let us have today to observe the people we would ally ourselves with first. Then we shall see.”
Veyl considered arguing, but it was their home they were fighting for now, not hers. She would let them make that call.
They exited the room together, the other three staying a stride behind Veyl as the attendant and guards escorted them to one of the bigger meeting chambers. Her parents allowed Kyril to bring Ceris, something she found surprising until they entered the room and saw six tethdraks positioned around the perimeter. One of the large, hound-like reptiles rested in each corner of the rectangular chamber with two more midway down the longer sides. Irith was also there, to the right of her father’s chair, where he sat beside her mother at the head of the table. With the beasts and a selection of Vanris’s elite guards present, one wave dancer wasn’t much of a threat.
