Copper Veins(15)

“No,” I said quickly. “I want to be alone.”

Micah grabbed my shoulders. “Sara, do not be angry with me” he implored.

“I won’t be, after I’ve had my walk.”

With a frown he released me, and I headed out the door.





7


I quickly learned that while this was one of only two times I had ever been angry with Micah, I did not enjoy the emotion any more the second time around. My head hurt, my eyes burned, and my stomach was threatening to expel all of that delicious ice cream.

What is wrong with him? Can’t he see that Dad only wants what’s best for his family? Can’t he see that the Peacekeepers need to be stopped? Why can’t he just get along with my father?

I was so busy fuming over Micah’s total lack of regard for me or my fellow human Elementals I didn’t even notice that my feet were taking me toward the Clear Pool until I stood on its shore. I stared at the glasslike surface and willed myself to calm down.

“Have you come for a swim in my waters?”

I looked to my left and saw the Bright Lady reclined on the bank. As always, she was naked save for her carefully arranged blue hair, so long it reached her knees. “I am expecting a bit of company, but you will have your solitude for a time,” she continued.

“Solitude.” I sat beside her in a heap, my elbows on my knees and my head resting in my hands. “All I’ve had lately is solitude.”

The Bright Lady arched a perfect blue brow. “Did you not marry our Lord Silverstrand just yesterday?” she asked, and I nodded. “How is it that a new bride has found time to be alone?”

I sighed. “Thing are...complicated.”

“Are they?” she asked, setting her hand atop my knee. “If you love him, and he loves you, what more is there to know?”

I began to tell her about how Micah and my father, and then Micah and I, had butted heads about the Mundane realm, and about how Micah and I still knew almost nothing about each other, when the Bright Lady looked past my shoulder and smiled. I turned, and saw Ash, the Satyr and the blacksmith that had crafted my sword, exiting the wood. Since he wasn’t at his forge, he was actually clean for once, and I saw that he had deep mahogany hair, with the fur on his legs a few shades lighter. Usually he was coated in such a thick layer of dust and grime that his hair appeared gray. Also, because he wasn’t at his forge, he wasn’t wearing his leather apron, which meant he was as naked as the Bright Lady. My gaze dipped lower, and I decided to get out of there as fast as possible.

“You two have fun,” I mumbled, although it was clear that nither one of them was paying attention to me. As I walked away from the Clear Pool, I concentrated on not hearing the noises emanating from the shore, so much so that I almost stumbled right over Mom. I opened my mouth to complain about my pigheaded husband when I saw Mom’s red face, her wet cheeks. I guessed that I wasn’t the only girl mad at her spouse.

“Hey,” I said, plopping down beside her. “What’s up?”

“He’s so cold to me,” Mom murmured. “He won’t touch me. He hardly even looks at me.” I opened my mouth to ask who she meant, only to clamp it shut. Obviously she meant Dad.

“It’s been a long time,” I said. “Maybe he’s nervous.”

“My Beau is not a nervous man,” Mom said. “My Beau couldn’t keep his hands off me. This Beau doesn’t want to be in the same room with me.”

“Where is he now?”

“Off meeting with his all-important council. I tried to accompany him, but he said they wouldn’t like an outsider just showing up.” She bowed her head, supporting it with her hands. “Me, an outsider! Once, we were partners in all things, but now…”

I patted her shoulder, if for no other reason than I had no idea how else to comfort her. “Where’s Max?”

“Off on some errand of your father’s. Max he’ll speak with, but not me.” She leaned back against a tree, staring up into its branches. “He has found another. He must have.”

“Mom! You don’t know that!”

“What other explanation can there be?” she demanded, raising her head. Her blue eyes shone with tears of rage and abandonment. “I would understand if he’d felt the need for a companion, if only he’d come clean about it. You are right, Sara, it has been a long time.”

“You never found a companion,” I pointed out.

“True. But men…men have needs.” Mom sighed, and rubbed her nose. “Men do not do well when they’re alone.”

I looked toward the manor, where I’d just left Micah alone, and ignored the guilt stabbing at my heart. Besides, if I ever found a woman with Micah, I’d kill her, and then drown him in her blood. “Maybe you just need to remind him of how happy you two were.”