Severed Souls(107)

“Once that happened, I no longer had any reason to hate you. That hatred no longer served a purpose, so I was able to set it aside. That also means I have no reason to harbor bitterness or resentment against you.

“You’ve changed, and as a result, I’ve changed. We’re both better for it.

“I know that you are still in love with Richard, but I also know that because you love him, you want him to be happy. You understand him now, and know that the reality is you can’t force someone to love you.

“But you still love him. You can’t help how you feel and I understand that. Sometimes a person can’t talk their heart out of how it feels, despite how hard you try. But now you have placed that in perspective with what he wants for himself.”

Nicci swallowed. “You’re right about that. I can’t help how I feel. I wish it were otherwise—I truly do—but I can’t change my heart.

“I would do anything Richard asked of me. I would lay down my life if he asked it of me. I would do anything for him.

“But I would never again try to steal him from you because I know that would be treason against him. Because I love him, truly love him, I could never do that to him.”

Kahlan stared into Nicci’s blue eyes. “I know.”

She felt profound sorrow for Nicci. She couldn’t imagine being as in love with Richard as she was, and having him not love her back. That would be a living death. She hoped that one day Nicci could find a man worthy of her, the way Cara had, even if Cara’s joy had been all too short.

Nicci’s gaze stayed on Kahlan’s. “I had Richard down in the Old World a long time. I came to know what is in that man’s heart. It matters not who loves him. All that matters is who he loves. And he loves you, Kahlan.”

Kahlan nodded. “I know that, too, Nicci.”

Nicci let out a relieved sigh. “Good.”

“So,” Kahlan said after a moment’s silence, “you don’t think Irena can really tell a person’s gift from bones, unless, of course, she has powers you don’t know about, perhaps from living her whole life out here close to the power leaking out of that barrier to the third kingdom. And you think she should have known where the Hedge Maid lived. And, she loves Richard.”

“I don’t know that she actually loves him, now that I think about it, so much as she seems obsessed with him.”

“Even so, she has also fought beside us, fought to protect our lives. So, what do you expect me to do about her?”

“I don’t know,” Nicci grumbled. “Maybe tell me I’m crazy.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy. I don’t trust the woman either.”

Nicci halted her pacing and looked over at Kahlan. “You alluded to that before. Mind telling me why not?”

“Well, I know it sounds a bit intolerant, but I don’t trust her because she calls him Richard, instead of Lord Rahl.”

Nicci looked puzzled. “Richard doesn’t care about titles.”

“That’s beside the point. Titles imply things. Respect, for one. Country people from remote places like this are usually terrified of people with power. I’ve grown up seeing people pale when they heard my title announced. People fear what they don’t know, and they fear power.

“A woman, even a sorceress, from a little place like Stroyza, should be more respectful—if nothing else—of the leader of the D’Haran Empire, the Lord Rahl himself.”

“And the Mother Confessor,” Nicci added.

“And the Mother Confessor,” Kahlan agreed. “It’s a little thing, but little things have reasons behind them. Little things can be a crack in a person’s carefully constructed façade that allows you to look deeper inside them.

“Richard wouldn’t care that she doesn’t call him Lord Rahl, but I do—because it tells me that something deeper is going on, that there is something there that is not what it seems.

“Samantha is infatuated with him, as you say, but she still calls him Lord Rahl. That is consistent with how people typically behave.”

Nicci was frowning with concern. “What do you think we should do about it?”

“Be aware. Be vigilant.”

“Always.” Nicci looked off toward the camp. “Richard is coming back. You had best go be with him and get some sleep.” She smiled as she watched him walking silently among the sleeping men. “Give him a hug. I think you could both use one. And I don’t want you to worry. We should soon be to the citadel and that containment field and then we will finally rid you of Jit’s poison.”

Kahlan stood and gave Nicci a hug. “I think you could use one as well.”