Rebel's Honor(24)

           



       

"You say that as if living in a tent would be beneath you."

"I'm merely pointing out the differences." Lukan leaned back in his chair and looked away. His rejection was obvious.

Not sure what to make of it, Lynx turned her attention to Kestrel. Her sister's eyes glistened with . . .

Lynx leaned in closer for a better look. Kestrel's eyes were overly bright, although no excitement blossomed on her face.

Then Lynx understood. Tao was blond.

Lynx's heart melted for her. It seemed neither of them wanted their future husbands.

Tao whispered to Kestrel, "That's Lady Nithena, my father's mistress." He pointed to the woman sitting next to Mott.

Kestrel looked away, probably not wanting Tao to see her tears.

Lynx came to her rescue, asking the only question she wanted answered. "The sapphire next to her eye? What does it signify?"

"That she's high-born. Diamonds for the emperor and his sons." Tao  gestured to himself and Lukan. "Emeralds for high-born men, and  sapphires for women. Oh, and Axel and his father are the only ones who  wear rubies. But you probably know that."

It wasn't the answer Lynx hoped for, but she could hardly expect Tao to  pour out all the Chenayan secrets over dinner. And he'd been more  forthcoming than anyone else she'd questioned about the stones. She  smiled at him as a waiter placed a steaming dish of something that  looked ominously like snails before her. Swallowing her disgust, she  reluctantly picked up a fork.

All conversation dwindled, partly because every attempt was met by a  halt in the low chatter coming from the high-born. Only Mott's voice  continued, unabated, as he regaled the company with exploits of past  hunts.

Eventually, Tao placed his dessert spoon on his plate and said, "My  father's about to call for chenna." His eyes trailed across to Kestrel.

Her sister seemed not to hear. She was watching Lukan, who swirled  patterns with the remaining berry sauce on his dessert plate. He looked  distant, too.

Knowing how much Kestrel had wanted to marry Lukan, Lynx again stepped  in to help her until she felt ready to face Tao. "What's chenna?"

Tao raised an eyebrow and then leaned forward, whispering. "Chenna? Come  on, everyone in the empire drinks it. It's our one unifying vice."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but Norin don't drink chenna."

Tao glanced over at Kestrel, frowned, then whispered, "Maybe you know it  as Dragon's Blood. But I don't suggest you call it that. Not here in  the Heartland."

Ah! Now she knew what he meant. Every evening after dinner, Axel and  Stefan had drunk a few shots of a vile-looking, blood-red drink. It  reeked like pure alcohol.

Seeing an opportunity to learn more about Chenaya from a potentially  talkative source, Lynx decided to play dumb. "Definitely no chenna in  Norin, Tao." She smiled at him. "Dragons are exclusive to the  Heartland."

Tao surprised her by smiling back, making the diamond next to his eye  sparkle. "No dragons? What a shame. You really did miss out."

Lynx blinked, twice. From his tone, she almost thought he could have  done with a few less dragons in his life, too. That was intriguing.

She leaned forward. "Tell me more."

"I assume you're talking about chenna?"

"Of course." She could hardly say otherwise. She glanced at Lukan, but he was still studiously ignoring her.

"It has the tendency to fry the brains of the uninitiated." Tao shot  another concerned look at Kestrel, but his gentle flirting with Lynx  seemed lost on her sister.

If Lynx weren't so disgusted with her own partner, she might have been  tempted to nudge Kestrel under the table. Instead, she said, "Well, that  sounds just like your typical dragon."

"You could say that," Tao said. "Emperor Thurban first distilled it to  give his troops courage while they ravaged our neighbors. I think he  described it as ‘expanding the boundaries of our empire.' Or that's what  my history professor said."

Lynx sucked in a breath. Tao's grimace suggested that he didn't approve.

Watching him closely, she said, "It seems, nowadays, bits of jasper,  surgically inserted next to the eye, have replaced the chenna."

Lukan lurched forward. "Don't listen to my brother, Lynx. He's about the worst example of a Chenayan you can get."

"Really?" Lynx replied, annoyed that, after ignoring her all evening, he  would interrupt this conversation. "Well, that's maybe why Tao appeals  to me. It seems neither of us like dragons"-she paused-"blood."                       
       
           



       

"Give it a few weeks, and you'll be drinking it," Lukan replied with annoying confidence. "And then you'll be a true Chenayan."

"Don't hold your breath." Lynx picked up her goblet. "I'll stick to mead."

Tao laughed, a spontaneous, joyous sound, alien in the turgid  atmosphere. Lynx's heart soared when Kestrel's head shot up. Her sister  studied Tao as if seeing him for the first time.

From the top of the table, Mott demanded, "Share the joke, Tao."

Laughter silenced, Tao replied, "It would not improve with repetition, sire."

"You have disrupted the evening with your raucous noise. Now explain."

Lynx froze as Tao's mouth opened and closed, and then he stuttered, "I  apologize, sire, but I was merely pointing out the merits of chenna and  mead."

She let out a breath, impressed that Tao hadn't implicated her in the discussion.

"What is there to discuss, you stupid boy? Chenna beats mead every time."

Tao's fair skin burned, but he kept his focus on his father steady.

His defiance was lost on the emperor, who waved a finger at his seneschal, standing at his shoulder. "Chenna."

Lady Nithena stood, saying, "Come, princesses, let's leave the men to their drinks."

Lynx's mouth sagged. No Norin man would expect women to leave just  because he wanted a drink, and no Norin woman would ever obey such a  ridiculous command. But she and her dress had caused enough trouble  tonight.

It was time to beat a tactical retreat.

As she stood, she caught Kestrel frowning at Lady Nithena; clearly, her sister was as offended as she was.

"We have plenty to talk about," Lynx said in Norin, hoping neither Lukan nor Tao had bothered to learn their mother's tongue.

Tao's face was averted so she couldn't see his reaction, but Lukan looked blank, so she guessed neither of them had.

At least she and Kestrel had that advantage over them.

Lady Nithena led them into the broad passageway outside the dining hall.

Four imperial guardsmen waited at attention.

"Your Highnesses, the guardsmen will escort you to your apartment." Lady Nithena curtsied and left.

With two men in the lead and two trailing behind, Lynx and Kestrel  walked through the palace. After a confusing number of twists and turns,  the guardsmen took them into a side passage.

A young girl dressed in maid's robes polished the already gleaming parquet floor.

As Lynx drew closer, a middle-aged woman appeared from nowhere, standing next to the girl.

Lynx stumbled, unable to believe her eyes.

The woman was startling, her face a portrait of evil. Strangest of all,  her feet didn't touch the ground but hovered above it. She flickered  once and then vanished as if she had never existed.

The child's eyes flew wide, her face contorted with horror. Screaming,  she half-stumbled, half-ran toward Lynx, throwing herself at the feet of  the nearest guardsman. "Help me," the girl screeched. "The Dreaded."

The guardsmen kicked the child in the ribs, sending her careening against the wall.

"Stop it!" Lynx yelled, punching the soldier on the arm above his vambrace. "Leave her alone."

He immediately stood to attention, snapping a salute. Lynx was about to  bend down to help the girl, but Kestrel beat her to it. Instead of  responding to the kindness, the maid scuttled away on her knees,  sobbing.

Too practical to believe in ghosts, Lynx bit her lip, trying to make  sense of what she'd seen. She came up short on answers. What else could  the apparition have been?

But then, why don't we get them in Norin? Why only here, in the Heartland?

Nothing made sense.

She turned to the guardsmen. "Take us to our apartments. Now."

As the guards set a brisk pace down the passageway, Kestrel linked her  arm with Lynx's. She could feel her sister trembling. Lynx squeezed her  hand.

"What was she?" Kestrel asked in Norin. "I've never seen anything so terrible."

"Uncle Bear called them ‘the Dreaded.' They're supposed to be ghosts. Or something like that."

Kestrel shivered. "I'm doing my best to focus on the positives, but they certainly don't make it easy, do they?"

"Positives?" Lynx snorted a bitter laugh. "You're a better person than I am."

"The magnificent clothes, the artworks. Did you see that exquisite  hunting mural on the wall outside the dining room? It was breathtaking."