“Jex, will you read to me before lessons?”
Kylan flopped down beside him in the shade and dropped a thin volume onto his chest. Sighing, he sat up, catching the book before it could fall into the faded grass.
His fever had broken again in the early hours and he’d ventured out of doors after breakfast, needing to feel a little sunshine on his skin after so long abed. He’d been shocked to find summer already beginning its grudging yield to autumn, and the day was gloriously warm instead of stifling. Nature was busily plying her paintbrush and everywhere he looked was a touch of red or a splash of orange. If anything, the changes made the carefully maintained spaces even more peaceful.
Enari, strangely reticent to look him in the eyes, had declined his invitation to join him and he secretly suspected she too needed a little peace and quiet. Most likely she’d hidden herself away in the library somewhere or was visiting with Torina Anya. The two women obviously enjoyed one another’s company and he was glad she had another friend here. Anya was also a willing participant in Enari’s psychomancy lessons, making a sort of game out of it as she told him they’d done with reading when Enari was small.
Thus leaving them to their own devices, he’d come out of doors alone and after hours of dozing in the grass, he felt immensely better. While the things Enari had shown him still disturbed his dreams, the mystery of the ugly black smudges on his aura seemed less threatening in the heat of the day. He still hadn’t had the chance to discuss the situation with Eryk and it was clear that Vasi had said nothing of their conversation, but he hoped to speak with them both that evening.
In the meantime, he intended to enjoy his mobility and freedom, short-lived as they might prove to be.
Jex examined the book Kylan had given him and grinned. “Tahir’s Lover is not an appropriate story for a girl your age. Where did you get this?”
“Enari left it in your room.”
He had wondered what she’d been reading that morning and why she’d flushed so prettily when he’d asked her. Books seemed a safe topic between them…unlike the mirror. After that night, she’d refused to show him any more. Whenever he tried to push her for details, she either pretended not to hear him or decided it was a good time to poke and prod at his mostly-healed wounds.
He could take a hint.
“Pick another one,” he told the girl.
Obviously prepared for this reaction, Kylan produced another book and held it under his nose triumphantly. “How about this one?”
“Better.”
“You, you don’t think they’re baby-stories, do you, Jex? Sarene says they are.”
He smiled down at her. “Of course not. It’s very important to know the legends and stories of one’s own people and between you and me, your sister could use a few more ‘baby stories’ in her collection.”
“Good.” Kylan scooted closer, heedless of the grass stains she was getting, and leaned her head against his chest. “Now read, please. Can I turn the pages?”
“If you’d like.”
“Papa and Uncle Eryk always let me turn the pages.”
Swallowing more laughter, he opened the book and began to read.
Sometime between chapters five and seven, Enari joined them. She had a basket over one arm and hesitated when she caught sight of them, clearly expecting Jex to be alone. Kylan was the first to spot her.
“Enari!” she cried, “I looked for you everywhere this morning, but I couldn’t find you.” She motioned towards the grass on Jex’s other side. “Will you read with us? It’s getting really exciting, and he reads good.”
“I read well,” Jex corrected her. She stuck her tongue out at him, but he ignored her and instead held a hand out to Enari. She took it, letting him pull her down beside him. Kylan put her head back against his chest, wiggling a bit to get comfortable, but Enari held back, her leg just barely touching his.
“Only a few more chapters, Kylan, and then we have lessons. I promised your mother, remember?”
“Oh, all right,” she pouted, “but you can’t stop in the middle of a chapter like you did last time. And no falling asleep!”
“As you command.”
Picking up the book again, he resumed reading. He certainly was an excellent storyteller, Enari observed. His voice wove magic into the tale and drew her in despite her reservations. When she hesitantly leaned against him, her pose mimicking Kylan’s, Jex drew up his knees to balance the book and put an arm around her. Midnight and fire spilled across his tunic, gray eyes and gold fastened on the slowly turning pages.
Enari’s eyes fell shut and she let the story sweep her away. So entranced was she by his voice that it took her several moments to realize the tale had changed quite dramatically.
“’And clasping her tiny, elegant hand in his, Tahir stole her away in secret to his inner chamber, not daring to release her until they were within and the door was safely bolted against all trespassers. Then he drew aside the velvet hangings on the great bed, revealing an expanse of crimson silk that never seemed to end. Layalie watched enrapt, motionless, and waiting with bated breath for his command…’”
“Oh, Goddess, please no.”
“’…His face was dark and still as he gazed upon her, like that of a man who has embraced his fate. ‘Lie there,’ he said softly. Without a word, nor with a single hesitation, she lay down on the bed at her lover’s behest. Eyes closed, she felt his softly trembling hands touch her body in desire. He stroked her face with infinite tenderness and promise, and at last there was the lingering press of a kiss upon her blushing lips…’”
“It is. Oh no no no. I’m going to die.” Yet she couldn’t move. Dared not move. She sat, breath held, head against his shoulder. His voice was no longer animated as it had been before. It had dropped an octave, sliding across her like velvet and silk and all the sensual things of the tale he was bringing to life.
“’…Layalie lay in a sort of expectant rapture. Then she shivered at the feel of his hand moving with impatient passion among her skirts. He drew away the silken finery, little-by-little, layer-by-layer, until she was naked upon the bed in which tors and toras had coupled with their paramours for ages out of memory. With a quiver of exquisite joy and deepest yearning, Tahir touched the warm softness of her nude and perfect body. And he had to come into her at once, to seek Andehai as man has always done within the body of a woman. It was a moment of purest harmony for Tahir and Layalie, his lover.’”
His lips were right against her ear, his voice barely more than a whisper. She stared, unseeing, at the page before he quietly closed the book.
“I thought you should hear it as it ought to be read,” he explained, “Don’t be angry at Kylan when she wakes for telling me you were reading it. She didn’t mean any harm.”
Enari’s breath was coming in short, rapid little gasps and she couldn’t seem to get enough air. Humiliation warred with an unidentifiable tingling heat inside her, but she didn’t know which was winning. His hand ghosted up and down her arm, soothing and arousing at once.
“Are you very angry with me, Nani?”
His fingers touched her jaw, lifted her face to study her expression. Very slowly, not entirely sure if she meant it, she shook her head. The smile he gave her was dazzling and something in his eyes made her catch and hold her breath. His head tilted and he leaned towards her.
On the far side of him, Kylan stirred and stretched. The strange little moment burst like a soap bubble and normalcy crashed back around them.
* * *
“Jex, this is hard!” Kylan complained, dropping her forehead into the parchments spread out in the grass before her. Each was covered in Jex’s elegant, looping script and though he’d written carefully, the symbols were foreign and the little girl had been struggling to copy the same few for nearly an hour.
“I never promised it would be easy,” he informed her around a mouthful of pastry. “Atromorese is a complex language, with a completely different alphabet than Egali, but you blabbed to your mother and insisted on being taught. I’m obligated now.” He reached into the basket Enari had brought with her and pulled out a sealed jug. Pulling the cork, he sniffed it apprehensively.
“This is just cider, right?”
Kylan snatched it from him and took a gulp before handing it back. “Just cider.”
“Why thank you, my devoted taster. If there’s any poison or medicine in there, you’ll be the first to know.”
Enari and Kylan both rolled their eyes.
“Enari wouldn’t poison you, silly. She loves you too much,” Kylan said absently, staring down at the page before her with a scowl of frustration.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Enari hide her face behind her hands. Kylan, of course, was oblivious to the discomfort her comments had caused.
“Though it would be pretty smart to put your medicine in it,” she mused, “That’s what I would do if I were her, since you’re such a baby about taking it. Argh!” With a shriek of aggravation, she pounded her fist into the grass in an unusual display of temper.
“I hate this!”
“Kylan!” Jex snapped. He had absolutely no patience for temper tantrums.
“I’m sorry!” she wailed, and broke into hysterical sobs.
She threw herself into Enari’s arms and the older girl rubbed her back soothingly, a look of sympathy crossing her face. Jex closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Enari held Kylan until she quieted, then used a sleeve to wipe her sweaty and tear-stained face. Knowing Kylan wouldn’t be released until she’d done at least a little work, Enari drew one of the pages and the wax practice tablet into her lap. She took the torina’s hand in hers and guided the stylus over the scratched surface. The copy was wobbly and a little crooked, but it was better than the little girl had been able to make on her own.
Jex stared at her, pastry and cider forgotten. “That’s…that’s actually very good, even if the last one is backwards. You didn’t tell me you knew any Atromorese.”
She didn’t, or at least, hadn’t until she’d observed some of their lessons. It had been easy enough to pick up from watching the pair, and she found she was even able to read a little, though it was a laborious process and she often came across symbols she didn’t know.
“I think that’s enough for one day,” Jex announced into the silence. He climbed a little stiffly to his feet and bent to pick up the scattered remnants of the afternoon lesson. “Kylan, go on ahead and take all this with you. You’re free, once it’s put away properly, and don’t think I won’t check.”
Kylan accepted the armload of objects, then skipped away from them, disappearing quickly before her tutor could change his mind. He gave Enari a hand up, twining his fingers through hers instead of releasing them once she’d gained her balance. She looked at him askance but made no move to pull away. It was actually rather comforting the way her hand completely disappeared in his larger one.
“That was kind of you.”
“I could tell she was at the end of her patience for the day and so were you.”
“Still,” he leaned over to pick up the basket, “she has to learn to do it on her own.” Swinging their clasped hands between them, he headed in the opposite direction Kylan had gone, deeper into the garden instead of back to the palace.
“It’s too nice to go back indoors just yet,” he explained in answer to her questioning look, “There’s a little pond around here someplace that should be just about perfect for idling away the rest of the afternoon.”
The idea appealed to her. Even though it was early autumn, the afternoon had grown unusually warm. He led her to a back corner of the vast grounds, pushing aside a fall of wilting jasmine to reveal an oasis.
A small stream trickled into a pool in the middle of the secluded clearing. Soft, thick grass dotted with tiny yellow and purple flowers carpeted the ground and Enari found herself wanting to remove her shoes and feel the blades under her bare feet. A moss covered, but still rather scandalous statue caught her attention, recalling the warmth of Jex’s breath against her ear as he’d read the erotic words of Tahir’s Lover. She stared at the thing, unable for a time to look away from the lovers forever immortalized in stone.
As they approached the water’s edge, Enari had no more warning than the sly look that came over his face before he lunged at her. He caught her around the waist, pulling her towards him before bending and sliding an arm under her knees to scoop her up. She began to struggle when it became clear he intended to toss her into the water fully clothed.
“Don’t you dare!” she cried, kicking her legs and slapping her palms against his chest.
Jex only laughed. When she felt him release her, she fisted both hands in his tunic and leaned back. If she was going in then so was he. He realized her ploy too late and toppled in after her with a shout.
They surfaced together, sputtering and gasping for breath.
“You,” he panted, “are an evil little minx!”
Her waterlogged skirts tangled around her legs as she tread water and she felt one of her slippers come loose and sink. Her scowl only made him laugh harder and she splashed water in his face. He splashed her back before she could get out of range and the ensuing battle was boisterous, but short-lived.
It wasn’t long before Jex was out of breath and called for a ceasefire. Enari graciously accepted his surrender, though she couldn’t keep a triumphant smile from her mouth. That would teach him to start a war he couldn’t finish.
They waded out of the pond and he helped her wring most of the water from her gown before they collapsed side-by-side on the soft grass. Enari flopped onto her back, sprawling out in a most unladylike fashion and tilting her face to the sky. Eyes closed, she basked in the warmth as the breeze began to dry her sodden clothes. Jex lay next to her, silent for once
Slowly, the serene atmosphere began to change. Jex turned onto his side to face her and his eyes dropped to where her damp gown clung to her breasts. He licked his lips unconsciously and she tried to cover herself, but he stopped her.
“Don’t, Nani.”
His hands moved, fingers gliding over the skin of her neck to twine in her wet hair and cradle the back of her head. He leaned forward and she instinctively closed her eyes.
There was no Kylan to interrupt this time.
He pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. Then another. The third time, she turned to meet him.
The kiss was long and slow and sweet. He pushed gently and she could taste a lingering hint of spiced cider, crisp and tart, in the embrace of his lips. She shuddered and he backed away.
“Cold?” he asked softly.
She shook her head, dazed and a little breathless.
“Good.”
Raising a hand to stroke her cheek, he began to trail soft kisses along her throat and behind her ear. She felt his breath warm her water-chilled skin and instinctively moved into him. He pulled the delicate lobe of her ear between his teeth, nibbled, nipped, sucked. She turned her face and his mouth was covering hers again.
This kiss was needy and desperate, spinning out of control so quickly she could barely comprehend what was happening. He traced the seam of her lips with the tip of his tongue and she parted them on a gasp, granting him the entrance he sought. She wanted him closer, wanted to feel the weight of him atop her, wanted…whatever came after.
He felt her shiver again and pulled away reluctantly. “You are cold.”
She shook her head but he released her anyway, taking her hands and pulling her to her feet.
“We’ll go someplace warm and get you out of those wet clothes.” There was a promise in his words that made her insides quiver and he swatted her backside playfully as she started to leave the garden.
Grinning teasingly up at him, she gathered her wet skirts and darted away, daring him to give chase. She could hear the squelch of his boots as he pursued her and she ran faster, ducking down a side path in the direction of the palace.