Midnight Quest (43 page)

Her heart started beating faster and she had to focus to keep her breathing under control. She needed to quickly bring her racing heart back to a normal beat as well. It sounded so loud in her ears that she couldn’t help but think that Rialt would soon notice it, too. The man was uncannily in tune with her.

Alright, heart, calm down. She put it into a straightforward, concise summary.
I’ve fallen in love with Rialt Axheimer. I think.

“Oh, you have,”
Elahandra informed her quite smugly.

Jewel just about leaped out of her skin.

“Lass?” Rialt’s weight shifted on the other bed, making the springs of the mattress squeak a little.

Of course he noticed that. Jewel waved a hand at him. “It’s fine. Elahandra’s talking to me.”

“Ah.” The springs squeaked again as he returned to the bed.

What do you mean I have?
Jewel frantically demanded.
You knew about this and didn’t say anything to me?!

“And miss watching this play out? Heaven forbid.”

Jewel could feel a headache develop. She rubbed her temples, futilely.
Am I even allowed to marry my own armsman?

“What a silly question to ask. Of course you can. I’d have never let this develop if you couldn’t.”

Jewel let out a slow breath of relief.

“In fact,
” Elahandra continued with open amusement,
“I rather insist that you two marry soon.”

Elahandra…I’m not even sure if he feels the same.

For a moment, it felt like a hand reached down and patted Jewel lightly on the head. “
Are you so sure he doesn’t?”

As suddenly as she had come, Elahandra disappeared. Jewel let her head flop back on her pillow and lay there thinking. Elahandra obviously knew something about Rialt that she didn’t. No surprise there. But the way she’d responded suggested that Jewel should know it as well. Now, had Rialt ever said or done anything to suggest…Jewel suddenly froze as Rialt’s voice came to her mind with perfect clarity.
“Well, if you do decide to fancy one of us, I be the best candidate.”

At the time, I thought he was just teasing. But what if he wasn’t? What if he were trying to find out if I really did prefer him?
She gulped a little nervously. Her stomach did flip flops at just the thought. Did she dare ask?

She turned her attention to the other side of the room, concentrating on the sound of Rialt’s breathing. It had roughened and deepened, bordering on a near snore—in other words, the man was fast asleep.

Jewel raised a hand and pinched the bridge of her nose. Of course he was asleep. The minute she really
wanted
to talk to him, he fell asleep. Clearly she’d have to wait until tomorrow to sort any of this out.

With a soft sigh, she tried to snuggle into her pillow a little more. It didn’t noticeably help promote any thoughts of sleep. Obviously this would be a very long night.

Chapter Twenty-nine

Timing, once lost, was not easily regained. Jewel learned this the hard way the next morning as she struggled to find a private moment with Rialt. But it seemed that from the very moment of her waking that everyone wanted a piece of her. Alexandra was the most demanding, as she showed up for breakfast and proceeded to monopolize Jewel’s day.

By dinner, Jewel mentally threw her hands up in the air and gave up. Obviously she wouldn’t get any chance to talk to Rialt today. She’d probably have to wait until tomorrow…although the odds of tomorrow being any different were very slim. Alexandra had made it plain through dinner that she had every intention of stealing Jewel away the next day as well.

There was just one problem with this plan.

In the past, Rialt had been her friend and armsman, so Jewel hadn’t thought twice about sleeping in the same room as him. But that had changed overnight. Now being in the same room as him would be wildly inappropriate and beyond awkward. Worse, Jewel had no idea how to fix it without severely ruffling his feathers.

Managing five minutes of privacy with Rialt had been impossible all day, but she found an opening that evening to speak alone with Chizeld when Rialt went for a bath. With the door firmly shut (and locked, which tickled her funny bone), she had a beautiful opportunity to get some advice. She
did
take the precaution of dragging Chizeld out into the hallway first, though. She knew from experience that everything could be clearly heard through that bathroom door.

Chizeld followed along amiably when she grabbed him by the elbow and hauled him outside. He didn’t say anything at all, either, when she closed the door quietly and just stood there for a long second.

But once she had him, her tongue felt tied and she didn’t know how to say anything. Her face started heating up with a hot blush just trying to formulate the words.

“That’s a pretty blush, Jewel,” Chizeld offered in amusement. “Need an ice bag for it?”

Strangely, the jocularity helped and she choked on a laugh. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how to say this. But I need your help.”

“Ask,” he encouraged, tone saying
that’s what I’m here for.

Jewel took in a deep breath for courage and blurted it out all at once. “I just realized I’m in love with Rialt, only I haven’t found a chance to talk to him about it, not that I
know
how to talk to him about it, but I don’t think it’s wise for him to sleep in the same room as me tonight, only I don’t know how to tell him that without hurting his feelings and I hoped that you might be able to help advise me because I have no idea what to do.”

Chizeld put both hands on her shoulders and advised dryly, “Breathe. Breathing would be a good start.”

After saying all of that in one shot, she needed to take a breath.

“Need to speak with Rialt,” Chizeld told her.

“But what if he doesn’t feel the same way?” she nearly wailed. “Then it just makes things awkward! And I don’t want that!”

“Hmmm…doubt that. Very much doubt that. But will go and ask on Jewel’s behalf.”

She was so relieved by his offer that her knees felt weak. Throwing both arms around his waist, she hugged him tight for a moment. “Thank you!”

Chizeld chuckled and returned the hug tightly for a moment. “Sit with Sarvell for a moment,” he ordered. Stepping back a pace, he knocked on his and Sarvell’s door before opening it. “Sarvell? Keep Jewel company a bit.”

“Certainly,” Sarvell responded, a note of curiosity in his voice. “Come in, Jewel.”

Still blushing and feeling painfully awkward, she stepped a foot inside and abruptly stopped. Until this point, she’d never entered the men’s room. She
assumed
that it had a similar layout to the room she had, but she didn’t know that. And Bortonor was sound asleep on her bed, so she couldn’t ask for his help.

Sarvell’s hand found hers within moments and silently guided her forward and into a chair. He had indeed learned a great deal about her in the past two months to be able to respond so instantly to her needs. “So what’s this about?”

Her blush, if possible, darkened. The courage and words she had a moment ago with Chizeld seemed to have fled somewhere as well. “Um…”

His stare at her face was so intense that she could feel it distinctly. “Anything to do with Rialt?”

If her blush got any hotter than this, she could fry an egg on it.

“Ahh, I see. I hoped you would realize it soon.”

“Why does everyone know about this?” Jewel complained while throwing her hands up in the air. “And not one person talked to me about it!”

“Don’t pout, Jewel. To us, it was obvious. But it doesn’t do any good to force a person to realize their own heart. It feels awkward and rushed if that happens. It’s better for things to come to their own natural conclusion, like now.”

She shook her head. “You really think I don’t feel awkward right now?”

He chuckled, rich and deep. “Not the awkward I meant. But you have nothing to worry about. I wish you could see how Rialt looks at you. Everything about him softens when his eyes are on you.”

“Really?” she asked wistfully.

From the wall, she heard Rialt’s voice rise in a muffled exclamation. “What?! No!”

“Uh-oh.” Sarvell, despite making that sound, didn’t particularly sound worried. In fact, he sounded like a man that was watching a play and the next act was about to open. “Whatever line of attack Chizeld tried to use obviously wasn’t the right one. Brace yourself.”

“Hiding under the bed sounds better,” she muttered anxiously. Jewel had a whole new respect for every heroine in a love story that had confessed her feelings. This took a
lot
more courage than she had previously guessed.

Within seconds, the door crashed open. “What be this about, now?” Rialt demanded, his accent deeper and rougher than normal.

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Sarvell announced to the room in general. As he passed her chair, he reached over and gave Jewel’s shoulder an encouraging squeeze.

Promising herself that she would strangle Chizeld later (
and
Sarvell), Jewel took in a deep breath and stood from the chair so that she could turn and face Rialt directly. It took two tries before her mouth cooperated enough for her to quietly command, “Close the door.”

It shut almost before the words left her mouth.

Praying for strength, she sought for the courage that had let her talk about this before Rialt had burst in.

“Jewel?” he asked searchingly.

Deep breath. In. Out. “Rialt, do you remember a conversation we had several nights ago? When you were massaging my hands to help me sleep?”

“Eh, lass, I remember,” he answered cautiously. Clearly, he didn’t know where she was going with this.

“You said something then, and I thought you were teasing, but now I really hope that you weren’t. You said, out of all of you, you were the best choice. Rialt, I—”
heart, don’t fail me now “
—can I choose you?”

The shortest and most eternal moment of silence hit the room. Jewel didn’t even dare breathe for fear of breaking that silence. Then Rialt darted forward and caught her tightly against him, lifting her feet off the floor. Her pent up breath whooshed out at the impact.

“Eh,” he whispered tenderly against her ear. “Eh, you do that. You choose me, as I already chose you.”

Relief washed through her body in an all-consuming wave. Feeling dangerously on the verge of tears, she wrapped both arms around his back and up to his shoulders. “I was so afraid you wouldn’t say that.”

He relaxed his hold on her just enough so that he could put a soft kiss on her forehead. “For the courage of your heart, I thank you.”

At that, she was truly afraid she
would
cry.

His hand came up to cup her face, tilting it slightly. Then, with practically no warning, his lips softly touched hers. Her heart skipped a beat at the soft caress. Oh. So this is what a kiss felt like? It was like sunlight.

They lingered in that world of soft kisses and a warm embrace for an endless time before Rialt dragged himself away from her and put her feet back on the floor. “Lass,” his voice was rough, “I do no think it be safe for me to sleep near you tonight.”

“I don’t think so either,” she panted. “I’m liable to attack you.”

A rich laugh filled the room. “Perhaps you will think on marrying me, then?”

He said it in a teasing way, but Jewel had learned that when he said things like this, he wasn’t teasing. “Soon,” she said firmly. “We’re marrying
soon
.”

“No arguments here, lass.”

“Good.” Jewel pointed a finger heavenward. “Otherwise you’d have to take the matter up with herself.”

“Oh?” Rialt sounded amused by this instead of alarmed, as most prospective grooms were. “Gave us marching orders, did she?”

“You could say that.” Jewel had no doubt that both of her exiled armsmen were lurking in the hallway, trying to listen in. They were both nosy, curious men that way. “Um…how do you want to tell the two outside?”

Rialt hummed to himself thoughtfully before turning around and taking two long strides to the door. Opening it, he proclaimed calmly, “We will be married on the morrow. For now, Chizeld and I will swap beds.”

Someone clapped, and another person let out a low whistle. “Well done,” Sarvell congratulated. “I’ve never seen a courtship this fast in my life!”

“Pah, not true,” Chizeld protested. “The courtship well in progress for weeks. Those two only that didn’t realize.”

Jewel really wished that she had a comeback for that but…she didn’t. Clearing her throat, she decided a change of subject was in order. “Chizeld, a high priestess has the authority to marry people, right?”

“Yes. Priestess Alexandra could perform ceremony.” Chizeld paused before adding slowly, “Believe it will be the first time in history that a high priestess has done ceremony for another high priestess.”

Jewel had already done quite a few things that were history in the making. What was one more? “I’ll ask her tomorrow. For now…it’s a bit early for bed, isn’t it?”

“A little,” Rialt agreed.

“Why don’t the two of you just spend a little time together?” Sarvell suggested with saint-like benevolence. “Chizeld and I will handle swapping the luggage and bedding around.”

Jewel didn’t mind that idea one bit. “There’s an informal den downstairs, isn’t there? We can go there to stay out of the way.”

“Fine by me.” Rialt returned to her side and tucked her hand into his elbow.

The newly minted couple retreated into a quieter section of the inn. Jewel felt like she should be talking to Rialt about all sorts of details that revolved around their future, but she couldn’t begin to figure out where to start. She needed to sleep on it, and let her mind sort things out, before she could properly talk about it.

Perhaps Rialt felt the same way. Or perhaps he sensed that she was a little overwhelmed. Whichever the case, he didn’t attempt to ask questions, but guided her into the small den and to a chair next to a table without a word spoken.