Shard Knight (Echoes Across Time Book 1) (40 page)

“We need the information in that book to stop Pride,” Ronan said.

“There are no guarantees Ronan. It’s no cure-all, but we can hope. Sir Alcott peeled back the cover revealing the first page. His eyes widened and froze over the picture of Lora and Elan. Without emotion he studied the drawing for several long minutes before smiling. “I see.”

“Sir Alcott, what does the caption say?” Danielle said.

“The caption says ‘Elan and Lora celebrating her pregnancy on their first anniversary,” Sir Alcott said.

Rika gasped.

Ronan’s chest tightened, and his mouth hung open. He leaned back stunned at the revelation. This information would devastate the church’s long-held positions on every subject related to Elan’s beliefs. The church’s dogma about Elan’s purity thrown out like last night’s dinner. Pride would slaughter every man, woman, and child in his path to rid Meranthia of this manuscript. “Elan and Lora were married?”

“Apparently so, and they had children,” Sir Alcott said.

“What else does the book say?” Devery said.

“The study of a manuscript like this is a lifetime’s work,” Sir Alcott said. “But, I understand the urgency. Give me until tomorrow morning, and I’ll have a general idea of the book’s contents.”

Ronan nodded. “Thanks Sir Alcott.”

Sir Alcott waved a hand. He pushed his nose into the book and flipped the page engrossed in Heilyn’s lost words.

Danielle stood, stretched, and yawned. “I’m going to turn in.”

Devery stood. “There’s a separate room for each of you. If you follow me, I’ll show you.”

Ronan and the others followed Devery, and he shut the meeting room’s door leaving Sir Alcott alone engrossed in the Book of Order.

Devery led each person to a separate room showing Ronan to the room he’d used to change clothes earlier.

“Thank you Devery.” Ronan locked eyes with Rika as she slipped into the room next to his.

His stomach fluttered when Rika flashed a heartbreaking smile and shut the door behind her.

Ronan’s stomach sank as the door clicked shut, and the deadbolt slid into place. He hadn’t had a chance to spend five minutes alone with her since they’d escaped North Camp. “Good night.” He whispered to the closed door.

Ronan entered his room and sat on the soft bed. He had to give Sir Alcott credit for the room’s quality. He hadn’t slept in a bed since Redkeep. Not since his days in Freehold’s palace had he spent the night in a bed this size. Ronan untied his boots and removed his socks. He slipped off his dark-blue tunic, trousers, and underclothes, peeled back the crisp white sheets, and crawled in bed.

His naked skin tingled beneath the crisp cool sheets, and the soft mattress pulled him in like a long forgotten friend. He laid his head on the goose-down pillow and stared at the cave’s crystals glistening like a million diamonds in the soft yellow light of his bedside lamp. With a heavy sigh, he reached toward the lamp and froze.

The brass doorknob turned, and the heavy wooden door inched open.

His pulsed quickened, and he locked eyes on his sheathed shard blade leaning against the far wall. He pushed himself up ready to leap out of bed as the door inched wider creaking on its hinges.

Rika slipped through the opening and eased the door shut behind her. She wore a white paper-thin cotton nightshirt that extended to her mid-thigh. She smiled at Ronan as she twisted the lock on the heavy door. “I couldn’t sleep.”

Ronan’s heart beat so hard it threatened to jump from his chest. The golden light glowing from the oil lamp shone through her nightshirt’s wafer thin material silhouetting the full swell of her heavy breasts. He peeled his eyes from her chest and allowed them to drift downward. He stared with unchained desire at her long, lean, and very exposed legs honed through constant exercise. In their years together, he’d never seen her wearing so little. She’d always taken great care to cover herself never revealing too much. “That makes two of us.” His voice sounded hollow and foreign in his ear as he willed her across the room.

Rika’s eyes wandered to Ronan’s exposed chest and flickered away. “Do you mind if I come in?” Her voice hitched and trembled with nervous tension.

As much as he wanted Rika, he would never presume or demand her affection. “Of course not. Let me put some clothes on.” Ronan reached for his underclothes piled on the floor near his bed.

She lurched forward as if to stop him. “You don’t need to do that.” Her words came out quick and urgent. “Unless you want to.”

He stopped and shook his head using slow deliberate motions as his eyes never left hers. Ronan swallowed moistening his dry throat enough to speak. “Not especially.” Without thought, he offered his hand. “Come here Rika.”

Rika let go a ragged breath and padded across the warm rugs toward Ronan. As she moved, the swell of her upturned breasts bounced and swayed beneath the nightshirt, and her nipples hardened straining against the thin fabric.

Ronan’s skin tingled with anticipation. He dared not breathe for fear he’d wake up, and she’d disappear. Her clear excitement only increased his own desire. He’d waited so long to touch her in ways he never dreamed possible.

She stopped in front of the bed, and her sparkling gray eyes held Ronan’s for five long heartbeats.

“Rika, are you sure? I want you to be sure,” he said.

Without taking her eyes from his, she reached down and grabbed the bottom of her nightshirt pulling it over her head in one swift motion.

Ronan’s face flashed with red heat as she stood naked before him. He tried in vain to calm the hammering of his heart, and his head swam as he stared at the stark perfection of her naked body. Rika’s friendship, their history together, and his deep love for her only heightened the moment’s intensity. He moved over, making room for her and pulled back the warm blankets.

She slipped in next to him and their naked bodies intertwined. Rika wrapped her arms around Ronan’s chest, and her lips found his. Their kiss started slow and tentative like their friendship then grew into something deep and intense.

Ronan didn’t know at what exact moment Rika had fallen in love with him, but he’d loved her from the first second he laid eyes on her five years ago.

Together, they passed through a one-way door that led to an unknown destination. A place they’d discover together as only young lovers could.

He tasted a hint of cinnamon from her full wet lips, and as the tip of her tongue found his, the taste intensified. The warmth of her naked body pressed into his flesh activating a million nerve endings and awakening a torrent of feral desire. He breathed her in, and the hypnotic scent of lavender drifted from her hair and left him reeling. He opened his mouth to hers and devoured her lips with raw unbridled hunger. His hand moved to cup her large round breast, and her nipple hardened beneath his fingertips.

Rika gasped moaning low and hungry as she ran her fingers through Ronan’s dark wavy hair pulling him into her.

His hand moved downward traveling past her chest exploring her forbidden, exotic locations he’d never dreamed of touching.

Rika shuddered beneath his touch as her hands explored his body in return. She wrapped her smooth leg over him and moved her body atop his. Her breasts dragged across his chest as she pushed herself up straddling him. She found him and gasped as goosebumps raised across her flesh.

They moved together starting with a slow easy rhythm that built to a fevered climax.

Afterward, Rika kissed him and nestled her head into his shoulder running her fingertips back and forth over his bare muscled chest.

Ronan weaved his hand through Rika’s dark hair and relaxed feeling the rhythm of her heart beat against his chest slow and steady.

As Rika drifted off to sleep, Ronan’s eyes grew heavy, and he pulled her in tight wrapping his arm around her naked back before sleep overtook him.

***

Danielle opened the meeting room door, and the delicious aroma of bacon, eggs, and fresh biscuits set her stomach growling.

Ronan spread an inch thick layer of apple butter atop a steaming biscuit before shoving it into his mouth. Rika and Sir Alcott sat across from him wearing awed expressions.

“Ronan, that’s your fifth one!” Rika said.

“I’m hungry,” he said as he shoved half a biscuit in his mouth.

“Ronan’s always been a big eater Rika,” Sir Alcott said. “As a boy, I tested him for tapeworm, but the results were inconclusive.”

Ronan gobbled the other half of the hot biscuit and licked apple butter from his fingers.

Sir Alcott gave Ronan an appraising stare. “But, I’m beginning to wonder if I overlooked it.”

Ronan shrugged. “A man’s got to eat,” he said with his mouth full of crumbling biscuit.

“Save some for me.” Danielle elbowed her brother and took the seat next to him. She grabbed a plate and loaded it high with several heaping spoonfuls of scrambled eggs.

Danielle’s stomach groaned with hunger pangs. “I’m so hungry.” She licked her lips and grabbed four slices of bacon and two biscuits. As she broke open the biscuit, she noticed all activity had stopped as they watched her assemble her breakfast. “What?” Danielle stared at Rika and Sir Alcott.

“We can finally rule out tapeworm,” Sir Alcott said. “It’s a family condition.”

Rika burst into laughter, and Ronan smiled.

Danielle’s face reddened, and she shrugged. “Ronan, pass the apple butter please.”

Ronan passed the dish to Danielle. “Danielle, Sir Alcott was about to go over what he discovered.”

Sir Alcott rested the book atop the table and picked up a carafe filled with heavy cream. “I’ve been up all night reading, and the discoveries are incredible.” He poured cream into a steaming cup of coffee and stirred.

“Don’t keep us in suspense,” Danielle said tearing off a chunk of crispy bacon.

Sir Alcott sighed and scratched his beard. “Where do I begin?” He sipped his coffee. “I’ll say first that I’ve just scratched the surface. I skimmed the book and only read deeper the sections I thought might help us.”

Danielle scooped up a heaping bite of eggs. “Good plan.”

“The first revelation has to do with your Lora’s Heart. It exists,” Sir Alcott said.

“There’s long been theories -“ Danielle said.

Sir Alcott waved her off. “I’m sorry to interrupt Danielle. Let me explain. I’m not touting a theory. The book explains that Ayralen shard magic can’t exist without Lora’s Heart. It’s impossible.”

“If Pride finds Lora’s Heart, he destroys Ayralen magic,” Ronan said.

“It goes far beyond the loss of Ayralen magic Ronan. The consequences are more dire that any of us realized,” Sir Alcott said. “The book mentioned a bond between Lora’s Heart and Elan’s Heart. Their magic connects in a way I can’t understand. This connection may reveal itself later in the book, but it’s very clear on one point. If any harm comes to Lora’s Heart, Elan’s Heart withers and dies too.”

“And with Elan’s Heart goes Meranthian shard magic,” Ronan said finishing his words.

“Yes, but Heilyn’s words warned of something else. Magic contained inside both Elan’s and Lora’s Hearts are working to protect Meranthians and Ayralens alike against some greater force, but that text is beyond my skill level to interpret. Rest assured, I’ll discover its secrets. I can safely say, it’s critical that both hearts receive protection.”

“So, we need to find Lora’s Heart first,” Danielle said.

“I’m sorry to give you more bad news, but…” Sir Alcott sighed.

“What is it Sir Alcott?” Rika said.

“Magic in Meranthia is dying.” Sir Alcott said. “The book has confirmed Devery’s suspicion, and it explains why Ronan’s brand of shard magic is so powerful.”

“How so?” Ronan said.

“The practice of Meranthian isolation is thinning our blood. Lora’s Heart and Elan’s Heart require its practitioners to have bloodlines from a mixed Ayralen and Meranthian lineage,” Sir Alcott said. “Heilyn noted the first signs of Meranthian isolationism when he wrote the book and warned of its danger.”

“We haven’t noticed any weakening of magic in Ayralen. It’s as strong today as it was a thousand years ago,” Danielle said.

“The Assembly has long allowed Meranthians inside Ayralen borders,” Rika said. “The Meranthian monarchy has forbidden the return of those emigrants.”

“Ayralen magic has thrived as a result,” Sir Alcott said. “Regardless, the strength of Ayralen magic won’t matter unless Meranthia ends its practice of isolationism. Elan’s Heart provides power to the shards, and through the shard knight’s life force, Elan’s Heart thrives. If the shard knight’s bloodlines weaken any further, Elan’s Heart can no longer sustain magic. If it’s allowed to continue for another generation, Elan’s Heart will wither and die.”

Goosebumps raised on Danielle’s arm. “If Elan’s Heart dies, then so does Lora’s Heart. Without the warden’s protection, the Heartwood will die.”

“Along with the thousands of protected animal species,” Rika said.

“Ayralen and Meranthia cannot stand apart,” Sir Alcott said.

“All of Ayralen is at Merric Pride’s mercy,” Danielle said.

Ronan shook his head. “And so we circle back to Merric Pride.”