A Star is Born: The Coming Dawn: Book I (22 page)

*****

“We were here a few hours ago,” Ky said when they walked into Cobaaron’s room, and she saw the oversized bed of stuffed feathers, and pillows. “This is your room?” Cobaaron didn’t respond. Instead he called for his chambermaid to get Huntra food and water. “You were taking care of my cat when I was sick?” she asked with a playful grin.

“This means nothing. I still don’t like cats,” he replied, but she didn’t believe him.

His chambermaid arrived, and immediately bowed so low that her hair swept the floor. Her voice was soft and timid when she asked him if he needed anything. “My cat needs more food. Fetch the healer, also. And have a stud find Noxis. I need him immediately.”

“I will,” she said softly, and left to do his bidding.

A short time later an older man with a short, dark beard, navy blue eyes, and paisley robe with plenty of pockets entered. Cobaaron greeted him. “Hyun, thank you for coming so quickly. This is twice now I’ve called on you.” Hyun bowed in his presence. Cobaaron gave Hyun all of Ky’s belongings to inspect. “I need to establish if they possess evil charms that may harm Ky. Oella made them, along with a suspicious never-ending water flask that’s in her room. Maybe your wife can dispose of it properly.”

The man lifted a dress and held it to his ear, listening. “Well, there is no question it’s magic. There is a hushed hum, but it doesn’t sound menacing. Then a witch would know how to cover that up,” Hyun mumbled while he took a flask from a pocket. He poured a single orange droplet onto the article of clothing and waited. Nothing happened. Then he proceeded with the next, dropping the liquid onto another garment. Again nothing. He went through her belongings, and each time nothing out of the ordinary happened.

“Well?” Cobaaron asked.

“Well, I’m quite certain now that she will never drown,” Hyun jested. Cobaaron laughed loudly. Hyun grinned wider. Then Hyun removed what looked like a bundle of small dried lavender flowers attached to brittle, brown stems and leaves from a pouch in his pocket. He brushed them over the clothes, and still nothing. He administered the same test to all her belongings. He tried harming her things, but when they couldn’t be damaged, Hyun was pleased. “They’re safe. It’s clear they have enchantments to protect the Star, but not to harm. I could remove the protection, but then they would be ordinary clothes. I’ll strip off the charms if you wish, but I’m certain none of them are evil. She may use them, my King, without injury. I’d bet my life on it.”

“Do you have a never-ending water flask or fruit bowl for my woman’s travels?” Cobaaron asked.

“Ah, and an endless ale if you so wish, my King. Though the food is hard to come by, I only have one endless jerky in my stash. Maybe you could whisper a word to the council that you wish for me to have some payment in return for the jerky, perhaps.” Hyun smiled hopefully.

“How much?”

“Thirty-two gold coins at twenty ounces each, or a Kishmit ruby,” Hyun suggested with careful calculation.

“Go get them now. I’ll pay you myself. Hurry and I’ll pay double the gold for looking over her things.”

“Ah, my King, for that I will make you a warrior uniform fit for a Star. I heard fire destroyed your clothes,” Hyun replied, and pocketed his things before hurrying out the door.

“Well, I do feel better about your clothes,” Cobaaron said, and then told Ky she could put them in Huntra’s room. As she stored her belongings, the chambermaid came back with Huntra’s food, and told Cobaaron that Noxis was on his way.

Hyun came back with the flask and jerky. Immediately, he handed over the flask, which was larger than the single ounce container Oella made. The container was the size and shape of a hip flask and had elaborately engraved flowers on one side. “These come much larger, but frankly I’ll be glad to be rid of this. Not one warrior wants a flowery flask. And my daughter has too much clutter as it is. I’ve had this thing for years; I can’t seem to
give it away
.” Hyun gave her the jerky that was thick, and dark like dried seaweed. “The thing about
this
jerky is it’s very filling. Take the smallest bite. When it grows back to
this size
, take another bite. It’s important you don’t eat it so fast it doesn’t have a chance to grow back; if you take another bite too soon, what you chew off will never come back. It is only as long as your hand so it’s imperative you let the jerky rejuvenate.”

He stepped closer to Cobaaron, and had him hold still long enough to let Hyun transform his clothes from black leather to a new material resembling rigid rubber. Hyun even changed his armbands, belt and sandals. Hyun smiled and said, “They will repel any soot, liquid and the hottest light that your bond partner can produce.” He then tapped his fingers together waiting for payment, but Noxis arrived.

“I asked the council to choose a hundred women to go with us,” Cobaaron immediately told Noxis. “I want you to supervise the selection. I can’t afford to bring weak women. I need strong, courageous women. If you can’t compel the council to choose stronger women, deny the fragile in private.”

“Any young woman?” Hyun asked, curious.

“Any
strong, capable
woman,” Cobaaron agreed with a nod.

“I’ll oversee it. Is there anything else?” Noxis asked.

“Yes, have my treasure keeper pay Hyun. He may take sixty-four large gold coins and a precious stone for my clothes,” Cobaaron said.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Cobaaron kissed Ky awake. “Ky,” he whispered. “Wake up.”

She smiled before she opened her eyes. She liked waking this way, with him close and the union tugging her to love and want to make love to him. “You said you wanted me to sleep, and that it wasn’t smart for us to touch or we’d get carried away.”

“I did let you sleep. It’s time to go.” He nibbled her neck.

“It feels like I just fell asleep.” Ky rubbed her eyes. He hovered over her, kissing her; she embraced him. His soft skin felt inviting. She lightly scratched his back and hoped she would never have to sleep alone again.

Cobaaron interrupted his soft love bites to show her the timekeeper. “It’s early morning. You slept eight hours. See?”

“But days are longer here. I need at least nine hours.”

Cobaaron scoffed, as if that was excessive. Ky looked intently at the stone. She didn’t see how he was reading hours from the glowing stone, but maybe it took time to decipher. He kissed her again, but when she moaned he distanced himself.

“I think the bond has shifted in me. I have over ten days longer than you to fixate on you. We need to go.”

The magical union stirred within her, and she didn’t want him to take away his presence so soon, but he was already dressed and it was time to leave. He watched her lying on the bed, clearly wanting to crawl back to her. He silently struggled with momentary lust as he fought to refrain from touching her body. She could see his inward battle in his shaky hands. She decided to get up, and help him fight his desire considering they didn’t enjoy the union using lust to pull them together.

“Do you think we’ll get past the lust?”

“I hope so. We’ll figure out how to defy it. I don’t want to touch you in lust. I feel more for you than that, so much more.” He watched her change clothes, and kept his eyes on her as she double-checked to make sure she had all her things. He continued to eye her amorously while she put everything into Huntra’s room. Ky pretended she didn’t notice, because at the moment he gazed at her as if she were a sex goddess. His thoughts of making love to her were evident with his entranced expression. She didn’t need to read his mind to know how fond of her he was becoming. After strong assertions that warriors could not feel or love, he was well on his way to falling madly in love with her. Maybe he already loved her if his bond changed once again, making him struggle with powerful sexual desire.

“I’m ready to go,” she announced, which snapped him out of his thoughts as he vigorously shook his head.

While groggy, Ky followed Cobaaron, with Huntra on their heels, as they headed to the square. All the warriors and the women who were leaving, were waiting. In the square were enormous turquoise and white carriages attached to creatures resembling huge, hairy buffalo with big floppy ears. Cobaaron grumbled, annoyed to see the beasts.

Noxis came to them when they entered the square. “The women are coming in carriages. Half of them won’t go otherwise.”

“Then they can stay with the carriages, because we aren’t taking them. Those russux-oxen are slow, and smell like
food
,” Cobaaron chided.

“I thought so,” Noxis smugly gloated. “I conveyed that to the council last night. They wouldn’t listen. I’m not king.”

“Then defy the council, Noxis, you are third in command. The women will die once we leave the city with such strong-smelling creatures. Besides, the russux-oxen are slower than women.” Cobaaron shouted to the women: “Those who want to stay in carriages may do so, but they will not be coming with us.”

All the women began to look at one another, some backed away from the carriages, while others were undecided. Cobaaron didn’t waste any more time. He told Ky to get up onto Huntra’s back. Huntra, who understood Cobaaron, began to enlarge.

Huntra flung Ky into the air. She bounced onto his back. As he continued to grow, the saddle appeared and bubbled around her. She adjusted to get comfortable in a rush as the bars snuggly wrapped around her legs. A second later the saddle grew another seat in front, except the handlebar didn’t curl slightly backward but looped while leaning forward for steering purposes. Huntra then bounced Cobaaron onto his back. He didn’t land on the saddle, because he spun mid-air to see what had happened with the unexpected nudge. Cobaaron held a tuff of fur on Huntra’s neck for balance, stood, and then took the saddle in front of Ky. “Let’s go,” he said and Huntra walked toward the castle courtyard.

“We leave by foot,” Noxis yelled to the crowd, and Ky’s eyes remained on him. Besides Noxis’s older appearance and dark eyes, he looked similar to Cobaaron with the same stocky build, height, and strong jaw. He looked like he was in his mid-thirties, though Ky knew him to be much older. He had a worn expression, as if life had somehow made him hard. Whenever he glimpsed his brother, Ky saw only pride and a great, unwavering loyalty. There was no doubt Noxis valued Cobaaron, and would follow him with allegiance to the end. She liked him because of his loyalty to Cobaaron.

As they began their march, women that were waiting in the carriages stepped out, and warriors surrounded the women, five men on each side while several rows of ten between the next woman. The few women that wished to stay moved out of the way as the warriors engulfed the rest.

Huntra moved to the front at a slow pace, and they began their journey. Ky suspected they would be out of the city and past the courtyard, by the time the last of the warriors and women left the square.

Ky put her arms around Cobaaron’s waist and leaned against his bare back, enjoying the impulse from their magical union to keep him near. Cobaaron took one of her hands, twining their fingers. Ky inhaled a deep breath, knowing the journey wouldn’t be easy. She was thankful to have him for protection, but most of all she worried for the women following. They were going to have a difficult journey, and some would die. And worse yet, none would be risking her life if it wasn’t for Ky. It was a terrible thought that she didn’t want to dwell on.

Ky couldn’t shake her nerves, now that they were headed into circumstances unknown. She had no idea what would be in store for them, and she was reluctant to begin the journey and new life fraught with danger.

Ky wished she were braver. She wondered if the orb she received promising her courage truly did give her valor. She didn’t feel it.

One thing she was certain of, Cobaaron’s touch reaffirmed it,
she had him
. He seemed like the only real thing in a strange world. As long as she had him there was nothing to be afraid of. She possessively squeezed him tighter, determined to keep him close.

Huntra pranced along the corridor with big, heavy paws. At least he was ready to go. His eagerness made it seem he’d been waiting to leave since the moment they arrived. “Cobaaron?” He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Are snow tigers rare?” she asked, curiously.

“Very,” Cobaaron replied. “They never leave the snow caps of Tarmesh. I’ve only seen one other snow tiger this far from the caps, and that was because a trader was selling it for a steep price.” He paused before adding, “They’re very trusting animals. Once they get to know a human they’ll do anything they’re asked. It’s easy to capture them, but to be caught selling them means death. But most traders are usually criminals anyway so they don’t care about consequences if they don’t plan on getting caught.”

“So, the woman I saw in the cave was a trader?”

“Unlikely. If she was a trader, it would mean she was a witch and not to be trusted. I don’t know why anyone would send you a snow tiger, unless the archive is real and she knew about it and wanted you safe. To me, that is the more likely possibility. If that is the case, I want to know who she is and why would she help? That is what occupies my idle thoughts at the present. Huntra seems to know something we do not.” He fell quiet again.

She wanted to know what he was thinking, and cleared her mind to try to listen to his thoughts. “There is nothing to eavesdrop on, Ky. If there is something to this archive, then maybe plenty of people already know about this prophecy. It bothers me that she came when I left when I
never
should’ve left you;
you were my mission
. It’s a scary thought if she led me to my men so she could speak to you. If that is true,
that
is powerful magic and beyond a witch’s capability.”

“So you don’t trust Huntra?”

“Oh, no.
I do
,” Cobaaron stressed with a nod. “He’s definitely a snow tiger, and he would protect you to the death. If he meant harm, he could have killed you before you saw him. If he was told to kidnap you, it would be done already. Now, let’s stop talking. We’re approaching the end of the tunnel.”