A Star is Born: The Coming Dawn: Book I (34 page)

“Thank you.” Ky put it on.

“Just come to me and I’ll wash your clothes,” the girl said. “Don’t use Oella.”

“How will I find you?”

“My name is Ambrosia. I can usually be found where the women entertain the men in the mess hall. Surely, your clothes need laundering; I could clean them today. If you wish, my Lady, I will find something that will make it so your skin can touch things without burning them.”

“I didn’t know it’s possible.”

“It is. I’ll find the instrument I need. My father would have given you one, when you came of age, if you stayed in the city.”

Ky was reluctant, after hearing the story of the witch, and Cobaaron stressing that all gifts have hidden costs, but slowly she said, “Oella made my belonging for free, without payment, but I might have…”

Ambrosia shook her head vigorously. “No, my Lady. I would not be here, traveling among warriors, if it weren’t for you. This is a privilege to repay you, and small in comparison.”

A few minutes later, Ky left the bathhouse. She headed back to the room of prophecies to meet Cobaaron. After three weeks it was starting to weigh on both of them. Their bodies were sore from sitting, almost every waking hour. She was waiting for him to tell her to stop being so stubborn and help him look, but he didn’t. He listened to her talk as her mind wandered and every once in awhile he would put a prophecy in a stack that he wanted to keep.

However, Cobaaron wasn’t looking at prophecies when she entered. Surprisingly, he wasn’t alone, either. His brother and a warrior she didn’t know were in the room. The stranger had reddish-brown hair, a shadow of a beard, blue eyes, and a small but deep cut on his forehead. He had two axes strapped to his back in leather holsters crossed above his scarred chest.

Ky got the feeling they had been talking, possibly about her, before she entered, because they were quiet and stared at her. A moment later Cobaaron introduced him. “Ky, this is Octavos.” Cobaaron paused as he beamed at him with pride and clapped his back. “He’s my successor.”

“I see.” Ky smiled in greeting.

“There are few men I’d trust with my life and secrets; they all happen to be standing in this room,” Cobaaron told her. “They’re my trusted advisors, and I’m telling you this because my men are concerned that you are a witch. They started to suspect that you bewitched me in the City of Sterlings, when I chose to stay instead of leave the moment Octavos got back.”

“Yes, I heard that.” A warrior called her a witch on the ship. Spaci, too, seemed convinced she possessed the ability to perform magic, though she didn’t realize it was a growing consensus among the warriors.

“I know you heard it. But they,” Cobaaron gestured to his brother and Octavos, “tell me the men are more anxious by the day. I haven’t told them what we’re seeking, and I won’t until I find it. The men are assuming you have me under a spell. Honestly, I can’t blame them. I never shared company with a woman until you, I never brought women outside the city, and I never brought my men to a place like Elder and not told them why.

“I’m afraid the secrecy must remain until I find what we’re searching for. This has to be a secret. The three kings have numerous spies. They may know we are here. That might be why Octavos sensed a witch or banshee following us. We can’t risk breathing a word of the prophecy. We need this prophecy, and until we get it, we’re going to have to keep a close eye on you. I don’t want you alone; one of us must be with you no matter where you go. Any warrior would kill a witch they thought ensorcelled their chief.”

“Okay,” Ky said.

“And you’re going to have to stay in this room,” Cobaaron added.

“Even if it takes months to find it?”

“Ky, this isn’t a negotiation. You’re my partner. Mind me. I’m doing this to protect you. We talked about this,” Cobaaron said. She wasn’t protesting, but the possibility of months did make it sound like she was complaining. She closed her mouth, and pinched her lips together without another word. She wasn’t going to question him in front of his men, but she still had reservations. “Thank you, Ky.”

“So what do you want us to do?” Octavos asked.

“They need distraction,” Cobaaron said. “Ask the women to entertain them. Have feasts, drink ale, dance, sing, and tell tales,
anything
. I need more time. Send a few men out to scour the land to see if there is an increase of activity on the main land.”

Ky folded her arms, and frowned. Now, not only was she supposed to be stuck in the room, but everyone else was going to be having fun. “I’ll get to go to feasts, too, right?”

“I don’t think so. The last feast you attended you almost died.”

“But I can’t sit here all day, every day.”

“We’ll talk about this later.” Cobaaron turned to Octavos, suppressing a smile. “My partner is still going through mood swings. She’ll have her hissy fit and get over it quickly. Ignore her, or her temper will flair like an unpredictable young stud. This is nothing, really.”

“Well, at least it’s adequate proof she’s not a witch. If she was a witch she’d put up with you then kill you in your sleep,” Octavos said in humor.

“How do you all seem to know so much about witches anyway?” Ky asked. Her interest in the conversation piqued and she laid aside her disappointment.

“It’s our job to know. Even if she’s a witch in hiding, I know. And betrayal of any kind, I would not allow her to live,” Noxis said in a sinister tone. “If we didn’t know them and their ways, we could be killed by them. So, we befriended a witch and learned her ways, but that was a long time ago.”

“Not long enough,” Octavos murmured.

“So you knew Oella was a powerful witch? How did you know she was bluffing?” Ky asked Cobaaron.

“Because there are no weak witches,” Cobaaron said. “They hide it so they can live in cities because either they don’t like to be alone, or wish to try for a child. Otherwise they live out in the wild and don’t care to hide their ways.”

“But witches can make children without men. Remember the witch from the story,” Ky said.

“Lots of spells are family secrets, and that witch must have discovered the spell. She will not give up a family spell to save her life. To give away powerful spells would be giving away her display of power among families. The more family secrets of useful spells, the more powerful the healer family or witch is,” Cobaaron explained, as Octavos grunted with a nod as if agreeing. “Witches are all the same inside. They’re prideful. They think being magical means they’re superior to everyone. They resent being told what to do, even if it’s
they
who offer. Oella, a servant, is no different. She buries her rage until she’s had enough. Then her true nature will emerge, and you will see what she really is. You’ll see a witch’s true nature, and then you will understand. Maybe after that you will see my mercy, too. I’d kill her before her true nature erupts, but I still think she might be useful. But I won’t use her if I don’t have to. I don’t trust her. If she leaves you alone, I’ll try to let her live. But a witch being good for the length of a journey is unlikely.”

“So, is someone a witch if they show even the smallest signs of magic?”

“No, it depends on the type of magic. Some magic takes no skill to wield, some magic isn’t evil.” Cobaaron then smiled at Octavos and Noxis, and said, “Ky hasn’t seen a witch’s wicked side. She’s undecided if there’s maliciousness in Oella. She thinks I’m cruel for nearly cutting Oella’s arm off.”

“I didn’t say that.” Though she did see how repressed women would lash out, especially after being treated cruelly. If men treated women as beneath them, as Cobaaron said, Ky could easily see only women lashing out, which would explain why men would have a reputation of being good while women were vile witches.

“I’d have done worse,” Noxis admitted. “Threatening to cut her arm was mercy.”

“No, he knew he had her. I’d have done the same thing,” Octavos said. “The outcome was in his favor.”

A few minutes later Noxis left the room. Octavos lingered, and it was obvious he had something else to say. “What is it?” Cobaaron queried.

“We may have a problem with Noxis. He fears witches, as you know,” Octavos said baldly.

“You think he let Spaci get close to Ky because of the rumors?”

“So, you thought that, too,” Octavos said. “He’s loyal, maybe to a fault, Cobaaron. This fear is controlling him. He may calm down in a few days. But a brother loving a witch…”

“Just do your job and we shouldn’t have a problem. Watch him.”

When Octavos left, Cobaaron went back to reading the archives. Ky lay on the floor next to Huntra, embracing him as he napped. “So, Noxis thinks I’m a witch, too?”

“I’m not positive one way or the other. But you have me, don’t worry.” Cobaaron smiled.

“I met someone in the bathhouse that cleaned my clothes with a spell. She told me she’s not a witch, but she knew magic, and she explained it by saying her father was a healer.”

“Then I suspect that is true.” Cobaaron shrugged; evidently unsure what she found confusing. “It must be Hyun’s daughter.”

“She offered to clean my clothes, but if she’s a witch in disguise I don’t want her to resent serving me and killing me.”

“Is her name Ambrosia?”

“Yes.”

“She’s Hyun’s daughter. I had no idea she volunteered. She’s a respected healer’s daughter from a long line of honorable family members. She’s not a witch, or she would state she was one.”

Ky took a deep breath. It seemed that they were all powerful wizards, and they all had the capability of being corrupt. She wasn’t sure she trusted any magical person if they resented being used.

“Maybe I could give her something in exchange each time. Then maybe she wouldn’t feel I was taking advantage of her.”

“Do what you wish, love,” Cobaaron said, unconcerned now that he knew the girl. He sat, relaxing on the floor, reading more archives.

Ky smiled. She wanted to hear him say that he loved her. His rugged warrior-side hadn’t said it, while her confessions of love and devotion were copious. She moved toward him, took the archive, and set it on the floor. Then she had him join her so she could lay over him. She rested her hands on his chest, with their legs and stomachs touching, and she set her chin on top of her locked fingers as she relaxed.

Cobaaron put his hands behind his head and smiled at her. It wasn’t the first time she had lain on him to get his attention. Capturing his interest with intimacy was something she had done every day for over a week now, just so they could talk and occasionally kiss. Sometimes it led to something more. “Tell me you love me.”

“I do all the time.”

“No, you tell me things like you want me close or I make you happy, but you never say
I love you
.”

“I do, Ky, more than anything.”

“Then say it.”

Cobaaron tugged her up, so she was closer to his face. He lightly kissed her, which was so romantic, she grinned. When he brushed his thumb across her lips he said, “I love you very much.”

Ky smiled. “I love you, too.”

“You’re not mad at me for telling you to obey me by staying in this room?”

“I’ll convince you to take me to the feasts. You can’t work all the time. If you compromise with me on that, I won’t sulk for days until you cave.” She was teasing, but there was probably a shred of truth in that statement.

“I can probably do that.”

They stared at each other with small smiles. Then something occurred to her. “Who is the witch that you all befriended?”

“My brother’s wife, Vi the Vicious.”

“Tell me about her.”

“She seemed sweet, just like Oella. She even lived in a city. But her nature was revealed when she got upset when my brother chose to leave to go to war, and they fought. She promised if he left he would never come back to her again. Onor fell on his own sword. And he was one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen. For a warrior to die by accident is a humiliating death. It would be better to go out by drowning, starvation, disease, anything but by your own ineptitude; there is no honor in that. A man’s death says as much about his legacy as the wars he fought. The greatest death is for a warrior to die of old age. It means he was a great warrior to have survived so long. If a man dies by a woman, well...then we see his weakness. But his own sword, which means fighting was his weakness and he wasn’t a good warrior. She killed him and stole his legacy, so she would always be tied to him as a warrior who loved a witch.”

“Did they have children?”

“No. Even witches are barren here.” Cobaaron shook his head. “Some say elves are barren, but they are powerful and easily correct it. I’ve never asked, considering women are very sensitive regarding the subject.”

He combed her hair with his fingers, and then his hands drifted down her arms as he gently followed the strands down. “I love your glowing skin. You always have this silver dust on you now.” He rubbed her arms. The silver sweat fluffed off her skin, and then floated into the air.

“I like your messy hair, and your arms. Maybe not in that order.”

“My arms?”

“Yeah,” she admitted and caressing the bulging muscles of his inner arm, and then lightly scratched her way to his pecs. “Okay, also your chest. And your abs. You have strong legs and calves, too. Strong calves like yours can be very sexy.” She smiled because she was naming almost all his body parts. “But I have to choose your arms as my favorite.”

“What about the part I use to make love to you? That isn’t your favorite?” He grinned, knowing full well she professed loving that part of him many times while in bed.

“That’s a given. I can’t live without that body part,” she confessed.

“If we’re naming our second favorite trait, your long hair and wide hips are my favorite parts of you. It’s feminine and I like it. It’s a given I love all your curves.”

Ky beamed. He lifted his head to kiss her. She was sure they were about to make love, but when she began to kiss his neck, he chose another scroll and unrolled the parchment, keeping one arm around her. When she stopped, he said, “No, please keep going.”

Ky unbuckled his belt, without a single protest from Cobaaron. He even peered over the parchment and watched her wrap her fingers around his partially erect penis. She gently caressed him until he was hard.