Competitions (49 page)

Rion rose and joined her, and she led him into the next room. It had to be the smallest dining room he’d ever seen, but with the tiny table set for two, he would have been happy even in a windowless pantry. Naran made him sit down, and then she went into the next room. Five minutes later she reappeared carrying a platter and a bowl, and that was only the first of it. An entire meal was brought out two plates at a time, and then she finally joined him at table.

“I made all this hoping you would be here,” she said with a smile as she touched his hand gently. “If you hadn’t come it would have gone to waste, but now it can be appreciated instead. Will you pour the wine?”

Rion smiled and touched
her
hand in answer, and then he poured the wine while she served the two of them. The food was extraordinarily good, or maybe it was just the company—and the fact that the two of them were alone in the house. Rion couldn’t remember ever being entirely alone without even a single servant, and especially not with a beautiful woman. He swallowed his food and drank his wine while gazing at Naran, and she did exactly the same.

For dessert there was tea and cherry cobbler, and they sat a while after that just holding hands and gazing at one another. At last Naran smiled and rose, and Rion did the same without hesitation. He’d been waiting for her to be completely ready, and now he knew she was. She led him to yet another room on the ground floor which turned out to be a bedchamber, and its relatively small size almost went unnoticed by him. They were finally up to what he’d been dreaming about, and Rion had no time for noticing the unimportant.

And being with Naran was just like a dream, only incredibly better. Rion removed her clothing slowly, reacquainting himself with her body as he kissed and touched her everywhere, and she moaned with pleasure, then returned the attention. By the time they merged they were both in a state of frenzy, and release came to them all too quickly. But then they were able to begin again, and this time the pleasure went on and on.

Hours went by, and at one point Rion even napped for a short time. He and Naran couldn’t seem to get enough of each other, and when he used Air magic to increase her pleasure she laughed with delight. The time took hours but seemed like moments, especially when it was clearly time for him to go.

“I don’t want to leave,” he murmured, stroking her hair. She lay with her head on his chest and her arms about him as he lay on his back holding her, and his words were nothing but pure truth. “I want to stay here forever, and never leave you again.”

“But you can’t,” she replied with a sigh of resignation, making no attempt to change her position. “You do have to go back, and I have my own duties and obligations. Don’t be sad, my love. Wishing for what we cannot have will only ruin the pleasure we shared. I mean to treasure every moment we spent together, and will continue to dream of possible future moments.”

“There will be
many
future moments,” Rion told her firmly, taking her arms to raise her so that he might look her straight in the eye. “I’ve sworn that vow to myself, and now I swear it to you. We
will
share our lives until the end of them, Naran—unless
you
don’t want to.”

“I would give up breathing before giving up the hope of that,” she answered quietly, putting one hand to his face. “I’ve loved you forever, my beloved lord, and will continue to do so. I even love you enough to let you go if you should ever tire of me, so—”

“Enough of that!” Rion ordered sternly, not in the least amused. “I will never tire of you, not in this lifetime nor any other, so I forbid you to speak like that again. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, my beloved lord, I understand you,” she responded with a lovely smile, and then they kissed again. It was a kiss filled only with love and completely without passion, and when they reluctantly parted, Naran smiled again. “And now you must dress. Would you like some help?”

“No, or I’ll be here all night,” Rion replied with a grin as he sat up. “Your ‘help’ seems to have only a single purpose.”

“Are you complaining, my lord?” she asked with arched brows, a teasing smile playing around her beautiful lips. “If so, then I’ll certainly have to change my ways.”

“If you change your ways, then I may have to begin beating you,” Rion said, looking directly at her as he stood. “I would hate having to beat you, so…”

“So I simply won’t change my ways,” she finished with a laugh. “I’ll just sit here and watch you.”

She sat with her arms wrapped about her knees studying him as he replaced his clothing. The process was entirely too short, and when it was over he leaned down to kiss her again.

“Don’t bother getting up, I know where my cloak is,” he said, only glancing at the glass cat and perfume bottle where they stood on a table beside the bed. “The next time I come, I’ll bring you an entire glass menagerie.”

“Bring yourself, and I’ll be completely satisfied,” she returned, apparently meaning what she said. “Be safe and happy until we meet again, my love.”

“And you, my love,” Rion said, delighting in speaking the words. “Until we meet again and forever beyond that.”

They shared what really was a final kiss, and Rion quitted the bedchamber to find his cloak and leave the way he’d come in. Reluctance choked every movement and step, but he truly had no choice about returning to the residence. Outside the night was still and quiet, and he moved through the darkness to the stables where he’d left his horse.

The night in general may have been quiet, but the stables was the scene of organized chaos. Hire-carriages were lined up waiting their turn to be placed in a neat row before their horses were stabled for the night, and all the stabling workers seemed taken up with the chore. Rion considered interrupting to demand his mount, but he truly wasn’t in a demanding mood. He chose to wait a short while instead, and leaned against the wall to enjoy the crisp cool of the night.

Rion’s thoughts didn’t have to return to Naran, as they hadn’t yet left her. His memory was filled with the delight and …
completion
of being with her, and his reluctance to leave had increased. That was primarily why he had decided against asking for his horse immediately. Simply remaining in the same neighborhood with Naran for a few minutes longer was easier than riding away, not knowing when he would find it possible to see her again.

Rion began to brood about that, the uncertainty of the future where he and Naran were concerned. Between the testing authority and his mother, it could be weeks or even months before he was able to free himself again. The concept forever came up again, but this time in an extremely unpleasant way. If only he could simply stay with Naran…

And that was when Rion realized that he really didn’t have to be back to the residence before morning. No one would expect to see him before then, so returning just before dawn would accomplish the same as returning now. He could spend the night with Naran, sleeping while holding her in his arms, and then the coming separation might be a bit easier to bear.

Most of the hire-carriages had been settled into place, so Rion quickly left the stables before someone offered to get his horse. His heart pounded with what he was about, as staying out all night was another thing he’d never tried. He hurried through the darkness, picturing Naran’s smile of delight when he appeared at her door again. She might well be asleep already, but if so, she would hardly mind being awakened.

The house looked just the same when Rion got there, the night lanterns keeping the front door well illuminated. Once again he made his way around to the back door, and then he knocked. There was a very long delay without an answer, so he knocked again. If Naran were asleep, which it seemed she was, she would need time to rouse herself.

The wait after the third knock produced the same nothing the first two had, bringing Rion a touch of worry. She might well be a heavy sleeper, but there was just the chance that something might be wrong. That thought made Rion reach out in frustration to try the doorknob, even though he knew the gesture would be useless. The door had a springed deadbolt, which he had set before leaving—

Rion froze when the door opened easily, but a heartbeat later he was in motion and running through the house. That door should have been locked, and the fact that it wasn’t couldn’t possibly indicate anything good. All the lamps were still lit, the dirty dishes still on the table in the dining room, but the bedchamber—The bedchamber was empty, of Naran and her clothing both. Not a single trace was left, not a stocking nor a handkerchief…

The wardrobe and the chests were equally empty, and Rion felt completely dazed. It was as though Naran had never been there, but she
had
been there. And she was supposed to be living in that house; if that were true, then where were her personal possessions? Rion slowly went through the entire house including the upstairs chambers, but there was nothing. No possessions and no Naran.

After the search, Rion simply stood in the short, narrow hall in shock. He simply didn’t understand what could have happened to her in the few minutes he’d been gone. If he weren’t completely sure of himself, he might begin to doubt that she’d
ever
been there. He couldn’t possibly have been hallucinating—could he?

The uneasiness of that thought brought to mind another so he strode back to the bedchamber where they’d shared themselves.

It was just the same as it had been when he’d first returned, but this time Rion noticed that something else was missing. The glass figures that he’d given to Naran, the ones she’d put on the beside table…

They had disappeared as well, presumably having gone with Naran. But where, and even beyond that, why? In the name of every aspect,
why…
?

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Jovvi filled her breakfast plate at the buffet and brought it to the table, but the appetite she’d come into the dining room with was quickly disappearing. The other four members of her group were already at the table eating, but the outward silence was in direct contrast to the whirling screams and shouts of their emotions. Every single one of them was badly bothered by something, and the emotional noise was so loud that Jovvi could barely hear her own disturbance. She no longer felt exhausted, but that had only been a minor, passing problem.

By closing her senses down as far as possible, Jovvi was able to give herself enough quiet to eat in. To her surprise she wasn’t able to sever herself entirely from the power, not the way she’d once been able to do. Maybe the increasingly heavy use of power did that to people. She’d have to check with the others—later!—and find out if it was the same for them.

With no one dawdling over the food, breakfast was through rather more quickly than most meals. Vallant seemed ready to be the first to get up and leave, but his intention was interrupted when Warla appeared in the doorway to the hall.

“Excuse me, but Lady Eltrina Razas would like to speak to all of you,” she announced in her usual, nervous way. She also seemed about to add something, but the testing authority representative pushed her way past her.

“Good morning, all you lovely people, and congratulations,” Lady Eltrina sang, obviously in the best of moods. “I came first thing to tell you how proud I am that each of you has won the initial competition in your respective aspects, and I’m very proud. But words are easy to say, so I’ll show my pride in another way. Since you’ll all be attending the reception tonight, I’ve brought you special outfits to wear. I guarantee that you’ll be the most beautiful and handsome people there.”

She clapped her hands then, and two servants holding large boxes came in. The boxes were put down on the floor and opened, and then the servants straightened up with their contents. The one on the left held a man’s shirt in sequined silver with what looked like narrowly cut trousers in blue silk, and the one on the right held a gown. The gown had a sequined silver bodice and sleeves, and the skirt was blue silk.

“The colors are different, but that still looks like the sort of uniform we’ve been wearing to the practices,” Jovvi deliberately observed aloud. “Will everyone else attending also be wearing a uniform?”

“No, silly, because it’s a costume, not a uniform,” Lady Eltrina answered with a laugh. “The Five have decided to make the reception a masked ball, and this way everyone will know who you are even behind your masks. You
do
want the Five to come over and congratulate you, don’t you?”

“It’s what I’ve been dreamin’ about,” Vallant replied when no one else did, somehow keeping the dryness out of his tone. “I do have a question, though… You must have gotten our measurements from when we were fitted for the practice clothes, but how did you get these outfits made up so fast? None of us knew we would be goin’ tonight until the messengers arrived yesterday afternoon.”

“Were you expecting me to say that I had the dressmakers and tailors working all night?” Eltrina countered with a smile that should have taken a large bite out of Vallant. “Well, if so, you were being really silly. The truth is that I had these costumes made up days ago, when the Five decided on a masked ball. I had confidence in you, you see, and possibly even more confidence than you had in yourselves. The coaches will be by to pick you up at seven, so you have all day to relax before it’s time to dress. I’ll see you again tonight, at the palace.”

She smiled around at them all again, and then she was gone with a wave and a flurry of skirts. Jovvi wasn’t the only one who sat silently and watched the servants repack the costumes before taking them out of the room, but afterward she was the first to sigh and stir in her seat.

“Well, that takes care of my worry about what to wear tonight,” she said brightly enough to capture everyone’s attention. “With that off my mind, I think I’ll spend some time walking in the garden.”

“And I’ll join you,” Tamma said in agreement as she stood. “I could use some undisturbed fresh air.”

“Well, if you ladies are going to stroll, I think I’ll stroll with you,” Lorand said, also getting up. “What about you, Mardimil, and you, Ro? Are you going to let two lovely ladies stroll about a beautiful garden with just a single escort?”