Cursed by Ice (19 page)

She wondered what kind of mother she might be. She had never considered the possibility before. She had never mated before.

Oh! Wait! But she had mated! Did that mean she would get pregnant? Would she bear Garreth a child?

The idea wasn’t at all unattractive, but it was a bit frightening … a bit concerning. She wasn’t stupid. She knew he had no intention of sticking around the city once he had a new government under his control in place. Cities were out there just waiting to be conquered. But … perhaps if he had a son … perhaps then he would not be in such a rush to leave. Perhaps then he would have reason to return. He could not possibly make war all turning long. The snows would come and the world would become cold and inhospitable. Surely Weysa would not expect him to continue warring in the frozen ice. What man could function appropriately in such weather?

She shivered just thinking about it. Last night had been a cold one and the mage had not seen fit to give them a blanket. They had huddled close for warmth, but the children had wept and been unable to sleep. Now the sun was up, it was late afternoon, and it was warm in the back of the wagon. The girls had finally drifted off to sleep, allowing her to be in constant contact with Koro.

He was close. She could feel it. But he had to remember to fly low or the mage would see him.

Fly low.

She whispered the thought to him and he whispered it back, telling her he remembered.

She went back to singing her lullaby. Her hands hurt her. They were bound in front of her, the rope constantly cutting into her flesh; her wrists were bleeding and raw from it. She didn’t complain. As soon as Koro told her they were close … she had a plan.

Suddenly she felt his elation. He could see her!

She gasped.

Stop! Don’t come yet! Fly low!

“Girls,” she whispered. She nudged them until they awakened as the wagon swayed and jounced in the ruts of the ground.

Sarielle got up on unsteady legs and quietly pulled back the tarp. They were crossing a field of some kind with moderately high grasses. It was perfect.

“Jona, Isaelle, you must go out the back of the wagon and hide in the tall grasses. You mustn’t let Vinqua see you.”

“No! Don’t make us leave you!” Isaelle whispered fiercely, her blue eyes growing wide with fear.

“Isaelle, I will never let you leave me again. Koro is here with some men to help us … but I need to know you are safe first. Go out, jump into the tall grasses, and hide there until I call for you. I won’t lose you. I promise!”

The girls had tears in their eyes and were clearly scared, but Sarielle encouraged them with a smile. She hoped they would not hurt themselves jumping from a moving wagon with their hands tied, but the wagon’s progress through the high grasses had slowed it considerably.

Jona, the one who had always been the bravest, helped her sister slip over the back end of the wagon. Sarielle saw Isaelle hit the ground and, after a moment of absorbing the shock, run into the tall grass and disappear.
Vinqua didn’t slow down for a second. Facing the other direction and thinking them to be subdued, he wasn’t paying attention to what was behind him.

Jona went over next. Sarielle did not get to see her hit the ground because when she leapt, the tarp fell back into place, obscuring Sarielle’s view.

She waited.

And waited.

Then she spoke to Koro.

Come now! Come quickly!

She waited.

And waited.

And then she heard it.

The rush of wings.

Vinqua screamed out, and the wagon came to an abrupt halt. Next thing she heard was Vinqua coming toward the back of the wagon. “Stop him! Call him off or I will kill your girls!”

He thrust back the tarp, standing there with a sword in hand, and looked into the back of the wagon.

Sarielle smiled at him. “What girls?” she asked.

“Argh!!” Vinqua shouted. That was when she realized his hair was singed. “Call him off or you’re dead!” he cried as he jumped into the back of the wagon.

“My sisters are safe from you! I do not care about the rest! So kill me if you must! And do it quickly because the wyvern is coming back, and this time it won’t be your hair he singes!”

“I will kill you!”

“And then he will kill you!”

“I will make us disappear from his sight! I will simply slip away!”

“The wyvern’s eyes see through magic! You cannot hide from him! Your only choice is to let me go!”

That was when she heard the thunder of hoofbeats.

“You are outnumbered. You may be able to fool the
eyes of the men coming for you, but the wyvern will see and he will burn you down if you so much as look at me wrong!” she vowed.

Vinqua knew he was beaten. She could see it in his eyes. She heard the beating of mighty wings and he did too. He threw down his sword and raised his hands. “Do not kill me! Please!”

“Untie me now,” she demanded of him. “Make sure the men from the city can see us.”

Vinqua hastened to do as she asked. As soon as she was free she pushed past Vinqua and leapt out of the wagon. Her eyes burned in the daylight as she hit the ground. She stumbled, her legs weak from sitting so long. But suddenly there was a hand on her, a man grabbing hold of her and jerking her hard against his body. Strong arms wrapped around her and she knew … she knew without seeing his face who it was.

“Garreth!”

“Fira!” he breathed into her ear.

“Vinqua! He’s in the back of the wagon!”

“My brother has him. All I care about is you.”

“I’m fine,” she insisted as he enveloped her head in his hands and forced their eyes to meet. She had never seen such a beautiful sight as his fair green eyes!

“Your wrists are damaged. He will pay for that. He will pay for all of this.”

“In time. First, the girls!”

“Are they with you?” he asked.

“After a fashion!”

She looked up at the beast in the sky.

The girls are hiding in the tall grasses! You must find them for me!

For Koro, it was like a game and he was intent on winning it. He swooped and reeled and then suddenly she felt his delight. He had found them.

Show the men the way and I will give you such shiny gifts!

She opened her eyes and looked at Garreth. “Koro has found them. They are in the tall grasses, hiding. Can you have the men find them?”

“Of course!”

Garreth ordered his men to follow the wyvern. Before long she had the girls in her arms.

“Good job, my little loves!” she praised them, giving them hugs and kisses. The girls giggled and laughed, so happy to see her and clearly happy to see Vinqua in the custody of the men who had come to save them. “Garreth, these are my real sisters,” she introduced them. “Those others were changelings, brought by Vinqua’s magic.”

“Changelings?”

“Fairy children made to look like a human child.”

“But … I thought you could see through magic.”

“I can. But the changelings themselves are not magic. They are real. And I could see through it; I just didn’t know what I was seeing. I let my eyes fool my head. I knew they weren’t right … just not how they weren’t right.”

“Well, it’s over now. Koro has saved you all. Good boy, Koro!” Garreth shouted up to the sky. The wyvern dipped a wing, then landed close by, kicking up dirt and stones and grass as he skidded to a halt. Sarielle broke away from Garreth and ran over to the wyvern. Garreth followed close behind as she threw herself against his belly, hugging him as best she could with her small, inadequate arms.

My good boy! You did a wonderful job! You are a brilliant boy!

Koro dipped his head and let her feel his gratitude that she was all right. Let her feel how grateful he was
that she had been the one to find his egg and be there when he was born.

Sarielle teared up. Garreth saw her sniffling and pulled her into his arms. He kissed the top of her head. “There, now. It’s all over. Let’s get back to the keep. These sisters of yours look very tired and I suspect they are very hungry. Come along, girls,” he said to them brightly. “We have some cheese and bread for anyone who’s hungry!”

The girls cried out and ran to the men, who gave them food from their provisions. Jona and Isaelle stuffed the bread into their mouths so fast their cheeks puffed out.

“Chew,” Sarielle instructed them as she stroked their hair soothingly. She was so happy. So relieved and happy.

“What shall we do with him?” Garreth asked, pointing to Vinqua.

Sarielle eyed Vinqua for a moment, watching him pale as he realized his fate was entirely in her hands.

“You cannot imprison him. He will use his magic to trick the minds of his keepers and will get free once more.”

“I will not let him go for the same reason.”

“That leaves us little choice,” she said sadly.

“Should we execute him here?”

“No! Wait! I-I-I can be of use to you!” Vinqua insisted. “I-I-I can help you take control of the city! I-i-if you let me be your mage, I can work in your favor. All I have ever wanted was a safe, comfortable position. I could just as easily work for you as anyone. I have very valuable skills. You’ve seen my talents. Think of the things I could help an invading army accomplish!”

Dethan looked at his brother. “He makes a good argument,” he said, a smile touching the corners of his lips.

“You can’t be serious!” Garreth said. He looked at his brother as if Dethan had lost his mind.

“Of course I’m not serious,” Dethan said with a roll of his eyes. “Clearly there’s no choice to be made here. There can never be any trust between us and a man like him.”

“Too bad there isn’t a way to bind his magic permanently,” Garreth said.

“I’m sure there is,” Sarielle said with confidence. But then she quieted. “But I don’t know how to do something like that.”

“Then it’s decided,” Garreth said, drawing his sword.

Garreth walked up to Vinqua and, grabbing his arm, dragged him around the back of the wagon. Sarielle hastened to follow him. She did not want to see the man meet his demise, but she couldn’t risk Vinqua using his magic to trick Garreth into believing he had killed him when he had not. In the end, it was a quick affair. Garreth cut Vinqua’s throat and let the man drop to the ground without getting so much as a drop of blood on him. He cleaned off his sword and put it back into his scabbard. Then he walked up to Sarielle.

“I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“It’s all right,” she assured him. “Vinqua had his chance to change loyalties early on. He proved himself time and again to be untrustworthy. And since I am the only one who could not be manipulated … there really was no way to take him prisoner. I understand all of this, I assure you.”

“Good.” It was clear by his expression that he would have happily preferred to not have her watch him kill. She found the attitude endearing. The truth was that he was a killer. A man of war. But she accepted that about him. Understood that about him. It seemed he was afraid that understanding would somehow turn her away from him.

She leaned her body into his and reached for his kiss.
He accepted it with slow amusement. She said nothing, merely smiled at him, then turned and walked back to her sisters.

Garreth instructed the men. “The girls can ride inside and Sarielle will ride with me.”

“Sarielle! We don’t want to be alone in there!” Jona cried.

Sarielle looked at Garreth, her eyes begging for his understanding. “Don’t worry, girls. I’ll ride with you.”

Garreth smiled softly at her, touching his fingertips to her cheek. “Whatever makes you happy, fira.”

“Thank you,” she mouthed to him before returning quickly to the wagon.

Dethan mounted his horse and looked down at his brother. “Are you happy now?” he asked with a grin.

“Endlessly,” Garreth said. He reached for his own horse and mounted. “Sarielle, keep that tarp pulled back. I want my eyes on you the whole time.”

His words made her smile, her amusement shining in her pale blue eyes. “As you wish, Sor Garreth,” she said, sketching him a low bow that, as she bent forward, gave him a fine perspective down the front of her dress.

When she looked up at him slyly, he knew she had done it on purpose and just for that reason. He chuckled. Oh, he couldn’t wait until they got back to the keep. He would see her sisters safely ensconced with a new and better governess and then he would take the wench to bed, and this time she wouldn’t be leaving it without his knowing about it! He was going to keep his eyes on her at all times after this.

They were not going to make it back to the keep before nightfall, so Garreth had them stop and make camp shortly before dusk. Once he had organized where everyone should be, he excused himself from Sarielle’s presence and rode off into the wild field grasses. He
rode like the demons of the eight hells were on his heels and soon he was completely gone from her sight.

She turned to his brother. “Where does he go?” she asked Dethan without preamble.

“That is not for me to say. It is something he must decide to tell you himself.”

“But you do know where he goes?”

“He goes away. But he always returns and that is all that should matter to you.”

He didn’t have to say it, but she could tell from his tone that he didn’t consider her to be a part of their inner circle and she was owed no explanations. For some reason that stung her.

Why? It wasn’t as though there was some kind of romantic understanding between them. She had no ties to Garreth, and the reverse was also true. So why did she feel this way?

She pushed the feelings aside. It was probably some nonsense she felt because they had become lovers. But having sex did not make him beholden to her or answerable to her. It was just sex. And she didn’t know if it would ever happen again. He might decide that once was enough for him. Once was all he wanted. Had ever wanted. He had made no promises to her. In fact, he had tried to warn her about becoming too attached to him.

But she was not attached, she told herself as she walked back to the wagon and the children. She was free. Free of everything. She could do anything. She could choose any lover. Anyone at all. She could choose one without secrets. One who would stay with her. One who did not go off to fight wars in the name of a vindictive goddess.