Dance With the Enemy (24 page)

Ah, Tahruk… No doubt he would blame himself if anything happened to either of these two lives that he loved so deeply after knowing them for such a short time.

Almost as if reading her thoughts, the physician looked up at Nema and nodded. “Sit beside her while I go talk to the father. I believe I have been successful in turning the baby.” He offered only a slight smile at Nema’s relief. “We still have the birth before us, but I believe half our battle has been won.”

Nema nodded. Half was better than none.

Tahruk sat in the same chair he’d lounged in to watch Elenya’s bath the first day she’d entered his world. Leaning forward, his head in his hand, he questioned how they could have ended up with this trial before them. The physician’s words had been both encouraging and disheartening at the same time. He’d told them the blood seemed worse than it actually was because of the maternal fluids mixed with it. They had managed to successfully turn the infant, which from his best guess had probably turned earlier that day when she was in the garden. He’d shrugged when asked why.

That was the good news. The main issue now was a successful birth without internal damage. Tahruk didn’t fully understand it all. Childbirth around Zanak was something that just happened, and without the men being involved. When he asked if he could see her again, the physician politely discouraged it.

“We need her as calm and relaxed as possible. If she hears you or senses your presence…”

Tahruk’s nod had confirmed his understanding, even though his heart screamed that he needed to be by her side.

With a firm squeeze to the young warrior’s shoulder, Doctor Jorian left, again assuring him he would do all he could to save both mother and child.

The silent room where the three men sat hummed with nervous tension. Tahruk now stared at the empty space where the yellow settee had been. When they’d entered the room and he’d seen the servant girl on her knees beside it scrubbing frantically at the stains, he’d almost lost it. He’d attempted to turn back, though his father and brother had held him firmly. Renaine had instructed the girl to get someone to remove the piece of furniture and the spotted rug as well.

A disturbance in the main entry had the warrior on his feet. Only Redahn managing to step before him kept the frantic warrior from lunging into a startled Shemek.

“What’s
he
doing here?” he growled, barely contained by his brother’s back and his father’s strong arms.

“They’ve been friends since childhood, Tahruk. Surely you can understand him wanting to know how she’s faring.” Daruh stepped forward.

“Do you think I care what he wants? Perhaps if he’d been so interested in her wellbeing he’d have realized she was in distress when she left him in the gardens!”

“Perhaps if
you’d
not been so ready to dismiss her, she would have been with you instead of alone!”

The two men stared at each other until Daruh moved Shemek back, concerned by the depth of crazed despair in Tahruk’s glare. He frowned, then looked past the two brothers to Renaine.

“The physician is doing all he can,” the elder Sharanis told them. “Though the situation remains dire.” He paused. His brows drawing down, he looked toward the bedchamber door. “No doubt she doesn’t need to hear all of this.”

“If she’s hearing anything at all.” Shemek’s added statement had Tahruk again straining against his brother and father.

Neria swept into the room, pulling their attention from the tense moment, though the wringing of her hands did little to lessen the chaotic atmosphere. “Tahruk! Settle.” One hand fluttered to her mouth when she again took in the blood on her son’s front. “Oh, dear God!”

“I thought you were resting!” The stern rebuke in Renaine’s voice drew her stare from the sight.

“The sedative didn’t work well. I’m just so worried…”

Redahn cleared his throat. “Shemek, will you please assist me in escorting my mother away from here. I need something to drink and would appreciate the company.” Redahn’s request cut his mother off and surprised them all, though someone needed to act. “Master Daruh? Would you like to join us?”

The older man considered the choice for a moment then shook his head. “I would like to remain here for now.” He looked at Renaine, not Tahruk, for permission.

Back in the garden room, Tahruk was surprised to see the sun streaming in through the now opened doors. What seemed like an eternity had not been all that long at all. The smell of oleander wafted in from the plants that grew just beyond the doors. Tahruk closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

“My whole life has been centered around learning to defeat the enemy. I played battle games with my brother and then with the other boys my age. We grew up believing victory was all that mattered.” He rose and went to lean against the door jamb. “We were told Aleone was our enemy as well, that we should despise these people who took one of our own all those years ago. I never understood how love could have made them do what they did… until now.”

Renaine started to say something, but Tahruk’s shaking head silenced him. His son continued, “The true enemy is that cursed marking that steals one’s ability to choose should love knock from a door other than the one someone else has chosen. We’re pawns in a game. And for what?” He laughed, a bitter cackle that conveyed no humor. “Elenya once described being a part of the Dremis as belonging to a pack of dogs in heat waiting for the hounds to descend. If I have a daughter, is that how I want her to feel? And if my firstborn should be a son… would I want him to behave as I did?” He turned to stare at Daruh, then looked at the floor, a sad smile covering his face. “I remember her at your feet, Daruh, how frightened she was. And with good cause. When I realized I had been matched with Aleone I wanted to make her pay for the sins of her people.” He looked at both men then turned back to stare outside “I actually considered sending her away. After I’d used her, of course. I suppose that was actually one of the kinder thoughts I had. At least that way she’d have been free to be with another. But I viewed it as just punishment at the time, short-lived as that was.” He shook his head. “But I’d fallen in love with her, just like everyone else. Only, I had an advantage, because I was already a part of her.” Tahruk breathed deeply and expelled it slowly before moving back to his chair.

“The very thing you now curse brought you together. It cannot be all bad,” Daruh responded in the silence.

The young warrior snorted. “But for what? For her to lose her life and me my heart?” He stood abruptly. “This agony is unbearable. I need to know what’s going on.”

Both Renaine and Daruh were on their feet attempting to reach the door before the younger man. His determination outmatched them, though he stopped abruptly, his way blocked by Nema.

Tahruk tried to read the look on her face, though all he could see there was the tired wariness. At last she smiled.

“You have a son, my lord.”

Tahruk backed up then turned to regain his chair. Elbows on his knees, he leaned forward breathing into his steepled hands. He pressed his eyes tightly together. “And Elenya?” He held his breath waiting for her answer.

Nema kneeled before him, taking his hands in hers and waiting for him to look at her. “As soon as she’s cleaned up, you’ll be able to see her.”

Tears prickled his dried out eyes, his quivering lips unable to form a smile to match the one on the lips that bore him the good news. Instead, he dropped to his knees and pulled Nema into a fierce hug that had her gasping for air.

“You need to understand she’s sleeping still. Doctor Jorian felt it best.”

Tahruk nodded at Nema’s explanation.

She continued, “I won’t lie. She’s had a rough time and probably wouldn’t have made it had Redahn not thought to go for the physician. I don’t know that old Nellie would have known what to do.”

Tahruk was barely listening by that point. He closed his eyes, thankful he’d been given another chance.

Chapter 39

His heart beat wildly within his chest as Tahruk crept into the bedchamber. Elenya lay much as she had when he’d last seen her, only there was no blood and her face seemed peaceful, even though it was still void of color. She was covered to the shoulders in a down coverlet of the softest buttercream yellow that did little to enhance her pallor. Normally, she looked striking against that coverlet – another indication of the gravity of the situation

Tahruk looked first to Nema then to Doctor Jorian who tipped his head in approval for the young warrior to go to her. He slipped into the chair Nema scooted closer to the bedside and reached beneath the coverlet for her hand. Elenya moaned softly as his fingers closed around hers causing him to cast a worried look at the physician.

“She’s not in any distress. I’ve given her a mixture of poppy seed, basil, and willow bark to help her sleep and ease the pain. But the mind is powerful, and she’s been through a lot. Your support now will help her more than anything.”

Tahruk nodded. He was thinking about Redahn when he was injured, how hope had pulled him through before the discouragement came when his arm didn’t appear to be healing properly. More recently, there’d been Elenya’s father. Talk of his daughter and family had seemed to bolster him, keeping him from letting go when the infection raged through his body.

“Would you like to hold your son, my lord?” Nema stood beside him cradling a bundle of blankets.

His son
! Of course, he wanted to see his son. He looked at the baby then back down where his hand clasped Elenya’s, his brows furrowing. Nema’s chuckle at his obvious dilemma made him laugh too – the first in many hours. With a light squeeze, he released Elenya’s hand and raised his arms to receive the bundle.

How weightless the baby felt, even wrapped in multiple blankets. He had worked a hand free and gnawed contentedly on a fist while seeming to study the man who held him. Tahruk marveled at the clarity of his baby blue eyes that glowed with just the hint of emerald green. Fine, dark hair – a Sharanis trademark in newborns – covered his tiny head. He was a definite combination of his parents.

Tahruk looked from the baby to Elenya then carefully scooted to the edge of the chair before lowering himself to his knees beside the bed. “Little One, you were right. You have a son -- a beautiful, perfect little boy.” He laid the bundle near her head and caressed her cheek. She seemed to turn her face toward the baby and draw in a deep breath. Tahruk, holding her hand again, leaned in and did the same thing. He chuckled. “It appears Nema has bathed him in Oleander, Little One. The fragrance mixed with his scent, he smells like you.” Elenya mumbled something that had Tahruk raising his head. He looked around for the physician.

“A good sign she can hear you, I’d say. Give her time. Let her rest. She’ll awaken at her own pace. Until then,” He turned to address Nema, “I’d like to stay on to keep watch through the night. It’s just good practice,” he added when Tahruk’s gaze turned troubled. “She may need something more to keep her comfortable. There’s just no way to tell until she wakes and tells us herself.”

“Will you be okay here, love, while I get the good doctor settled in?” Nema asked, slipping into the chair Tahruk had vacated and leaning forward to slip her arm around his shoulder.

He patted her hand and turned to kiss her cheek. “We’ll be fine. Will you also let my mother know all is well?”

“I’ll convey that message.” Renaine’s voice sounded from the doorway. Both Tahruk and Nema turned to look at him.

“We have a son.” Tahruk beamed at him.

“So I heard.” Renaine moved toward the bed at Tahruk’s beckoning. He leaned over his son to look at the newest member of the Sharanis family. “Have you chosen a name?”

Tahruk nodded. “Rennicus Kahlan, after your father and Elenya’s.”

Renaine nodded, his mouth curving upward in a pleased smile. “They go well together.” After staring at the now sleeping baby for a few more seconds, he stepped back and offered Nema a hand. Arm and arm, they escorted the physician out of the room, leaving the new family to share their first moment alone.

After a few seconds, Tahruk rose and carefully repositioned the baby on the other side of Elenya before he washed up and changed his clothing. His stomach growled and he ignored it. He’d missed lunch and dinner, but he didn’t care. There’d be time enough for eating. But for now, he felt exhaustion creeping in. A few moments of rest beside his wife and baby were all he could think about, except for his extreme thankfulness to the good Lord above for saving both of them and giving him the opportunity to do so. Had he known she would have had to endure all that she had in giving birth to their son, he wondered if he would have stayed away from her? He doubted he could have considering the pull of the marking. He looked at their son and smiled before drifting off with visions of Elenya fussing over the baby dancing through his thoughts. That was all he needed. She would say it was worth it, no matter the cost.