Dark Warriors: A Dark Lands Anthology (Darklands) (10 page)

In spite of her soreness, she didn’t linger under the hot spray of the shower. For once, she felt grateful for the rich array of her new wardrobe, and carefully chose a gossamer sari of lavender and blue. It clasped at one shoulder, leaving the other bare. The cool platinum of a spiral arm bracelet rode on one arm. Dagon had given it to her as a new mother gift. Unless she fancied thongs, there was nothing to wear under it, so she chose to go bare underneath, careful not to examine her actions too closely.

Dagon was bewitching her good sense.

His mouth went dry the moment Dagon saw her. A fall of shimmering silk disguised her breast on one side, but on the other, he could see the faint delineation of her peak. Every curve and hollow was faithfully outlined, making him feel weak. It was all he could do to move away from the door and accept the brush she shyly handed him.

She followed his wordless gesture, sitting gracefully on his cushions as he knelt behind her to work on her damp hair.

As if on cue, the boys galloped in from the next room.

“Did you bring the beads? Good!” Devin collected his from her open palm. “I’m the oldest, so I get to put mine in first.”

Dagon tried not to sigh at the verbal jostling that came next as his brothers worked out the order of who would get her attention next.

If he’d had his way, she’d be alone with no one but him.

He almost regretted having the council test her. The process was lengthy, and the barbarian in him wanted to make his own choices. Now. At least the banquet would offer a needed distraction. As he silently brushed Vana’s silky hair, he wondered how she would take the proceedings.

Tonight they would celebrate the first of the weddings.

Vana felt like living flame. Dagon hadn’t felt she was dressed enough, so he’d sent Viej to fetch earrings, a glittering necklace and two wrist bracelets. Now she wore enough gems to rival a princess, and only a fool would doubt what role she was being primed for. No other woman of the harem wore gems like her, though a fortune must have been spent providing clothes for them. But what Vana had been given went beyond comfort. She doubted that her new status as the prince’s new mother would have landed her in such luxury.

She slid a look at Dagon. He knew what he was doing, dressing her so richly, placing his gems upon her, though she hadn’t figured it out until it was too late. The way he looked at her, the way he kissed…those weren’t figments of her imagination.

Over the course of several dinners, she’d learned the names of some of his people. The council members at the banquet looked at Dagon censoriously. Maybe they didn’t approve of her. Would it make a difference? Because if she had to marry anyone, Dagon was someone she could bear.

The king of the Beasts was not a man easily thwarted. Witness the surrender of her heart.

He took her hand and seated her at his right hand. No other woman ever sat there, no matter how often he visited the bride chambers. She didn’t think anyone else had ever been in his rooms.

Their kiss had made all the difference. Before it, she’d still been desperately plotting to escape. Now, she wanted him. Dagon kissed her and touched her soul. She would give much more than her body when she lay with a husband. She was not prepared to give that treasure to just anyone.

The kiss had affected him, too. His glances were warmer, more possessive. A new awareness shimmered around them, as heady as the taste of adoc and more tempting. As drummers assembled in the wide aisle between tables and began to pound a rhythmic call, she wished they could lose the crowd and find time alone. She wanted to talk with him and find out if her feelings were returned. Did he really want her?

Deep notes vibrated up from the soles of her feet, drawing her attention to the area before them. A space had been cleared before the tables, and a line of musicians sat cross-legged before their drums, pounding a slow, steady beat. In the shadows, larger drums joined the call with solemn voices, lending a shivering bass to the music. The doors opened at the end of the banquet room, spilling forth six couples in shining robes. Scarlet, bronze and metallic colors in strong geometric patterns predominated the men’s robes and reached below their knees, while the women’s ankle-length robes glowed in cool tones of blues, greens and purple.

“What’s happening?” Vana asked, watching the drummers warily.

Sipping his wine, Dagon chose not to answer.

The man to her right was happy to provide the answer. In his late thirties, dark haired and sharp-eyed with intelligence, his harshly angled face was not classically handsome, but it held an appealing kind of strength. “It’s the wedding drums you hear. Those couples are to marry tonight.” He looked at her with the kind of hungry interest so prevalent in the male Beast. “We have not been introduced. My name is Kynan.”

“Vana,” she murmured in return. Wary of his blatant interest, she looked back at the couples, starting a little as she recognized Ser and Jen, the lead couple; a quick glance at Dagon shown him to be watching her calmly. Was he waiting for her reaction?

A special rug had been laid down to mark the aisle where the couples walked. Jen and Ser walked to the head of it, then turned and faced each other, hands clasped. The other couples lined up behind them. Dagon rose and joined three other men already at Ser’s side. Each carried a piece of pole framework and a curtain, which they quickly raised above the couple.

The drums rolled. Honored wedding guests and aides alike exchanged knowing grins.

Vana sent a nervous glance at Kynan, hoping for an explanation.

Grinning, he said, “Each new husband will strive to be the last one to lower his booth. Ser is very competitive. I’ve placed my bet on him.”

As the booths stayed up for long minutes, she asked in a strangled whisper, “What are they doing in there?”

Kynan smirked. “Whatever they like. The wedding booths are often the start of the seduction.” His eyes heated as they slid down her in appreciation.

Grateful for her bodyguards, Vana swallowed and looked back at the booths.

One by one, the men inside reached out and signaled their readiness. The frameworks fell down dramatically with a few tugs, leaving the revealed couples looking rumpled and wearing each other’s robes.

The drums beat on, disguising any noise that might come from Ser’s booth. Moments slid by, lengthening the chances of Ser’s wedding going down in infamy. Finally, after even Dagon was raising a brow, Ser signaled his finish. Their curtains swished down, revealing a very flushed and rumpled looking pair, both dressed in the other’s robes.

Ser’s attendants laughed and clapped their red-cheeked friend on the back, offering teasing and congratulations. Jen they kissed on the forehead, offering rakish smiles and words that made the new bride redden like a cherry.

There were toasts and dancing. Vana did not see it.

Adoc was served. She did not taste it.

For when Dagon returned to his seat and heard Kynan quietly insisting on his right to visit Vana in the morning, Dagon said nothing. He just looked at them with a mildly interested expression and turned his attention back to the dancers as if his interest in her had never been.

Betrayed, Vana stared straight ahead and agreed to see Kynan. Obviously, she didn’t have a choice. After all, as he had reminded her, she was still unmarried, and unclaimed. Though he never said it, it was plain that he was going to check her out with an eye to changing that.

And Dagon didn’t care.

A dull throbbing began in the base of her throat as she sat there, unsmiling, the dust of her pretty delusions floating around her like chaff. Dagon didn’t want her.

Then fury replaced pain. That jerk! If he didn’t want her, then he shouldn’t play with her emotions. She shot a fast look at him and caught an expression of hot aggression on his face, directed at Kynan.

Surprised, she looked at Kynan, who was shouting encouragement to one of the grooms. The anger morphed into confusion. What was going on?

Dagon wanted to drag Kynan off by the hair and disembowel him. Never mind that the man was a friend. Never mind that he was just doing the council’s will, testing Vana to see if she could be seduced from Dagon’s side. He hated every minute of it, and as the celebration dragged on, he wanted to put an end to it. By the look on her face, Vana felt the same.

Taking a deep breath, Dagon forced himself not to glare. The betrayal on her face had hurt. From her point of view, he must seem as if he’d been playing with her. It was just the sort of ugly assumption that would drive her into another man’s arms, but he’d promised not to interfere with the test. If he acted on his instincts now, Kynan would be clutching a broken jaw and Vana would be over his shoulder.

His kingly decorum would be in tatters.

It hurt him to hear her inviting Kynan to a picnic with her sons in the morning. Never mind that she had little choice. His brothers had been jabbering on about it, excited because she’d promised to bring all their favorite foods. Originally Dagon had planned to charm an invitation from her, but now…she’d likely throw her adoc in his face if he tried.

As he watched Kynan trying to charm Vana out of her foul mood, Dagon promised himself that there would be no more of this kind of testing. He also gave Kynan one day. If she wasn’t charmed in the gardens, he wasn’t getting another chance. Let the council mutter; he’d been a fool to agree to this idiocy. She wasn’t Ellyn, and he wasn’t his father.

That decided, he tried to relax and enjoy the celebration. The sounds of laughter and party joy washed over him, alleviating some of his tension. Now if only he could resist the urge to crash her party in the morning long enough for Kynan to prove his point.

“Wow! Kynan is coming? Yay!” The twins bounced as if they’d won an hour of free shopping at Toys R Us. Apparently the man was a warrior of some fame. He’d even been elected to participate in the trials for electing the Tzar, but had declined.

Vana wrinkled her nose. Big whoop. She still resented his unwanted interest. Why couldn’t he have taken a liking to that big-breasted Swede or the southern twins? Worse, she’d lost sleep wondering why Dagon had let Kynan horn in on his action. And why had he hidden his anger about it until he thought she wouldn’t see?

Frustrated again, she slammed the lid shut on the picnic box and drafted the mutinous Roac to carry it from the kitchens. The other boys were already loaded down with their share of drinks, dishes and toys. From the scowl on his face, Roac hated every minute of it.

Good; a new member to her Bad Mood club. Like he’d been having fun dicing veggies, anyway, she thought in grumpy satisfaction.

The gardens were planted in raised beds of gray-veined red stone, and covered several acres. Flowers bloomed in every conceivable corner, and the area was littered generously with arbors and gazebos. The boys chose one formed of living tree trunks, plunking their burdens down on a polished round table cut from the cross section of a single tree. Without regard to their amazing surroundings, they immediately set up a game of tag.

Vana backed away from the living canopy of pink and white blossoms to gape. Never had she seen such a beautiful spot. And the scent! At first she thought it came only from the fuchsia-like blooms, then she realized that every step she took on the mossy groundcover released a heady perfume. A closer inspection revealed tiny blue flowers among the mossy leaves.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” a male voice drawled.

Vana turned and frowned at Kynan. “It has its charms. But then, so does Earth.”

He smiled at little at her barb and waved his hand at the table. Roac must have set it up and sneaked off, for he was nowhere in sight. “Shall we sit? By the vigorous way your sons are splashing in that pool, I don’t think we’ll see them for a few minutes.”

A glance showed the boys hard at play in the shallow water. From the way they were splashing, they’d be lucky if any was left in the stone basin by the time they were done.

Just as well. She had some things to say to her would-be suitor.

They were barely seated on the polished wooden seats when she demanded, “What’s going on? I know Dagon was angry with you last night, and from what the boys say, you two are supposed to be friends. So why are you here with me instead of him?”

His brows shot up. “Direct, aren’t you?”

She stared him down. “I’m not in the mood to jerked around, no.”

Kynan took his time selecting a slice of fruit before he spoke. “Do you want so badly to be Tzara?”

“You can take your titles and stick it in your craw. What I want is between me and Dagon.”

A naughty smile curved his mouth. “Then you lust for him? From all reports, I’d thought you were still panting after a chance to run back to Earth.”

Now that made her chin go up. Of course she hadn’t given up on returning…probably. It depended. And she’d been busy. It wasn’t that easy to pry information from her squirmy sons. So far she was still in the dark as to exactly how she’d gotten there, let alone how she would get home. And as for using Roac to get the information she wanted…somehow the opportunity hadn’t come up. Or she hadn’t wanted it to. Every time she thought about using him, a lump formed in her throat and she couldn’t do it. Maybe it made her a fool, but she was beginning to care about these people and how they felt about her.