FORBIDDEN TALENTS (22 page)

“
Is he sure? Perhaps she took shelter somewhere?
”

Was she really concerned? Or was she wondering if her competition was truly gone? Ragni reached out to read her but his grief keep him from feeling anything from Utta. He struggled to get his unruly heart under control. He finally looked back at her, and her expression was gentle.

“
He’s sure. I don’t want to believe it. I’d like to imagine she has a magical amulet that would hide her from the Trackers and Finders, but I know how unlikely that is.
”

Utta was quiet a moment.
“
She was more than a diversion to you. You loved her. Love her.
”

He remained silent. How stupid was he, to confess his love for another woman to his future bride?

After a moment Utta continued.
“
But such magic is possible, isn’t it, however unlikely?
”

Ragni looked at her with surprise.

Utta gave him a small smile.
“
I expect you to take lovers from time to time. How could you not? You may even choose to have an
elskerinne
. But a tragic lost love?
”
She shook her head. After a pause she asked,
“
Who might know if she had such an amulet? Was she a Daughter of Freya?
”

Stunned that he hadn’t asked himself that question before, Ragni shook his head.
“
I don’t know.
”
Utta’s words kindled hope again. Perhaps Saeun
could
have an amulet that concealed her from Celia’s Talent. The Daughters of Freya had made others. He’d taken one from Thora once. Its purpose had been different, but it showed that such things were possible.

Thora
.

She was a woman who knew things. She’d been around as long as Ragni could remember. She’d even been part of the army of nannies that had chased after Dahleven and himself before they came into their Talents. And Thora was a Daughter of Freya.

A knock sounded at the door, breaking into Ragni’s thoughts.
Utta’s maid returning to save her
?

“
Come,
”
Utta called.

The door opened, revealing one of Neven’s armsmen, an embroidered hawk swooping out of a field of green on his left shoulder. His face was rigid with shock. Grief and worry flowed from him, hitting Ragni like a blow to his chest. The armsman wouldn’t meet Ragni’s eyes.
“
I’m sorry for disturbing you, my lady. Father Ragnar, my Lord Dahleven sent me to find you. Your father—
”
the man broke off.

Ragni stood abruptly, feeling draining from his body.
“
What?
”

The guard cleared his throat.
“
Kon Neven has collapsed.
”

SAEUN HELD HER breath, pressing back into the pillows of her nest-bed, and stared up into large, golden, not human, eyes. Eyes that stared back. Was this part of the Fey-marking? Was she imagining shadows in the corners now, and creatures in the walls? Suddenly they disappeared.
“
Wait!
”
She stopped herself.
What am I thinking
?
I don’t know what sort of being that thing is
. But she spoke again.
“
Please?
”

The eyes reappeared, blinking open.

Better to know, than wonder
. Saeun drew a shaky breath.
“
Who are you?
”

The creature, or spirit, didn’t answer. The golden orbs blinked and continued staring.

“
I’m Synda. Who are you?
”

The other’s stare didn’t waver.

Am I just talking to myself
?
“
You have beautiful eyes.
”
Slowly she sat up. When the other didn’t flinch, she stood, keeping her gaze locked with her visitor’s. Standing, she was closer, but the angle was different, and she couldn’t see as well. Slowly the eyes moved until she had a better view between the twisted, woven branches of the ceiling. The eyes seemed to be embedded in the bark. Almost more to herself she murmured,
“
Are you part of the tree, I wonder? Or can you come out and say hello?
”

The eyes withdrew. To Saeun it looked as though part of the tree had moved and slowly slithered away. She lifted a small glow-globe from its stand and held it high, searching the ceiling. The globe was cool to the touch, and very heavy. She peered into the openings between the woven branches until her neck began to ache and her arms grew tired. The little globe threw scant light into the dark recesses of the living canopy. Finally she stopped her search and curled up on the foot of the bed.

The eyes peered at her from the far rim where the bed seemed to grow out of the wall. They blinked in what looked like the knotted burl of a root.

“
Hello,
”
Saeun squeaked.

“
You greet me,
”
the root burl said, its voice like the clattering of branches in the wind. Its mouth looked like a folded crease in the knotted surface and barely moved as it spoke.

“
Yes,
”
Saeun answered, not sure of what else to say.

“
Why?
”

Why
? It was in
her
room and it wanted to know why she spoke to it? But she wasn’t back in her brother’s holding anymore, or even Quartzholm.
“
It seemed the courteous thing to do.
”

The root burl was silent a moment. Saeun had the feeling that it listened to something she couldn’t hear.
“
We greet you.
”

“
We?
”

The root burl blinked.

Saeun had the feeling it was confused.
“
Thank you for your greeting. Who is the other you spoke of? The other who greets me?
”

“
My sister greets you,
”
the voice clattered.

“
Your sister? Where is she? May I see her?
”

It was hard to tell since the root burl showed no real expression, but Saeun had the feeling it was looking at her as if she were stupid.

Slowly the root burl moved, shifting a rough and knotty arm that was only the length of the span of Saeun’s two hands. It reached out and patted the rim of the bed, the base of the bed-nest formed by the roots of a giant tree.
“
My sister, where you shelter.
”

“
The tree? The tree is your sister?
”
Well, there
is
a family resemblance
. Saeun smiled.

The creature blinked.
“
Yes.
”

Saeun put her hand on the wood rim of the bed.
“
Thank you for your shelter.
”

The little burl creature stilled even further, as if listening again, and closed its eyes. It almost disappeared. She could still see the burl, but it blended so completely that it was hard to believe it was anything other than part of the tree, even though she’d seen it move. A moment later its eyes opened again.
“
She welcomes you.
”

“
Thank you.
”
Saeun rubbed the wood at the edge of the bed.
“
What shall I call you?
”
she asked, looking back at the burl. But it closed its eyes again, and then disappeared completely.

*

The rest of the family had already assembled in his parent’s apartments when Ragni arrived. Dahleven looked tired and angry as he paced from one end of the room to the other. Celia held Kaidlin’s hand as they perched together on the window seat. Ingirid sat alone at the table, her eyes red and swollen, turning a small stone figure of Eir, the goddess of healing, over and over in her hands. Mother wasn’t there. The door to Neven’s bedchamber was closed.

Dahleven stopped his pacing and came over as a guard pulled the door closed behind Ragni.
“
Where have you been?
”
he growled.
“
Gris sent Korst to find you an age ago.
”

“
I was with Utta.
”

Dahleven’s brows drew down into his frown.
“
I should have known. You certainly didn’t take long to get over Saeun.
”

That was too much, even from Dahl. Fury roared through Ragni like an avalanche. He grabbed the front of Dahleven’s tunic, swinging him around. Dahleven was slightly taller and more heavily muscled, but Ragni had caught him off-guard. The door reverberated loudly as Ragni slammed his brother’s back against it.

“
My lords!
”
Gris dropped his obscurity.

“
Stop it!
”
Celia shoved between them, pulling at Ragni’s hands.
“
If you can’t behave any better than that, you can take your testosterone somewhere else!
”

Celia’s sharp words shocked Ragni back to himself like the splash of cold water after a bath, even if he didn’t know what
testosterone
was. His fear for Neven may have clouded his Talent as well as his judgment, but he didn’t need his Empathy to see Dahl was as worried for Father as he was.
But worried or not, Dahl had better watch his mouth
. He let go of Dahleven’s clothes and stepped back.

“
How is he?
”
Ragni asked, his voice tight.

His brother’s angry expression turned grim.
“
Not good,
”
he said, straightening his tunic.
“
Helbreden and Mother are with him now. He can’t talk or move his right side.
”

Ragni closed his eyes.
“
Baldur’s Luck.
”
It wasn’t possible. His father was too powerful, too much of a presence even without his Talent, to imagine him so diminished. Celia touched his arm and he opened his eyes.

“
Come, sit down.
”

He shook his head.
“
I’m fine.
”

“
Good. Then you can comfort the rest of us.
”

“
Celia.
”
Dahl inclined his head toward Kaidlin.

Celia’s lips thinned and her eyes glinted, but she held her tongue and returned to sit beside their younger sister.

“
No one outside the family knows yet about Father, other than a few servants and Gris.
”
Dahl nodded toward the Chamberlain, who had resumed the use of his Talent.
“
The news will be all over Quartzholm by tomorrow, of course, but morning will be soon enough for official announcements.
”

“
We’ll know more then too, I hope,
”
Ragni agreed.

Dahleven nodded.
“
I’ll leave telling Wirmund to you. I don’t want to deal with the man.
”

“
You’ll have to, soon enough.
”
Even if Neven recovered fully, his convalescence would likely take some time. Dahleven would have to cope with the Overprest and the other Jarls while he acted in Neven’s stead.

Dahleven nodded again.
“
I know. But
you
can have the pleasure this time.
”

“
All right.
”
Ragni wasn’t eager to see the head priest himself. The man’s smug satisfaction concerning Saeun’s death rankled. Saeun
had
broken the Laws of Sanction, and Wirmund was sworn to uphold them. As Ragni himself was. But he didn’t much want to endure Wirmund’s righteous pleasure over the matter. He probably wouldn’t have to, though. The news of Neven would push the other matter aside.
“
What about Eirik? Do you know who killed him?
”

Dahleven spoke softly.
“
Not yet, though I have my suspicions. As for who ordered him killed
…
that’s a more complicated question.
”