Queen of Jastain (34 page)

She saw no recourse but to hand the Stone over.
“Lord, please help me.”
Abby took the earring and laid it in Seppitent's hand. It disappeared.

“Where is the other?

“I only wear the true Stone.” She prayed it was a lie.

He laughed and nodded. “Yes, only true treasure is worthy of wear by the likes of us, Chosen One. Sadly, this is only a part of the treasure I am seeking today. Chad, you have the emeralds in your possession, I believe. Hand those over to me now.”

Chad reached into his pocket and handed Seppitent a small felt pouch.

To her astonishment, a familiar voice spoke into Abby’s mind—
I have given you all authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy. Nothing shall, by any means, harm you.

She focused her energy and pulled the emeralds from Seppitent’s hand before they disappeared.

 “Lyndsea, kill them now!” Seppitent demanded.

Lyndsea lunged at them with the knife in one hand and the baby in the other. Abby shrieked. Chad shrank.

As Lyndsea rushed near, Abby did three things at once: she pulled Chad’s arm around her, she stepped into the path of the knife, allowing it to stab deep into her shoulder, and she gathered her energy, thinking of the one person who was the rock in her life.

The light flashed. They fell into the stables.

Petra took one look and ran to them. Spots flickered in front of her eyes. She had to stay conscious. “Petra…take care of Lyndsea and the baby…this…is Chad…Avant’s son… and I need—”

Abby sat at the desk in her father’s study. In the total darkness, she shivered from fear. No one else was with her. The light shone behind her. She stood and turned to find its source. Seeking the warmth of the rays that dissipated her fear, she spun around and around. As she did, she realized she wasn’t alone anymore. Avant stood behind her, his arms firmly around her waist. But someone else was there. The familiar voice she couldn’t place. “You've never been alone, Abigail, and now you have the Stone. This task is almost complete, and your destiny awaits you. Finish the battle. Claim your victory.”

Abby woke, quietly crying in her own bed, but couldn’t open her eyes for the dizziness. The soft linen smelled of lavender and mint and home. Tears streamed into her ears. Her throbbing shoulder was bandaged, and someone held her and stroked her face. She sucked in a ragged breath. The scents of pine, cedar, fresh earth and a hint of sweet musk wreathed her senses. Avant.

“Lyndsea...the baby…” Even her own ears could barely make out the sound of her words.

“Petra is caring for them, my love.” Avant soothed before she could finish.

“Chad… is…your son,” she whispered. Pain pierced her shoulder, and she cried out.

He replied softly into her mind,
“I know. I know, brave angel. Rest now. I'm not leaving. Nothing can harm you. You’re safe.”

“Avant, you have…the Stone...”
She slept.

For the tenth straight day, Abby laid in bed. Avant sat next to her in the armchair he’d brought from his room. She sighed and blew a wisp of hair from her forehead. He glanced up from his book and caught her gaze. A warmth fluttered in her stomach.

Since being back in Jastain, he'd barely left her side, but he remained distant. She kept reminding herself to let him lead.
Driver's seat, remember, Abs.

In typical Avant fashion, he never spoke about the day she left him or the evening that precipitated it. Every part of her ached for him, but he plastered on that damned sympathetic face, closing off his emotions, and nothing short of a two by four upside his head would remove it. If the memories of him making love to her hadn't been so strong in her mind, she would’ve wondered if she hadn't just dreamed it. Unfortunately, they were strong in her mind. All the time.

They'd talked at length about the incident with Seppitent. Avant had not been aware the creature had the ability to disguise himself in her world. He had admitted to speaking with a questionable stranger at the bank in Dallas.

The sun streaked in through the open window. Stretching her good arm, she winced from the jarring movement. She loved Jastain, but their advancements in medicine left a lot to be desired.

Thank God for Chad. Knowing more about medicine and healing than the local medicine man, he’d removed the knife from Abby’s shoulder and was able to stitch the wound. He’d prepared a rudimentary antibiotic and a stiff painkiller, which had kept her flat on her back for nearly two weeks.

Avant had welcomed Chad and Lyndsea into the manor. He supplied them with everything they needed and had even hired a girl from the village to cook and clean full-time. Helean had taken over caring for Abby, Lyndsea, and the baby, when she could wrestle the little thing away from Chad or Petra.

Petra sat with Abby each day while Avant left to take care of personal business, but an unspoken rift settled between them. She was unsure of what he knew or assumed had taken place between her and Avant. Either way, he hurt because of it. Bands of regret and grief squeezed her heart. She allowed him his space. It seemed like everybody needed their space.

From what Petra had said, Lyndsea wasn’t sure how long Seppitent had kept her in the apartment, but she’d been dangerously close to starvation. She cried a lot and spent most days in her room. The newly born baby was small and underfed, but was otherwise healthy.

Avant took all his meals with Abby and slept next to her each night. But he never reached for her other than to comfort. He generally stayed at her bedside, except for daily meetings with his military captains, which he held downstairs.

After the failed attack on the Freelands, the king had withdrawn his army but kept spies throughout the region. Avant believed Aesdil gathered additional forces from the southern provinces and from the eastern islands to strike another blow.

Saundra padded into the room with a breakfast tray. The pretty servant girl smiled as she placed the food in front of Abby.

“Thanks, Saundra. The panas looks as delicious as your mother’s.”

The girl blushed and nodded as she left the room.

Abby took a bite of the fresh bread and sighed in delight. Avant took a large piece from her plate. Abby frowned at him. “Hey, get your own.”

His eyes sparked with desire as he popped the piece in his mouth.

She exhaled shakily. “So how long are we going to skirt the elephant in the room?”

Avant closed his book and laid it on the table near the bed. His dark brows arched as he held her gaze. “To which elephant are you referring, Abigail?”

A giggle escaped her lips. He was right; it was becoming a legitimate herd. A smile played at the corners of his lush lips, though his eyes remained reserved.

She pulled out two pieces of paper and unfolded them. Lifting the Jastanian parchment, she held it out to him. “This elephant.”

He stiffened in the chair, his chin lifted, and his jaw clenched. After a long moment, he took the paper from her and read it even though he already knew what it said.

The final prophecy transcribed by Jo-Naphen during the Festival of New Song the year after Avant was born was the definitive word in naming the next ruler of Jastain.

“This has to be wrong. You're the obvious choice for this, not me.”

“Abigail, I seriously doubt that I would make a good queen. The voice of Light is truth. There is no argument. I'd trust the vision of the high priest above all others, including my own.” He sucked in a cleansing breath. “The Light has chosen you; you'll be the ruler of these lands.”

She eyed him skeptically. His answer was too calm, too rehearsed.

“I admit this was not what I expected. Vain desires of the heart lie in expectation.” His eyes became remote.

He laid the prophecy on the bed and picked up the letter from her father. He tapped his finger on his lips as he read it then tossed it on the bed. “Kasten was Sentieve’s father. He went into hiding shortly after Sentieve and I were married. I always suspected Aesdil feared him. He was an austere man, but an excellent judge of character. This must be how Sentieve took possession of the emeralds, but where he placed the amethysts is beyond my ken.” Avant stood and paced to the window. “If Kasten hid the amethysts while in exile, we may never find them. It is possible Sentieve might know where they are.”

This was the most he'd spoken of Sentieve since before she'd Implanted into him weeks ago. Had he come to terms with her betrayal? She pushed her head back into her pillow.
If he would just talk to me.
“What Seppitent said makes me believe he orchestrated the death of your father, and it's possible Aesdil and Sentieve could've been under his influence, as well.”

He rounded to her, fire in his eyes, and she shrank back. “That does not absolve them of their actions, Abigail.”

She sucked in a breath and pushed the food tray to the side. Avant took it from her then sat on the bed.

Light within her illuminated the truth, and she spoke softly, “Avant, it’s time to move past bitterness. To win this war, we have to fight the right enemy. You have to let go of this grudge.”

“I know you're right, Abigail. All these years I've directed my rage toward Aesdil. It has become so much a part of who I am that I'm not certain I can separate from it.”

“But it’s done nothing except damage your life. You can’t allow Seppitent a foothold in your heart anymore. Destroying those who wronged you isn’t going to bring your life back and even if it could, would you want it?” She took his hand. “It’s time to turn away from our own plans and take up the destiny that draws us.” Dear God, she sounded like her dad. When had that happened?

She sensed the struggle in his heart. He stroked her fingers and studied them. “I know you speak the truth, Abigail, but I fear I'm not as brave as you. I do not think I've the strength to let it go.”

She covered their clasped hands with her other. “Do you remember when you first found me? You told me I had a purpose. There was destiny I had to fulfill. Avant, your destiny is as important to this plan as mine, maybe more, but you can’t reach it until you let this vendetta go. Twenty years is long enough. Let it go, so we can finish this and bring peace to our home.”

He squeezed her hand, and his tears fell on the white linens. Hers fell with them.

They sat in silence for a long while. Avant paced back to the window and stared into the distance.

She stared at his straight back with a longing so deep she barely caught her breath. “So, what’s next?”

“How should I know, Abigail?”

She frowned. He resented her role, but he neglected to remember she couldn’t have done any of it without him. She still couldn’t. “My thought is that if the Crown is back at Naphen’s home, we can try to Implant there.”

“I did not see the Crown in plain sight during our last visit. Have you an idea of where we should look once there?”

“None, but it’s not like there are too many places you could put a crown in that house.”

He sat down in his chair and picked up his book. “It needn't be decided today. You're still not prepared for activity. For now, rest.” He presented her with his most stern look and that lock of hair fell across his forehead.

Her fingers twitched to touch him.
Driver's seat, Abs.

* * * *

She lay in bed with Avant next to her. His soft, even breath blew against the back of her neck. It was the only part of him that actually touched her. Chills shivered down her back, and her nipples hardened. Desire heated the space between her legs. Never had she wanted sex so badly.

She rolled to her back, their bodies barely touching, and then broadcast an erotic vision into his mind. He immediately responded, never waking.
Hmm….
She imagined his hands slipping beneath her nightgown and roaming over her bare skin. Again, he responded. Serious Manchurian Candidate reaction.
May as well go for broke….

He descended on her like a summer storm. He licked across the seam of her lips and thrust deep inside when she gladly parted them. His tongue stroked hers, and his body pressed against her. Her breath came hot and heavy. Careful not to disturb her wound, she wrapped her arms around him. Her imagination stalled as reality was so much better.

He pulled from her lips and kissed down her neck. His hands palmed her breasts, and she arched into his heated touch.

But the movement proved too sharp. “Ohh.” The involuntary cry escaped her.

He froze.

The length of his erection pulsed against her inner thigh. She opened her eyes to stare into the sleepy sapphires filled with shock. He ripped his hands from her body and crawfished off the bed, falling to the floor. He stood, never looked at her, and ran out the door.

* * * *

After two weeks, Abby was ready to get back on task, but Chad said she risked reopening the wound. She could walk around the house and the immediate grounds, but shouldn’t wander far. The thought that she'd purposely stepped into the blade made her cringe. The irony was the blade hadn’t hurt going in, at least, not until it hit her shoulder bone. The healing was the part that hurt…and itched and throbbed. And she was pretty vocal about letting anyone who would listen—which was everyone but Avant—know it. He wouldn't allow her to whine or mope. He made her get outside everyday but then, on strict orders, she had to return to bed.
The paradox that was Avant.

He helped her downstairs to the parlor. Chad had taught Lyndsea how to play chess. When Abby walked in, Chad stood to help her in a chair. Lyndsea remained seated and never lifted her gaze to meet Abby's.

“So who’s winning?” Abby smiled at Lyndsea.

“Lyndsea's getting the hang of it.” Chad said, putting a reassuring arm around Lyndsea’s shoulder as he sat back down.

“Hey Lynds, how are you feeling?” Abby studied the meek face.

“Good. Petra and Helean have really helped me. Everyone's been so nice.” She nodded in Avant’s direction.

"Chad, I have a question for you." Avant motioned him out of the room. He stood and followed Avant.