The Elder Blood Chronicles Bk 1 In Shades of Grey (63 page)

“Thank you, Arjuna,” she said and felt
herself relaxing.

The Firym Lord smiled at her and nodded once.
“Beware the meat dear, if you are not fond of our Firewater you
won’t like it,” he said as trays were brought to them by
servants.

“Sovann warned me. He said the fruit is the
safest.” She grinned and moved aside as a servant sat a covered
dish down in front of her. Glancing down she realized her plate was
different from the others and quickly looked back to question the
servant but the girl was already gone.

“Everything on that plate should be to your
liking,” Finn said turning away from conversation with his sister.
“I didn’t think you would care for the Firym cooking so I had the
cooks prepare that special when I took Marrow down for food.”

“No Ondathi?” she asked. The thought of
eating snake still didn’t appeal at all to her.

Shifting slightly he leaned closer and
removed the cover. “Beef, rice, and vegetables,” he said pointing
to each in turn.

She listened but her eyes were fixed on the
black skinned fruit sliced in a small bowl on the side of the tray.
“Jimpa, but I thought they only grew in Merro,” she said and looked
at him.

“My uncle has a tree in his sunroom. I
convinced Sovann to use a bit of magic to make it ripen despite
them being out of season. They only grow naturally in Merro but can
be grown elsewhere with a lot of magic,” he explained.

“Thank you, Finn,” she said with more emotion
than anyone had likely ever shown in regards to fruit.

Grinning, he opened his own tray and speared
a piece of white meat with chunks of peppers stuck to it.
“Ondathi?” he offered, holding his fork toward her.

“No, I’ll stick with the beef,” she assured
him returning the grin. He shrugged and popped the piece of meat in
his mouth chewing with obvious enjoyment. Nallia spoke again and he
turned back to his sister.

She ate in silence for a bit, simply
listening to the conversations around her and watching the crowd.
The Firym seemed more animated than the others present and she
caught Truce watching several exchanges with obvious disapproval.
He never looked in her direction, not once in the entire meal, and
she had no doubts that if he had the expression would have been one
of disapproval as well. As the courses progressed, musicians began
to play. The music was fast in tempo with heavy drums and she tried
to imagine what the Firym considered dancing. She had barely
learned a few less formal dances at the Temple but judging by the
pace of this music none of what she knew would be sufficient. Her
attention was brought back to the table as Arjuna moved his chair
over and another was placed beside her. With a grin Havoc seated
himself and shook his head at her sadly.

“Had I but known you had an interest in Firym
men I never would have allowed you to be sent to Sanctuary. With
the selection you had available there, the one you ended up with is
more mutt than actual Firym,” he said mournfully.

“Hey, don’t flirt with my wife, you ass,”
Finn snapped and reached behind her to smack Havoc on the back of
the head.

Laughing, Havoc dodged the blow leaning
forward toward the table. “Finn, where are your manners? You are
going to offend the Avanti,” Havoc scolded and then laughed again.
“Congratulations, Jala, you have married decently. Well, I suppose.
And when he gets himself killed in one of his stupid duels you will
know where to come to find a more worthy husband,” Havoc said once
he had regained his composure a bit.

“I won’t get killed, Havoc. Damn, you are
still a bastard,” Finn growled though he looked ready to burst into
laughter himself.

Jala looked between the two of them trying to
decide if they were actually on good terms or not.

Catching her look, Finn smiled. “Remember the
fishing story?” he asked. She nodded and he motioned toward Havoc.
“The bastard that reminded me of the fountain with fish when I
couldn’t catch anything at the river.”

Havoc burst into renewed laughter and nodded
to her. “It was beautiful. He was so happy when he caught the fish,
right until my grandfather caught him,” he said, the words only
slightly distorted by his continued amusement.

“When I joined the Flame Riders he switched
my horse out with a donkey on the first day of drills. I went into
the stable a bit late, thanks to him, I might add. All of the other
riders were on the field already and my horse was nowhere to be
seen, a damn donkey in his stall,” Finn said with a glare.

“He rode onto the field on a donkey,” Havoc
grinned. “As proud as you please, chin up in the air on a damn
donkey. I thought he would miss drills and get a scolding, but not
Finn.”

“I didn’t even know the two of you were
related,” Jala admitted smiling at the story despite how Finn was
glaring.

“Most of the trouble I was in during the
tender years of my childhood can be laid at Havoc’s feet,” Finn
told her, his glare fading into a smirk.

Havoc gave a slight nod. “I took him to his
first brothel,” he said proudly.

“And had me watch the door for his mother
while he went upstairs with three girls. I was ten at the time, or
around that. He left me alone in a room filled with half-naked
women and expected me to stare at the damn door.” Finn waved a hand
at his cousin in accusation.

“And you got me back by telling my mother
which room I was in when she arrived,” Havoc reminded him and Finn
chuckled. He shook his head at the two of them and gave a sigh. “I
never would have expected this, Finn. Not only are you married, you
married Jala. Do you know who her father was?”

“Badger,” Finn answered with an amused
grin.

“You knew my father?” Jala asked, her voice
going quiet.

“He was the first person to teach me what
dirt tasted like,” Finn told her with a shrug. “I was young at the
time. I can’t remember what he was here for, but when he mentioned
where he was from I let him have it, and he taught me a valuable
lesson about speaking with respect to your betters.”

“You had a problem with Merro then?” Jala
asked, wondering what he must have thought when she had taken him
to her homeland.

“He was waiting on the border to attack Merro
with a full contingent of Flame Riders before the Oblivion was
unleashed,” Havoc said quietly, taking care that his voice didn’t
carry as far as Nallia and her husband.

Finn nodded and shrugged at her. “The High
Lord of Merro was nothing at all like you, Jala. What you build
will be a much better place,” he whispered.

“What we build,” she corrected and leaned
against him.

“What we build,” he agreed, squeezing her
hand lightly. He stood slowly, taking care that he didn’t bump her
as he did. Tugging lightly on her hand he motioned for her to stand
as well. “Come dance with me; others are already dancing,” he
said.

She looked doubtfully at the couples dancing
to the fast-paced music. “I don’t know how to dance like that,
Finn,” she objected, but stood slowly when he continued to tug on
her hand lightly.

Laughing, he shook his head at her.
“
Vezradesh
, there is no proper set way to do anything in
Firym, you just simply do it. Let go of inhibitions and move with
the music. That’s all there is to it.”

She smiled at the use of the now familiar
word and followed him toward the clearing in the garden that was
serving as the dance floor. “Which meaning do you think of when you
call me that?” she asked as they reached the edge.

“All of them, heart, love, eternity. It all
describes you perfectly,” he replied and swept her out onto the
grass for her first attempt at what the Firym considered
dancing.

Out of breath and sweating, Jala left the
dancing with a wide smile on her face. She wasn’t sure how many
songs they had danced to, but even Finn seemed out of breath.

“See, that wasn’t so bad,” Finn said with a
grin and snagged two glasses of what looked like wine from a
passing servant. He sniffed the drink carefully before handing one
over to her. “Wine, not sure what flavor though but it’s not
pepper.”

Taking a dainty sip she sampled it and nodded
with approval. “Raspberry I think, though I’m not sure either. It’s
cold though and that’s all that matters right now.” She followed
him from the brighter lit parts of the garden and took a seat
beside him on a stone bench. Stretching out her legs, she flexed
her toes in the sandals and took a long breath. “I need a bath
now,” she said with a faint laugh and wiped sweat from her brow.
“It’s so humid here. I’ve never been in this type of climate
before.”

He nodded as he shrugged out of his jacket
and let it drop to the bench beside him. He wore a gold linen shirt
with a red vest over it and was unbuttoning the vest as well.
“Formal uniforms are just too much. What’s the point of a fully
buttoned jacket as well as a vest? No one ever sees the vest,” he
grumbled.

“You looked very good in it,” she offered,
taking another sip of the wine and watching him.

He finished with the vest and tugged the
shirt out, for a moment she thought he intended to shed it as well
but seemed satisfied with simply untucking it and loosening the
collar. Putting his arms behind him on the bench he leaned back and
stared up at the star-filled sky.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked, her
own gaze following his up to the night sky. Despite the lights of
the city, the sky shone brightly with stars.

“Wondering if I can get away with sneaking
off with you without being rude. It’s early and likely they will
want us to stay longer but I’d rather leave,” he answered, his gaze
still on the heavens but the smile on his face was for her.

“You can blame it on me tomorrow. Tell them
I’m not as enduring as the Firym women and I simply couldn’t handle
anymore dancing,” she offered as she slid closer to him on the
bench. She took another long drink from the wine and kept her gaze
on him.

“Or I could tell them the truth that I wanted
to have you to myself,” he countered and leaned over, kissing her
neck lightly.

She shivered at the touch and smiled up at
him as she turned her head slightly to kiss him. “Or you could tell
them that,” she agreed.

He rose and tugged her gently to her feet.
Taking the wine glass from her hand he set it down beside his own
on the bench and picked up his discarded clothing. With a final
glance toward the celebration he led her out the back of the garden
and down a dimly lit street.

“Where are we going?” she asked finally. She
had expected they would return to Sanctuary or perhaps a room in
the palace.

“Just a bit further,” he assured her. His
pace was faster than normal, walking briskly with an arm around her
waist. The surroundings were a bit familiar and Jala thought she
recognized one of the fountains from earlier that day. He came to a
stop outside a two story house and headed up the steps. Ivy grew
thick along the stone walls with roses blooming to either side of
the stairs. Fishing in his pocket he removed a set of keys and
unlocked the door. “Our house,” he explained at her look of
confusion. With a nudge of his hip, he pushed the door open and
held it for her while she entered.

“I thought you had rooms in the palace,” she
said entering the dark room.

“I do, but there is no privacy in the
palace,” Finn explained. Dropping the keys on a table near the
doorway he touched a mage light that bathed the entry hall in a
soft blue glow. While plain in comparison with the palace, the
house was well furnished and cared for. “I usually spend a few
months a year here, but it is maintained by my family when I’m
gone. So there will be fresh sheets and there won’t be dust
everywhere.” he hung his jacket on a peg and tossed the vest down
beside the keys. With a wave he motioned her on into the house.

She heard him lock the door behind them and
moved on into the house. It wasn’t large by noble standards but by
the country houses she had known near Bliss this was a mansion.

She was looking around the living room when
he moved up behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach.
“I’d rather give you the full tour tomorrow,” he said quietly in
her ear and kissed her on the neck.

Turning in his arms she gave him another kiss
and then froze. Stepping back quickly she looked toward the door
with a bit of panic. “I forgot Marrow, I left him at the party,”
she blurted and prayed the Bendazzi hadn’t gotten into any
trouble.

Finn burst into laughter and straightened up
crossing his arms over his chest as he looked at her with
amusement. “Marrow is a full grown Bendazzi and I sincerely doubt
he wants to be anywhere near this house. I’m sure he will be fine.
He is likely hunting in the jungles right now. You know he really
doesn’t like getting his food from our hands,” he assured her. “I
think I might be mildly offended that you could spare a thought for
him. You know you are supposed to be entirely focused on me,” he
added with a bit of sarcasm.

Blushing, she nodded and glanced up at him.
“I’m sorry, I really am, that wasn’t at all appropriate,” she said
with a helpless shrug.

Pulling her over to him he kissed her again
and smiled. “No harm done. Just shows I’ll have to work harder to
keep your attention focused on me.”

With no effort at all he picked her up and
carried her through a doorway at the back of the house. He sat her
down again on the edge of a bed and began unbuttoning his shirt.
She watched him remove the shirt and toss it aside and felt her
mouth growing dry with nerves. “Finn, I’ve never...” she let her
voice trail off as he moved to sit beside her.

Silently removing the pins and flowers from
her hair, he gave her another kiss and pulled the strap holding her
top in place. “It’s just like dancing,
Vezradesh
, simply let
go of inhibitions and move,” he murmured in her ear and began to
work his way down with kisses.