Souls of Aredyrah 3 - The Taking of the Dawn by Tracy A. Akers

thing I have
ever heard,” Reiv said.
    “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell this
arrogant oaf of a Shell Seeker!” Jensa said.
    “Then why has Reiv not yet taken another
woman?” Lyal demanded of her. “Enough feminine heads have turned
his way. Why has he not responded to them? I’ll tell you
why—because he has you!”
    “Have you no sense at all?” Jensa said.
    “What? You think a man who’s had as many
women as the prince would take no notice of you?”
    Had as many women as the prince? Reiv’s pride swelled. So Lyal thought he had been with a lot of
women, eh? Fine, let him think it. No sense confessing that he was
still pure in that regard. That would be more humiliating than
being described as “the worst.”
    “And you, Jensa; why do you avoid me?” Lyal
ranted on. “You act as if I never even existed for you!”
    Reiv eyed the young man with distaste. He was
obviously jealous of Reiv’s supposed relationship with Jensa, yet
Reiv had never witnessed the two of them together until now. He had
seen Lyal around, of course, and was well aware of the handsome
Shell Seeker’s charisma. Perhaps Reiv had turned a few girls’
heads, but if Lyal happened to be anywhere around, the heads always
swiveled from Reiv and instantly turned to Lyal.
    “Who are you, anyway?” Reiv asked.
    “You know full well who I am,” Lyal
practically shouted.
    “No, fool. I mean who are you in relation to
Jensa? I do not recall seeing you with her, nor do I recall her
ever mentioning your name.”
    Lyal’s face went blood red. “Why…she is my
woman!”
    “I am no such thing,” Jensa said coolly. She
turned to address Reiv. “Lyal and I knew each other for a short
while, before you came to Meirla. But he is not the sort of man who
can be with only one woman. I will have no man who cannot be
faithful to me.”
    “Well, Lyal,” Reiv said, “since I am
acquainted with so many women, Jensa obviously would have no
interest in the likes of me.”
    Lyal remained silent, sorting through the
defense Reiv had tossed his way.
    “There you have it,” Jensa said. “The prince
is too much of a ladies man for my taste.”
    Reiv felt like beaming, but he kept his
expression in check. “I will not lie to you Lyal. I did find her
attractive at first. But after seeing her every morning for the
past several weeks, I can honestly say she no longer appeals to
me.”
    Jensa shot Reiv a look, but he winked at her,
aware that Lyal’s eyes were turned momentarily elsewhere.
    “Well,” Reiv said with a pretended yawn, “if
you will excuse me, I have some seeking to do. You know, with all
this talk about women, perhaps I will do my seeking outside the
waters today.” He turned to leave, but paused to look back over his
shoulder. “But if I see your hands on her again, Lyal, you will
learn that my scarred fists are not as weak as you think.”
    As Reiv sauntered off, he could not help but
replay his own snappy comeback. After seeing her every morning I
can honestly say she no longer appeals to me. He laughed to
himself, but then he thought of Jensa and how she truly looked in
the morning. Her long, light brown hair would be a tumble of locks,
and the thin dressing gown she wore would barely conceal her
feminine curves.
    He shook his head, trying to fling the image
of Jensa from his mind. There could never be anything between them;
he knew that. Besides, what about Alicine? She was the one he
wanted—wasn’t she? But Alicine was gone now, returned to Kirador
and not likely to come back. It was true that Shell Seeker girls
had expressed an interest in him, but Reiv had remained faithful to
Alicine, just as he had been faithful to Cinnia before that. But
saving himself for true love did not seem to be paying off. How
long was he expected to wait?
    He suddenly became aggravated at the state of
his love life, or lack of it. Cinnia had abandoned him when his
hands were burned, Alicine did not think him worth staying for, and
Jensa