Aurus. Before she touched it, she noticed a third object in this matching set. A blade. The dagger had a curved bone handle and rested in a scabbard of the same hard material. She took it in hand. When she unsheathed it, it glinted at her. Raeche gasped in awe.
Then she jumped in her seat as the lights of her mother’s chamber were thrown on with a startling hum. She held up a hand to shield her eyes.
“Get away from there!” her mother snarled, her face all sharpness and dark beauty.
Raeche leaped to her feet and dropped the knife, nicking herself in the process. The first finger on her right hand wept blood onto the surface of the vanity. Raeche jerked the wound to her lips.
Her mother rushed to her side and her fingernails dug deep into Raeche’s shoulder. This first act of violence, the first act of true interest her mother had ever shown her, astonished her.
Instead of pulling her away, though, her mother surprised her by turning her back to the vanity, though she did not allow Raeche to touch it again. Raeche already missed it.
The little girl’s mouth dropped open as she watched her blood being absorbed by the desk until she could no longer be certain it had been there.
“Now it has you,” her mother whispered. “Now you are as Spirit-cursed as I. Your fate is sealed, Mother of the Empire’s Destruction.”
* * * *
“The following Light, Annikah had the vanity sent away. She said she had it destroyed but I knew the truth.”
“Then it would be my greatest honor to retrieve it for you, to give it to you as a wedding gift.”
“We have been long wed.”
“Yet I still war for your favor. You still demand a sacrifice.”
Raeche rewarded the sentiment by placing a gentle kiss on his lips.
Lanus squeezed her then let fingertips trail over her neck.
Then she told him, “My mother’s greatest use of Spirit as far as I can determine was to send the desk away. No one aided her in removing it. I have been unable to locate it since.”
“We have master Spirit Wielders at our beck and call.”
“Yes, and none of those I have consulted can reach these objects. Even when I provide the trace, they follow so far and then encounter Spirit Silence.”
“An obstacle?”
“Of some sort, else they would not be able to begin tracking it at all.”
Lanus frowned. “If you desire it, it will be yours. I will bestow this gift upon you on the day we say the vow.”
His certainty warmed her.
Chapter 14
“This is insanity, Lanus. Insanity . Your court will not tell you, but I, as your brother, not as your court, not as your right hand, not even as your Personal, will tell you. You cannot let her lead you into destruction.”
Lanus clenched his jaw as his brother spoke. “You blame Raeche?”
“Before you draw your blade, brother, or summon the Spirit of Lightning to incinerate me where I stand, breathe easy. I know this folly is surely your own.”
“Indeed.”
“You have long loved her,” Valor stated. “That is something you could never hide from me.”
“I would be a fool to try to hide anything from you.”
“Does she even know? Does she even know what you do for her, how you–”
“She knows.”
“What does she do for you?”
“That is none of your concern.”
“It is if you rush to your death for it.”
“I am not going to die.”
Valor changed his tactic. “Even for you this is a barbaric ceremony.”
“It is merely words.”
“And knives. But you and I both know the words cut deeper than the knives. They will either bind you to her blissfully for eternity or destroy both of you, Spirits as well as flesh. More than words, else it would not be so important.”
“Nothing you can say will change my mind about this.”
“What of the Empire? Lanus, you and–unfortunately–Raeche are the sum of the Empire. It is wrong to risk the land and the people for a foolish rite that means little.”
“Do not speak of her as if she were not
Then she jumped in her seat as the lights of her mother’s chamber were thrown on with a startling hum. She held up a hand to shield her eyes.
“Get away from there!” her mother snarled, her face all sharpness and dark beauty.
Raeche leaped to her feet and dropped the knife, nicking herself in the process. The first finger on her right hand wept blood onto the surface of the vanity. Raeche jerked the wound to her lips.
Her mother rushed to her side and her fingernails dug deep into Raeche’s shoulder. This first act of violence, the first act of true interest her mother had ever shown her, astonished her.
Instead of pulling her away, though, her mother surprised her by turning her back to the vanity, though she did not allow Raeche to touch it again. Raeche already missed it.
The little girl’s mouth dropped open as she watched her blood being absorbed by the desk until she could no longer be certain it had been there.
“Now it has you,” her mother whispered. “Now you are as Spirit-cursed as I. Your fate is sealed, Mother of the Empire’s Destruction.”
* * * *
“The following Light, Annikah had the vanity sent away. She said she had it destroyed but I knew the truth.”
“Then it would be my greatest honor to retrieve it for you, to give it to you as a wedding gift.”
“We have been long wed.”
“Yet I still war for your favor. You still demand a sacrifice.”
Raeche rewarded the sentiment by placing a gentle kiss on his lips.
Lanus squeezed her then let fingertips trail over her neck.
Then she told him, “My mother’s greatest use of Spirit as far as I can determine was to send the desk away. No one aided her in removing it. I have been unable to locate it since.”
“We have master Spirit Wielders at our beck and call.”
“Yes, and none of those I have consulted can reach these objects. Even when I provide the trace, they follow so far and then encounter Spirit Silence.”
“An obstacle?”
“Of some sort, else they would not be able to begin tracking it at all.”
Lanus frowned. “If you desire it, it will be yours. I will bestow this gift upon you on the day we say the vow.”
His certainty warmed her.
Chapter 14
“This is insanity, Lanus. Insanity . Your court will not tell you, but I, as your brother, not as your court, not as your right hand, not even as your Personal, will tell you. You cannot let her lead you into destruction.”
Lanus clenched his jaw as his brother spoke. “You blame Raeche?”
“Before you draw your blade, brother, or summon the Spirit of Lightning to incinerate me where I stand, breathe easy. I know this folly is surely your own.”
“Indeed.”
“You have long loved her,” Valor stated. “That is something you could never hide from me.”
“I would be a fool to try to hide anything from you.”
“Does she even know? Does she even know what you do for her, how you–”
“She knows.”
“What does she do for you?”
“That is none of your concern.”
“It is if you rush to your death for it.”
“I am not going to die.”
Valor changed his tactic. “Even for you this is a barbaric ceremony.”
“It is merely words.”
“And knives. But you and I both know the words cut deeper than the knives. They will either bind you to her blissfully for eternity or destroy both of you, Spirits as well as flesh. More than words, else it would not be so important.”
“Nothing you can say will change my mind about this.”
“What of the Empire? Lanus, you and–unfortunately–Raeche are the sum of the Empire. It is wrong to risk the land and the people for a foolish rite that means little.”
“Do not speak of her as if she were not
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