A Hint of Frost: Araneae Nation ( Book One) (3 page)

His failed attempt at sitting freed my arms, which I used to push up, beating him to an upright position. Twisting astride him, I crawled up his body until I straddled his chest and stared into his face. The view was unpleasant, and I swore I witnessed the second he decided to kill me barehanded. Tucking his sword at his side, he wrapped his hands around my throat and crushed.

But when he’d sat up to catch me, I’d snared him as well. My thread looped around his neck, and I crossed the strands in front, pulling as though my life depended on it, which it did. He had more strength and more experience, but I refused to die. When his eyes bulged in their sockets and his hands released my neck to claw at his, I kicked his sword from his reach. With the thread taut, I strained until crimson smeared us both as his blood and mine mingled thickly.

He would not die. I had no leverage. I had nothing. My gaze lit on his abandoned sword. One cut and this would end. I could do it. I’d never held a sword, but how hard could wielding one be? As my victim renewed his struggle, I knew I was about to find out.

The thread sliced grooves in my hands as I released it and lunged for the sword. Before he registered my absence, before he did more than turn, I had lifted his blade over my head and swung.
Thunk
. Contact made the wet sound of a butcher’s cleaver as it kissed his cutting board.

I had a sick feeling the cut hadn’t been clean. Noises gurgled from the male as he lay at my feet. I’d shut my eyes, half afraid to see what I’d done blindly. I had to kill him. I refused to let him suffer, though I doubted he would have extended the same courtesy to me.

Another
thunk
popped my eyes open in time to see the male’s head roll to one side, neatly severed by Rhys’s blade. I gulped air as I was jerked backwards, the stolen sword plucked from my hands.

Rhys was a wall of warm, furious muscle at my back. “I told you—”

“Not to move.” I panted. “I heard you, but as I have a fondness for the way my head rests upon my neck, I decided some movement might be warranted.” Pushing from his embrace, I stood and straightened my gown. “As to the rest, you’ve come for me, and I’m finished hiding.”

His dark eyebrows lifted at the sight of my bloody palms. His gaze drifted to the dead body cooling inches from the hem of my gown. “I saw a sample of your work earlier.”

So he’d found the guard’s body. I hadn’t given it another thought. “What of it?”

He gave me a disapproving look. “It was a cleaner kill than this.”

I lifted my gown’s train, easily half my weight, and threw it at him. He caught it on reflex. “Best a man twice your size while wearing that.” My chin notched up. “Then we’ll talk.”

He let the fabric slip from his grasp, pooling on the floor between us. “I see you inherited your father’s bloodthirstiness.”

Fresh pain lanced through my heart. “Don’t.” I lifted a hand as my voice broke. “Don’t speak of him.”

He gave a solemn nod. When he made no move to carry me away or further hide me, I forced my gaze beyond him. Bodies littered the sanctuary, and wounded Mimetidae looted the fallen. One warrior noticed my rapt attention and sliced a finger from the male at his feet. He popped the digit in his mouth and crunched, daring me to hold his gaze, which I did, or tried to.

My legs buckled and knees cracked on impact. Rhys trapped me against his hip to keep my face from kissing the stone floor. He snarled as his clansman mocked my weak constitution, and the male fell silent. Too late, my eyes rolled in my head. His warmth faded and darkness fell.

Chapter Two

Water crashed over me, shocking me from a dead sleep. I jerked upright and choked on the lump in my throat. Unable to catch my breath, I gasped as my wild eyes scanned the room.

“That’s it, child.” Isolde chortled as she slapped my back. “Cough it up.”

Gulping air, I did as she asked and hacked until my lungs ached. Chilled to the bone, I glanced down and found myself stripped to the waist and soaked by the water bucket at her feet.

“What,” I wheezed, “happened?”

“You fainted.” She laughed outright. “Guess you didn’t find Glyn’s joke amusing.”

“He cut that male’s finger off.” Mine curled into my hands. “Then
he ate it
.”

Isolde punched my shoulder with mirth. “I reckon he was hungry then.”

Blood leached from my face in a cold rush that chilled the heart of me. This was the maven whose good intentions my people depended on? This was the clan I’d bound myself to?

“Mother,” a deep voice came from over my shoulder, “let her be.”

My head whipped toward the sound as I snatched soaked covers to shield my nudity. Rhys’s eyes dipped to the level of my breasts, his focus so absolute my nipples hardened in response. Clutching my sheet, I willed my body under control. Or at least I made the attempt.

“There’s no use covering up now.” Isolde gave a playful tug on my hand. “Who do you think undressed you?” She cackled as my cheeks burned, then patted them. “Look at all that red.”

For the first time since we’d met, Rhys’s lips hinted at a smile. His gaze met mine, unapologetic for his starring role in my nudity. If anything, stripping me to my undergarments seemed to have lightened his mood. It figured. Scowling at him, I glared until he glanced away.

“He saved you from modern fashion,” Isolde chided. “Your corset cut off your air, but slicing through Araneidae silk is impossible.” She winked at her son. “So I had him strip you.”

I spluttered. “Yes, but he’s—”

“Your partisan?” she supplied. “That’s what I gathered from the ceremony earlier.”

“That doesn’t give him the right to—”

“He has all the rights to you.” Her tone stiffened. “Make no mistake, I understand our bargain, and I’m willing to abide by it, but until our terms are met, you’re his and he’s yours.”

Heat came rushing back into my face. I bit my cheek to keep a civil tongue.

Sensing his focus on me, I snapped at Rhys. “Must you gawk at my breasts?”

His gaze had drifted back to the soaked sheet crumpled in my fist. “I’m not gawking.”

“You’re staring at them as if you’ve never seen a naked female before, and I—” I broke off with a growl of frustration as my insecurities reared their ugly heads. Fury sparked my nerve endings alight. I shouldn’t care how my breasts or anything else measured up to others he’d seen.

“You what?” he asked, eyes gleaming with challenge.

I gritted my teeth. “I’d like you to leave, that’s what.”

“As you wish, Lourdes.” His voice transformed my name into carnal syllables I barely recognized. Glancing pointedly at my sheet, he executed a curt bow. “Mother, I’ll wait outside.”

He turned on his heel, all but snapping them together.

“Huh.” Isolde turned an assessing look on me. “I guess he likes you. I didn’t expect that.” She shrugged as though his preference didn’t matter. “That will make things easier on you both.”

Ignoring the parts of me tingling at the thought of such an uncouth male
liking
me, I scanned the room to make sure we were alone. Assured of our solitude, I changed into dry clothes and claimed the seat still warm from Rhys’s heat. Even his scent lingered here.

Not that I enjoyed either.

As I began the arduous task of brushing the tangles from my hair while ignoring my absent partisan, I asked the questions I’d been reluctant to pose to Rhys. “How fares the city?”

Her expression smoothed as she leaned back and crossed her legs. “It’s holding.”

I nodded. “My people?”

“There were casualties.” She didn’t elaborate, but then she didn’t need to. I’d seen the carnage firsthand. Our gates hadn’t fallen. They had been opened from the inside.

Funeral pyres would light up the night sky as soon as mourning topside was deemed safe.

“What happens next?” I hated the quaver in my voice.

She pinched my chin between her thumb and finger, turning my face toward her.

“Reine chose her partisan, as you would have had things turned out differently.” She chuckled. “Me, though? My birth clan was dirt poor. They made the Mimetidae holdings seem lavish by comparison.” Another laugh came, a sadder one. “I feared what they were, child, sure as you fear what Rhys is. Remember…he’s everything you’ve heard, but he’s much more you haven’t.”

I searched her face. “Why tell me this?”

“I’m telling you so you’ll give Rhys a chance he’s never gotten at home. His life has not been the one he deserves.” She raised her hand when my lips parted. “Don’t ask. His secrets are his to tell or not as he sees fit. I spill only mine. You asked what comes next, and he’s it.”

While I absorbed her untoward confidence, I asked, “If you were such good friends with my mother, why didn’t you protect us out of that friendship?” My gaze slid toward the door and the male I knew stood beyond it. “Why refuse to lift a hand until I’d bound myself to your son?”

“Now I begin to see what attracts Rhys.” She shook her head. “Such an innocent for a female of your age. Only riches can buy such oblivion.” She spoke slowly. “My clan is
poor
. We’re better swordsmen, more mercenary than any other Araneae clan, and that I promise you. We’re also at a distinct disadvantage. The Theridiidae reaped the benefits of Ennis’s union with Reine. They have full Araneidae armor, making them nigh impossible to kill. I want the same.

“I loved your mother. Believe what you will, but I love you as well.” Her hand and voice dropped. “I think we both know under better circumstances, Reine would have never let you wed a son of mine. She set her heart aside for her duty.” When our eyes met, her expression was determined. “I did the same, what any maven worthy of her title would do, and I put my clan first.”

My fingernails bit into my palms. “My people were dying.”

“Mine are starving.” She made no excuses. “You can’t weigh my woes against yours.”

I glared at her. “If you think this grants you access to our coffers, you are mistaken.”

Now she brayed, a deep belly laugh. “If you think you can stop me,
you
are sadly mistaken. Rhys is loyal. He will provide a fresh start for our clan. One I will gladly accept.”

“You make it sound as though he serves you and not me.” I ignored the odd jealousy sharpening my tone. “Or was your plan to make me a puppet to your son and your whims?”

Her laughter died. “I’ll forgive you that, because I know you’re hurting.” She pointed at me. “I won’t let another potshot pass me by without taking one of my own. Now, does our agreement stand? Will you honor your end of the bargain? Whether I battle is your call to make.”

“I will stand by our agreement.” What choice did I have now that Rhys and I were bound? None until the new moon rose. That gave me four weeks to deal with my partisan, until such time he either found the culprit responsible for my parents’ death, in which case I would wed him properly, tie my life threads to his and name him the Araneidae paladin. Or he’d fail, and the Mimetidae would guard my people until I chose another male, one I could love. I hoped.

“All right, then.” She reached for the door. “I’m off.”

“You’re not staying?” I pushed from my seat, suddenly desperate to detain her.

“Ah, I’m on to you.” She turned the knob. “You were about to tell me not to let the door hit me in the arse on my way out.” When she pulled it open, she revealed Rhys standing stoic in the hallway, guarding my room. “Then you remembered it’s not me you’ll be bedding down with tonight.” She gestured him into the room and crooked her finger so he bent low enough she could reach his cheek to kiss it. “He’s a good male. He’ll take care of you. Have no fear of that.”

Rhys straightened and bared more teeth than made me comfortable. “You have nothing to fear from me.”

Oh, but I did. No good would come of that twinkle in his eyes. I was sure of it.

After Isolde departed, I was left alone with Rhys. When his gaze touched on the bed where he’d stripped me earlier, I said a silent thanks to the two gods that I’d been unconscious for it. Though the way his eyes crinkled at the corners let me know he found my plight amusing. When his head swung toward me, assessing in his quiet way, I fidgeted as my raw nerves frayed.

“What are you looking at?” I frowned down my front. “Am I indecent?”

His dark chuckle disarmed me, but I’d been serious. What else could cause his interest? Patting my chest, I checked for missed buttons. No, they were all fastened. Yet when I tugged my shirttails, they mismatched. Rhys pushed aside my hands and undid the bottom three buttons, taking care so his fingers brushed a hot trail across my abdomen as he set my clothing to rights.

“I won’t apologize for removing your clothes earlier.” He stepped back to admire his handiwork. “Nor will I ask forgiveness for admiring your beauty or your breasts.”

Tingles rushed to pucker the very area he’d complimented. “You’re a brute.”

He shrugged. “I’ve been called worse.” He touched my hip. “You’re wearing pants.”

For once, I was the one who laughed. “Did you expect me to work in that gown?”

“Well,” he said, sounding thoughtful, “no. That’s not it.”

“It’s not like you’ve never seen a female in pants,” I carried on. “Look at your mother.”

“That’s not it, either.”

“Then what is it?”

He twirled his finger. “Turn around.”

I did as he asked, then choked on my tongue. “What are you doing?”

His hands molded to my hips, tracing curves no male had ever dared touch. “This will make things easier.” He toyed with my pants buttons. “Your gown was a nightmare to remove.”

My mouth ran dry. “You say that as though the ease of their removal concerns you.”

“Oh, but it does.” His chin rested on my shoulder, lips brushing my ear. “Or will, tonight.”

“You’re serious?” I stiffened. “Shouldn’t we save that for our thread-binding night?”

“I’m warrior born, Lourdes.” Again, his voice saying my name made my stomach clench. “From birth, I’ve known each day could be my last. I’ve learned to take any pleasure I can where I find it.” He kneaded curves softer than modern fashion dictated they should be, which was no doubt why my corset resisted his attempt at its removal, and my skin flushed. “What the two gods gifted me in you, no matter how short a time, is beyond me to resist.”