A Time of Dying (Araneae Nation) (29 page)

“Suitors?” The word soured my stomach. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am very serious,” she said. “You’re young, beautiful, wealthy, a new maven and unwed.”

Dread burrowed beneath my skin. “You list more virtues than I possess.”

Sensing my melancholy, she tried to hearten me. “There will be a mourning period.”

“There is that.” After today’s festivities, it might grant me a temporary reprieve.

“I don’t mean to burden you, only to make you aware of what expectations will be.”

“I appreciate the reminder.” Wearying though it was. “Suitors were never a concern for me. I had Hishima. I suppose I chose to ignore the part where one male left so another must arrive.”

“It’s the nature of people to want their rulers wed. It shows stability. Just as birthing children shows faith in the promise of tomorrow.” Mana glanced aside. “The politics can be exhausting.”

The strain of rising to power during a crisis showed on her. “Do you regret being maven?”

“How can I? The two gods set my feet upon this path when they tied my soul to Vaughn’s. It was always meant to be.” There she smiled at me. “I just didn’t see it until Vaughn showed me.”

“Do you love him very much?” I asked with a new appreciation for their relationship.

She worried a hefty signet bearing a canis head symbol. “More than I can say.”

I touched my own ring. No comfort came to me. There was no well of love or kinship found in cold metal. “How can I pretend interest in these suitors when my heart is otherwise engaged?”

She didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “Murdoch.”

A small part of me thrilled to say aloud, “Yes.”

“He is a good male.” She grew quiet. “He has nothing to offer your clan.”

“He has a strong back, a warrior’s skill and a good heart. Those attributes are not nothing.”

“Forgive me.” Amusement threaded her voice. “I should have been clearer when saying that his contributions would be limited to what he himself can provide. He has no personal wealth.”

“I have coin enough,” I said stubbornly. “What he offers me can’t be purchased.”

“Peace, friend, I only want you aware of what others will say with less kindness than I have. Trust me when I say the wagging tongues of the gossips will salivate. You know my people. You know we believe in soul mates. I found mine. He and I have both sacrificed much to be together. I would never tell one person who they should or should not love—or marry—it is not my place. I have seen Murdoch with you. Though a male of few words, his aura conveys his feelings well.”

Curiosity burned me up from the inside, but I resisted asking what she saw. Part of Mana’s gift was the ability to see auras, and by seeing them, she could match her clansmen to their mates.

I could ask her plainly if Murdoch was my match, but it would have lessened the revelation I prayed he too had experienced, that he and I were stronger, better people when we were together.

“I haven’t asked his feelings on the matter.” I ventured as far as to say, “I may waste worry.”

“Hmm.” That was the sum of her response.

“Do you know what will be done to him?” I dreaded asking, “How will he be punished?”

“I don’t know for certain.” Her voice lowered. “Though I’m sure we can both guess.”

Whips. Public humiliation. Pride beaten out of him one lash at a time. That was my guess.

“Can I prevent it?” I made her hold my gaze. “Is there anything I can do to spare him?”

“Not if you want his good name preserved.” Her hand clenched in a fist. “Violence is what a Mimetidae knows from birth. It is his friend, his enemy. It is both companion and his nemesis. If you convinced Vaughn to spare him, whatever the punishment, Murdoch would still seek it out.”

“I don’t understand.” Males were so peculiar.

“It’s very simple,” she said. “At heart, Murdoch is a guardsman. He knew disobeying Vaughn was a crime when he chose to commit it. We can all see value in what he accomplished. That is not in question. It’s the manner in which he accomplished his task that earned him a cell.”

“Vaughn refused to see reason.” Why could she not see that? “There was no other way.”

“Oh, there were ways.” Her secret smile returned. “For example, Vaughn never forbade him to go in search of proof. In fact, discovering evidence was a task we had already set him to. What Vaughn could not approve was Murdoch’s request that he take you along with him on his quest.”

“Oh.” Desperate to escape Hishima as I had been, I never thought to question Murdoch. His reasons for asking me to accompany him had been sound, made sounder by my eagerness to flee.

She pulled me up short. “He’s lucky to have caught your eye.”

Seeing as how I was the source of his current predicament, I doubted that.

Spit dried in my mouth when I noticed where our walk had ended: the council chamber.

“Remember to smile.” Mana straightened her shoulders and donned a bright one of her own. “It’s time we make your title official.” She checked me over, seeming satisfied I would do. “We will finish this conversation later. For now, we must both appear sure and strong for our people.”

I followed her example. Chin up and shoulders back, we swept into the room with sparkling confidence I was certain neither of us felt. All eyes turned to us as we took our positions before a gathering of allies and friends, family and elders. The person I longed to see most was, of course, locked in a cage far beneath our feet. His absence lent me a somber mood during the ceremony.

“Step forward, so that you might be recognized,” Vaughn called over the jovial crowd.

With a final squeeze of my hand, Mana left my side to join her husband. He reached for her in that instant. His hand was steady, his lips curved as if anticipation of her touch consumed him.

His love for her was no secret to be hidden. With a look, a touch, she bared his soul.

Envy made my gaze linger long past the point of rudeness. I wanted what they had, a chance for it, at least. I wanted the surety they shared, that no matter how divided their beliefs, there was one absolute, their affection for each other. I wanted that same unshakable foundation, that love.

“Kaidi of the Segestriidae.” Mana’s voice startled me to attention. “You are the rightful ruler of the Segestriidae people in accordance with those terms your forefathers and foremothers wrote into law after declaring their status as an independent clan within the Araneae Nation. I, Maven Kokyangwmana of the Mimetidae, acknowledge your claim to the title of maven. I welcome you into my home and heart. I accept you as my trusted ally, as does my husband, as do our people.”

One deep breath and my part of the script tumbled from my lips.

“Maven Kokyangwmana, I am humbled by your generosity of spirit and by the kindness you and your clan have shown my people. We are honored to be welcomed as your allies.” Her arms opened, and I stepped into them. “Blessings to you and your family, to your clan and your kin.”

“Blessings,” she repeated against my hair. We drew apart, and she addressed the room. “Let us cherish this pleasant time with old friends and new ones. Please, do join us in the dining hall.”

As the merrymakers brushed past, some kissing my hand, others my cheek, their faces were a blur of congratulations I had not earned and best wishes for an enduring reign, which carried an unspoken whisper of
May you live to serve your people longer than your poor betrothed did…

Open as I had been with my dislike of Hishima to Mana and her clan, it became obvious as I was hugged and patted that my own saw me as this tragic heartbroken figure, deep in mourning. It was yet another obstacle between me and Murdoch that I despaired of having to overcome.

“Will you be joining us?” Mana leaned closer. “It’s not strictly required if you’d rather…”

“I think I’ll plead a headache.” Enough worried glances had been cast my way to satisfy the curiosity of anyone who asked. “Am I allowed to venture into the, ah, more restricted areas?”

“My home is your home.” Her nod reassured me. “You may come and go as you like.”

“Thank you.” I made immediate use of her hospitality. “In that case, do you think I might borrow a certain key?”

“I don’t mind.” She discreetly indicated Isolde. “But it’s not my hand you must pry it from.”

“Oh gods.” I cursed my luck she wore a ring of keys at her hip. “Why does she have them?”

“She asked Lleu for them earlier.” One eyebrow lifted. “When I asked why she wanted them, he said only she threatened any future children he might have planned if she wasn’t given them.”

“No one found her request peculiar?”

“You would have to know her better to understand how mundane the request was, for her.”

Oh, I believed her. “Bring her on, then. Let’s get this done with.”

Mana summoned her mother-in-law. I summoned my courage. Neither was quick to rally.

Chapter Fifteen

Isolde patted her hip in time with her steps as if she wanted to keep my attention on her ring of keys. “Hishima would have done you a good turn if he’d bothered dying after you were wed.”

A glance around proved we were alone. “I think it’s best things progressed as they did.”

“A proper year of mourning isn’t progress,” she scoffed. “It’s a bloody waste of time.”

“A year?” My voice cracked. “I was thinking more along the lines of six months.”

“Had you not become maven at the expense of your betrothed, you could marry tomorrow.”

She made her point. “You’re saying I can’t afford to appear insensitive.”

“No, you can’t.” She jingled her keys pointedly. “Your clan is mourning. So should you be.”

Leave it to Isolde to begin making sense when I least wanted her advice. “You are right.”

“Don’t sound so shocked.” She chortled. “I was maven before you could crawl.”

“I do appreciate your council.”

“That’s a nice way of saying you wish I hadn’t opened my mouth. That’s all right. There are ways around every problem if you only know where to look.” Her wink was not reassuring at all.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh, I think you have an idea. You’re risking your reputation by visiting a suitor, especially one who’s imprisoned, while you’re in such a delicate condition. Right now, you’re a savior, a bit of a martyr most likely. If you tip from your pedestal, you’ve got a long, hard fall ahead of you.”

“You’re saying you know of a way for me to keep Murdoch’s company…discreetly.”

“I am the soul of discretion.” She laid a finger aside her nose. “But there are conditions.”

“Of course there are.” Stifling my groan, I asked, “Such as?”

“Let’s start with what you want. You want Murdoch, yeah? You want to take our captain of the guards away from Cathis in a time when war is possible, when every trained warrior we have is needed. That’s a hard sell. Even furious as Vaughn is with Murdoch, my son is no fool. What I need from you, then, is a reason we should let him leave. Can you offer us something of value?”

“Gold?” Thinking back on how Brynmor had purchased Murdoch’s loyalty long years ago, I wished I could recall my hasty offer. I did not want him feeling indebted to me, not in that way.

“Gold I have.” She waved her hand. “No. I thought perhaps you might renew an old offer.”

“An old offer.” I thought back on the flurry I had made in the hopes of buying an alliance.

Isolde tapped her earlobe.

My jaw set. “I thought my earrings were baubles of value less than that of a life.”

“That’s not what I said.” We reached the door leading down into the grotto, and she leaned a hand against it, holding it shut. “A handful of crystals, no matter how clever the trick, isn’t worth a score of armed warriors.” Her nails drummed the wood. “Now a handful of crystals for one…”

I rubbed a finger between my eyes. “Two earrings.”

“Ten.” She grinned.

“That’s robbery.” I gritted my teeth. “Five.”

“Eight.” Her tapping increased in volume.

“Six,” I said firmly.

“Seven.”

“Six.”

She cocked her head. “Is there an echo in here?”

“Let us be plain. If I give you what you want, you will see that Murdoch is placed as head of the guards sent to Titania. What then? Is there a time limit? How do I know he won’t arrive, stay a week, then be recalled. As we said, his position is such that he would be in high demand here.”

“I am old, but not so old and coldhearted not to know what you’re implying. Let us do this. I will see to Murdoch’s position as your head of the guards. As he is sworn to me as much as he is my son, I can guarantee you that. For the price, I set seven earrings for a year of his time. At the end of that period, he can choose to remain in Titania or return to Cathis. By then, your period of mourning will have ended. If you see fit to elevate him in rank from guard to paladin, well, that’s your business and I won’t interfere.” Her expression shifted. “Brynmor did right by the boy, but I know the man chafes. I’d have to be blind not to see it, and both eyes work fine, thank you much. I know there comes a time when the past weighs so heavily on the present, the future is crushed.”