By Vengeance Guided (The Lost Shrines Book 1) (10 page)

The estate manager stopped inside the boundary and it took a minute before the crowd parted enough to make out who he'd stopped for.

When she finally caught sight of the dark hair and broad shoulders, Lia realized she should have known all along.

Wyn. Of course.

Wyn, who stood tall and proud with one of her family's oldest heirlooms draped over his arm. Wyn, who should never have been able to cross a Circle boundary. But had. Twice. Wyn, who she'd been trying not to think about.

She squeezed her eyes tight. Maybe she was dreaming. Maybe she'd fallen asleep in the grove and the last few hours had been a dream.

Maybe the whole, humiliating scenario was the Lady's warning of what could happen if she didn't rein in her impulsiveness. Not to mention the inappropriate attachment she had to a man who was little more than a stranger.

The entire congregation quieted to absolute silence while Keneally faced down Wyn with the intense glare everyone in the valley knew to fear and respect.

Into the unnatural silence, a small piping voice echoed through the crowd from Lia's side.

"Li', Wyn glow too."

Lia gasped when she realized Tanis was right. What she'd taken as residual shimmer from the ritual clinging to Wyn's skin was a pale but very real reflection of the blessing she'd carried from the grove to share in the Circle with her people.

As she grasped exactly what she was seeing, whispers and murmurs swelled through the crowd. The valley residents understood there was only one reason Wyn would share her glow.

Next to her, Nel stared at her with shock.

"Lia? You didn't? You couldn't?" She whispered it but the sound carried and she saw Wyn turn his eyes away from Keneally to watch them.

"Nel. Not now."

"Oh, I think we'd all like to hear this, Liadan." Gui stepped in front of her, a scowl shadowed his face and he glared down at her. "How could you do this? How could you let this happen with an outsider?"

A few of Gui's lackeys, as usual sticking close to his side, gathered around muttering words of immaturity and carelessness.

This snapped Nel out of her shock. "Oh, be quiet, Gui," she said impatiently. "You're just jealous the grove never allowed you within its boundaries."

Lia had to swallow hard against the giggle threatening to erupt at the shocked affront on Gui's face. More because she feared it would turn into a hysterical meltdown rather than because she was afraid of laughing in his face.

Now more than ever, she needed to keep her calm façade and remember her place.

No matter how stupid, foolish or uncertain she felt, Lia couldn't show it. Her people deserved to feel confident and safe with their leader.

Even if it was a lie.

Gui's mouth shut with a snap. Anger simmered in his eyes when he glared down at her.

"The grove hasn't let a consort in for two generations." Gui snarled and wrapped his fingers around her arm. "So, why is it that a stranger you know nothing about was obviously allowed into the Lady's Circle with you?"

The hand on her arm tightened so hard and fast, Lia felt the pinch of bruises forming.

"Gui—"

She tried to interrupt, but he was on a roll now. His voice rose, carrying beyond the immediate group, taking on a sly, outraged lilt to play the crowd.

"What exactly happened that he is still sharing the Lady's blessing, hours after the moon has set?"

"I'm pretty sure I've already warned you to keep your hands off of her."

The deep rumble of Wyn's voice surprised both of them, coming from just behind Gui.

Gui turned, grip loosening, but his hand remained clamped around her arm.

"This is none of your business, outsider. This is family business."

"Oh, considering what you're implying at the top of your lungs, I think maybe it is my business."

Wyn's hand shot out, gripping Gui's wrist and digging a thumb deep into a delicate tendon.

Gui squealed and his hand dropped away from Lia. His face paled, and he took several steps back, eyes tracking Wyn like he was a wild animal ready to strike again.

Wyn bared his teeth in a feral smile.

"If you don't keep your hands off her, next time you may lose the hand. Now, if you'll excuse us, I believe the Lady and I have some things to talk about."

*****

Caerwyn glared at Gui, but his body thrummed with energy and his awareness centered wholly on Liadan.

Anger threatened to boil up, to boil over. Part of him hoped Gui did something, said something, to give him a chance to unleash it.

Anger at Liadan for making him wake up alone. Anger at being talked about like he wasn't even there. Anger that anyone would dare touch his Liadan.

But the coward didn't give him that satisfaction. Instead, Gui straightened his clothes and glared down his nose. Then he sneered and step back to gather his cronies around.

"You're right. You do have a lot to talk about. The first thing you may want to go over is how your fiancée is going to feel when he hears you spent the night in the forest with a strange man."

With a dramatic swirl, he turned and strode away. Nel murmured a few unfamiliar words and sketched a symbol in the air. Caer was surprised when he
felt
the Circle boundary dissipate. What the hell was going on around here? Why was he suddenly so connected to things that shouldn't even be possible?

Delicate fingers curled around his wrist and he looked down to see Lia, an uncertain smile gracing her mouth when she tilted her head and tugged a little.

Just like that, his anger abated. Not gone. But more patient now, when he followed her away from the Circle. Behind them, the valley dwellers erupted again in shouted questions and demands and surprise but she ignored them and left them to her keepers.

Somehow, they made it to the manor house without anyone following. He wondered if that was because of, or in spite of, Nel and Keneally.

It was the first time he'd ever been in the house itself, but he didn't get much chance to absorb more than a sense of warmth, ancient and welcoming before she pulled him to the sitting room off the wide hallway.

Caer settled himself on a delicate looking settee. Lia stayed on her feet and worried at her lip with her teeth. Silence stretched awkwardly for several minutes.

"I don't know where to start," she finally said, with a huff.

"How about you explain what happened last night?"

Lia's lips quirked. "Well, you see, when a man and a woman like each other very much…"

Caer couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out, and she joined in with giggles. The shared moment of levity burned away most of the anger left in him. Now, only the thirst to understand remained.

When the relieving laughter faded away, Lia wiped her eyes and flopped down on the couch next to him.

"How did you get into the grove last night?"

He blinked. He hadn't known where this was going to go, but he hadn't expected that question. "I just followed you in. Was there supposed to be a barrier?"

"You could say that. So, no magic, then?"

His eyes narrowed and his body tensed. He hadn't used any magic. By his very nature, though, he always carried magic with him. Still, he doubted his Attribute had anything to do with being allowed within the electric borders.

"I abhor sorcery," he growled. "And witchery is too close for my comfort."

He watched her closely when he spoke, but he saw no wincing, no evidence of guilt or ire. Instead, she nodded and continued to look thoughtful.

"What did you see, in the Circle?" He arched an eyebrow and allowed his eyes to roam over her. She flushed a little and added, "Before, I mean."

He closed his eyes and remembered the scene. "You, chanting something. A glow, brighter than the shimmer around the group this morning. It felt…" He paused, catching himself before admitting it felt like the celebrations on the Goddess Isle. "It was like…warmth. Affection. Hope and joy."

His attempt to describe the experience fell pathetically short. It was all of those things, but the words were pale and bland descriptors for the reality.

"Yeah." She smiled, eyes a little distant, as if reliving it, too.

Unable to help himself, he reached over and cradled her hand in his.

"Yeah," she repeated, coming back to herself. Her eyes focused on him, considering. "What you saw was a blessing ritual. It's been passed down through my family for generations. No sorcery. Maybe a little witchery."

He decided to leave the lie for now. Admitting he knew she lied would reveal how much knowledge he had about human magic. Or Milesan. And the fact that what he'd experienced had been unlike either.

"So what does that have to do with us? Why did everyone jump to the right conclusion?"

Lia twisted a loose strand of hair around one finger and shifted her gaze to a spot on the wall straight in front of her.

"We shared the blessing. By having sex. In the grove. During that ritual. Under a full moon. It kind of created a bond. Between us, I mean."

He watched her get more and more withdrawn while she stuttered out an explanation that still didn't make sense to him.

"A bond?"

She sighed and looked at him. "A moon-bond."

"A moon-bond?"

"Yes."

He didn't know whether to laugh or spit. Moon-bonds were myths. Stories that romantic young women shared with each other, along with tales of soulmates and fable princes.

"You've heard of them, I see."

Apparently his disbelief showed.

"Sure. My cousin's favorite book was
The Moon Princess and the Dragon
."

Lia winced at the title. The story was regarded as the worst type of self-indulgent, adolescent literature. Every romantic cliché in history was woven into the melodramatic tripe.

"She could recite whole passages from memory," Caer remembered.

And she often had. Often enough that Caer still remembered all three elements the Princess and the Dragon had needed to forge the first moon-bond. They’d met in a place blessed by the Goddess. Under the light of a full moon. And shared a soul-deep moment of pure emotion. That certainly described their night in the Circle.

Still, those were stories for children and lovesick adolescents.

"Look, I know how it sounds. But, until the next full moon, we're going to need to be near each other on a regular basis. Especially for the first few days." She pushed herself up off the couch and began to pace. "We also might start to be able to feel what the other is feeling. Know when the other is hurt or in danger."

"Is that it?" He let the sarcasm drip a little and sprawled out into the space she left behind.

"For now, yes."

There she went, avoiding his eyes again. He ran what she'd said back through his mind. "So, what happens after the next full moon?"

"Nothing. Well, that is, if we don't have sex in the grove again, all the symptoms will fade and we go back to normal. You go your way, and I…"

"You marry the man you're betrothed to."

She rolled her eyes. "Daen doesn't really want to marry me. He will change his mind, eventually."

Caer sat forward, ears alert for every nuance of tone. "You sound very sure of that."

"Of course I am. He doesn't even know me. We spent maybe a half hour together at his cousin's christening. Marrying me will be a political nightmare for both of us and he doesn't get much financial compensation. Our valley supports itself, but there's not much profit."

Her face was guileless and Caer found himself wanting to believe her. Of course, the mention of making love brought all kinds of visceral memories to the fore. The silk of her skin gliding over his. The soft huff of her breath against his lips. The pleasure-pain of her fingers tangling in his hair when she arched underneath him.

"What happens if we do make love again? On the next full moon?"

Caer's breath hitched at the thought. Next to him, Lia froze, eyes wide and unblinking.

He wasn't sure which of them was more surprised by his question. Lia's mouth opened and closed a couple of times, as if trying to choose words carefully.

After a silent moment, she leaned back and put some more distance between them.

"We'd be bound for life. That connection would grow stronger. According to family lore, after a while we'd be able to talk to each other mind to mind. We wouldn't be able to be separated for more than a few weeks."

"We'd be married?"

"In a kind of ultimate sense of the word, yes."

Caer knew he had to be careful here. He wanted more information from her but one misstep on his part could end up with him revealing more than he learned. He had to know what had happened though. How she had managed magic that was little more than myths as far as his people, and most humans, were concerned.

"How is that possible? How can we have a bond that is the stuff of fables?"