Cornerstone (18 page)

She'd been enjoying the company and was sad when she realized they should be on their way. She was fairly sure if they lingered much longer, Addie and her husband would feel obliged to offer them hospitality for the night, and there really wasn't room for all of them. She genuinely liked the first people she had met in Thalmas, and she could only hope that the rest she met were as pleasant. She could tell that they were a proud, but honest people.
They really aren't so different than the people at home, after all,
she thought to herself.

Before they left, Addie clasped her in a tight hug. “I'd wish you luck, but I don't think you need it.”

Finn waved. “Farewell, Acimastrea.”

Khane chuckled. Emariya looked at him, curious. When they were out of earshot, she asked, “What does that word mean?”

“
Ask your Caviasendor.”

“
Who?” Emariya asked.

Khane pressed his lips together and would say no more, but the smirk lingered in his eyes.

“
It’s strange, those people made me feel more welcome than every single person we passed during the last half of the journey, through Eltar, our own land,” Emariya remarked to Jessa later as they walked.

“
Soon they will be your people, too, Milady. We can only hope they all accept you as easily as those two did.”

“
The people of Thalmas are proud, but they don't have the mistrust of strangers you often see in Eltar. They live so spread out that most people they see are strangers. They don't live in groups near estates, like you do. Though, there is a cluster of homes near Castle Ahlen,” Khane told them. “That doesn't mean they will let just anyone lead them. They are fiercely loyal, and protective of their royal family. They can be independent, as well. They have to be, living mostly on their own. Most of them would never follow the lead of anyone who was not an Ahlen.”

***

Garith lay inside his tent, thinking. He'd been with the men for several days now, and he'd learned that they referred to themselves as Separatists. They dedicated themselves to one purpose only: keeping the bloodlines separate. After all they had told him about what could happen if the three were bound, he couldn't say he blamed them.

It was nagging at him. It almost seemed like they hadn't known Emariya existed. How was it possible that anyone who traveled the roads between The Three Corners so frequently could not know of her? For crying out loud, her family led the Council of Eltar. Realization dawned suddenly—that was why the trade routes had been dismantled after Lady Valencia's death. They were controlling the flow of information as much as they were controlling the flow of goods. Only the Council-born families kept pigeons in Eltar. As far as he knew, it was the same in Sheas and Thalmas: only the nobles had them for sending letters between themselves. If the word of mouth was crippled, the information stayed contained.

But the crippling of the trade routes had been selfish. It had brought hardship to all three of the lands. And it was all to keep secret the existence of a Second Stone. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure Emariya must have known. Oren surely knew exactly what his daughter was. And he'd kept her all to himself, except...Torian had requested Emariya's hand. He had known of her existence. So apparently it wasn't a total secret. By The Three, they had been plotting this all along!

The betrayal rose in his chest, strangling him like a cough that wouldn't go away. He'd never felt so alone. The people he had known all his life had not trusted him enough to tell him the truth. Had he not met the band of Separatists, he might have never known. How many other people had been kept in the dark? Did Jessa know?

He never even considered that Russell might be not telling him the truth. Remembering Emariya commanding Eshan awake back at Neela's made it blindingly clear. The only thing he wasn't sure of was how much she knew. He couldn't reconcile himself to a single path of thought. One moment, he was mentally defending her. Telling himself that this was Emariya they were talking about, not some crazed Second Stone bent on conquering The Three Corners. At the worst, she was being played like a pawn in a grown up game. At best, she knew nothing of the prophecy, and was innocent in it all. Then his mood turned and he again grew furious with her for holding this back from him when he'd given her everything of himself. A little voice inside nagged that she wouldn't have kept something like this from him. He held on to that thought, clinging to it like a safety net as he drifted into a tormented sleep.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Intuition Interrupted

The snow had not ceased for days. Emariya wearily brushed a damp strand of hair back from her face, squinting to see ahead. She thought she spotted smoke up ahead, but with the ever-falling flakes clouding thick around her, she couldn’t be sure. The snow made everything damp, not to mention cold. They hadn't been able to start a fire last night because they'd been unable to find any dry wood or kindling. What little hay they had left was reserved for their horses.

“
I smell smoke, Milady! Do you think it’s another hovel?” Rink’s hopeful tone carried through the miserable night. Wet and weary like the rest of them, the boy never complained. He'd acquired a rasping wet cough that had Emariya concerned.

“
It would be awfully nice to be able to dry out a bit,” Jessa said wistfully.

“
Ain't no hovels in this area that I can recall,” Khane said, dashing all their hopes. “But I can't figure why anyone else would be traveling up this way this late in the year. Like Addie told ya, they wouldn't be expecting to see anyone round these parts till spring.”

They all looked at each other, the unspoken question hanging in the air. Would whoever was waiting be friendly? Without knowing who had shot at them or why, they had been wary of anyone they had met. There was truth to what Khane had said. Throughout their entire journey thus far, they hadn't come across anyone else traveling. As they were quickly finding, the winter snows made passage in Thalmas more treacherous than it would be when the weather warmed, not that travel in the mountains was ever easy.

“
They might share their fire. We could sit and warm a bit,” Rink said. The longing in his voice begged Emariya to consider it, even as her intuition warned her to be cautious.

“
Or they might just as soon take our packs and leave us to freeze,” Jessa said, voicing Emariya’s unspoken concerns. “Perhaps we should try and go around unnoticed.”

“
The way to the south a bit is passable. We could prolly slip around,” Khane offered.

If not for the thick snow, it would be nearly impossible to conceal their movements. The thin trunks of the few trees present reached high, begging for sun and rain, leaving no leafy brush low enough to hide them. By moving south, they could get downslope of the smoke wafting through the snow ahead. Khane was right: they could avoid the other party if they chose.

Emariya thought on it. She was worried about the chance of them being taken ill, Rink especially, if they didn't dry out soon. But she wasn't oblivious to the fact that those that would brave the winter’s wrath might not have the most upstanding of intentions.

“
Well, they do have a fire…so they aren't trying to hide,” Emariya wavered.

“
They prolly weren't expecting anyone else to be out here to hide from,” Khane countered her logic.

“
Well if they weren't expecting us, they ain't planning to ambush us, either,” Rink said, followed by a hacking cough.

That settled it. “Let's see if they might be willing to share their fire. But don't unsaddle the horses right away. Stay alert, and if need be, we’ll make haste to put some distance between them and us. Keep your eyes open.”

“
As you wish, Milady.” Khane led them toward the smoke in the distance.

The weary party headed toward the fire with renewed energy. Guided and encouraged by the smoke, it took them just under an hour to find the source. They found that it was not just a small traveling group like theirs. Instead, the smoke was drifting from a sprawling camp filled with a dozen canvas tents around a fire crackling with a warm welcome for the weary travelers.

As they walked toward the largest of the tents, its flap opened, revealing the aging man inside. His cloak was a rich, deep brown, and Emariya could see a thick fur peeking from underneath. She admired the gold pin holding it in place; she'd never seen anything quite like it. The pin was the only thing polished about him. His scraggly beard was only tidy compared to his unkempt hair, his pants might as well have had the dirt sewn in, it was so embedded, and his shoes had seen many miles. He extended a pigskin-covered hand forward to clasp Emariya's. Bringing her hand to his lips, he smiled. “Well met, My Lady,” he said, in the way of the educated and the nobles.

“
Well met, My Lord.” The greeting was as much of a question as it was a statement.

“
I'm no Lord, My Lady; name’s Russell. We've plenty of room by the fire, if it pleases you.”

“
That is most generous of you, Russell. My companions and I would be most grateful for the chance to dry ourselves. And we've plenty of dried meat to share.” She smiled. Behind Russell, several men had come out of tents and were staring at her openly. They must not have seen women in quite a while. She knew that while it was strange for people to be traveling in Thalmas in winter, it was almost unheard of for a woman to not only be traveling, but to be in charge, as well.

Don't announce yourself
. The thought popped suddenly into her head, as if someone had been standing beside her, speaking quietly into her ear.

“
Please let me introduce my companions: Khane is the tall blond one, Rink the other man. She's Jessa, and I'm Riya.” She gestured to each of her companions in turn as she introduced them, and hoped they would follow her lead. It might not be wise to say more than necessary. But what would she say if they asked her where she was headed?
I'll be honest,
she decided.
At least partially, anyway. I can say I'm widowed, but the prince has agreed to take me, as well as the members of my household who served my husband and I, into his service. We are headed to the castle, and Torian is expecting us. It's at least partially true.
She tried to quell her unease at the thought of lying. But what was this group of men doing out here?

The camp was so firmly integrated into the otherwise barren landscape it couldn't possibly be simply an overnight stop. And several of the men were clad in the same brown cloak as Russell. That, and the fact that they were men, were their only obviously unifying features. Some were older, though Russell seemed the oldest. A few appeared younger than herself, but there were no children, so if they did have families, they must have left them at home. But if these men had homes, why would they keep a camp here in the sparse woods at the foot of the mountain? They would surely ask her purpose if she asked theirs, so she'd have to wait and ask Prince Ahlen about them when she reached the castle.

After they were seated comfortably by the fire, Rink laid his head against her and drifted off to sleep. She knew the child was exhausted. Sitting this close to him, she could hear his breathing was heavy from more than just sleep.

“
Would you like me to have someone see to your horses, My Lady? It might be good for them to get out from under their packs and dry themselves a bit. We have a spare tent; if you don't need to be on your way right away, you could stay and rest a night.” Russell smiled, but the warmth never reached his eyes. His eyes were calculating, like a man who missed nothing and said naught without a reason. Still, her concern about Rink was growing.

Beside her, Jessa whispered, “Something isn't right here, Milady. I think we should be on our way.”

Khane looked at her and shrugged. The decision was obviously up to her. Something was nagging at her: why hadn't these men asked about her destination? Did they already know? Surely they must be as curious about her as she was about them. She was almost positive they were hiding something.

Ignoring her intuition, she nodded at Russell, not meeting Jessa's glare. She wasn't sure what would happen if they stayed. At the very least, if they had to run, maybe Rink could recover some strength first. Besides, if they did mean her ill will, they likely wouldn't just let her leave, anyway. Night was falling; they would leave in the morning.

Rink stirred as Emariya answered, “That would be most kind. We will share your camp tonight, and set out first thing in the morning.”

“
I'll see to the horses, then.” Rink stood up with a yawn. Emariya thought about telling him that Russell had offered to have someone do it, but decided against it. She wanted Jessa to get her herb pack, and she didn't want Jessa going outside of the camp alone.

After Jessa and Rink left, Russell sat down beside her. “You don't see many women passing through these parts. A bit rough out here, isn't it?” ‘Rough’ was an understatement. She missed the comforts of her estate immensely. A warm bath drawn in her chambers. The privacy of having a privy. Eating her meals in warmth and comfort with the paintings of her ancestors keeping their careful watch. She hadn't realized she would miss it so much.