Crown in the Stars (35 page)

I don’t blame you; boars are dangerous
. She was also keenly aware of Kaleb and the guardsmen behind her, stilling themselves, their spears ready. If she didn’t get the first shot, the guardsmen would claim whatever they felled. More rustling sounded to her right, and fresh squeals. Shadowed forms, low and wide, slipped through the grass.
I’m going to take a chance
.

Tracing one of the shadows, judging its path from the movements of the grass, she released an arrow into the brush. In less than a heartbeat, the guardsmen behind her charged toward the barely seen herd, roaring, driving the creatures toward the open fields as they’d planned. Shoshannah rode after them, elated. One boar lagged, bearing her arrow behind its left shoulder. Kaleb finished it off neatly with a well-aimed spear.

Shoshannah called to him, thrilled, but pretending irritation. “That one’s mine; you know it!”

“Do I?” His look invited her to follow. He dismounted, sauntering toward their prey. Shoshannah flung herself gracelessly off her own horse and hurried to meet Kaleb before anyone else approached.

“Be careful; I love you,” she whispered, looking at the boar’s ochre-yellow body.

His expression softened for a fleeting instant. “I love
you
. But we’d better change the subject. Should we argue… Lady?”

“Let’s not. Perek’s watching, and I don’t want to make him angry; he’s the only one who’s allowed to beat me.”

“Really?” Kal looked her in the eyes, darkly amused, his face hardening. “I want his job then. He’s coming now.”

Loudly, Perek called out, “That one’s not yours, Dung heap!”

Pushing a foot onto the bristly felled boar, Kaleb wrested his spear free, checked its heavy bone blade, and stepped away politely. “I wasn’t claiming it—I’ve already offended the Lady enough.”

“Don’t call her ‘Lady.’ She’s no one here,” Perek snarled, reminding Shoshannah of his confrontation with Ebed in the temple.

“Of course,” Kal agreed, dangerously terse.

Shoshannah regretted telling him that Perek had beaten her.

By now Adoniyram was approaching, evidently concerned that Perek and Kaleb might quarrel. Kaleb bowed to Adoniyram. Perek twitched, reluctantly following his example. Adoniyram stepped between the two guardsmen and looked down at Shoshannah’s quarry. “Not a bad-sized kill.”

“For being shot by a woman?” Shoshannah asked, glad for his presence but disliking his condescending tone.

He smiled. “Don’t pick a quarrel with me—you won’t win.” Turning, he commanded, “Kaleb, haul this thing for her; leave the arrow in its side so we remember it’s hers. Perek, please tell my Master-Uncle that he has meat for his household.”

“I claim its hide,” Shoshannah told Adoniyram. “I’m going to use it for boots; I hate riding in these sandals.”

“You’ll look ridiculous—like a boy. However, if you must have boots, I’ll trade you that hide for some presentable leather. And you should have a skilled craftsman make them; you’re not in the wilderness anymore.”

Aggravated, recalling her fiercest grievance against him, she muttered, “How could I forget? Anyway, the boots probably don’t matter; I won’t need them if I’ll be living in the temple. The way you’ve encouraged my uncle and those priests to train me…”

“Don’t argue about your lessons.” In a whisper, he added, “Trust me.”

“You make trust difficult!” she retorted beneath her breath. “And since you’re so concerned about temple matters, why haven’t you persuaded your mother to fulfill her obligations to Shemesh?
I’m
not the one who was first bound by the oaths.”

“Nor was she.”

“She
is,”
Shoshannah insisted, remembering her mother’s account of Nimr-Rada extracting her oaths at the edge of a knife. “Your Great-King father said that your mother was also bound by the oaths. But
I
am taking her responsibilities.”

Adoniyram smiled at her disarmingly, his voice suddenly warm. “Come now, can you imagine my mother serving in the temple?”

“No,” Shoshannah said, refusing to let Adoniyram beguile her, aware of Kaleb nearby, trussing the boar to a stout pole. “I can’t imagine her doing anything like work.”

Laughing, Adoniyram teased, “At last we’ve agreed on something.”

He’s too familiar with her
, Kaleb thought, frustrated and envious, lashing the boar’s cloven hooves to the pole with needless force.
I’ve got to get her away from here, soon
.

Nineteen

“I DIDN’T REALIZE that the oath bound our Queen of the Heavens as much as it did her sister,” Adoniyram said, grimacing at Rab-Mawg and the others while they shared their evening meal in the living area behind the temple.

“Nor did I.” Rab-Mawg faced Adoniyram, unblinking. “Yet she claims to be the loving mother of her people. She ought to be a good example to them and fulfill her vows.”

Adoniyram silently accepted a bit of dry, overcooked lamb from Ghez-ar, who bowed, sweating as he asked Rab-Mawg, “Excuse me, Master, but won’t the Daughter of Keren be an acceptable substitute?”

“I believe she still follows that Most High.”

“Surely, if that’s true, she will change,” Adoniyram said smoothly, not liking Rab-Mawg’s tone. “She does recite the ancient stories now and then, but I’ve heard that she
wavers in her beliefs. If she continues her lessons and eventually fulfills her mother’s vows, I’m sure you’ll persuade her to turn to our Shemesh.”

“No doubt you are right, my lord.” Rab-Mawg still sounded displeased. “But whatever the girl does, your Lady-Mother should show her own devotion to our Shemesh.”

The Chief Magician had never liked their Lady Sharah, Adoniyram knew, because her only interest in the tower was that it reflected her own glory and added strength to her realm. She had never actually worshiped Shemesh, which frustrated Rab-Mawg.

Warily, Adoniyram avoided the subject and continued their meal. But he thought,
Rab-Mawg, you’re becoming arrogant and offensive. If I gain control of this kingdom, you will be replaced
.

Wearing her new soft leather boots, which Adoniyram had insisted upon trading for the boar’s hide, Shoshannah scurried up the moonlit tower stairs, distantly followed by the unhappy Ormah and the torch-bearer Perek. She had been praying for rain tonight, to avoid this lesson. But now she was glad the skies were clear, because she’d seen Adoniyram’s horse being held by a guardsman at the base of the tower stairs. And if Adoniyram was here, then—perhaps—Kaleb had accompanied him.

Breathless, she turned the corner from the stairs to the terrace, glancing around eagerly. There was no sign of Adoniyram. He was probably inside the temple. But there was a guardsman silhouetted in the moonlight outside on the terrace, unmistakably tall, broad, and armed with a long spear.
Kaleb
.

She ran to him, snatching the chance before her
courage failed her—before anyone else came onto the terrace. He saw her, swiftly looked around, and caught her in his free arm as she hugged him. He felt wonderfully warm and safe as a protective wall. To her surprise, he bent and kissed her lips fiercely, then turned her loose with a gentle, undignified swat that urged her to flee. She caressed his whisker-roughened jaw and ran.

Father would probably swat
you, she thought, rejoicing. Their first kiss! Too brief and stolen, but she felt like dancing.

Kaleb watched Shoshannah, adoring the sight of her as she dashed to the edge of the moonlit terrace, her robes and hair fluttering in the breeze. The unexpected sensations of her embrace, her responding kiss, and the gliding touch of her fingertips all lingered, warming him, tormenting him deliciously. He wanted to laugh.
You think we’ve gotten away with something forbidden, dear wife, but we haven’t
.

He sobered, wondering when he would have the chance to tell her that they were actually married. Perhaps Tiyrac could tell her. Kal dismissed the idea as quickly as it came. Tiyrac would be too overwhelmed and self-conscious to get the words out of his mouth. Then he would have to deal with Shoshannah’s questions, and her shock. She might even hug Tiyrac, which would undo the poor man altogether.

I’ll tell her myself. Most High, give me the chance …

Torchlight flared to Kaleb’s right. He gripped his spear, alert. Perek and a little maidservant turned from the steps onto the terrace. The maidservant was ignoring
Perek haughtily, and he seemed irritated. Spying Shoshannah, the rude guardsman waved his torch at her, bellowing, “Run ahead of us like that again, Daughter of Keren, and I’ll thrash you! Do you hear me? Come here,
now!
”

You thrash her and I’ll drop you with the sharp end of this spear
, Kaleb threatened him silently, tensing, ready to attack the man.

Apparently summoned by Perek’s bellowing, Adoniyram emerged from the temple, followed by those thin, bald, Shemesh-worshiping priests. Swiftly, Adoniyram halted Perek with a single word. “Stop!”

Kaleb followed the Young Lord, keeping a proper distance, watching him and listening.

Adoniyram beckoned Shoshannah. “What’s happened?”

Shoshannah sounded happily unrepentant. “Perek didn’t like it that I ran up the stairs; he believes I was too far away from him.”

Amused, Adoniyram said, “You probably were. When will you learn to behave?”

Never, I hope
, Kal thought, resenting the Young Lord’s attitude toward Shoshannah. Though he usually treated Shoshannah coolly in public, often ignoring her, Adoniyram was now acting as if he had some claim upon her, almost as if they were betrothed.

What can I do if he takes her for his wife?
Kaleb wondered, appalled. He was a lowly guardsman here, with no authority. And all his physical strength wouldn’t help him. If he rebelled, Adoniyram could have him killed, and Shoshannah as well.

“Perhaps when I’m old—in a few years—I’ll learn some manners,” Shoshannah told Adoniyram. But her
high spirits faded as the priests approached; she stepped back and bowed.

Kaleb watched, disturbed, realizing she was afraid of these priests.

“Come,” the twig-thin leader of the priests motioned to Shoshannah, as disturbingly possessive as Adoniyram, though he bowed to the Young Lord politely. “We will be sure you behave. Perhaps our Son of Heaven will observe your lesson.”