Etchings of Power (Aegis of the Gods) (24 page)

She broke into a mischievous grin and took a sip from his flask. For an instant, a flash of hunger filled her eyes. “So was your curiosity what made you call on me?” She set the flask down, her thumb playing around the rim.

Ancel blushed, but he didn’t waver. He knew he had her now. Drinking from his flask meant her interest was assured. “No.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Oh?”

“By the way, your Temtesa…it was…exhilarating.”

This time, she blushed. So far, his father’s words proved true. Ancel shrugged.
Why not?
“Kachien, I came here tonight to seek pleasure and hope to forget about some things in my life. I’ve decided. I will forget about them with you.”

Her slim fingers brushed against his. They sent a tingle up his spine.

“I thought you would never ask,” she said in a breathy voice. “Come.” She stood and swayed toward the door leading upstairs.

Did all these women go to a school to learn to walk that way?
Ancel picked up his flask, firmness pushing against the fabric of his trousers when he stood. As he placed his drink container into his jacket pocket, he felt Irmina’s letter there. He took the letter out and dropped it into his glass. Red kinai soaked into the paper. A thin tinder stick the smokers used to light their giana pipes rested on a stand next to him. Picking it up, he lit it in an oil lamp, and touched it to the paper in the glass.

Irmina’s letter burst into flames.

With that flare-up, the kinai took hold and another kind of blaze soared through his loins, enveloping his mind as he stared at Kachien’s swaying form.
Yes, tonight marks a new beginning. And I’ll start by threading your honey-haired needle.
He strode after the woman with a smile on his face.

CHAPTER 18

A week later, Ancel strolled alongside Kachien through a field outside Randane. They had left behind the fifty-foot wall, the broad,cobbled and flagstoned streets, the King’s castle and its spires and parapets, the Streamean temples and their shining pillars, the network of canals, and the din of the crowds.

Lilies, roses, and bellflowers around them adorned the air with their sweet perfumes. Still, none were as aromatic as the smell wafting from her. He’d grown to love the powders and paints she used to make herself even more beautiful, but those paled in comparison to her scents. She’d explained each. Today, her fragrance of choice was jasmine and lavender mixed with a hint of mint.

The time spent with Kachien had flown by like a dream. An unforgettable kinai induced fantasy filled with passionate lovemaking. Most days they listened to music while he lost himself in the sway of her body as she danced the Temtesa. Other days they sampled fine foods from different taverns around town. There were tender delicacies such as river crab legs, eel in a gooseberry sauce, and lamb served with creamed potatoes. Kachien always made sure to dress in the most enticing and revealing clothing, many of which Ancel chose. Their conversation often involved sharing stories of their homes while they strolled in each other’s company.

At night, that would change when Kachien needed to work. He tried to convince her several times to give up her profession, but she refused. Glancing at Kachien, Ancel heaved a sigh.

He longed to touch her hand, kiss her lips, and feel his body against hers, but he resisted the temptation. There would be time enough for that later. Instead, he enjoyed the day’s warmth while admiring the way the sun played through her honey hair, giving it a golden sheen. He had no wish to break the hypnotic pull of her beauty, so he studied her curves in silence.

Ever vigilant, Charra loped through the short grass a few feet from them. He’d not taken to Kachien on the first day he met her, and more often than not, he growled when she touched Ancel in any form. However, his reaction then was nothing compared to how he acted if Ancel attempted to keep him out of the bedroom or sneak away with Kachien. Charra resorted to uncontrollable howling fits then. Ancel had resigned himself to taking the daggerpaw wherever he traveled.

“So what will we do today, my dark haired Granadian lover?” Kachien asked, her tone light and playful, a lazy smile playing across her face. “Shall I teach you some new positions?”

Ancel gaped. He had difficulty dealing with her openness about sex. He used to think of himself as bold and experienced, some said cocky, but he was a mere candlelight next to Kachien’s flame. “Out here? For anyone passing to see?”

She giggled, her ample chest heaving. The tight bodice of her yellow dress amplified the movement. “Why not? Maybe the lover who gave you the charm you will not part with will pass by.” She indicated the replica of his mother with a nod of her head.

“I told you several times, my mother gave it to me for my naming day.”

“Oh, yes. You are a man now or so they say. But what man has never made love in the open?”

“I’ve had plenty women. None have ever complained. I don’t see what’s so special about outside.”

Kachien’s eyes twinkled. “Ah, my dear, you have not experienced true love making until you feel the wind caress your body as the heat takes you. Your people have strange beliefs about passion. The gods made us naked. Why hide behind all this?” She pointed at her clothing. “In most parts of Ostanian, it becomes too hot to wear this much clothes. Come, let us go down to the stream so I can show you what I mean.” With those words, she hiked up her dress by its flared ruffles and took off running.

With a chuckle, Ancel chased after her. Charra bounded beside him, growling all the way.

Kachien led them through the flowers and past budding oaks and cedars until the ground slanted down toward a stream. At the water’s edge, she paused long enough to remove her dress with a speed Ancel refused to believe. Garbed only in her diaphanous shift, she waded into the stream.

Ancel paced along the rock-strewn riverbank, pebbles crunching underfoot, as Charra ran back and forth cooing and growling at Kachien. Almost out in the middle of the stream, she turned toward him and waved for him to join her. Peering around to make sure no one watched, Ancel shed his clothes. He took a running leap into the cool water. Within moments, he was frolicking beside Kachien while Charra sat and whined.

“I think today I will teach you how easy it is to float.” Kachien’s mouth curled into a mischievous grin.

Before he moved, she gripped his arm and drew him closer. He attempted to pull away playfully, but she kept her hold firm. Vaulting onto him, she wrapped her legs around his waist.

When he felt the warmth of her body against his, coupled with her scents and her eyes that almost matched her hair as she stared into his, he gave in. Or rather, all his inhibitions fled. Not that he needed much more convincing. His hardness sang its own song.

He cupped her ass, her shift already having slid up her body. Closing her eyes, Kachien leaned away from him with her neck arched, exposing her chest. Her nipples stood hard and proud, darker still than the already tanned beauty of her skin.

No other invitation was needed. Ancel raised her ever so slightly and suckled on the curves of her neck. Her pulse became a fluttering bird beneath his tongue. His lips slid down until he took one nipple in his mouth. A moan escaped her throat.

The warmth of their bodies built to a transcendent heat as he nibbled her succulent flesh, his nips increasing to bites, and her moans growing louder and more breathless. She arched her back and neck until he could no longer feel her heavy breaths against his ears. Her eyes opened, glazed in ecstasy. Their gazes locked, and she smiled warmly. She drew his head to her, and they kissed long and deep, their tongues playing against each other. The feeling was sweeter than cold water on a blazing day.

Her hands slid down his body, below his waist. Ancel arched his back. When their flesh entwined, his world exploded.

Their lovemaking became a blur of gyrating hips, moans, gasps, and digging fingernails. In the water, his strokes became effortless. When he climaxed, it was as if he saw the world through a new light.

He opened his eyes, and a ragged moan tore from his throat. Colors bloomed all around him. Everything appeared more alive than ever before. Reds were deeper, blues darker, pinks brighter. On and on the hues swirled about him across every living surface.

Whites, grays, and browns wavered around Kachien herself.

Ancel gasped as another release shuddered through his body. His eyes snapped closed against his new sight. When he opened them, all was normal.

Kachien’s hand stroked his face. “Are you well? You look like you saw a spirit.”

Ancel nodded. He was so caught up in the throes of what just occurred words refused to rise to his lips.

“I told you, I would teach you how easy it is to float,” Kachien gloated, flashing him a naughty smile again.

“That you did,” he finally managed, his voice hoarse.

“Come, let us go to the field and sun ourselves.” She unwrapped herself and waded toward the shore.

Ancel closed his eyes once more and drew in a deep breath. Usually, after lovemaking, he would be spent. But not this time. He felt rejuvenated as if he could run hundred miles without pause. He swam after Kachien.

She reached the shore and rose from the water, her shift clinging to her curves. The material was so thin it made her appear naked. He visualized every nuance of her body beneath his touch and hardened again. With a great effort, he willed away the picture, and his arousal subsided.

When he left the water, she had already picked up her dress and was heading up the hill in her swaying walk. Her hair fell behind her in wet tresses, dark gold in the sunlight. Despite its thickness and length, it did little to hide the myriad thin white scars across her back.

Ancel watched her for a moment more before he grabbed his clothes and followed. Charra padded after him.

At the hill’s crest, Kachien flattened a patch of grass big enough for both of them. She placed her dress down and stretched out on her back like a tan and gold fox basking in the sun. Ancel joined her.

“Something happened out there,” Ancel said, as he stared at the wispy clouds littering the cerulean sky.

“You think?” Kachien said with mock offense as she played with the charm around his neck.

Ancel turned his head to find her peering into his face. “Seriously. I saw something unusual. It’s happened before, but I never thought of it until now.”

Kachien frowned. “What did you see besides my nakedness?”

“It was as if every living creature shone with color. Too many colors to count. In my Mater training—” He cut off at Kachien’s gasp.

“You can touch Mater?” Kachien stopped twiddling his pendant and sat up, her eyes wary.

Ancel paused for a moment. He had not intended to let his Teaching slip. But near Kachien, he didn’t feel the need to keep secrets. “No. Not yet. I can sense it around me when I open myself. The world comes alive when I do. This was like touching my Matersense but different.”

Kachien hugged her knees. “When I lived in Ostania, my people, the Alzari, could do these things with Mater. They were among the first killed by the shade in the War of Remnants.” A shudder passed though her body. “There are many among us born with this curse.”

“It’s not a curse,” Ancel protested. But the pain etched on Kachien’s face spoke on its own. She’d spoken about losing everyone she knew before, but she’d never been this specific. “Matii help the keep the world safe. It’s a great honor in Granadia to become one. It’s them who saved Ostania during the same war you speak of.”

“I know this. It is why I choose to live here, despite how some of your people look at me. But still, we were taught to touch this Mater was a curse. The idea was whipped into us. It is a hard thing to make myself think otherwise.”

Ancel brushed his hand down her face and shoulder then down her back. Her scars were smooth stripes below his fingers. Kachien’s eyes closed. She shivered at his touch.

“Was that where you received these?” he whispered.

“Yes.”

“Why? Why whip you like this?”

“So we would not forget. My people believe your feelings bring out your power. Our Formist gods were said to feel the turnings of the world through their emotions. It is only through their control that kept the world from tearing apart or so our priests say. Those among us cursed to touch Mater had to show the same control. Everyone had to take the trials, and they included beatings in order to bring forth the most primal emotions. If you could touch Mater, it rose in you then.” A tear trickled down Kachien’s face.

Speechless, Ancel wiped the tear away. In her eyes, he saw the truth of Kachien’s pain, and in her voice he’d felt a touch of sorrow the depths of which he couldn’t begin to comprehend.

“I should have asked you if you were one such before I touched you in the ways I have,” Kachien said, her voice apologetic.

“No. You didn’t need to. I wanted you more than anything else I’ve felt in a long time.”

Kachien shook her head. “It is you who do not understand. We were taught only those who could control their emotions would be allowed to wield Mater. They were given no choice but to complete their training.” Although she sat beside him, her eyes said she was a thousand miles away. “If they failed in this, they were killed before the madness took them. Our histories show those who escaped the culling. The suffering they later brought has become legend. They killed and destroyed without care, forever a slave to the power burning within them. They were called the Deathbringers.”