Tears of War (18 page)

Her father kissed her forehead and then stepped back, holding her hands. “What happened to you? Where have you been?”

“There is a great deal to tell, much of it needs to be discussed privately.” She squeezed his hands and glanced back at Kellinar. “I also have some introductions to make, but again, we need to talk in private.”

Bahar looked over Taela’s shoulder, settling first on Serena and then on Kellinar. His eyes narrowed. Kellinar didn’t smile in greeting. The man was obviously intuitive enough to suspect there would be more to the introductions than he would probably like. Kellinar tried to set aside his instinctive distrust of royalty; he was bondmated to a princess after all. In his heart, he knew his bond with Taela was what allowed him to love and trust her explicitly. Her father might be a good man, honorable and honest to an extent, but royalty rarely did anything that didn’t stand to gain them something.

Bahar cleared his throat. “Yes, of course.” He turned and started across the massive room. Kellinar followed with Serena beside him. Kellinar eyed Taela’s right hand, still clutched in her father’s, feeling the bond to ensure the shield kept her from discomfort. Bahar glanced back and Kellinar sensed a challenge in their depths. This time he flashed the king a smile. Bahar was seriously mistaken if he thought he could separate him from Taela.

The vast ceiling soared over their heads, swallowing the slight echo of their footsteps off the polished floor. Kellinar swept he gaze over the other people in the room. All of them seemed frozen. None had made a move or a sound since Taela’s entrance. Only their eyes followed the small procession across the room. As they stepped into an antechamber, he looked back and saw the first signs of thaw beginning. No doubt the second the door closed, they would thaw completely and within the hour the entire city would be buzzing with the news of Taela’s return.

He put them out of his mind as the heavy ornate door swung shut. The king took a seat behind a large, wooden desk and leaned his elbows on its polished surface. “Please, sit. A servant will bring refreshments.”

“Father, before we all sit down, I believe introductions are in order.” She held a hand out toward Serena. “Please welcome Serena, a… senior member of the Tower of Healing.”

Her father nodded at Serena as she sat on the edge of one of the chairs.

Taela paused and took a deep breath and raised her chin slightly. Kellinar sensed determination and suppressed fear as she lay her hand on his arm. “This is Kellinar. A senior member of the Tower of Wind and Air, and my bondmate.”

Bahar’s eyes flicked between them. His voice was calm and level when he asked, “What do you mean, ‘bondmate’?”

Taela shook her head. “You may not understand the exact words but you know the basic meaning. I can read it in your mind.”

Bahar jerked slightly and sat back in his chair. “Taela, I told you not to speak of that; it’s too close to magic. These two,” he indicated Kellinar and Serena, “do not seem surprised, so I assume you have spoken of such things to them. It does not change the fact that such admissions might bring you harm.”

He shifted back, trying to look more relaxed, but Kellinar saw the flush at Bahar’s neck and the sheen of sweat on his upper brow. Bahar glanced again at Kellinar before leveling a stern look at Taela. “As far as this ‘bondmate’ thing you spoke of. I hope you are not alluding that it is a type of marriage. Without my permission, you have no marriage. I do not know this young man’s history, his family ties, nothing.”

Kellinar sat in one of the chairs facing the desk. Leaning back, he propped his ankle on the opposite knee. He’d read the challenge in Bahar’s eyes correctly. “I’m afraid getting to know my birth family would be impossible since they all died of fever in the Mallay District of Trilene when I was boy. However, there are many in the Thieves’ Caves that are pretty close to family. They’ve never met a member of royalty. Well,” he chuckled, “at least not when the member of royalty was awake. Much easier to remove valuables from a sleeping person than one who is awake, don’t you think?”

“Kellinar.” Taela growled his name through gritted teeth.

He would pay for this later, but right at that moment watching Bahar’s face fill with red was worth the price.

“Are you mad, Taela?” Bahar roared, rising from his seat so fast he sent the chair crashing to the floor. “A thief from the Mallay of Trilene?” He slammed his fist on the desk. “I will not have it!” He glared at Kellinar, his brows drawn down. “Whatever you think you have with my daughter, you do not. You will leave Haraban, not just the city, but the nation.”

Kellinar smiled pleasantly. “I will go nowhere. Nothing short of death will break a bondmating; it goes far beyond a marriage. And though I’m sure you would like nothing better than to see me dead, you won’t get the pleasure of killing me. Not only would an attempt on my life bring down a wrath on your palace such as you have never witnessed, if you somehow succeeded in your attempt, you would bring unimaginable grief upon your daughter.”

Taela glared at Kellinar with fire in her dark blue eyes. “Don’t be so sure I won’t kill you myself when this is over.” Oh yes, he was going to pay. Maybe he could hide behind Shryden.

Dragon laughter filled his mind.
“You wish to place me in front of her anger? I will of course protect you if she actually tries to kill you, but beyond that, this is a forest you have set fire to all by yourself. I think I will stay out of the way while you put it out.”

“Thanks a lot. See if I scratch that spot above your wing ever again.”

“You love me. Of course you will scratch it.”

Kellinar chuckled. Of course he would scratch it. He would give his life for Shryden. Fate-forsaken dragon just had to call his bluff. Shryden’s rough version of a chuckle echoed through his mind.

He glanced at Taela’s face again. At least he ran faster than she did. How long until Latia could Slide reliably? Anevay was always able to dispel Taela’s anger.

“Now you are threatening my kingdom?” Bahar’s shout brought him back to the conversation.

Kellinar shook his head and leaned forward. He leveled a hard look at Taela’s father. “No Bahar, the innocent people in your kingdom are perfectly safe. I’m not threatening them, just you. There will be no separating my bondmate from me.”

“Alright, that is enough.” Serena stood and moved to stand between Kellinar and Bahar. “This male posturing is ridiculous. Black dragons ride the dawn and there are Shadow Riders again for the first time in over five hundred years. There is much to talk about.”

She pointed a finger at Bahar. “Taela and Kellinar are bonded for life. It cannot be broken or revoked, so you might as well come to terms with it. It is done, you cannot undo it.”

She turned to Kellinar, her blue eyes flashing. “And you, I know it is hard for you to trust those in a wealthy, ruling position, but you are going to have to set that aside. You are no longer the Thief Lord of Trilene. You are Di’shan Kellinar Doryne, bonded to the Blue dragon Shryden. Your station is above this pettiness. You are a Guardian of Galdrilene. Act like it.”

Kellinar stared at her, chagrined. She was right. He couldn’t go into every situation with the mindset he had lived within Trilene. He needed to get this man on his side, not alienate him. His natural inclinations were to buck authority and push people in power to find out where their limits were, and he was a fool to give into those inclinations.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Kellinar. It is natural to fall back on old behaviors when confronted with things like this.”
Shryden’s soothing voice filled his mind.

“You are too forgiving of my faults.”

“You sensed the challenge to your bond with Taela. I understand , after all, if he separated you from Taela, then I would be separated from Paki and that will never happen. Your reaction to such a threat was natural.”

“Natural or not, Serena is right. I may have blundered beyond repair here,”
Kellinar sent.

Amusement shadowed Shryden’s return sending,
“If Bahar proves too much of a problem, I can always eat him.”

Kellinar couldn’t help the soft chuckle that welled up. In the midst of his sudden feelings of failure, Shryden had lifted Kellinar’s mood. Love from the blue flowed along the bond and he returned it with every fiber of his being.

Serena narrowed her eyes at him. “What is so funny?”

He smiled at her. “Just Shryden, offering me his wisdom.” Kellinar let his smile fade and turned to Bahar. His face was drained of color as he fumbled for his chair. Taela rushed around the desk to help, a worried look on her face as her father sank slowly into it. His gaze flicked across the three of them and he swallowed.

“Dragons?” His voice was quiet and shaky.

Taela walked back around the desk and took one of the chairs. “Yes, Father, dragons. What I do isn’t too close to magic, it
is
magic. Magic users that make it to Galdrilene to train usually become mages. But I hatched a silver dragon. Her name is Paki.”

He stared at her with wide eyes and his mouth worked a couple of times before sound came out. “Is…is that where you went when you left?”

She sighed. “Not exactly. I was in the garden, trying to find a way to make Sehlas change his mind. I thought I could use my gift to do it, but it didn’t quit work out that way. I thought Sulwyna, Sehlas’ youngest wife, had seen me and made the connection between me hiding in the bushes and her husband’s condition. I ran for my rooms.”

Taela smoothed a wrinkle in her divided riding skirts. Kellinar could sense her unease. He didn’t blame her; this was going to drudge up bad memories. He leaned over and laid a hand over hers. He searched her face. “You can leave for a bit and I can tell this part if you need me to. You don’t have to go over it again.”

She took a deep breath, her eyes sad as shook her head. “No, I will tell it, but thank you.” He gave her hand a squeeze.

She turned back to Bahar. “When I got to my rooms, I slammed the door shut and the locking bar down. When I turned around, there were two dark figures in the room. They offered me a way out, a sanctuary. I almost refused them but then you started shouting and pounding on the door. I panicked. I thought you had found out and were there to arrest me so I took their offer.” She took a deep breath and let it out, her fingers absently stroking Kellinar’s hand. “I ended up at the Kormai where the Shadow Dragons live. It’s a place of evil and darkness, and where I hatched Paki, my dragon. Her egg was flawed and she didn’t hatch as a Shadow Dragon. I don’t have good memories of that place other than Paki. Kellinar helped me escape while rescuing another Dragon Rider. If wasn’t for him, I don’t think Paki and I would have made it out of there alive.”

Bahar let out a slow breath and leaned back in his chair. “I had no idea magic had been used. All I was told was Sehlas had collapsed in the garden and you were seen running. As I came to your door, I heard you scream. When I finally gained entrance, you were nowhere to be found. You couldn't have jumped out a window and survived, but you were not on the stones below.” He wiped his hands over his face and took a deep shuddering sigh. “I tore the kingdom apart looking for you.”

His gaze settled on Kellinar. “It appears I need to offer my thanks for saving the life of my daughter. And perhaps, an apology.”

“No thanks are needed, Bahar.” Kellinar glanced at Taela. Maybe if he smoothed things out, her anger would dissipate. “I have my own apologies to offer. My dragon, Shryden, pointed out my behavior was a natural reaction to your challenge to my bond with Taela, but it’s not an excuse.”

Bahar folded his hands and obviously worked to get himself back in control. “Your dragon? Did you also hatch yours in this Kormai?”

Kellinar shook his head. “No, I hatched Shryden in Galdrilene. One of my friends was captured by the Shadow Riders, but the Kormai is like a honeycomb and difficult to navigate. My talents, honed by years as a thief in the Mallay, made me particularly qualified to sneak in and bring Taela and Maleena out.”

Bahar looked at Serena. “I suppose you have a dragon as well?”

She nodded. “A yellow named Miya.”

Bahar rubbed his face again. “It seems with mention of this Kormai and Shadow Riders, there is much more to be said. Please, Serena, sit. I promise there will be no more of this, how did you say, ridiculous male posturing.” He reached behind him and pulled a cord several times as she sat down. “It is past time for food and drink, don’t you think?”

Kellinar’s stomach rumbled in response and Bahar smiled slightly. “I am to assume then that these dragons are somewhere nearby?”

Taela nodded, relaxing into her chair a little. “They circle high above us, but it would only take a few seconds for them to dive the intervening distance. And, of course, we are not without our own protections so they would have plenty of time to get here.”

Bahar chuckled and set a few pieces of paper to one side. “I have no intention of testing that.” He glanced up at Kellinar. “That was the wrath you spoke of if I tried to take your life, wasn’t it?”

Kellinar leaned forward and two of his braids swung over his shoulder, the blue and white beads at the ends clicking. “Yes, and I feel it’s only right to tell you that Shryden did offer to eat you.” He smiled. “He was only joking of course.”