The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes (73 page)

With a shake of her head, Jala crossed the
room toward the staircase, glancing at Neph as she walked. “Bath
time for me. I haven’t had a decent hot bath since Merro and I’ve
almost forgotten what warm water feels like after the countless
dunks I’ve had in rivers while we marched.”

Neph nodded and turned back to study the
armor, his gaze holding more interest than she would have expected
from him, given the subject. The Delvay had never made any secret
of how little he thought of the Knights of Arovan. Jala watched the
two Bendazzi stalk from the room in the direction of Valor and the
kitchens and smiled faintly. Emily and Marrow had quite a bit in
common, but their love for food was foremost.

She located the rune circle Valor had
described easily and stepped into the circle. Glancing down she
studied the countless runes and shook her head at the thought of
living in a house so large you had to use magical transport to
navigate through it easily. Sliding her foot forward she pressed
down on the third rune as Valor had said and felt the transport
magic wash over her.

Blinking she looked up and down the wide
hallway. Paintings lined these walls as well, but they were family
portraits. Slowly she walked down the hall toward the last door,
her eyes roving over images of the Hai’dia children at various
ages. A smile still on her lips, she opened the door to her
assigned room and stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

The mage lights flickered on as she turned
and she stared for a long moment at the sheer size of it. The bed
alone was bigger than her bedroom in Merro. A large cabinet covered
most of one wall and various pieces of fine furniture lined the
remainder of the room. Her eyes moved from the ornate dressing
table to the practical desk that sat to one side of the bed. His
parent’s room, she realized as she noticed the two very different
tastes that had decorated the chamber.

Within minutes of exploring she had
discovered the bathtub which reminded her more of a swimming pool.
To her relief the rune to summon the water was the same one used in
Sanctuary. Stepping back she began to strip her armor off as the
tub filled and let out a sigh. It was hard to truly enjoy the
splendor of the house when she didn’t know if anyone but Valor
still survived to claim it.

Opening her eyes slowly, Jala shivered and
sat up in the water. Blinking, she looked around in confusion until
the memory of where she was returned. The water had gone cold and
she shivered as she climbed from the bathtub, silently scolding
herself for being stupid enough to fall asleep. That would have
been a death that would have amused Neph to no end.
She survived
the war, but drowned in the bathtub
. The thought left her
shaking her head with disgust.

Jala reached for a towel and her eyes fell on
her travel stained clothes and armor. She could clean them with
magic easy enough, but the thought of wearing the heavy clothes
once more was not appealing. With a quick spell she summoned a robe
and slipped it on. The light silk was comforting after the wool
dresses Jexon had insisted on and the armor that she had taken to
wearing again near the end of the campaign with Avanti.

The room beyond was silent as Jala stepped
from the bathroom. With a heavy sigh she gazed around the empty
space and her eyes stopped on the silver tray on the table. She
moved closer and lifted the lid to examine the assortment of food.
Plucking a piece of meat from the tray she took a bite and chewed
slowly as she looked around the chamber once more. The sheer size
of the room made her feel more alone than she had since she was a
child. Carefully, she covered the plate once more and headed for
the door, finishing the meat as she crossed the room.

The hall beyond was black but she could see
light faintly from under a door a short way down the hall. Quickly,
Jala padded barefoot across the plush carpet and slowly pushed the
door open a crack. Peeking inside, she spotted Valor seated on the
foot of a bed turning a small wooden sword over in his hands. By
the expression on his face he was lost in thought and hadn’t even
heard the door open. As silently as she could, Jala slipped through
the door and closed it behind her. She paused, amazed that he still
hadn’t noticed her presence and looked around the room. Trophies
lined the shelves along one wall while the rest of the room was
lined with various objects ranging from broken weapons to carved
figures. Glancing back at Valor, she cleared her throat and smiled
widely at the wide eyed expression that crossed his face.

“I almost got lost in the room you assigned
me. Do you happen to have a map of it so I can find my way out in
the morning?” Jala teased quietly.

Valor smiled and shook his head slowly. “If
you aren’t out of there by lunch, I’ll send in a team of scouts to
locate you,” he promised.

Moving slowly, Jala crossed the room and sat
on the edge of the bed beside him. Leaning over, she examined the
wooden sword more closely, noticing the worn polish on the
hilt.

Valor hefted it with one hand and smiled.
“Honor made it for me when I was little. I was thinking I might
take it back to Merro. In a few years, Legacy will be able to
bruise some shins with it,” he explained as he lowered the toy
sword once more.

“I’m sure he is fine, Val,” Jala said softly.
The expression of concern had been fleeting when he spoke his
brother’s name, but she had caught it.

“I’m not sure if any of them are fine,
honestly, Jala. On a clear night such as this we should be able to
see the lights of Amdany lighting the sky to the east. It is
nothing but darkness in the east. Amdany is the largest city in the
south. I can’t even imagine the thought of evacuating that place,”
Valor said as he tossed the sword lightly onto the floor near his
travel packs.

“We will find them,” Jala promised and leaned
on his shoulder. She felt him stiffen for a moment and then relax.
Tilting her head upward she watched his face and smiled when he
glanced down at her. His expression softened and the lines of worry
faded. The silence stretched between them and Jala closed her eyes,
simply content with his company. “Valor.” Her voice was barely a
whisper when she finally spoke.

“Hmm?” His voice sounded as content as her
own and she opened her eyes to gaze up at him.

“I don’t want to stay in that room alone,”
Jala said quietly, her eyes watching the expression on his face
carefully. A look of surprise crossed his features, followed by one
of disbelief. She smiled again as he continued to stare at her.
“But I can if you keep looking at me like that,” she added.

The expression vanished from his face
instantly and he shook his head quickly. “No, it’s just…” His voice
trailed off and Valor snorted in amusement. “I’m not thinking quite
as clearly tonight as I normally do. I was about to offer you
another room until it dawned on me what you were saying,” he
admitted with a heavy sigh and rubbed his face. “I was saying that
I want to stay with you tonight,” Jala pressed, her eyes watching
him closely for any signs of hesitation. “I can’t look at you as a
friend anymore, Valor. You are so much more to me than that,” she
added in a softer voice.

“I haven’t thought of you as just a friend in
a very long time,” Valor admitted softly. He looked over at her
with a faint smile and shook his head slowly. “I had just convinced
myself that you were never going to share the same sentiments.”

“I didn’t know what it meant,” Jala said as
her hand rose to touch the black earring he wore. Her fingers
trailed past the earring to brush gently through his hair. “I wish
I hadn’t been so thick. I was blind to everything but protecting
Merro.”

“It’s OK, Jala,” Valor said, his dark blue
eyes watching her. “You did what you had to. At first I was angry
that you turned to Seravae rather than Arovan, but after what I’ve
seen here, you made the right choice. I didn’t realize Arovan had
nothing left to give.”

Tracing her fingers slowly down to his cheek,
Jala leaned forward to kiss him. She felt her pulse quicken as
Valor leaned into the kiss, his arm moving behind her to pull her
closer. Pulling back, she stared into his eyes and saw her own
feelings mirrored in the dark blue depths. “I love you,” Jala
whispered as she moved closer, sliding her leg across him to
straddle his lap. Gently she wrapped her arms around his neck and
settled back, her weight resting lightly on his knees.

Valor’s gaze flicked down to where her robe
had fallen open in the front and she felt him tense again. With
painful slowness he slid his hands beneath her robe to rest lightly
on her hips. “I have forced myself not to say those words to you
for so long, it almost feels wrong to speak them now,” Valor said,
his voice low. His thumb moved in slow circles across her skin,
tracing a circle around her hip bone.

“You don’t need to speak them, Val. I can see
it written on your face so clearly now that I’m looking for it that
I find myself wondering how I never noticed it before.” Jala leaned
closer and pressed her lips gently to his, but he didn’t return it
as he had before. Pulling back she studied his face. His expression
was a mixture of desire and trepidation. Raising an eyebrow, Jala
waited for him to speak.

“Usually at this point of the dream, I either
wake up or it takes a turn for nightmares and I end up on trial for
rape again,” Valor said, leaning back and rubbing his face.

Nodding slowly, Jala slid a hand down his
shoulder, tracing the muscles of his arm and pinched him hard.
Flinching, he stared at her with a dumbfounded expression. “You
aren’t dreaming,” Jala informed him with a smile. Slowly, she
pushed him flat onto the bed and rolled to the side, resting her
head on his shoulder. “We don’t have to do anything but sleep
tonight. I’m content simply being close to you,” Jala assured him
closing her eyes.

“To hell with that,” Valor whispered as he
rolled onto his side, his lips finding hers once more. Jala rose to
meet him, her eyes closing as his hand slid to the small of her
back, pulling her closer. Her hands tugged at his shirt until she
could slide them beneath to press against his bare skin. Pulling
back, he shrugged out of the tunic and tossed it behind him to the
floor before leaning down to kiss her again.

Her fingers traced across the hard muscles of
his back and down his side to rest on the scar on his stomach. “I
love you,” Jala repeated, her voice a hoarse whisper as his lips
moved to her neck. Closing her eyes once more, Jala pulled at the
laces on his pants as his hands moved across her body. Her breath
was coming in short rasps as all thoughts faded and she could feel
his urgency rising to match her own. For now, nothing mattered to
either of them beyond each other. All the stress and frustration of
the world beyond was forgotten.

Pale sunlight washed across her from the
cloudless sky. Turning slowly, Jala searched for War. The land
around her was familiar and she could feel her emotions rising as
her eyes scanned the rolling hills of Merro. Below her she could
see the small town that Neph had built. The paint was still bright
on the walls of the newly-built houses. “You only show me ruins,
Grandfather. Are you telling me that my home is gone again? That it
fell in my absence?” Jala called as she tried to force herself back
to calm. She knew if she panicked, the dream would fade.

“
I didn’t choose this setting. He did,”
War’s voice was gentle beside her and she turned to face him. He
hadn’t been there a moment before and neither had the small boy
playing in the grass before him.

“
Legacy,” Jala gasped as her eyes locked
on her son. It was him she was certain of it, but he seemed so big.
When she had sent him into hiding with Sovann he had just begun to
walk and now he looked near Devony’s age. His tanned body was wiry
and she could see so much of Finn in him as he chopped at the grass
before him with a stick.