You Are Mine (9 page)

He's tall. A couple feet taller than
me. Perhaps not that much, but I could walk under his arm if he
were to stretch it out and I'm taller than most Chardonian women.
On the field he looked big, but standing next to me he's sky
breaking.

I gawk at him. He might crush me if I
look away. His green eyes, pupils rimmed with gold, stare back at
me. He's young, but strong. What if one murder wasn't enough for
today?

Father snatches me to his side and
scolds me under his breath, but I still can't take my eyes from the
giant. If he really is my new owner, I have more to fear of him
than Father. An Envadi, my owner, I clutch my stomach.

“
Are you ready to get this
over with?” The Envadi's voice is deep. Deep enough to send quivers
through me. Or maybe I'm just scared.

“
Of course I am, that's
why I'm standing here,” Father says.

The Envadi's piercing gaze moves
toward Father. I'm grateful it's not directed at me, I'm still
shaking even without it. “I asked your daughter. She's my property
now. Not yours.”

Father's hands clench. His arm lifts
in what I know is the start of a spell.

“
I am,” I say, to distract
him.

Father falters and the spell never
happens, but he stays in a defensive posture.

The Envadi nods. He swishes his hand
in a circle. A salmon-colored spell flies around us and forms a
dome separating the four of us from the crowd and the tent. It's
quiet. The only sound is breathing and the rustle of my dress as I
shift positions.

“
Now we can't be
overheard,” he says. “Since I am to inherit immediately, I insist
Serena move into one of my properties today.”

My legs weaken. There's nothing for me
to hold onto. I will them to stay strong.

“
That's absurd,” Father
says. “The engagement ceremony has yet to take place, let alone the
wedding. You can't take her from me.”

The law officer coughs. “Excuse me
Councilman Stephen, but I'm afraid he can. The law states that once
the contract has been signed, the woman is his property and he can
do with her as he pleases as long as she remains chaste before the
marriage.”

Father's eyes widen. “But no one takes
a bride before the wedding.”

“
I do.” The Envadi sounds
relaxed, but his body is taut. Why does he want to take me with
him? Is he going to take my virtue and purposely get me tarnished?
The world tilts around me. A foul taste invades my mouth. I'm going
to be sick.

The law officer addresses the Envadi.
“You do understand, Chancellor Zade, that if you dishonor her, she
will no longer be yours, but will be tarnished and you will forfeit
all claims.”

The Envadi's jaw flexes several times
before he says, “I'm aware.”

“
Then what purpose does it
serve?” Father says.

“
It seems you keep
forgetting she's my property, which means it's my concern. However,
I know the importance of family. Any family is welcome to stay for
a visit.”

“
That's the only claim
you'll give me over her? A visit?” Father says.

The Envadi folds his arms. “You heard
me.”

“
You can't do that.”
Father shakes with fury.

I cringe away from him.

“
Technically he can,” the
officer says. “You know he has full rights to your daughter
now.”

“
Is there any way to get
out of it?” Father asks.

“
There are two ways for
the betrothal contract to be broken. A man can simply withdraw, but
in such case the woman is automatically assumed unfit and will
become tarnished. Or a woman found to no longer be chaste. In which
case she will also become a tarnished. If it's before transfer of
ownership, a sum paid by the girl's Father for a false claim. If
it's after transfer of ownership, she'll be tarnished with no
recompense.”

“
I already know that,
fool. I meant is there anything else.”

“
There isn't.”

“
Look at her. Just look at
her. She can't go to him. Do you know how much magic is in her
blood?” Father splutters, his face growing redder by the
moment.

I inch farther away from him. I'm
getting the chance to leave him before my marriage. As he starts
yelling curses, I realize I don't have to return to his house. I
can't believe it. I can't.

The Envadi strides over to me. If
killing Thomas is any indication, he's a powerful warlock. The
lightness within me sinks into a massive horde of fear, heavy and
repressive. This stranger is going to be worse than Father. More
powerful and bigger. He'll be able to inflict even more damage.
Trying to hold back a whimper, I bite the inside of my
cheek.

Father spots the Envadi next to me and
howls. With a flick of his wrist, he emits a scarlet spell. The
light flies toward the Envadi. Before it can reach him, the Envadi
casts his own spell of silver in front of him. The scarlet smashes
into the silver, both dissolving on impact.

The Envadi says, “Please remove this
dangerous, unstable man.”

“
Sorry about that,
Chancellor. Didn't expect it out of our good Councilman.” The law
officer bends to whisper in Father's ear. As he listens, his eyes
tighten into narrow slits. The officer pulls back.

“
Forgive my violence,”
Father says. “It wasn't intended for you. Today has been a
shock.”

“
Indeed.” The Envadi's
mouth is a tight line.

Without another word, Father and the
law officer depart, the salmon dome closing after them. The
spectators' lips move, directed at Father. He looks back at me, an
expression on his face I don't recognize. Longing? Regret? But it
can't be either of those. After it morphs to a scowl, he and the
law officer stride off.

The Envadi's focus is fully on me. I
grip my hands together and demand my gaze reach up to meet his no
matter that my body doesn't want to cooperate. Now that I'm getting
used to his height and seeing more of him, I realize he's younger
than I previously thought. Perhaps three or four years older than
me. Young and strong.

“
Would you prefer to stay
at Thomas's home or Chancellor Jacob's manor?”

My gaze wavers. The question wasn't
what I expected. I expected to be taken, well, I don't know where,
but wherever the Envadi wanted. The strain of the day must have
addled him. I won't be the one to remind him it's not my choice. If
I never have to be in Thomas's house again, I'll be happier. “The
manor.”

“
Very well. Your things
will be sent after you.”

He waves his hand and the salmon light
pops into nothing. Even without the spell, it's oddly silent as the
crowd watches us. Without another word, he strides through the
cluster of people.

Chapter Eight

“
I'
m glad Father let you come,” I say to Cynthia. My carriage
sickness abounds, but I do my best to ignore it. She's overly pale
and in need of more comfort than me. “Nothing will happen to you,
I'm sure of it. You're still Father's property, that will mean
something. He wouldn't have sent you if it didn't. The Envadi won't
hurt you.”

In the faint light coming through the
cracks of the carriage door, Cynthia shakes her head. “I doubt
it.”

She's probably right, though I don't
dare correct her. “I'll keep you safe.”

“
You can't protect me like
you did at home.”

What can I say to that? There's no
reason to think it'll be the same and every reason to think it'll
be much worse. I won't be able to protect her or me. “I'll keep you
hidden in my closet. He won't find you there.”

She gives a mirthless laugh before
sobering. “You might as well know I've been sent to spy on you and
the Envadi.”

“
Oh.” It makes sense why
Father would send her, though why the Envadi offered in the first
place is unfathomable. “Did Father spell you?”

“
Not that I know of. He
sent a note with the directions I was to come and report everything
to him with letters, so I think it unlikely.”

“
Well then, you're free to
tell him whatever you like. I have nothing more to hide than I did
for seventeen years, and I could care less what you tell him about
the Envadi.”

She snorts.

Attempting to keep myself from being
sick, I breathe evenly. “If mother heard that you would be given a
Woman's Canon lecture.”

“
And you're not going to
take her place?”

“
Only if you
don't.”

“
Splendid.” The carriage
dips and bounces back up. “Rough road. How are you
faring?”

My stomach churns. I'm hot and sweaty
and uncomfortable. “Rather well, considering. Would you keep
talking though?”

“
Of course.”

Cynthia talks and talks of all sorts
of things. Stories from when were children. Of the sisters we left
behind. Of mother and the unborn babe. She stops only to help when
the ride makes me ill. If she had accompanied me on more trips, I
wouldn't have despised the carriage quite as much.

The journey is long.
Longer than it takes to get to Thomas's from Father's house. Part
way through I realize I have no idea what to expect. We could be
headed toward a run down cottage. Though since Father and Thomas
seemed pleased with the new property, it can't be too awful.
B
ut something about it
has me nervous.

As time passes, Cynthia's chatter
becomes more stilted, and my retching into a pot more frequent.
From the aching tiredness of my body, I can only assume night
deepens. I'm beginning to think I've made a mistake in choosing
Chancellor Jacob's house. No wonder the Envadi let me choose, he
wanted to see what type of torture I prefer. Chancellor Jacob must
have stayed in the tents instead of traveling everyday like Thomas.
Father often stays overnight when there is to be a council meeting
and Chancellor Jacob must have done the same. I can't imagine doing
this route regularly.

When the carriage finally stops, I've
long since lost any sense of dignity. I groan. I can't help it.
Cynthia reaches over and squeezes my hand. The stench from my
troubles is so foul, I want to rush from the carriage. Of course I
haven't the energy for it nor am I so reckless as to open the door
on my own. That rule was hexed into me long ago.

I haul myself into a sitting position
and try to reacquaint myself with the stillness of the world.
Cynthia moves, but I can't tell what she's doing. Probably trying
to clean. When the footman finally opens the door, I'm a bit less
peaked, though more than ready to be done with the carriage for a
lifetime.

The light of dawn pours in. Not how I
wanted to greet morning. Cynthia waits for me to exit the carriage,
though I imagine she's almost as eager as I am to leave it. Maybe
even more so. The crisp air hits me as I step onto the cobblestone,
rushing life back in me. I take several deep breaths of earthy
fragrance. Beside me, Cynthia gasps.

“
What?” I look at her then
at where she's staring.

I gasp as well.

It can't be the proper place. We must
have made a wrong turn. But the footman is speaking to a servant at
the base of the mansion. The servant nods to whatever he's saying
and faces us. Still, once I catch my breath I call out, “Is this
Chancellor Jacob's?”

“
It is,” the servant
replies. More servants, both tarnished and lower class, make their
way outside. More than I've seen gathered in one place before. Are
they all for this place?

I look back at the manor. They must
be. If there were any fewer, cleaning would never be done. Four
stories of stone stacked upon one another and more windows than I
could ever hope for. There's a turret at each corner of the manor,
rising two stories above the rest of the house. I count the stories
again. At least four.

I've never been above the first floor
of Father's house. Is it safe? Council meetings were always held on
the second floor, so it must be. Yet I can't imagine how a person
doesn't fall through. How are the upper floors able to stay up and
not come crashing down?

“
How much of this land do
you think belongs with the manor?” Cynthia asks.

For the first time I glance around.
Lush grass all around and a forest off in the distance. To one side
of the house there looks to be the edge of a lake, though I'd have
to circle around the house to know for sure. In front of the manor
are hedges and flowers. Blues, purples, pinks, yellows,
oranges.

“
I've never imagined
anything so grand,” I say.

The Envadi dismounts, looming over us.
I didn't realize he rode here as well. My astonishment at the house
dampens. I thought he decided to stay, well, wherever it was he was
staying, but clearly he didn't. At least with a house this vast,
I'll be able to secret myself within, even if I'm restricted to the
first floor.

“
Your things from Thomas's
will be by sometime later this morning,” he says. “The rest of your
things will be gathered from your house and sent over. You both can
have whatever room you like.”