A Feast of Souls: Araneae Nation, Book 2 (25 page)

His voice grated. “I want you, Mana.”

Muscles trembled in my thighs as heat swept upward from my core. “Do you?”

“Our union will heal the rift between our clans.” His cheek pressed to mine. “Our clans will be joined by marriage, and it will be a blessing that lightens my mother’s heart as well as mine.”

I must have heard him wrong. “You did this—to us—for our clans?”

He must have heard the crackle of anger in my voice. “I did this
for
us, to heal our clans.”

Isolde’s blood ran thick in his veins, then. He had seen an opportunity and seized it, and me.

“You ruined me.” I jerked my head around and winced when his hand tangled in my hair. “If I’m bound to you, I can’t marry my soul mate. What honorable male would have me this way?”

“
I
am an honorable male.” His voice rose to match mine. “I will have you, Mana.”

“You’ve made sure of that, haven’t you?” Foolish vision blurred. Foolish heart broke. “I’m tired. I’d like to return to the towers and to my room.” I bit the inside of my cheek. “If you could have one assigned to me, I would appreciate the privacy. I would rather not remain in your rooms.”

“Mana—” Fury trembled in his tone, and something softer, vulnerable. I ignored it, and him.

“You’ve said enough for one night.” I started walking. “Save the rest for tomorrow.”

Balling my hurt deep inside, I imagined the look on Old Father’s face when he counseled me on holding negative energy inside me. No good came of it. Isolde and Vaughn were proof of that.

I led until it became obvious I was lost. Then Vaughn took the lead without a word, and I let him guide me until exhaustion tugged at my limbs. A fleeting thought stirred my temper again. I was being walked about as if I was the canis, allowed to calm myself before entering the towers.

Part of me wanted to offer grudging thanks to him. Hadn’t I just been thinking on the effects of negativity? The larger part, rife with hurt and tender at Vaughn’s thoughtless scheming, kept my mouth pinched shut. I would stroll and let my anger cool while I made plans for tomorrow.

Though we walked until sunlight peeked over the city’s walls, I heard no barks or scrabbling claws. I kept Brynmor in my thoughts, praying he was safe. That the city’s gang hadn’t done him harm. Brynmor was cunning. When I failed to locate him, he’d hunker down and wait for dawn.

Tracking me was an easy matter if Murdoch was to be believed. So Brynmor would find his way to the tower and back to me. Working through the stitch in my side, I asked myself at what point Brynmor’s welfare had begun to matter to me. By all rights, I should hate him. Yet time and his devotion to his family had softened the harsh edges of the education Sikya had given me on him.

“Let me get that for you.” Vaughn pulled me from my thoughts and opened the door with slick precision. “I’ll show you to my rooms.” Before I laughed in his face, he cut me short. “I intend to spend the night with Mother, in her rooms.” As if reading my next objection, he said, “I’ll send Nerys to an empty suite so she can rest. Gods know how long she’s gone without proper sleep.”

“Thank you.” Though a nighttime spent in his room, reliving his claiming, would be torture.

“I’ll have her bring you a meal.” His offer made my stomach growl. “Fruit and bread.” After escorting me to his room, he lingered in the doorway. “What I said earlier—”

“Please don’t. I’m tired and I won’t remember this conversation tomorrow.” I hoped. “If you would like to continue this talk in the morning, I’m amenable.” How cool and formal I sounded. I thought perhaps I could thank my time among the Araneidae for that aloofness. “Dream well.”

“I somehow doubt I will.” His knuckles rapped the frame. “Call if you need…anything.”

Then he was gone.

I sank into his mattress and straight into troubled dreams.

Thick mist swirled about my feet and I groaned, trying to block the visitor strolling from the fog and failing. I sank to the soft ground with a disgusted sigh.
“Let’s have this done, Brynmor.”

He circled me.
“You’re tired.”

I snorted.

He paused.
“No need to be rude.”

Rubbing my palms against my cheeks, I studied him.
“I looked for you. Where did you go?”

“I sought shelter. I pushed the canis too far.”
He frowned.
“It’s resting now.”

Weariness melted and concern took its place.
“Will it be all right? I saw traces of blood.”

Brynmor stared at his palms.
“Broken pottery shards are to blame for that.”

“I’ll ask Cleit for balm if he has any.”
I studied him.
“Did you find who was following us?”

His spine stiffened.
“I did.”

“Murdoch said there is no gang,”
I prompted.
“Just bored youths who prowl the streets.”

“This was no youth.”
He began pacing.
“She smelled odd, moved faster than a canis runs.”

“A female? You must be mistaken.”
He had to be.
“Nerys was the last female brought here.”

Even as I said it, doubt lingered. The youth who had approached the towers and been turned aside by Cleit. Could he have been a female? Caught in that awkward phase of immaturity where sexes blurred? Brynmor said she was no youth, but could she have appeared as one? The shadow I saw had been slender. A youth or a slim female with little endowment could fit my recollection.

“Then one has since escaped the towers.”
He grunted.
“There are hidden rooms, tunnels, if a person knew where to look. If they had attended Isolde or me, they would know the locations.”

“I’ll ask Nerys for a headcount in the morning.”
I stifled a yawn.
“We must know how many entered the towers. Then we can compare that number to those in the north and east towers. I’m sure there’s a ledger with names and tallies. She can access her records if we run short a body.”

“True enough.”
He appraised me, his gaze sharp.
“I can see the bond you share with my son. It’s good and strong. He will make you a fine husband.”
He paused.
“He will cherish you.”

“It’s not enough,”
I said softly.
“He speaks of duty, of honor, of want, but not of his heart.”

He turned from me.
“It seems all males of my line are cursed in matters of the heart.”

“Cursed? I doubt that. Males of your line take what they want and they are doomed to suffer the consequences of their actions.”
My fingers curled into my palms.
“If your son has failed to learn from his father’s mistakes, then it’s a true curse indeed, but it’s one of his own making.”

“You’re tired. You’ll be more rational tomorrow.”
He sniffed.
“I’ll find you then.”

I slid lower, until I lay upon the ground.
“Do as you please. Males of your line always do.”

Morning brought fresh optimism. I found soap and a rag, then washed in Vaughn’s basin. My shirt and pants were stained. I regretted pulling them on over freshly scrubbed skin. Perhaps I could borrow clothes from Nerys or another female nearer my size. There must be one or two.

Hoping to avoid Vaughn until I could be civil, I cracked the door open a fraction and peered out into the hall. No one stood guard. No voices carried. All was quiet. I expelled a harsh breath.

I widened the crack, then froze. Footsteps approached. I nudged it closed but for a sliver.

Nerys rounded the corner, moving fast. Under her arm, leather bulged—the supply roll.

Throwing the door open, I stepped into the hall, facing her, hands on my hips.

“Mana—I—” Her smile faltered. “Good morning.”

“It was.” I stared at the leather bundle. “Where did you just come from?”

She took a step backwards. “I was making the rounds. That’s all.”

“And you needed my supply roll for that?” I held out my hand. “My supplies, if you please.” The tools were Old Father’s, and I had no intention of losing them.

“I meant no harm.” Nerys eased back another step. “You must understand. I had to try.”

Dread pooled in my gut. “I’m afraid I don’t. What have you done?”

“I—” She spun and ran.

Stunned, I stared after her until she rounded the same sharp corner. Adrenaline flooded me. I gave chase. Her feet flew over the stones, the path familiar to her. I scrambled to keep up, sliding when she made an unexpected twist or turn. We passed the south tower, the west and the north. I let her run me in circles before she dashed for the east tower’s door and the city streets beyond.

“Stop.” My voice echoed.

She didn’t so much as slow down.

Growling, I used Brynmor’s curt dismissal of my feelings to give me the push I needed. My thighs burned, but I closed the gap between us. The latch and the heavy doors slowed her down. I skidded around the last bend and into the final stretch. Sunlight slanted across the tiles. I squinted and lunged, catching her about the waist and tumbling onto the stones hard enough we cried out.

“Give me the roll.” I tugged at her arms, but they were folded beneath her.

“You must hear me out.” Her words muffled against her forearm and the floor.

Fisting clumps of her hair, I yanked her head back. “There are irreplaceable tools in that roll. If they weren’t broken in the fall, it will be a miracle. Return what you’ve stolen from me, thief.”

“I can’t.” She panted.

I tugged until her spine bowed. Rhys had used my long hair to gain the upper hand in all our wrestling bouts as children. I put his moves to use. She whimpered but held on to the roll and let me do what I wished. If I weren’t so furious, I would have admired her determination to thieve.

“Mana.” Vaughn’s voice carried.

“I can handle this.” It shocked me to realize I could. “I don’t need your help.”

His footsteps faltered before resuming. Moments later, he appeared at my elbow. I stared up at him, half-expecting him to rip us apart or demand her side of the story, but he didn’t.

“She stole my supply roll.” I relaxed my grip. “She must have sneaked it from Isolde’s room after you went searching for me. She won’t say why or where she was headed. I caught her in the hall and she ran.” I let her go but remained straddling her waist. “Return what you have stolen.”

“Please, you must listen to me—” She began struggling, trying to worm out from under me.

“May I?” Vaughn waited for my permission. I nodded, scuttling backwards. He lifted Nerys with ease and held her upright. “Take the supply roll and check her for anything else of interest.”

I secured the roll, checked her pockets and gown, her shoes, looking for objects of value.

Sweat dampened my brow by the time I’d finished. “There’s nothing else.”

“Gather your things.” He twisted Nerys to face down the hall. “Mother is feeling much more herself this morning. I’m sure your maven will be interested to hear your accounting of events.”

Nerys hung her head and let him shove her before him. He was not gentle in the least, and it should have bothered me to see his hands on this female more than it did. These were dark times, and no matter how soft my heart had been before I left Beltania all those weeks ago, it was much harder now. She had stolen from me, from Old Father. Had she thought the tools of some value?

I’d find out soon enough. Isolde would leave no stone unturned during her examination. After days of being cooped up in bed, she was ready for a good brawl, verbal or otherwise.

I almost pitied Nerys. Almost.

Vaughn pounded on Isolde’s door with the side of his fist. When she answered with
what
, he tossed Nerys into Isolde’s room, then slammed the door shut behind us. “We have ourselves a thief.” He shoved Nerys into her usual chair. “She stole something of Mana’s and attempted to escape.”

“I should have known. No proper female has such aim.” Isolde pushed upright. “What were you thinking? You’d steal from your own clan at a time like this?” She made a chopping motion at her wrist. “Nerys, you know the penalty for thievery. Vaughn will see to your punishment.”

The female paled but stood her ground. “It will be as you wish, Maven.”

Isolde flexed her fingers. “Which can’t you live without? We’ll take that into consideration.”

Vaughn tapped the hilt of his sword, unflinching, willing to mete out his mother’s justice.

“Nerys.” I swallowed hard and tasted bile. “Why steal the roll? What use is it to you?”

Isolde cut a glare my way. “Don’t think you’ll get her off the hook so easy.”

“I’d like to know her reasons.” And spare the female if I could. “That’s only fair.”

With a snort, Isolde lay back against her pillows and crossed her arms. “Go on then, tell us.”

Nerys shook her head.

“Mana asked you a question.” Vaughn slid his sword from its sheath. “Answer her.”

Trembling so hard her voice quaked, she said, “Isolde drank her potion and was healed.”