Bastial Steel (6 page)

“What did Jessend tell you about me?” he asked.

“That you two are to be married,” Danvell said plainly, giving no hint he wished to say more.

“I’m confused by your indifference,” Cleve admitted, unsure what else to say to have the King elaborate.

“You’re not the first man, not even the second. I’ve been through it too many times by now. Jessend desperately wants to marry someone besides the man arranged for her on her seventeenth birthday next year. She seems happy with you, and I can tell you’ll protect her. You have the skill for me to make you into a noble warrior, so I’m not worried about your status at this point.”

The King clasped Cleve’s shoulder. “And I like you better than the rest she’s invited to my palace.” He took his hand off Cleve abruptly. “Though, you’ll have to learn better manners. I don’t know why both my daughters fall for men who know nothing of nobility. Sometimes I think it’s just to defy me.”

Cleve decided not to bring up wishing to leave at that point. Danvell’s affection seemed genuine. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin that. But he found it disconcerting that the King didn’t even seem to wonder what Cleve thought of Jessend.

They arrived at an outside garden secluded within the palace walls. It was at least twice the size of the dining hall at the Academy that Cleve attended in Kyrro, which was big enough to fit all three thousand students inside. A blood red vine decorated the stone walls surrounding them. There was just enough sun left in the sky to reach the green grass that was neatly trimmed.

Jessend was seated at a metal table. Two trees that were closer to gold than they were to brown gave her shade. A swarm of servants buzzed around, quickly setting plates and silverware at the sight of the King. Two pulled out seats for him and Cleve.

“Lisanda isn’t feeling well,” the King told Cleve as he was seated. “After that incident, I don’t think I’ll be eating much, either.”

Cleve wasn’t sure how to greet Jessend, so he let his gaze rest on her face until she gave him a clue. She smiled and nodded, so he did the same, though he could feel his smile was not as genuine as hers.

While the food was delicious, the tiring questions that continued to interrupt his chewing soon made him wish to leave as soon as possible. Though he didn’t dare let that attitude come out, and the King didn’t seem to notice it, seemingly more and more pleased with Cleve’s answers as the meal went on.

Danvell claimed he liked that Cleve had continued to train with the bow even though it was outlawed in Kyrro. He thought Cleve was courageous, modest, and even told him he wished more warriors were like him.

Jessend was unusually silent, as if the presence of her father had brought out a shyness in her that Cleve didn’t know existed.

After the last course was completed and Cleve was finally free to leave the table, darkness had set in, so a mage was needed to light their path back inside the palace.

“I’ve never seen my father take a liking to a man so quickly,” Jessend said with a proud glimmer in her eyes. “But saving our lives probably has something to do with it.” She locked her arm around Cleve’s.

He kept worrying Jessend was going to bring up their betrothal, giving him a date it was to happen. If marriage in Goldram was anything like it was in Kyrro, then a contract was signed at the end of the ceremony—a legal document that bound the man and woman together until death. Adultery was the only way out of the contract, but the guilty party would be imprisoned for breaking the marriage oath.

Cleve wanted to know if it was the same in Goldram, but he wasn’t going to ask until Jessend brought it up.
Maybe she’s not in a hurry to get married.

Cleve almost laughed aloud at the absurd idea. Jessend had a cat’s confidence with the impatience of a dog. The thought of her waiting for something she wanted was harder to imagine than a child wanting to finish his chores before opening a gift.

“I want to find out what happened with my sister and Jek before I tell her about you and me,” Jessend said, then quickly continued before Cleve could ask who Jek was. “He kidnapped Prince Harwin and also Lisanda just before she was to marry someone else. I don’t know what happened while they were together, but she believes she loves him now, and she doesn’t fall in love easily.”

Like you?
Cleve almost asked.

Jessend placed her other hand on Cleve’s arm, leaning against him as her walk slowed. “I even trust the psychic Elf more than I do Jek. But my father was considering making him the King’s Mage because his ability with Sartious Energy is the best in Goldram. I left for Kyrro before finding out what happened. I don’t know if he’s even in the palace or not. If my sister still thinks she loves him, and she finds out you and I are to be married, she might get excited about the idea of a double wedding and rush into it with Jek. I wouldn’t want that.”

Cleve felt he wouldn’t have a better opportunity than he did right then. “Don’t you think you’re rushing into this with me?”

“But I know you.” Her tone was soft, as if she was about to laugh. “I don’t think she really knows Jek.”

Cleve had to say it, no matter what it would do to her. “I’m not who you think I am.” He unhooked his arm to take hold of her shoulders, staring down at her to make sure she understood. “You act as if I’m someone else.”

“I know you’re not him.” Her tone was irritated, her mouth a flat line. But she didn’t take her eyes away from his. “You’re Cleve Polken. You stormed your own king’s castle with the psychic Elf. You’re a skilled archer who would shoot at a princess. You’re dedicated to what you believe is right, no matter how hard it is. You choose your words carefully. You’re strong and very handsome, yet I can feel your innocence. I can tell you haven’t been with a woman.”

Stunned, he let go of her while his head snapped back. No words came, not one.

Jessend looked ready to laugh. “Nothing to say?”

Cleve badly wished he was a better liar. He could tell her that he’d been with countless women, that he had less innocence than a prostitute. Then he could convince her she actually didn’t know him as well as she thought she did. But he knew she would just laugh at his attempt to prove her wrong, probably find it cute for some strange reason. So he was silent.

“I know you’re still uneasy about this,” she said. “I am too, just not as much as you.”

“You don’t seem like it.”

“I’m better at hiding things than you are.” She tugged on the straps around his fancy coat. “Come on. We’re going to my room for the night. We’ll get to know each other better.”

There was nothing seductive in her tone, but her words alone gave his stomach a twist.

Chapter 4

There were two guards outside the door to Jessend’s room. One of them turned to unlock it for her.

“You can leave us,” Jessend said. “With a lock on the door and Cleve beside me, I won’t need your protection.”

“Yes, my lady.”

One guard turned as he left, studying Cleve. He seemed to approve, turning back without a word.

Entering, Cleve never would’ve guessed this room belonged to a princess if Jessend hadn’t told him. There were five different bows hung on a wall. She lit the two lamps before closing the door and locking it. The light they gave danced along the bows, making Cleve want to touch them.

He ran his finger down the black longbow in the middle. It reminded him of his own that was somewhere in King Welson’s castle in Kyrro, at least he hoped it was. For all he knew, it could’ve been given to a guard who was in the midst of mistreating it, leaving it out in the rain or hanging it by the string when not in use.

“It looks like yours, doesn’t it?” Jessend took it down and handed it to Cleve.

He ran his thumb halfway down the wood. “But it feels completely different.”

Jessend slid her fingertips down his arm, as if searching for familiarity. She let her hand drop and turned away from him.

“I’m going to rinse my face and change.” Her voice was distant, like a painful memory had just struck her. She grabbed some clothes from the nearby wardrobe and went into the adjacent room. “Have some wine,” she told him before closing the door.

He took off his coat. Well, he tried to. The straps seemed to be buttoned on his back as well as his front. He undid the buttons down the center and tried to twist the coat around to undo the rest, but it got stuck.

Frustrated, he decided he would have some wine first, pouring himself a glass.

When Jessend came out, he planned to tell her that he didn’t want to marry her. He figured the wine would help with the process. The thought of what she might say or do made him dreadfully nervous, but he knew the sooner he got it over with the better.

Even more than being nervous, he felt pain, an ache in his heart. He imagined what it would be like to finally return to Kyrro, grab Reela, and lean down to kiss her, only for her to stop him and tell him she cared for someone else.

I might not be able to do this
, he realized, quickly finishing his glass of wine and pouring another.

By the time Jessend came out, he was on his fourth glass, and his feverish nervousness had finally begun to calm.

She giggled when she saw him. “Let me help you with that.” His coat—somehow he’d forgotten he’d never gotten it off.

As she came over, he noticed she’d changed into some sort of nightgown. It was made of a light fabric of beige color, and it covered her completely.

“Take off your shoes,” she told him when his coat was off. “Get comfortable.”

“Jessend.” He tried to tell her when he knelt down to untie them, but he couldn’t finish the sentence aloud.
I don’t want to marry you
.

“Yes?” She seemed to sense his anxiousness, her brow now furrowed.

“I…” Cleve sighed.
Why do women turn me into such a coward?

Jessend let out a light nervous giggle. “Are you scared of me?”

With his bare feet against the rug, he stood as tall as he could and looked down at her. “I’m not.”

Her giggle grew to a laugh. “How much wine did you drink? Your whole mouth is dark.”

Cleve licked his lips and teeth, tasting the residue quite strongly. “Three and a half glasses.”

“In just that time I was in the bathroom?”

Cleve nodded.

Her mouth twisted, her eyes squinting. “I had a suspicion you didn’t drink.”

“I usually don’t.”

That seemed to sadden her. Her gaze went to the rug. “I see.”

“Jessend, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“You don’t love me.”

That was a start, at least. He felt courage knowing he just had to go from there. “No,” he said.

“Did you think I love you?” She went to the wine and poured herself a glass. “I’m not insane. I don’t fall in love the moment I meet a handsome man. Of course we don’t love each other yet. Is this what you’re worried about, that you don’t love me?”

“Not just that.”

“I know you want to go back to Kyrro,” she said. “You’re worried about the people you left behind. But Cleve, you’re needed here as well. You don’t know the monster that’s waiting for me if you leave. And even if you go!” She surprised him by shouting. “You won’t be welcomed back by your king.”

Jessend stood next to the table with the wine, shifting her eyes between Cleve and the chair before her. Without thinking, Cleve found himself walking over to pull out the chair for her, pushing it in as she sat. He joined her on the other side of the table.

“It’s fine that you have worries,” she told him, her tone calm once again. “I do, too. You haven’t even been in Goldram one day. Just take some time before you jump to any conclusions. For now, drink with me.”

She held up her glass.

He did the same.

She was right. Tonight wasn’t the time to tell her. With immense relief, he sipped his wine, focusing on the taste for the first time. He didn’t like it, too bitter.

Several hours later he’d lost track of both time and how many glasses of wine he’d had. He learned that Jessend knew many card games, and she was either excellent at all of them or Cleve was terrible.

When Cleve grew tired of losing, he started blatantly cheating, finding more amusement in what he could get away with than in actually winning.

He asked Jessend about a painting on the wall behind her, looking at her cards when she turned. When he was about to lose, he pretended to sneeze and mixed up his cards with the deck. To his amazement, she either pretended not to know or really didn’t notice him doing it, for she said nothing.

When she went to use the chamber pot in the other room, and he switched his hand with hers, he thought surely she would say something this time. But no, she came back…and even beat him without mentioning it.

He couldn’t stand it any longer. Before he knew it, he was out of his seat and shaking her by the shoulders. “How have you not noticed I’m cheating?”

She burst into laughter as if she’d been holding it in for hours. She stood as well, grabbing his hands to playfully wrestle. “Of course I noticed. I just wanted to see how far you would go.”

“You’re such a good actor!” Cleve couldn’t believe it.