Breathe (The Destiny Series: Book 1) (15 page)

“It’s not seemly, Lord,” Jacob said, his voice petulant and whining. “Two weeks it’s been, and he rarely leaves her side! They say he stays while they bathe her! It’s enough! You need to put a stop to it, now!”

“Do I? Do I really?” Hugh’s voice was like ice. He may have agreed with Jacob, but he was not going to be dictated to by anyone, especially where his daughter was concerned.

Realizing his error, Jacob took an involuntary step backwards and began again in what he hoped was a more respectful tone. “I only worry for the reputation of Lady Dearra, my lord. Surely the presence of the Breken dog taints her.”

“My daughter lies unconscious, surrounded by no less than three Maj healers at any one time. She has yet to open her eyes. What do you suppose anyone could accuse her of?

“As for the Breken, I have said he is a guest here now, and that should be good enough for any man, leastways you, Jacob.”

“Of course, Lord Hugh.” Jacob said, and he swept from the Great Hall.

Daniel was not fond of Jacob and had never taken any pains to hide how he felt. “That one’s going to be trouble, Lord Hugh,” he said. “You mark my words.”

“He’s just…concerned, Daniel. It
is
all a bit off. Why does Darius hover so? He hardly knows the girl. The healers do all they can.

“I thought to at least get him out of the room to take care of the pup, but now he has young Royce tending to the animal’s physical needs. The child fairly trips over himself in his delight at being given responsibility for the puppy. Royce looks at Darius as if he were some young god come among us.

“And the healers! They give any news to Darius first, and then to me!”

“Jealous?”

“Not funny, Daniel. I would think you would be on my side in this. I am second in my own home!”

Daniel would have laughed at the pout on Hugh’s face, but he had enough sense to keep that impulse under control. “Not second, Hugh,” he said. “Of course Darius hears the news first; he sits not three feet from them day and night.

“As for Royce, can you truly blame the boy? The Breken is fascinating to him, and what child can resist a puppy?”

“Still, I would think—”

Ann burst into the hall. “Lord! Lord! Come quickly!”

“What is it? Is it Dearra?” He quickly stood, feeling cold terror clench at his heart.

“Yes, Lord. We think she’s waking up.”

The words had hardly passed her lips, before Hugh had rushed past her and to his daughter’s side. He slowed as he neared the room and pushed the door open gently so as not to startle Dearra.

***

Dearra was pale and frail looking. Her cheeks had a sunken appearance. She had eaten nothing for two weeks, surviving only on the water they were able to force between her lips.

Darius stood in his usual spot, his jaw clenched, while Dearra moved restlessly in her bed, her lids fluttering in her struggle to come back to them.

Hugh knelt beside his daughter’s bed, took her hand in his own, and said, “Dearra? Dearra, love? Open your eyes.”

Dearra heard her father’s voice calling to her and struggled to answer him. The weight of the heavy blankets seemed to press down on her, holding her in darkness. Her throat burned as she struggled to speak. “Father?” she said, her voice a faint whisper to her ears. She felt her father’s hand close more tightly around hers, so she knew he had heard. With a final effort, she pulled herself from the blackness and opened her eyes.

“Oh, thank Cyrus,” Hugh said, his voice cracking with emotion, and he stroked his daughter’s hair.

“Father?” Dearra said, her voice a little stronger, now. “Father, I…Where…I want…”

“What is it, Dearra? What do you want?” In that moment, Hugh would have wrapped the world with a bow and given it to her if she had asked for it. Anything she desired would be hers; she had only to name it.

“Darius. Where’s Darius?”

“I’m here, Dearra,” Darius answered. 

The hand not in her father’s embrace fluttered from the top of the blankets as she reached out for him. Darius took her hand and cradled it in his own.

Dearra smiled a little, closed her eyes, and fell into an easy sleep.

Hugh returned Dearra’s hand to the bed and walked from the room, a frown on his face.

Darius remained, still holding Dearra’s hand, his thumb gently caressing the treasure he held.

Distracted as he was, Hugh almost ran into Daniel as he exited the room.

“Is she awake, then? How is she? Is everything alright now?”

Hugh shook his head. “No, Daniel. Nothing is alright. I’ve lost her.”

Daniel’s face went white. Dearra was gone? It couldn’t be! The look on Hugh’s face said it all. Only Dearra’s death could cause him such pain. If Dearra were dead, Daniel had to see it for himself, to be given a chance to say goodbye to his sweet Dearra. He pushed the door open and looked on with wonder.

Healers in the room scurried about tidying, each of them smiling and speaking in happy, excited whispers. Dearra lay with her eyes closed, just as she had for days, but there was a blush of pink on her cheeks, and the steady rise and fall of her chest told Daniel she was breathing strongly and evenly in sleep. Darius stood over Dearra, holding her hand and staring at her with rapt attention. Daniel shut the door as soundlessly as he had opened it, turned to Hugh, and said, “Oh,” a small smile playing around the corners of his mouth.

“I’m warning you; not one word, Daniel, not one word.” Hugh walked away, head shaking the whole way, saying, “Should have killed him when I had the chance,” under his breath.

Wise or no, Daniel couldn’t suppress the hearty chuckle from bubbling out. Fortunately for Daniel, Hugh was out of hearing range.

If Darius were devoted before, he redoubled his attention during Dearra’s recovery. The first night the healers tried to keep him in his normal place, but Dearra thrashed and tossed so much in her sleep they finally gave in when he said he could help her. Wrapping a scrap of leather the puppy had been chewing on around his hand, Darius took hold of Dearra’s sword’s hilt and lowered it to the bed beside her. He lifted her hand, rested it on the weapon, and she calmed almost immediately.

Ann clucked in disapproval, but she made no attempt to remove the sword; she didn’t trust her fingers to be safe from the moody blade, even if it were wrapped in thick leather.

Still more weeks passed before Dearra, looking far better, the result of days of good food and rest, was able to throw the covers off and rise from her prison of sheets and heavy blankets.

Ann moved to intercept her, but Darius was faster. He swept her into his arms, lowered her back to the bed, and demanded, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m getting up. I’ve had enough of bed and nurses. I feel like a dirty rag. I want a bath.”

Seeing the flash in Ann’s eyes, Darius spoke quickly to diffuse the temper of the protective healer. “Dearra, you know Ann has bathed you daily? It’s unfair to say you are dirty when she has worked so hard to make sure you are comfortable.”

“I would think you would show me a little pity, Darius. Are you my friend or not? I want a bath, and you would deny me? Where’s Carly? I know
she
is a good friend and will grant me this one request.”

Darius rolled his eyes at the dramatic statement and said, “Get the tub, Ann. We’ll have no peace until Dearra has had her bath.”

Dearra clapped her hands like a happy child, content to wait in bed while water was brought. Darius went to take up his position against the wall. “Oh no, you’re not staying!  Go away, Darius. Go find something to do outside these walls.”

Stunned by the dismissal, Darius walked from the chamber and down the steps, hardly knowing where his feet were taking him. The wolf pup followed closely at his heels. He eventually found himself outside the entrance to the Great Hall, and almost shyly, entered and found an empty table. The puppy, who had tripled in size over the last five weeks, threw himself on top of Darius’s boots. The same kitchen girl who had brought him food on the first day was beside him again. He thanked her for the offer, but he had no wish for food. He felt awkward and alone.

“So, she’s turned you out at last,” Jacob taunted.

Darius had heard mutterings about the man standing beside him. He was wholly unimpressed with the irritating troublemaker, and he did not turn his head to recognize Jacob as he spoke.

Angered to be so ignored, Jacob tried a different approach. “I feel sorry for you, Breken dog. Now that she is well, perhaps she is too much woman for you. Perhaps you prefer to take advantage of weak, unconscious girls who lack the strength to fight you off.”

The foul implication pushed Darius too far, and he rose swiftly to his feet. Sensing his master’s anger, the wolf pup was beside Darius in a flash. A deep, puppy growl rumbled in his chest.

“You would dare to say such things? You would dishonor her name with your filthy words?” Darius spat.

“The dishonor would not be hers, Breken. What could she do if you forced her? Of course…”

“Of course, what?” Darius said, simmering with rage, begging the pig to finish his sentence and give Darius an excuse to snap his neck.

“Of course, there’s always the chance she enjoyed it,” Jacob said in a low tone, so only Darius would hear. “Then I would need to punish her.”

Darius acted without thought and sprang at Jacob from across the table. Jacob wasn’t as big as Darius, but at 6’2” and about 220 pounds of solid muscle, he was a formidable opponent. Darius had momentum in his favor, and when he crashed into Jacob, the two men slammed into the stone wall behind them. Darius braced his arm against Jacob’s throat. The wolf kept up its vicious snarls and growls. A split second later and Jacob was holding a knife to the Darius’s chest.

Daniel strode through the hall toward the two men who remained locked in combat. “Darius! Jacob! What’s going on here?”

Darius pushed away from Jacob, and Jacob sheathed his knife.

“Nothing, Daniel,” Darius said, his voice calm. “Jacob was kindly offering me instruction in Maj fighting techniques.”

“Is that right, Jacob?” Daniel said, sharply.

“Of course!” Jacob seemed almost shocked at the thought it could be anything otherwise.

Daniel couldn’t remember the last time he had been around this much fertilizer at one time and shrugged. “If you’re done with your instruction, Lord Hugh wants to see Darius.”

Jacob nodded curtly and left without another word.

Darius trailed Daniel out of the Great Hall and followed him to the tower where Lord Hugh slept.

***

At Lord Hugh’s chambers, Daniel opened the door and held it wide to allow Darius to enter first. He was closely followed by the young wolf.

Hugh stood as Darius entered the room and said without preamble, “My daughter has recovered. I think it time you took up residence in your own chamber.”

“Lady Dearra has already removed me from my place in her room. I believe she is bathing, and if I could guess, I would say she plans to join you for the evening meal.”

A delighted grin lit Hugh’s face at the thought of Dearra beside him at the family table, as it was one place Darius couldn’t follow.

“There was a bit of trouble in the hall between Darius and Jacob, Lord,” Daniel informed.

“Really?”

“It was nothing, Lord. Jacob was showing me some of the training techniques of the island, and we got a little…carried away.”

“Hmm,” Hugh said. He paused for a moment, reached beside his chair, and held Darius’s sword out to him, hilt first. “Well, if you’re going to ‘practice’, you’ll need your weapon back.”

Darius grasped the sword in his hand and felt an immediate and overwhelming sense of relief, as if he felt whole again. He nodded his thanks to Lord Hugh and strapped the sword to its place at his side.

Hugh still wasn’t sure giving the sword back was a good idea, but he was committed to this course now, and would see it through. He looked the young Breken squarely in the eye and said “And Darius, about Jacob: if you’re going to lie to the Lord of Maj, you may want to practice a bit first. You’re terrible at it, boy. Go on now. I must get ready to dine with my daughter.”

***

Four hours later, a weakened but smiling Dearra entered the Great Hall with the assistance of Carly and Ann. She beamed with pleasure when the people of Maj clapped and cheered at her return. Hugh stepped from the raised platform that held the family table and met his daughter halfway to take over as her support. He kept a steady hand at her elbow as she took her seat, and then he turned to face the crowd of people.

“Today my daughter rejoins us!” The cheers that had stilled erupted once more to fill the room. Hugh waited for them to quiet before speaking again. “The she-wolf who threatened our children and our livestock has been destroyed, and though Dearra was gravely injured, all is now well, and we are grateful to have her back with us, safe and whole.”

Dearra’s smile slipped for a moment. The way her father told the story made it sound as though she had been wounded in battle with the wolf rather than from her own clumsiness, but it would do no good to argue the point. Her father would choose to remember the incident his own way. Her eyes scanned the room looking for Darius, who she found, smiling at her from the back of the room. Though there was plenty of room at his table, young Royce was the only one who sat with him.