Heiress: Birthstone Series Book Two (45 page)

As I turned to go, I began to see more details I knew Aylen
must have been responsible for. The fire pits throughout the city were designed
nearly identical to Vairda’s. Some of the food looked as though it was similar
although different ingredients had been substituted. Most of the games were
exact duplicates of what we played on the islands.

I wandered as I ate, too enthralled to stay still for long.
I warmed myself near the fires for a few moments at a time when I passed them,
but quickly moved on again, taking in each detail, every feature that carried a
hint of Vairda.

I loved her more than ever for it.

When my plate was empty, my hands no longer shaking, and my
toes somewhat warm, I found a place to deposit my dish. I’d drifted closer to
the largest crowd, and with my stomach full, I was ready to make my way
through.

I noticed more looks from people as I filtered into the
mass, a few with disgusted sneers. Mostly, the glances at my appearance drew
looks of pity. I tried to ignore them as I wove through the tightly packed
groups. Some people gave me a wide berth while others tried to be polite about
my presence.

Above me, on large perches and platforms, flyers milled
about. Their eyes often stayed trained on something up ahead so I kept going,
looking upward now and then to use their gazes as a guide.

It wasn’t long before I found the source of everyone’s
interest.

It was a sword fight.

I moved my head to get a better look and tried to shift
around a tight pack of bodies. A large square had been partitioned off and
inside of it were two people, each holding swords. Practice swords, I realized.

One was a young man. His brown hair was sweat soaked and
matted to his head but his lips were lifted in an easy smile.

Someone shifted in front of me, offering me a better view. I
glanced toward the man’s opponent and froze.

It was her.

 Aylen.

My
Aylen.

Her hair was darker, I noticed, and several wild strands had
broken loose from her braids. They fluttered around her face as she moved and
twisted. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold but her eyes shone bright. In
spite of the long, form fitting shirt she wore, much of her back was left bare,
like many of the sky dwellers. Over her snug pants, her boots reached her
knees. A wide belt cinched her waist and shirt and carried the scabbard for her
sword.

She darted around the ring nearly too fast to follow while
the crowd cheered every time she tricked her opponent or dodged a blow from his
sword. I hardly noticed their hoots and yells. I could only stare.

The longer I watched, the more I realized I hardly
recognized her. She wasn’t the same girl who had left Vairda. Her fighting was
flawless. Her confidence seemed to pour from every expression, every movement.
She was perfectly controlled.

I tore my eyes away and surveyed the thousands of eyes
trained on her. Adoration shone through most of the faces that watched her as
she captivated every second of their attention.

I stared down at myself; a muddied, lone sea dweller in the
middle of a world I knew nothing about. I wondered if this was how Aylen had
felt at her first Stone Festival in Vairda. Then I realized our circumstances
couldn’t compare.

Of course, she’d felt out of place and even afraid she
wouldn’t be accepted. But in Et Loedin, my prospects were much, much worse.

I’d never be a flyer, or even someone with an ability that
could be considered useful. I was ragged, unknown, and had come from a tribe of
outcasts. I was a reject by blood and by all appearances.

For the first time since I’d arrived in Miranasch, my
courage faltered. Then I remembered the worst truth of all. Tereg had died in
my place. I was responsible for the death of someone who not only led and
helped these people, but was the father of their beloved Heiress. What would
Aylen think if she knew? How would I be received here if anyone found out the
truth?

I took several steps backwards, my throat constricting. I
wasn’t sure I wanted to find out.

The games had gone on far too long. With every move, I tried
to smile, as if I was having the time of my life, but the expression felt
painted on. I wondered if anyone could tell.

“Give them something to believe in,” I continued to chant
inside my head. “Show them your confidence. Show them you’re capable.”

I laughed when Cole swung at me and I managed to duck once
more and smack his legs with my practice sword. The crowd cheered again and
Cole’s grin faltered for a moment.

I needed to end this before we both became frustrated. And
judging how dark it had become, I would need to retire soon.

With a final burst of energy, I lunged toward Cole. He saw
me coming and moved to block me with his sword. I anticipated his response,
switched directions, and attacked him from his weak side. He fought to regain
control but I saw his grip slacken and moments later, his sword clattered to
the ground.

I picked it up and handed it back to him, my lips pressed in
an apologetic smile.

“For the fifth time in a row, the Gem Heiress wins!” Cole
yelled. The crowd hollered and clapped as Cole held my hand up in victory.

“I’m exhausted. I have to get out of here,” I murmured to
him.

“Not exhausted enough to lose once in a while,” he said
between clenched teeth.

I rolled my eyes and pulled my hand from his. With a sigh, I
waited for the next challenger, but Aluce stepped into the ring instead.

She nodded a dismissal at Cole and strode to my side. She
cleared her throat, placed an arm around my shoulders, and like that, she had
everyone’s attention.

“We thank you for your participation tonight. There’s still
much to celebrate but for now, our Gem Heiress needs a rest.”

I listened to the smattering of applause before Aluce
continued, turning the subject of her speech to “fulfilling our duty as a
unified group” and what the next several weeks would bring.

“We have recently learned that King Shir has left others in
charge to rule his kingdom while he is on a personal quest that endangers us
all,” she said. A murmur rippled through the crowd. “Aylen knows what she must
do to make sure this doesn’t happen,” Aluce announced, holding up a hand.
“She’ll be leaving in the morning to stop the king’s plans from being realized.
In the meantime, we, as a kingdom, must take our freedoms back.”

I clasped my hands in front of me and lowered my eyes as I
listened to Aluce rally the crowd. She spoke of using this time to march
against the king’s army while their commander was away and she encouraged the
people to trust I would do my part.

The more she talked, the less hopeless it sounded, but I
knew the truth. I just wasn’t sure if anyone else realized she was speaking in
desperation. Could people hear the waver in her voice? Did they guess I was
here to ease their minds while I silently panicked?

I felt my Empathy Gem pulse and I allowed myself to focus on
the emotions coming from the crowd. I was surprised to find most people still
hoped. Excitement emanated from the throng, mingled with an occasional sense of
fearful resolve.

I smiled to myself, relieved for the time being. It meant I
had played my part well. I released an almost inaudible sigh and basked in the
growing confidence of Et Loedin’s guests and citizens until. . .

Until.

There was guilt.

“It’s a normal emotion,” I mentally chided. “We all have
guilt over something.”

I felt the emotion shift to longing before it dissolved into
guilt once more. Then it spiraled into shame.

I snapped my head up. The jerkiness of the move caught
Aluce’s attention. Her words never faltered but her eyes shifted to me every
time she paused. I didn’t acknowledge her questioning gaze. Instead, I scanned
the crowd, in search of something that looked out of place.

Hundreds of faces swam before my eyes, their features lit up
from the torches positioned around the ring.

I focused on the sense of guilt once more, and this time,
the bearer of the emotion felt familiar somehow. My heart beat faster inside my
chest, as though it recognized something I still didn’t understand.

Aluce continued to speak to the crowd beside me but I heard
nothing. Every part of me focused on finding the person who carried the
enormous burden that had penetrated my heart.

Again the emotions shifted. Sorrow and deep shame swirled
together in a whirlwind of misery. Then, once more, while this torrent still
raged, I felt love- unshakable, overpowering love. And though I couldn’t be
sure, it seemed to be directed at me.

Someone in the crowd made an awkward movement and my eyes
caught sight of a tall figure. He stood somewhat apart from the throng of
people, exiled from the rest of the crowd. His head was bowed and his dirty
hair hung forward in his face. The feelings came stronger as I stared at him.

A movement, a small shift in his stance stirred a rush of
memories. Then, as though sensing my gaze, he lifted his head.

Filth clung to the ridges and angles of his face, masking
many of his features. His eyes stared back at me, haunted but tender, and his light-brown
hair stuck out around his ears and head in disarray. The clothing on his frame
had been worn to nothing more than muddy rags, and he was thinner than he
should have been.

But the moment our eyes locked, I knew it was him.

“Sai.” My mouth formed the word in silence. He bowed his
head once more and I said it again, his name bursting from my lips like a
forgotten song remembered. “Sai!”

My gaze never left him as the crack of my Travel Gem echoed
through the city. A second later, I stood inches from him. Still, he kept his
head down.
Why
wouldn’t he look at me?

I ignored the gasps and stir of the crowd as their attention
turned in my direction. Aluce called out to me, her voice impatient, but I
didn’t answer. I reached my fingers to his face and gently lifted his chin.

“Sai,” I whispered again. “It’s really you.” Tears fell from
my eyes, unchecked.

His eyes found mine once more, sad, fearful. He opened his
mouth to speak but I didn’t let him. I threw my arms around his neck and
crushed my lips to his. I felt his arms slowly find my waist and gingerly rest
there. I pressed myself into him and pulled him closer. I sensed his
embarrassment and wondered at the source but I didn’t care. A moment later, he
didn’t either. He tightened his arms around me as his hands found the places on
my back and waist they’d known so well.

A heartbeat later, we were gone from the crowd, once again
leaving the echo of our departure in our wake. We appeared in my chamber, our
bodies still locked together.

Sai broke away from me, his chest rising hard with each
breath.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“My room.” I stroked the side of his face with my hand and
followed a trail of dirt with the pad of my finger. He closed his eyes and
shuddered at my touch.

“How did you get here?” I asked, my fingers stopping to
graze the stubble on his chin.

“I had some help,” he whispered.

“Did you come alone?”

“Only to Et Loedin. Lirig, Faema, and Haji came too.”

“They’re here? Where?”

“I’m not sure where Faema is. She left on her own. But Haji
and Lirig are in Indikae.”

I fell silent. There were a thousand questions I wanted to
ask but I could sense his weariness.

I leaned up and kissed his lips again. Then, once more. “Let
me take care of you,” I whispered.  I pulled away and let my fingers trail down
his arm and into his hand. “Sit,” I said. I led him to one of my cushioned
chairs in front of the fire.

“Aylen,” he began. He withdrew his hand and let it drop to
his side. I followed it with my eyes.

“Why do you have two swords?” I asked when I saw what hung
from his belt. “Is that. . .?” I didn’t finish the question. Sai pulled one of
the swords from the scabbard and, flinching, offered it to me hilt first.

Slowly, I closed my hand around it and gaped at him.

“I fought in the battle for Indikae,” he said. “I saw your
father there.”

“Before he was killed?” I asked. I stared down at the sword,
still stained with blood in some places.

“Shortly before he was killed.”

Once more, the sensation of Sai’s guilt seeped into me. I
opened my mouth to ask him about it but when I lifted my eyes to his once more,
I closed my lips. Something in his expression told me he wasn’t ready.

“You’re tired,” I said instead. “Sit down and rest while I
find you some clothing. I’ll take you to the men’s bathing rooms when I get
back.”

“Thank you, Aylen,” he said, his voice tight. I watched the
weary way he shuffled to the fireplace and sat down on the floor near the hearth.
A few embers still glowed from beneath the ash. I hoped he’d find warmth there.

Silently, I leaned the sword against the wall near the door
and slipped from the room.

I hadn’t gone far before I nearly knocked over my mother and
Aluce in my rush.

“”Where is he?” Aluce asked.

“It’s true then?” Mom said. “Sai is here?”

“He’s in my room, resting.” I frowned at Aluce. “I don’t
want you bothering him tonight.”

“I have no intention of bothering him,” she smiled. “I
wanted to make sure he was all right. He looked as though he’s had a difficult
journey.”

Ignoring her, I turned to my mother. “I need to find him
some warm clothing and new shoes. Also, I want food brought to my room. He
looks like he hasn’t eaten in days.”

“Let me take care of that for you,” she said.

“There’s more. Haji and Lirig are still in Indikae. I think
they should be brought here so we know they’re safe.”