Mica (14 page)

“Some things that happen between a man and a woman should remain private,”

Mica said quietly.

“I knew you’d bring it up.”

“I can’t hear this.” Blaze covered his ears with his hands. “Have you no shame? A Priest and a Dame both with vows of—”

Sun tugged one of Blaze’s hands from his ear. “We’re not saying anything, Blaze.”

“Still, it’s not my affair…” Blaze winced. “Bad choice of words.”

“I don’t know why you seem so angry when you’re the one who played me for a fool.” Mica’s gaze held Sun’s with calmness that infuriated her.

“If I did you don’t seem any worse for wear.”

“But you are. Perhaps your heart isn’t as cold as you pretend, Dame Sun.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means I don’t think you hate me as much as you pretend. I still feel for you and I think you feel for me too.”

Her lip curled. “I don’t feel anything for you, Mica. For all I care you can die a slow, painful death and it would probably be deserved for what you did while under your father’s command.”

Mica paused, an odd expression passing over his face.

“Brightest Star, you should choose your words carefully,” Blaze said in a hushed voice. “You may find you don’t mean them after all.”

“Oh I mean them, Blaze. He could writhe in agony before my eyes and I’d most likely step right over him.”

Mica glared at her. “Do both of us a favor, Dame Sun, and go back to Travelle. I don’t need your help or your company. And though I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Blaze, I don’t need you to waste your time either.”

“Tempers have conquered.” Blaze ran a hand through his disheveled locks. “I will still go with you.”

“I’m not going for you, Mica. If there are people in danger then it’s my duty as a Dame to do what I can to help them.”

“This is not your concern.”

“It is. There are some vows worth upholding.” She flung him a scathing look before returning to her chamber to gather her belongings.
* * * * *

By noon the city of Ademene disappeared behind seemingly endless sand dunes.

Sun squinted at the clear sky, the familiar desert heat seeping beneath her white robe.

To her left Blaze’s mount plodded. The auburn-haired Knight glanced from side to side.

Sun wondered what spirits paraded around him when all she saw was sand and the occasional desert flower.

She glanced to her right where Mica sat astride his big-boned mare. Dressed in a pale blue robe, his head covered with a
kaffiyeh
, he looked remote and handsome. His gaze fixed on hers but he didn’t offer his characteristic grin. Almost imperceptibly he shook his head and looked to the horizon.

“If your friends in Ademene were so concerned with you making this journey—

though I still have no idea why—why didn’t Zareb go instead of tending the Bedouins?” Sun asked.

“Because the people in this settlement don’t trust easily. After what my father and the false emperor did the people there are very discriminating about who they allow in and who they listen to. Zareb isn’t known to them.”

“But you are?”

“I’ve spent much time there as healer.”

“And they trust you? The son of the man who was responsible for their suffering?”

“I won’t lie, Dame Sun. Gaining their acceptance wasn’t easy but eventually they realized I’m sincere. Not everyone blames me for my father’s crimes.”

“Like me?”

“Perhaps.”

“Would you be so quick to forgive the spawn of the person who slaughtered your family?”

He held her gaze. “Maybe not but I am not my father. Believe me, Dame Sun, I’ve done everything possible to atone for my crimes as well as his. There’s nothing more I can do except continue down the path I’ve chosen for myself.”

Sun lifted her eyes skyward. “You’d make a marvelous actor, that’s for sure.”

“And you’d make a marvelous executioner.”

“No, that was your job.”

Mica sighed. “I don’t want to fight with you. Whatever you think I’ve done I apologize. Isn’t that enough?”

“No it’s not enough.”

“The problem is you care for me.”

Sun gritted her teeth and prayed to the Spirit to keep her temper in check. “I do not and will never care for you.”

Blaze laughed. “Speak to the sand, Mirrored Rock. It will appease you sooner.”

“I thought you were supposed to be on my side?” Sun glared at Blaze.
His pale eyes widened. “Always, Brightest Star. However you can be demanding, vengeful…”

She jerked her thumb in Mica’s direction. “So I’m supposed to forget who he is and what he stood for?”

“You use the past tense. That’s the key,” Blaze said.

Sun looked from Mica to Blaze with disgust before kicking her horse ahead.

Even Blaze sympathized with Mica. How could so many people show such concern over a former combat general, the son of a monster? Worst of all how could he possibly be right about her liking him even a bit? She had been the one who’d suffered damn it—she and all the people like her who had been tainted by the evil actions Mica had committed earlier in his life. Now she was suffering more because she’d finally made love with a man who brought her true pleasure and she could never have him again.

They rode throughout the rest of the day, pausing only to eat a sparse meal and rest their horses. At dusk they set up camp in the shelter of a small cave.

“How far is this settlement?” Sun asked, pulling her cloak around her shoulders and sliding closer to the fire.

“Another two days’ ride,” Mica said, leaning against the cave wall and closing his eyes. “If we rode very hard we could make the entire journey in two days but there’s no reason to push the horses. Most likely everything is fine there. I just want to make sure they know what might be happening should the emperor’s men find a significant force was behind the banishment.”

“A thousand sweet fantasies for you in twilight’s embrace,” Blaze said, stretching out on the ground.

“Good night,” Sun murmured. Though tired she doubted she could sleep. Since meeting Mica she hadn’t spent a restful night. No matter how she tried she couldn’t keep her thoughts from straying to him. He enraged her yet at the same time she recalled moments they’d shared and her body heated. She ached for him, longed for his arms around her and his lips against hers. He was a frustrating man. She needed to forget about him completely. Difficult when Blaze kept volunteering to travel with him.

Of course she couldn’t place all the blame on the Knight. She didn’t
have
to go with them but it was a Dame’s duty to serve a good cause. The plight of the people of Upper Kenna to remain safe from those like Mica’s father was definitely a good cause.

Sun’s eyes slipped shut and her breathing deepened until sleep finally claimed her.
Chapter Seven
Sun awoke in the middle of the night. For several moments she watched the glowing embers of the fire and listened to the desert wind howl before rising to rekindle the flames.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Mica asked.

His sensual voice made her tingle with lust.

She glanced at him. “Couldn’t you?”

“I dozed for a while. Listen.”

Sun strained to hear. “What? Trouble?”

He chuckled. “No, Dame Sun. The wind blowing through the rocks.”

“What about it?”

“Sounds like music.”

Wrinkling her nose, she muttered, “Music.”

“You don’t think so?”

How the hell could he talk about music and gaze at her without a hint of rage, frustration or longing after what she’d done? The man angered her enough to kill.

Mica walked to the cave mouth and squinted against the wind that rustled his cloak and hair and forced tears from his eyes.

“You’ll be blinded by sand if you don’t move away from there.”

He stepped back slightly and motioned for her to join him.

“What?”

“Shh.” A long finger rested against his lips and he pointed outside.

Sighing she approached. “Now what do you…what is that? It’s beautiful.”

A fawnlike creature stood beside a tall, craggy rock. Its fur shone milky in the moonlight. Gray dapples peppered its shaggy rump. Between its rounded ears, two pale horns curved inward forming a glistening circle.

“It’s called a star skipper. Very rare animals. They sleep most of the day in caves and travel the desert by night. The Bedouins say they’re gifts from the wizards of Glacara. Beryl—the woman who was awarded the powers of Aldora, land of the first wizards—once touched an albino star skipper, an impossible feat since they’re the fastest creature in the world.”

“I heard stories about wizards from some the Dames. The Western Continent is filled with their legends. It is said if it hadn’t been for a chosen few with wizards’

power, Zaltana would have ruled the world. I’m not sure if that’s true, but everyone
knows about the Ancient Wars and the rebels who fought oppression for so many years.”

“And from what I hear, you’re still fighting.”

“Unfortunately.” Sun drew a long breath. “The last major war against Zaltana ended five years ago but there are still some small outbreaks.”

“Like here I suppose.”

“Like everywhere.”

“Do you know any legends from your Ancient Wars?”

Sun shrugged. “A few.”

“I know many.”

“Why do you know so much about the Western Continent? You speak our

language and know the continent’s history.”

Smiling slightly, Mica replied, “My maternal grandmother was from the Western Continent. She told me many stories and taught me her language when I was very young.”

“So that explains your blue eyes.”

“She came from a place called Verni. Do you know of it?”

“Verni.” Sun glanced skyward and searched her memories. “I’ve never been there, but it sounds so familiar.”

“The wizard who led the rebels in the last of the Ancient Wars came from Verni. He married a warrior supposedly sent to him by the heavens and together they brought about the fall of Zaltana. He received his knowledge from a man called Alrik who was once a great king. After gaining the power of Aldora through a mind-sharing with Beryl, Alrik left his throne to pursue magic with the hopes of one day bringing peace to the world.”

Sun shook her head. “Well he certainly failed.”

“But he never stopped trying.” Mica turned to her, his gaze intense. “Isn’t that the most important part of being alive? Trying to make things right?”

“Nothing will ever be right, Mica. There’s too much evil in the world. You of all people should know that.”

“And you of all people should understand the value of trying. You’re a Dame of the Opal Order.”

Sun’s lip curled. “You don’t see me as I am. You’re like a child in your views.”

“No, Dame Sun, I think I see you exactly how you are.” Mica smiled so tenderly that Sun felt the urge to kiss him again. She turned her gaze back outside. The star skipper had gone. Fearful that if they stood in silence she’d be overcome by the desire to make love with him she asked, “Do you believe in wizards?”

“I believe anything is possible. And you?”

Sun glanced at her sleeping mentor. “After knowing Blaze I do believe some people
have powers not of this world. However I do think the legends are embellished, just like all tales of battles grow with each telling.”

Mica smiled. “Perhaps.”

“If wizards had such power where are they all now?”

“Wizards were few and feared by many. Their bloodlines faded and those who left migrated to the land of Glacara where the first of their kind, the Aldorians, fled to build a world of peace and prosperity.”

Chuckling, she said, “Now
that
sounds like a legend.”

“It is. Word for word. Passed down from my grandmother.” Mica glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “Still doesn’t mean it can’t be true.”

“Have you ever been to Glacara—if the place even exists?”

“They say it’s far north. An island of pure ice.”

Sun snorted. “No wonder wizards died off.”

Mica nodded in Blaze’s direction. “Like you said, have they?”

Sun cast an affectionate look at the Knight. “He does have a spiritual power. At times it worries me though. It has made him different.”

“Different can be good.”

“Sometimes I think it makes him lonely.”

“I doubt a man who has your affection could ever be lonely.”

His words touched Sun though she knew they couldn’t be true. Perhaps his ploy was to lure her into caring for him then he could refuse her just as she had refused him last night. Worst of all he didn’t have to lure her. She already cared for him though she’d never admit it aloud to anyone. As she gazed at him her stomach fluttered like it did sometimes before a battle—a mixture of excitement and apprehension.

She turned away. “I’m going back to sleep. We have to leave early.”

Mica touched her arm. She glanced at the long, graceful fingers curved around her biceps. “What?”

Cupping the back of her neck, he drew her face closer and his mouth covered hers.

Sun’s eyes slipped shut. Her legs weakened and her belly tightened with rapture. She loved the sensation of his tongue tracing the bow of her upper lip.

Clinging to him, she resisted the urge to moan. His tongue slipped into her mouth, stroking and thrusting as his steely arms wrapped around her, holding her close. His erection tightened between them, a sensual pressure against her belly. She grasped handfuls of his hair. It ran like silk between her fingers.

He broke the kiss and ran his lips across her cheek and over her temple. Gently he bit her earlobe and whispered, “You are so beautiful, Dame Sun.”

Drawing a deep breath, she pulled back just enough to gaze into his eyes. She wanted to see a lie burning there. She wanted him to be mocking her or attempting to seduce her out of revenge for the previous night. All she saw was the same desire that
burned inside her, making her clit throb.

“I still want you,” he continued, stroking her cheek with the back of his hand.

Extending a graceful finger, he used the tip of it to trace the shape of her mouth. “I think you want me too.”

“You’re either the most stubborn man I’ve ever met or the most conceited.”