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Authors: Kate Hill

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BOOK: Mica
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“The incident in GreenTown.”

“Yes. Your indiscretion with that boy nearly led to a war between his family and that of his betrothed.”


He
came to
me
.”

“That’s beside the point. You not only broke a law of the village, but you’ve broken your vow of abstinence yet again.”

“I know.”

“Everyone realizes breaking that particular vow is often overlooked in both the
Opal and Ruby Orders, as long as no unwanted children are produced and discretion is used.”

“I realize I should have been more careful.”

“Your breaking of the vow isn’t what bothers me most. It’s why you broke it and have broken it many times in the past.”

“Please don’t get into this again.”

Neila ignored her. “What you endured during the attack on your village was something no one, least of all a child, should ever experience. Your promiscuity is not unexpected. Some people react by shunning sexuality entirely while others, such as yourself, become obsessed with carnal actions.”

“I can’t deny my affairs, Dame Neila.”

“Or my theory about your promiscuity?”

“To agree with you means Mica of Ademene still has power over me. I will not accept that. I’m not afraid of men or sexuality. I’ve never understood or agreed with the vow of abstinence, and—”

“Regardless, you have sworn to uphold it as well as your other vows. You are a good woman, Sun. You’re courageous, strong, intelligent and in many ways selfless, but you will never reach your full potential by carrying such hatred and fear inside you.”

“I fear nothing and no one.”

“Can’t you see that you do? It’s understandable. You need a special kind of man to love and—”

“I will never love any man. Not in that way.” Sun’s words were spoken without emotion, yet sorrow coiled inside her like a snake sleeping in the pit of her belly. While other women married and raised families, Sun was unable to find the same happiness with a partner. Sadly, she knew she never would.

Neila sighed. “I hope someday you will change your mind. Now, I must issue punishment for your actions in GreenTown. Since you’ve just returned, I was going to allow you to take over training of the Home Guard. Instead, you will accompany several Knights of the Ruby Order on a mission to Cat’s Cove, which has been overrun by raiders from a neighboring kingdom.”

Sun nodded. The assignment could have been worse. Cat’s Cove was a small, dull village, but at least Neila hadn’t demoted her or stuck her on moat duty for a month.

“You leave immediately,” Neila continued. “And try to stay out of trouble this time, Dame Sun.”

“Yes,” Sun bowed from the neck and left Neila’s chamber. On the way to the stable she muttered, “I don’t look for trouble. It just finds me.”
Chapter One
Cat’s Cove

One month later

 

“Nothing feels quite as good as saving a village from ruin.” Sun grinned, raising her ale and smashing it into the lifted mug of Sir Lock.

A tall, powerfully built man with a kinky, waist-length shock of white and brown hair, he belonged to the Knights of the Ruby Order, the Dames’ male counterparts.

“I’ll drink to that,” Lock said, taking a swallow of ale. “But not too much. The last thing my crew needs is a drunk captain.”

Sun laughed. “I’ve never seen you drunk, Lock. You don’t drink enough to get drunk.”

“And he mimics the feathered hooter,” observed Sir Blaze. At his companions’

questioning looks, he thought for a moment then said, “He is wise not to imbibe too deeply.”

Sun cast an affectionate glance at the tall, slender Knight seated beside her. Blaze was the closest thing to a father she’d known since hers had been slaughtered during the raid on her village when she was nine years old.

Blaze had taken her to the Knights of the Ruby Order. He’d been the strongest yet most gentle man she’d ever known. Stunned by the horror of her loss, Sun withdrew, only breaking from her icy shell with random bouts of temper. Blaze spent hours with her, talking to her and teaching her the art of weaponless fighting as an outlet for her anger. She learned mostly from watching him, since he spoke in a strange code. The auburn-haired Knight was not like other men. Blaze communicated with the dead. He saw them as clearly as other people saw the living. The spirits spoke to him constantly, giving him insight, though his gift was not without a price. Often he couldn’t decide if a person was living or dead, and constant interpretations from the spirits made his phrasing odd. After several years, Sun began to truly understand him, realizing that he spoke in symbolism. He never called her by her given name. The spirits told him she was Brightest Star, so that was how he addressed her.

When he was sent away on assignment, Blaze brought Sun to the Dames of the Opal Order, knowing they could provide a stable life for her. At first she missed him terribly, but the Dames were patient and kind. Eventually Sun realized the Opal Order was truly her home. The Dames would never turn her away, and Blaze visited often, continuing the deep friendship she treasured. Among the Dames, Sun learned more about fighting as well as healing. Eventually she decided to join the Order where she could put her skills to use. By helping people in need, she found some peace regarding the destruction of her village. Still, no matter how she tried, she always seemed to fall
short of the Dames’ expectations.

She loved Blaze with all her heart, but Sir Lock she understood better. Lock had been a pirate before meeting his wife, Sparrow, and joining the Order. Lock had a quick temper and the power to back it up. Only Sparrow could completely pierce the Knight’s tough exterior. At times Sun envied their affection. Maybe if she had someone with whom she could share a love like Lock and Sparrow enjoyed, it would dull the bitter edge of her temper.

“Drunk or not, the village is back on its feet. We did a great job,” Lock said.

“As did the people,” Blaze added. “I wonder how useful is this self praise?”

Lock and Sun glanced at each other and shrugged before the reformed pirate finished his ale and wiped his white beard on his sleeve. “We’d best be going. I want to be out to sea before sunset. The faster we leave, the faster we get home.”

“Not to mention that if Sparrow decides to come ashore looking for you and finds you in this tavern she’ll have your hide.”

Blaze glanced at Lock. “With your temper and reputation, this serpent pit tempts you too much. I was ready to go before we passed the wooden barrier.”

“Are you Lock the White?” growled the tall, dark-skinned man approaching their table. A small group of filthy rogues, most likely pirates, followed behind him.

Sensing trouble, Sun placed her mug down.

Her heartbeat quickened with anticipation. Though Blaze’s face remained calm, Sun caught a concerned expression in his pale blue eyes.

Lock stood, his gaze sweeping the newcomer. “Why?”

“I’m Taddy the Tough.”

Lock raised a pale eyebrow and broke into laughter.

Taddy’s gray teeth gritted and his eyes bulged. “I’ve waited ten years to slit your throat, pig. You sank my father’s ship.”

“Taddy Twin Knives, the dumbest thief ever to sail out of the Archipelago? I sank him, Taddy, and I sank your brother’s ship too.”

Blaze glanced at Lock and shook his head.

A muscle twitched in Lock’s cheek, but he loosened his clenched fists and spoke with practiced calm. “We have to go.”

“To hell.” Taddy unsheathed a dagger and lunged at Lock who grasped his arm and snapped his wrist. Taddy screamed, his face turning white.

Sun leapt from her chair as Taddy’s companions attacked. Lock punched one in the face, sending him sprawling across the floor. A wiry blond with no front teeth hopped on Lock’s back, his fingers gouging four bloody tracks across the Knight’s cheek.

Grabbing the man by the hair, Sun yanked him off her friend. The man’s elbow struck her in the stomach, but she tensed her hard muscles against the blow. She jabbed her knee into the man’s back then kicked him in the face. He joined three more of his
companions on the floor, sent there by Lock’s powerful fists.

“Stop.” Blaze bellowed. “This is—” The slim, auburn-haired Knight spun, avoiding a dagger aimed at his head. As he twisted, his long leg shot out, sweeping his attackers’

feet out from under him. With the grace of a cat, Blaze blocked and punched men on both sides of him, executing blows that rendered his opponents unconscious.

Sun laughed, kicking another man. She wasn’t even certain this one was an enemy, for the tavern was in an uproar. Chairs and mugs of ale flew across the room. People screamed and bellowed obscenities. The barkeep huddled in a corner to avoid soaring debris.

“Enough.” Blaze grasped Sun by the arm and shoved her toward the tavern door.

“We’re peace bringers, not brigands.”

“What about Lock?” Sun shouted, glancing over her shoulder at the tall, burly Knight. He was fighting three men at once—and winning.

“Disgraceful,” Blaze muttered. He pointed a finger in Sun’s face. “Stay.”

“Do I look like a dog?” Sun called after Blaze who returned to the tavern. Still, she obeyed his command out of respect. Blaze was probably the only person in the world who could control her when her temper was up.

Two men on horseback, one whom Sun recognized as the local sheriff, dismounted and raced inside. Moments later, the sound of fighting stopped and Lock emerged, walking between the sheriff and a guard. The big Knight’s hands were bound behind his back and he wore an expression of frustrated indulgence. Blaze must have convinced Lock to surrender, otherwise the two law enforcers wouldn’t have restrained him.

Shouting abuse, the barkeep followed Blaze out of the tavern.

The Knight opened his hands to the furious man. “I have no more. I keep little silver.”

“Damn Knights.” the barkeep snapped. “Healers, my ass. That giant ruined my tavern, and this—” He pointed at Sun. “She should be home having babies instead of breaking chairs over my patrons’ heads.”

“You probably couldn’t even make a baby,” Sun bellowed.

“Silence,” Blaze ordered then said to the tavern keeper, “We will send funds for the damages.”

The tavern keeper snorted with contempt before stepping inside and slamming the door in Blaze’s face.

“We have to get Lock,” Sun said. “They’re going to want bail. I hope I have enough to pay for it. If we have to get Sparrow, it will be a disaster.”

“This is a disaster.” Blaze’s fists clenched as he strode across the cobbled path to the local jail.

Sun fell into step beside him. “But we had to do something.”

“Yes. Travel.”
“You mean walk away?”

Blaze shot her an irritated look. “So novel an idea? What of your vows?”

Sun lowered her eyes and sighed. He was right. Knights and Dames were supposed to be the epitome of good manners. Though Sun’s heart was true, she usually fell short of the traditional description of a Dame.

At the jail Sun paid Lock’s bail, then the three friends hurried across the small, seaside village to the dock. The scent of salt water and fish wafted on the breeze. In the distance, the silhouette of Lock’s ship,
The Sparrow Song,
shone against the dark red sunset.

“Shameful,” Blaze snapped at Lock. “What an example you set for those in your care.”

The burly Knight winced and pressed a hand to the back of his head where a table leg had struck him during the fight. “Blaze, not now. I have a headache.”

“Of your own making.”

“Not everyone is like you. Some of us have normal feelings of anger. All of us don’t wear that.” Lock pointed to the green sash around Blaze’s narrow waist. The sash symbolized a special faction of the Ruby Order. Only ten members existed in that faction and Blaze was their leader. Any Knight who wore the green sash never carried a weapon, though they were often stationed in the thick of battle. They were purely healers, the finest in the Order and though skilled in hand-to-hand combat, they never killed.

“We all have sworn to respect life,” Blaze argued. “Not this foolishness.”

“Taddy attacked me, in case you didn’t notice.”

“I noticed,” Sun said.

Blaze looked from one to the other before he stalked ahead, ranting to himself.

“I didn’t mean to upset him. I just can’t hold my temper.”

“I know the feeling,” Lock muttered.

“You know you have a black eye?”

“So do you.”

“Yes, but I don’t have a wife who’s going to bury me as soon as she sees it.”

Lock groaned, clutching his head again, and Sun did her best not to laugh.

* * * * *

“Welcome back, Sun.” Dame Neila looked up from the maps spread across one of the long wooden tables in the Opal Order’s great hall.

Sun smiled. “It’s good to be home. Our mission was successful. The village is on its feet and several Knights have remained behind to continue assisting. There was no further need for me to stay.”
Neila nodded, studying the younger woman. “You haven’t been sleeping well again?”

“I’ve been busy. There was much work in Cat’s Cove.”

Neila didn’t speak but continued watching her. It sometimes upset Sun how well the older Dame knew her.

“I think the battle on the coast last month disturbed me more than it should have,”

Sun finally said.

“The attack from the army of Upper Kenna?”

Nodding, Sun gazed out the narrow window across the hall. “I haven’t had nightmares about home in a long time. Stupid, isn’t it?”

“You’ll never forget what happened to your village. You’ve come far, Sun. Even when I must punish you for incidents such as the one at GreenTown, I’m still proud of you.”

A smile flickered across Sun’s lips, though Neila’s words only made her next request more difficult. “I want to go to Upper Kenna.”

Neila’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

“You were right when you said I won’t reach my potential until I face the past. I want to find the man who destroyed my village.”

“Confronting your past doesn’t necessarily mean looking for a fight. Our way is not about vengeance. You knew that when you took your vows.”

Clenching her fists, Sun said, “For years I’ve tried to forget about him and his army.

BOOK: Mica
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