Octavion swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. Even after years of pleading, his father had never spoken of the day his mother died-the same day Octavion had been born. “What did she say?”
Belesgar straightened and looked intently into his son’s eyes. “It was her dying breath. She looked into your soul and whispered, ‘Such sorrow.’ I thought she described how she felt about leaving you, but perhaps she saw how you feel now and the great sorrow you will endure when the time comes for you to leave.”
Such sorrow. Her words would echo in his mind for the rest of his life and described how he felt perfectly. The thought of leaving Kira and his family constantly tore at him and the threat that Ramla’s guards could whisk him away that very day, made it all too real. He had to find a way to tell Kira before it was too late. He needed her to hear it from him.
Chapter Thirty Four
Kira’s first order of business was to clean the mess Ussay and she made trying to find a dress. She didn’t bother with wrapping the ball gowns, just hung them and threw the linens in the corner. She’d worry about that later.
After she changed out of her dress and into something simpler, she set out to find Ussay. She half expected her to be waiting in Kira’s room when she’d returned earlier, but since she wasn’t there she knew Ussay must be with Mara. Kira couldn’t wait to find out the details of Ussay’s date with Cade.
As Kira neared Mara’s sleeping chambers, the door flew open and an older woman walked out with an armful of dirty linens. She curtsied then continued down the hall, disappearing through a small doorway at the end. Since she’d left the door ajar Kira assumed it would be all right to enter. She found Mara sitting in the chair near the window nursing Ethan.
“Good morning, dear,” Mara said.
Kira averted her eyes. Mara hadn’t bothered to cover herself and Kira got an eyeful. “I’m so sorry, Mara. I should have knocked.”
“Nonsense. Did you enjoy the festivities? I do not recall seeing you after the Khapri.”
Kira pretended to fix her hair in a nearby mirror, giving Mara the privacy she didn’t think she needed. “Octavion took me to the meadow. It was fun. Have you seen Ussay this morning? I need to talk to her.”
Mara finished with Ethan, laid him across her lap and buttoned her dress. “I believe she is in the village. I gave most of the staff the day off for their hard work yesterday. They were up most of the night cleaning. Perhaps I could have Nestor fetch her for you when he returns.”
The same image of Shandira grabbing Arela flashed through Kira’s head. She spun around to face Mara. “Return? You mean he’s not here?”
Mara smiled. “All is well, my dear. He is merely taking Arela riding. He felt she was being neglected with all the attention on Ethan. He presented her with a pony this morning.”
“Oh, well that’s nice.” The panic that ran through her each time an image popped into her head was about to give her heart failure. She had to stop letting her imagination get the better of her. “I think I’ll go back to my room and rest. Maybe he can take me up to see. .” Kira didn’t want to say Lydia’s name out loud in case one of the servants lingered in the hallway.
Mara understood. “How is she?”
“Stubborn. Maybe a little impatient. I think she’s frustrated with not being well.”
“That will all come in time, my dear. We must be grateful she will recover.”
Kira agreed then politely excused herself from the room. As she walked back to her chambers she realized that, for the first time since she’d arrived, she wasn’t being watched. And if what Octavion said was true about not being in danger, at least not for today, then she could go exploring.
Kira’s first thought was to get a closer look at Octavion’s lair, but that made her think of the arm band she’d asked Altaria to make for him. She still needed to get a silver medallion and some leather so she ventured into the courtyard, across the wooden bridge and started toward the village. Her newfound freedom felt good.
“Pardon me, my lady.”
Kira spun around to see two guards trailing behind her. “What?”
Both men bowed to her, then the taller of the two spoke. “We have orders not to let you leave the castle.”
Kira rolled her eyes. “But I’m not in the castle, I’m standing outside, so you’ve already failed. Shall I tell Octavion?”
“No, my lady. But-”
Kira put up her hand. “Look, Octavion said it was perfectly safe for me to go into the village. If you want to follow me to Ussay’s cottage, fine. But then you’ll have to come back here because I’m not having you two follow me all day.”
Both men stood there with their mouths open, but said nothing.
“It’s settled then. Follow me or don’t. I’m going.” After all, what would they do, lock her up in the dungeon? She didn’t even know if Octavion’s family had a dungeon. She lifted the hem of her dress and strutted down the cobblestone street toward Ussay’s home. She didn’t look back to see if the guards followed, but didn’t hear their footsteps.
Around the entire perimeter of the village-and attached to either side of the castle-towered a white brick wall. It appeared to be built from the same material as the castle, and rose high above the cottage roofs. The builders had capped it off with thousands of jagged rocks-she assumed to keep intruders at bay. It wouldn’t, of course, keep out Royals.
There were two entrances, the side gate leading to the Aubelet and cemetery, and the main gate, opposite the castle entrance at the other end of the village, where most of the merchants came and went freely. There was nothing between the castle drawbridge and the village except a long cobblestone road and several stone statuaries. As Kira walked down the hill and onto the village streets she took special care to be friendly and acknowledge the residents of Xantara. She knew that someday, as Octavion’s wife, she’d be considered royalty and these would be her people. She wanted them to love her as they loved their Royals, but she knew the relationship she’d have with them would be different. They would have no reason to keep her from entering their homes and businesses and no reason to fear her.
When she reached the large community well, she knew Ussay’s cottage would be only a stone’s throw away. She stopped long enough to get a cold drink of water then continued down the street, passing a few houses before the merchant’s booths filled the streets in the marketplace. Two gates down on the right she found her surroundings familiar. She swung open the rickety wooden gate, walked along the short dirt path and knocked on the door.
Almost instantly the door flew open. Ussay’s wide eyes met Kira’s before she let out a squeal and threw her arms around Kira’s neck, almost knocking her to the ground. Once Kira recovered, Ussay led her inside to sit near the fireplace. Kira hadn’t noticed the chill in the air until the warmth of the fire brought welcomed warmth to her skin.
“Who brought you?” Ussay asked.
Kira flashed a mischievous grin. “I escaped.”
“Oh, no. We must send word to the castle. They will worry.”
“Mara thinks I’m sleeping and two guards know where I am. Besides, I won’t be gone that long. I need to get some leather and visit Kueelok. I thought you might want to go with me.”
Ussay’s bottom lip jutted out as she held up her hand. Kira had to laugh-the gesture she inadvertently made with her bandaged middle finger wasn’t exactly considered good etiquette in on Earth.
“It will not stop bleeding,” Ussay said. “I dare not go out with it like this.”