"I'm hoping it's going to work," he sighed. "It's putting some people at risk, but the risk is spread out. This way, Jenna doesn't catch it all, and Kerri won't catch it all."
"Mother said we have to stay here. Mist isn't very happy about it."
"She'll get over it. Keeping Mist where Jenna can protect her is what matters right now."
"I can understand that. If they can't get to you, they'll come after those you care for."
"And that's why Kimmie, Mist, and Eron are staying in the Tower with you and Jasana," he affirmed. "I'm keeping my whole extended family right where my sister can defend them if it comes down to it."
"Strange that I'll be seeking protection from a little slip of a human girl," she chuckled ruefully. "If she wasn't who she was, I wouldn't even notice her."
"It's not protection, Jesmind. It's more like deterrence," he answered. "They've gotten into the Tower before, no matter what the old Keeper or even Jenna have done to stop them. Not even the Ward managed to keep out Jegojah. But with Jenna and the Sha'Kar here, it's going to make any attempt to get at you very dangerous, and it will take a great deal of planning and careful preparation. That will be even harder with the Knights roaming the grounds, ready to kill anyone or anything that isn't where it's supposed to be."
"Kerri came to check on Jasana, and she said that some of her Marines are going to be stationed here to help," she told him. "She still had that garrison here from the battle. She never pulled them out."
"I remember that," he mused. "Shiika still has some of her Legions here too, to help garrison the city. They're not needed anymore, but they're waiting for Kerri and Shiika to hammer out the agreement for the Wikuni to carry them back to Arak. Jenna should ask to borrow them."
"That should be funny," Jesmind smiled. "Every time Jenna talks to Shiika, she's pulling out her hair by the time it's over. Those two don't seem to get along very well."
"Actually, they're rather fond of each other. But Shiika's been after Jenna to build a Tower in Dala Yar Arak, and Jenna can't commit to that right now, so it's causing Jenna a little stress. Shiika's been very persistent."
"She's a Demon and an Empress both, Tarrin. I guess she's really used to getting her own way."
"Maybe you, me, and mother should go pay Shiika a visit and straighten her out," Tarrin said with a grim smile. "I think we've managed it with our little empress. Another shouldn't be too much work."
Jesmind laughed. "I never thought I'd be mixing in the same circles as kings and queens," she admitted. "It's weird."
"I guess I never really did either," he sighed. "Things just kind of got out of control."
"Mother said you're a prince, my mate. Is that true?"
"In a very loose sense, Jesmind," he told her. "My grandfather is an Ungardt clan-chief. That's not exactly a king, and the Ungardt don't really pay much attention to titles. Everyone just does what needs to be done and that's that. Grandfather's only real duty is to resolve disputes between clansmen, and when there's a war, he's the commander of the army. The rest of the time, he sails around in his ship to make money for the family. He doesn't really need to do anything else, because the clan knows what to do, and they do it."
Jesmind was silent a long moment. "How long are you going to be gone?"
"Two months," he answered firmly. "If everything goes as we hope, I'll be back right after Gods' Day."
"Mother said Sarraya, Allia, and that dragon are going with you."
"I'm just giving Sapphire a ride to the desert," he told her. "She'll be setting off for home as soon as we get there. But Sarraya and Allia are staying with me. I'm going to need their help in the desert." He stared into the fire a moment. "Besides, I'll need Sarraya's help with the things mother taught me."
He scented a change in her scent, and looked up to realize that she was standing right beside his chair. She looked down at him with her heart in her eyes, and his anger with her suddenly had serious competition from the desire to pull her into his lap. Had he not been about to leave for two months, he probably would have been less likely to want to do that. He was angry with her, but he didn't want to leave her again on bad terms. That was the mistake they'd made the first time. She knew why he was upset with her, and she'd have plenty of time to think about it while he was gone. He'd fully expect her to make it up to him when he came back, but for right now, perhaps a cessation of hostilities would be better for both of them. He looked up at her, a carefully neutral expression, keeping his scent restrained.
It didn't take her long. She slid herself into his lap and wrapped her paws around his neck, laying her head against his shoulder. Jesmind was a very affectionate female, if one could strip off all her bark. Such a display from her wasn't unexpected. He gathered her up and held her close, taking in her scent like it was the sweetest perfume, just enjoying the moment. A moment without fighting, without anger keeping them apart, a sincere and intimate exchange between two people who loved one another very much.
It was a moment that lasted an hour, and among the many things in Tarrin's life that he could say had been good, the time in that chair, sitting before the warm fire, his beloved mate in his lap, just being together without any words or anger to push them apart, had to be one of the best.
So as not to ruin the time they had together, almost as if they had both thought the same thing, they parted without ceremony or fanfare, and without any kind of farewell. Jesmind knew she could talk to him whenever she wanted, and that seemed enough for her. Seeing the light of dawn through the window to the side of the chair, Tarrin nudged Jesmind. She looked at the light, sighed, and then put her paw on his cheek and kissed him intimately. Everything she was feeling, everything that mattered to her was in that kiss, communication so much more effective than words that it made speech seem like grunts and snorts. After she kissed to him all her feelings, all her love for him, all her anxiety over him leaving, all of her worry over his anger towards her, she got up and walked out without saying a word.
After all, it wasn't a farewell. It was more of a brief parting. They both knew he would come back, and they both knew where he was going to end up. His love for Kimmie was sincere, but Jesmind had been his first love, and he had vowed to come back to her. He was a Were-cat, and that made his word as good as his life. He would honor that promise, honor his love for her, and he would come back to her. They would be together until time and their natures pulled them apart, and he would not deny her a single day he felt she was owed.
Perhaps two months in the desert would be good for him. After those two months away from her and his daughter, it would do much to cool his temper. He could come back anxious to see them, willing to forgive, and Jesmind would have two months to reflect on her behavior and be ready to apologize.
But that time wasn't here yet. He still had a very serious thing to do, and that fact was never far from his mind. The most active part of it was over now. He had gone from seeker to hider, from hunter to the hunted, from the chaser to the chased. He had been chasing after the Firestaff for two years, trailing along behind him a long procession of those who would either kill him before he could find it or take it from him after he succeeded. Now everything was different. They were all chasing after him now, but for an entirely new reason. And he no longer had to look both ahead and behind, towards the Firestaff and back at those who sought to bring him down. Now all his attention was set firmly behind him, at those who wanted what he possessed, and were willing to go to any means to take it from him. They were desperate now. It was only two months until Gods' Day, two months until the five thousand year cycle of the Firestaff reached its climax, and it became active. One day out of every five thousand years, that was all. And the memory he had gained from his turning told him that it wasn't just that one day, it was a specific moment in that one day.