Chapter Nineteen

Things Have Been Happening

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“I met with Gorvan Devratha,” Kelvaran said roughly, slumping into the chair in front of Amelys' desk as she took her seat behind it.

“And how are you feeling about that?” she replied with worried sympathy.

“About how you'd expect. He agreed to my return, and thinks I'm here working on his behalf.”

“And you can do this openly, although Yilina was supposed to have killed you?”

“The public story is that you saved me from the brink of death.”

“How heroic of me!” Amelys said with some amusement.

“Well, you also rescued Kazia from Yilina's dungeon, so...”

“I'm quite amazing, aren't I?”

Kelvaran smiled.

“You really are,” he said sincerely. “Anyway, the story for Halany is that this was all a scheme to reinsert myself here. I'm not sure Halany will believe all of that, but time will tell I suppose.”

“In your absence, Abrizhen Devratha has expressed a desire to defect,” Amelys told him.

“Has he?” Kelvaran sat up in surprise. “Can he be trusted?”

“Kazia has vetted him, in her special way,” Amelys said. “We're having him sit tight for now while the Queen decides whether she can offer him shelter. I'll have his handler ask if any chatter about you has passed through the Embassy.”

“If he defects, you should know that Yilina will make herself a problem. She has plans for him.”

“So we've heard,” Amelys replied dryly. “Now, I surmise that your mission here is to lure Kazia back? What is the plan you're supposed to follow?”

With an elbow resting on the arm of the chair, Kelvaran leaned his forehead on his fingertips.

“To use her feelings for me. Continue playing hard-to-get, eventually draw her into a situation where I can abduct her, or give her reason to believe she must rescue me again.”

“That would be quite devious if it were your true intention,” Amelys mused.

Kelvaran nodded with a bitter expression.

“What is your true intention now?” she asked.

“Work here as usual, occasionally report back to Valesk so that I can continue to glean information from them. Yilina is carrying the transmitter unawares, so I'm sure you've been privy to many of her conversations. That's probably more valuable than anywhere I could take the thing if I still had it.”

“The plan was to get it into the Capital.”

“And that may still happen at some point, but as of now Gorvan doesn't plan to let me meet with Halany until Kazia has returned. Which will be never. He intimated that they've been developing an Artifact that requires something from her. He wouldn't say what it is, but it can't be anything good. His intentions toward Kazia seem nothing but sinister.”

“And what are your intentions toward Kazia?” Amelys asked, somehow both gently and sternly at the same time.

Kelvaran stared blankly at the front of Amelys' desk for a long moment.

“If there is a spy in the castle,” he said tentatively, “I'll have to make this look good. Stay away from her. Behave... as I have always behaved toward her.”

“Like a first-rate jackass?” Amelys suggested.

Kelvaran laughed bitterly, but nodded. “It will be uncomfortable.”

“So, more of the same then. When have things not been uncomfortable between you and Kazia? And you know her secret now.”

“Yes.”

“How are you feeling about that?”

“It's fascinating,” Kelvaran said. “An Empath. When was the last time one was heard of? I've been thinking of how her abilities must work-”

“Kel,” Amelys cut him off sharply. “Don't treat her like a lab rat. She won't take kindly to it. She has had horrific experiences with others who treated her as such. Gorvan had Alchemists study her in ways that would make your skin crawl to hear the details.”

Kelvaran closed his eyes, his face paling. He'd seen, and still acted like this toward her.

Idiot.

“You've already said something she reacted badly to?” Amelys asked.

He nodded an admission.

“I think I have some ideas that could help her, though,” he said softly.

“Well, you'd best sit on them for now,” Amelys said more calmly. “Give her time to get used to the fact that you know.”

“Yes,” said thoughtfully. He stood slowly and gave his arms a stretch.

“I think I'll make it an early night,” he said. “I haven't slept well in... how long was I over there?”

“Go rest,” Amelys agreed.

“And, Kel,” she added with a glinting eye fixed on him, “I told you so... oh, about so many things now that I think of it.”

Kelvaran laughed.

“So you did. I'll be sure to listen to you more carefully going forward.”

“See that you do.”

~~~*~~~

Late in the evening, Abrizhen lay wrapped in Tamyn's arms, idly playing with his hair.

“When I first heard that Yilina had killed Lord Meratha, something felt off about it,” he said. “She really did care for him when they were younger. Word is that Mistress Thanelin rescued him, but it wouldn't surprise me if Yilina let him go on purpose.”

“You've made her sound so frightening,” Tamyn said. “Can she still be so kind?”

“When it suits her,” Abrizhen replied. “I used to have a great deal of pity for Lord Meratha. I know he thinks my father killed his family. I was here when that happened, so I don't know for sure - but Father does love killing people, so...”

He trailed off with a shrug.

“Used to have pity for him?” Tamyn inquired.

“Well, I've heard that he's been giving Kazia a hard time in the castle, so that kind of makes me not like him.”

“He thought she was here to spy on him,” Tamyn explained. “I think he's since been disabused of that notion. He's really not so bad. If it makes you feel better, I did scold him for it.”

Abrizhen looked up in delighted surprise.

“You scolded Lord Meratha?” he laughed.

“I did,” Tamyn said.

He kissed Abrizhen's forehead before pulling him back into a tight embrace.

“That day in court,” Abrizhen said thoughtfully, “when I was pretending to threaten your steel supply – which is not a real thing, by the way, our manufacturers would stage a bloody revolt – but, when I saw you there with Kazia... oh, it was terrifying to see you, especially in that situation. But when I saw how you and Kazia were with each other, I was so happy. If you two can take care of each other, since I can't...”

“Of course,” Tamyn said softly. “I know your experiences of family haven't been happy ones, but going forward the three of us will change that.”

He ended this sentiment with a strangled sound of frustration.

“What is it?” Abrizhen asked with some alarm.

“Nothing,” Tamyn said petulantly. “Things have been happening that I want to tell you about, but I can't.”

Abrizhen laughed. “You think I'd be a terrible spy, but look at you. You're really bad at this.”

“I've kept my mouth shut when I should,” Tamyn protested.

Abrizhen raised his face with a glint in his eye.

“And opened it when you should,” he said suggestively.

“Zhen!” Tamyn countered with mock indignation, lightly swatting Abrizhen's shoulder.

“See if I open it again,” he muttered, then pursed his lips tightly together.

Abrizhen took this as a challenge, and leaned up to press his lips to Tamyn's before licking between them, slowly parting them one stroke of the tongue at a time, until Tamyn's resolve melted away.

He opened his mouth as Abrizhen's hand crept up to pull him into a deeply sensual kiss. When Abrizhen finally released him, he glared with vexation.

“You never really grew up, did you?” he whispered breathlessly.

“I never really saw the point of it,” Abrizhen replied cheekily.

“And you don't need to tell me anything,” he added, returning his head to Tamyn's shoulder and snuggling into his arms again.

“Remember that you said that when you do hear of it.”

“The only thing I want to know is - when can I have you all night? I miss seeing your face first thing in the morning. All those years I just wanted to come back to this room, now here I am and it's... just not enough.”

“I know,” Tamyn said softly. “Me too.”

“And I want to be able to do things with you besides this. I mean, this is great - this is really, really great. But we used to have so much fun together. The concerts, and the sport matches, and – do you remember the hot air balloon?”

“You were terrified,” Tamyn said skeptically. “Now you're nostalgic for it?”

“Yes. I want to be terrified with you again,” he said. “In fun ways, not this 'will someone at the Embassy murder me in my sleep' way.”

“We'll get there,” Tamyn assured him. “That day will come, just hold on.”

Abrizhen nodded against his shoulder. “I only wish there were something I could do to speed things along,” he complained. “I feel useless.”

“There may be something...,” Tamyn said. “We're still looking for that spy and still coming up empty, so we've asked the Chanters to do a spell to draw them out. It's best if the verse they chant is composed by someone closely involved, but Kazia's literary skills are not exactly...”

“Would I be close enough?” Abrizhen asked excitedly. “I'm her brother, and I'm probably close to whoever sent the spy – my money's on Yilina.”

“That's what I was thinking...”

“I've got this!” Abrizhen cried with glee as he jumped out of bed and rushed across the room.

“Right now?” Tamyn sighed.

Abrizhen took a stack of paper and a pencil from the desk to the low table. He reclined on his side across the cushions. Propping his head on one hand, he chewed the pencil thoughtfully as Tamyn threw a robe on and came over, eyeing him reprovingly.

“Wouldn't you like to put something on?” he asked. “You'll ruin those cushions.”

“Are you kidding?” Abrizhen smirked. “I could never do this in Valesk this time of year. I'd freeze my dick off.”

“Certainly wouldn't want that...” Tamyn said mildly.

Abrizhen smiled up at him. He loved the way Tamyn could always give such an elegant response to his profanity. He lowered his head then and began writing.

“Spying eyes upon my sister, when you are revealed – what rhymes with 'castration'?”

He grinned up again, only to see Tamyn's gaze roaming the length of his naked body with an intently assessing gaze. Abrizhen's grin melted into a playfully shrewd smile and he pushed a clean sheet of paper forward.

“Go ahead,” he said. “You know you want to.”

Tamyn retrieved another pencil from the desk, settled himself across the table, and began to draw.

Abrizhen turned his attention back to the page before him, but couldn't help an occasional glance at Tamyn's concentrated study of him.

Tamyn caught his eye and blushed.

“What?” he said, endearingly self-conscious.

“Nothing,” Abrizhen replied, his voice full of warm affection. “Just... this is...”

“Yes,” Tamyn answered softly, bending his head to his drawing again. “Yes, it is.”

~~~*~~~