Page 46 of A Conduit of Light
“Well,I’llleave you to your thoughts.Heshould be back from his meeting withBaronHeimlenshortly.You’vemissed dinner, butIcould have more food brought up to you, if you wish.”
“No,I’llbe fine.Thankyou for taking care of me,Pompeii.”Thepear and cheese sat heavy in her belly when her thoughts turned to what theBaronswere discussing that very moment.TheOverseerof theFortressnodded and left quietly.
He’sa good man, you know.
Theimplication was not lost on her, and obviously, she was sitting there in his rooms with a new dress, barefoot, hair awry, waiting for him to return.Shewas no fool—in that moment at least—and neither wasPompeii.Itmust be accepted then, here, in theFortress, for the residingBaronto take a channeler as his lover.AndhisOverseerthought he was doing just that.
Probablybecause it was true.
Ashsighed and bit her lip, turning the stone around and around between her thumb and forefinger.Theflicker of flame from the fire reflected in its smooth surface.Shewondered at this small, precious stone.Truthfully, it was the cause of all that had happened to her, and though she was no longer sorry for it, everything was happening so fast.Herfeelings towardRev, his for her, and the question of what was next.Theimplicationeven.
He’sa good man, you know.
Itwould be easier if it was not true.Shewould be able to still her heartbeat at the anticipation of him walking into the room if he had been cold, cunning, and rude.Shedidn’t doubt there would still have been some physical attraction, but she knew that would beallit would be.
Restless, she stood, pacing at the foot of the bed.Herbare feet were ice cold, but she barely noticed.Shetossed the stone up and down, catching it each time with ease.
Shecould see two choices.
One, she could give in.Shecould let him take her, body and soul, and be done with the fight instilled in her against such things.Shecould live out her days inFelgren, her heart in his hands, her body as well, and figure out how to leave later—if she everwantedto leave.Butthat was all assuming that’s what he wanted.Hehad never said he wanted to love her, but it seemed the suggestion may be there.Thenagain, it could be he was just looking for a lover to discard when she left or when a new batch of channelers arrived.
Dammit.
Two, she could move on.Shecould push him away, tell him she was done.Tellhim she did not want to pursue anything further and that would be the end of it.Sheknew that with one conversation with him, he would respect her choice and leave her be.
BytheBlightress—she didn’t want that.
Andthis was all assuming he wasn’t withBaronHeimlenthis very moment, plotting how to get rid of her.Maybeuse her first to help with theBlight?Thenget rid of her?Sendher back toHyrithiaas a broken thing, something theQueencould deal with and hopefully not destroy the city in doing so.
He’sa good man, you know.
Thetruth of the statement she did know, yet she struggled to trust it.Themess she was in was only going to get messier.
Shetossed the rhyzolm up high, ready to catch it in her off hand, when there was a loud knock at the door.Cursing, she searched the floor for where the stone landed as it rolled into the tip of a black boot.
Revichbent down to pick it up, chuckling to himself before tossing it back to her.Shecaught it, thankfully, and squeezed it tightly in her hand. “I’msorryI-Ifound it in your chair, and thenIwas just thinking andIwas tossing it around…”
Heclosed the door and leaned against it, eyebrows raised, arms crossed at his broad chest, a teasing smirk on his face.
“And…andIdropped it whenIheard you knock.”Shewas saying so many words—far too many words—and she was struggling to catch up to them as they spewed from her lips without her permission. “Sothen…it…”Shetrailed off, biting her lips together inwardly, determined not to say another word.
“I’malways losing that stone.”Hepushed off from the door and slid his hands in his pockets, walking toward her slowly, his eyes catching the flicker of the fire, never leaving her own. “Thankfully, it always finds its way back to me.”
Hewas closer now, standing right in front of her, their bodies only inches apart. “It’sthe first rhyzolmIever found, you know.”Hetook her hand and lifted it to his chest. “Thisstone has been with me sinceIwas a boy in theHallowMarshes.Alone.Alwaysalone.Butwhen theBaronasked it of me, it led me to you.”Helaughed softly to himself as she moved to place the stone back in his hand and closed his fingers around it. “Ican still feel you whenIhold it.”
“I’mglad it’s not lost then,” she whispered, softness returning to her pulse.
Hestepped away from her, turning to the fire and lowering himself to the black chair, shoving the stone into his pocket and resting his elbows on his knees, bent forward, clasping his hands. “Please.Sit.Wehave much to discuss.”
Hegestured to the blue wing-backed chair, and she swept toward it silently, sitting stiff and upright, hands in the lap of her white gown as if waiting for her dismissal fromFelgrenitself.AndImay well be, she thought.
“First,Iwant you to know that what happened at the stream happened between you and me.Whateverhorrific tales your mind has come up with as to whatI’vetoldBaronHeimlenabout that…demonstration, you can forget.Iasked you to show me what you could do and you did.”
“I—” she started, but he held up a hand to stop her.
“Please.Letme speak before you say whatIcan see plainly on your face.”Helowered his head and sighed before taking a moment to look back up at her, rubbing his hand across his mouth. “Icould not keep him from our discovery in theBlight.Ican omit information, butIcannot lie to him.Itwas what he suspected anyway.Hetold me he could not feel theBlight’sheartbeat either.So—”Hepushed up from his seat and began pacing the room, just as she had moments before, rubbing the side of his neck as he seemed to habitually do when deep in thought.
“What’sgoing on here?Areyou able to sense a heart beating because you are powerful?Orare you somehow connected to theBlightin a way that is unclear?Acombination of the two?Regardlessof which one—or even if those two are the only options—Ido not believe you are some concealed monster, brought here to destroy us all.Soyou can take that look right off of your face,Ash.”
