Nightshade Read Free Page B

excitement. She could not deny her joy at being freed from her prison of the Jade Palace. That she was quiet in this happiness and careful of her emotions seemed only prudent to her. Despite the fresh air she encountered each morning, air that held the remnants of a thousand dreams of freedom, she knew that they were a lovely illusion.
    Joaquin still dogged her steps, as did Lord Serabee El-Khan. And whether this would change if a son of Arravan wanted her for his bride, she had no idea. She was Joaquin’s advantage over his rivals and she could do nothing about it. She did not doubt he had played a significant role in brokering the contract for her hand. Now he would be closer on her heels than ever before.
But what shall it gain you, my brother, if Arravan’s son finds me lacking? Or more to the point, what will that mean for me?
    If she returned in disgrace to the Jade Throne, Bharjah’s plans, whatever they might be, would be dashed to nothing because she was not beautiful enough.
Or not enticing enough for a son of the Blood to get his sons upon. Not sweet enough, perhaps, in my temptations. How awful I shall feel, you old butcher, to disappoint you.
    She had no clue how to seduce a man. And she had no such desire. She still believed the words she had spoken to Radha, that she would be exchanging one cage for another.
Though perhaps the cages of Arravan are prettier, and I might gain some small amount of liberty if I am the mother of his sons.
    Her annoyance was sudden and fierce. She was joining a game already in play, and she would be forced to move the pieces on the board with great care if she were to win some measure of contentment. Her only remaining task was to decide whom she would rather be a pawn to.
    She did not like the complete uncertainty of her position. She had never possessed even the smallest degree of power and had always been but a step away from someone’s blade. And now she was being sold, her body offered up as the vessel for a stranger’s seed. She felt ill and her head throbbed, but this was perhaps the only currency available to her, to open her legs to him and offer her spirit. With years of practice behind her, she changed the direction of her thoughts, her heart hardening to stone as she searched the far horizon.
    She needed more information about what to expect and more confidence in order to meet it with grace and dignity. Radha had unearthed some small scraps of information about the family that would greet her, and some of their history as well, though not as much as they liked. Lyoness was unkind to the legacies of any but those of Bharjah’s blood. Radha had promised more and Jessa hoped that she could deliver on that pledge.
    Jessa knew she was to visit a small family and that the High King, Owen Durand, had taken but one bride in his lifetime, to whom he was married still. This woman, Cecelia Lewellyn, had borne him five children, three sons and two daughters. Radha assured her that their knowledge would increase as they traveled farther into Arravan, but for now, Jessa understood only that the Durand reputation was far different from that of her own blood.
    She took a deep breath and cast a final glance across the landscape, with its richness and utter beauty. She rose and returned to camp, lifting her skirt above her boots when the grass grew tall and smiling at the novelty of such a simple thing. If she were to finally receive a clear answer from the Vhaelin as to her fate, it would be in a place such as this, upon sacred and holy ground.
    “
Vhaelin essa ahbwalla
,” she whispered in blessing as she walked.
    Beneath the first full moon of spring, Jessa would seek the Waters of Truth.
     
    *
     
    Radha spoke the words that would bring the truth. The changes that took place in Jessa’s face caused her to proceed with caution. The abundance of power Jessa possessed was vast but well-hidden, rushing blindly through Jessa’s soul and, for now, unattainable. It had been that