Archer of the Lake Read online

  ***

  One of the steward's duties was to entertain guests, not that they received many. ?Very few ventured through the perilous desert. ?Those that did were usually hired. ?Mostly women.

  This time there were three, and the steward thought the practice to be a waste of money. ?It was obvious that the desert princeling had only brought them in as a pretense, especially since he would stubbornly ignore all of their advances. ?This time the princeling arranged a woman for himself, one for his steward, and one for the Blind Seer's messenger. ?Had the steward not been there, the result might have turned disastrous.

  The messenger remained in the west wing that the princeling allocated for it. ?And there it stayed and would not be drawn out of hiding with invitations to dinner or the seductive, alluring promise of female companionship. ?The steward knew the attempt to be futile, because servants of the Seer did not partake in secular pleasures. ?Besides, the messenger might have been female herself, or a being that did not enjoy the company of women.

  And so the messenger voiced its refusal to spend an evening with the princeling by obstinately ignoring any call at the door to the west wing. ?Offended and irate, the princeling stormed to his own chambers, leaving the steward to see after the three women. ?They were flirtatious enough, and the steward had no qualms with devoting an evening with one of them. ?He chose the fair one with the azure-colored eyes for his own, and sent the other two to the tent of higher ranking officers. ?The colonels there could contest for their attention. ?He took his choice to his bed chamber, which was arguably far too lavish for a mere steward. ?But he was not a mere steward.

  She called herself Wystaria and she was pale enough to belong to a home far away from the desert. ?He gently pushed her to the bed, and she complied. ?When his lips met the skin at the crook of her neck, it tasted sweet and icy. ?He guessed her home had seen blistering winters for unseasonably long months. ?He imagined her beautiful face framed by a fur-lined hood as a biting wind stung her cheeks bright red. ?He kissed them and her nose, and a smiled curled her mouth, showing small, perfect teeth.

  Her wide, glassy eyes were too innocent to belong to hired companionship, but he enjoyed that about her. ?However, he had barely tasted her saccharine lips before she lifted herself to meet him at eye level, immediately stopping things. ?The steward never had one to hesitate before, so he drew back, cautious.

  "I've never done this before," she admitted quietly to him.

  He might have loved her for that, Wystaria baring all of her innocence for him to take. ?He fantasized keeping her as his own treasured gem. ?He would pledge himself to no other, if she would have him. ?The thought terrified him. ?He had only been with her for the span of a few minutes. ?He opened his mouth to offer her some words of consolation, but she stopped him, pressing a cold finger to his lips.

  "I didn't come here as one of them," she said. ?"I snuck in."

  His shoulders straightened. ?Wystaria was admitting to be a stowaway. ?He crossed his arms. ?"Continue." ?All tenderness he had felt moments before vanished.

  "I have had heard tales. ?I wanted to see the great sorcerer." ?Her eyes dropped from his, and the finger she had previously used to silence him traced the muscular lines of his bare chest. ?He tried not to shudder, but it was inevitable. ?She was beautiful and half-naked.

  His mouth lifted into a cocky half-smile. ?He spread his arms wide. ?"Well here I am." ?He held his palm out between them, producing a blue flame with his aura.

  Wystaria marveled at it, the light matching her own eyes. ?Then, to his immense surprise, she touched the tip of the flame. ?

  He was about to warn her against it-

  Only there was a shock and a blinding light. ?The flame had frozen into lavender-colored ice, dropping heavily into his hand. ?He looked between it and her with a renewed interest.

  Wystaria was a sorceress.

  "I've never met another human capable of magic," he said, allowing his surprise. ?Then, thinking of his brother, he amended, "At least one who is born with the ability. ?Why have you come?"

  "Because I have not met one either," she said with a sheepish smile. ?"And I sense that you have much you can teach me."

  The grin that touched his face was genuine. ?When he lowered himself over her, it was with a new warmth, a new feeling. ?A reassurance that he would never be alone as he had felt all his life. ?She made no protest this time, eagerly knotting her fingers into his hair. ?His mouth moved against her collarbone, and then suddenly it was his turn to interrupt things.

  Hanging from her neck was a charm, a talisman crafted in the shape of a black crow.

  Wystaria had no time to question his abrupt indecision before he jumped away from her. ?He backed to the wall, blue magic coating his hands.

  And though it broke his heart, he issued a single, hoarse command. "Leave."

  Her face shattered, but she obeyed without complaint. ?She probably would not understand his harsh refusal, but Lisiek could not risk his life for the possibility of companionship.

  Strangely, her departure made him feel even more alone than before.