They had dinner by an enormous bonfire on the outskirts of Carthway. Snow had been packed, cut, and shaped into stools and tables covered with rugs, reed mats, and wool blankets, creating a tavern feel. Small coal braziers added light and marginal warmth to the tables.
Mac insisted they speak northern for Bledig, which suited Kaelyn just fine. She had more than enough to think about–not that she really wanted to think, but she had been avoiding contemplating that Mac was the Hero of the Great Clan War, what that bandit had said at May-Garth’s, or what Bledig represented.
Bledig laughed and the light from the brazier flickered across the black swirls on his cheek. The swelling had gone down, revealing an intricate design almost as mesmerizing as the ones around Talar’s wrists.
Talar was another man she didn’t want to think about. And yet she couldn’t get him of her mind.
He said something to the blond man, the one she knew but couldn’t remember. Prince Wyndham. Back in Mythnar, Jillyn and Gerid and the others had talked about him and Kaelyn–she supposed she was that Kaelyn. All those rumors claimed they were in love. And she could easily fall in love with him. He was handsome. Not as beautiful as Talar, but he had fine features, a gentleness about him, and stunning eyes. She could drown in those blue depths and never surface for air.
Maybe she was in love with him. But he was just as unobtainable as Talar. He wasn’t married yet, but just about.
Of course, he had traveled into the Halyn Mountains to find her. Surely that counted for something.
A trio of musicians gathered by the fire and started a lively dance: a lute carrying the melody, a small drum keeping beat, and a reed pipe with playful descant. Clansmen and women gathered around, dancing and laughing and singing along.
Gerid stood and grabbed Kaelyn’s hand. “Come on. Let’s dance.”
He pulled her from the ice-stool and twirled her. The clear, starry sky sparkled above and the sounds of celebration washed over her. Even the cold seemed less biting. Yes, she had a lot to think about, but maybe for just one night she could let all her worries go.
Gerid spun her around and around from one song to the next: a jig to a reel to something she didn’t recognize.
Then the music slowed and Wyndham cut through the crowd. He dropped into a low court bow and offered her his hand. “I believe the next dance is mine.”
His gaze captured hers and her heart fluttered.
Gerid stepped back. “Most certainly, my Prince. I need to catch my breath.”
Wyndham’s gaze never left hers. She placed her hand in his and he stepped into position beside her. Shoulder to shoulder. Hip to hip. The music washed over her and the fog in her mind thinned. They stepped into a familiar pattern. Three steps this way, two steps, pause. Turn, bow, hop, step.
“We’ve done this before,” she said, as they stepped close together.
“You are always my dance partner of choice.” His warm breath caressed her face. It smelled of the spiced wine they’d had with dinner.
They stepped apart, paused, then back together again.
A hint of a smile pulled at his lips, as if he was enjoying himself but practice kept him from revealing it. He felt so familiar, so comfortable.
The second verse started and they repeated the steps.
The thought that she might have caressed the fine lines of his face but couldn’t remember struck her. Had she kissed those lips? How much of their forbidden love had they allowed themselves? In the Mac Theselon tales true love conquered all obstacles. And while she was fully aware that life was not a tale, sometimes they were right.
The song ended and Kaelyn stepped into the complex bows, finishing the dance.
Wyndham squeezed her fingers, his skin hot against her, and her heart pounded.
Then a third hand joined theirs.
“My turn,” said Talar.
He swept her away into a reel and all thoughts of true or forbidden love were whirled away by the wild music and the need to catch her breath.
The dance ended and she collapsed into Talar’s embrace panting and laughing. He squeezed her close and she realized she was wrapped in Talar’s arms, her head resting against his chest, just like she’d been in the closet. Heat sparked within her and she jerked away. “Why don’t you save me and sing.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gerid bow to his dance partner and head toward her. “Yes. Sing.”
Talar frowned but nodded his agreement, and she rushed away from him, praying he hadn’t noticed anything. She sat back at the table with Mac, Wyndham, and Bledig before Gerid could catch her.
Talar borrowed the lute from the grateful musicians, who took the break to have a drink. Gerid sat beside Wyndham, saying something in the elusive northern tongue, and Kaelyn was just about to ask for a translation when a haunting web of music filled the suddenly still night.
It was a short song about a farmer and a princess. The melody grew bright and happy as the farmer and the princess professed their love to each other, but then quickly turned dark and sorrowful as they realized their love could never be. In the end, the farmer went to war and died bravely, and the princess threw herself from a castle tower.
The last chord hung in the air, sad and plaintive. Talar locked gazes with her and she shivered. He was trying to tell her something, but was it that only heartbreak lay with Wyndham . . . or himself?
The fire snapped and Talar blinked, breaking the moment. His lips curled into a wry smile. “Enough rest.”
He started another quick dance. Gerid and Wyndham took her hands and they joined the dancers.
By the end of the evening she’d danced with everyone in her party and probably all of the men around the fire. Laughing, they skipped away from the merry-making into Carthway’s busy streets.
“I can’t remember when I’ve had so much fun,” she said, spinning away from the group, trying to get her skirt to billow out like it had when she’d been dancing.
Talar snorted. “That isn’t saying much.”
“You should feel honored you’re part of my first new memories of a good night out.”
Wyndham joined her spin, taking her by both hands.
“How can you two still feel like dancing?” asked Gerid.
She stopped, stumbling into Mac dizzy and out of breath.
“Look at the moon. It’s such a beautiful night.” She shivered and hugged herself. “Cold, but beautiful.”
“And we are at the biggest party this side of the Halyns,” said Wyndham.
“Well. I’m too old for all night parties.” Mac steadied Kaelyn. “I’m going to bed.”
Gerid nodded. “Unlike someone, I didn’t get a nap this afternoon. I’m to bed as well.”
Talar stifled a yawned and offered a sheepish smile. “So am I, I guess.”
“That’s fine.” She squared her shoulders. “I shall ask the Prince to continue showing me the town.”
“My Lady,” said Wyndham with a bow.
“Have fun,” said Mac. “Don’t wake me when you get in.”
They walked around the corner to the Inn, leaving Kaelyn and Wyndham standing on the street.
“So, where to?”
Wyndham put a hand on his hip and offered her the crook of his arm. “How about the market?”
“Is it open at this hour?”
“It’s open all the time at solstice.”
#
Kaelyn opened the door to her room, then turned back to Wyndham and hugged him. “Thank you. I had a lot of fun.”
She’d had more than fun. For the first time in a long time she’d felt alive and whole.
“Just like the old days,” he said.
She playfully punched his shoulder. “Oh, and we’re so old.”
His smile faded and the veil she’d seen when they were dancing earlier that night fell into place, hiding his emotions. “You should get some sleep. I’m sure Mac will have something planned for us this morning.”
She bit her lip and nodded. She could imagine the torturous morning exercises Mac would come up with.
“Good night.” He brushed a kiss across her cheek and slipped into the room he shared with Gerid.
Kaelyn eased into her room and closed the door. Her cheek burned where he’d kissed her and her heart pounded. True love indeed. All the sights and sounds from the evening swirled in her head, mixing with the kiss with heady intoxication. Had she ever been this happy before?
“You were out for a long time.”
She jumped back against the door, reaching for a weapon she didn’t have before she realized it was Talar. He sat in the chair a handbreadth from her.
“You scared me.” She strode to the bed and sat. “What are you doing here?”
He shifted, his features indistinct in the grey, predawn light creeping around the heavy tapestry over the window. “I thought we should talk.”
“I’m a little tired.” She kicked off her boots. She didn’t want to talk. She’d have to think before talking and she’d done so well to avoid thinking about anything, particularly Wyndham and Talar. “Can we do this in the morning?”
“It is morning.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I’ve sat here all night while you were off running around with Wyndham.”
“No one said you had to. You were invited.”
“You should have come back sooner.”
“If I had known I had a meeting, I might have considered it.”
Talar stood. “Mac wanted you to know that the solstice is tomorrow– Today. He thought we should head out for the Oracle the day after.”
“Fine.”
He jerked the door open. “Fine.”
