Ghost Fields - Book One of The Fields of Mendhavai Trilogy

Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

“Rinda,” Danu whispered in the darkness. “Are you still awake?”

“Yes, I am.”

I’d made arrangements to have a bed moved into the solar of my suite. Even though I garnered a look about the inapproriateness of having him in my own rooms, I figured it woud be the safest place in the keep to hide the missing prince, as no one but Corina was allowed to enter my quarters without my permission.

I rolled over in my feather bed and looked toward the sound of his voice. He was standing in the doorway between the solar and bedchamber, back lit by the half moon that shone through the solar windows.

I sat up throwing back the covers as he stepped over to me, his bare feet quiet as they crossed the deep carpet. In silent indecision he stood in front of me until I took his hand and pulled him down onto the bed.

“How do you still care for me, Rinda, after all this time and... everything that happened?” he asked, his voice a thin whisper laced with regret.

“Danu.” I threw the covers over us both and lay back into my feather pillows. He lay down beside me and I rested my head on his chest. “How could I not care?” I whispered, gripping his hand in mine and staring up at the dark ceiling. “When you fostered here, it was the best time in my life. You were always there for me, through all my childish anxieties. You were my friend, even when I acted like a spoilt princess.” I swallowed, as the past flowed through my thoughts. “Then you were gone. I missed you so much. Your parents broke up their alliance with Rowhede when you disappeared, blaming my father. We haven’t been at war with them, but they stopped trade relations with the whole of Rowhede. After that, our own king practically disowned us as well, in his anger over the broken alliance. And neither Khallad nor Rowhede came to our aid when the mages came.” I sniffed, as tears pricked my eyes and spilled over.

Danu shifted so he was now holding me and used a callused thumb to gently wipe a tear from my cheek. I cried quietly into his shoulder for a while. Then the anger and resolve welled in me again, as they did every time I started feeling sorry for myself since my father died.

“They killed my father, Danu.” I said through clenched teeth. “I’ve been pining for revenge, but have had so many other things to take care of. Silly household things, things I can’t trust my own steward to attend to. Now it looks like I will finally have my chance. They’re coming back.”

 “I know,” he said and I looked up at him, shocked. “About your father that is.” He flushed and stared up at the dark plum colored drapes over the intricately carved antique four-poster bed. He took a deep breath, swallowing. “The night after I left here, they came. It was snowing, a blizzard like I’d never seen before. With no warning, our camp was overrun by strange beasts and they killed everyone.” Agony and guilt filled his voice once again.

“Danu,” I couldn’t stand to hear his torment. “You don’t have to explain. After I threw Mivius out of the gaol, I figured most of it out for myself. I don’t need to know the details, love. Please spare yourself.”

“No, I need-”  He swallowed. “I need someone else to know what happened to me. If there's anyone I can tell, it’s you. And you need to know what you’re up against.”

I sat up. Scooting back on the bed so I could see his face clearly in the moonlight, I searched his eyes. “I can see it, without you speaking…”  I trailed off uncertain, reaching my hand toward his face.

He took my hand in his own and cupped it against his cheek, rough with a day’s stubble. The sinews of his jaw were tight as he clenched his teeth, trying to be strong. We looked each other in the eye and I fell into his emerald depths.