Araneae Nation: The Complete Collection Page 22

  “What’s in—?” I decided it didn’t matter. “Thank you—for everything.”

  “Go.” He curled his fingers, and Wishövi loped to his side and steadied him. “May the two gods bless and keep you, Maven Lourdes.”

  “You as well, Masikookyang.” I caught his glimmer of pleased surprise that I had committed his name to memory. He inclined his head to me before beginning his slow trek from the yard to his home.

  “It’s time,” Vaughn prompted me from his seat upon Noir’s back. I needed no further encouragement.

  Brun grunted as Marron lurched forward, dragging him behind her. I glanced over my shoulder. Fear Rhys might fall made my fingers curl to steady him and Mana, but after several moments, the ursus fell into step. I measured the time by the position of the moon and decided our first stop would be made at dawn.

  I’d told Rhys Marron could get him to Erania in two days. I’d been wrong. It took the full three with our frequent stops.

  Between Vaughn’s keen nose and the quiver full of arrows he’d stolen from one of the dead archers for me, we’d been prepared for another encounter with the yellow death, but our journey home was mercifully uneventful. We saw no peculiar wildlife, leading me to believe the sickened pecora had been a single herd, all infected, rather than the epidemic we’d feared.

  As we barreled through the city gates, I was grateful the Mimetidae guards hadn’t stopped us. Perhaps they’d recognized me or Rhys and known better than to interfere. Though I heard them raise the alarm as Vaughn navigated the entrance to the underground stables.

  As we fought to corral the cranky ursus, Armand and Henri burst from the adjoining tunnel’s mouth.

  Armand glanced from me to Rhys and back again. “Lourdes?”

  I ignored him and called to Henri, “Rhys has been poisoned by a Theridiidae archer.” My fingers fumbled with ties. “I have his venom.”

  Henri nudged me aside and took possession of Mana’s roll and my pack. “I’ll start the preparations.” He turned to Armand. “Take Rhys to Lourdes’s room. I’ll meet you there when I’m ready.” He frowned at Mana. “Who’s this? Was she poisoned as well?” He touched the side of her throat, where her pulse beat sluggishly.

  Vaughn peeled Henri’s hand aside. “You worry about Rhys. I can take care of her.” Proving his point, he scooped Mana from the litter and cradled her against his chest.

  “Very well,” Henri said, patting the roll. “I’ll be with you shortly.” He paused before turning. “Be strong, Lourdes. We’ll get him through this.” Then he disappeared into the tunnel.

  With help from a stable hand, Armand carried Rhys to my bedroom. I opened doors and otherwise stayed out of their way. Vaughn followed, but I barred my door.

  “What about Mana?” Perspiration stuck her hair to her forehead despite the cold. Though I’d blamed the heat and Old Father’s blanket during the first half of our journey, neither excuse explained her sweat-slick skin or pallor now.

  “She’ll come out of it on her own.” He paused. “I think.” He stared down at her, and his brow puckered. “She has to sever their connection. It’s draining her. That much, I do know.”

  I’m ashamed to admit I hesitated, weighing what good she may be doing for Rhys against what her efforts obviously cost her. We were home, Henri was working toward a cure, and Rhys had every advantage I could secure him.

  “Give me a moment.” I called Armand to us. “Give Vaughn and Mana rooms as far from mine as you can. Borrow from a clansman if you must, and send Henri to her once he’s finished with Rhys.” I cautioned him, “Tell Henri to keep his herbs to himself. Vaughn can explain if need be.”

  One relieved glance told me Armand approved of putting distance between Vaughn and me. I almost said my request had nothing to do with Vaughn, that he was, if not a friend, then an ally, but I’d save that argument for later.

  Armand paused at the threshold. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather I waited with you?”

  “I’m fine.” I spotted Rhys lying still and pale. “He needs me.” I pushed into the room. “I’ll be fine waiting for Henri until you return.”

  Once our brothers left and the door closed, I crawled into bed with Rhys. Nestled against his side, I propped my head on his shoulder and promised him everything I was, anything I had, if he would only return to me.

  Chapter 11

  Pressing my ear over Rhys’s heart, I listened to the steady sound of the rest of my life beating beneath my cheek. His chest rose and fell in even breaths, and his skin had lost its sheen of perspiration.

  A knock on my door lifted my head. “Yes?”

  “It’s only me.” Henri slipped inside. His presence swelled my chest with gratitude, and with pride. How could he have ever doubted our parents valued his talent? If he had been cast in my shadow, surely he was now stepping into the light.

  “I wanted to check on Rhys before the council meeting begins.” He scanned me from my bare toes to my knotted hair. “You can’t go looking like that.” His nose wrinkled. “Have you bathed? You’ve been home for days, and I haven’t seen you leave that bed once.” A small smile. “Have you considered the smell is what’s keeping Rhys unconscious?”

  I glared at him. Contrary to Henri’s jibes, I had bathed and eaten and done all manner of things. I just hadn’t left this room to do them.

  “He is well, Lourdes. I wouldn’t say so otherwise.” He nudged my foot as he passed. “He had his last dose of antivenin this morning. The dayflower oil has been purged from his system. His fever has broken. His breathing is level. His heart rate is normal. He’s awakened several times now and spoken the last few.” He frowned. “It’s you I’m worried about.”

  “I’m fine.” Considering what I was about to do, I was.

  The Araneidae clan council had been generous with their time, delaying Pascale’s trial and sentencing so my partisan could heal and I could attend him. Now he was well, if still weak, and the time for hearing truths had come. After learning of Kellen’s intentions for Pascale, I had no clue of her guilt or innocence.

  “Have you seen Mana this morning?” I asked, as he began examining Rhys.

  He pressed a thumb to the underside of Rhys’s wrist, checking his pulse. “I just left her room.”

  I leaned forward. “How is she feeling?”

  “It’s not like you to beat around the bush.” He chuffed. “Out with it.”

  “Did she have anything new to say?” My eagerness led me to add, “About Rhys’s memory?”

  “She’s had the same answers for your questions every day you’ve had me ask them.” He tsked as my curiosity fizzled. “She stands by her claim that it’s not uncommon for a spirit to return to its body unaware it ever left. Something about being grounded in flesh erases its ties to the spirit world and all that transpired there.” He paused in his counting. “I suppose this means Rhys’s memory is still spotty?”

  I nodded. “He remembers being shot. Everything after that blurs.”

  “Perhaps it’s for the best.”

  I tucked stray hairs behind my ear. “I’m sure you’re right.”

  “While Rhys’s memory of his time—”

  “In the in-between,” I supplied.

  “Yes, well, while any recollection of his time under Mana’s care would make for an interesting conversation and lend authenticity to her accounting of those same events, at best she is what she claims—a spiritual healer.” He tried repressing his smile and failed. “At worst, she is a competent herbologist with a flair for the dramatic.”

  I considered him. “What’s with that grin?”

  “While I was visiting with Mana, she gave me a few dayflower seeds. She’s going to instruct me in their care and usage.” Anticipation brightened Henri’s expression. “We’re going to my greenhouse this afternoon.” Just as quickly, his expression dimmed. “Well, depending, of course.”

  I nodded, watching him work rather than answering.

  “All right. Everything is as it should b
e. I’ll come around in the morning, the same time as usual.” Henri straightened. “Armand has requested a meeting with me prior to the trial’s commencement. I should be on my way.”

  “I’ll be along shortly.” I adjusted the sheet covering Rhys, ignoring my brother’s doubtful stare. “It’s past time Pascale was dealt with. I know that.”

  When I kissed my partisan’s cheek, a crease appeared between his eyes. Sinking back into the mattress, I was tempted to wait and see if he was on the verge of waking, but Henri kept watch until my feet hit the floor.

  “You’re maven now.” He paused with his hand on the doorknob. “Make sure you look the part.”

  “I will.” I shooed him out the door.

  Vanity played no part in my preparations. This was the first trial I would oversee as maven, and every aspect of my appearance was critical. With my partisan absent from the proceedings, the burden of presenting a united front, despite the circumstances, fell squarely onto my shoulders. I bathed and dressed with that in mind.

  Once I was presentable, I cast a last, wistful glance at Rhys. He was sleeping peacefully. Though I longed to steal another kiss, I’d rather not rouse him, then have to explain why I was leaving. Better that he slept until I returned.

  Slipping from the room, I bumped into Vaughn as I shut the door. “You’re still here?” Of course he was. Had I expected otherwise?

  He ignored the obvious answer. “How is he?”

  “His fever has broken and his color is much better today.” I smiled, and my face hurt from the force of it. “I think he’ll be awake more this afternoon. He was briefly aware earlier.”

  His broad shoulders slumped. Taking in my formal dress, he asked, “Pascale?”

  “Yes. Her trial has been delayed long enough.” I linked my fingers. “The new moon is but a few days away, and I can’t rejoice in Rhys and my wedding if this burden is on my heart.”

  “In other words, you worry for your family and the strain waiting has put them under.” I heard a smile in his voice. “You were right to stay. His kind—their beliefs about soul mates—he needed you. You are his world now.” He swiped a hand across his mouth as if to keep from talking. “Go on. I’ll be right outside if he needs anything.”

  Because he might not have done it on his own, I asked it as a favor rather than pose the suggestion. “I worry he’ll wake while I’m gone and be alone. Would you mind sitting inside?”

  “I—” His voice roughened. “If it pleases you.”

  Perhaps I should have left well enough alone. “You’re a good brother, to us both.”

  “No.” His fingers trailed my cheek. “I’m more of a bastard than he’s ever been, but thank you.” His cocky grin returned. “I knew you weren’t immune to my charm.”

  I laughed, as he no doubt intended, and he went to sit with the brother he loved despite the monstrous past they shared. I would be careful, though, of tampering with their relationship, because they needed to come to terms with the past on their own. There was also the fact Rhys’s secrets were deadly. One wrong word would see him gutted by his clan, so my lips were sealed.

  Taking my leave of him, I went in search of my brothers. They would be in the council chambers, I imagined, since my spare words with Vaughn had cost me my promptness. When I rounded the last bend, I had to place a hand over my unsettled stomach. Pascale wore chains on her wrists and ankles. She stood beside her advocate, a young male with a grim countenance, and stared into our brothers’ bleak faces.

  Armand leaned his hip against the edge of the council table. Henri flanked him, studying Pascale as if she were one of his specimens. The elders were also in attendance. Only I had been delayed. I hurried my steps.

  Elder Darcel gripped the back of his chair for support while Elder Celso engaged him in a murmured conversation. Elder Jean stood beside them with his palms braced on the table, staring down the center aisle toward to door to better monitor my approach.

  “Ah. The Maven Lourdes has arrived. I see she places some value on her sister’s life.” Elder Jean held no fondness for me. Not since I set his robes on fire when I was six. It had been an accident. Mostly it had been, but I understood I had pricked his pride when I had left without seeking this council’s blessing. I’d had no time for formal proceedings when action was required.

  I feared there would be a cost for that. I hoped Pascale wasn’t asked to pay the price.

  “I apologize for keeping you all waiting.” I nodded to Elder Celso and Elder Darcel, saving a warm smile for Armand and Henri. The six of us comprised the clan council. We three judged by blood while they were appointed by vote—a fair system and capable of overruling me.

  Now that I was present, the proceedings could begin. The council members took their seats. Chairs scraped behind me as Pascale and her advocate sat. I couldn’t face her. Not yet. Alone in the center of the room, I stood on weak knees and prepared to conduct my sister’s trial.

  Celso inclined his head. “As this matter is near to your heart, to all our hearts, understand if we proceed with caution. We want the truth at any cost, so this child is punished accordingly.”

  “Elder Celso, if it pleases the council, before Pascale’s examination begins, new evidence has been brought to light.” Armand gestured toward the door where I’d entered, and Bram strode down the aisle, casting me a wink as he passed. “Bram agreed to testify as a Theridiidae privy to his maven’s secret plans and as an Araneidae loyalist. His evidence is incontrovertible.”

  My pulse skittered with delirious hope. Bram had proof? He was able to clear our sister? This must have been the reason behind my brothers’ pretrial meeting.

  Ruddy crimson suffused Jean’s cheeks. “You would call a traitor to stand witness?”

  “I would.” Armand gestured Bram forward. “Show him your letter.”

  At that, I relaxed. Better for us that Bram had written proof since his word was for sale.

  Bram approached Jean and passed a scrap of folded parchment to the grasping elder. For a moment, Jean stared as if weighing what he’d read and trying to find fault with it. Apparently unable to do so, he passed the letter with a flourish to Celso and Darcel to read.

  “How did you come to possess such a letter?” Jean demanded.

  “It was mine to deliver from Maven Colleen to her son Kellen. I did so outside of Beltania.” He shrugged. “With Kellen dead, it seemed Pascale had more need of it than he did at that point. I searched his body for the letter. That’s how I came to possess it prior to arrival in your fair city.”

  “You knew what it said then?” Celso held the letter and eyed the fine print.

  “Yes.” Bram’s tone remained cocksure. “I was there when my maven penned it. It was I who hid Kellen among the males I stationed in Erania. I knew Colleen’s matchmaking venture wasn’t as altruistic as she would have me believe. When she sent me to escort Kellen home, she anticipated Lourdes would be nearby. I was instructed to bargain with Lourdes if I could.” His eyes met mine. “Or kill her if I couldn’t.” He set his jaw. “I won’t lie. I would have killed her if I…” He swore. “My reasons are my own. I brought the letter. That’s your proof. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He turned on his heel. Heading toward the door, he called, “I’ve got to see a male about an annuity.”

  “Wait a minute,” Jean blustered. “Wait a bloody red minute.” But Bram was gone.

  While my palms itched to steal the letter and learn its contents, I understood its details would be kept private until I’d coaxed the truth from Pascale. It was easier if I didn’t know the answers to give them to her.

  “Is the council ready?” I waited for their nods. “Let us begin.”

  I took a breath and prayed for guidance. I’d known her direct examination would fall to me, and I was as prepared as I could be. The council faded into silence. “Pascale of the Araneidae, you have been charged with conspiracy to murder Reine and Ennis, our once maven and paladin, and our parents.” I wished for Rhys’s steady presence
as I asked the question I dreaded hearing answered. “Before this clan council, what say you?”

  The young male at her elbow stood and smoothed a hand down his shirtfront. “Maven Lourdes, as your sister’s advocate, I would like a moment to confer with my—”

  Her soft voice carried. “I am guilty.”

  The world lurched beneath my feet. Guilty. I had expected her to say as much, but I found I was unprepared to hear the finality of the statement. Pain shed my propriety. “How could you?”

  The male’s head snapped toward her, his mouth opening on what was no doubt a reprimand, but she waved him into silence. “It’s all right, Tristan, I can speak for myself.” She gestured he should take his seat, and he did so with reluctance, settling on the edge as though primed to spring to her defense if such action was warranted.

  “I was a fool,” Pascale said, “and my foolishness cost our parents their lives. I’ll tell you whatever you wish to know and accept the punishment determined by you, a council of my peers.”

  I paced. “Evidence suggests that our mother was poisoned by Theridiidae venom.”

  “It wasn’t Theridiidae venom.” She frowned. “Not all of it was.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Kellen was one of Father’s guards during his hunts. They weren’t close, but they were close enough Kellen realized Father was sneaking from the nest to hunt more and more often. He went alone, which was highly unusual.” She looked to me. “Normally, you would be with him.”

  I didn’t correct her, and I hadn’t known he’d been venturing out by himself.

  “Kellen said news from Siciia had upset Father. He had become obsessed with perfecting a new poison.” She picked at her fingernails. “His personal guards knew, and they trailed along his midnight hunts.”

  I went still. Siciia was farther south than Beltania. “Did he say what the news was?”