Song of the Saurials - Kate Novak [30]
Kyre frowned slightly. Aside from having too great a hold on the mage's heart, this Zhara probably knew too much. Fortunately Alias had told the half-elf all she needed to know to deal with the priestess.
Kyre stood up, padded over to the window, yanked open the curtain, and threw back the shutters. "The rain has stopped for the moment. How convenient," she declared.
From her tunic pocket, the half-elf pulled out a bit of thistledown with the seeds still attached. "Darkbringer," she murmured in Realms common. The thistle seeds in her hand began to glow. "Zhara, wife of Akabar Bel Akash, in the Red Room at the Old Skull Inn," she whispered. Then she held the thistledown up to her mouth and blew it out the window. The silky, seed-bearing strands danced away from the window toward the heart of Shadowdale, moving against the wind.
Kyre stood at the window, staring blankly at the greenery surrounding Shadowdale Akabar, hearing his wife's name spoken, turned his head in the half-elf's direction. He began studying her profile with fascination. Her silky black hair contrasted sharply with her fair skin, and her figure was lithe and muscular like a dancer's. She's really very beautiful, he thought. Not to mention well educated. She speaks Turmish well, with a soft-spoken voice like a true lady.
And her touch is tender, as a woman's should be.
Why, though, the mage puzzled, did she have to stun me just to keep from speaking of my dreams? Akabar sighed to himself. No matter, he thought. She said she was sorry. I must give her a chance to explain. She must have a good reason.
A few minutes later, just as the half-elf had predicted, his head felt much clearer, his body felt rested, and the strength returned to his limbs. His heart still beat a little too quickly, but he didn't notice. He sat up and took a deep breath.
Kyre turned away from the window and smiled gently. "I'm pleased to see you feeling better," she said softly, still speaking in Turmish. "You will forgive me, I trust, for being so forward, but I must tell you, you are the most attractive man I've ever met."
Akabar blushed deeply. Usually the immodest advances of northern women annoyed him, but he felt inordinately pleased that someone as attractive as Kyre should find him appealing. Still, he wasn't the sort to leave mysteries unsolved. "Why don't you want me to tell about my dreams to anyone?" he asked.
Kyre crossed the room to his bedside, her walk graceful and sinuous. "I'm not sure who can be trusted," she replied as she sat down again on the edge of the bed.
"You can trust Alias," Akabar said. "She's a good friend."
"But I don't think I can trust Lord Mourngrym," Kyre replied. "However, I know I can trust you, Akabar. You've been chosen." The half-elf ran her finger along the curve of the Turmishman's ear and down along the artery in his neck.
Akabar felt his heart begin to pound and his blood throbbing in his head. "What do you know of my dreams?" he asked.
Kyre slid her hands up inside the loose sleeves of Akabar's robe, lightly touching the inside of his arms with her fingertips. "They are of the Darkbringer's return to the Realms, are they not?" she asked.
"Yes," Akabar admitted. "They are." He grasped the half-elven woman's elbows, and rubbed his thumbs along the silky sleeves of her tunic.
"And in your dreams, you must find the Darkbringer. Correct?" Kyre asked.
"Yes," Akabar said.
"I will help you," Kyre said. "Would you like that?"
Akabar pulled the woman closer to him. With amusement, he noted how the orchid behind Kyre's left ear was held in place. Some magic, elven no doubt, had coaxed the stem's tendrils to twist about several strands of her hair. The mage buried his face in the half-elf's hair and breathed in the orchid's intoxicating scent.
"I would like that very much," he whispered, but something about the orchid's scent left him feeling anxious. The perfume tickled at some unpleasant memory that would not surface readily.
Kyre blew her warm breath into his ear. "I will take you to Moander's place of resurrection," she breathed.