The Mirrors Of Bershan: Bound Part 9

"And you would swear to the similarity of your writing to his?" was all he said when he put both sheets down on the table beside him.

She nodded. "In those two letters and a few others, yes, your Majesty."

"Then this may be worse than we thought. When the pet.i.tion was delivered, I merely thought it was Calder being his usual, somewhat odious self, but this suggests something else."

"It's also not the first time he has tried to force me to Iondis." She explained to them about the confrontation at her graduation in greater detail than she had given before.

"How could you have risked going to meet with him, after that? No information, no need was worth that. If I had known, I would never have let you out in the city without a guard of some kind, not even when you went with Tavis," Ki's soft voice beside her made her turn. "Why didn't you tell us all of this before?"

"At my graduation, it didn't strike me as either significant or unusual. When I mentioned it before, I guess the details still seemed unimportant, his usual need to control my life."

"What meeting are you referring to?" the Emperor demanded, frowning.

Fay explained what had happened in the Gardensia Memoria and the Emperor's frown deepened as she spoke of Marcius' appearance. When she finished, he said in an iron voice, "I a.s.sume that you have a request to make of me, given all that you have told me."

She thought carefully about the things she wanted and said, "Yes, your Majesty. Two related requests, if I may. First, I want my father's pet.i.tion formally denied. The second, this line in his pet.i.tion about marriage concerns me. I would request that you grant me full emanc.i.p.ation from his authority from this day forward. I realize the magnitude of this request, but I think only that can keep me safe from whatever this is about."

He paused for a moment, considered, and then nodded. "I agree to grant both requests, in the consideration that Calder exposing you to someone as dangerous as Marcius proves to me that he does not have your best interests in his heart. Only time may tell us if this is sufficient to keep you safe from him. I will have the necessary doc.u.ments drawn up."

She reflected on his words, and wondered if Marcius could really be so dangerous. What was this crime that no one would talk about and how could it possibly prove that he was a threat to others, when there seemed considered doubt about the murder? What crime could be worse than murder, she thought, but nothing came to mind. She half-expected his voice to rise around her with rea.s.surances but he remained absent from her in both voice and presence.

Keari stood and faced the Emperor, his voice disrupting her thoughts. "Father, there is worse news yet. I learned just before we came here that the Ninth Mirror is missing from the vault, and that it may have been missing for some years now."

Valteray did not speak for some time, though his expression was troubled and angry as he considered the situation. "You must find out if Calder has somehow come into possession of it, as what I have heard here today suggests he might have. If he has, you have my fullest support to do whatever is necessary to return the Mirror to its proper place. I will have an investigation conducted here into how this was possible, as well as ensuring the other Mirrors are in their vaults and remain there. If those inside them were released, I would not care to see the havoc they would create in the world. Now, unless there is something further to discuss, I believe you have plans to make."

As Fay and Lydia rose, she saw Keari hesitate, looking uncomfortably at his father. Finally, he said, "Be wary of Arovan, Father. The Mirrors are his responsibility, so it would be his ministry under investigation by outsiders. You know he will not take that lightly."

They turned and left, Fay pulling her hood back down before leaving the room.

Chapter 14.

They returned to Keari's manor to find Tavis pacing in front of the house as if he meant to wear right through the stones. His furrowed brows relaxed slightly when he turned and saw them approaching, the worry draining from his eyes as Fay lowered her hood, but the look of determination which replaced it was unexpected. Lydia had come forward and was offering him a hug, which he returned absently, but his eyes never left Fay's face. When his mother released him, he left her behind and walked over to Fay.

"May I speak with you privately?" he asked her, his tone formal, careful.

"I- um, yes," she said, wondering what had changed since their departure that he would now meet her eyes with such resolve.

Tavis took her hand and led her into the house to the sitting room. He let go of her hand and took two steps away from her before turning around. He stared at her for a moment, his eyes looking into hers as if trying to read her thoughts, choosing how to start what he wanted to say by what he might see there.

"I've tried to tell myself for a while now that it could never be possible, but I can't deny my hopes any longer. And now I don't have the luxury of waiting, so I'll come right out and say it. Faylanna, I'm in love with you."

She stared at him, trying to understand the rush of joy and uncertainty that flooded through her at his words. A low hiss sounded around her and she was suddenly aware that Marcius was with her again. She didn't speak though, sure there was more for either of them to say. After a moment of searching her face, Tavis went on.

"I didn't expect to. When we met, it just seemed like a good idea to travel together. I liked you, I liked talking to you, which seemed to make us good traveling companions. I- I guess I wanted to make sure you would be safe, and when you told me you were a Magicia, I hoped I could learn something from you. But it's gone well beyond that now. I love you and I don't want to lose you because I'm too stupid or scared to say something."

She stared at him as this torrent of words flowed out of him. His early feelings mirrored her own, but she wondered if hers had grown as his apparently had. Marcius whispered rapidly in her ear. Faylanna, no, give me a chance, can't you see how much I need you? Don't let him come between us. He knows nothing, can't offer you the kind of power I can. His voice was so m.u.f.fled that she could barely hear it. But she thought about that feeling, the heat she felt near Tavis. A faint echo of it surged through her even now, with no physical contact between them. She knew what it meant, but she had to wonder if he would recognize what it signaled. What if he was feeling it too and mistaking it for something else? "If it's the bond you're asking for, you know, it doesn't have to be me. Trust me, with your strength, you'll find any number of willing partners your age, maybe a little younger, once you've trained some at-"

"I don't care about the bond," he said heatedly, taking a step closer. His eyes sparked with blend of irritation and affection as he went on. "I don't care about partners or magic or any of that. I only care about you. That's all I want, you in my heart and my life, to be in yours. Bound, unbound, I don't care, whatever you want. None of the rest of it matters to me, not as long as I'm with you."

Tavis dropped his gaze to the floor as he spoke those amazing words, his head drooping. Fay opened her mouth with no idea what to say. For the first time in her life, someone wanted something other than her magic. She realized that with Tavis, she could be herself, a solo Magicia, that he would let her explore her own power and capabilities without rus.h.i.+ng her into anything. It occurred to her that she might never find that again, someone who would let her balance all of her competing desires. How could his lack of education really matter, next to that, she wondered. Distantly, she felt a feathery touch on her mind, Marcius trying to hold on, to pull her away from these thoughts, but suddenly she wasn't sure how she felt about him and if she really knew what he wanted from her. He kept talking about needing her and how they should be together, but she always felt a sense that there was more he wasn't telling her, and she was tired of people keeping secrets from her. She reached out a hand, wanting to see again the truth of Tavis' words in his face. Her fingertips brushed his cheek before settling under his chin.

His head slowly rose, a fevered s.h.i.+ne in his eyes. She was instantly sure that he'd misinterpreted her gesture to mean more than just wanting him to look at her. He took another step forward, closing the gap between them. His arms slid around her shoulders, her waist and pressed her against his warm body. A faint, disconnected part of her mind noted that he was so much more tender than Marcius in his embrace, but even that thought was blown away as Tavis dipped his head and kissed her, gently, pa.s.sionately. For a moment, she was afraid her heart would explode, as the electric feel of his soft, slender lips on hers lit up every nerve in her body and mind. The rhythm he induced in her amplified and suddenly she heard another, the harmonic, his own, growing louder in her ears until it was all she could hear, all she could feel outside of his lips and arms. Her own lips moved, returning his kiss with equal fervor. The angry howl at the edge of her mind was drowned in the storm of her senses as her hands griped Tavis' back and the kiss stretched into eternity.

After a length of time Fay was incapable of measuring, he unwound his arms from her and took a step back, breaking all contact between them. Underneath the amazement that dominated her thoughts was a distant pleasure that he was as out of breath as she. When he spoke, his voice was rough, as if he barely had himself in control. "You don't have to make a decision now. I want you to think about it, to answer when you're ready. But I had to make you see that there is a choice. I had to show you..."

For a moment, he tried to continue, but he gave his head a slight shake and left the room. She wished he had stayed to kiss her again, and wondered if that was why he had left. She thought about going after him but couldn't seem to make her body respond to her wishes. When she gave up on the notion of following him, the chaos in her mind enveloped her. She stood in the middle of the room, frozen for a long time, trying to draw her thoughts back into some coherent order. She realized that Marcius was no longer trying to reach her and wondered what that meant.

The light around her had s.h.i.+fted by the time Lydia came in and asked her if she was coming for dinner. Fay had to work to answer and follow her to the dining room. As they went down the hall, she wished she had someone she could talk to about what had just happened. She considered and rejected each of the house's inhabitants, all of whom were too close to Tavis. Even Keari was too close, bound to Lydia as he was. She knew that partners kept few secrets from each other. It also occurred to her that she had no idea what she would say about what had happened, how she might explain it to anyone.

When they entered the dining room, Tavis was already there, seated between Keari and Eliar. His eyes were on her from the moment she walked in, watching her sit down at the opposite side of the table. She wasn't sure whether the room had become warm or if it was a blush she felt as she took her place. She found she was unable to make herself look away from him.

Dinner was served, fish baked with the most wonderful herbs which Keari told them all was a favorite of his, accompanied by vegetables that were still crisp. Fay was sure that it was one of the best meals she had eaten in some time but she could hardly taste it. Tavis barely took his eyes from her the entire time. When they had all finished and the dishes were cleared, the prince motioned for everyone to remain where they were. He filled Tavis and Eliar in on the audience with the Emperor, skirting carefully around any reference to himself. Fay found herself wondering distractedly how hard it must be for him to lead this double-life and why he didn't simply tell Tavis who he was, as everyone else there already knew.

"So, first we must decide where to look for the Mirror. And perhaps who took it, as that could help us figure out where it is now. I'm open to suggestions," he said, leaning back in his chair.

Eliar spoke up then. "I don't think Calder would have had the opportunity to take it, but he seems involved with it now. We need to consider that who and where aren't necessarily related, Ki." Keari nodded at this and Eliar went on, "I wonder if they took the Mirror to Bershan. I read the accounts of those who found the Mirrors, and they spoke of a resonance in the Mirrors that vanished when they were removed from the Bloodstones."

"What about the Vengalo mystics? I know their lands are far to the south, just beyond the outer border of the Empire, but I've read reports that suggests they deal in a kind of power that might be like the Mirrors," Lydia suggested.

Eliar and Lydia discussed the two ideas back and forth for a while until Tavis turned his eyes from Fay to his mother and asked, "What about why? You've said that it might depend on who took the Mirror, but what about why they took it? Their purpose might dictate where they took it."

Everyone turned to look at Tavis then, surprise and consideration on their faces. He seemed slightly uncomfortable to be the focus of everyone's attention. Fay felt his question pluck at something in her memory, hovering at the edge of her grasp and looked down at the table, frowning.

"That is something worth thinking about. Astute observation, Tavis," Keari said as Eliar patted Tavis on the shoulder, smiling.

Fay felt his presence around her a second before Marcius' voice whispered to her, Come to me, Faylanna. She could hear in his voice that he was calm again. She didn't answer though, unsure of what she might want to say to him. Instead, she thought about what Tavis had said. Again, a memory floated near, closer this time, and she thought she could hear her father's voice telling her to prepare. Her father, who was somehow involved with Marcius, telling her to prepare. Her eyes flew open as understanding came.

"Iondis!"

Everyone stopped speaking and stared at her as her cry sliced through their words. Tavis was back to watching her, but it was Lydia who reached over and put a hand on her arm. "Don't worry. You won't have to go there. The Emperor already said that-"

"No, it's at Iondis. The Mirror. That's why he kept wanting me to go there." The expressions around the table were dubious, except for Tavis, who was frowning. "Think about it. Ever since my graduation, my father has been trying to get me to go to back home. Even this stupid pet.i.tion was aimed at bringing me to Iondis. It didn't makes sense, but I think it has to be because the Mirror is there. Marcius is there."

Though Tavis continued to look at her with a frown, the others immediately started arguing with her about how unlikely the idea was that Calder could have stolen the Mirror and gotten it out of the city undetected. She didn't listen. All she could hear was Marcius' voice, and his tone was exultant. Come to me, you know the way, now come to me. I await you, my sweet.

She quickly grew impatient with their willful blindness and stubborn refusal to admit she was right. She wanted to leave immediately, now that she knew where to go. She controlled her impatience though, knowing that they would come around to her side, once they looked at the facts. It was Tavis who stopped the discussion. His frown had smoothed away as she had finished her explanation, but now the look in his eyes was a mix of regret, hope and resignation that she didn't understand. He spoke quietly, but they heard him and stopped to listen. "I think she's right. It must be there. You didn't see Marcius walk out of Calder's huddled body. She did, and so did I. This connection between the two of them means something."

His words jolted her, as if he knew things he couldn't. The others were silent for a long while as she and Tavis looked at each other, then they began to make plans to leave in the morning. After a while, when the plans were in place except for a few details, she excused herself to retire for the night. Tavis' eyes followed her as she walked out of the room.

When she woke the next morning, Fay decided she needed to thank Tavis for agreeing with her and helping her to convince the others. She dressed in her tunic and riding skirt, packing her dress away carefully. After making sure her bags were ready, she left her room. She went down the corridor to the room she thought was Tavis' but when she reached it, the door was already slightly open. She pushed the door all the way open, wondering if she had been wrong.

"Tavis?" she called. Looking around the small room, she saw his two bags sitting on the edge of the bed, confirming to her that it was the right room. He simply wasn't there. Leaving the room, she went downstairs and wandered through the sitting room and Keari's study without finding him or anyone else. She checked the small garden, which was also empty. She returned to the house, frowning now and followed the sound of Lydia's voice to the dining room, where she and Keari were talking with Eliar.

"Have any of you seen Tavis? I can't find him. He's not in his room and I've looked through the house for him with no sign of him."

The others were shaking their heads, Lydia looking distinctly worried, when they heard the front door open, then close and boots moving rapidly toward them down the hall. Tavis entered the dining room, took them all in with a glance and then nodded. He turned to Keari and said, "Calder left Rianza yesterday afternoon, it seems. I'm not sure that taking Faylanna to Iondis is wise. What if that's where he's headed? It could be a trap. The danger he places Faylanna in with simple proximity... I made that mistake before and I'm worried we're making it again."

Everyone started talking at once as Fay stared at Tavis, surprised and a little angry at the sudden withdrawal of his support. It took Keari several minutes to get them all quiet again. He looked carefully at Tavis' face then said, "You can't know where he's gone from here, so why does his leaving the city, presuming you're correct, make so much difference that we should call this off?"

"Because last night, I thought we could get there with him safely distracted here. I thought we could investigate there and get out without any risk of him even knowing she was there, let alone coming within sight of her. If he's gone to Iondis, though, that doesn't seem possible, does it?" The anger and self-condemnation in his voice startled Fay.

"How do you know he's left, Tavis? Tell us how you learned this," Eliar asked, his voice skeptical.

Tavis took a deep, steadying breath. "I went out this morning, early. There was something I needed to do before we left." When Keari raised an eyebrow at him, Tavis sighed. "I was arranging to have a letter delivered to Calder, but when I got to the Messengers Guild Hall, the clerk refused my letter, said he couldn't deliver it. I had to press to get anything more, but he said that Calder's carriage rode out of the city early yesterday afternoon. It was right before orders went out to all of the gate guards that Calder was to be detained at the Emperor's command."

Before she could ask, Eliar said, "What letter? Why were you sending a letter to Calder Derrion?"

Tavis flinched slightly from the harshness of Eliar's voice, but instead of answering the question, asked, "Do we have any idea what we're going to find at Iondis? What we're walking her into? Think about the danger she might be in."

"Do you have a better idea?" Fay asked, a snap in her voice she hadn't intended. He turned to look at her, his worry and hurt making her regret her tone, but she pushed on without apology. "You said it yourself last night, my father has some kind of connection to Marcius. His leaving could prove that we're right, more so if he is going to Iondis, and I can't think of anywhere else he's likely to go right now."

"I'd like to know how he managed to leave just ahead of the Emperor's command," Keari said ruminatively.

Tavis snapped, "That connection is exactly what I'm worried about. You have no idea- We have no idea what he's capable of, what they can do together. We don't even know what this connection is, except that it allows a dangerous criminal to walk free somehow. Yes, it obviously has limits, but there's no way for us to judge what they are and their effect on your safety. Worse, I don't know what they want from you, but I'm-"

He cut himself off then, his hands clenched at his side. She could see that he was again struggling with the temper he thought was his father's. From Keari's story, she thought it was more likely from his mother. The idea almost made her smile, but she didn't. She was angry at his attempts to take this decision away from her, after thinking he was different from everyone else.

Keari looked from one to the other, then said, "We have to go. I agree that the situation now contains an unknown factor, but there's no alternative I can see. We'll be careful, Tavis. Understand that not one of us would allow any harm to befall Faylanna. Now, I want you all ready to leave in half an hour."

Tavis stared at him for a minute, then turned and walked stiffly out of the dining room. Fay thought she heard him muttering something about stubborn people refusing to listen or see. Eliar turned to Keari. "I won't be going with you on this journey. There are things I need to look into here. You'll travel faster without me there in any case. I'll go speak with him. He'll be ready when it's time."

He left to follow Tavis and, after a minute, the rest of them left the room as well. Fay went upstairs to her room to retrieve her bags, still angry with Tavis. As she stepped into the room, a scent caught her attention. She wrinkled her nose at the acrid aroma that stung her senses. A quick sweep of the room revealed no source for the aroma, which was rapidly dissipating. She turned to reach for her two packs and stopped, surprised by the folded parchment sitting on top of the one containing her personal belongings. It was a darker cream, as if it had been made in an age long pa.s.sed, and the slender, sharp letters penning her name on the front were unfamiliar to her.

She picked up the letter, wondering if one of the servants had dropped it off here for some reason instead of bringing it to her. She opened it and, as she read, her eyes grew wider.

Dearest Faylanna, I have waited so long for you, but now you must come to me, for I cannot come to you. Years I have waited, since the promise was given that we would be for each other. And yet now another threatens that. I will not lose you to him. I could not survive that. Only you, through all these years, have ever truly believed in my innocence, and I ask that you trust further. Come to me. I offer you all that I can. All that you dream will be yours. I ask only that you join with me. From the circle of my arms, all the world will lay before you for the taking. I will be yours every night, if you will only be mine through all the days. Faylanna, I await you in Iondis. Come soon, come quickly.

Marcius Fay read the letter through twice before the sound of boots in the hallway startled her. She stuffed the letter into one of the bags and went downstairs to join the others, not sure what to think of anything anymore.

Chapter 15.

Tavis had been silent but calmer since they had left Rianza that morning. Lydia and Keari, again wearing his loose robe and draped scarf, rode together but spoke little, and Fay was careful to keep them between herself and Tavis, which left him leading the group and her riding behind. She didn't trust herself to speak to him yet, though only part of it was the anger she could still feel simmering in the back of her mind. The letter from Marcius was on her mind as well. She kept running through it, though she wasn't sure that she remembered the wording of it all that well. She would have taken it out, but knew that the others might ask what it was or where she had gotten it. When she realized that her thoughts were simply going in circles, she put the letter aside, vowing that she would examine its wording again as soon as she could be alone. Once she stopped thinking about that, she found herself speculating about another letter, the one Tavis had been trying to send to her father, the one he had avoided talking about. What had he been trying to contact her father about and why, she wondered as she rode, trying to watch him without being noticed. As he almost never looked back, it was easy enough. They didn't stop for anything, eating near midday as they rode. It was only as the light began to fail that they made camp.

While they were settling in for the night, she noticed that the air was calm and frowned. Lydia saw and asked her if something was wrong, but Fay shook her head. She listened closer to the rustling sound she had thought all day was a breeze and realized it was her name being repeated softly over and over. Straining to hear, Marcius' voice became recognizable, but only slightly clearer. The desperation in it was astounding. She tried to understand why his voice was so faint, when she had heard his words in Rianza as if he had been standing next to her. Wondering if it meant they were wrong after all, that they were going in the wrong direction, she thought about it carefully and understanding came. She remembered his words in the study and grabbed her pack, trying not to let her rush to get to it show. She dug through to the dress she had been wearing earlier and turned it over so the pocket was on top. She reached in and as soon as her fingers touched the pendant, they tingled with warmth and his words surrounded her. Over and over, he spoke her name and pleaded for her to hear him. Then it stopped, as if he knew she had the pendant again. She felt his satisfaction wrap around her like silk.

She pulled out her hair brush and, as she raised it for the first stroke, let the pendant fall into the sleeve of her tunic. She finished brus.h.i.+ng her hair quickly and stuffed it back in the bag, which she pushed off her bedroll. She turned to crawl in and saw that Tavis was watching her again. The questioning look in his eyes made her think he had seen something. She rolled over and stared into the night, letting the fire warm her back.

In the smallest movements she could manage, she pulled the pendant out of her sleeve and clutched it in her hand, feeling the edges of the ribbons digging into her fingers and palm. She expected to hear Marcius' voice, but instead, an image of her with an arm raised formed in her mind, faint and fleeting. She tried to remember, but it stayed in her memory no more than it had in her thoughts. After a while of waiting, listening, another image appeared, only to vanish with equal speed. Marcius, standing in front of something she couldn't identify, one arm trailing behind him, except she couldn't see what he was reaching for before it was gone. She waited, but nothing more seemed to come and she fell asleep, feeling him with her still.

When she woke, she was almost disappointed to realize that she didn't remember dreaming that night. She could feel the pendant, still in her hand, before she was aware of anything around her. She got up, slid her hand with the pendant into her pocket, nodded to Lydia, who was slicing up bread for them all, and then walked down to the river they had camped next to. She looked around and saw that a nearby bush blocked her from their view. Delighted, she took the opportunity and slipped the slender silver chain over her head, pulling her hair over it and settling the pendant under her tunic so that it didn't show. She thought she heard a sigh, but it might have been the wind this time, which had picked up in the night.

By the time she had returned to the camp, everyone was up and Tavis was watching her again. They ate in relative silence and packed up. When they had all mounted, Keari nudged his bay gelding over to her and asked her to ride with him. They led the group out, and Fay didn't think it was her imagination that Lydia and Tavis kept back from them as they rode.

"You wanted to talk to me about something," she said, turning to the prince, her words not quite a question.

"Yes. But first, are you all right? You seemed distracted yesterday. I hope you aren't still angry with Tavis."

She shook her head. "I'm fine."

"And you know that we'll all be doing everything in our power to keep Calder from hurting you or forcing you to do anything."

She nodded as the image of herself from the night before pa.s.sed through her mind, a little more slowly this time. It was quickly followed by the one of Marcius, but that also faded.

Keari didn't speak for a few minutes, and a new image flashed through her mind, people staring up in astonishment and wonder at something she couldn't see, then vanished. She looked over at the prince and saw something about him that made her smile. "You seem different this morning, your Highness, more relaxed."

He turned to her, laughing. "Please, don't call me that while we're traveling like this. The whole point of the disguise is that no one knows who I am, but it doesn't work well when people start using t.i.tles. Besides, in many ways, I'm no fonder of mine than you are of yours, if perhaps for different reasons." He paused, then said, "But you're right. I like to get away from the palace sometimes. It's why I have that house in the city. But I rarely get a chance like this, to just get out and ride, to leave behind the trappings and the attendants of my position, to see something other than Rianza. It's normally a fight to get a horse, instead of an Imperial carriage."

They rode in silence for a while before Keari started speaking again. "I have to ask you something, because I'm genuinely curious. Do you realize what a gift my father gave you when he agreed to your request for emanc.i.p.ation?" She looked over at him, confused. He shook his head sadly. "No, I can see you don't. You can do anything you want with your life now and no one can tell you otherwise, so long as it's within the bounds of Imperial Law. You can go where you choose, live the life you wish. You can love whomever your heart desires."

Fay thought she understood where he was going with this and was a little disappointed. She nearly said that Tavis had already made his case when another fragment of an image, the Emperor bowing down this time, distracted her. The prince went on, "The only duties that can bind you now are those you choose, and I wish I could make you see how incredible that freedom is."

She heard the longing in his voice and realized she had been wrong. "You wish you could be so free as that."

He didn't turn, nor did he respond immediately. "I learned long ago not to wish for things that are so impossible as that. I am the eldest son of the Emperor. Duty has been my life since I was born, Faylanna."

She thought about this, then said cautiously, "But if it became known that you are a Magicia, you could be free. You and Lydia could-"

"No," he said, cutting her off swiftly, and she wondered if it was because he was afraid for her to speak the words aloud. "That can never be allowed to happen. Someone must be here to rule when my father cannot any longer. May it be many years before then, but I must be there for it. My brother is too much a warrior for the job of ruling. It would be a disaster were if he ascended to the throne. My uncle often seems too selfish to me to do the job well." He trailed off into thought, then said, "I have as much as I can hope for within the bounds of my duty already. But we're talking about you, in any case. I wonder if you have any thoughts on what you will do with this incredible freedom you now possess. Perhaps I am prying, but my concern for your well-being has not changed, Faylanna."

His question, seriously asked, demanded she think her answer through. She did, trying to ignore the images that filled her mind with increasing frequency. She looked over her shoulder to see Tavis talking with his mother and then turned back around. "I don't really know. I would do what my heart tells me if I had a clear idea of what that was. It seems to change every time I think I know what I want."

He nodded at this. "Just make sure it's your heart you're listening to and not anyone else's, because you will be the one to live with the choices you make."

She didn't know how to respond to that, and he didn't wait for her to give one. He dropped back to ride with Lydia, leaving Fay to the increasingly frantic and fragmented images from Marcius. After a while, the images began to blend together, becoming part of each other. When they stopped for the night, she didn't partic.i.p.ate in their conversation, distracted as she was trying to wring sense out of what Marcius was showing her. She knew he was trying to tell her something, but none of it seemed to connect into anything. She fell asleep, mentally exhausted by the effort.

The third day of their journey was overcast, the light dim and the sun invisible. Fay thought it would rain, and was almost ready to grumble when a whole and coherent image bloomed in her mind. All of the pieces were there, and she realized that every image had been part of this one. It left no room for other thoughts or sensations as she sat beside the fire, marveling at what she saw, and she could feel her eyes widen. In the picture, she stood next to Marcius, one of her hands on his shoulder, the other in his own as it trailed back to her. They stood on a hill and faced out at everyone. Those who gathered around looked on them in awe, or wors.h.i.+ped them for their power, which caused even the Emperor to bow to them.

As she took in the image, something tugged at her thoughts, something not quite- A hand on her shoulder made her jump and she looked up into Tavis' concerned eyes.

"We're all packing up. It's time to go. We should be there early in the day tomorrow, right?"

Fay looked around, confused for a moment about where she was, then regained her bearings and nodded. "We may be able to see it before we camp tonight."