A Kiss of Fire (A Kiss of Magic #2)(102)
“I will be back as soon as I am able. I will send a messenger as soon as I know which way the battle turns. If it goes ill, then I want you out of the temple as soon as possible. I would not have you traveling in your condition and in this weather, but there is no other choice. Keep safe. I have left a small amount of guards around you. I cannot spare any others, though it pains me greatly to know it is so. I would have you better protected.”
“I will be fine. Fatima and I will await your return most anxiously. See that you come back soon.”
“Yes, wife, I will obey,” he said with a chuckle as he bent to kiss her mouth. One kiss blossomed to two, then again to three, each warmer than the one before it. But before they could erupt into something far more passionate than he had time to deal with, Sin broke off from her mouth and, after hugging her close one last time, he let her go and swung up onto the back of his horse.
She imagined his perspective as he looked down on her, wondered if it was as hard for him to go as it was for her to see him leave. Then he was reeling around and kicking his stallion into a trot out of the courtyard.
Fatima stood beside her, having made her farewells before Ariana had, and now she saw tears in the older woman's eyes. Ariana took the woman in her arms. How hard it must be for her, to know she was sending one son off to fight with his brother. It was possible one or both of her sons could be killed in this altercation. Ariana knew Sin’s goal was to see his brother captured, but it was probable this would be impossible. There was no way to know for certain. And it was that uncertainty that so plagued Ariana.
She did her best to keep things as normal as possible around the temple. Lindo had left with Sin, as had almost all of his trusted men, but he had left one or two whom she was less familiar with behind to watch over her. She did not feel uncomfortable with them, but neither did she fully trust them as she might Lindo. Sin had assured her that none of them could hide anything from Lindo when they were vigorously questioned. Mordol had only been able to hide his duplicitousness because he had been such a high level Jadoc and they had not been searching for traitors. He might have been rude and crude, but he had never given them reason to suspect he was working as an agent for Sin’s brother. They hadn’t even had reason to suspect Sin’s brother. And then suddenly things had changed. All because of her. Because of the threat she and any of her children posed. Sin had disregarded this theory. He said that Vich had been planning Sin’s death long before she had come onto the scene. Her appearance had just acted as a catalyst to hasten his actions.
Ariana had to accept this as truth, since Lindo had seen into the raj’s mind. Provided Lindo was as trustworthy as he appeared to be. Maybe it was just paranoia, but there was no more powerful Jadoc than Lindo. If he had duplicity in his nature no one could find it or fight it. But Sin trusted Lindo implicitly, and the quiet man had never given her any reason to question his loyalty. She longed for Dendri Adiron right then. But then again, Dendri had not been able to read through Lindo two years earlier at their treaty conferences. The odds were he still could not.
No. She had to trust someone. But right then she felt so alone. The only comfort she had was Fatima. Together they passed the time in Fatima’s parlor, one weaving one absently stitching. But her heart was not in her work, nor was her attention, so she cursed when her needle ran through her work and into her finger for the second time. She stuck the abused finger in her moth and Fatima chuckled lightly.
“Don’t feel bad. I’ve had to take out as many rows from my loom as I have put in this past hour. I am afraid neither of us is of a mind to concentrate. Perhaps a meal then? It is about midday.”
Ariana agreed and they rang for a servant to fetch them a filling repast. Their conversation was light and stilted. Until finally Ariana sat up and shook herself mentally.
“Enough of this! I will not sit here idle while my husband is off risking his neck,”
“What do you intend to do?” Fatima asked with alarm.
“Nothing to risk myself or you,” Ariana assured her, giving her hand a comforting pat. “I only mean to say there has to be something I can do to be of some use around here. I know…I shall see to a cleaning. Top to bottom, we’ll turn the temple inside out until there’s not a speck of dust to be found anywhere. It will give me a chance to familiarize myself with the workings of the temple down to the last detail. If I am to be chatelaine of this place, I should know everything about its inner workings. I will familiarize myself with the staff…and perhaps we can find a room close by the master’s chambers to consider preparing for the nursery.”
“An excellent plan! I have been chatelaine of the temple ever since we moved here, and I am glad to hand the duties over to someone else. I would much prefer to weave than to worry about what to serve at dinner or which room needs to be set up for which guest. It was much different when we were all crowded into a small space together. There were minimal servants and all were expected to keep clean after themselves. Living in such close quarters there was no room for slovenliness. But now we have more servants than I know what to do with and there are so many rooms!”
“Never fear,” Ariana said with a chuckle. “I am used to heading a large household. As the only female member of the triumvirate it often fell to me to take charge of the capitol building and all of its inner workings. I suppose I could have shared the responsibility equally with my male counterparts, but I fear I am much too much in need of total control to allow it. That will no doubt be the same here.”