Song of Blood & Stone (Earthsinger Chronicles #1)(51)
They were on yet another staircase, and Jasminda missed a step tripping on her long skirt. Zavros’s hand shot out to steady her. His grip was firm, not painful, but not gentle, either.
“They fell in love.”
“Interesting. Well, here we are,” he said, pointing to the swinging doors of the kitchens at the foot of the stairs. “Please do help yourself to whatever you’d like. You are a guest of the Prince Regent, after all, and must be treated accordingly.” His voice oozed like poisoned honey.
“Thank you, sir,” she said through clenched teeth.
“It has been a pleasure, my lady. May She bless your dreams,” he said with a sweeping bow, then turned and disappeared down the hallway.
Jasminda stood outside the kitchen, suddenly not hungry anymore.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to find a way to even inconvenience her just a little? I’m sure the tax collectors could come up with something. If not them then the housing patrol. Apparently roof-color violations are on the rise.”
Jasminda smiled. “No, not even so much as a parking violation. You promised.”
Jack grumbled an unintelligible reply. For the past two days he’d been trying to convince her to allow him to retaliate against her grandmother in some way. His response had siphoned away some of the sting of the meeting. She had no doubt if she’d wanted the woman locked in a dungeon for hurting her feelings, Jack would have made it happen.
She hadn’t mentioned Aunt Vanesse. That wasn’t her secret to tell.
Her head lay on his chest, dipping and rising with his breath. She ran her hand across the ridges of his stomach. Regardless of when this ended, she was grateful for every stolen moment, every kiss and touch. Each time they made love, her heart expanded just a little more.
That he kept returning was a continual surprise. She kept at bay the dribble of dread seeping into the back of her mind, fear for the night he didn’t show up. The time would come soon enough, and though she longed to prepare for it, to protect her heart from the inevitable pain, she could no more stop herself from falling for Jack than stop breathing on command.
She placed a kiss on his chest. He tilted her head back until he could reach her lips and kiss her passionately. She delighted in the taste of him, in his tongue seeking hers and warming her entire body.
“How much longer can you stay?”
His expression darkened for a moment, and he drew her even closer. “A little while. I should go before the morning servants start their rounds.”
She understood his desire for discretion, agreed with it even, but her heart sank a bit each time it was confirmed. There were those who knew—Nadal for one. The girl had obtained the sylfimweed necessary to prevent pregnancy, though she had not yet seen the prince in Jasminda’s chamber. Jack had mentioned that his valet, Usher, knew, and one other person who he didn’t identify but said would keep the secret. Though after the confrontation with Calladeen, Jasminda didn’t know how much of a secret it really was.
“I am sure that people suspect. Would it be better if I were somewhere else? I don’t want to make things difficult for you.”
“Jasminda, my darling, you make everything immeasurably better. The thought of being with you at night pulls me through my days.”
She returned his smile, hiding her apprehension, not saying the one thing on her mind—for how long? When would their inevitable ending be?
“Would you do something for me? If you’re not too busy?” His teasing voice made her chuckle. He knew she’d spent the last couple of days in the palace’s Blue Library in a heaven of books.
“Certainly, Your Grace. Do you have any rogue goats needing herding?”
He squeezed her shoulder playfully. “None that I know of. However, there is another task for which you are uniquely suited.” His face grew serious, and he sighed. “The refugees . . . There is some debate on how best to handle them. More seem to arrive every day.”
“What is the debate? Is there some other option to caring for them?” Her tone was pitched high with disbelief.
“No.” His voice brooked no argument. “There is not. But there are less than a handful in all of Elsira who speak any Lagrimari whatsoever, and none of them are even remotely proficient.”
“Mother said Lagrimari was so difficult to learn, she thought the language must be spelled against outsiders. You are truly unique for your mastery of it.” A knot of anxiety formed in the pit of her stomach. “You want me to speak with them.”
“Yes. Public opinion is slowly swinging against the refugees, and the Council members are little better. They’ve agreed to help fund the camp and take some of the financial pressure off the Sisterhood, but they’re insisting on having the army provide security.” He gave a humorless laugh. “The language barrier is a problem, as well as the general attitude of the soldiers. I’m working on that, and I've ordered an education program for the refugees so they may learn Elsiran, but in the meantime . . .”
Jasminda drew the covers up around her shoulders, suddenly chilly. “What do you want me to say to them?”
“Just . . . talk to them. Learn their stories. Let me know what they need, what they want. Right now, most Elsirans barely view them as human. That has to change if there’s to be any chance of them living happily in our land.”