She heard the sharp notes of the landscape’s music, along
with the flat notes rumbling deep in the earth. The chords swelling in the sky
competed with the thunderous drums below. The sound grated against her nerves,
yet through the discord there was promise. Each set of chords was good, strong
and vibrant. With a little help, the earth and heavens could align and generate
a magnificent symphony.
It was as Ean had mentioned in his report—Printia had
potential for Harmony. The question remained whether the people were ready.
There was no discernible path to civilization from where
she stood. For all practical purposes, they were in the middle of nowhere.
There was no reception, no entourage, and no opposition. This was discouraging.
If this world was as eager for Harmony as Ean had reported, there should have
been more interest than this. Instead, there was only sand and rock.
The group was sitting at the bottom of a wide canyon. Only
a dried riverbed offered some direction to follow.
Rhiona coughed. Her throat was getting dry in this
wasteland and the discord in the world wasn’t helping matters either. It was
irritating her Inner-Song, the music unique within all beings, forcing her to
consciously harmonize within to keep from becoming as discordant as this world.
Rhiona turned to Ean who was standing next to Queyanna.
When he saw her, a lopsided smile formed on his lips. There was a contemptuous
reply in her expression, one that held no smile. The longing was still
there—the need to feel his arms around her and kissing her softly as he had
years ago. But she could not indulge in such frivolity. She was on a mission,
both sacred and practical. Still, that mouth of his… The things he used to do
with it still made her hunger.
His smile widened. The man knew what she was thinking.
Damn him! She could hide nothing from him, especially her desire.
Her eyes moved away from him with casual indifference. She
knew what that look would do to him and she relished how it tortured him. He
wanted her as badly as she wanted him and she was going to make him suffer,
just as he was torturing her with that knowing gleam in his eyes.
Ean was the only man she had ever truly loved. Had her
office been that of a simple sergeant, she would have foregone propriety and
kissed him on the spot. Perhaps she should shock him by doing it anyway, and
shock the entire group while she was at it. But she was an Ambassador. Such
gestures of impropriety were forbidden. Then again, she wasn’t much for playing
it by the rules. Of course, that’s what got her in trouble in the first place.
And her daughter, Queyanna, had inherited her rebellious nature. Given all that
had happened to her in recent years, it was best that Rhiona display nothing
but the best example for her. Giving into temptation never served either of
them.
Rhiona approached Ean.
He bowed with an effortless sweep, reached for her hand
and pressed his lips to it.
She managed to maintain an implacable expression, though
her mind went wild imaging where that mouth could be.
“Welcome to Printia, Ambassador Rhiona,” he offered in a
deep baritone voice. His thumb stroked the back of her hand.
She inclined her head in a proper greeting. “Thank you,
Scout.” Her inner-chords betrayed her for only a second, releasing a light
series of notes that blended with his Inner-Song, revealing their mutual
affection. She cleared her throat while taking control of her faculties once
more and pulled away. “Where is everyone? Why isn’t there a receiving party?”
He rested his hands behind him. “As I mentioned to your
daughter, the Admiral, the mounts and wagon are beyond those rocks
here.” He indicated a nearby ridge. “It was thought best to keep this as quiet
as possible, given Bryhton’s recent actions against Lenkinar in their
subversion efforts. This spot was chosen as the best portal site, where no one
would think to travel.”
Rhiona saw that Queyanna was leading the group down the
dried riverbed. When she turned back to Ean, his face was but a few inches from
hers. She did not move as he leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Shall we
join them or would you prefer to remain here for a time?”
The feel of his breath against her skin and the warmth of
his body so close to her brought her back to the moment he first kissed her.
Back then, they had been surrounded by pine trees and stood at the crest of
rocks near a waterfall. He had made her beg for the kiss. And she recalled how
desperately she had begged him.
Her eyes were watching his lips, feeling the inexhaustible
need rising within. They were so close, she thought. So close that all she had
to do was lean over and their lips would meet. How she had relished that kiss
when he had given it to her. It was long and sensual, teasing and provocative,
hungry yet controlled. Heavens, how she wanted him to kiss her now as he had
then!
“Yes,” she breathed.
A mischievous grin formed on his lips. His voice was low
and sensual. “Yes what, Baby?”
Hearing the familiar endearment after so many years
brought the ache back in her chest. At one time she had hated him calling her
that, but now she couldn’t imagine living without hearing it. The man was
insufferable, knew how to tempt her, but he wasn’t a fool either. He knew as
well as she did that they couldn’t afford breaking the rules. Not now,
especially given all that had happened to Queyanna. And neither of them dared
talk about that openly either.
Ean was more than a scout in harmonic society. He was a
respected medic, renowned for his cures even for the most discordant patients.
He used to travel often throughout the universe lecturing on herbs and other
medicinal therapies. As a professional, he earned a long list of commendations
for his work in particularly discordant planets. His reputation led him to
receive the highest honor a Harmonic could hope for—the Song of Valor. Yet,
despite such notoriety, he had chosen this job over more lucrative and
illustrious positions in The High Seat, which was the central government of all
harmonic civilization.
She wanted to believe he did it to be near her, but he had
kept his distance from her for a very long time…until now. It was curious that
he suddenly had an interest in her again, given his adamant wish that they not
work together again. But he had requested her specifically for this assignment.
What was he planning? Revenge? If so,
could she blame him given what she had done to him years ago?
Rhiona shook her head. “No…I mean…yes…we should follow
them.” And quickly she started towards the Fostering Group.
Ean followed easily, his legs moving as though she weren’t
racing towards the group.
She cleared her throat and congratulated herself for
managing a professional tone as she said, “I am most intrigued by the mention
of the balance mages in your report. Why aren’t we working with them?”
Ean offered his arm to her. “The terrain is rough through
here. It would be best if you allowed me to assist you.”
She hesitated a moment, pondering the wisdom of touching
him again, but then accepted it.
The gleam returned to his eyes as he walked with her like
a dignitary escorting his consort. “To answer your question, I would have
invited the balance mages if I knew where to look. Unfortunately, they have
remained aloof with the rest of the world. And perhaps, it is better for them.
There are rumors that they reside in an island south of Tervelvan, but the
waters to travel there are traitorous. Those who have ventured there are not
heard from again.
She stopped, aghast. “Do you suspect foul play?”
His brows wrinkled in thought. “I don’t think so. There is
magic involved, of that I am sure. However, given the geological history of
that area I would suspect something natural over something deliberate or
nefarious. It could be a triangular anomaly, as we’ve seen in other worlds.”
“That could be why they settled there, using it as a
natural defense in order to remain hidden,” she thought aloud.
He nodded. “That is what I surmised.”
Her eyes idly traced the shape of his lips, realizing too
late the effect it was having on her. She watched as the corner of his mouth
curled into that incorrigible lopsided grin again. When the tip of his tongue
ran along his upper lip, she practically melted into his arms.
He chuckled, clearly relishing her torment.
Her eyes narrowed at him. She wanted to punch him in the
face as much as she wanted to kiss him. Instead, she spun around and marched
around the bend of rocks.
Behind her, Ean laughed openly.
Below in a canyon was a small team of horses hitched to a
long wagon. Approximately, half a score of horses were nearby, tied to various
blackened gnarled trees. There was a young man offering water to one of the
mounts. The fair young man looked to be in his late teens, his face dotted with
freckles. Despite the youthful appearance, there was intelligence in his
expression.
The fostering group was approaching the young man when
suddenly a tremor erupted from the east, bearing the heavy flat notes of chaos.
It brought Rhiona to her knees, making every bone in her
body vibrate with pain.
In that instant, a gust of wind slashed across the sky
above with a sound of screeching sharps.
She covered her ears, but nothing could spare her the
onslaught of violent discord that followed.
Both the earth and the skies shook from the clashing of
magic between order and chaos, felt by the Harmonics as waves of earthquakes
that shook them down to their bones. They all fell as Rhiona had, struggling
against the pain that undulated through them from the two warring magics.
Surprisingly, Ean stood not far from her with his legs
spread apart, riding the tremors as though his feet were rooted deep into the
earth.
When the shaking ebbed, he scooped her up into his arms
and helped her to her feet. He kept his arms around her to steady her and
gently brushed the dirt off her cheeks with his fingers. “I’ve got you, Baby.”
She met his gaze, horrified. “What was that?”
“The war between Lenkinar and Bryhton has escalated,” he
said as he brushed the dirt off her robe. “The order and chaos mages send
powerful spells against one another in an effort to weaken one another’s
forces.”
She pushed his hand away. “They’ll destroy this planet if
they keep that up!”
He helped her get her footing back and stepped away. “I
know.”
“You should have mentioned this in your report, Ean,” she
chided.
His jaw tightened. “I have reason to believe it can be
stopped.”
Rhiona closed her eyes, trying to regain some harmony
despite being so jarred by the experience and by Ean’s antics. It took a
minute, but she removed the discord from within her and brought some semblance
of harmony back to her Inner-Song. Afterwards, she turned to him and ordered,
“You will not keep secrets from me, scout. If the council had known this they
would not have approved these intervention measures.”
He hooked his hands on his hips and shook his head. “Rules
and regulations. That’s all you ever think about, not the people involved or
the potential lost. You haven’t changed a bit.”
Those words pierced like a knife. He wasn’t talking about
her devotion to protocol. This was about what she had done to him years ago,
how she had ruined him with a simple declaration. But she wouldn’t have done it
if he had followed the rules. That was his problem. The man lived to go against
the grain, to find new ways to bend the rules and get away with it. In her
youth, she thought it was exciting until she had to try to find a place in his
wild life.
Normal was not in his sphere of existence. Their passion
had been great, but the nights alone wondering where he was and waiting for
years with no word left her depressed and dejected. In the end, she chose what
she thought was the right thing for both of them. She had no idea that instead
it would almost destroy him.
She gestured to her team who were still struggling from
the after effects of the earthquakes. “What of them? Do they not count as
‘people’ too or are they to be fodder for your whims?”
He lifted his hand. “Enough. I will not argue with you.”
“You will follow my orders, scout,” she stated tersely.
“This is my mission and only I am the representative of Harmonic society to
these people. You will report all facts you have gathered about this
planet to me. Do I make myself clear?”
He looked at her squarely as anger smoldered in his eyes.
“Yes, Ambassador. Shall I make arrangement for your return to Adrane?”
Adrane was the capital planet of the Harmonic Galactic
Society and the first place she would want to go to report his behavior and
have him removed from his job. He was testing her to see how far she would take
this little battle. It wouldn’t be the first time she met with The High Seat to
report against him.
As much as she wanted to remind him who was in charge, she
also loved him still. Very much. She shook her head. “I will lead the efforts
to introduce Harmony into Lenkinar’s society, but they must prove themselves
worthy of it. It is clear this world has not been prepared adequately for the
conversion. Which means I will not only have to do part of your job teaching
them about harmony, I will have to find ways to guide them away from using
order magic with such reckless abandon.”
He stepped closer to her, the discord of his anger
reaching into her trying to take control of her Inner-Song. “I will introduce
you to Lenkinar’s society and you will follow my lead before you make any
judgment against them. I have lived among them. I know their ways. You do not.
I have good reason to believe that Printia can be saved and already explained
all that needs to be known to The High Seat. They agreed with my assessment
that Printia has the potential of becoming part of Harmonic civilization. You
don’t have to believe me, but you do have your orders by The High Seat to work
closely with me. If you meddle in Lenkinar’s affairs and attempt to sabotage or
disrupt their development in harmony, I can and will have you removed from this
assignment. Do I make myself clear?”
Ean rarely got this angry or excited about anything.
Whatever caused him to be so vehement in his defense meant it was important.
That she couldn’t deny him. However, if he wasn’t so damn close to her
grandmother, the High Priestess in The High Seat, she would have cut him down
to size. Her grandmother adored Ean and truly believed he was the one who would
sire the prophesied Promised One who would bring harmony to the universe. But
Rhiona ended that opportunity when she rejected Ean and took his brother as her
mate.
Rather than fight, she replied, “Quite.”
A weary chuckle escaped his lips. “You are still such a
prima donna.”
She felt the rush of discordant chords of anger flush her
face. “And you’re still a lecherous brute.”
He leaned close to her and winked. “Only with you, Baby.”
“I will not dignify that with a response,” she growled.
He grinned. “You already have.” Again, he winked.
That bastard!
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