The Ta'e'sha Chronicles 2: Shards of the Mind Read online

  Kyrin smiled wanly. Daeshen’s attitude had begun to affect them all. There was a tension that hadn’t been present before.

  Thea walked with him to their bedroom to get the last of the cases. They had hired a driver to take them to Daeshen’s family’s home.

  During the trip she tried to keep conversation going, but everyone was acutely aware of Daeshen’s silence as he stared out the window at the passing scenery.

  She tried to touch his emotions to see if she could discern what was bothering him but he had his mental walls slammed shut and triple locked. Finally, she reached over and pinched his chin, turning his face to hers. He tried to pull away, but she increased the pressure of her fingers until he met her eyes.

  Thea was aware of the other occupants of the vehicle stilling and falling silent. She ignored it. “You and I are going to have a talk tonight. You are not going to argue with me. Is that clear?” she said, her gaze locked firmly with his.

  He nodded, his beautiful blue eyes dark with misery.

  A few minutes later they arrive at the gates of a grand-looking estate. The house was huge and the lawn perfectly landscaped and maintained. “Wow,” Thea breathed, “you grew up here?”

  Daeshen shrugged. “We moved here when I was fourteen.” He glanced at Kyrin. “I didn’t want to. I wanted to stay closer to Kyrin.”

  Thea pulled her gaze away from the house to look at her husband. “You’ve known each other that long?”

  Kyrin nodded, curling an arm around her shoulders. “Yup, since we could walk almost. Our mothers used to take us to the same park.”

  “Cool.”

  They stopped in front of the house and piled out of the vehicle, stretching. The drive had taken several hours and they were all stiff and ready to move around again. The driver began taking their belongings out of the trunk.

  Daeshen trudged up the steps and rang the bell.

  It was opened several moments later by a tall, dignified man. “Welcome home, Master Daeshen. Your mother is waiting for you in the library. Your father and second mother are away on business and will not return until the week after next.”

  Daeshen nodded. “Thank you, Sheen.” He seemed to brace himself before entering. “This way. I’ll introduce you to my mother.”

  They followed him into the huge foyer. Thea and Sya’tia looked around curiously.

  He paused at a door and knocked before opening it. An older woman sat at a large desk with ornate carvings. Her topaz blue hair was pulled back from her face in a braided twist.

  Daeshen closed the door after they entered and the woman looked up.

  Her deep blue eyes were the exact shade of Daeshen’s, only much colder. Her face formed into tight lines as she examined them all slowly. She didn’t seem pleased by what she saw.

  She stood and held a hand out to her son.

  Daeshen crossed the room to grasp it. He turned and motioned for them to come closer. “Mother, you are looking well,” he said formally. “May I present my wife, Theadora, my husband, Kyrin, and our betrothed, Sya’tia? Ladies, please meet my mother, Chisha Shoarya.”

  Chisha pulled her hand free. “This is what you bring me?” she asked coldly. “A deformed commoner and a thing?”

  Thea sucked in a sharp breath. She heard Sya’tia choke back a cry of pain and steeled her face to not let the hurt and anger show. Kyrin growled softly and crowded closer to her and Sya’tia.

  “Mother!” Daeshen blurted out, his voice shocked.

  Chisha turned to glare at her son. “I always knew you would take Kyrin. Fine, but you had several opportunities to marry into a pure household. A royal house. Instead, you bring me this!” She waved her hand vaguely in Thea’s direction. “What will my grandchildren look like? Half-breed mongrels at best, deformed monsters at worst! You shame your blood!”

  Sya’tia sucked in a sobbing breath, staring at Daeshen as if he had stabbed her in the heart. She turned away to bury her face in Kyrin’s shoulder.

  Thea pulled away from Kyrin and moved to stand in front of Daeshen, facing Chisha. “How dare you? I will not tolerate you speaking to my husband like that! And if you say one more word about Sya’tia I will feed it to you!” She’d be damned before she let someone treat her family like that and not say a word.

  Chisha’s head jerked, she obviously hadn’t expected anyone to confront her.

  Thea turned to Daeshen. “We are so going to talk about this later!” she hissed in English.

  “So as well as being ugly you have no manners!” Chisha sneered.

  She turned back to Chisha. “I have no manners? You have no room to talk! This introduction is over. Don’t bother talking to me or Sya’tia again unless you have something to say that won’t get you hit in the face.” Thea turned on her heel and marched for the door, ignoring the outraged gasp behind her. “Daeshen. Bedroom. Now,” she snarled.

  She opened the door, but turned when she didn’t hear any footsteps behind her. Everyone was staring at her like she had grown a second, and very ugly, head. “NOW!” she barked.

  They all jumped and her mates hurried to her side.

  “Daeshen, get back here!” Chisha ordered.

  Thea stared hard at the older woman. “Shut that bear trap you call a mouth. He may be your son, but he’s my husband, and I’ll be damned if I’m leaving him here for you to shred.” She yanked Daeshen out the door. Kyrin and Sya’tia quickly followed. She considered slamming the door, but restrained herself. Her mother raised a lady.

  Daeshen hung his head, looking even more miserable if that was possible. Thea searched Kyrin’s face. He was staring at her in amazement. Sya’tia looked crushed, her beautiful black eyes filled with tears.

  “I always forget about your temper, my love,” Kyrin said in a wondering voice. “I don’t think anyone has ever done that to Chisha before.”

  Thea glowered. “What, no one has ever had the balls to tell her she’s a bitch?” She stood in front of Daeshen and grabbed his ears pulling his face down to hers. “I want to talk to you privately. Right now.”

  He nodded as best he could, considering she wouldn’t let go of his ears. “Sheen, could you show us up to our suite, please?” he asked without turning.

  “Of course, Master Daeshen. Your belongings have already been taken up. If you will follow me?” Face impassive, the butler turned and walked away.

  “Thea…” Daeshen began, in a pleading voice.

  Thea’s hand flew up in a halt gesture as she followed Sheen. She wasn’t in the mood to listen to his excuses just then. Kyrin put his hand over Daeshen’s mouth and shook his head warningly.

  Thea ignored the byplay and tried to calm herself.

  Sheen paused at a door and opened it. “Will this suit?” he asked Thea.

  Thea glanced inside. “It’s fine, thank you, Mister Sheen.”

  Sheen nodded, his face warming a bit. “You are welcome, Mistress. Please call if you need assistance.” He closed the door after they entered the room.

  Thea took a deep calming breath and looked around, giving herself a few moments. In disbelief, she took in the room. It was all white. Every stick of furniture, every scrap of fabric. White. It was the future poster child for stain removing detergent. Thea wondered what idiot would decorate an entire room in unrelieved white.

  Finally, she turned and looked at Sya’tia. She took the taller woman’s face in her hands. “Don’t listen, love. She doesn’t matter. We love you, we want you, and I think you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I feel privileged you are willing to share your life and children with me.”

  Sya’tia gave her a wobbly smile. “I know. It just surprised me.”

  Next, she turned to Daeshen. “Your mother is a nasty-tempered bitch, and I really want to know why you didn’t feel it was necessary to warn Sya’tia and me of that little fact. And don’t try to tell me you had no idea she would react this way because I’m not buying.”

  He stared at the floor like it was the most fascin
ating thing he had ever seen. “I was hoping if I gave her some time she’d get used to the idea.”

  “Uh-huh. Didn’t work, did it?”

  He shook his head, not looking at her.

  “Daeshen, look at me,” she said quietly.

  He slowly met her eyes.

  “You need to tell us when something is bothering you. We can’t help if we don’t know. I can ignore your mother if I have to, but we live with you. We are here to support you, but we can’t do that if you don’t communicate.” She caressed his cheek, moving to press her body against his. “I won’t pretend I’m happy right now, but I’m not angry with you. Well,” she hedged, “not too angry.”

  He smiled wanly. “I’m sorry.” He turned to look at Kyrin and Sya’tia. “I am so sorry. I was hoping it wouldn’t be like this. You were all so happy with Kyrin’s family. I wanted you to be happy with mine too.”

  Sya’tia curled her arm around his waist and kissed his cheek. “It’s not your fault, Daeshen. You are not responsible for her actions.”

  Thea curled her arms around both of them. She tensed as a thought struck her. “Is your whole family going to be like this?” she asked nervously.

  He shook his head. “I don’t think Dad and Larasin will be mean. Dad seemed happy for me when I sent messages. Larasin is Dad’s second wife. She’s really nice.”

  Thea looked up. “Dad’s second wife?” she asked carefully. “Not your parents’ second wife?”

  “No. Mother accepted Larasin as wife under duress and has never treated her fairly.” His voice trailed off.

  “I thought everyone in the marriage had to agree.” Thea didn’t like all of these surprises.

  “Mother had to agree because Dad said he would leave her if she didn’t.”

  Thea winced. The Ta’e’sha didn’t have anything like divorce, so, for his father to leave would have been a huge blow to the reputations of both families. “Why did they get married if they couldn’t live together?” It was very normal for engaged couples to live together for at least a year before the marriage took place to be sure they were compatible. They hadn’t decided on a date for the wedding to Sya’tia yet, but Thea didn’t think it would take a full year for them to decide.

  Daeshen looked anywhere but at her. “The marriage was arranged by their parents.”

  Thea sighed gustily. “This is like a regency romance novel!”

  Kyrin stirred from where he was leaning against a bedpost. “Leave it, Thea. There’s nothing to be done for it. Chisha is a pain, but you can handle her. You’ve already proved that.” He turned to the pile of suitcases. “Let’s get unpacked. I imagine that dinner will be soon and probably formal.”

  Thea had her reservations about unpacking, but followed Kyrin’s lead. She kissed Daeshen slowly and nibbled on his lips for a moment. “I love you.”

  He smiled slowly, his eyes finally starting to lighten and stole another kiss before turning to Sya’tia to do the same.

  Chapter Eleven

  Thea looked up from her embroidery when Sya’tia slammed the door shut. Both women spent most of their time in the bedroom. Hiding from Chisha. The woman seemed to be physically unable to see one of them without making a nasty comment or harassing them.

  “I hate her!” Sya’tia stated in a low passionate voice. She spun around and paced in front of Thea. “That woman has the mouth of a meecha!”

  Thea calmly set her hoop aside and folded her hands in her lap. “She is, indeed, a skanky bitch.”

  Sya’tia gave her a startled look. She stopped pacing and started to grin. “Skanky bitch?”

  Thea smiled demurely. “Would you prefer heinous whore? Vile harpy? Or, perhaps, Ruri’s evil twin?”

  Sya’tia giggled.

  Thea had given up all but the barest pretense of courtesy the second day after they had arrived. About the time Chisha had commented she should have taken some training before selling her body. She knew Chisha had found out Thea’s culture wasn’t very accepting of prostitution and was using it as yet another barb.

  A soft knock at the door stopped Thea from continuing.

  Sya’tia answered it. A petite, young Ta’e’shian girl stood in the hallway. She looked like a miniature version of Chisha. Her hair had pulled itself back in a tight knot and she wore a gray gown with a pale brown plant motif.

  She held out her hands formally. “I am Fwa’twee, Daeshen’s sister, I have come to welcome my new sisters.” She looked nervous. “I have been staying with friends and only just returned.”

  Sya’tia smiled and drew her into the room and closed the door. She stroked the girl’s hands. “I am Sya’tia, betrothed of the family Auralel.”

  Thea stood and hugged the girl, ignoring the way she stiffened slightly. “I am Thea, Daeshen’s wife. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Fwa’twee; I’ve always wanted a sister.”

  The girl smiled shyly. “My brothers call me Tweet.”

  “Oh, that’s cute! I like it. Would you like to sit with us?” Thea motioned toward the chairs she had dragged into a circle so her family could chat comfortably. She sat down after the others had taken seats.

  “So, Tweet, tell us about yourself.” She picked up her embroidery hoop again.

  Tweet settled gingerly into the chair. She surreptitiously studied the women her oldest brother had chosen. Sya’tia seemed very stern and forbidding to her with her hunter black eyes and strange features. She had a long oval face, but it looked like the Gods had smoothed her features back with sure strokes leaving them looking subtly elongated. Her eyes were pointed along the outer edge and tilted up exotically. The pure black of her hunter lens made Tweet feel twitchy and nervous. She didn’t understand why the woman had left them exposed. There was no danger in Tweet’s home. High cheekbones slashed upward and carried the barest hint of lavender in her icy blue skin.

  That combined with her thicker than normal hair finally made her realize why the woman looked so odd to her. Birth defects, she decided. She looked like she should have been born a few thousand years ago. There were pictures of their people’s ancestors who looked like Sya’tia. Thick bands of black in the hair around her temples stood out in stark contrast against the snowy white color of the rest, marking her as a Warrior Chosen.

  She felt a sudden surge of sympathy for the woman. Chisha was probably rabid that Daeshen was going to marry an imperfect woman. And too, his first wife was a human. This told her why her mother had wanted her to stay away. Chisha wouldn’t want her daughter being “tainted.”

  She turned her attention to her new sister, who was serenely doing needlepoint.

  Thea looked soft, mothering, and very exotic. Tweet was startled to see Thea carried not one set of God-marks, but all sets. Who was this tiny woman who drew so much attention from Tweet’s Gods? White filigree laced along Thea’s cheekbones and shimmered gently when the woman moved her head. There was a stylized gray setting sunburst on her forehead, just above the center of her eyebrows. Aquamarine leaves and starbursts twined around her wrists and the back of her hands and disappeared into her sleeves. Red flames traced along her collarbones where Thea had left the top of her blouse open.

  Tweet had to stare to see the black markings in Thea’s near black hair. She wouldn’t have noticed them except that unlike other Warrior Chosen they weren’t mere bands of black but heavy locks that absorbed light.

  She felt very intimidated by both women and had no idea how she would be able to interact with them. Or, if they would even want her around.

  She had seen a few human women and they all looked so very different from each other. Why, one woman had skin that was almost black! None of her people were so dark! She had reminded Tweet of the statues of Kashka, the Dark Goddess of war. Her children would be beautiful if they took after their mother.

  She peeked at Thea once again.

  Her mother had contacted her and told her to stay with her friend until Daeshen’s family left. That had made her curious and she decided to come home and s
ee what had her mother so upset. Now she knew. Her mother was obsessed with their family being distantly related to a royal clan. She had been trying to force Daeshen into an advantageous marriage since before Tweet was born. She had a feeling the pressure would be transferred to her now.

  She didn’t understand it at all. Her family was miserable because of the arranged marriage of her parents. Why would her mother want the same thing for her children?

  Tweet had understood at an early age that there was something wrong with her family. She began watching her friends’ families not long after that, trying to understand what was different. For instance, most families did not live on opposite sides of their houses and only speak to each other to throw insults.

  Chisha was determined to mold Tweet into her image and Tweet didn’t want to be her. Once again, she thanked the Gods for her second mother, Larasin. Larasin had given her a chance to escape the stifling company of her mother. Tweet quietly resisted her mother’s efforts. She made her own decisions and refused to allow herself to become hateful.

  Her brothers were the foundation she’d used to build herself. They had all been very close growing up and it had been horrible after Daeshen had left to start his own life. She had still had Tre’nan, her other brother, to support her and keep her spirits high, but he too had left home for college this year. Sometimes she thought she would go mad without her older brothers to buffer her from her mother’s cutting tongue.

  She became aware of Thea and Sya’tia watching her curiously and realized she had been sitting there for several minutes without answering them. “Oh, um, I like writing and painting. I haven’t decided what I want to study in college. Mother wants me to take government administration courses. I like math and might choose something along those lines.”

  “Hmmm…” Thea murmured, setting another stitch.

  Tweet watched. She didn’t recognize the flower Thea was working on. It had multiple petals and was a deep red color. “What is that?” she asked, curiously, not really wanting to talk about herself.