Diomere's Exile - Free To Read

Chapter One

Nadia focused on the rough path in front of her pounding feet, while holding the symbol for air in her mind’s eye. Keeping her breathing even, she ignored her burning calves and dodged a tree root barely visible in the first rays of the dawning day. She cursed as the symbol wavered, and she nearly lost control of the weak stream of air whirling around her body. She focused on her a’mi, and the symbol solidified, returning the cooling embrace of air on damp skin. Of the five elements at her command, this one had always given her the most trouble. She reached a familiar turn in the path and picked up her pace. Pell groaned beside her, but matched her stride.

Satisfied with the mental exercise, she released her a’mi and the symbol faded like smoke. The smell of the early morning forest filled her lungs with each breath. She loved their morning runs, the twitter of birds, the whistle of the wind past her ears, the burn of muscle reminding her that she was alive and well. Only when she trained like this did her mind empty of all her worries and responsibilities, of the burning fact that she ran among the paths of a country that, though beautiful, wasn’t her home, of the heart wrenching knowledge that she still lived in exile. She clenched her jaw and shoved the troubling thoughts aside, focusing on the pounding of her and Pell’s feet along the dirt path.

They turned the last corner to see a row of shacks appear from among the trees of the forest which surrounded Volos, the capitol city of Thuno. She slowed to a jog, then a walk, a trickle of sweat dripping from her temple. Pell stopped and bent to rest his hands on his knees, sweat dripping from his nose, his head hanging between his arms.

“Keep moving,” she said in a sing-song voice.

Pell raised his head and glared at her. Nadia lifted an eyebrow.

“I hate you.”

She shrugged as she walked up the path to the hollow tree where they’d stashed their water skins and their larger weapons. “Yet here you are.” She smirked and tossed him his water skin.

A smile pulled up the corners of his mouth. “I supposed I did bring it on myself.” He smiled. “I should’ve just let you think I was another untrustworthy Sa’i bent on befriending you to gain your father’s favor.”

She scowled at him. “Can you blame me? My father tends to attract people as evil as himself.”

Pell nodded. Friends since childhood, he knew exactly what her father was like and hadn’t been surprised when her father turned his back on her after her exile.

Nadia lifted her water skin in salute then moved it to her lips for a drink. She closed her eyes as cool water rushed down her throat, replacing the stone’s weight of sweat she’d lost on her run. Each droplet of water sang to her a’mi as it was absorbed into her body. Lowering the skin, she opened her eyes to find Pell staring at her, blue eyes dark with lust, fists clenched at his sides.

She met his heated stare, aware that he’d been interested in more than friendship since she’d developed breasts at twelve. More interested in weapons training than boys, she’d told him not to ruin their friendship by turning into an idiot male. She’d considered allowing him into her bed shortly after her exile began, but despite being lonely and homesick, she’d decided not to muddy things with sex. He’d agreed at the time, but the look in his eyes, the same he’d had many times over the last few weeks, told her he’d changed his mind.

Pell stepped forward and brushed a sweaty strand of hair off her forehead. “We’d be so good together, you and I. We have trust, friendship, and history. Why not take the next step?”

Nadia considered his proposal. What he said was true. They were great friends, though he sometimes annoyed her beyond reason. She trusted him as much as she’d ever trust any male. A memory forced its way out of the tightly locked box in her mind. She’d been nine when she’d heard a distressed cry come from her father’s study and walked in.

Her father, bent over a crying woman, had looked up and met Nadia’s shocked gaze, a cold smile on his lips. “Lieutenant Sando wishes to become a captain despite his low birth. To prove his loyalty, he offered me the use of his pretty wife. Wasn’t that nice?”

Nadia hid her clenched fists behind her back. “You’re hurting her, Father.”

“She likes what I’m doing to her,” he said, fisting her hair and pulling her head back so he could look into her face. “Don’t you, my dear.” The woman nodded vigorously, even as another tear trailed down her cheek. Nadia’s father patted the woman’s head and looked back at Nadia. “You’ll find that there isn’t much people won’t do in the name of greed. Remember that, daughter. Everyone has a price.”

She shook her head. Her father had taught her many lessons. What was Pell’s price? The memory of her ex-betrothed’s betrayal, the most painful of all, attempted to push into her mind. She shoved it back in its box. She’d never let another man that close, no, but perhaps she could enjoy Pell’s offer. Hadn’t she been feeling restless the last few days? Maybe she’d gone too long without a man.

Pell smoothed his hands down her sides to her hips and pulled her around until his erection pressed into the junction of her thighs and her breasts molded to his chest. The sensations weren’t unpleasant, though they also didn’t spark any real excitement in her.

He moved his hand under her shirt and up to the bands binding her breasts. She didn’t bring her hands up to participate, but she didn’t stop him either. His fingers loosened the knot on her bindings and slid up to cup her heavy breasts. She shivered when cool air whispered across her sweat dampened skin, feeling her nipples tighten as she let her eyes slide closed.

Taking that as encouragement, Pell pulled her shirt and loose bindings over her head. Her mind wandered to the list of items on her day’s agenda. He pinched one of her sensitive nipples, yanking her attention back to the moment, and she grimaced. Was she really thinking about her day instead of enjoying Pell’s attentions? She lifted her hands to caress Pell’s chest, but she felt nothing. This is wrong. She wouldn’t be her father. She wanted to feel a connection, to find the one spoken of in the old stories her mother had told her. She wanted a true heartbond like Geeta, even if such a thing most likely didn’t exist for her.

She sighed. “Stop.”

Pell, who’d just sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, one hand on her bare breast, pulled her close. “Please, Nadia. You want this as much as I do.”

He covered her mouth with his, licking the closed seam of her lips. She pushed against his shoulders. She opened her mouth to protest further when he thrust his tongue into her mouth, gagging her. She called on her a’mi, focusing on the symbols for the five elements, but she’d used up what little ability she’d managed to build up. Ignoring the sorrow at the loss, she hooked a leg around his knee and shoved as hard as she could, pulling his knee out from under him. He sprawled on the ground at her feet, a surprised look on his face.

She wiped her arm across her mouth and glared down at him. “I said stop.” She grabbed her shirt from the ground and pulled it over her head. “We’re friends. To be anything else is a complication I prefer to avoid.”

His eyes flashed. “You were enjoying it, at first. I thought you were just playing coy.”

“Next time don’t think. Check to be sure. If sex is all you’re after, go visit Adrial and her nightingales. I have a mission I need to prepare for.”

“Fine,” he said, his face smoothing into an expressionless mask as he straightened into his usual stiff posture. “I apologize. I won’t bother you again with any inappropriate advances.”

“You’re forgiven. I think it’d be best if we simply remain friends, indefinitely.” She squeezed his arm. “Sex muddies things and I wouldn’t see so many years of friendship ruined.”

He clenched his jaw and nodded as he reached into the hollow tree for his sword and tied it around his waist. “I need to get back to the Emerald Mermaid.”

Apparently, their training was over for the day.

Desperate to return to their usual camaraderie, she changed the subject. “Great, I’ll walk with you until we reach the healer’s hut. Geeta’s helping me with my disguise for tomorrow’s festival mission.” She pulled the strap of her water skin over her head and returned her own sword to her hip. “Did you get the drawing of the necklace you’re to retrieve?”

Pell stiffly turned to follow her into Volos. “It should be waiting on me when I get back.”

“Perfect.” Silence descended. Pell walked beside her, careful not to let their arms brush. Nadia was only too happy to see Sarna, third in command after Pell, waiting in front of the healer’s hut.

The only Thunoan trusted with the truth that Nadia was the faceless guild leader known as the Shark, Sarna was a woman of few words. Standing at only five feet four inches, the guild-woman’s petite build and doll-like features belied her lethal skill with a sword and her sharp intelligence.

Sarna nodded a greeting at Nadia, barely acknowledging Pell. Though she never spoke a word against him, Nadia knew the other woman didn’t care for her second.

“I’ll see you later,” he said, words clipped.

Nadia nodded. He paused as if waiting on Sarna to say something. When the other woman just gave him her usual bored look, he huffed and turned to continue alone to the Emerald Mermaid.

“What’d you do, kill his favorite puppy?” she asked in a dry voice.

Nadia shrugged. “Rejection is a bitch.”

Understanding lit the other woman’s gaze. “He finally found the balls to do more than look?”

“Unfortunately.” Nadia climbed the stairs to the healer’s front door. “Hopefully the awkwardness doesn’t last too long.”

She entered Geeta’s home, knowing she’d made the right decision. She only hoped Pell let it go without any lingering hard feelings.