Free season avatars 03 - chaos season by sandra ulbrich almazan Page B

though.” Kay turned to Ysabel. “I think in his way, Kron is devoted to you.”
    “He doesn’t love me! He loves Bella. I haven’t been Bella in eight hundred years.” Ysabel chewed on her lip. “Maybe he won’t love me now that I’m Ysabel.”
    “If he wants to court you, he should start over,” Jenna said. “He’s acting as if you’ve been waltzing with your bodies pressed close together for an entire evening when you’ve barely been introduced to him. Someone should tell him that.”
    Three pairs of eyes stared at her.
    “An excellent idea, Jenna.” Gwen beamed at her, making her heart sing. “You should do it.”
    “Me?”
    “It was your idea.”
    “Could you, Jenna?” Ysabel looked at her with eyes as irresistible as a kitten’s. “It would make things so much easier for me.”
    How could she refuse? She had the most experience with men, so it shouldn’t be too hard persuading Kron to be more subtle with his pursuit of Ysabel.
    “I will,” Jenna promised. “I should talk to him anyway about the strange plants I found here and in Tradetown. Maybe he knows something about them.”
    “Thank you, Jenna.” Gwen raised her glass. “A toast to Jenna, our sister Summer Avatar, on her birthday! May the Four favor her in every season and grant her many more.”
    “Hail!” Ysabel and Kay toasted her as well. Kay covered up a yawn with her glass.
    “We should all get some rest,” Gwen said. “Tomorrow’s going to be a long day of travel.”
    The last time Jenna had traveled from Wistica to the One Oak, she had sailed northwest up the Chikasi River on a steamboat. This time, the Avatars’ schedule coincided with one of the locomotives traveling from the capital city to Midpoint. They would have to get up at dawn, but they would arrive at Midpoint in time for a late supper. They might even be able to reach the One Oak tomorrow night if the weather and horses cooperated. With two Fall and two Winter Avatars along, they shouldn’t have any problems—unless Dorian and Kay quarreled. Jenna hoped they would be able to avoid each other on the crowded locomotive.
    Ysabel and Kay said goodnight and left for the room they were sharing. Gwen and Jenna were sharing not just the room, but the bed. If they bumped into each other in the middle of the night, would they link and share dreams? Would Gwen learn the truth about their last marriage?
    “I don’t need a blanket in this warm weather. Here, you can have it.” Jenna pushed the comforter into the middle of the bed.
    Gwen disappeared behind a screen and returned a few moments later in a silk nightgown—pale yellow, of course. “I certainly don’t need it either. Ready for bed?”
    Jenna quickly changed before Gwen turned down the lights in the sconce. “Now I am. Good night, Gwen.”
    “Pleasant dreams, Jenna.”
    Jenna’s dreams of their previous marriage were anything but pleasant.
     
    * * *
     
    Later that morning, still exhausted and suffering from a wine-induced headache, Jenna sat at the far end of the locomotive station, as far away from the line of people buying tickets as she could be. Using a light shawl to cover herself, she discreetly nursed Robbie. Callie, Gwen, Ysabel, and Kay surrounded her, sheltering her from the stares of the few other people boarding the train with them.
    Kay kept watch out the window. “Jon might be on this train,” she said, “but normally he doesn’t come this far east.”
    Ysabel smiled. “I’m sure you’re looking forward to seeing him again.”
    The whistle of an oncoming train gave Kay a chance to slip away without answering. Jenna handed Robbie over to Callie, then followed her outside. Puffs of steam and roiling black smoke obscured their sight of the train. Jenna wasn’t surprised when the wind changed and blew the smoke away. Kay watched the train approach, but before it pulled into the station, she retreated to the back of the group.
    “What are you doing?” Gwen asked. “Don’t you