Free Destiny's Lovers by Flora Speer

you’ve just said is true,
which I doubt, that is still no excuse for rudeness,” Reid
declared.
    “Sidra doesn’t mean to be rude. It’s just the
way she is. Would you like cool water, or perhaps some fruit?” When
Reid refused any refreshment, Janina left him in the central room
while she went to speak to Tamat.
    “She will see you,” she said, returning a few
moments later. “Reid, please be kind to her. We in Ruthlen
frequently live to be well over one hundred years old, but Tamat’s
health is fragile and she has grown weaker in the last year. She
has asked that I remain with her, in case she needs assistance.
Will you mind that?”
    “Not at all,” Reid said, giving her a long,
steady look that made her blush.
    “Well, Reid,” said Tamat as soon as he
entered her chamber, “what do you want of me this day?”
    “I want to leave Ruthlen. I want you to help
my friend and my cousin.”
    “You are an impatient man, I fear.” Tamat sat
in a large armchair carved from white stone, which was softened by
thick green cushions on the seat and back. She motioned to a
similar chair next to hers. “I have not yet decided what I will do
about your companions. You may not leave us. If there is anything
else you would like to discuss, I will be happy to converse with
you.”
    “I do have a few questions,” Reid admitted,
seating himself in the chair Tamat had indicated.
    Janina saw he was hiding anger in an effort
to be polite to Tamat. She thought she could understand how he must
feel, being prevented from doing the one thing he wanted. But in
time he would learn to accept his fate, as she was learning to
accept hers. He would have to learn. There was nothing else he
could do.
    That morning was the first of many when Reid
visited Tamat to ask her innumerable questions about the people who
lived in Ruthlen. Janina came to love those visits. From her
position behind Tamat’s chair she could watch him without being
obvious about it, and she could occasionally answer one of his
questions herself under the guise of sparing Tamat the effort.
    “You are more attentive than usual these
days,” Tamat said to her one morning just before Reid arrived. “Is
it concern for my welfare, or interest in Reid that brings you to
me when you need not be here?”
    “I am always concerned about you, Tamat,” she
answered quietly, “but I must confess to a great interest in what
we can learn from an outsider. You have always told me that
knowledge ought to be my primary quest, that in time I might be
able to use it as some poor compensation for my lack of telepathic
ability. I know my wits are of inferior quality, but I try to
exercise them as much as possible.”
    “There is nothing wrong with your wits,
Janina,” Tamat observed dryly. “Sometimes I suspect they are a bit
too quick. Well, stay with me and learn what you can from Reid. I
always enjoy your presence. Only, do not let Sidra grow annoyed
with you, as she will if you neglect your other duties.”
    “Yes, Tamat.” Janina told herself that her
desire to be in the same room with Reid was perfectly innocent.
Daily she tested her resistance to the attraction she still felt
toward him. She had to teach herself to be strong, to adhere
scrupulously to the vows she had so nearly violated with Reid. She
could never give herself to him, and she told herself that in time
she would find joy in having sacrificed her selfish longings in
order to better serve the temple and Ruthlen. She would not allow
herself to deviate again from the Chosen Way.
    That morning Tamat told Reid how their
ancestors had survived the Cetan attack of six hundred years
before. Janina had heard the story many times, yet still she
listened with undiminished pride in the accomplishments of the
founders of Ruthlen.
    “There were just twenty of our people,” Tamat
said, “who were deep in a nearby forest cutting wood for charcoal,
and some were gathering medicinal herbs. When they realized what
was