Ashborn Chapter 9
A family reunion. A jealous rival. And a truth Jessa never wanted to face.
A month passed quickly. I missed Veyrakh more every day, and nights were unbearable, yet the foreign dignitaries kept extending their occupation of the Citadel.
The married Riders had also been forced into the Barracks “for their safety” but had been encouraged to bring their families. To accommodate, the small rooms had been remodeled and combined by installing doors between a group of three suites to create larger suites with a sitting room in the middle and a bedroom on each side for those with children and a door between two suites for married couples without children.
On a brighter note, the restrictions had been somewhat eased over the past couple weeks. We were no longer confined to our individual quarters, although we were not to leave the Barracks. We could hang out with each other and talk, if we stayed in public areas which were still under guard. Hosting guests was permitted as well.
The Great Hall of the Barracks had been our dining room and gathering place and schoolroom for the children of Riders for the previous month. Between meals, we gathered in there with our various projects – I had some embroidery I was finishing when I wasn’t reading a book or writing poetry. Vara had her easel and watercolors set up near a window. Mirelle oversaw her children’s lessons at a table near the back of the Hall as she crocheted a blanket for her sister’s new son. Rumors circulated about an impending baby boom that now had several of the Riders grounded for the next year.
“Well,” Catrin flipped her dark hair back as she confided in me as we stood on the balcony overlooking the drive, as a hired car pulled up and a family emerged. “Since we can’t fly right now anyways, we figured we’d go ahead and use this time to try for a baby.” Catrin had been on her honeymoon on my first day of training and since her return, she and I had become close friends. “But honestly, I didn’t expect it to happen so fast. Oh, I wonder who has visitors.”
I looked down for the first time, recognizing my family. “Me.” I laughed. “I almost didn’t recognize Sethus and Orin. I think they are taller than me now. And that must be Tamsin and Kaelin’s new baby.” He had his arm protectively around the waist of a young woman with her blond hair in a simple provincial braid, wearing a simple green silk dress, and carrying an infant swaddled in a blanket. “Come, I’ll introduce you.”
Catrin followed me through the hallway. “Your brothers’ names seem to follow a pattern. But then Sethus breaks it.”
“I had not thought about it,” I explained, “But Father named all of us, except for Sethus. Mother finally got to name one of her children.”
We had almost made it inside when I heard Jessa’s voice screeching excitedly. “Tamsin! Oh my god! What a surprise! I wasn’t expecting you!”
I exchanged a confused glance with Catrin as Jessa tumbled over her words like a schoolgirl. I shrugged. “Well, I was not expecting that. Let’s go.”
A couple moments later, we entered the Great Hall. Mother and Kyran were trying to keep Sethus and Orin from causing too much mischief as Father was speaking with a steward about taking their luggage to the quarters they would occupy for the next couple days. It had been decided that Mother, Father, and my three unmarried brothers would occupy one suite of three rooms and Tamsin, Kaelin, and their baby would occupy another suite of two rooms.
Jessa had her hand possessively on Tamsin’s arm, the young mother looking tired from a day of travel. “Let me tell you about the girl who stole your spot in the Crucible.” She looked pointedly at me, as though I was something she’d scraped from the bottom of her shoe. “Calderin is a complete upstart. Doesn’t know her place. Came out of nowhere, somewhere on the frontier.” Jessa laughed. “No family line. She got the weakest dragon. The beast can’t even land right. Nearly knocks all of us off our dragons when he crashes, and I mean, crashes to the ground. I mean, of course she was chosen last. Like a consolation prize. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that dragon probably just felt sorry for her. But it surprises me she got one at all.”
Kaelin’s steady hand wrapped around Tamsin’s waist, smiling tightly at Jessa’s story.
“Oh, Dareya! Catrin!” Jessa flashed a bright, saccharine smile. “Isn’t it wonderful? My best friend, her husband, parents and brothers came here to surprise me!”
“I bet you’re ecstatic,” I responded.
“I suppose manners dictates that I introduce you,” Jessa said. “Then you can take your leave because you really aren’t welcome here.” She tilted her head as though she had given an order.
Before I could respond, Sethus and Orin nearly knocked me off balance.
“Dareya!” Sethus called, his voice full of excitement.
Orin was close behind. “We missed you!”
I looked at Jessa who looked a bit confused as the twins jabbered on excitedly, her eyes darting between my brothers and me.
Tamsin then spoke up calmly. Quietly. “Jessa, I’d like you to meet my husband, Kaelin Calderin.”
Jessa’s breath caught. “Calderin?” she repeated, her eyes wide with disbelief, her voice weak.
“Please tell me that there’s no relation,” she said weakly as my brothers each clung to an arm. Kaelin’s gaze flicked from Jessa to Tamsin, then finally landed on me. A slow understanding dawned in his eyes. The woman Jessa had been badmouthing so venomously, calling a consolation prize, was me.
“My sister?” His voice was quiet. Disbelieving. And then sharper: “That’s who you’ve been talking about?”
If you’re not ready to subscribe but still want to support the saga, consider tipping the scribe — every coin helps keep the story alive. (You’ll be taken to a separate page to leave a one-time tip.)
