Chosen of Azara by Kyra Halland

Author:Kyra Halland [Halland, Kyra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: epic romantic fantasy
Publisher: Kyra Halland
Published: 2013-06-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

LUCIE SAT AT her dressing table, brushing her hair. Usually her maid did this for her, but tonight she had sent Britte away. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts, to try to sort them out.

The stranger knew her favorite song, the song from the unknown foreign land her great-grandmother had come from. He sang it exactly the way she had always known it should be sung. In his voice, the music and words had power to break her heart – or to fill it with feelings both frightening and exhilarating, feelings she didn’t dare reveal or even acknowledge to herself.

A loud knock on the door of her room startled her, and she nearly dropped her hairbrush. She tied the sash of her green velvet dressing gown securely around her waist, then opened the door.

Estefan pushed his way into the room and shut the door. Lucie pulled her dressing gown more closely around her. “Estefan. You shouldn’t be in here.”

“What’s going on?” Estefan demanded.

Making an effort to appear unconcerned, Lucie returned to her dressing table, sat down, and picked up her hairbrush again. “What are you talking about?”

“You and that stranger. What’s going on with you two?”

Lucie had never seen Estefan jealous before. She should be pleased; everyone said that jealousy was a sign of love. But Estefan’s behavior wasn’t making her feel loved. The fact that he would so easily suspect her of wrongdoing made her feel hurt, and even a little angry, rather than flattered. She tried to keep her voice calm and pleasant. “I don’t know what you mean. I’ve never met him before tonight.”

“Then how does he know that song?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he’s from the same country that Great-grandmother Varena came from.”

“Or maybe you taught it to him. Do you meet him when you go out into the woods alone? Does he teach you things, too?”

That he was jealous was only to be expected; but the outright, unjustified accusation was inexcusable. Lucie stood up abruptly, knocking over the delicate bench. “Estefan! How can you even think such a thing? You know I’d never –”

“This proves what a fool your father is, to let you go wandering around the woods by yourself. There won’t be any more of that nonsense from now on. I won’t let you make a fool of me.” He left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Lucie stared at the door, too stunned to move. She had never seen Estefan so angry before, and she hadn’t even done anything wrong. “How dare you, Estefan Mirenne!” Tears pricked her eyes. She snatched up her hairbrush and threw it as hard as she could against the door. “How dare you!”

She was too agitated to lie down, much less sleep. She dressed again, then went to the conservatory on the top floor of the manor house. Potted flowers, shrubs, fruit trees, herbs, and vegetables flourished there even in winter, thanks to the warmth of braziers under specially-designed grates in the floor and the glass ceiling that had been installed at unimaginable expense.

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