Instructing the Novice Read online

  “But how else could you help me? Other than…than penetrating me?” Lizabeth honestly couldn’t believe she was saying this. It seemed like the need inside her drove her to it. The deep, aching emptiness that felt like a black hole had opened inside her body and was demanding to be filled.

  “That’s not to say the penetration has to be done with my shaft,” Lone pointed out. “In fact, if it would make you feel better, I will swear to you here and now that I will not enter you with my shaft—no matter how badly you seem to need it—unless you ask me to. I’ll find another way to do what has to be done.”

  “You…” Lizabeth bit her lip, a mixture of disappointment and relief flooding her. “You’d promise me that?”

  “I’ll do more than promise—I’ll swear it.” Lone came over to her. Taking her hands in his, he looked down at her earnestly. “I swear to you now, on my honor as a warrior, that my shaft shall not enter you in any way unless you ask for it, Mistress,” he said softly. “That is my oath from me to you. If I break it, may the Goddess strike me dead.”

  Lizabeth wasn’t sure what to say. His big hands were cupped around hers and his big body was so close she could smell the warm, spicy scent of his skin. Or was that his bonding scent? She had wondered once before if he could even make a bonding scent, being a Twin Kindred without a twin. But it seemed almost as though he had both halves inside him—the Dark Twin and the Light. Would it be possible for Lone to bond with a female after all? To bond with…her?

  She pushed the idea away. That was crazy talk—a ridiculous idea. As if someone his age would want to bond with someone her age. He claimed to have fantasized about her but doubtless it was just a youthful infatuation. Just as it had proved to be with Arturo…

  Inwardly she winced and shied away from the memory.

  “We should get ready,” she said, pulling away from Lone and wrapping her arms around herself. “I…I need to see if there’s any way I can get some new clothes. These are ruined.” She looked down at the damp cape-vest and the white gown, stained with amber streaks. “There’s no way I can go out in them.”

  “I’ll get you some new things,” Lone promised at once. “Why don’t you take a bath and try to relax before Last Meal?”

  Lizabeth sighed. “A bath does sound nice,” she admitted. “But you don’t have to get the clothes for me—I can manage myself.”

  “Why should you, when I’m here to serve you, Mistress?” Lone asked simply.

  “You don’t have to call me that in private or serve me all the time either,” Lizabeth told him, frowning.

  “But I want to.” He looked at her longingly and she had the feeling he wanted to take her hands in his again but didn’t think she’d allow it. “I want to serve you in every way, Lizabeth,” he said in a low voice. “Did you think I was pretending when I took that oath in the ceremony just now?” He leaned closer, holding her eyes with his own. “I…meant…every…word,” he said softly.

  “Oh…” Lizabeth wasn’t sure what to do…what to say. His gray eyes were so intense and somehow it seemed she couldn’t look away from them. “Lone…” she began, but then found she couldn’t go on. She literally had no words for the emotions swirling inside her.

  “Take a bath and relax,” he murmured, taking a step back. “I’ll go tend to getting you new clothes.”

  Then he turned and left the bedchamber, leaving Lizabeth feeling breathless and uncertain and completely confused about this new manifestation of her assistant. Where had the old Lone gone? And did she really want him back?

  Lone wasn’t sure what had gotten into him. He should never have taken the liberties he had taken—should never have held Lizabeth down and sucked her breasts when she told him not to.

  But I had to, a dark voice spoke up inside him. The half of him he usually kept buried—the half that seemed to be coming to the surface now on this savage world. It was the dark half of him that had allowed him to face down the Friezens—but it was also the part of him that had prompted him to hold Lizabeth down and do what had to be done forcibly.

  Sometimes Lone wondered about himself. Would he have been the Dark Twin of his pair, or the Light? It wasn’t always certain at birth. Often a pair of Twin Kindred were months old before they could be identified as one or the other. For years he had felt that he would have been the Light Twin if his long-dead brother had lived. Now…he wasn’t so sure.

  Shouldn’t have done it, he thought again. But I would do it again. Will do it again if I have to—I can’t let her hurt herself just because she doesn’t want to accept my help for some reason.

  But what could that reason be? Why was she so stubborn about letting him help her when her breasts filled and the needing came on her? Lone didn’t know and he hadn’t been able to get an answer out of her. He had an idea that Lizabeth didn’t know herself why she was so reluctant to ask for help. But she had certainly been angry with him for giving her help she hadn’t asked for.

  Lone sighed wistfully. Did she hate him now, for doing what he had done? He certainly hoped not because it seemed extremely likely he would have to do it again. Even now he had the idea that Lizabeth might still be in pain. When he had asked her if she felt the emptiness, she had denied it a little too quickly, he thought. She might be feeling the emptiness at this moment, which Lone had heard females who had been affected by the Xi-46 compound describe as devastatingly painful.

  But after what he had promised her, how could he help with that particular problem? How—

  “Oh, hello lad! Tis good to see you again, yuh it is.”

  Lone looked up and saw that the friendly voice belonged to Joren, Mistress Anarrah’s Novice and apparently also her long-time lover. The older warrior had several swathes of dark fabrics draped over one arm and a smile on his face.

  “Hello,” Lone said, nodding.

  “I heard you preformed well at the ceremony of oath taking.” Joren nodded his shaggy head approvingly. “My Lady seems to think the two of you are a true love match—that you’re with your lady for more than just advancement or any kind of personal gain.”

  “I am completely devoted to Lizabeth,” Lone said honestly. “To tell you the truth, I have loved her since I first laid eyes on her. She is the only female for me.”

  “As it should be, as it should be.” Joren nodded again. “So what are you doing wandering about the Tower only an hour before dinner time? Are you looking for something for your lady?”

  Lone smiled. “You guessed it. My lady has…a spot on her clothing. I need a new robe and vest for her.”

  “As it happens, I was just coming to bring both you and your lady the garments you must wear at the banquet tonight,” Joren said. “So I’ll save you the trip. Here.” He held out the garments he’d been carrying, draping them carefully over Lone’s arm.

  “Thank you,” Lone said gratefully. “I thought I’d have to find my way back to the clothing room by the cleansing pools and this castle seems to be something of a maze.”

  “The Tower can be complicated to learn because the bits that were hollowed out by the hot springs don’t really go the way you’d think,” Joren said, wisely. “But you’ll get it soon. And in the meantime, my Lady Anarrah has asked that I help you and your lady in the little things—like getting fresh garments.” He gestured at the clothes draped over Lone’s arm. “There’s sleepwear for both you and your lady in there as well as fresh clothes for the morrow. And I believe that the undermaids have already stocked your room with bathing items. But is there anything we forgot? Anything you need?”

  Lone started to say that no, everything was perfect and they had everything they needed but then he stopped.

  “Actually, there is one other item I need in order to care for my lady,” he said to Joren. “It might sound rather unconventional though…” He hesitated.

  Joren laughed. “Unconventional doesn’t bother us here at the Tower, lad. Just tell me what you need and I’ll find it for your lady.”

  “Thank yo