open and she shook her head. “Why did it do that?”
“Interesting,” Aesri said ignoring Carly’s question. “I must say, it is so convenient that you carry power over all four elements, although I could figure it out regardless. It seems fairly evident, but just out of curiosity, a little water if you please. A small mist will do.”
Carly was completely at a loss, but it seemed that it would do her no good to argue. She closed the hand Aesri was holding into a fist, and then carefully opened it. A deluge of rain poured down on them. It stopped almost as abruptly as it had begun.
“Oh, Aesri! Oh! I’m so sorry! I only meant a tiny mist as you asked. I guess I haven’t practiced in a while, but I never expected—well, I am so, so sorry.”
“Nonsense, sister. It is just as I expected. A baby! How marvelous. And a girl! Why have you not told anyone?”
Carly took a seat, and Kahn nuzzled her shoulder until she reached up to rub his velvety nose. “There never seemed to be a good time. First we had to bring Lord Hugh’s body back, and I couldn’t be sure my problem was anything more than stress and seasickness. When we got home, there was the funeral. Since then, everyone has been so worried about Dearra and the Breken, and well, everything. It was never the right moment.”
“But surely you have told Daniel. He is the father, I presume.”
“Aesri! Of course he is the father. But no, I haven’t told him. He is just a touch protective, and he has other things to worry about without me adding to them. I will be no more or less pregnant for burdening everyone with the news. As long as I wear my cloak, I can keep it to myself for some time yet.”
“Daniel is likely to notice before too long. I assume you are joined. He lies with you, does he not?”
Carly blushed, and shifted uncomfortably. “No, actually. I mean, yes we are joined, but we have not slept together. We were joined in an unconventional way. We spoke our words to each other when we were in Darak. We have not had a formal joining yet. It wouldn’t have been appropriate with Hugh’s funeral, and then I was so sick. I just kept putting him off, and we didn’t want to answer a lot of questions by sharing a room before the ceremony.”
“How long are you planning to keep up the deception? Starting out with a lie, even a lie of omission, is not a wise choice.”
“I don’t know. It never seems to be the right time.”
“Yes, you have mentioned that several times already. You must make it the right time. Daniel will not be pleased when he finds out you have been keeping this from him.”
“I know, I know. I just need a little more…time.”
“Make sure it is not too long, Carly. Sometimes, secrets take on a life of their own, and in the end, you find they are keeping you instead of you keeping them.”
Carly nodded in agreement, but she frowned. It was already starting to feel that way to her.
“What about my abilities? Why did the fire sputter? How do you know it is a girl I carry?”
“Your abilities will be just fine. You are simply out of balance. The fire sputtered because the element of your child is water, which would indicate a girl. I suppose that it is possible that your child carries another element, or is a combination of elements, as you are yourself, but it is very unlikely. When you brought the water and it was so much stronger than you had intended, that indicated an excess in that ability. Had you been a water yourself, I might have asked you to bring snow. Had you carried a boy with fire abilities, the snow would have melted; a girl with water, the snow would have been a blizzard; a girl with wind, and the snow would have blown about. Earth is harder to detect, but there are ways. It is all just a matter of judging the way the elements interact with each other.
“Come now, sister. Your wayward messenger has come home at last. Let us return to the keep together and see what news he brings.”
“How do
“Interesting,” Aesri said ignoring Carly’s question. “I must say, it is so convenient that you carry power over all four elements, although I could figure it out regardless. It seems fairly evident, but just out of curiosity, a little water if you please. A small mist will do.”
Carly was completely at a loss, but it seemed that it would do her no good to argue. She closed the hand Aesri was holding into a fist, and then carefully opened it. A deluge of rain poured down on them. It stopped almost as abruptly as it had begun.
“Oh, Aesri! Oh! I’m so sorry! I only meant a tiny mist as you asked. I guess I haven’t practiced in a while, but I never expected—well, I am so, so sorry.”
“Nonsense, sister. It is just as I expected. A baby! How marvelous. And a girl! Why have you not told anyone?”
Carly took a seat, and Kahn nuzzled her shoulder until she reached up to rub his velvety nose. “There never seemed to be a good time. First we had to bring Lord Hugh’s body back, and I couldn’t be sure my problem was anything more than stress and seasickness. When we got home, there was the funeral. Since then, everyone has been so worried about Dearra and the Breken, and well, everything. It was never the right moment.”
“But surely you have told Daniel. He is the father, I presume.”
“Aesri! Of course he is the father. But no, I haven’t told him. He is just a touch protective, and he has other things to worry about without me adding to them. I will be no more or less pregnant for burdening everyone with the news. As long as I wear my cloak, I can keep it to myself for some time yet.”
“Daniel is likely to notice before too long. I assume you are joined. He lies with you, does he not?”
Carly blushed, and shifted uncomfortably. “No, actually. I mean, yes we are joined, but we have not slept together. We were joined in an unconventional way. We spoke our words to each other when we were in Darak. We have not had a formal joining yet. It wouldn’t have been appropriate with Hugh’s funeral, and then I was so sick. I just kept putting him off, and we didn’t want to answer a lot of questions by sharing a room before the ceremony.”
“How long are you planning to keep up the deception? Starting out with a lie, even a lie of omission, is not a wise choice.”
“I don’t know. It never seems to be the right time.”
“Yes, you have mentioned that several times already. You must make it the right time. Daniel will not be pleased when he finds out you have been keeping this from him.”
“I know, I know. I just need a little more…time.”
“Make sure it is not too long, Carly. Sometimes, secrets take on a life of their own, and in the end, you find they are keeping you instead of you keeping them.”
Carly nodded in agreement, but she frowned. It was already starting to feel that way to her.
“What about my abilities? Why did the fire sputter? How do you know it is a girl I carry?”
“Your abilities will be just fine. You are simply out of balance. The fire sputtered because the element of your child is water, which would indicate a girl. I suppose that it is possible that your child carries another element, or is a combination of elements, as you are yourself, but it is very unlikely. When you brought the water and it was so much stronger than you had intended, that indicated an excess in that ability. Had you been a water yourself, I might have asked you to bring snow. Had you carried a boy with fire abilities, the snow would have melted; a girl with water, the snow would have been a blizzard; a girl with wind, and the snow would have blown about. Earth is harder to detect, but there are ways. It is all just a matter of judging the way the elements interact with each other.
“Come now, sister. Your wayward messenger has come home at last. Let us return to the keep together and see what news he brings.”
“How do
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