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Authors: Laura Jo Phillips
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me.”
Chapter Six
Even though she expected it, Glory still felt some surprise when she found herself standing in front of River House moments after leaving the clinic. “That speed-traveling thing is a bit unnerving, but handy.”
“Very much so,” Val said, dropping his hand from her shoulder and stepping closer to Lariah and Trey.
“I thank all of you for your time and thoughtfulness this day,” she said, bowing formally with her palms pressed together, the mosaic tucked under her arm. Her expression was composed, as was her voice, but Lariah sensed her sincerity. She also sensed that Glory had something on her mind.
“Glory, would you mind terribly if I took a few moments to rest on your porch?” she asked.
“Of course not,” Glory replied.
“I’ll fly home in a little while,” Lariah said to Trey and Val.
“Stay low, little love,” Trey reminded. Lariah nodded, accepted kisses from each of them, and followed Glory onto the porch after they vanished.
“There’s a pitcher of iced juice in the chiller, if you’d like a drink,” Glory offered.
“That’d be very nice,” Lariah replied, taking the same chair she’d used earlier. Glory soon returned with two glasses of juice and handed one to Lariah before taking another chair.
“I would thank you for the food and drink in the kitchen,” Glory said after sipping her juice. “Especially for the prepared meals that need only be heated. I don’t cook at all myself.”
“Suly is the best,” Lariah said, smiling. “She doesn’t have time to cook meals for all of the people who come and go on the ranch these days, but she insists on it for our important guests.”
“I’ll remember to thank her for her thoughtfulness when next I see her,” Glory promised. She cleared her throat. “Lariah, I must be honest with you about something.”
Lariah tilted her head, setting her glass on the small table between them. “You’ve been dishonest with me?” she asked doubtfully. Her instincts told her Glory was unfailingly honest.
“Not exactly,” Glory replied. “I haven’t lied to you, nor would I. But there are things I should have told you, but haven’t.”
“All right, Glory,” Lariah said. “But, before you do, I want you to know that my feelings tell me you are, at heart, a good person. I doubt there’s much you could tell me that would change my mind about that.”
“I’ve never met anyone quite like you, Lariah,” Glory said, her lips curving in the beginnings of a smile. “I mean that as a compliment, of course.”
Lariah laughed, the soft husky sound drawing an even wider smile from Glory. “Then that’s how I’ll take it.”
Glory’s smile faded and she turned her gaze toward the grassy area in front of the house before she began speaking in a strangely flat voice. “Shortly after I sent the missive to Jasan requesting a meeting with the Princes, I was banished from Ramouri and stripped of my rank.”
Lariah thought about that for a long moment before settling on a response. “Would you like to tell me why?”
“I am outcast in my family,” Glory said. “It’s always been so. Outcast or not, it was necessary for me to inform my father, King Bashir, of my intention to leave Ramouri, which I did in writing the day before I was scheduled to depart. The following morning he summoned me to the palace to inform me that he’d made a decision about my future.” Glory picked up her glass and took a drink, buying time for herself to regain the calm that the memory of that day had stolen. She set the glass down carefully, then continued her story without meeting Lariah’s eyes.
“King Bashir offered two options. The first was banishment from Ramouri, the second so ghastly that I suspected then, as now, that it was deliberately so. King Bashir knew I’d choose banishment over the alternative, and I did.”
Lariah had a strong urge to hug
Chapter Six
Even though she expected it, Glory still felt some surprise when she found herself standing in front of River House moments after leaving the clinic. “That speed-traveling thing is a bit unnerving, but handy.”
“Very much so,” Val said, dropping his hand from her shoulder and stepping closer to Lariah and Trey.
“I thank all of you for your time and thoughtfulness this day,” she said, bowing formally with her palms pressed together, the mosaic tucked under her arm. Her expression was composed, as was her voice, but Lariah sensed her sincerity. She also sensed that Glory had something on her mind.
“Glory, would you mind terribly if I took a few moments to rest on your porch?” she asked.
“Of course not,” Glory replied.
“I’ll fly home in a little while,” Lariah said to Trey and Val.
“Stay low, little love,” Trey reminded. Lariah nodded, accepted kisses from each of them, and followed Glory onto the porch after they vanished.
“There’s a pitcher of iced juice in the chiller, if you’d like a drink,” Glory offered.
“That’d be very nice,” Lariah replied, taking the same chair she’d used earlier. Glory soon returned with two glasses of juice and handed one to Lariah before taking another chair.
“I would thank you for the food and drink in the kitchen,” Glory said after sipping her juice. “Especially for the prepared meals that need only be heated. I don’t cook at all myself.”
“Suly is the best,” Lariah said, smiling. “She doesn’t have time to cook meals for all of the people who come and go on the ranch these days, but she insists on it for our important guests.”
“I’ll remember to thank her for her thoughtfulness when next I see her,” Glory promised. She cleared her throat. “Lariah, I must be honest with you about something.”
Lariah tilted her head, setting her glass on the small table between them. “You’ve been dishonest with me?” she asked doubtfully. Her instincts told her Glory was unfailingly honest.
“Not exactly,” Glory replied. “I haven’t lied to you, nor would I. But there are things I should have told you, but haven’t.”
“All right, Glory,” Lariah said. “But, before you do, I want you to know that my feelings tell me you are, at heart, a good person. I doubt there’s much you could tell me that would change my mind about that.”
“I’ve never met anyone quite like you, Lariah,” Glory said, her lips curving in the beginnings of a smile. “I mean that as a compliment, of course.”
Lariah laughed, the soft husky sound drawing an even wider smile from Glory. “Then that’s how I’ll take it.”
Glory’s smile faded and she turned her gaze toward the grassy area in front of the house before she began speaking in a strangely flat voice. “Shortly after I sent the missive to Jasan requesting a meeting with the Princes, I was banished from Ramouri and stripped of my rank.”
Lariah thought about that for a long moment before settling on a response. “Would you like to tell me why?”
“I am outcast in my family,” Glory said. “It’s always been so. Outcast or not, it was necessary for me to inform my father, King Bashir, of my intention to leave Ramouri, which I did in writing the day before I was scheduled to depart. The following morning he summoned me to the palace to inform me that he’d made a decision about my future.” Glory picked up her glass and took a drink, buying time for herself to regain the calm that the memory of that day had stolen. She set the glass down carefully, then continued her story without meeting Lariah’s eyes.
“King Bashir offered two options. The first was banishment from Ramouri, the second so ghastly that I suspected then, as now, that it was deliberately so. King Bashir knew I’d choose banishment over the alternative, and I did.”
Lariah had a strong urge to hug
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