20
(Tharnday)
Palerma, Tephsa
Derick Aiden noticed that the A’mara seemed to have stepped up their guard around him. He wondered whether Andrian had received recent word from Saraca regarding his safety. He tried to not let it worry him as he took Kauri to the canteen for their evening meal.
Again, he hated himself for not telling her the full truth yet – she deserved to know his full identity!
He was glad she wasn’t A’mara – he knew he couldn’t keep a ruse like this up with them – in fact, Andrian seemed to suspect already that he had fallen in love with the woman. Then, Derick found himself wishing that he, himself, was A’mara, so he could be certain that she loved him. No, he was stuck with the normal way. All he wanted was to make sure Kauri was falling in love with him – as Kanesh, not the fairy tale in her actor story. As soon as he knew that, he would come clean – though that was scary too – what if she hated him for keeping his secret for so long?!
“What are you having?” she asked him again, bringing him out of his mental torture and back to the present.
“What’s the special?” he asked quickly, forgetting his accent for a moment.
“Where have you been, Kanesh?” she asked, laughing at him. “It’s lasagna – like what I’ve taken.”
“Oh. Yes. I’ll have some too,” he said trying to recover. He had to be Kanesh again.
♥
Kanesh and Kauri sat at a table near the fountain in the middle of the room.
“I like this spot,” Kauri said. “It makes me think I’m somewhere in the mountains.”
“I like it too,” Kanesh replied.
“What do you think of the lasagna? Apparently, it’s local – meat from the Interior and vegetables grown here, just outside of Palerma.”
“Very good,” Kanesh said.
“I agree,” Kauri said, taking another bite.
“You’ve been doing really well with everything I’ve thrown at you,” Kanesh said.
“Thank you,” she replied. “I’ve pulled out all the stops I thought I had – gone places I didn’t think I could… It’s been a lot of fun.”
She took another bite.
“You know, Kanesh,” Kauri finally ventured. “I like the whole acting thing...”
“But?” he asked.
“I’d rather act opposite you. I don’t like feeling that I’m just rehearsing for Derick,” she said hesitantly.
“But Derick is the ultra-famous one, the rich one. I’m just Kanesh.”
“But it’s Kanesh that I’ve gotten to know,” she replied, scraping the last bite together. “Kanesh that I … I want to dance with.”
“We will have to discuss it with Derick,” he said. “But not tonight… you’ve been working so hard and you’re exhausted! Come, let’s watch a movie.”
Several student A’mara followed them to the basement lounge, seemingly having discovered that it was worth following Kanesh to the lounge whenever they saw him heading that way. They did not challenge the right to the two-seater lounger though, leaving it to Kauri to claim. Kanesh started the film and the other seats were soon taken by the students.
Kauri found herself thinking more about Kanesh. She was overwhelmed by his confidence in her. He made her something better than she'd ever been before. She had barely stopped herself saying the L-word earlier. Did she love him? Did he love her? She leaned against him as the movie’s plot developed.
Kanesh’s arm rested across her back and shoulders a few moments later and squeezed her closer to him. She relished his warmth and snuggled comfortably against him.
Finally, the movie ended and Kauri still sat snug against Kanesh who was stroking her arm tenderly. She didn't want to move. Ever.
One of the students stopped the movie at the end as the room cleared.
Kauri felt gentle lips kiss her cheek. She looked at Kanesh and met his eager lips hungrily. All else forgotten for a few minutes – just the two of them, savoring the taste of each other.
“I guess that explains a few things,” Kanesh finally said a few minutes later. “Is that why you don’t want to be rehearsing for Derick? Why you want to act with me?”
Kauri nodded.
“Co-stars don’t normally get to choose who they act with, you know,” he said, kissing her again.
Kauri felt disappointed at that.
“But I do have a very close relationship with Derick. And he owes me a few favors,” he replied.
“Sounds good,” Kauri said going for another kiss.
“Well, I guess that’s settled then,” Kanesh said.
♥
Finally, Kauri and Kanesh went back upstairs to their shared quarters. According to the sign on the door, they were Mr and Mrs Kaarle, yet inside was totally different, different rooms, different beds. To Kauri it had always felt like the best arrangement that could be made given their situation. From the outside, one could rarely tell what the internal configuration might be.
Tonight was different though. Although Kauri was exhausted and quickly retired to her room, she couldn’t help but think about the man in the room opposite, the one she loved and now she knew loved her in return. All at once she found herself thinking about everything her mother had taught her about morality, what the world around her taught her… and what she thought for herself. What did she think for herself? Beyond the fact that she really wanted to share her bed with the man in the other room. She had acted properly, but what did she want? What was she prepared to risk?
♥
Joton, Kri’enden – Joton Shaze Academy
Zilan seemed absorbed in what the holonet had to offer.
“What has you so enraptured?” Iyva asked, putting her arms around his neck and snuggling against his shoulder-length, blue hair.
He grabbed her hands and kissed them. “I’m just trying to keep up with what’s going on in the world. There’s something here about another battle in Towani City at the Blast 2 nightclub.”
“I wish we could have gone dancing!” she replied.
“It was too risky. The A’mara youth have been going there for awhile now.”
“As have the Balan,” Iyva reminded him. “We wouldn’t have caused any alarm.”
“Except for our Death Edicts,” he said. “And some of them might have recognized us.”
“They wouldn’t kill us at a dance club, surely!” She kissed his lightly-bearded cheek, also dyed blue.
“Perhaps not, but they could have ambushed us when we came out again. Even leya-dampening has a limited effect.”
He turned and kissed her, pulling her onto his lap. Arms around her, he continued browsing the news. “Apparently, another Death Edict has been issued for a man named Elíaz Kalvåg on Towani. I wonder if he’s one who fought us. Anyway, it seems he’s defected to the A’mara and even got married.” He chuckled. “I can just imagine what the Balan think of that!”
“Gold-badge shaze duel – and then he proposes when it’s over!” Iyva read, laughing. “We need to meet them. They sound like our sort of people.”
“If our course takes us that way, then yes,” Zilan replied. “But it would be unwise for us to be in Towani again so soon.”
Iyva turned away from the screen and stroked Zilan’s blue beard with her finger, tracing the line of his jaw.
“Something tells me you would like some extra attention,” Zilan said smiling. He kissed her fingers and kept kissing up her arm until he reached her mouth.
“Come to bed,” she invited.
If you have enjoyed this book, I would be grateful if you could put your thoughts as a review on Goodreads for me.
Other Chapters of this set
Acting the Part - chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Building on Promise - Chapter 1
Acting the Part, part 2 - Chapter 10
Spice of Strength - Chapter 1
Acting the Part, part 3 - Chapter 19
Maps and Guides
- continents of Alacantis and Kranisis (five maps)
- continent of Almara (five maps)
- countries of Kri'enden and Yezi'im (four maps plus "other places")
- characters, pronunciation and glossary
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Brighid's Blood 2006 and 1200 B.T.C.E. Katja and Rachel are so desperate for love that they cast two love spells one night. But the Guardians do not consider spells "fun", but rather as cries for help from the very depths of your soul. Certainly Katja and Rachel could not have possibly imagined where these spells would take them! |
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Birth of the Neví 829 T.C.E. It is a tumultuous period of Terrenden history. As is all too common, there are those who wish to profit from the misfortune of others. Some of these come together in a new "charitable organization" and step on the toes of the notorious Uugli. Combine this with draconian new measures to combat pollution and Terrenden has a situation ripe for a power struggle. Book 1 in the Rise of the Neví series. |
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Rebound of Power: 850 T.C.E. Collection of Romance Terrenden is being terrorized by a previously underestimated Neví who, through the mysterious “Curator,” have been controlling elections all over the planet. In this collection, we meet some interesting women. Iyva - a homeless teenager in Irola whose untrained power leaves her close to death in Rebound of Power; Marc’la - a breeder of prized caballus in Kasago whose heart lives in the past in Friendship on Fire; Zukie - an abused widow whose heart is afraid to try for future happiness in Courage to Trust; Jenna - an elections assistant manager and masseuse who has a prejudice against A’mara in Elect to Change; Kami - a chola student in Varkevand who has been assigned to protect Ardin, a man who has his own reasons to distrust A’mara in Ocean of Empathy. |
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Acting the Part - 851 T.C.E. Collection of Romance The Neví have infiltrated the Terrenden Freedom Party. Dr. Jarly is on the run and the Curator still dominates the Terrenden stage. Famous actor, Derick Aiden has released his Neví expose film and now the Neví want him dead... In this collection, we meet more interesting women. Kauri - a simple receptionist who doesn’t realize one of her wildest dreams has come true; in Acting the Part Tirry - an elections manager who is always the bridesmaid and never the bride; in Building on Promise Zara - a chef who has all but given up on finding love for herself; and D'zani - who isn’t even looking, but has to chaperone her more vulnerable roommate; in Spice of Strength Soala - an heiress who is expected to marry, but refuses to marry someone she doesn’t love; and Moxara - one whose past griefs have locked away her heart in Sands of Survival. We also get updates on some of the lovely ladies we met previously. |
| COMING SOON | TO AN EBOOK STORE NEAR YOU!!! |
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Rise of the Neví - 830 T.C.E. In this series, the Neví begin their rise in power with the completion of several large housing projects that seem totally charitable, but also hide a great evil within. The draconian measures brought in the previous year has caused major distress throughout the world, perfect for giving the Neví a further foothold on the Terrenden stage. Will the A’mara, now removed from the Council of Peers, be able to shut down the Neví? Titles to include: Name of the Neví, Head of the Neví... |
Writing and artwork copyright myself 2005-2018 – all rights reserved.
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Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
verified author on Goodreads
find me on Twitter
also on: Whaleshares, WeKu
