The Complete Conclave of Shadows Trilogy: Talon of the Silver Hawk, King of Foxes, Exile’s Return

‘Food. You’re supposed to cook for yourself, I was to tell you. Practise what Leo taught you. Whoever he was and whatever it was he taught you,’ Jom added. He took up a third sack and jumped down from the wagon.

Talon picked up the food and carried it inside. ‘Better dig a cold cellar out back,’ said Jom as he put down the sack. ‘Got some ham and a quarter of beef coming tomorrow, I was told to tell you. There’s a shovel and some tools in a shed out there, if you didn’t know.’

‘Thanks,’ said Talon as Jom went out of the door.

Talon turned, expecting to see Alysandra moving to follow Jom, but instead she stood at the table, ladling out portions of stew into a pair of bowls. ‘Ah … you’re staying?’ asked Talon.

She waved for him to sit, and produced a bottle of wine. Then she poured two mugfuls, pulled out one of the two small stools that had been stored beneath the table and sat down. ‘Yes, I’m going eat with you. Didn’t they tell you?’

Talon sat down. ‘Apparently everyone else got told except me.’ He could hardly take his eyes off Alysandra, but each time she glanced at him, he looked away.

She laughed. ‘It’s like that sometimes around here, isn’t it?’

‘It’s like that a lot around here,’ he replied, and she laughed again.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Talon said, ‘I’m pleased you’re here, really, but … well … what are you doing here?’

‘Oh, didn’t Master Maceus tell you that, either?’

‘No,’ said Talon. ‘As I said, no one has been telling me much of anything.’

‘I’m going to be staying here with you. I’m your new model.’

Talon put down his mug. He could not believe what she had said. ‘You’re the model.’

‘Yes, for the nude study you’re doing.’

Talon felt his cheeks begin to burn, but he forced himself to calmness. Obviously, she had no problem posing for him, so he needn’t feel uncomfortable, he decided. Despite this, however, he couldn’t eat, so he put the contents of his plate back in the pot. ‘I’m not really hungry,’ he said weakly. ‘I was in the kitchen all day and you know how it is, a bite here, a bit of a nibble there.’

She smiled and said nothing.

When she had finished her supper, she said, ‘Fetch me some water from the lake, and I’ll clear up.’

Glad for the excuse to be alone for a moment, Talon hurried to comply with her request, taking the large oak bucket from beside the door and hurried down to the lake. A small stream fed the lake and Talon filled the bucket there, where the water was freshest. He lugged it back and found that Alysandra had already cleared the table and put the plates and cups on the rack outside next to the door. When he appeared, she took the water from him without comment and quickly washed up.

Talon went inside, agonizing over what to say next to her. But before he had been able to think of anything, she stepped into the doorway and paused there, letting herself be framed in it. ‘It’s warm tonight,’ she said.

‘Yes,’ said Talon, realizing that he was perspiring, but certain it had nothing to do with the weather. ‘It’s a bit warm.’

Suddenly she was undressing. ‘Let’s go for a swim.’

Talon sat in mute astonishment as she quickly removed her dress. Seeing his expression, she laughed. ‘Get used to seeing me this way, Talon. You’re going to be painting me for a while, remember.’

‘I suppose so,’ he said, watching as she turned and hurried down to the water.

‘Come on!’ she ordered, laughing at his obvious discomfort.

Talon stripped off his boots, tunic, and trousers, and ran after her. Alysandra was already splashing into the water by the time he reached the shore. He ran into the water and executed a shallow dive. Coming up, he wiped his hair back and said, ‘This feels wonderful.’

She swam over to him. ‘Yes, doesn’t it?’

Talon ducked his head beneath the water and came up again. ‘I missed bathing today, and I think I needed this.’

‘You didn’t smell any worse than usual,’ she said.

‘Huh?’ he said, stunned by the remark. ‘I smell bad?’

She laughed. ‘It’s a joke, you simpleton.’ Then she began to splash him.

He splashed back, and quickly they were drenching one another as if they were children. Then they swam for nearly an hour, until the large moon rose in the east, and finally Alysandra said, ‘Time to get out.’

‘I didn’t bring towelling or robes,’ Talon said, as if he should have thought of such things.

‘It’s warm. We’ll be half-dry by the time we get back to the hut.’

They left the water and walked along side by side. Talon couldn’t take his eyes from the way her body was bathed in the moonlight. She was slender, as he had known she would be, but her breasts were larger than he had imagined, and her hips were narrower than he had expected, almost boyish from certain angles.

‘You’re staring.’

He flushed. ‘Sorry, but I was thinking of how best to pose you.’

She glanced away. ‘Oh. Of course.’

Embarrassed, Talon realized that his body had started to respond to the sight of her. He wished he could creep away and die, but luckily Alysandra ignored his embarrassment. When they reached the hut, Talon stopped at the door. ‘I just realized …’

‘What?’ she said, turning to face him.

‘There’s only one bed.’

‘Of course,’ she said, stepping forward until she was pressed up against him. Arms snaked around his neck and suddenly her face was in front of him, and her mouth was upon his. Talon hesitated but only for an instant, then he pulled her into him and everything else in the world was forgotten.

‘What is that you’re whistling?’ she asked.

‘Hold still,’ Talon commanded, with a grin. ‘Some tune, I don’t know. Something I made up.’

‘I like it. Can you play it on the pipe?’

‘I think so,’ he said, stepping back to look at the painting he had begun that morning, the third since Alysandra had come to the hut. For the first time since taking up the brush he was confident, and the first sketch he had made required little correction. He was now applying paint in blocks and patches, giving colour to a black-on-white image, and before his eyes he could see it taking form.

He had spent the first night with her in a state of euphoria. He had never imagined he could feel for any woman the way he did for Alysandra. She was sweet, warm, passionate and giving, as well as insistent and demanding in a playful and arousing manner.

They had hardly slept, save for brief naps between bouts of lovemaking. Finally, she had announced that hunger was making it impossible to sleep and he cooked while she bathed in the lake. He took a quick swim while she ate, then returned and wolfed down bread and cheese, a gulp or two of wine, and then dragged her back to bed.

Somehow between lovemaking, eating and sleeping, he had contrived to dig the cellar in the rear of the property next to the abandoned shed. He had been delighted to discover that someone had started the same project years before, and most of the hole was already dug, so that he only had to clear away years of accumulated detritus and brush, and then trim the sides, dig out steps, and measure a door.

He finished the task on the second day. The meat, ale, wine and cheese, along with a basket of fruit now rested in the cool cellar. Since then, he had devoted himself to one thing only, Alysandra.

He stepped back from the painting and made a considering noise. ‘Hmmm …’