Part 14 (1/2)

Whaa? Whaas wrong? Artemisiaas telepathic words slipped into his head, stunning him. Head projected strongly enough to rouse her.

He shouldnat answer, should reduce the bond between them, not let it expand with emotions, with anger. You lied to me.

About what?

That made him grit his teeth. More than one thing, obviously. First item, your name. Your true surname isnat Panax, itas Mugwort. As in the Mugworts who were tied to pylor and the Black Magic Cult murders.

Yes. Her words crackled with her own anger down their link. As in the Mugworts who had a lady whose religion was different, and because of that, because she had incense that most households in Druida had, containing a small amount of pylor, we were scourged by the newssheets.

aLady,a he sneered. You were also n.o.bles. He flipped through the information in his brain about n.o.bleHouses. You were a GraceHouse. You would have been GraceMistrys Mugwort.

He kept his mental tone smooth as a sharp blade. And you, as a Mugwort and a Healer, knew the scent of pylor, probably understood what had happened to that murdered man as soon as I examined him.

YOU examined the body.

I asked if you knew the smell. You said no.

I . . . shook my head.

I asked your opinion, you said NOTHING.

Her silence went on a beat too long, twisting unbearable hurt within him. My mistakea”he made sure his tone was mockinga”thinking you were honorable enough to help without being asked.

Thinking I was too stupid to understand what I saw, more like, she shot back.

Had she tossed her head? Maybe.

And it took you long enough to think everything through. And when you did, you anger and rage like a man, blaming me. Waking me. Iam tired of that and of YOU and your own self-righteousness.

Self-righteous! Havenat you wondered why I was able to contact you mentally?

She snorted this time. A bond often forms between a Healer and a patient in such shared circ.u.mstances. Donat worry about it. It will fade. The sooner, the better.

He laughed and made sure she heard it through their bond. No, it wonat. Not a link between HeartMates, DEAREST.

Complete shock vibrated through their connection. Gasping, maybe. Heart thunderinga”he could feel how her pulse raced.

NO! IT CANaT BE.

Yeah. It is. He sensed her thoughts fluttering.

You canat tell me! Itas against all our laws to tell me that I am your HeartMate. It takes away my free will!

His turn to snort. Yeah, letas call the guards. We can tell them all about Artemisia Mugwort who helped discover the body of a murdered man. A Healer who kept her mouth shut as to how he died. Do you know who he was? Are you hiding that, too?

No! I said nothing . . . for my own reasons. It has nothing to do with you.

Weare HeartMates. Most would say that whatever one does would affect the other. He paused. Just because youare my HeartMate doesnat mean I want you.

Of course it doesnat. Her tones were frigid. You want your lost Dinni.

What!

You didnat think that I would know that? Itas obvious.

There was a pause, and when she spoke mentally again, it was like shead sent icicles down their link. Cold enough that he s.h.i.+vered inside. And I figured out a long time ago that you didnat want me.

He could envision her now, chin up, gaze straight, green eyes lit with anger of her own. I understood that when the years went by and you never came for me. Youare older, you must have felt the HeartMate connection earlier when you had your Pa.s.sages. Youare a man who likes to solve puzzles. You must have looked until you knew who I was.

That wasnat a question, but he answered it anyway. Yes.

But she was continuing, I thought that since you knew who I was, you didnat want me because of the scandal, that claiming me might besmirch your own name or reputation.

He heard her bitter laugh.

But you really didnat care enough about me to see under the surface, did you? Well, now I know why youave treated me like you have. Enjoy your life, Garrett Primross. I wonat bother you. Ever.

The link between them didnat snap, not between HeartMates, but it squeezed so narrowly he couldnat feel ita”nothing of the emotions that might be churning through her. So he had to shout his last words. I WILL SEE YOU MIDMORNINGBELL AT THE HEALINGHALL!

He couldnat feel her emotions; as for his owna”relief that he didnat need to hide anything of himself from her again, that she understood about Dinni.

Rusby jumped up to the bedsponge. You woke Me up. Tilting his head at Garrett, he said, You were mean.

Garrett winced.

The kitten licked his forepaw. But you have always been mean to her.

Garrettas gut knotted. Head been wrong in not controlling his anger, wrong in speaking with Artemisia at all. His emotions had been too d.a.m.n scrambled.

Trust was an iffy thing. He had trusted her and she had lied, but shead nursed him and been there with him, went through a lot to take care of him.

He tasted the bitter ashes of self-anger. He must apologize tomorrow.

Eighteen.

Garrett Primross was her HeartMate! As soon as she choked off the bond between them, Artemisia sobbed. Shock, initial joy, anger, and then pain at his words rejecting her. Oh, Lady and Lord, how she hurt. She folded up into a ball and pulled the linen cover over her head.

How wonderfully horrible. She wept until the throbbing emotions drained and she was left with a stuffy nose and a headache.

And a heart ache.

In the deepest reaches of her being, shead had hoped that her HeartMate just hadnat found her. That he hadnat looked for her or discovered who she was. That he hadnat made a decision to avoid her.

She hadnat pursued him. At seventeen, when shead had her Pa.s.sage dreams, the Family had still been in flux. She hadnat been at her childhood home, nor had she been here, in BalmHeal Residence. Theyad been in rooms rented to them by lower-cla.s.s people who would be suspicious of the Panaxes if one of the Family had had a strong Pa.s.sage to free equally great Flair.