Gambit of the Gods Read online

  My cousin Karyl and I are on Team Kestrels, in a trio with Karyl’s older sister, Krisyl. Our other trio includes our cousins Klara, Kelsea, and Kenly. Ellarin is on Team Egrets of House Elmaya along with her cousins. I feel so blessed to have qualified to represent my House and Goddess. I only hope I can continue to make them proud.

  A game involving six players on horses galloping around a field chasing a ball with long-handled netsticks can be quite dangerous for all involved. Accordingly, in addition to the many rules in place, both horse and rider are required to wear safety gear to protect against the errant swing of a netstick, flying hooves, or a ball’s impact. We love our horses as if they were members of our own family, treating them with the greatest love, concern and respect.

  Kneeling, I quickly wrap Darkstar’s legs below the knees but above the fetlocks. I prefer to do it myself rather than trust a groom with this important job.

  Darkstar is night-black except for a white star on her forehead. She’s one of three mares I’m allowed as a Horse-Dancing player. We’ve found, unsurprisingly, that female horses are better at Horse-Dancing than gelded or ungelded males. They tend to be more agile, have a calmer temperament, and are usually more sensitive, obedient, and intelligent than most of their male counterparts.

  I take a moment to breathe in Darkstar’s scent and whisper to her as the groom approaches. He’s already sheared her mane short and tied up her tail so it won’t foul a netstick swing. I slip a finger under her chest strap and shoulder straps to make sure they’re the right tightness, then do the same with her belly strap to make sure she didn’t hold her breath as horses sometimes do when the belly strap is tightened. All seems well.

  The groom helps me don my kneepads over the tops of my boots and mount, then hands me my helmet, riding gloves, and netstick. There’s a thin riding whip attached to the near side rein, but I rarely ever use it. My horses are so well-trained, they follow the ball or whoever has it with hardly any prompting from me now. They’re also trained to turn at the barest pressure of my leg and speed up or slow down depending on whether I lean forward or lean back in the saddle. Indeed, the skill level of the horses can easily tip the tide of a game in favor of one team over the other. We like to joke that the mares won’t need us at all once they learn how to swing a netstick.

  Darkstar and I trot onto the field to warm up. Getting in line behind the riders and horses already there, we jog in a slow circle around the edge of the field. Seeing Ellarin standing in her stirrups four horses ahead of us, turning to look for me, I tip my riding cap to her with a smile. She looks so pretty in her white shirt with blood-red front lacings and red divided riding skirts, the colors of House Elmaya.

  She’s such a good friend, always there to listen and hug me tightly, never whispering a word of my secrets to anyone. Karyl loves gossip too much to be trusted as far as I trust Ellarin. We’ve been close since we were big enough to walk to the horse pastures and admire the horses. We love to lie in the tall grass next to each other and tell each other everything while our horses graze around us. The fact that we’re on opposing teams has never gotten in the way of our closeness. I feel closer to her than I do my own family, and sometimes I wonder when she looks at me and I sense her love for me whether she wishes we were more than just close friends, but I’ve never felt that way about her.

  I wish Jaereth could see me now. My heart despairs at the thought. Was it all just mind control on his part? Yet if so, why am I wishing for him, and why does my heart hurt so? Is he here, using his ability on me again? Glancing around at the stables and grooms, I see no sign of him anywhere. Part of me is relieved, while the other part is disappointed. I shake my head to clear it of such thoughts and focus on Darkstar. She loves this game almost as much as I do and frisks a little, impatient to begin.

  “Be calm, my love,” I murmur. Her ears swivel back to catch the soothing sound of my voice. She settles down, and I pat her warm neck.

  My mind turns to our team’s strategy. I’m my trio’s #1 and Ellarin is her trio’s #3, so it’s her role to cover me and stop me from scoring if she can. Only #1’s can cross their own penalty line and score goals. Besides scoring, it’s my job to stop her from picking up passes or blocked shots and sending the ball back across the field. My cousin Karyl, at the #2 position, will be covering Ellarin’s cousin Evalen at their #2 position, ready to pass the ball across the penalty line to me. Our #3, Krisyl, will cover their #1, Ellarin’s cousin Elyndra. But because this is just a practice and we don’t want to reveal our strategies to the other team or any spy from another team who may be watching, our plan is to keep our play very simple, even lackluster, today. Above all, we want to avoid injuries that will take us or our horses out of play during actual matches.

  Our coach, Lady Karleyna (Karyl’s mother and a celebrated former player), who also doubles as one of the two enforcers during these practice matches, blows her whistle twice to signal the end of warmups. Lady Enalla, the Egrets’ coach and Ellarin’s mother (also a celebrated former player), waits on the far side of the field on her horse. She’ll serve as the other enforcer. At the sound of the whistle, the horses immediately hurry toward where an inverted “T” is drawn at one side of the center of the field with little or no prompting from their riders, knowing what’s coming next.

  We call this the “throw-in”. The #1’s line up side by side closest to the enforcer with the #2’s behind them and the #3’s behind the #2’s. The horses mill and sidestep nervously, sensing their riders’ excitement. My adrenaline spikes, then steadies; I find the calm, mindful joy that always centers and buoys me throughout the matches.

  Lady Karleyna throws the ball in and it sails over us, landing in the grass behind the #3’s. Our horses immediately spin around, and netsticks fly as we all try to snatch up the ball in our nets. This is one of the most dangerous moments in Horse-Dancing. With riders leaning over and netsticks rising and falling, there’s a very real risk that someone could fall off and be accidentally trampled or kicked.

  Krisyl manages to get the ball in her net, and as soon as Darkstar and I see that, we start galloping for our penalty line. Evalen blocks her from moving toward our goal, but eventually Karyl inserts herself. Krisyl is able to break away and comes flying toward me. She throws the ball from her net toward me over the line. Reaching up, I catch it in mine, but Ellarin comes from behind and pops the ball out. It arcs away, and we both go after it. Luckily, I manage to get in between her and the ball, scooping it back up. We pivot around her, and Darkstar drives toward the goal posts. I send the ball through the posts, the whistle blowing to verify the goal. When I pat Darkstar’s proud neck, she frisks again, her gait almost jaunty.

  Turning, I catch Ellarin’s eye with my eyebrow arched, but she just laughs, her amusement tickling my senses deliciously. Her grin makes me think of Jaereth’s teasing smile and the outrageous way he flirts with me, even though it could easily get him killed. Maybe his feelings for me are real. He could practice his ability on his friends without risk, yet for some reason, he chose me. And the look in his eyes when he sees me seems so sincere…

  My teammates touch nets with me. We hurry toward the throw-in spot together. I feel their exhilaration, and it fuels mine.

  Our horses surge as one toward the coach, and this time when she throws the ball, Evalen catches it in her net. She throws it neatly to Elyndra, who darts away toward her penalty line with Krisyl in pursuit. Krisyl’s horse stumbles and falls behind. Elyndra bounces the ball on the ground and back into her net again at a full gallop as she crosses the line, and there’s nothing Krisyl can do but watch as Elyndra throws the ball through the goalposts. The whistle blows, and we all ride for the “T” again. The score is now tied.

  During match play, we would all be watching the game clock carefully in order to time as many goals as we can into our eight minutes of play before the other trios take over, but we don’t bother to wind the clock during practice. Time management is important, of course, but pract
ices are more about honing our skills both as an individual player and as a team.

  Bunched up at the “T” once more, I watch as the ball sails overhead, landing on the Egrets’ side of the field. We all dive for it with our nets, but Lady Karlenya blows her whistle to signal a foul; we all put our nets back up into the air and wait for her call.

  “The foul was unintentional,” she announces, scooping up the ball. I sense my teammates’ relief, mingling with my own. Even though this is just practice, we take it seriously.

  What Jaereth did was wrong, but perhaps his foul was unintentional, too. Maybe I should meet him tonight and let him explain himself before I make a decision. After all, he put himself at great risk for me today. But how can I trust that my feelings are my own?

  Without warning, I remember the feel and taste of his lips on mine and the feel of his arms around me. Flushing in sudden embarrassment, I drag my mind back to the game. There are too many minds around me who might sense my desire and wonder at it.

  As soon as we’re reset, Lady Karlenya throws the ball again. This time, Ellarin snatches the ball out of the air. Karyl is right there, her horse pressing Ellarin’s horse hard, away from their side of the field. I hover nearby, but I need to be ready to dash for my penalty line if someone from my team manages to get the ball.

  Ellarin lofts a clumsy pass toward Evalen, but it rolls off the field of play. The coaches blow their whistles. When a ball goes out of play, it’s deemed the fault of whoever touched it last and is given to someone on the other team to throw in. However, the person given the ball can just bounce it on the ground and catch it again, and Karyl does this, then immediately gives her horse her head as they come racing toward where Darkstar and I wait just over our penalty line.

  Ellarin is once again right there with me, her emotions tightly shuttered now. When Karyl throws the ball over the line toward me, it goes wide of my net. It takes an unlucky bounce toward Ellarin, and she scoops it up. Darkstar and I go into defensive mode, blocking her from turning upfield, dancing and dodging to match her horse’s attempts to get around us. Meanwhile, I reach out in hopes of jostling the ball from her net, but she keeps it just out of reach. Spinning, her horse at last breaks free and dashes toward the penalty line.

  Evalen and Karyl gallop to meet her, so instead of risking a pass at full gallop, Ellarin bounces the ball on the ground and back up into her net as she crosses our penalty line and bolts for hers. Elyndra is waiting, catching her pass across their line just ahead of Krisyl. Elyndra plies her whip and her horse jumps ahead, turning the corner to head toward the goal. A flick of her wrist, and the ball is through the goal posts.

  The coaches blow their whistles twice to signal end of play. Our alternate trios take the field against each other and we dismount, walking our horses off the field and into the waiting hands of our grooms. Ellarin turns to me before joining her teammates to watch their other trio play and takes my hand.

  “I hope you’re not hurting too much after what Lady Dylorna did.” Concern shines in her eyes.

  “No, I’m fine.”

  Her hand drops away from mine when her teammates turn to look for her. Karyl and Krisyl are sitting downfield near our goal posts, so I join them. They don’t even pause in their excited chatter over what went right and wong on the field and I join right in, forgetting all about Jaereth in the pure enjoyment of it all.

  Later on, Ellarin finds me giving Darkstar a last apple and a pat. Karyl has already left for House Klia with the others. They know I like to linger with my horses.

  “May I talk to you?”

  Her straight brown hair is almost always pulled back in a thick braid, and she pulls on it when she’s nervous. She does that now.

  “Of course.”

  I motion for her to follow me. Spying a bale of hay just outside the paddock doorway, I sit, and Ellarin joins me, squinting at the skyline. I get the sense she’s trying to find the right words, so I wait patiently, looking out over the now-empty training field.

  At last she says, still not looking at me, “We’ve been best friends since we were littles, Kella. I feel closer to you than anyone in my own family, and you’ve said you feel the same.”

  She glances at me, her brown eyes serious. I nod.

  “We love all the same things: horses, Horse-Dancing, quiet moments shared in the middle of a field, flowers, music, dancing, singing…you understand me. I understand you. We always know what the other is thinking, without even saying a word.”

  “Very true,” I agree, smiling. “You’re like my other half. We have so much fun together.”

  Ellarin smiles too, her eyes warm on mine. The wind gusts just then, blowing a few strands of hair into my eyes. She reaches out before I can, smoothing them back gently.

  “I’ve been thinking quite a bit about our friendship and what it means to me, and I wanted to tell you…I love you, Kella.” Her eyes search mine, waiting for me to understand. And then I do, and my eyes widen, and she kisses me.

  All physical sensation fades except the feel of her lips on mine and her hand cupping the back of my head. Her kiss is very different from Jaereth’s. Her lips feel so soft and gentle, while his were rougher and hard. Her mouth tastes sweet, while his was salty and wild. Her emotions are loving, while his were full to bursting with desire. With Jaereth, I was kissing a fascinating, forbidden mystery; with Ellarin, I’m kissing someone I know almost better than I know myself. Except, of course, that I didn’t see this coming…

  Confusion floods my heart as Ellarin at last pulls away and searches my eyes again. I don’t know what to think or feel. I love her too. We would never have to hide our love. My family would be thrilled, since House Elmaya is in the southern alliance of Houses along with House Klia. Like she said, we understand each other and enjoy all the same things. And in a very real sense, choosing her over Jaereth would save his life and make mine much less complicated and dangerous. I don’t feel the passion for her that I do whenever I’m near Jaereth, but I’m sure that would blossom with time. And is that passion even real, or just a result of his ability?

  “Just think about it, Kella,” she whispers, her hand clasping mine. A slave comes around the corner then, carrying a pan of grain for the horses.

  Ellarin and I stand up abruptly, our hands dropping to our sides. There’s nothing to be ashamed of; we just don’t wish to be a topic of gossip. Together, we walk toward the paths leading to our respective Houses.

  I tell her with a smile, “I will.” Ellarin smiles too, and starts down the path toward her House.

  Walking on toward House Klia, I shake my head and sigh. I’m supposed to meet Jaereth tonight after everyone has gone to bed. Might Ellarin’s declaration of love be a sign from the Goddess that I am displeasing her?

    

  I’m in bed, waiting for Maren’s slow, even snores to issue from his sleep-closet. At last I hear them, silently rise, and dress myself in the dark. If Maren hears the door shut, which is unlikely, he’ll just think I’m walking to the outhouses to relieve myself. Instead, I’m going to relieve myself of a big mistake, before things get out of hand.

  Outside, the moon is almost full. A gentle summer wind greets me like a friend, the scent of jasmine perfuming the air. I ghost down the stairs and out the door, then follow the path around the House toward the orchards, gazing up at the stars. They’re so beautiful tonight.

  As children of the Goddess of Nature, House Klia daughters learn to commune with everything the Goddess has made and to respect it as if we are one with it all, for we believe we are. The wind, the trees now reaching above me, the grass beneath my feet, the stars and the moon: all are parts of my own being. I’m one with all of creation in the deep heart of the Goddess. It fills me with great joy. I can’t help but spin once, my dress whirling out around me, arms upraised in worship.

  “Aren’t you a pretty little scrap of moonlight,” a gruff voice says seemingly out of nowhere. I jump, faltering mid-twirl.

 
Jaereth steps out of the shadows like he’s made from them, chuckling.

  “I didn’t mean to startle you, truly, Lady Kella,” he says mildly, with a teasing emphasis on the word ‘Lady’. As boldly as a stallion claiming a mare, he enfolds me in his arms without so much as a by-your-leave, bending to kiss me.

  I stiffen, pushing against his chest with my hands.

  “Don’t,” I gasp, and his grip immediately loosens. He looks down at me curiously and watches me back away, his arms falling empty at his sides.

  “Is this because your friend kissed you?” he asks, his shadowed eyes holding mine captive. I start in surprise. He was watching!

  “Yes,” I admit, adding quickly, “there’s no hope for you and me, Jaereth. There never was. Loving you would get us both killed.” My voice and emotions are earnest. Surely he knows the truth of what I’m saying as well as I do.

  Gauging his reaction, it amazes me how his eyes and lips make my heart flutter, even now. When I think of his kiss, my whole body reacts, flushing with heat, longing to feel his lips on mine again. But this is madness. I harden my heart, for his sake as well as my own, looking him in the eye as coolly as I can. See the truth, Jaereth.

  All I sense from him is a great sadness. My heart shivers in response, wanting to comfort him. Yet I dare not.

  “I want you to know,” he says finally, his voice subdued, “that while I did use my ability on you the first day we met, I haven’t used it on you since. I wanted you to really know me, to react to me freely, not as a puppet on a string. This, I swear to you by your Goddesses and my God. I felt drawn to you from the first moment I saw you, and I think you felt the same way. I believe we’re destined to be together. Can you tell me you don’t feel the connection between us?”