Gifted Stone by Kelly Walker Page B

tried to ignore the irony that a handmaiden was allowed to flit about the castle without taking guards with her, yet the prince’s betrothed could not.
    Tears began to spill from her eyes. Exhaustion washed over her. So much worry and so much heartbreak had filled the last few weeks. At times, it just became too much. I will allow myself one good cry , she told herself, determined that afterward she’d put it behind her. Not wanting to mess up Kora’s half-finished job with the bed linens, Emariya sank to the floor. With her back against the side of the heavy bed, she hugged her knees to her chest before letting her forehead drop.
    Liberating her tears opened the floodgates, allowing her worries to flow. The unrestrained emotion surged through her unhindered. “I’m so afraid, Mama,” she whispered. Emariya knew her mother likely couldn’t hear her. She’d tried several times to talk to her mother again, without any success.
    A few minutes later, her chamber door opened. Emariya slowly lifted her head, not bothering to wipe away the evidence of the tears.
    “Riya! What’s wrong?” Jessa cried out, looking down at Emariya on the floor.
    Emariya pushed to her feet. “I’m all right,” she said, but her voice sounded unconvincing, even to her own ears.
    Jessa scowled, placing a hand on one hip. “You’re sitting on the floor crying.”
    Emariya couldn’t help but laugh. In that moment, her handmaiden looked exactly like her mother’s handmaiden, Mairi. Had her mother ever shared a moment of weakness with Mairi? Try as she might, Emariya couldn’t picture it. She’d always thought of her mother as strong and brave. From all the stories Emariya had heard, she was fairly certain Lady Valencia would never have been caught crying.
    “And now you’re laughing?” Jessa’s scowl slipped into a puzzled frown. “What ever is the matter with you?”
    Emariya shook her head. “Nothing, really. I was just struck by how much you look like your mother right now, standing there scowling at me like that.” Her shoulders shook as a giggle forced its way free.
    Jessa’s expression softened at the mention of her mother and then she, too, dissolved into a fit of giggles. The redheaded girl’s cheeks were turning the same color as her hair, and she gasped for breath. Wagging her finger at Emariya, she puffed up her cheeks and said, “If Mama were here, she would say, ‘Crying is for babies, not a bride-to-be. Now put on your proper face, my girl, and quit wallowing. Go on now. Shoo!’” Jessa made a shooing motion with her hands, which made Emariya laugh even harder.
    “I cannot even count the number of times we came crying to her and she’d shoo us out of the kitchen.” As their giggles began to subside, Emariya smiled at the memory.
    Jessa nodded. “Yes, but shortly after she shooed us, she’d suddenly find the urge to bake us a sweet, so we never shooed far.”
    “Do you miss her?” Emariya asked. “I know I do. Her and Reeve.”
    “Of course I do,” Jessa said, crossing the room and giving Emariya a quick hug. “And it’s all right that you miss Reeve, too, you know.”
    Emariya’s eyes grew wide; she was surprised that Jessa felt that way. “Really? Even after what he did?”
    “What he did was wrong. He never should have lied to you about Torian requesting your hand. And he should have told you about the gifts, and who Khane was.” Jessa’s eyes darkened at the mention of Khane. “But, as wrong as he was, that’s on him. He’s your brother, and that hasn’t changed. It is only natural that you miss him.”
    Listening to Jessa’s matter-of-fact explanation, Emariya thought it sort of made sense. Jessa could be counted on for many things, but without fail, she always had very solid ideas about what was right and what was wrong. “I thought of something we could do for Garith and Rink for The Day Of The Three,” Emariya said.
    Jessa’s eyes lit up. “Really? It’s so hard to figure out