“I find your reasoning sound, kerima. ” He actually looked pleased that he could say that, which Tedra didn’t appreciate one bit. “Thus you need not declare your intent to challenge beforehand, if such is your intent.” He leaned down then to give her a short, sweet kiss before adding, “It is my hope you will find no reason to challenge me again.”

“You keep that up and I certainly won’t.”

They grinned at each other before he sat up again. She hated to see him go, especially when she had confinement in this room stretching out before her for the whole day.

She caught his hand when he started to get up. “You’ve been full of surprises this morning. And as long as I’m being surprised, I believe there was mention last night of a gift you had for me?”

“Indeed,” he said, and hauled her across the bed until she was sitting beside him. “Dress yourself and I will take you to it.”

“Dress myself, as in putting clothes on?”

Both of those golden brows shot up. “You find the suggestion unreasonable?”

“Sure it’s reasonable. I’m all for it. But I’m not setting myself up for further punishment just because you seem to be forgetting that already given.”

If she was annoyed at his obtuseness, he was fast catching up. “Woman, explain,” he demanded curtly.

“Explain what? I was only reminding you of the rest of my punishment. No clothes, remember? For the full duration of my confinement here?”

She expected him to look shamefaced at forgetting, not sigh and shake his head. “I begin to see you were not deliberately flaunting your body before me last darkness.”

“Flaunting?” she gasped indignantly, but ended snorting, “As if I would.”

“No, I see now that you would not be so brazen, though a warrior could wish it were otherwise.”

“Challen…”

“I do but tease you, kerima, which I will not apologize for. But for the rest, in truth, I remember not the giving of additional punishment, nor was such called for. I have admitted what was done was overdone, thus would further punishment make it more so. You will ignore those additions and accept my apology that they were given.”

“I’ll ignore them, but accepting your apology should be mine to do.”

“As giving my word last darkness was mine to give?” he reminded her.

“Quits!” she cried quickly. She could debate commands later, when those she had given him weren’t so fresh in his mind. “Let’s bury this one and plant a tree on it, okay? Apology accepted as ordered. Now what was that about taking me to my gift?”

He chuckled even as he dragged her onto his lap, holding her loosely, but only for the moment. “You have sat too long beside me, kerima. The sight of you in your brazen nakedness has decided the matter. The showing of your gift will have to wait until other matters are seen to.”

“Such as?” As if she didn’t know.

He didn’t answer. He demonstrated instead.

Chapter Thirty-three

Tedra was still smiling over the barbarian’s bemusement as he escorted her down the wide hallway. She’d decided to wear her kystrals with a white chauri today, after Challen informed her they would take food with the rest of the castlefolk this morning. He’d given her enough clues, without actually admitting it, that he wanted her to make friends in his household. The warrior was looking at the long term, while she was still working on the temporary-which included not getting involved with the Sha-Ka’ani. She’d already made one colossal mistake in that area. It’d be foolish to make any more. But when the master spoke, the challenge loser had to obey.

So putting on her kystrals was for morale. But having them change color in front of Challen was “getting even” for this latest high-handedness she was annoyed with. And she was quite satisfied by his reaction.

His expression, watching the clear red rocks transform into a brilliant aquamarine, was truly comical. He simply didn’t know how it was done, but he was determined to find out. He’d taken the necklace off her without asking, without even sparing her a glance, and proceeded to examine each and every kystral. He spent a good long while doing it, too, but couldn’t find a single mechanism or device for operating them.

“How did you do it?” he finally demanded of her.

“Where were your ears, babe? Didn’t you hear me request the color to change?”

“The necklace is a computer, then, like your Martha, progalled to do as you say?”

“That’s programmed. ” She grinned, assuming she must have mentioned the word to him at some time or other. “And no, it’s not a computer, or any other type of machine that you can turn off or on. Kystrals will change color for you because they know they’re beautiful and they love to show off. They’re alive, sweetcakes.”

His expression said, “Sure they are.” But he wasn’t going to call her any more of a liar than that look did, nor was he going to ask again how the color changing worked. Yet he really wanted to know, was really fascinated, and holding that curiosity in check was amusing to watch. She might try again later to convince him that she’d told it the way it was, but right now she let it pass into the realm of tall-Kystrani-tales-not-to-be-discused.

They hadn’t walked all that far from Challen’s room when he stopped before a door that was only a mere eight feet in height, which was small as barbarian doors went around here. This he indicated she should open herself, which she did, finding she didn’t have to shove against the wood to accomplish it. Inside, there was the familiar blue carpeting of the castle, the usual white walls with their gaali stone ledges. That was where familiar ended.

It was the smallest room she had yet seen in the castle, no more than a quarter the size of Challen’s chamber. Of course, that still made it a pretty large room by Kystrani standards. The soft carpeting ran from wall to wall. There were several couches in muted lavender that actually had backs on them. And there were chairs, also with backs, and looking really comfortable with thick padding.

In a corner stood something that could have passed for a musical instrument, though Tedra had never seen the like. The recently absent fembair, Sharm, lay stretched out on the floor in front of one of the couches. She was surprised to see him, but more surprised by the miniature copy of him curled up asleep on the end of the couch above him. In another corner was an apparatus like what she had seen in the women’s gathering room, which Jalla had called a cloth maker.

There were shelves on one wall filled with vases in varying sizes and shapes, a few appearing to be made of gold. On the floor beneath them was a long chest, left open, and stuffed with the materials to make flowers for those vases: colored stones, colored metals, colored jewels. There were more jewels in another smaller chest, with silver and gold mountings and chains, and the tools necessary to create jewelry. In still another chest were small bottles and vials, some filled, some empty, and it didn’t take much to assume everything was there for the making of perfumes.

“It’s a hobby room, right?” Tedra guessed as she finished with her examination of the last chest. “The only things lacking are a computer terminal and a collection of Ancients’ tapes, since history is my hobby.”

“Perhaps you can find another to amuse you, since the room is now yours.”

“Mine?”

“A place where you may come to be alone or not, as you like. You may also make use of what is here for the occupying of your time. Did you not tell me once that a place of privacy was important to you?”

“Yes.” She was surprised he remembered that, but more surprised by his thoughtfulness. “It’s a wonderful gift, Challen. And I’d been wondering what I was going to do to keep from going nuts without my work to keep me busy. But I have to tell you, I’ve never in my life made anything with my own hands. I wouldn’t even know how.”