She pulled back from the embrace. “I’m fine. Just ran into some trouble.”
“At the Sacred Sword?” Anger threaded Corwin’s voice, a muscle ticking in his jaw.
Refusing to feel guilty, she said, “What are you doing out here, anyway?”
“I came to find you. When I saw you weren’t in your rooms, I knew you were up to something foolish.”
“It would be best to get her home quickly, your highness,” Raith broke in as Kate started to argue. “Before any more trouble finds us.”
“Yes, you’re right.” Corwin stooped as if to pick her up, but Kate stumbled back from him.
“What are you doing? I don’t need you to carry me.”
Jamming his hands on his hips, he muttered, “You are such a mule. Fine, get on the horse then.” Corwin turned to Raith. “Thank you for helping her.”
I helped myself, Kate almost pointed out but held back. She didn’t want to answer any questions about what had really happened. Hiding a wince at her still-aching leg, she mounted Nightbringer.
Raith bowed his head. “Get her back to the castle safely, your highness. I will stop in to give you my report on the drakes tomorrow. I only just returned to the city this evening.”
Corwin nodded absentmindedly, then turned and mounted Nightbringer behind Kate. His hands slid around her waist, and he pulled her back against his chest. She resisted a moment, then sank into his warmth and the firm support of his body against hers. They rode back to the castle without speaking.
When they entered the bailey, Corwin slid from the saddle, then helped her down next to him. He handed Nightbringer off to a groom and started to lead her into the castle.
She pulled out of his grip. “I can see myself from here.”
“No, Kate. I’m going to get you safely to your room and make damn sure you really are all right and not just being stubborn.”
Too tired for the battle it would take to change his mind, Kate pressed her lips shut and allowed him to walk beside her back to her quarters. At least once they were inside, he didn’t argue when she went to her bedroom to change.
Leaving the ruined clothes piled in a corner, Kate unwound the cloth she’d wrapped around her breasts to flatten them and slipped into a clean shift. She pulled on a robe over it, barely feeling the press of her moonbelt against her hips as she tied the cord. She’d been wearing it so long, she hardly noticed it anymore.
When she returned to the front room, Corwin took her hand and guided her to the nearest sofa, pushing her down into it.
He knelt in front of her, concern furrowing his brow. “Do you need a healer? Where are you hurt?”
Kate shook her head, slumping back onto the chair. “I told you, I’m fine. Master Raith saw to it with a healing stone.”
“You needed a healing stone?” Corwin’s fingers curled into fists. “How badly were you hurt? Never mind. Do you know who attacked you? I’m going to hunt them down and kill them.”
“No you aren’t,” Kate said with a sigh.
Corwin stood and started to pace. “Why did you go without me? Without anyone? I warned you, Kate. Why do you always have to be so reckless?”
Her temper sparked. “It wasn’t reckless. I was disguised and careful. Things just went wrong. And I didn’t take you for the same reason I said before. No one will tell secrets to the high prince of Rime.”
“Oh yes, and they told you so much that they had to beat you black and blue.”
With a disgusted noise, Kate stood and stepped away from Corwin; otherwise, she might have hit him. She paced around the room, anger driving off the fatigue. Only—it wasn’t truly anger she was feeling, but lingering fear—the terrible sensation of being unable to escape those men who meant her harm, combined with the way she’d used her magic to drive them off. Influence over minds—all minds, not just animals.
Curious despite her doubt, she reached for her magic, wondering if it would work again, but it lay dormant inside her, as inaccessible as it always was during the night. Questions rose up in her mind, and she forced them away. She wouldn’t find any answers here.
“I’m sorry, Kate,” Corwin said from across the room. “That was uncalled for.”
She faced him to see the sincerity of his apology in his expression. The color was fading from his cheeks, and a strange look had risen in his eyes.
“I know how important it is for you to learn the truth about your father, and I’ve done little enough to help,” he continued. “Did you discover anything?”
Kate stared at him, taken off guard by the sudden shift in his attitude, yet another sign of how much he’d changed and grown. The old Corwin would never have let go of his possessive anger so easily.
“No,” she finally answered, remembering Anise’s warning. “You were right. They didn’t want to talk to me.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, her own temper slipping away. “And don’t apologize. I know things have been difficult for you with the uror and the daydrakes. My father’s secrets are my concern.”
A tentative smile passed across Corwin’s face. “May I make a confession then, a terrible, selfish one that you might not want to hear?”
The air seemed to thicken around them, surging with an unknown energy. Her heart quickened for no reason she could name other than the hungry, desperate way he was looking at her now. She recognized that look. It used to appear just before he kissed her. The idea that he might do so now sent tingles up her arms.
“What is it?” she said, barely able to get out the words.
Corwin took a step toward her. First one, then two, until he was standing close enough that she could feel the heat of his body. “A part of me is glad you didn’t learn anything . . . because . . . I know that once you’ve learned the truth, that’ll be one less thing keeping you in Norgard.”
Kate looked up at him, confused.
“And I don’t want you to leave again.” He held her gaze, unflinching. There was a nakedness in his expression, his feelings bared for her to see—tenderness and doubt and desire.
A torrent of emotions surged through Kate in answer. The charge in the air between them increased, the sensation both terrifying and thrilling at once. She took a step closer to him. Corwin’s hands rose to her face, tilting her head toward his. Then he brought his lips down on hers.
Heat exploded in her chest, traveled down into her belly, then farther still. She kissed him back, her lips opening to his while his tongue plunged into her mouth. She remembered his kisses from before, hesitant and soft. This was nothing like it. Those early ones had been a gentle rain. This was a storm, and she was caught in it. Kate closed her eyes in the onslaught of sensations pulsing through her body. She didn’t feel the lingering ache of her injuries anymore, only the sweet, shivering tingles of his touch. She wanted this.
Sweet goddess, how much I want this.
She gripped his shoulders, and his hands left her face to hold her waist instead. When his fingers brushed against the moonbelt, his breath hitched, and he pulled her forward, crushing her body against his. Corwin lifted his mouth off hers to leave a trail of kisses over her cheek and down her neck. She shuddered, her body flinching at the torturous pleasure. She put a hand against his chest, feeling the corded muscle there as her fingers drifted lower, eager to explore him.
Corwin untied her robe to cup her breasts, loose in the shift. Kate moaned at the touch, and he captured the sound with his mouth. Then he bent down just enough to hoist her into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist. His hands gripped her thighs as he headed down the hall to her room and lowered her onto the bed.
Corwin kissed her again, longer and slower this time, savoring the taste. Then he moved on top of her, his weight pressing her into the mattress. Kate tried to draw a full breath but couldn’t. She tried again, and this time a hint of panic rose up in her, bringing her back to her senses.