That was when true rationality came back into his gaze. As he straightened from the other man’s prone figure, she loosened her hold. Then rough hands grabbed her by the back of the neck and twisted one arm behind her back.
With a snarl, Wulf rounded on the guard who had grabbed her. “Back off! She wasn’t attacking me.”
Instantly the guard let her go and stammered an apology while others swarmed the manservant. Dangerous, violent psyches buffeted her, along with blasts of severe cold mingling with the heat in the tent. Gordon stormed in, along with Jermaine. They all wanted to fight, but the fight was already over.
Wulf became the calm, cold eye of the storm. The savage killer eased back, and the commander took his place. He rapped out orders, and the manservant was taken away. She shuddered to think of what the rest of that man’s life would be like.
It could have gone quickly except she had stopped it. Quick would have been a mercy.
Moving to the edge of the tent, she watched until, suddenly, Wulf appeared in front of her. Someone had tied a piece of cloth around his cut hand.
He gripped her by the upper arms. Urgently he said, “Tell me where you’re hurt.”
“What? No, I’m not hurt.” She blinked at him.
She would have some hefty bruises where they had trampled her before she managed to scramble out of the way, and her ribs ached like a son of a bitch where one of the planks from the tabletop had struck, but that was all. She had done worse damage to herself when she had fallen out of trees as a child.
He moved in close enough his torso brushed against hers. She could feel the heat pouring off him. Despite the crowded tent, she felt so immersed in his presence it was almost as if they were alone.
He ran his fingers over her front, and stroked her cheek. His fingers came away smeared with blood. “You’re bleeding somewhere.”
She looked down at the crimson splotches on the white cotton material of her shirt, then up into his tight expression and smiled. “That’s your blood, not mine. You were flinging it everywhere while you fought.”
He gripped her at the juncture where her neck met her shoulder. The firm, heavy weight of his hand pressing down on her made her realize she was shaking. “Don’t ever jump into the middle of a fight like that again.”
“Well, somebody had to stop you.” She rubbed her forehead. “You don’t know if he’s the only one in your camp.”
“You could have been injured badly, or even killed.” His hard gaze bored into hers.
Were they arguing? She couldn’t tell. It had been a hell of a day, she was tired, and the energy that terror had lent to her had begun to drain away. “But I wasn’t.”
Then his warm baritone sounded in her head. My doctor captured a few drops of wine from the jug. The amount of nightshade in it went far beyond what might have caused the dysentery in my troops. He said a couple of sips would have proved fatal. You saved my life.
He had switched to telepathy, so she did too. I guess I did.
She hadn’t considered that. As soon as she’d realized the wine had been poisoned, she had reacted. If she had been a calculating person, she could have sat back and watched him drink from his goblet, and then the pesky issue of what to do about the Wolf of Braugne would have vanished.
The role she had played in determining the fate of the poisoner troubled her, but just contemplating the possibility of Wulf’s death made her feel physically ill.
And that was extremely disconcerting, to say the least.
He stroked his thumb along her skin, the caress hidden from sight by the fall of her hair. Thank you.
Unable to speak, she nodded.
Jermaine appeared at Wulfgar’s elbow, his hard expression completely unlike the pleasant man who had helped her on and off the barge. “We’re ready.”
“Good.” Wulfgar’s voice turned brisk, although he was slow to release her. “We need to know if he was working with anyone else in the camp and, if so, who they are. I also want to know what caused him to turn traitor. Was he offered money, or did Varian’s spies hold something over his head? And when he realized he’d been caught, he didn’t attack me—he went for Lily. I want to know if there was a reason for that, and if she might still be in danger.”
At that, Lily’s breath caught in her throat and she froze, just like a rabbit being hunted by hounds.
As if not moving would do her any good.
Jermaine paused to consider her. “I’ll be sure to ask him, but if it came down to a fight between you, he was laughably outmatched. He had to know he couldn’t win. He might have hoped to use her as a hostage, because once he’d been caught that was the only way he was going to get out of this alive.”
Wulfgar’s expression settled into grim lines. “Perhaps that’s it, but if something happens to the priestess entrusted to my care, we can kiss any hope of collaboration with the abbey goodbye. We need to be sure.” He raised his voice. “Gordon!”
As if by magic, Gordon appeared instantly. “Sir.”
“Settle Lily in your quarters and get her some supper. And double the guard outside.” Abruptly, he swiveled back to her. “I just disposed of you as though you were a trunk full of books.”
It wasn’t an apology, but at least it was an acknowledgment. Foolishly, she wanted to smile at him, but she stomped on the impulse. Her impulses and emotions were exasperating, confusing, totally out of control.
She said, “You have a lot going on.”
“Yes, and I may be tearing apart the entire encampment before morning to make sure we’ve rooted out any further attempts at poisoning.” He frowned. “There’s a lot to do tomorrow as well. Try to get some rest.”
Impulsively, she touched the back of his hand before she could stop herself. “Don’t concern yourself with me. I will be perfectly fine. Good night, Commander.”
His frown deepened, and he looked as if he might call her to task for calling him that, but one of his guards called for his attention. So after giving her a short nod, he strode out, Jermaine at his heels.
When he left, he took all the remaining warmth with him. Shivering, she tied the fastenings of her jacket together.
Gordon swept off his cloak and settled it across her shoulders. She raised her eyebrows as warmth enfolded her. “That’s very considerate. I received the impression you didn’t care for me.”
As usual, she had blurted out what she was thinking before considering her words, but he didn’t appear to take offense. Meeting her gaze, he said, “You saved my commander’s life. I don’t hate you.”
He spoke the truth. As she glanced at his psyche, the enmity from earlier was gone. “Still, you need your cloak, and mine has got to be around somewhere.”
“I already located it, and it’s not fit to use. It’s been splashed with the poisoned wine and trampled underfoot. Come.”