So I Married a Sorcerer (The Embraced #2)

He stiffened with a jerk. Holy crap. He loved her.

All the yearning he’d been feeling for her, all the joy he felt in her presence, all the desperation to protect her—it should have been obvious to him days ago.

He loved her.

With a groan, he lowered his head. Loving her just made all of this worse. She believed he was an honorable man, but in all likelihood he would be forced to kill a dragon. When the captain and the general tried to ambush him, he would have to kill again. And then when he returned to Tourin, he would have to murder Gunther. Hell, he would have to kill everyone who stood in his way of taking the throne.

Holy crap. For years, avenging his father had seemed like a noble quest, but now … he wasn’t sure what to do. If he murdered his way to the throne, then he was no better than Garold—who had destroyed his family.

And Brigitta was here in the valley. How could he be this person in front of her?

Dammit, she had to leave. If he didn’t lose her to the dangers surrounding them, he might still lose her love and respect when he was forced to kill.

He trudged back to the clearing he’d found earlier with Brody. Even though it was high on the mountainside, there was a small triangular-shaped area that was flat enough to make camp. Surrounded on two sides by a high ridge, it was protected from the cold winds. Three feet of snow sat on top of the ridge, and a steady stream of snowmelt had carved a small basin in a granite slab on the ground. At the apex of the triangular clearing, a narrow cave had formed in the ridge. Inside the cave, more snowmelt had seeped through cracks in the roof to form another basin of water about waist-high.

Brigitta might be safe if she remained hidden in the cave. His nerves tensed once again. But it would be better if she left. He had to convince her to leave.

He stiffened as he heard them approaching. So Brody hadn’t succeeded in chasing them off. Instead, he was leading them straight to the camp.

“Here we are,” Brody announced as he led their horses into the clearing.

Rupert’s heart twisted at the sight of Brigitta smiling at him. Dammit. He glared at Brody. “You were supposed to make sure they left.”

Brody shrugged. “We didn’t want to.”

Rupert clenched his fists, and a wind whistled through the trees.

Stefan glanced up at the swaying branches. “Is that you being pissed?”

“Shouldn’t I be?” Rupert gritted his teeth. “I gave you orders to leave!”

Stefan dismounted. “I’ve been watching your back for nineteen years. I’m not giving up now.” He walked over to Brigitta’s horse to help her down.

“Don’t,” Rupert growled. “Take her back now. You should be able to reach the border by sunset.”

Brigitta slid off her horse. “I’m not leaving.”

More rage seeped out and the trees thrashed overhead. “What kind of future wife refuses to obey her husband?”

Her eyes widened, then she marched up to him. “What kind of future husband thinks he can order his wife around?”

Rupert glowered at her as she glared back.

Stefan cleared his throat. “We’ll just … uh, make camp over there.” He led the horses into the clearing.

“You’re not staying!” Rupert yelled at his old friend.

“We are,” Brigitta answered. “And you should be grateful for our help.”

“Do you expect me to be comforted by the fact you’re endangering yourself?” Rupert asked through gritted teeth. “The terrain here is dangerous. And there are wild animals and dragons—”

“I know.” She lifted her chin. “I’ve already encountered them.”

“What?”

She smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m perfectly fine.”

He growled in frustration, then glared at Stefan and Brody, who were unloading saddlebags. “You’re going to let her endanger herself?”

“We’re staying out of this,” Stefan mumbled.

Brigitta planted her hands on her hips. “I’m here to help. And if you weren’t so busy being a grouchy ingrate, you would—”

“Grouchy?” He stepped closer. “Do you know what I’ve been through the last few days?”

“Yes! I was there. And it nearly killed me to see you risking your life over and over while I could only sit there, doing nothing!” Tears glimmered in her eyes. “You have proven yourself to be the brave and fearless hero. Now I need the chance to prove myself.”

He swallowed hard. Did she really think he was fearless? Holy Light, he was terrified. If something happened to her … he pointed at the cave, ready to order her to go inside and stay put until it was safe. But even though he jabbed his finger at the cave, he couldn’t make the words come out.

With a growl of frustration, he marched off. He headed back up to the cliff where he could check on the captain and general.

Hunching behind a rock, he spotted them on the northern slope of the valley, slowly ascending to a ridged cliff that would take them to the end of the valley where it narrowed into a gorge. He’d already investigated the gorge. The north and south sides were close enough to shoot arrows across. If he hid behind some rocks on the south side, he might be able to pick one of them off.

With a groan, he sat on the ground and rested his back against a boulder.

“We have a fire going,” Brody announced as he joined him on the cliff. “Dinner will be ready soon.”

Rupert sighed. He doubted Brigitta even wanted to see him now. “Why did you bring her here?”

“She can be very insistent. And—” Brody sat beside him. “I caught the scent of the Chameleon at the camp.”

“What? You mean he followed us?”

“I think he’s masquerading as one of Gunther’s soldiers, but I haven’t located him. If I can smell him, he can probably smell me. So he’s staying away from me.”

Rupert frowned. “Do you think he plans to kill Gunther and take his place?”

“Perhaps. One thing is for sure. He’s up to something bad. So I thought Brigitta might actually be safer with us.” Brody peered around a boulder to look at the captain and general. “I don’t think they know we’re here, so we should be fine for the night.”

Rupert sighed.

Brody gave him an amused look. “You’re thoroughly smitten, aren’t you?”

“Sod off.”

Brody chuckled as he rested against a boulder.

With a groan, Rupert leaned forward, cradling his head with his hands. After a while, he muttered, “I don’t know what to do.”

“If you don’t want to kill a dragon, then don’t,” Brody said quietly. “One of them saved Brigitta earlier from a bear.”

He lifted his head. “Really?”

Brody nodded.

Rupert frowned. “I don’t want to be a king who has murdered his way to the throne. And I don’t want to start a war with the Norveshki by attacking one of their dragons.”

Brody was silent for a while, then said, “We might need Brigitta. She can speak Norveshki.”

That would definitely come in handy if the Norveshki captured them. “Even if I solve the dragon problem, I still have the problem of the two bastards over there.” Rupert motioned to the northern ridge. “At some point, they’ll try to kill me.”