IT TOOK LESS than an hour for them to get back to the road and the caravan. Casseck had returned from his patrol and now glared at Ash, who met his gaze without blinking. They eyed each other from several yards apart while Sage watched from her seat on Shadow, feeling uncomfortable. Finally, Casseck rode forward and past Ash to address her.
“My lady,” he said. “Please don’t go off like that again. Carter is so cavalier about his own safety, he neglects that of others. Captain Quinn would never forgive himself if something happened to you.”
Ash kicked his horse and trotted back to speak with Quinn.
“I’m sorry,” Sage said. “I didn’t realize it was dangerous.” She looked up at Casseck with feigned innocence. “Maybe if you told me more about our situation, I could act with prudence. Sir.”
Casseck closed his eyes briefly, like he was praying for patience. “Mistress Sage, riding in the woods isn’t helpful to us. You should observe the places we can’t patrol.”
“What, like banquets and dances and wedding plans?” she said sarcastically.
He looked at her steadily. “Yes.”
She wrinkled her brow. “How could that be helpful?”
“Not all battles are fought in the field, my lady. Duke D’Amiran is an ambitious man, and tongues are looser around wine and pretty ladies.”
“You called me Sage. You already know I’m not a lady,” she accused him. Dammit, Ash, do you have to tell them everything?
Casseck smiled a little. “Then we’re lucky you can play both. Servants like to talk, too.” He dipped his head and urged his horse forward and away.
Ash rejoined her after reporting to the captain, but she didn’t feel like talking. He didn’t force conversation, though she felt him watching her sideways. As they neared their next stop, they came over a rise, and he pointed out the mountain peaks now visible on the eastern horizon. He knew she’d looked forward to seeing them for days, but she barely acknowledged the sight. When they rode into the estate, he stayed near her as they dismounted and walked to the stables.
“I would never put you in danger, Sage,” he said quietly as he helped her take down her saddle.
She glanced up. There was a worry crease between his dark brows. “I know.”
“What did Casseck say to you? You’ve barely spoken since we came back.” He settled the saddle on a rail and took his mare’s lead to pull her around behind Sage.
She turned around from brushing Shadow. Her eyes swept over their surroundings, but no one paid them any mind as they went about tending their own mounts. “Lieutenant Casseck asked me to keep my eyes and ears open when we get to Tegann. He said the duke is ambitious.”
Ash scowled. “For someone so angry about the nondanger I put you in today, Casseck is quick to put you in harm’s way himself.”
“But if we’re already in danger,” she whispered, “what difference does it make? Especially if I can help?”
He stepped closer, forcing her to tilt her head higher to see his now-anxious expression. “I just … I got you into this. He should butt out.”
Ash looked down on her as he had the night she confessed her name, like she was the only thing in the world—except this time there was no tray between them. Sage found her eyes drawn to his mouth, to the three short whiskers near the corner he must have missed in shaving this morning. She pulled her lips in to wet them with her tongue, anticipating … something.
Without warning Shadow stepped sideways, roughly knocking her against him. Ash caught her in his arms and looked up behind her, annoyance on his face. The top of Captain Quinn’s dark head appeared over the horse’s back. “Sorry about that, Carter,” he said. “My sword clipped her accidentally.”
“No harm, sir.” Ash set Sage back on her feet, withdrawing his support as soon as she was upright, touching her as little as possible.
Straightening her like a vase on a shelf.
Face burning, she grabbed Shadow’s reins and fled.
40
CAPTAIN HUZAR REGARDED Duke D’Amiran with a stony expression, his back to the fireplace of the Great Hall. His forearms flexed, and the duke noticed how the inked designs flowed into one another when Huzar’s arms were crossed as they were now. He considered tattoos vulgar, but these had a sort of scrolling poetry to them.
“My sources say our men are sent through the south pass with no prince,” Huzar said. “Why is this?”
The duke smothered a grimace. He’d have to find these spies and eliminate them. Or employ them himself—they were incredibly swift. With a cheerful smile, he gestured for the Kimisar soldier to join him at the table, which was laid with enough food for ten men, though he dined alone. “You should eat something, my friend. I know you’re hungry, waiting out there.”
Huzar ignored the invitation. “I will eat when my people can eat.”
D’Amiran sat back in his ornate wooden chair and wiped his fingers on a linen napkin. “The truth of the matter is, I’ve discovered Prince Robert is on his way here, with the escort.”
“And you did not tell us.”
“I’m telling you now. I didn’t want you inspired to take him sooner than we’d planned.” He sipped his wine without taking his eyes off Huzar.
“Why should we not take him? He is the goal. The earlier the better.”
“Earlier is not better—it could ruin everything. Nothing has changed other than the time he’s in our grasp, and it’s an advantageous change.” He set the goblet on the table. “I instructed my brother to have your men create as much havoc as they like on the eastern side of the mountains. They may keep anything they manage to carry back across the pass here—it’s of no concern to me.”
Huzar’s face relaxed slightly, but he said nothing.
“The prince and the others will be here in two days. If your men have done their job—”
“They have,” Huzar interrupted.
“—then there’s nothing to be troubled over.” D’Amiran clenched his jaw. “We’ll hold the prince and signal when we’re ready to give him to you. In the meantime, you shouldn’t come here again until we call for you.”
A servant set a large, steaming dish of sliced beef on the table. Huzar’s stomach growled audibly. “I do not like the calendar. Why do you wait so many days before acting?”
D’Amiran leaned forward and scooped a pile of the meat onto a serving fork, dripping bloody juice across the table as he brought it to his plate. “Patience, my friend. Moving against the crown is no small matter. I must prove to my allies I have the ability to win, and I must know where the Demoran army is before I march.” He stabbed the serving fork into the meat and left it upright. “Consider this: we could’ve slaughtered this cow months earlier, but we would’ve had much less to eat. Waiting until the time was right allows us to feed many more.”
Huzar stared at the food. “More meat is no good if many starve waiting for it.”
“Consider also that starving in solidarity does not help you perform your tasks.” The duke put a forkful in his mouth and chewed deliberately.
The Kimisar captain swallowed. “Your points are taken. We shall wait. For now.”