CHAPTER 41
As soon as we cleared the castle doors, a boy ran up to us. “Which carriage?”
“The Magnars’,” I told him.
The boy took off down the wide staircase. My cousin and my brother tore down the stairs after him at top speed, pulling me with them.
“Stop or I’ll break my neck!”
The two of them let go of me. I picked up my skirt, gripped Rumian’s arm, and continued down the stairs. We conquered the stairs. Our carriage pulled up, Will and Lute looking like they were ready to fight.
Solentine jerked the door of the carriage open and saw Erodel. And then there was a dagger at Erodel’s neck.
“No!” I grabbed Solentine’s forearm. “He’s with me.”
Solentine slid the dagger back into his doublet and half shoved, half helped me into the carriage.
“I’ll go with her!” Rumian announced. “In case something happens.”
“Thank you, but no.” I blocked the door. “Arvel won’t do anything to me. He knows where I live, so he doesn’t have to rush. But he might pick a fight with Solentine.”
“Why do I never get to do anything exciting?” Rumian demanded.
“Now isn’t the time,” Solentine snapped.
Rumian sighed. “I suppose I will stay and help defend the family name.”
And he would defend it well. Rumian was the fastest blade in Rellas. Faster than his father or Solentine.
“If you could manage,” Solentine squeezed out. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”
They should take their show on the road and charge admission.
Solentine slapped the carriage door shut. “Ride like dursans are chasing you! Don’t stop for anything. If you see Defender colors, ride harder.”
Will barked a harsh command, the carriage jerked, and we sped down the King’s Way.
“What’s going on, my lady?” Erodel asked.
The carriage clattered down the cobblestones at full speed, jerking us to and fro. I needed to invent some seatbelts.
“Why are we riding so fast?”
“Lord Arvel has taken a liking to me,” I said. “My brother and my cousin are afraid he might chase us down with the Defender Knights and try to retrieve me.”
“Lord Doran Arvel? Commander of the Defender Knights?”
“Yeah. Huge, blond, blue eyes. That one.”
Erodel opened his mouth, closed it, then opened his mouth again. “Should it come to that, I will do my duty as your escort, my lady.”
“It absolutely won’t come to that.”
We took a turn at hair-raising speed. If I were an egg, by the time we arrived home, I would be an omelet.
“This is ridiculous. I’m allowed to leave the dance. Arvel isn’t going to ride after us. He knows where I live, so he’ll come to see me at his convenience and probably expect tea and snacks. Nobody will be chasing us.”
The sound of hoofbeats thundered all around us. Erodel jerked the curtain on the window aside.
“We’re being chased.”
Oh for the love of . . . “Is it the Defenders?”
Erodel turned a shade paler. “It’s worse. It’s the Sleepless Duke.”
I pulled the curtain aside. Selvan knights in black and green surrounded the carriage. Directly in front of me, Everard rode atop Villain, black smoke pouring off him like a royal mantle.
That colossal jerk. Of all the ridiculous things he could’ve done . . . Argh.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” I yelled at him.
No answer. Just smoke and green eyes.
“Get back into the carriage, my lady!” Erodel pulled me away from the window.
I sat back down. Erodel unsheathed his sword, put it across his lap, and adjusted the glove on his right hand.
“No need to worry. It’s just Everard.” I pounded on the carriage wall. “Will! Slow down!”
The carriage slowed. Erodel looked like he was ready to storm a castle.
“It will be fine,” I assured him. “I promise.”
The carriage rolled to a stop. The door swung open, and Everard loomed in my view, his eyes green and bright. His gaze slid over Erodel. “Out!”
Erodel gripped his sword and put himself between me and Everard. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Don’t hurt him,” I told Everard. “He’s my ranowen. There is no need for violence. Erodel, His Grace is my childhood friend. I will be perfectly safe in his presence.”
“Are you sure, my lady?”
“Yes. Thank you for your services and the pleasure of your company. Your courage and expertise are unmatched. I couldn’t have wished for a better companion.”
Everard took a step aside.
Erodel gave him a wary look.
“Thank you again for everything,” I told him. “I’m safe. I promise.”
“It was a pleasure, my lady.”
He exited the carriage. Everard climbed in and slammed the door shut.
“Have you lost your mind?” I demanded. “This isn’t Wilkair! You can’t just leave the joedurar and ride like a wild man across the city. Not only that but you’ve endangered—”
He wrapped his arms around me and crushed me to him.
“Ramond . . .”
He kissed me.
My heart fluttered in my chest. I was suddenly flying, exhilarated and terrified at the same time, and I didn’t know how to stop.
It was possessive and intense and unbelievably, searingly hot. He kissed me like I belonged to him, and he couldn’t get enough. Like he would kill anyone who dared to interrupt.
His tongue slid between my lips and touched mine, stroking, tasting .
. . This wasn’t a kiss, this was sex. He was making love to my mouth, and I took him in like I needed him to live.
The heat of him, the scent of him, the heady taste, the feel of those powerful arms embracing me, it was too much.
He destroyed me. I forgot where I was. There was no thinking anymore, no fear, no doubt, only the irresistible need in my body and the fireworks in my soul.
He broke the kiss. I was breathless. My head spun.
He looked at me with those wicked green eyes. If he kissed me again, I would strip him naked in this damn carriage.
He pushed the door open, took my hand, and pulled me out onto the street. We were in front of our house. He led me through the tunnel. Some part of my brain registered the familiar faces—Clover, the Magnars . . . Behind us, Everard’s knights loomed.
“She does not leave this house,” Everard ordered in his Sleepless Duke voice. “Nobody comes in, nobody goes out.”
Reality slammed into me. My brain restarted in a cold rush.
“I don’t think so,” I said.
He turned to me.
“Last I checked, I was a free woman. I will go out whenever I want.”
Everard looked at Clover. “Take your lady to her rooms.”
She bit her lip but didn’t move.
“Did you not hear me, Clover?” Everard asked.
“Do not take a step,” I told her.
Will and Lute moved to flank Clover.
“What the fuck are you two doing?” Gort growled.
Will ignored him. “My lady made her wishes known, Your Grace.”
Lute put his hand on his sword.
“You seem to think that you can order my people around,” I said. “You’ve forgotten where you are. This is not Selva.”
Behind us two of Everard’s knights walked through the tunnel.
“Maggie,” he started, a warning in his voice.
“Lady Demarr. This is not your house, Your Grace. We are not your people. Do not presume that you have any power here.”
Black smoke slithered from him across the courtyard, writhing like a living thing.
“I guess Solentine was right,” I said. “No man wants Arvel as a rival.”
His voice was cold enough to freeze blood in your veins. “I’m at the very limit of my patience.”
“You saw me dance with Arvel, realized that your pet secret weapon might be slipping through your fingers, and dramatically rushed over here to make sure I was secure under house arrest and pull me back in line. The kiss was pretty good, I will give you that. Omelyana is a lucky woman.”
“Maggie!”
“Lady Demarr!” I bit back. “Did you think that if you kissed me, I would be so overcome that my brain would turn off and I would meekly obey you without question on the off chance you might condescend to climb into my bed?”
Behind Everard, one of his knights winced. The other just stared, motionless like a statue.
“I don’t care that you danced with him!” Black smoke boiled out of Everard.
“You were hidden and safe. Arvel dragged you out into that nest of vipers and made sure that every single one of them noticed you! If any of them find out what you’re capable of, they will crush every bone in your body for a crumb of the knowledge hidden in your head. ”
“But they don’t know what I’m capable of, and instead of helping me fade into obscurity, you added to the spectacle by dropping everything and thundering through the streets to escort my carriage!
You know Sauven watches you like a hawk.
Everyone you interact with becomes suspect in his eyes. What were you thinking?”
“I kept you safe!” he snarled. “Arvel thinks laws don’t apply to him. He’s trained in defensive warfare, he plans and lays traps, and when they fail, he takes what he wants by force.”
“And yet neither he nor his knights are here, are they? The only one here trying to force me is you.”
His eyes were two green points of light. “I don’t have to force you. You’re already mine.”
Okay, that was it. That was the last fucking straw.
“I wish you would stop with this shit. For two and a half weeks I lived on pins and needles, wondering if you were poisoned and dying. Ramond, you didn’t even bother to let me know you were alive.
If I hadn’t gone to the joedurar, I still wouldn’t know if you’d survived.
It didn’t cross your mind, because to you I’m a tool, and tools do not warrant that kind of consideration.
They are supposed to stay at home, nice and neat, waiting quietly until you need to use them.
So please, for the love of the Aspects, stop and be honest.”
You broke my heart. Own up to it.
The whole courtyard was filled with his smoke now.
We were ankle deep in it. It churned and roiled, sparking with green when it collided with itself.
Magic saturated the air, so thick and potent, it sizzled on my skin.
At this rate, he would wake up Isadau and adding her to this mix would only make things worse.
A third Selvan knight ran into the courtyard. “My lord, our absence was noticed. Crown Prince Kiel is on his way to Razmur. He’s accompanied by Silveren and the Redeemers—”
I faced Everard. “Answer me one thing: If I hadn’t danced with Arvel at the joedurar, would you be here right now?”
“My lord,” the knight called, his voice tight with urgency. “We must—”
Everard raised his hand and the knight fell silent.
Everard looked at me. “I want to be with you and just you. If you never told me another secret again, I would still want you. Nobody can take you away from me. Not Arvel, not Sauven, not the Archmage, not the entirety of the Crimson Empire. The only person who can come between us is you. And I promise you, from this point on, I will bring the full power of everything I am to win you over. You will put your hand in mine, Maggie, and you will do it gladly.”
When hell froze over. “Leave my house.”
He turned around and marched out, his knights in tow. Will followed him and barred the door.
The remnants of Everard’s power faded into the night air.
“You fucking fools,” Gort said, his voice bitter.
“Not your call,” Will told him.
Lute grinned. “They’re our lives, old man.”
“I told you,” Shana said.
I cleared my throat.
“The joedurar went very well,” I said. “I danced with Arvel and, Clover, he said I looked exquisite.”
She blinked. “He did?”
“Yes. He also said I was radiant. I do believe you are the most skilled lady’s maid in the entire city.”
She raised her chin. “Damn right.”
I looked at Shana. “Do we have any wine?”
“I have two jugs of Favonian red mead,” she said.
“That will do.” I took off my shoes and headed into the house.