by Jody Hedlund
My arrow stuck deep into my target’s forehead between its eyes, dropping it to the ground. Immediately I released another shot, sending it into the heart of the next creature. The yelp and ensuing silence told me I’d made the kill. Without time to aim, I released the fifth and final arrow. It pierced the wolf’s chest, but not in the heart.
Tossing aside my now useless bow, I reached for both my dagger and sword and leapt to place myself between the injured wolf and Adelaide. Already it was crouching and preparing to spring at Adelaide again.
Yelps came from the wolf Mitchell was still fighting. I prayed he would be able to keep it at bay until I could spin around to help him.
The golden eyes of the beast before me fixed upon Adelaide. The thick black fur near the impaled arrow had turned wet and slick with blood. But he bared his teeth in a low, menacing growl, and then sprang with a deft and powerful leap in spite of his injury.
I lifted my sword to finish him, but from the corner of my eye, I caught the shadowy black outline of a seventh alpha wolf flying through the air—this one, the largest of the pack, had kept himself hidden in order to orchestrate a surprise attack once his companions had distracted us.
Sickening bile swelled into my throat. I was too late to help Adelaide. Even as I frantically slashed my sword across the injured wolf’s neck and pivoted, I knew I couldn’t stop the alpha from landing upon Adelaide.
Silently, I willed Adelaide to overcome her fear and fight. She might not be able to kill the beast, but she could at least put up a measure of defense. However, she didn’t seem to notice the newest threat. Her attention was fixed upon the dead creature in front of her, her breath coming in wheezing gasps, her expression still one of terror.
I drew back my arm and flung my dagger at the alpha wolf. At best, I could only hope to hit its spine and slow it down. For a long agonizing heartbeat, I watched helplessly as the beast leapt in a high arc above Adelaide, its sharp claws outstretched and long fangs open.
“No!” I dove at it, intending to wrestle it with only my brute strength if need be.
My knife lodged into the beast’s back at the same time another knife soared through the air end over end. The blade sliced directly into the wolf’s heart. A second later, the creature knocked into Adelaide, throwing her backward and its full weight landing on her.
Her scream came to an abrupt halt, as did my heartbeat. I rushed to her. All I could picture were fangs piercing the vein in her throat and her lifeblood slipping away.
As I shoved the alpha wolf off her, Tall John broke through the brush, and I knew then his knife had brought the massive creature down. With his sword drawn, he ran to aid Mitchell, who was still fending off his wolf.
I heaved to free Adelaide, throwing the alpha wolf aside. It fell limply away. Gasping for breath, I dropped to my knees beside her. Bright crimson coated her chain mail. Frantically, I wiped at the blood and attempted to assess her injuries. From what I could tell, thankfully, the blood was from the wolf. She appeared unscathed.
I released a tense exhale, relief swelling up and making my hands shake even as I tossed aside my gloves and checked the pulse in her neck.
Behind me, the forest grew quiet, and a moment later Mitchell knelt on the opposite side of Adelaide. Perspiration ran down his face along with blood. I counted several scratches on his face, but they weren’t deep or life-threatening.
“Adelaide?” he gently shook her.
“She took a hard fall.” I lifted Adelaide’s head, pushed off her mail coif, and probed her scalp for injuries. I felt nothing but the silkiness of her hair. As though my touch had beckoned her from oblivion, her long lashes fluttered up. Her impossibly blue eyes peered at me, first in confusion and then with fear.
“Christopher, save me,” she murmured before her eyelids closed again.
I thought maybe she’d fallen into an unconscious state once more, but with Mitchell there to take over her care, I started to rise, knowing I needed to assess our situation and determine if Ethelwulf had sent any more danger our way. Before I could move away, one of her gloved hands darted out and clasped mine.
“Do not leave me,” she whispered, opening her eyes again.
“You are safe now,” I reassured her, surprised at how shaky my voice came out.
“Please. I beg you.” Panic settled into her features again. I’d never seen Adelaide so frightened. Usually, when she was afraid, like the other night after we’d battled Ethelwulf’s knights, she remained composed. This was a side I didn’t know how to handle.
I glanced at Mitchell for his guidance. If anyone should be offering Adelaide comfort, he needed to be the one. Adelaide shifted her sights to Mitchell too.
“We killed the wolves,” he said tenderly, reaching down to stroke back a messy strand of her hair.
She lifted her head slightly and attempted to look at the carnage around us. As her gaze jerked from one dead wolf to the next, her hand in mine began to tremble until her entire body was shaking. She closed her eyes, her face as pale as death.
“We must be on our way, Adelaide,” I said quietly but with the firmness our situation demanded. We were still in danger and needed to find a safe campsite.
She nodded but didn’t stop trembling.
“You will ride with Mitchell until your fears are put to rest,” I suggested. Mitchell nodded as eagerly as I’d expected. I moved to leave, the matter settled.
She clung to my hand with unexpected strength. “No, my lord. I shall ride with you.” She looked at me with such vulnerability, I didn’t know how I could resist.
I shot Mitchell another glance, and hurt filled his eyes. My gut told me I should insist that her place was with my brother. She’d been fine without me all these years. She’d always had Mitchell to turn to with her concerns, and I needed to encourage her to continue going to him. But with her beautiful eyes pleading with me and her hand so tightly holding mine, I could not deny her.
“Very well.” I refused to meet Mitchell’s gaze. “Can you stand?”
She started to sit up, caught sight of the dead wolves, and then fell back, shaking again. Without wasting further time, I slipped my arms underneath her and scooped her up like a babe. In turn, she wrapped her arms around my neck and leaned her head against my shoulder.
Silently, Mitchell rose and began retrieving our weapons. Tall John moved to assist him, but not before pointing the way to our horses, which he’d led a short distance away. When I reached them, I lifted Adelaide toward my saddle, but she clung to me. Her grip around my neck held firm, and she burrowed her face in the exposed area of my throat that my chain mail didn’t cover. Her nose was warm, and her breath bathed my skin, rendering me immobile. If a wolf had decided at that moment to attack, I would have been helpless.
When she nestled in farther and her lips inadvertently brushed my flesh, I closed my eyes at the pleasure of holding her. For a few seconds, I basked in the sensation of her body in my arms, of feeling her pulse moving in time with mine, of knowing she’d wanted to be with me.
“Adelaide,” I murmured. “We must make haste.” I chastised her as much as myself and yet couldn’t stop from pressing my nose into her hair and breathing in her essence and the faint scent of lilac.
The strange longing I’d had since the first time I’d seen her upon my return rushed back in a wave that left me weak. My relief at her safety, that she was still alive, that the wolves hadn’t accomplished their mission to obliterate her, overwhelmed me so that I pressed my lips against her hair and breathed her in once more.
At the same moment, she shifted her nose and mouth, brushing my throat again, making me sharply aware of her lips, how close they were, and how easy it would be to bend down and touch mine to hers.
The second I considered it, I rapidly berated myself and pulled back. “Adelaide,” I said, this time hoping I sounded more in control. “I must put you on the horse.”
“Then stay with me.” Her words were warm and breathy against my ne
ck.
I clenched my jaw, determined to bridle my emotions. I couldn’t explain this new power Adelaide held over me, a power that made me want to capitulate to her every whim and do whatever she asked. Always in the past, I’d been the one bending her and Mitchell to my devices, cajoling them to my antics. Why could I not continue to see her as my cousin and playmate? Such a view was much easier.
Yet after the past days of riding and talking with her, I couldn’t go back to seeing her as simply a childhood companion. I’d come to realize even more how much we’d both grown up, especially the extent to which she’d changed in five years. Not only had she turned into a stunning woman with the ability to take my breath away, but she was interesting, engaging, and someone I thoroughly enjoyed being with.
Nevertheless, I was a strong man who’d always resisted temptations, who’d never fallen prey to any woman. I wouldn’t start now, especially not with Adelaide. Though I’d always sensed her admiration when we’d been children and even now over the past week of being together again, I couldn’t encourage it. Maybe under different circumstances if I wasn’t an outlaw and a danger to everyone who knew me. Maybe if I’d never run away from home and could offer her a title and land.
Even then, even if everything was perfect, deep down I knew nothing could ever happen between us, no matter how strong the pull. Not now that she was the queen of Mercia.
“Christopher,” she whispered, her fingers brushing the nape of my neck. “Please.”
Just my name falling from her lips was enough to weaken me. I closed my eyes and fought against the strong feelings tightening within my chest for only a moment longer before giving way to them. Even with an inner warning urging me to oppose her wish, I told myself this was different, that she needed my comfort, and that I’d be careful.
“Just for a little while,” I whispered.
Only then did she loosen her arms and allow me to lift her into the saddle. Once astride, she glanced around with wide, frightened eyes, her hands trembling against the reins. Clearly, she was still afraid of the wolves, almost unnaturally so. Now was not the time to question her about it. But after we were on our way, I would pry into her strange reaction.
When I climbed up behind her, the tight confines of the saddle squeezed us together much closer than I’d anticipated. Far from being uncomfortable with our closeness, my presence seemed to calm her.
As I reached for the reins and surrounded her with my arms, she melded against me as though she belonged there. A protective surge rose from within, and I was surprised by the depth of my feelings and the desire to keep Adelaide in my arms evermore.
Such feelings would bring trouble, and I desperately needed to keep a barrier between us so that I remained only a friend and her loyal subject. I had to make myself do it, no matter how hard it would be.
Chapter
11
Adelaide
“If we continue the search for Emmeline,” I said as I rested against Christopher, “we shall likely take King Ethelwulf directly to her.”
Darkness was beginning to fall and with it a sprinkling of rain. Christopher hadn’t yet suggested I return to my horse. I knew I couldn’t ride with him indefinitely, as my extra weight would tire his steed, but I wasn’t ready to be away from the safety I felt in his embrace.
Ahead, Mitchell led the way on Roland. Tall John rode behind, guiding my horse by a lead rope. I’d thanked the faithful manservant for the knife throw that had saved my life, but my words had somehow seemed inadequate. I wished I could do more to show my appreciation to him, to all of them. But in the hours since the attack, I couldn’t seem to find the right way to express my gratitude.
We’d ridden mostly in silence. Mitchell held himself stiffly, the sure sign I’d offended him when I’d decided to ride with Christopher instead of him. I couldn’t explain what had prompted my decision. I’d speculated that in my moment of unexpected weakness I’d needed Christopher’s strength and steadiness. Even now, his calmness and certainty soothed my still-frayed nerves.
Whatever the case, Mitchell wouldn’t harbor his annoyance with me for long. He never did. By the time we made camp, he’d forgive me, and we would be steadfast friends again. At least I hoped so.
Thankfully, my outward shaking had diminished even though my heart quavered. “I shall wait to seek Emmeline until we can do so covertly or else we have more forces to withstand anything King Ethelwulf might send our way next.”
“I think that is a wise decision, Your Majesty,” Christopher responded.
Something in his tone irritated me. Was it the formality? The distance? The way he was holding himself back? I was enclosed in his arms, and I reclined into his chest. But more than just our armor separated us. And I didn’t like it.
There were times I sensed a connection between us that went beyond our childhood ties, like when he’d held me in his arms after the battle with the wolves. But then, at other times, I felt a thick stone wall I couldn’t penetrate, a barrier I didn’t understand.
I wanted to demand he explain himself, but was afraid I might not like his answer. After all, Christopher was sometimes painfully honest with me. I didn’t know how I could bear his telling me he didn’t share the same affection. I’d be entirely mortified if he learned that my girlhood infatuation—which I’d thought I’d successfully squelched—had blossomed again upon his return. In fact, it was stronger than ever, but he was just as oblivious as always.
“You need not call me ‘Your Majesty,’” I said testily.
“I must give you the respect due the queen of Mercia,” he said evenly. “And you must demand it of everyone.”
His counsel was correct. Even so, I couldn’t help wishing for more than guidance from him. “We are still friends, my lord. Surely we can behave as we always have toward each other.”
“No, things must change—have already changed. You are my queen and I am your servant. We must accept the new roles God has given us.”
I bit back another testy response. I loved Christopher’s integrity and honor. He was a wise advisor and a valuable man of strength to have on my side. Yet could I find a subtle way to communicate my attraction and learn if he’d ever reciprocate?
Perhaps under different circumstances, I might have made an impression on him. After all, his eyes had lit with appreciation when I’d donned a gown for dinner the night Sister Katherine had come.
Was there any other way to impress Christopher and in doing so cause him to harbor affection for me in return? Or would this wall always exist between us?
I swallowed a sigh. If only love came more easily. But then, love wouldn’t mean as much if one could gain it without any cost whatsoever.
“You are right about our new roles, Christopher,” I said. “I will try to accept the many changes. However, I have one request of you.”
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“When we are alone together like this, you must address me as ‘Adelaide.’” He started to protest but I continued. “I may have to live my public life by new standards. But in private, I want to know I am still loved by my family for who I am as a person.”
For a moment, Christopher was silent and the sounds of the coming night settled around us—the soft chirping of crickets and the faint clicking of a bat. Finally, he shifted in the saddle, drawing forward and pressing his face into the back of my head.
At his touch, my blood pulsed with warmth. I closed my eyes and leaned into him, relishing this brief breach in the wall and that he was letting me into his heart—even if only for a few seconds.
I could feel the hard press of his lips against my hair before he shifted to whisper in my ear. “My dear Adelaide, I will always enjoy knowing I once wrestled with the queen of Mercia and pinned her to the ground.”
At the humor in his voice, I smiled. “If I remember correctly, I was the one with my blade at your throat.”
“Only because I let you.”
Laughter bubbled up. “That is why you still
harbor a wound on your neck from where I cut you?”
“’Tis but a nick.”
“And would have been much deeper if I had willed it.”
It was his turn to laugh, which served only to widen my smile—until I caught sight of the glare Mitchell cast over his shoulder. The dark look was aimed at Christopher. Even so, I felt the sting of it.
Suddenly, I dreaded the news I had to tell Mitchell: that we would shift our course away from finding my sisters, at least temporarily. He’d be disappointed as he was so intent on helping me uncover the hidden treasure. But after what had occurred with the wolves, I couldn’t willfully put either of my sisters into such grave danger. They wouldn’t be able to fend off Ethelwulf’s forces the way we could.
At the remembrance of the wolves, I shuddered again.
Christopher’s thick arms pressed me closer. “What happened back there, Adelaide?” he asked softly.
I knew he was referring to the wolf attack. I didn’t quite understand what had happened yet myself. But now that my heart had returned to its normal speed and fear had released its claws from my body, I supposed I had to try to make sense of the attack.
“I was afraid,” I admitted, though it embarrassed me to say it. I’d been unable to move or fight. Facing the wolves had filled me with terror, almost as if I was reliving a nightmare.
“You were more than afraid,” Christopher said.
Somewhere in the far recesses of my memory, I could picture Aunt Susanna soothing me in the dark of night, the echoes of my screams surrounding us, her cool hands caressing my face. “I used to have nightmares.”
“Yes, I remember,” Christopher replied. “For many years. Until they grew less frequent and finally stopped.”
“I did not realize you had heard me,” I said.
“We all did.”
“I am sorry. I can only imagine how disruptive my cries were to everyone’s sleep.”
“Mother somehow had the ability to make everything seem less of a problem than it was.”