Raith turned his gaze on Kate and said hurriedly, “We need to talk more, once you’ve rested. I can help you, Kate. And more important, you can help me.”
“With what?” She narrowed her eyes, a warning sounding in her head.
“To save Rime from its own destruction and finish the task your father started.” Raith broke off, falling into a bow as Corwin reached them. “Your highness.”
Corwin dismounted, his attention centered completely on Kate. “Oh gods, what happened?” He swept his gaze over her torn, dirtied clothes. Then he pulled her into his arms. “Are you all right?”
Kate sagged against him, relief leaving her weak. Raith’s words still echoed through her mind, but she couldn’t make sense of them right now. And with those warm, strong arms around her, she didn’t want to.
Wait, what am I doing?
She pulled back from the embrace. “I’m fine. Just ran into some trouble.”
“At the Sacred Sword?” Anger threaded Corwin’s voice, a muscle ticking in his jaw.
Refusing to feel guilty, she said, “What are you doing out here, anyway?”
“I came to find you. When I saw you weren’t in your rooms, I knew you were up to something foolish.”
“It would be best to get her home quickly, your highness,” Raith broke in as Kate started to argue. “Before any more trouble finds us.”
“Yes, you’re right.” Corwin stooped as if to pick her up, but Kate stumbled back from him.
“What are you doing? I don’t need you to carry me.”
Jamming his hands on his hips, he muttered, “You are such a mule. Fine, get on the horse then.” Corwin turned to Raith. “Thank you for helping her.”
I helped myself, Kate almost pointed out but held back. She didn’t want to answer any questions about what had really happened. Hiding a wince at her still-aching leg, she mounted Nightbringer.
Raith bowed his head. “Get her back to the castle safely, your highness. I will stop in to give you my report on the drakes tomorrow. I only just returned to the city this evening.”
Corwin nodded absentmindedly, then turned and mounted Nightbringer behind Kate. His hands slid around her waist, and he pulled her back against his chest. She resisted a moment, then sank into his warmth and the firm support of his body against hers. They rode back to the castle without speaking.
When they entered the bailey, Corwin slid from the saddle, then helped her down next to him. He handed Nightbringer off to a groom and started to lead her into the castle.
She pulled out of his grip. “I can see myself from here.”
“No, Kate. I’m going to get you safely to your room and make damn sure you really are all right and not just being stubborn.”
Too tired for the battle it would take to change his mind, Kate pressed her lips shut and allowed him to walk beside her back to her quarters. At least once they were inside, he didn’t argue when she went to her bedroom to change.
Leaving the ruined clothes piled in a corner, Kate unwound the cloth she’d wrapped around her breasts to flatten them and slipped into a clean shift. She pulled on a robe over it, barely feeling the press of her moonbelt against her hips as she tied the cord. She’d been wearing it so long, she hardly noticed it anymore.
When she returned to the front room, Corwin took her hand and guided her to the nearest sofa, pushing her down into it.
He knelt in front of her, concern furrowing his brow. “Do you need a healer? Where are you hurt?”
Kate shook her head, slumping back onto the chair. “I told you, I’m fine. Master Raith saw to it with a healing stone.”
“You needed a healing stone?” Corwin’s fingers curled into fists. “How badly were you hurt? Never mind. Do you know who attacked you? I’m going to hunt them down and kill them.”
“No you aren’t,” Kate said with a sigh.
Corwin stood and started to pace. “Why did you go without me? Without anyone? I warned you, Kate. Why do you always have to be so reckless?”
Her temper sparked. “It wasn’t reckless. I was disguised and careful. Things just went wrong. And I didn’t take you for the same reason I said before. No one will tell secrets to the high prince of Rime.”
“Oh yes, and they told you so much that they had to beat you black and blue.”
With a disgusted noise, Kate stood and stepped away from Corwin; otherwise, she might have hit him. She paced around the room, anger driving off the fatigue. Only—it wasn’t truly anger she was feeling, but lingering fear—the terrible sensation of being unable to escape those men who meant her harm, combined with the way she’d used her magic to drive them off. Influence over minds—all minds, not just animals.
Curious despite her doubt, she reached for her magic, wondering if it would work again, but it lay dormant inside her, as inaccessible as it always was during the night. Questions rose up in her mind, and she forced them away. She wouldn’t find any answers here.
“I’m sorry, Kate,” Corwin said from across the room. “That was uncalled for.”
She faced him to see the sincerity of his apology in his expression. The color was fading from his cheeks, and a strange look had risen in his eyes.
“I know how important it is for you to learn the truth about your father, and I’ve done little enough to help,” he continued. “Did you discover anything?”
Kate stared at him, taken off guard by the sudden shift in his attitude, yet another sign of how much he’d changed and grown. The old Corwin would never have let go of his possessive anger so easily.
“No,” she finally answered, remembering Anise’s warning. “You were right. They didn’t want to talk to me.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, her own temper slipping away. “And don’t apologize. I know things have been difficult for you with the uror and the daydrakes. My father’s secrets are my concern.”
A tentative smile passed across Corwin’s face. “May I make a confession then, a terrible, selfish one that you might not want to hear?”
The air seemed to thicken around them, surging with an unknown energy. Her heart quickened for no reason she could name other than the hungry, desperate way he was looking at her now. She recognized that look. It used to appear just before he kissed her. The idea that he might do so now sent tingles up her arms.
“What is it?” she said, barely able to get out the words.
Corwin took a step toward her. First one, then two, until he was standing close enough that she could feel the heat of his body. “A part of me is glad you didn’t learn anything . . . because . . . I know that once you’ve learned the truth, that’ll be one less thing keeping you in Norgard.”
Kate looked up at him, confused.
“And I don’t want you to leave again.” He held her gaze, unflinching. There was a nakedness in his expression, his feelings bared for her to see—tenderness and doubt and desire.
A torrent of emotions surged through Kate in answer. The charge in the air between them increased, the sensation both terrifying and thrilling at once. She took a step closer to him. Corwin’s hands rose to her face, tilting her head toward his. Then he brought his lips down on hers.
Heat exploded in her chest, traveled down into her belly, then farther still. She kissed him back, her lips opening to his while his tongue plunged into her mouth. She remembered his kisses from before, hesitant and soft. This was nothing like it. Those early ones had been a gentle rain. This was a storm, and she was caught in it. Kate closed her eyes in the onslaught of sensations pulsing through her body. She didn’t feel the lingering ache of her injuries anymore, only the sweet, shivering tingles of his touch. She wanted this.
Sweet goddess, how much I want this.
She gripped his shoulders, and his hands left her face to hold her waist instead. When his fingers brushed against the moonbelt, his breath hitched, and he pulled her forward, crushing her body against his. Corwin lifted his mouth off hers to leave a trail of kisses over her cheek and down her neck. She shuddered, her body f
linching at the torturous pleasure. She put a hand against his chest, feeling the corded muscle there as her fingers drifted lower, eager to explore him.
Corwin untied her robe to cup her breasts, loose in the shift. Kate moaned at the touch, and he captured the sound with his mouth. Then he bent down just enough to hoist her into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist. His hands gripped her thighs as he headed down the hall to her room and lowered her onto the bed.
Corwin kissed her again, longer and slower this time, savoring the taste. Then he moved on top of her, his weight pressing her into the mattress. Kate tried to draw a full breath but couldn’t. She tried again, and this time a hint of panic rose up in her, bringing her back to her senses.
“Corwin.” She pushed against his chest. “What are we doing?”
Groaning, he braced himself up far enough to stare down at her. “What do you mean?” He dipped his head again and nipped at her throat, playful. “Isn’t it obvious?”
Yes, yes it was, she thought, her eyes slipping closed again. Her body knew exactly what it wanted even though she had never been here before. She bit her lip, fighting back the wave of desire his mouth stirred in her as the nip became a kiss.
“But what happens after?”
Corwin raised his head again, a devilish grin splayed over his lips. “Well, if it goes well tonight, we can do it again tomorrow. And the day after that and the day after that.”
When he tried to kiss her again, she turned her head away before he could.
“What is it, Kate?” Corwin frowned down at her, a crease of concern in his brow. His hand rested on her hip, one finger idly tracing a stone on the moonbelt.
Oh gods, the moonbelt! Understanding blazed into her mind, cooling the heat of her ardor in the span of a second. No wonder he was acting so boldly. He’d made an assumption, had probably made it weeks ago when she’d first dropped the moonbelt in front of him back at Farhold. He believed she was somebody different than who she was. Someone who had taken lovers for the mere pleasure of her body and with no concern of the consequences to her heart. But she didn’t know how to separate the two. She might’ve taken to wearing the moonbelt, but she was the same Kate she’d always been.
Confusion clouded Corwin’s face. “Is it assurance you need? Do you want me to ask you formally?”
Now it was her turn to look confused. “Ask what?”
“For you to be my paramour.”
“Your what?” Kate sat up, shoving him off her with enough force that he grunted and fell back on the bed. She climbed to her feet, outrage thrumming through her now. “Your paramour?” Was that what this was about? He’d said he didn’t want her to leave. Was this how he hoped to convince her to stay?
Corwin blinked. “Yes, surely you know what one is.”
“Of course I do,” she snapped. The practice was common among the nobility, where so many marriages were made for politics instead of love. Paramours occasionally held power and influence in their own right, sometimes even over the wife of the man to whom they were bound.
The wife.
For a second Kate thought she might be sick at the idea of sharing Corwin with another woman. No. That would not be her. Not ever.
Kate pulled the robe back over her shoulders and fastened the belt once more. “The answer is no, Corwin. I won’t be paramour to any man. You must not know me at all if you thought I could ever be that to you.”
With a bewildered look on his face, Corwin rose from the bed, adjusting his own clothes. “I don’t understand. You wanted this just as much as I did.” He motioned to her helplessly.
She couldn’t deny it. “Yes, I wanted it.” I still do, her body screamed, and she was glad he couldn’t hear it. Kate drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “But it’s not all I want. At least, I don’t think it is. But what I do know is that I don’t want to give you that part of myself if you’re not willing to give the same to me.”
Corwin’s mouth fell open. “What are you talking about?”
“Your wife. The princess you’re bound to marry someday.” She put her hands on her hips. “Can’t you understand? Would you be willing to share me with another man?”
“Absolutely not.” He huffed, nostrils flaring.
“And there we are.” Kate took a deep breath, reining in her temper. “I will not live a life that’s not my own. Not even for you.”
“I would never ask you to,” Corwin said, defeat filling his gaze. “But you know I have no choice about who I will marry.”
She did. Only . . . “You’re the high prince and might be the high king. The world will answer to you, not the other way around.”
“That’s not fair, Kate. You know it’s not so simple.”
“But it could be,” she said, indignant. “If you would just . . .” She trailed off, not even certain herself what she was saying. The disappointment she felt now was the same she’d felt years ago—when, once again, he had chosen the kingdom over her.
Corwin exhaled, his expression wounded. For a moment he was the boy he’d once been. “I thought we were becoming friends again . . . becoming like we were before.”
Kate pressed her lips together, memories of the last few weeks rising up in her mind—of their morning rides in the countryside, the banter, and casual touches. Despite how much she’d tried to resist, she’d let him sneak back into her life, allowing herself to forget everything that stood between them.
He is the high prince, and he’ll never be anything else.
She sighed and said in a soft voice, “We can never be like we were before, Corwin. Those days died with my father.”
Flinching, Corwin dropped his gaze, guilt splayed across his features. Then he turned and walked out the door, leaving her in the dark silence of her room, alone with her pride and nothing more.
22
Kate
THE SACRED SWORD WAS A different place in the morning. Quiet and mostly deserted, Kate found it strangely welcoming. Golden sunshine filled the foyer from a tall, crystal glass window set above the entrance. It warmed the top of Kate’s head as she stood waiting for Madam Anise. The girl who had greeted her when she arrived was different from the ones last night. Dressed in a plain skirt and modest bodice, she barely paid Kate any mind at all as she cleaned the wooden podium, wiping it down with an oil-soaked rag.
Kate craned her head to peer through the entrance to the tavern, hearing the distant clank of crockery. A pleasant smell wafted toward her, reminding her stomach that she’d neglected it this morning in her haste to depart her quarters before Corwin showed up at her door with more of his tantalizing sweet rolls. In hindsight, it was a silly act. Corwin wouldn’t have come today. Not after last night. She supposed that might have been the real reason behind her hurry—avoiding the sting of Corwin’s absence.
It’s for the best, Kate reminded herself. She should never have let him get that close again. She always knew they could never be together, a truth more apparent now than ever.
Finally, the door to the small office opened and Madam Anise appeared. “Come in, Miss Brighton.”
Kate hurried forward, her stomach starting to cartwheel. She’d half expected to be turned away again. The office was much the same as it had been the night before, small and dark, with no windows and only two candles burning. Anise motioned for Kate to sit, and she did so, folding her hands in her lap and pressing her lips together to keep in the questions bubbling up inside her. The woman sat at the opposite side of the desk, letting her forearms rest on it, hands clasped. Once again, she wore an austere dress, this one the dark gray of storm clouds.
“Before we go any further, I want to give you the chance to walk away from this while you still can.”
Kate raised her eyebrows in surprise. Was she kidding? “No disrespect, madam, but I didn’t come this far to turn back now.”
“No, but you might never have started if you’d known where it would lead.” Anise leaned back in the chair. “The answers you seek will
change your life, Kate Brighton, in ways you can’t even guess. You won’t ever be able to unlearn what you learn. From what I’ve gathered, your life here in Norgard is somewhat comfortable. Prince Corwin seems to care for you, you’re living in your family’s old quarters, and there is little that you could want for.”
Kate sat up straight, her nerves twitching at the sensitive subject. “My life in the castle is temporary. It always was. I came back to Norgard to learn the truth about my father.”
Anise stared at her for several long seconds before nodding. “If you’re sure, then let’s get on with it.” She pulled open a desk drawer and withdrew a large sapphire nearly the size of her thumb. Faint lines marked the magestone’s shimmering blue surface. Kate recognized it at once from a visit she and Signe had made to the order houses just a few days before. They’d gone into each one, searching for a magestone for sale that might help Bonner create his revolvers without getting caught. The incident in the Wandering Woods had inspired the idea—if whoever was behind the daydrake attacks could use the common spells available in the order shops to hide them, then why couldn’t Bonner? Only, the spells of any worth and power were embedded on precious gemstones and priced too high for the likes of Kate and Signe. The doublet could’ve paid for it, Kate thought, fretting once more as she pictured the state it was in now and dreading what Signe would say when she returned from Tyvald.
“This contains a binding spell.” Anise set the sapphire on the desk. “A curse that will only activate if the person bound to it breaks their vow. Do that, and every inch of your body will be covered in boils and lesions, including your tongue, so that you will be unable to speak any more betrayals.”
Kate shuddered, having no difficulty imagining how terrible it would be. Growing up, she remembered a young lord who’d incurred a similar curse, and he hadn’t been able to sit a horse for weeks afterward until the spell finally faded. At the time, she thought it the worst punishment a person could endure.
“Before I will allow you to learn anything else,” Anise continued, “you must accept the vow not to reveal these secrets. The truths you are determined to learn will put more than yourself at risk.”
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