His jaw clenched, and he closed his eyes as if getting his anger under control was a monumental effort. “You’re right.” He stalked off across the camp and into the trees.
Kat stared after him, uncertain if she should follow. In the end, she wandered after James and found him with his forehead against the smooth bark of a silver birch. She placed her hand on his shoulder.
“What has you so agitated?” she asked.
“I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Look at me,” she said.
With great reluctance it seemed, he turned to face her. His throat bobbed in a swallow, and he heaved a great breath. Since their interlude of two nights ago, James had retreated into his shell, and she didn’t understand why. Wasn’t it natural to have sexual partners when you were a virile man? And yet something had stopped him from completing the act with her. He said it was her magic but something about that just didn’t ring true. What else could it be? He even admitted being attracted to her.
“What is wrong between us?” she asked
He huffed out a breath. “Katrine! There is no us! I’m sorry I took liberties the other night. Put it down to tiredness and the strange things that have happened lately. Danger has a way of loosening the restraints a man habitually applies to his relationships.”
“Really? You’re sorry?” Katrine reefed her fingers through her hair, and his eyes followed her nails. “It was glorious, and, when you apologize, you make me feel as though what we did was wrong.”
“Of course it’s wrong!” James snapped. “I shouldn’t be having these feelings.”
“What feelings? Desire? Excitement?” She stepped closer, and his body tensed. She took another step, so they were toe to toe and stared up into his face.
“Katrine…”
She wrapped her arms around his neck, her lips so close to his she could feel his ragged breath. “I wish to experience what it’s like to bed a man, and I have chosen you.”
He clutched her arms, and she chose that moment to kiss him, to take what she wanted. As he gasped with surprise, Kat invaded his mouth, deepening the kiss. She was desperate to leave James in no doubt of her feelings.
At first his hands tightened, and she feared he would pull her arms from around his neck, but, in the end, his hands slid to her waist. Crushing her body against his, he mastered her in every way, with his lips, his hands and his body. She gloried in the thrust of his tongue as it danced with hers, in the slide of his long fingers through her hair and in the hard strength pitted against her desire. He grasped her hair and pulled her head back, exposing her neck, and nibbled his way down to her collar bone, stopping to undo several buttons before his ravishing continued. Kat gasped as his tongue slid across the swell of her breast, and she nudged her body against the bulge in his breeches. He wanted her, she was in no doubt of it. Could she convince him to cast his reservations aside and find his completion in her?
Her hips drove at him, desperate to show she was ready to receive him, and the only thing that held her up was the tight band of his arm across her back. She raked her fingers through his hair, welding his lips to her breasts, and when his thigh nudged between her legs she nearly exploded. The shock of it all had her gasping for breath.
But when she expected to feel his hands on the fastening of her breeches, James pulled his mouth from her skin. His gray eyes found a stray beam of moonlight and Kat observed his dawning awareness. He drew back, waiting for her to take her weight before removing his arm, his gaze on her heaving chest. It was all Kat could do to breathe, let alone process what had occurred between them. She was in a state, her mind scrambled by his loving, and her body still yearning for its promised union with this man.
“You can’t pull away again,” she snapped. “I want this over, now!”
“Keep your voice down and cover yourself up.” He stepped toward her and drew the edges of her tunic together. “Please.”
Kat closed her eyes and drew a ragged breath then buttoned her tunic. “Don’t you sense it, James?” He turned side on. His striking profile mocked her. “There is attraction between us you will not be able to deny. Sooner or later you will come to me, and we will be one. Why can’t that moment be now?”
His eyes snapped to hers. “We aren’t animals, Katrine. I won’t deny I am attracted to you, but there is nothing inevitable about it. And to do this here and now with Anton and the others mere yards away?” He huffed a great breath and his eyes narrowed. “You need to understand that, when we reach Brightcastle, I will never see you again.”
James brushed past her, his long strides taking him back toward the clearing. Kat slumped onto a nearby rock, fighting back stupid tears. Why must her body drive her toward this man who refused to give in to what that they both wanted? She straightened her tunic and dried her eyes so she could return to the camp with dignity. James had his own reasons for spurning her but she would not give up on him just yet.
Chapter 10
A tense day followed the strained night. Nobody had spoken up to bedtime the previous evening except to organize a watch to be kept. James shared the duty, having taken the middle shift. The shadows under his eyes made him more handsome to Kat, adding an air of mystery that almost rivalled Vard Anton’s. The Defender kept to himself, riding ahead and out of sight for the entire day except for the stop at midday.
Kat had tried to converse with James several times, but he offered only one syllable answers which left her in no doubt that the sooner they parted company the better. Kova was now recovered enough to ride his horse and keep Dael company, but privacy hadn’t encouraged James to make any sort of conversation with her.
By the time Vard approached midafternoon to announce he had spotted the towers of the Brightcastle Keep, Kat’s nerves were wound tighter than the strings of a fiddle. Her horse pranced and threw his head around so much she spent most of the time trying to control him and the rest scanning the trees to ensure there were no surprises awaiting them.
“Loosen the reins, lady,” Vard said. “The poor beast will have a sore mouth if you keep yanking on him.”
“I am not yanking,” Kat said through clenched teeth. “Are you sure nothing stalks us?”
“I’m sure. Your beast picks up on your nerves. Relax, and he will be less anxious.”
Kat scowled at him. As if anyone could relax in her situation. There was a pack of night hounds after her, a Defender on the run hiding in her party, and an insufferable companion who would not…Kat was not even willing to put words to that situation. Perhaps she was wrong to hope for anything more with James?
Time to think about other issues. Unlike James, Kat had reserved her opinion of Vard’s guilt in the matter of Princess Alecia’s kidnapping. She had heard disturbing rumors of Prince Jiseve Zialni, Alecia’s father. If they were true, and Hetty said they were, she understood why the princess had fled Brightcastle in the company of Vard Anton. As to whether the two were a love match, Hetty again confirmed this, though it appeared there was trouble in paradise. Vard was still on the road, and the princess was rumored to be in Brightcastle. And she had a child, a daughter, less than a year old. Was Vard the father as James had accused?
Kat longed to ask him but her courage had failed her more than once, and Hetty had never mentioned the princess being with child on her previous visits. She chose to ask a more urgent question. “Will I have the hounds on my tail as soon as you leave, Anton?” He had asked her to preserve his cover in front of the guards.
“I urge caution, lady,” Vard said. “Brightcastle is a place of magic that will attract them, and I cannot stay long. Ask Hetty how you can ward them off if she is well enough.” With those words, Vard turned his horse and cantered ahead, his body moving as one with his mount.
If she is well enough. Kat’s stomach clenched tighter than a clam, bringing her nerves back into full play. Demon tossed his head again, and she was back where she began before Vard approached.
Kat calmed Demon and glanced across at J
ames who had a deep scowl on his face.
“When we get to Brightcastle, I’m going to follow that man and keep an eye on him,” James said, his whole focus on Vard as he cantered into the distance.
“Why?” Kat asked.
James jumped and looked across at Kat as though he was surprised he had spoken out loud.
“I want to know what he is up to.”
“Surely it’s none of your concern?” Kat frowned at him.
“I’m making it my business. I don’t trust him.”
Kat sighed. “Please yourself,” she said. “James…I wanted to thank you for helping me get to Brightcastle. It has been a dangerous journey. I regret the loss of your man and Kova’s injury. It was good of you to place yourself at risk for me. I’m in your debt.”
If anything, James frowned more deeply. “I wouldn’t be much of a gentleman if I allowed a lady to travel alone. Anyone would have done the same, Katrine.”
“No, they wouldn’t,” she said. “Most would have said good riddance and had not a moment’s regret. If there is ever anything I can do to repay you, please let me know.”
“There is nothing owing, Katrine.” His voice was abrupt. He may as well have said her chapter in his life was coming to an end and he welcomed it. If she owed him nothing, then there was no reason for their paths to ever cross again. And yet Kat was sure she would think of the jeweler long after he left her.
She nodded, and he went back to contemplating the road ahead. The rest of the journey was undertaken in silence with only the jingle of harness and the grinding of the wheels to relieve the monotony. Had there ever been a less united group of travelers? Kat bent her thoughts to Hetty and how surprised the old woman would be to see her.
They reached the outer Brightcastle wall and passed through the gate. Vard lifted his hand in farewell and cantered his dun toward a side street, the hood of his cloak pulled low. Kat, James, and Kova continued up the main street while, at a nod from James, Dael followed Vard at a distance. Surely the Defender would spot Dael in an instant? Once they reached a stable near Hetty’s house, Kat reined in.
“I’ll leave you now, James,” she said. “Thanks once again.”
James regarded her, his eyes inscrutable. “If you’re sure you will be safe, I bid you farewell. I hope your friend is soon well again, lady.” With those parting words, James rode on with Kova.
Kat watched as her companions disappeared. Certainly, James couldn’t wait to be rid of her. Why did the Goddess bring such a man into her life only to allow her to lose him? A cold wind swirled, and Kat shivered as she drew her cloak closer and went in search of a stall for her horse.
Kat stood before Hetty’s door, her hand raised to knock, when the door swung open. She was confronted by a blonde woman about her own age, dressed in gray breeches and tunic. The blonde’s astonished lilac eyes swept from Kat’s face to her feet and back.
“Who are you?” the woman snapped.
Kat drew herself up at the tone of authority in the woman’s voice. “Katrine Aranati. And your name is?”
“Alecia Zialni.”
The princess!
She grasped Kat’s arm and pulled her into the house, closing the door and leaning against it. “Hetty has mentioned you.”
Kat could have said she had heard of Alecia, but it wouldn’t hurt to keep the woman on the back foot. As if she cares if you have heard of her or not, you twit. She would assume you knew of her. “How is Hetty?”
Alecia’s eyes darted away, and a frown appeared on her brow. “I hate to say it, but she is very ill.” She lowered her voice further. “I have known Hetty for years. She is never sick, and now nothing seems to make her better.”
Kat turned and headed for the stairs which led to the bedrooms.
Alecia called her back. “I have made a pallet in the kitchen where it is warmer—”
Kat stopped in the doorway to the kitchen, her eyes drawn to the bed in the corner where Hetty lay, her breath rasping in and out of her body.
“Don’t just stand there, girl,” Hetty said. “Since you ignored my order to stay away, you’d best come closer. I won’t bite.”
She advanced, noting the grayish hue of Hetty’s face and her bloodless lips. She had lost weight to the point she appeared a skeleton with skin stretched over the bones.
“Hetty!” Kat threw herself down on her knees and reached for the frail body of her friend, drawing her close, surprised when the skeletal arms latched onto her. She never showed emotion.
When Kat drew back and settled Hetty against the pillows, a hacking cough wracked the old woman’s fragile body. It went on and on until Kat feared it might be the end of her. She turned to Alecia. “What have you been doing for her?”
Alecia wrung her hands, tears in her eyes. “I have made her warm, and I’ve been feeding her twice a day with chicken broth. It’s the only thing she can swallow.” The princess drew closer. “Her magic has failed, or she would have been able to make medicine to fix the cough.” Kat shivered at the fear in Alecia’s eyes.
She reached out to Alecia and squeezed her hand. “I’m here to care for her now. I will see all is done to help her recover.”
Alecia nodded and closed her eyes, a tear escaping. “I…I need her, Katrine. She is all I have left besides my daughter. Please don’t fail her.”
The words confirmed to Kat that the princess and her Defender Vard were indeed estranged. “I will do all I can.” Kat turned to the kitchen shelves and fetched the first ingredient for her potion.
It was midnight before Kat had a moment to herself. She sat before the kitchen fire, its crackling and the sleeping Hetty’s harsh breathing the only sounds. Princess Alecia had left soon after Kat arrived, and she found herself now wishing for company. A chill wind rattled the windows, and the cold settled in her gut too. Nothing had gone right from the time she left Esta, but she had made pilgrimages before and never found herself in strife. What had changed?
Everything. Her world was under siege from all directions. First her sister marrying, and then James and his damned determination to shut her out of his life. The night hounds had threatened her very existence, and now Hetty could die—was more than halfway there if Kat was any judge. She rubbed her arms, trying to understand why she was suddenly dealing with everything at once. Why wasn’t she born a normal woman with no magic and no creatures on her tail? And what was the reason for her existence? Sure as hell, Esta didn’t need her, for all her protestations. Kat believed things happened for a reason. Well, what was the reason for the Crystal Cave and her current condition?
She threw another log on the fire and drew a blanket around her, desperate to get warm. Perhaps another cup of tea might do the trick? As Kat made her brew, she pondered her next move. The house was bare of food and medicines, but she had given Alecia a list of all she required. There was no need to leave the house but perhaps she should check on James, although she didn’t know how to find him. And he wouldn’t want to see her. Besides, she couldn’t risk an encounter with the hounds. She sipped her tea and pared her thoughts back to the reason for being in Brightcastle. Hetty.
Kat needed to concentrate on getting Hetty well, then she could move forward with her own life. She rose from her chair and checked on the sleeping woman. Her breathing seemed easier, and she hadn’t coughed for an hour. It must be a good sign. She placed her hand on Hetty’s forehead and spoke the first words of another healing spell.
After a restless night, James joined his friend Cal, the master goldsmith, in the tiny kitchen of the residence behind his shop. He spooned porridge into his mouth as Cal related all the latest news from Brightcastle and beyond. However, his mind was only half on his friend. The remainder wondered how Katrine was and if she thought of him. He was an idiot, of course. He had deliberately forced her from his mind these last two days in order to bring his world back on an even keel. He could not harbor feelings for her for many reasons.
It was better this way. He needed to be alo
ne, unaffected by matters of the heart. Katrine could never discover his secrets even though she had revealed hers to him. She was a witch and the kingdom shunned her sort. But the thought of betraying her, as he should, pained him, so her secret would remain safe with him.
“Are you going to see her?” Cal asked.
The question jerked James from his musing, and, for a moment, he worried he had given himself away. Then he realized his friend was not talking about Katrine.
“Of course. My life wouldn’t be worth living if I didn’t,” he replied.
Cal grinned. “There should be more reason than that to go calling. She’s a fetching woman, even in her widow’s weeds. How long has it been since her husband’s death?”
“Almost two years.” James pondered his betrothed’s habitual black garb. He’d never seen her in anything else. He looked forward to her throwing off the damned blacks and putting on some color. She was, after all, still young and attractive, with the rest of her life ahead. “Can I get your man to deliver a letter to Lady Stenmore? My men are already out and about.”
“Certainly. Pen it now, and I’ll see it’s delivered. In the meantime, I wondered how long you plan to stay.”
“Until I complete my duties. I have meetings to attend, and I must see Princess Benae.”
“And, of course, pay your respects to Lady Stenmore.”
“I don’t understand why you keep returning to her,” James snapped. For some reason, it irritated him to think of his betrothed. It was stupid, of course. Melanis Stenmore was perfect for him—a young widow, sensible and intelligent, whose husband was a banker before his death. She would be a great asset for his business, and her contacts would prove invaluable. Most important of all, she was stable and predictable. An image of Katrine, long dark hair streaming behind her as she galloped her horse into him, forced its way into his consciousness. He shoved it back where it belonged.
The Master and the Sorceress Page 9