Flames of Auriel (A Caeles Adventure Book 1) (20 page)

The prince turned his wary eyes from his companion and looked at the young girl. She too looked worried about the encounter. He tried to smile at the girl, but failed when it came out as more of a grimace.

“Rebekah, it has been too long. Wonderful show as usual.” He turned his eyes to Joe; his eyes noticed the tight grip she had on her knife. She had yet to look at him; her eyes were trained on his companion. “You really know how to knock the lads off their feet, Joe.” He frowned when he did not get the desired grin from his new tentative friend, though she did move her eyes to look at him.

The Princess of Sabbathia made a disgusted noise in her throat, not at all happy to be ignored. The knife thrower before her was fairly attractive. She actually reminded her a lot of someone she used to know, but she did not like the way her prince was staring at her. Genevieve was used to being the center of attention and she was not about to lose to some drifter trash.

“I wouldn’t say that. It was all too vulgar for my taste. I am Genevieve, Princess of the great kingdom of Sabbathia.” Genevieve scanned her eyes up and down Zoe’s figure. “You really should have more respect for yourself. Wearing such revealing clothing is very unbecoming. You will never get a husband that way.” She scrunched her nose up at the gypsy pair’s clothing. “Though that might be the only way you rabble can get noticed.”

Zoe swallowed and tried to force down the flame that threatened to burst to life. She had recognized the prince’s companion right away. Genevieve of Sabbathia was a spoiled little twit who thought the sun shined out of her ass and she had no problem letting anyone and everyone know it.

If anyone would have asked her a year ago how she felt about her being with the prince, she would have said they deserved each other. Now as she watched her cling to Asher’s arm it was only making the simmering heat flowing through her worse. She could only imagine how much better she would feel with her knife sticking out of the conniving tart’s heart.

Zoe let her suppressed anger fill the smile on her face, “I suppose we should be more like you, your highness?” She gestured to the miffed princess’s attire with the point of her knife, “Though I don’t believe we have the proper equipment to pull off such harlot-like attire.”

Asher could not stop the smile that began to form on his face at the sound of outrage coming from Genevieve. Though it was unusual for his shy friend to make such an outburst, his suspicions of who she really was were becoming solid in his mind. There was no way this woman was just a simple street performer.

Asher flinched when the furious princess screamed at him. “Are you just going to let this trash speak to me in such a way?”

The prince only shrugged, he was so not getting in the middle of a cat fight. “You insulted them first and I can’t very well keep them from defending themselves.”

He glanced down at Genevieve’s exposed cleavage, “But they do have a point, you might want to rethink your wardrobe.”

Disbelief and rage filled Genevieve’s face at Asher’s words. She glared at him and then stomped to Zoe. She would put that wretched woman in her place.

Genevieve got right up into the gypsy’s face and hissed. “I would watch myself if I were you. When I am Queen of Aldabel, I will have you beheaded for your insolence.”

The vicious smile on Zoe’s face grew and she leaned into the shorter woman’s ear. She kept her eyes fixed on Asher’s as she whispered. “And I can just as easily gut you in your sleep for daring to touch what is mine.”

“Why you little –”

Genevieve stopped and gasped as she felt the sharp edge of Zoe’s knife against her side. “Do not think I forgot about what you did to my hair. I do not forgive and forget so easily.”

The last time the two had met they were fifteen and were both visiting Greenwich Castle. That summer Genevieve had gotten it into her head that she was going to marry Asher and not Zoe, so she had spent the two weeks she was there making Zoe’s life miserable. Not only did she degrade her in front of Asher, but she had put paste in her hair. Zoe had to have the majority of her flaming locks cut off. It had taken a year to get it back to the length it was now.

Genevieve pulled back to look at Zoe in terror, the redheaded performer’s words instantly clicked in her mind. “You’re –” She grimaced when Zoe pressed the knife harder against her side; she felt the sting of the point just touching her skin.

“Not a word or I will be good on mine.” With that she put the knife away and turned to her friend. “I’m about ready for supper. How about you, Becka?”

Rebekah having witnessed her friend’s threat just nodded her head. She wanted any reason to get away from the visiting royals. She shivered at the need for bloodshed in her companion’s eyes. She thanked the angels she was sleeping alone that night.

Asher grabbed Zoe’s arm when she tried to leave but released it when he saw the rage that flickered there. The anger was not surprising and he suspected that he was one of the causes of it. He did not want to upset her more, but he needed to talk to her. He just had to know.

“I had hoped we could talk?” He glanced at Genevieve whose face was still filled with horror. “Alone?”

Zoe looked back at the Princess of Sabbathia and then back to her prince, “You seem to have more than you can handle for the time being. Maybe another time.” Zoe moved away from him and continued on toward their campground.

Asher’s desperate eyes had left her despising him as much as Genevieve’s presence. Why did he look at her like that? How could he even consider that sorry excuse for a princess as his bride? If she did not get away soon she would not only commit one murder, but two.

Rebekah stopped before the prince’s perplexed form. “Sorry, princey. Looks like it’s just not your day.” She saluted two fingers at him before she hurried after Zoe’s retreating figure.

Asher watched them go and then turned to his companion. “What did she say to you?”

Genevieve, still quivering from the meeting, composed herself. She fingered the tiny hole that the knife had made in her gown and flicked her eyes toward where the gypsies had left. She had never expected to see her here and she briefly wondered if Asher knew. The handsome prince suddenly did not seem worth the effort. “Nothing of importance.”

“If it is all the same to you, I think I will return to the palace. I have had enough excitement for one day.”

The prince nodded, relieved that she was leaving on her own accord. “I have a few more things that need to be done here. You go on ahead. I will find my own way back.”

Though curious, Asher was happy when she did not argue but only huffed and shuffled away as fast as her dress would allow. He had many new things to think about but the first on his list was finding out which room his little performer was going to be in tonight. He would get his chance to unravel the mystery that was Josephine, whether she liked it or not.

Zoe listened to the audible click of the key that opened her rented room and sighed. As soon as she had entered the camp she had been bombarded by the other performers; some of them wanting to know how things went that day, others wanting help with this or her opinion on that. She had yet to have a moment of peace, let alone a chance to talk to Rebekah in private. Her rage and frustration from their surprise company had left her in dire need of an outlet.

She whispered thanks to Auriel for giving her the room for the night. She could not wait to get out of her restricting clothing and into a hot bath. Though Rebekah had promised to come by that night to talk, Zoe needed a moment to herself.

She walked into the small room and marveled at how just a few months ago she would have scoffed at the size of it. The room was barely big enough for the scarce amount of furniture it held. She was thankful they had given her a room with its own bathing tub, but besides the tub the only furniture in it was a bed and a small table.

She walked over to the table and pulled her gloves from her hands. She wiggled her fingers and began pulling knives out of her corset. She set all but one knife on the table; she slid the other under a pillow in the bed.

She chuckled to herself. So many things about her had changed since she had gone in to hiding. She had a new found appreciation for everything she had lost. She longed for the silly fights she used to have with Alice over what clothes she would wear. Now she was lucky to have any clothing at all. She glanced down at where she had placed her knife and shook her head; there were some things that would never change. Zoe sat down on the bed and began the tiresome task of pulling her boots from her feet.

When her feet were free from their confines, she walked over to the window to gaze out at the darkened street below. Most of the village had gone home for the night except for the few drunken stragglers who bumbled about, as well as some of her fellow performers who were still trying to get packed up for the night. She quirked a small smile at one of the stage hands as he tried and failed to balance more than one box at a time. She really did love her time with the gypsies, but she missed home and she missed Garrett.

Her eyes still on the street, she reached back to her lower back and tried to unknot the tie holding her corset together. She tugged at the string harder than she needed to at the thought of Garrett. He should have been back by now. His brother, Geoffrey, would have all the information she would need to take back her kingdom, and she would not be able to make her move without it.

She growled at the mess she had made of her corset strings; the damn thing would be the death of her. The sound of the door creaking open caused her to throw her hands down and sigh. Salvation. Zoe let her voice fill with the gruff brogue of her people and gestured to the knot on her corset.

“Becka, could you untie this damn thing? I have somehow managed to get it all knotted up.”

She usually tried to stay in character when she was around the other gypsies, but with Rebekah she had never felt the need to hide. Besides, it was harder to keep the lilted drawl they were so fond of when she was upset. She had almost slipped today when they were ambushed by the prince and his new companion. When she felt the hands tug on her ties, she placed her hands on the back of the window sill. Her grip tightened at the thought of the Sabbathian Princess.

“Can you believe him? How could he be with her? Her of all people!” She slammed her fist against the cracked wood of the sill. She flinched when some of the wood bit into her skin; the pain only fed into her anger.

“He could have showed up with any other princess, hell even that cousin of his would have been better than that…that…I’m so angry I can’t even think of a decent word to describe her.”

Rebekah’s silence did not surprise the princess one bit. She knew her tangent usually lasted a while and poor Rebekah could never get a word in edgewise. Zoe tried to take in slightly larger breaths as the knot was undone and the corset began to loosen against her chest.

“I know I’m being unreasonable. I don’t need a lecture.” She waved a hand in the air at her quiet friend. “His mother probably forced him. He thinks I’m dead...yeah, yeah.” Zoe let the corset be pulled over her head, happy to get rid of the offending piece of clothing.

Zoe let the corset fall from her hands and leaned her head against the window. Her words caught on the emotion in her voice, “But it still hurts, you know? Just because he thinks I’m gone doesn’t mean watching him with someone else makes it any easier. Maybe I should just tell him the truth. Get it all over with. Garrett hasn’t come back yet and I need a backup plan. What do you think?”

She lifted her head when the girl did not respond. “Becka?”

Zoe’s body stiffened when hands slid around her waist and pulled her back against a hard body. The princess sent a sideways glance at the knives that lay just out of reach on the table. If only she could get to them.

A hand pulled her braid to one side of her neck. She shivered at the breath against it. She moved her feet into a more stable position as she prepared to jam an elbow back at the intruder. Then her heart skipped a beat at the husky words whispered against the skin of her neck.

“I’m not Rebekah.”

Asher.

Zoe stood there frozen. She would know that voice anywhere. Her stance did not relax and she considered hitting him anyway to teach him a lesson, but the feel of him placing open mouth kisses on her neck was overwhelming. She did not know if she should pretend she was still Joe or if the jig was up. She decided to try her hand. She turned around to face him. A frightened, but clearly forced expression filled on her face, and her lilt was put back into her voice.

“Your highness, what are you doing here?”

Asher kept a firm hold on Zoe’s waist as he pulled her even closer to him. So she was going to keep trying to play the victim. He let his amusement of her game fill his eyes. He leaned down to nip at her full lower lip and grinned as she gasped.

“It’s obvious isn’t it, Joe?”

Zoe tried to push herself away from him once again and brought pleading eyes to his when he did not budge. “P…please, your highness. You shouldn’t b…be here.” Zoe knew she had lost the battle when all Asher did was narrow his eyes at her.

“How much longer are you going to try and play this game, Zoe?”

Zoe sighed and looked anywhere but at him, her voice normal again. “How long have you known?”

He chuckled and used one hand to tilt her face back look at him. He stroked his fingers across her bottom lip and reveled in the feel of her. Dark One, how he had missed her.

“Not long. I had my suspicion from the beginning, but until today I only hoped you were.” He rubbed his nose against hers when her eyebrows furrowed. “You never were good at hiding your feelings when it came to Genevieve. If you really were Joe, she wouldn’t have affected you so.”

Zoe crossed her arms with a scowl and jerked away from him. “What were you doing with her anyway?”

Asher took a step toward her and let his hands slide back up her arms. He should have known she would be too focused on that one thing. She could not just be happy they were together, finally. He tried to soften the mood by repeating her words back to her.

“Like you said, my mother forced me. I thought you were dead…yeah, yeah.” He laughed when she pushed him away and stomped toward the door. Asher hurried after her and caught her hand before she could open it.

“Don’t be mad. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure until just a few minutes ago.”

She paused as her eyes narrowed at him. “What are you even doing here?”

Asher took a cautious step toward her, “I needed to see you.”

“Joe or Zoe?”

Asher laughed at the jealous tone in her voice. He would never understand how he had never realized how much he loved this woman before. She would never bore him that was for sure.

“Are you jealous of yourself?”

Zoe’s bottom lip poked out as she muttered. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

The prince felt the stirs of desire at her pout. She never looked so adorable. He took another step toward her and placed his hands on her arms. Zoe peeked up at him, her eyes curious at what he was going to do next.

“I missed Joe because she reminded me of you.”

“Even so you can’t tell anyone who I am.”

“I know.”

“I’m serious, Asher. There are things going on that you don’t know about. If someone finds out I’m still alive, I might not be that way for very long.” Zoe tried to push out of his arms, her eyes flashed in anger when he held fast. She bristled when his eyes chastised her attempts to escape his arms.

“I’m more aware than you are, Zoe.” Zoe’s focused back on him. “Your uncle made an appearance at the ball this week. He pretty much confirmed our suspicions of his role in you and your father’s deaths.” He enveloped her into a tight embrace as he remembered how he almost lost her. “You have no idea how happy I am that you are safe.”

“How did you even know I was here?”

Zoe slid her hands around his back and finally let herself relax in his arms. She felt Asher breathe in the smell of her hair. She briefly wondered if she smelled horrid and wished she had taken that bath before he had made his appearance. When he tightened his grip on her she figured she could not smell that bad.

“I think your gypsy friends are more matchmakers than performers.”

Zoe smiled and grumbled into his chest. “Meddlesome old fool.”

She had an itching she knew exactly who told her where she was. That would teach her to trust old women with food. Some of the older gypsies were better at getting information out of people than her spies back home.

Zoe leaned back to look him in the eyes. “You still can’t be here. If someone finds out you’re here there will be talk and I can’t risk it.”

Asher cupped her face with his hands as his fingers brushed along the skin of her cheek. “Not yet. I finally found you and I am not leaving until I get to do this.”

She opened her mouth to protest but before she could get a word out his lips covered hers. He grabbed the back of her head and pressed more into the kiss. He slid his tongue across her mouth to urge her to respond.

Zoe hesitated. Part of her knew she should send him packing, but there was another part of her that had ached for him the last few months and wanted nothing more than to give into him. An involuntary moan crept out of her. She opened her mouth up to his, when she realized she was fighting a losing battle.

She moaned again at the feel of his tongue as it swept over hers. She slipped her hands up his chest as her fingers memorized the muscles there before they settled around his neck. Her mouth felt like it was on fire. She had almost forgotten what it felt like to be touched by him.

He moved his hands from the back of her head to her lower back and pushed her more firmly against him. He groaned at the feel of her soft breasts against him through the thin fabric of their clothes. The time they had been apart had finally caught up with him and his kisses became more frantic. He guided Zoe backward until she was against the wall, but he pulled back from her as they both strained to catch their breath.

Zoe took a shaky breath and giggled as she took in their position. “What is with you and walls?” She was about to let out another giggle, but it caught in her throat when her eyes fixed on Asher’s. His darkened eyes were focused on her heaving chest and his desire filled voice did nothing to calm the wave of heat pooling in her belly.

“Maybe it is the only way I can make sure you don’t get away. Are you complaining?”

She gazed up at him through her lashes, her voice as husky as his as she breathed out. “Just an observation.” She tilted her face up to his and offered up her lips once more.

Asher growled at her sign of submission. He grabbed the back of her thighs and hoisted her up to wrap them around his waist before he crashed his lips back onto hers. Asher ground against her for a moment. Both of them groaned as she arched her back, her center pressed harder against him. Asher found himself getting caught up in their movements, but forced back in his desire.

Asher pulled them away from the wall and headed for the bed. She deserved better than their first time to be up against the wall. He smirked when Zoe let out a surprised squeak as he not so gently threw them on the bed. His mouth curved up higher when she glared up at him.

“I’m not sure this is any better.”

Asher pulled her tunic from her breeches and rushed to feel her skin against his hands. He growled down at her as his hand slid under her tunic. He wondered if he could get away with a gag.

“Don’t you ever shut up?”

Zoe’s eyes hardened further as she opened her mouth to protest, but ended up arching her back once more at the feel of his hand on her breast. He cupped her breast in his hand and let his thumb caress the tip of it. Asher felt his body harden at her reaction and admired her silent form.

“Ah, so that’s how.”

His teasing remarks brought Zoe’s desire to a screeching halt. She pushed him away from her and his hands fell away from her heated flesh. She ignored the way her body complained at the loss of his hand against her.