Heiress of Lies (5 page)

     But Malin had grown into a stunning young man. In that moment, his blond hair shone like silver threads in the moonlight, and his deep blue eyes held hers with a shocking intensity that she had known was there but which had never been directed at her before. Malin had always been polite and courteous but she believed that he had not thought of her romantically either.

     His broad shoulders and trim waist spoke to hours spent on the training field. Although he served the king in an advisory capacity, Malin had never stopped training with Rhone and his soldiers. Angeline often wondered, if he could have had things his way, whether he would have chosen to become Rhone’s successor rather than marry Angeline to ensure the continuation of the Robart bloodline.

     “I’m sorry to have been a nuisance,” she said faintly. She knew that Malin hated frivolity in all of its forms. Sitting there wallowing in self-pity was the act of a bubbleheaded girl, not the future queen. “You have a good memory. This place always brought me peace when I was a child. I was just remembering simpler times.”

     She was surprised when Malin gestured to her for approval to sit beside her. She nodded and then found herself looking into his eyes once again.

     “Your father feels that completing your education with the Sisters of St. Abeth is a great privilege. They only allow three students per year into the program and this opportunity will not come again.”

     Angeline sighed. She had no wish to go into the same argument with Malin that she had had what seemed like a million times with her father. “I know. I find it hard to believe that my studies here are inadequate, but I will do as my father commands.” She looked back out the window.

     She felt warm fingers grasp her own and her attention was immediately drawn back to Malin. He had never touched her before, and she felt a strange heat emanating from his skin.

     “I fear that it is I who have caused you this distress, Princess. I advised your father of the program and carried on a correspondence with the Mother Superior about you. I had noticed, like your father, that you were bored with your classes. I thought that you would enjoy a more challenging curriculum and so I was the one who recommended you. I’m sorry if I overstepped my bounds, but I thought it was important that you have as much knowledge as possible before you ascend the throne,” Malin said, staring deeply into her eyes.

     His confession should have made her angry with him, but as he spoke he had begun to gently knead her palms and she felt a flush rise up her cheeks at the intimacy of his touch.

     “Well, that was thoughtful, Malin,” she finally managed to say. “I had no idea you thought so highly of me.”
I had no idea you thought of me at all
was what almost fell out of her mouth but she bit her tongue.

     “Of course, Princess. I should not be so forward to say so, but if the king does grant me the privilege of your hand in marriage, I will be so honored to stand next to such a wise and educated queen,” Malin’s voice was hypnotic.

     Angeline felt like she couldn’t catch her breath so she dropped her eyes. Then she felt his hand beneath her chin as Malin leaned forward.

     “Have I upset you, Princess? Does the thought of being betrothed to me bother you so terribly?”

     “N-no,” Angeline whispered. She would have shaken her head but he held her chin firmly.

     And then his lips crossed the few remaining inches between them, and as he softly touched his lips to hers, Angeline thought that her mind was going to implode.

     As soon as he felt that she wasn’t pulling away, the hand under her chin slipped down her neck to the dip of her shoulder and he slid the other around her waist, pulling her to him. Angeline didn’t resist. She brought her hands up around his neck and opened her mouth to his hungry tongue. She didn’t want him to stop.

     Abruptly he pulled away and stood up with an alarmed look on his face. Angeline wanted to scream in protest.

     “Princess, I have been too forward. I apologize. Please let me escort you back to your room.”

     Immediately Angeline’s face grew warm and she was embarrassed by her reaction. Did she do something wrong? Had her kiss disappointed him? Her body felt like it was on fire, and she looked at him in a completely new way. He wasn’t the schoolboy who had ignored her constant demanding that he play with her. He was a man, and she knew that she still saw desire in his eyes. He wanted her. Suddenly the idea of being betrothed to Malin was very appealing.

     Angeline stood slowly and smoothed her skirt to give herself another moment to compose herself. Then she walked past him and started down the stairs. She felt him behind her as he followed her all the way back to her room. All too soon they were standing at her door. She wanted him to say something, anything, to stop her so that she could ask him what had happened and how he felt about her. But he was silent.

     She turned stiffly and nodded to him, “Thank you for your kind escort, Malin.”

     Her hand was on the door knob when his hand stopped her. Her heart fluttered for a beat.

     “Princess, I hope you have a safe journey tomorrow. I am most looking forward to your return,” he said.

     Angeline looked up into his blue eyes and saw the desire was still there, as well as an unspoken question. But she was the princess. She was going to be the queen. She didn’t beg men to declare their intentions. So if he wasn’t going to do it on his own, she wasn’t going to be the one to say anything first.

     “Thank you, Malin,” she said and then she opened the door and slipped inside.

     Angeline was shaken from the memory of the night of Malin’s kiss by Connor’s return to the cave. She had gotten her dress as clean as she could and eaten several bites of the pork but was no longer feeling hungry. Every time she allowed herself to think of that night she alternated berating herself for basically throwing herself into Malin’s arms and then worrying if he had the same feelings for her that she may have for him.

     But staring into Connor’s eyes, Angeline realized that he seemed to block everything else out. Here it was just the two of them. Alone. And she already knew that his presence called up something inside of her that was akin to what she had felt that night with Malin. That thought petrified her, but it was becoming stronger.

     He looked at her strangely.

     “It’s time to go,” he said. He handed her a dark cloak. “We must move quickly. Others are coming.”

     “Others?” Angeline said hopefully. “Rhone?”

     Connor smiled a strained smile. “No, Princess. Others like me, but not nearly so nice.”

     Angeline stepped toward the cave’s entrance and felt the chill of the early spring air whirl around her. She was looking out at a solid rock wall that was about fifty feet away from where she stood, across a narrow divide.

     The Solera Valley, she thought. She hadn’t been to the southern tip of Altera since she was a child. Beyond the valley lay the Forgotten Lands, a place where thieves, traders, and scoundrels ruled the land. As long as they stayed on their side of the valley, Angeline’s father had left them to their own devices, saying that they were far removed from any possible trouble and that hopefully they would kill each other off. Now she wondered if there had been another reason; did the king know that other kinds of monsters lurked in the Forgotten Lands as well?

     She shivered as she chewed on Connor’s words. They were being hunted. She felt like a pawn in some kind of elaborate game where she didn’t understand the rules. But she gathered she was an important pawn; perhaps even the trophy. As she had been calculating her escape, it had never crossed her mind that it was possible that she would encounter someone or
something
worse than the man standing with his back to her, staring out into the impending gloom. She needed to understand more of the situation before she did anything rash.

    
Take your time. Gather all information. Make sure your decision is based on facts and not on emotions
, she heard her father’s voice recite in her head. She wanted to think logically, but she couldn’t deny that she was afraid. And the one person that she needed to rely on now was the man who held her captive. It seemed like an impossible situation.

     “You don’t need to be afraid, Princess. As long as you are with me, you will be safe,” Connor said without turning around.

     Angeline caught the double meaning.
As long as you are with me
was nothing more than a thinly veiled threat and it made her angry again.

     Connor chuckled and turned toward her. “You are like a water spigot, first cold, then hot, then cold. It’s exhausting.”

     “What are you talking about?” Angeline asked, crossing her arms. “I am being held against my will. What are you expecting? For me to jump up and down in delight?” She was puzzled at his words, though, and she remembered that he had never answered her earlier question. Could he read her mind?

     “I promised to make your detour as pleasant as possible,” Connor said with a shake of his head. “I think it’s best that we leave those who would do you harm, though, as far behind us as we can. Are you ready?”

     Angeline took a step to the edge and felt her stomach wobble. They were at least a hundred feet from the valley’s bottom.

     “Whoa there,” Connor said, taking her arm and pulling her back securely onto the ledge. “I just asked if you were ready to go. I didn’t tell you to jump.”

     “I don’t see any horses,” Angeline said faintly. She didn’t like heights. It made her feel very small and exposed to be so far from the ground.

     “I was hoping for a more leisurely pace, but unfortunately we are going to require a swifter mode of transportation,” Connor said carefully.

     Angeline looked at him. “What is swifter than a horse?”

     Suddenly he was close; too close. He gazed deeply into her eyes and Angeline felt her knees going weak. Slowly he took her arms and closed them around his neck.

     “I’m going to need your help for this first part,” he said. “But then I will carry you, Princess. I know you are eager to get home and I am doing my best to accommodate that request.”

     “Why?” she asked. She knew that he had the power to bend her will to his, but she didn’t feel like he was using it. It was simply his closeness that was intoxicating. He smelled like a rich old musk and she breathed deeply, resisting the urge to bury her nose in his lapel. But for as normal as he appeared, she forced herself to remember that he was a monster. And nowhere in any legend that she had been told did this kind of monster appear noble or capable of keeping his word. It was just that Connor wasn’t acting like that monster at all.

     “It is in my best interests to ensure that you arrive safe and sound in one piece,” he said.

     “Oh,” Angeline said, looking away and down at his chest. She felt disappointed. Of course that would be his reason.

     “I know that you don’t want to be here. And there are things that I want too, that are out of my reach until I get you to my Master. So the sooner I do that, the sooner we both get what we want,” Connor said.

     It wasn’t the answer Angeline was looking for, but he sounded sincere and it made sense. He would be rewarded for bringing her in. But she worried about what would happen next, no matter what reassurances he gave her. She had to keep her eyes open for a way to escape.

     “What do you need me to do?” she asked, looking back up at him. He was devastatingly handsome. His square chin had a small cleft that enticed her to reach up and touch it. He reminded her of Malin, but darker and more mysterious. She felt warm realizing how she was pressed up against him.

     “Hang on and try to keep quiet,” he said gravely and then he whirled her around onto his back.

     Despite his warning, Angeline yelped and then sucked in her breath as Connor started to climb up the sheer wall next to the ledge. She wouldn’t look down, she told herself. She clung tightly to Connor’s back and kept her cheek tightly against his cloak with her eyes closed. She could feel his muscles strain each time he reached up, and after what seemed like an eternity, she felt him stop. Her eyes opened just as they shot straight up in the air. It took every ounce of control not to scream as they catapulted over the side of the top of the valley wall.