Warrior (42 page)

in and the duke reluctantly released

her, always remembering to verbally

abuse her whenever she was in his

sight. Her last thoughts made up her

mind. If she stayed, he would

eventually rape or kill her. She’d seen

in it his eyes but never wanted to

accept the truth. But if she succeeded

in helping the princess, she had a

chance of a better life with her

siblings. First, though, she would have

to send her sisters away.

***

Varian had no intention of storming

Neren Castle to find Isolde. In fact, he

intended to walk into the castle, find

her, if their spies were correct and she

was the unknown woman behind held

therein, and walk out with her. It was

why he, along with a scattered group

of twenty Lytherian warriors, dressed

in the clothing of farmers, merchants

and noblemen, were currently walking

amongst the people of Neren. After

Vulcan had told him Jaisyn was

missing and he suspected she’d been

taken East, possibly to Neren, Varian

had immediately sent men to find

anyone with information. Two soldiers

had been willing to betray their lord in

return for a small fortune in Lytherian

gold. They spoke of a prisoner, a pale

female with shorn red hair, being held

in the uppermost tower of Neren

Castle. None were allowed to see her

but for the maid who attended her and

the soldiers who stood guard. When

they’d reported that to Varian, he’d

felt his blood boil and his temper,

which was normally the one thing he

had a good grasp on, surge.

It had to be Isolde, for who else

would Kegan go through such great

lengths to keep concealed? Not only

had he kidnapped a princess, he’d

disguised her by cutting off her hair!

Isolde’s long, beautiful auburn locks

had been cut short. Vulcan’s voice

had awakened him from his thoughts

and he’d coolly pulled himself

together, though doing so was

difficult, and thought up the current

plan. His brother had disagreed,

opting instead to storm the castle, to

bend the people of Neren to his will,

give Kegan the death of a traitor, and

retrieve Isolde before they headed

South to Sulan. Varian had asked for

three days in which he would find and

return Isolde to St. Ives Castle. If

those three days passed and he hadn’t

returned, Vulcan would march against

Neren as he wished.

The atmosphere in Neren was

mellow and Varian was surprised to

find that although there were soldiers,

Lytherian and Sulanese, patrolling and

training heavily in various parts of the

courtyard and fields, they were vastly

outnumbered by Vulcan’s massive

army. He’d been under the impression

that Kegan had the support of the

Sulanese, and with it, their armies.

Pushing that thought to the back of his

mind, he crossed the drawbridge and

circled the courtyard, his eyes

searching out the maid that would

help him find Isolde.

***

Iliana surveyed the sleeping guards

and the two tankards that sat on the

floors beside them. Empty. They’d

drunk it all, both the ale and the

potion she’d received from the

apothecary for a condition she did not

have: inability to fall asleep. She’d

been told it was a powerful potion and

only a drop was needed in any liquid

before she went to bed. She’d used

the entire bottle of potion on the two

guards. She was taking no chances.

She unlocked the door to the tower

and crept into the darkened chambers.

It was late in the night and she had no

doubt the princess would be asleep.

“Princess,” she whispered softly,

and then heard the shifting of bed

sheets

as

Isolde

came

awake.

“Princess, come. We must leave

immediately.”

***

Varian was not proud of what he’d

done to get the information, but he

would have done much more where

Isolde was concerned. A pretty maid

had painted a vivid picture in his head

on how to get to the tower, and had

even told him that a maid called Iliana

was the only one, outside of their lord,

with the key to it. That she’d been on

her back beneath him as she divulged

that information had barely registered

to Varian as he began to plot Isolde’s

escape. After giving the wench a few

coins for her enthusiastic services,

he’d had her point Iliana out and

under the cover of darkness, he’d

followed her.

Iliana left the castle with the other

servants who had homes in the town

but had barely been in her small

cottage an hour before she was

returning to the castle.

With the shadows as his ally, Varian

followed her. He went up the winding

staircase and waited in the shadows as

she opened a the tower door and

stepped in. He cautiously approached

the men sitting before the door, his

dagger in his hand, and found them

passed out on the ground. Shaking his

head, he’d looked to the tankards

lying beside them. Drunk. Luck was

smiling upon him. Without sheathing

his dagger, he pushed the door in.

***

Both women froze in horror as their

chances of escape vanished before

their eyes. Someone had found them

out. Iliana’s hand covered her mouth

to prevent the cry she would surely

have released and Isolde instinctively

moved closer to the vanity, upon

which lay a brush with a pointed

handle. The dim light from the

hallway cast the man in shadow

before he closed the door, locking

them all in darkness.

Isolde moved quickly, feeling on her

vanity for the brush, and then

whisking it up in her hands. She

brandished it before her like a

weapon.

“Allow us to pass, sir, and you will

be rewarded heavily by the High King

of the North.” Her voice shook

slightly, for her eyes could barely

make out anything in the dark

confines. She did not know where he

was. A firm hand grasped her wrist

and her only weapon was removed.

She felt her hopes fall an instant

before the man pulled her against him.

The crushing hug forced the air from

her lungs and she inhaled deeply. It

was then she knew who held her and

a cry erupted from her lips as she

threw her arms around his neck.

“Varian?”

His name was but a whisper on her

lips, but he felt real enough under her

fingers. This wasn’t a dream. Her

fingers clasped him tighter to her

body. She’d dreamt of him coming for

her during the weeks that she’d been

held in this place but had never

imaged it would actually happen.

“Isolde,” he breathed, and her name

on his lips sounded heavenly. One

hand came up to cup the back of her

neck and Isolde trembled at the

caress. This time, she wanted him to

kiss her. His hands moved through her

hair and a ragged groan erupted from

his lips.

Isolde blanched and tried to remove

his hand, feeling insecure without her

long locks. “They cut it but it will

grow back—”

Varian’s

lips

were

suddenly

brushing hers, merely a soft, fleeting

caress. “It matters not. You will

always be beautiful,” he said lowly,

and Isolde released a breath she did

not know she was holding.

Iliana interrupted with urgency.

“Princess, we must leave now. The

new guards will soon come.”

Varian pulled away from Isolde but

his fingers reached down and laced

through hers. He held her hand firmly.

“Are you fleeing with us, maid?”

Isolde answered immediately. “Yes,

Varian. She agreed to help me and I

intend to return the favor.”

Varian did not speak for seconds

before he addressed the maid. “Which

path from Neren is least guarded by

soldiers?”

“I can’t tell ye properly, milord, but

I can show ye,” Iliana replied

honestly.

Varian

nodded

before

pulling Isolde toward the door.

Iliana trailed behind them, knowing

by now her siblings would have

reached Holioak, the town which

housed the High Priestess Yanik. No

harm would befall them there. For the

first time in her life, the young girl was

hopeful.

Chapter 12

Under cover of night, Varian, with

Isolde before him on a midnight-black

stallion, and the maid—Iliana was her

name—seated before one of his

disguised warriors, rode from Neren.

Varian had notified one of the

warriors that they were to leave by

different routes, and meet before they

entered the thick forest that would

take them directly to St. Ives Castle.

They managed to leave Neren

without sounding any alarms. There

were barely any guards at the

southern exit and Varian and the

warrior accompanying him easily

slipped by. They met up with the rest

of their party and after making sure

that everyone was there, rode swiftly

onto the Lytherian City.

***

Isolde inhaled the smell of wet grass

and earth as she made herself more

comfortable in Varian’s arms. She

hadn’t been out in the open, hadn’t

left the prison cell of hers in days,

probably weeks and as the soft but

cool winds whipped against her face,

she released a sigh. She was safe.

Varian was with her. No one would

be able to take her again. As if sensing

her

thoughts,

a

muscular

arm

suddenly wrapped about her waist and

she was pulled even closer to him. No,

Varian wouldn’t allow anyone to take

her or hurt her again.

***

The ride from Neren to the city of

Lytheria was tiring. Varian didn’t say

a word as they rode and Isolde was

content to simply sit before him.

When they came to the front of the

castle, Isolde’s eyes widened in

confusion.

What

appeared

like

thousands of tents had been raised

feet away from the castle and the

riders had to navigate their way

through.

“Why are there so many tents?” she

found herself asking as the stallion

snorted softly and made his way

toward the castle.

Shifting slightly on the horse, Varian

lowered his head. “Vulcan has

brought his warriors from Morden.”

Eyes widening in confusion, Isolde

turned slightly on the horse, so that

she could look up at him. “For me?”

Varian’s eyes grew guarded. He

nodded once. “Yes, for you… and for

your sister.”

She had not heard him correctly.

“What? Which sister?”

They crossed the drawbridge and

were now in the courtyard. “Jaisyn

disappeared from Morden a few

weeks ago.”

If not for Varian’s hand holding her

upright, Isolde would have fallen from

the horse and knocked herself

senseless. Jaisyn was missing?

“Dear Lyria,” she muttered in fear,

wondering if her sister’s kidnapping

had anything to do with hers. She had

a feeling it did. “She must have been

taken against her will. What about

Mathilda? Is she safe?”

“Mathilda has been under heavy

guard

since

both

of

your

disappearances. She is safe at St. Ives

Castle.”

Isolde breathed a small sigh of relief

before her voice became panicked

once more. “And Jaisyn? Do you

know where she is? When are you

going for her?”

Unsure of how to reply, Varian

decided to take the vague way.

“Soon.”

“How soon?” Isolde countered,

wondering why the man was being so