Warlord’s profile was sharp against the setting sun.
“I trust you have a reason for this perilous expedition?” the princess demanded as she turned to stare out over the plain.
“I thought you might enjoy the view, your Highness.”
Damin Wolfblade really should learn to speak to the princess with more respect.
“It’s lovely. Can we go now?”
“Tell me what you see.”
“I see nothing, and I’m freezing. Is this really necessary?”
“You see nothing,” Damin repeated thoughtfully. “Interesting, don’t you think?”
“You find nothing
Mikel grinned in the darkness of his hidey-hole.
“Adrina, a few leagues from here, your husband’s army sits and waits. They do nothing. They don’t attack. They don’t train. They don’t even run away. They just sit there, waiting for something. I want to know what they’re waiting for.”
Adrina turned north, her expression puzzled. Rather than the biting retort Mikel was expecting, she shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Were they planning something, before you left? Something that would account for their willingness to hold an army of that size immobile for so long?”
“I’d tell you if I knew. Their war council did little more than argue, and you’ve already seen their idea of battle. The Dukes of Karien are not renowned for their tactical genius. When you have countless troops to throw into battle it isn’t really necessary.”
Mikel wasn’t sure he believed what he was hearing. They sounded so... friendly.
“Could one of the Dukes have advised him to wait?”
“Lord Roache may have,” Adrina shrugged.
“What did the Duke of Setenton advise?”
“Lord Terbolt? He’s not there. He sent his brother Ciril in his place.”
The warlord frowned. “Terbolt isn’t there? He’s Jasnoff’s most trusted commander. Where is he?”
“I don’t know. Cratyn didn’t seem surprised by his absence, though. Perhaps Jasnoff had other plans for him.”
“What other plans?” Damin asked, the concern in his voice obvious even to Mikel.
“I was permitted to join their war council rather begrudgingly, my Lord. They weren’t in the habit of discussing anything of import while I was present.”
Damin laughed softly. “Not an unwise precaution, in light of recent events.”
Adrina turned on the Warlord. “That remark was uncalled for, my Lord.”
Damin sighed. “That’s right, I forgot. You aren’t committing treason, you just want to be free.”
“Free! Get this damned collar off my neck, then I might remember what the word means!”
As Damin moved closer to her, Mikel wanted to leap to the defence of his princess, but Dace held him back.
“No!” the thief whispered.
Burning with frustration and not at all certain why he remained hidden, Mikel turned back to watch, thinking the Warlord was much too close to the princess to be proper.
Damin was fingering the golden collar Adrina wore with surprisingly gentle fingers. It reflected the setting sun, making the wolf’s ruby eyes glitter malignantly. Adrina’s rigid posture betrayed more than she imagined.
“What would you give to be free, Adrina?” he asked softly.
“Unhand me, sir!”
Damin dropped his hand. “I can see why your marriage was never consummated, your Highness.”
Mikel swallowed a horrified gasp. He knew what “consummated” meant.
Adrina laughed. She sounded genuinely amused. “You don’t like me much, do you? Is that why you take so much pleasure from tormenting me?”
“Ah, now there’s the tragedy, your Highness. If you weren’t such a treacherous, conniving little bitch, I’d probably be quite taken with you.”
Adrina turned away from him, to study the red streaked clouds. The sun was almost completely set. “You presume to know an awful lot about me, considering the short time of our acquaintance, Damin Wolfblade. How much is your own opinion, and how much is hearsay, I wonder?”
“I make my own judgments. I’ve no need to listen to hearsay.”
“I beg to differ, my Lord,” she retorted, turning to face him. “You told Captain Tenragan I tried to kill the High Prince. You weren’t there. How could you possibly know what happened, unless you listened to hearsay?”
“He told you that, did he?”
“Yes, and it’s a damned lie! I did no such thing! Your uncle is a perverted monster, and if those boys would rather die than let him touch them, I don’t blame them!”
“So you did give them the knife?”
“Yes!”
Damin was silent for a moment. “Why did you take the collars?”
“I didn’t take them. Lernen gave them to me. I kept them as a remembrance of two children destroyed by a debauched old man. Somebody owed them that much.”
He took a step back from her. “It’s cold, your Highness, and I know how anxious you are to return indoors. Shall we go?”
Adrina planted her hands on her hips angrily. “That’s it? No apology? No admission that you were wrong? How dare you, sir!”
The Warlord shrugged. “For all I know, you’re lying about that, just as you lie about everything else.”
“I am
Damin closed the gap between them with frightening speed. “Then prove it, Adrina. Tell me the truth! Why did you leave Karien?” Although he was looming over her, Adrina held her ground. Mikel watched helplessly, wanting to kill Damin Wolfblade almost as much as he wanted to stay hidden and watch this strange scene unfold.
“I’ve told you a thousand times! I left because Cratyn is a miserable, cowardly, little cretin! The day we were married he hit me and called me a Fardohnyan whore and told me all he wanted was a Karien heir to my father’s throne. It went downhill from there.”
Tears misted Mikel’s eyes to hear such words coming from his princess.
She walked to the other side of the small tower and leaned against the crumbling merlons, turning her back to the Warlord. The darkness was settling rapidly, making her features hard to distinguish.
“Was it that bad?” Damin asked, in a surprisingly sympathetic voice.
“Worse than you could possibly imagine. The bastards even killed my dog.”
“Does your father know what it was like?”
“Even if he did, he wouldn’t care. Hablet has his own plans.”
“To invade Hythria, no doubt.” Adrina looked around sharply, but Damin smiled. “Don’t worry, Adrina. I won’t overtax your ability to admit the truth any further, this night. Your father’s worst fault is his predicability. His plans are easy enough to fathom. It’s the Kariens who have me worried at the moment.”
“I told you, I don’t know what they have planned.”
“And oddly enough, I believe you. Come on. The sun has set. If we stay up here much longer they’ll be able to decorate their damned Founder’s Day banquet with a couple of ice statues.”
He held out his hand to help her down and, to Mikel’s disgust, she accepted it. But she halted at the top of the steps and leaned toward him in a most unladylike manner. “Tarja showed me the graves, Damin. That was a noble thing to do for an enemy.”
“Careful, your Highness, you might actually get me believing there’s a heart hidden beneath that rather
