sometimes made bare by a sudden gust of wind. The wind also played through her hair, making her dirty blond locks dance like flames in the light of the sun.
And even though Soth had never imagined that he'd be so enamored by an elf-in fact he'd never been particularly fond of the race to begin with-he somehow found himself becoming attracted to the maiden. Perhaps it was her mix of youthful innocence and womanly beauty, or perhaps it was the look of awe in her eyes when she spoke and looked at him.
Whatever it was, he was enchanted by her. Of that, there could be no doubt.
'I'm becoming weary,' said Isolde. 'Can we stop for a little while?'
Soth scanned the surrounding landscape. It was barren and flat and the sun beat down on them mercilessly. He would have liked to have stopped by a stand of trees or a rock formation, but he wasn't about to suggest that Isolde continue on if she didn't feel up to it.
'All right, we can stop here. But not for long.'
'Thank you, milord.'
'You may call me Loren.'
'Very well… Loren.'
They stopped on the trail and Isolde waited until Soth had dismounted and could assist her from her mount. He reached up, put his hands about her waist and eased her off the horse. Before her feet touched the ground Isolde put her arms around Soth's neck and held him close.
'I wanted to thank you for all you've done.'
Soth was surprised by how tightly Isolde held onto him, or perhaps surprised that she was so at ease when there were only inches between them.
'It was nothing, really,' said Soth, holding Isolde aloft because she didn't seem in any hurry to get her feet onto the ground. 'I did nothing that any Knight of Solamnia wouldn't have done in a similar circumstance.'
'Perhaps, but it wasn't just any Knight of Solamnia who saved me, it was you.'
'But-'
His words were cut off by a kiss.
A deep soulful kiss, more passionate than mere thanks would require.
Soth hesitated at first, but quickly felt himself giving in to the moment until he returned the kiss with as much urgency as it was given.
It was a long time before Isolde's feet touched the ground.
When Dargaard Keep was well within their sights and he knew he would be seen from the highest of the keep's towers, Soth felt the warm summer's breeze touch the back of his neck like a cold, cold hand.
It had been so easy to kiss Isolde.
It had felt so natural. It was natural, too, that they ride together on his horse, leaving hers to trail riderless behind them.
But now with the red rose of Dargaard Keep blooming on the horizon, his thoughts turned to Lady Korinne and he felt a churning in the pit of his stomach, almost as if he were going to be sick.
Did his attraction to Isolde mean that his love for Lady Korinne was waning? After all. Lady Korinne was herself an attractive woman whose beauty was known throughout Ansalon. Then why had he so easily forgotten about her upon seeing Isolde? What was it about the elf-maid that would prompt him to forget his lovely, loyal and most-cherished wife? What did Isolde possess that Korinne did not?
He couldn't think of anything.
He'd merely been attracted by her appearance. And while she was stunningly attractive, her looks were no reason for him to lose his head and start acting like a lovesick young boy. But while there wasn't anything wrong with lusting after beautiful young women, elf or otherwise, (he was married, not dead, after all) it was another matter entirely if he chose to act upon his emotions.
The kiss had been an aberration, he thought, vowing to have Isolde's injuries taken care of, then send her off to Palanthas with an escort so that she could rejoin her fellow maidens.
'Almost there,' he said.
Isolde craned her neck to see the top of the keep over Soth's shoulder.
'Where are your chambers?' she asked.
'The second window from the top on the left side of the tower,' he said.
'And that's where you sleep?'
Soth considered telling her that it was the room where both he and Lady
Korinne slept, but for some reason he did not. Instead, he merely said,
'Yes.'
'Lord Soth returns!'
'Milord approaches!'
The loud shouts echoed down from the tower's two top observation posts almost at the same time.
Immediately upon hearing the words. Lady Korinne felt her heart drop like a stone into the pit of her stomach.
Something had to be wrong.
The Knights' Meeting was to have lasted seven days and her husband was not to have returned for at least ten, or perhaps for even two weeks, yet here he was returning just two days after leaving. He hadn't even reached Palanthas.
A lump of worry gathered in Korinne's throat as she hurried to the window of her bedchamber. The room was high up in the keep with a view that stretched all the way to the Vingaard River. If the sky was clear, she'd likely be able to see her husband's approach.
She scanned the horizon and picked out two horses far off in the distance making their way toward the keep.
There appeared to be two riders, but she couldn't be sure.
One was obviously Lord Soth, his size, shape and the deep rose-red color of his leather armor unmistakable even at this distance. The other traveler was much harder to identify.
Clearly the rider was not a knight, being too small and slender to belong to any of the orders.
At one point, the two horses turned slightly to one side.
At once, Korinne saw that the trailing horse was riderless, while the second rider sat directly behind Lord Soth.
She shifted her gaze back onto her husband. From the way he was riding, it was obvious that he was unharmed.
She was relieved but the lump of worry was still knotted in her throat.
In fact, it seemed to have grown larger.
If he hadn't been injured, then why was he returning so early, and in the company of a woman? A woman who rode with her arms wrapped tightly around the waist of Korinne's husband.
BOOK TWO
Knight's Fall
Chapter 11
By the time Soth reached Dargaard Keep, dozens of people had gathered just inside the gate to receive him. There was a buzz traveling through the crowd and speculation ran rampant with theories ranging from an ambush and slaughter on the trail, to the discovery of a lost lone traveler brought back to the keep for her own safety.
When Soth and Isolde entered the keep, something of a stunned silence came over those gathered as they recognized the maiden's beauty to be quite extraordinary.
