“Can you do this as well? Take half the job?”She pointed at the other side of the round room.
“I won’t have your precision, but I can applythe magic to panels and doors I have used and know well. You don’tneed to know the accesses intimately. Kavin can provide you withall the details.”
She grinned at him, and for a moment, hisface lit up. “Let’s race,” she said. “Close as many as you can, andI’ll do the others. When there are six left, you’ll tell me whichones you know well. Those will be yours to close. Whoever closesthe last entrance to the inner tunnels accepts defeat.”
“What will I win?”
“You’re rather confident.”
“It is my castle, and strategy is mystrength. Felip taught me that.” At the mention of Felip, his grinfell.
Kambry strode to him and lay her hands oneach side of his face. “Russal, don’t give up on me.”
He pulled her against his chest and restedhis forehead on her shoulder. Hands pressed to her rib cagetrembled as he drew her close.
“Is this strategy, Russal? Do you think weakknees and a trembling heart will slow me down?”
He laughed, and his breath brushed her neck,giving her shivers. “Am I making your knees weak, my love?”
She turned her head, their lips brushingtogether.
Russal inhaled, his mouth parting.
He didn’t move, and Kambry decided she would.With tender slowness, she ran her hands up his arms and around hisneck. When she clasped her hands together behind his shoulders, hekissed her, tucking her so snugly against him, her back arched. Shewasn’t sure, but either their hearts were beating in unison or hisheart’s frantic thud drowned hers out.
Russal pulled away from her and backed upagainst the podium. He stopped when it tipped and thudded backdown. He shook a finger at her, his voice carrying abreathlessness. “You have a very overwhelming counterstrategy.” Helooked at the room around him as if remembering where he was.“Let’s get them closed off before you completely disarm me.”
“And then?”
His head swiveled back at her, eyes brightand focused on hers. “The winner gets to decide the ‘andthen.’”
She ran to the wall and called to Kavin. Withtrembling fingers, she traced out a hidden doorway and refused toadmit who she hoped would win the race.
Chapter Twelve
Kambry paused with a handon an entrance to the passages when she heard a scuffle at thedoor. They were both rushing to close off the last six entrances,and she was at her final one. Was someone in the outer map room?She looked at the door of stone standing open. On the floor of thethreshold lay a gold box on its side, a green ribbon holding itshut, an elaborate bow draping the floor.
“Russal?”
“Done,” he said.
She twisted around, her brows pulledtogether.
With deliberate slowness, he folded his armsacross his chest, leaned his shoulder on the section of labyrinthbeside him, and crossed one ankle over the other. A self-satisfiedgrin graced his face. “I believe I’ve won. Now what shall be myprize?”
Kambry looked at the gold box and then againat Russal. “You deliberately sabotaged me.”
“Distracted you. I am a wily king. I gave yousomething else to put your attention to.”
“You stopped me from closing the lastentrance.”
“You said you wanted to leave one open.”
Kambry reexamined the carved diagram. Sheturned in place. He was right; there was only one exit remainingnow. It wasn’t the one she had planned. She remembered this one. Itopened into one of the receiving rooms, the very one she had leapedinto when she was evading Covey and his companion. “Then I won as Iclosed off the only two available.”
“Are you going to be that kind of queen,finding loopholes to take advantage of your subjects?”
“What? You just threw a box to distractme.”
“I was stopping you from closing off the lastentrance to the passages which you had been adamant should be leftopen,” he said, sauntering toward her, his head tippedsuggestively. “Do you want it closed now?”
“No.” She backed up a step.
He moved forward two steps, now only onequick stride from her. “I want my winnings.”
Kambry stepped back again, excitement makingher hands and feet tingle. The hair on the back of her neck rose.“You haven’t stated what that will be.”
“I’m considering my options.”
Kambry’s skirt brushed the box, the ribboncatching on the stone floor as it slid aside. They both gazed downat it.
“Why don’t you pick that up before you stepon it?”
“What is it?”
“A present.”
“I know that. What is inside the box?”
“Open it.”
Kambry squatted and gathered the box in herlap. Sitting down against the wall, she pulled on the ribbon.Russal joined her on the floor, looking eager to see what wasinside, too.
She giggled and lifted the lid when he leanedforward, giving her a mischievous glance. Tissue paper covered whatwas inside, and she shook her head before pinching it between twofingers and tugging it away. She dropped the tissue and tipped thebox. “Um.”
“Do you like it?”
What is it? “It’s a gold square.”
“No, it’s not. Pick it up.”
“It’s a gold square, Russal.”
“I didn’t know what to get a queen.”
“So you gave me gold square?”
“It’s not a gold square,” he said, a gigglekeeping his raised voice from sounding as exasperated as it might.“You’re also a scribe. This is something for a scribe.”
“Scribes don’t use gold squares. You knowlittle about lettering, do you?”
“If that is a veiled attack on my penmanship,I might just take this present back.”
Kambry slid a finger under the square andlifted the edge. With thumb and finger, she raised it out of thebox. “You should practice your letters. A king should be able towrite easy-to-read prose.”
Russal took the box from her and set itaside. “Stop with the criticism of my scribbles. Do you likeit?”
“I love your crabby scrawl.”
“The present, you annoying woman.”
She turned it between her thumb and fingerand smiled. Master Muntrac kept one in the scriptorium, but she hadnever had one of her own. She’d always used a blade to sharpen herlead. Though there were some lead angles far more useful, a cleanpoint had many purposes. Cupping it in one hand, she rolled it overher palm, noting the imprint of a
