by Cate Dean
To her horror, Micah took her hand, and waved with his free hand. “My blessings to the happy couple.” She let him lead her forward, because fighting him would only add more fuel to the already heated gossip. With the care that was simply part of him, Micah shook the new husband’s hand, and kissed the new wife’s blushing cheek. “Please visit me at the castle once you are settled. I want to offer a gift for your new life together.”
“Milord,” the bride sputtered, so lovely in her deep blue gown, the fresh flowers in her wedding crown bright against her dark, braided hair. “I—we are—”
“Honored,” her husband said, his arm slipping around her waist. “Thank you.”
He bowed, prompting her to curtsey. Raine envied them their happiness. It shined, radiating from them. She knew it was a type of happiness she was not destined to have. Not here. Perhaps not anywhere—
Stop the pity. She’d let it sneak up on her again. Only two more years, and she would be free to go where she wanted, to use the skills she kept secret, to become the physician she was meant to be. None of that was possible here, with the ingrained prejudice of her people. Especially now, with someone killing half-bloods.
Micah’s low voice brought her back to the moment. “It is my pleasure. Now go, enjoy your day.”
A chorus of “yes, milord” and “thank you, milord” surrounded them, along with the wedding party. After endless minutes, they made their way past, leaving a single figure in the middle of the street. Thomas.
“Milord.” He stalked forward, clearly unhappy. “You know the Duke ordered you not to wander the city alone.”
Micah let out a sigh. “I’m not alone.”
Thomas’ angry gaze transferred to her. “This—half-blood can hardly protect you if—”
“Call her that again,” Micah said, anger snapping across his low voice. “And you will find yourself on the wrong side of the castle gate.”
“Milord.” Raine tucked her hands in her skirt pockets, to keep from unconsciously touching him. “Thomas has a point. He has no idea that I can protect you if necessary.”
Micah’s head snapped around, his eyes wide. “Is there something you neglected to mention to me?”
“Just that I can defend against an attack.” Her gaze focused on Thomas. “Without a weapon.” She wanted him to understand that she did not carry a weapon. Just the hint of suspicion would land her in the castle dungeon, and not even Micah would be able to talk her out. “No one will hurt him.”
Thomas studied her for endless minutes, and finally turned his attention to Micah.
“You shouldn’t have run from me.”
“I didn’t—” Micah cut himself off, and ran one hand through his hair. “It was unintentional, and careless. Forgive me, Thomas.” The guard nodded. Grudgingly. “Now, it’s broad daylight, the streets are filled with people, and I am not alone. I believe you can head back without me.”
A frown creased Thomas’ forehead. “Milord—”
“Meet me at the tavern by supper. You are dismissed, Thomas.”
The guard stiffened at the authority in Micah’s voice. For a moment, Raine thought he would refuse, and drag Micah away with him. Instead, he gave a stiff bow.
“Yes, milord.”
Turning on one heel, he stalked down the street, the afternoon strollers jumping aside to clear a path. Raine watched him leave, more than aware that she was now alone with Micah.
He moved in, forcing her to look up. The last months had added inches to his height, and broader shoulders under his simple shirt. She also noticed fresh scars on his forearms, and bit back a smile. He was not allowing his hands to keep him from his inventions.
“Micah.”
He smiled. “At last. No more milord, Raine. You have done too much for me, and for Liam. I never planned to—kiss you. But seeing you again, after months of you avoiding me, cracked the control I had.”
“I am sorry, for staying away. I thought it best for everyone.”
His fingers slid into her hair, loose today, as she had a rare free afternoon. “It would be,” he whispered. “If I could find a way to stop thinking about you.”
She sighed and gave in to her need, slipping her arms around his waist. Micah held her, and it felt right. She allowed herself to enjoy it, aware that it would not happen again. Could not. He had an entire kingdom to answer to, and she refused to burden him with the need to defend his decision.
It took more effort to let him go than she expected.
“No,” she said, backing away when he reached for her. “This will only cause pain, for both of us. You know I’m right. I care about you, Micah, more than I should. You have such a generous heart, and a mind that constantly surprises me. But this will never work.”
“Raine.” His sigh told her he agreed, however reluctant he was to do so. “I won’t lose you like that again.”
“It will be best if we don’t—damn it, Micah, stop looking at me like that.”
His lips twitched. “I can’t seem to stop myself. Will you give me today? Just today, and I will let you go, if that is what you still wish.”
More time with him would simply make it harder, but when she opened her mouth to say no, she met his eyes.
“All right.” His grin warmed every inch of her. “But I have to be back at the tavern before the evening meal. That will be it, Micah.”
“Understood.” He took her hand, tightening his grasp when she tried to pull away. “Stop glaring, Raine. The damage has been done.” He twined their fingers together. “If this is our last afternoon together, then I am determined to enjoy it.”
“I did agree.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “Yes, you did.”
Raine laughed. There was the mischievous boy she met months ago, the one willing to take in a fire drake, and bear the ridicule of his own family to do what he wanted with his life.
Not so much a boy anymore. Time and tragedy had shaped him, changed him. But it left the spark that drew her to him when they first met, the spark that had her walking away, once she knew he was safe.
“Lead the way, milord. Just try not to cause too much trouble.” He snorted, and she laughed again. That was another thing she missed, being away from him. The laughter, the ease, the acceptance.
It would break her heart to leave him behind.
Three
“Enough, Joseph.”
Liam walked across the office, away from his advisor. Once again, Joseph had been hammering at him to reconsider the ridiculous demands Micah’s abductors had thrust on him, in exchange for Micah’s life.
“My lord, I understand your hesitation. But will you not even reconsider reading what I have? At your pace, on your schedule.”
“Will you stop badgering me if I agree?”
“My lord—”
“Yes or no, Joseph.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Fine. Put the bloody document on my desk, and leave me.”
Liam turned to the window, waiting until he heard the door close to lower his head and lean against the stone. Every time Joseph tried to discuss this document with him, all he could see was Micah, bloody and unconscious.
He would read the document, as promised. But he would give away his title before he allowed faceless cowards to dictate how he ran his kingdom.
~ ~ ~
Micah took Raine to probably the last place she expected.
The city library.
Her smile when they rounded the corner lightened his fear that she would laugh, or worse, refuse to go inside.
“You spend a great deal of time here, don’t you?” Her quiet voice held more than a little amusement. But it was not ridicule; instead, she pegged his interest, and his obsession for information. “Am I allowed inside?”
That halted him.
“Why would you ask—”
“There are more than a few businesses that refuse to serve half-bloods, Micah. We are half Shira, after all. The prejudice against my mother’s people ru
ns deep.”
He wanted to tell her that it would never happen again. But she was right; old angers, and old fears, were carried by most of the kingdoms outside The Reach, the Shira’s isolated home in the south.
“You are my guest. If they won’t allow you in, we will have words. The library is here for the city, and that includes all who live in the city.”
Shoving down his anger, he climbed the familiar stairs, Raine at his side. They stepped inside—and nothing happened.
No gasps of horror, no outcry against her presence. The clerk nodded to Micah, eyed Raine, and turned his attention back to the book on the counter in front of him.
“That was anticlimactic.”
Micah smothered a laugh at her sarcastic comment. It earned him glares from the people at the nearest table. He took her hand, relief flooding him, and pulled her forward.
“Let me show you my favorite room in the library.”
He slipped a key out of his pocket as they approached the narrow mahogany door. More than a little nervous at her reaction, he unlocked the door and pushed it open.
Raine walked in first, and halted just beyond the threshold.
“Gods, Micah.” She turned to him, her eyes wide. “This is—words fail me.”
He followed her in and pushed the door closed, absurdly pleased by her reaction. This room held his personal book collection. Books he wanted no one else to touch, or ridicule him for owning, never mind reading. His most daring experiments and inventions were also here, away from Liam’s teasing, and Mother’s despairing sighs.
Raine moved to the table along the far wall, stopped at the line of half assembled clocks. “What are these?ˮ
“Alarms, for Liam. They attach to fine trip wires. It’s a simple alarm system, that doesn’t let the intruder know they tripped one—or that one even exists. It starts the clock, which is set to the time he leaves his rooms. Crude, but he can tell when the intruder broke in, and how long after he left. If it was in less than an hour, it means someone watched him leave. That fact narrows down the suspects.”
Her shoulders jerked. She covered the reaction with a smile, and he forgot what he meant to ask. “I am constantly surprised by how your mind works.”
“Is that good?”
Her laughter echoed in the small room. “Yes.” She kept going, halted at the end of the table, her hand hovering over a small, winged creature. “Kres?”
“I needed to know if I could still do fine work—after.” He shrugged, and resisted the need to rub at his fingers. As if she knew, Raine walked over to him and cradled his right hand. He swallowed, watching her examine it, wanting to touch her again. When did she become so important to him? “You don’t have to—”
“Any physician worth their reputation checks up on their patients. How are your hands?” She met his eyes, the familiar, searching look on her face. “The truth, Micah, not what you say to appease your family.”
“They are better. I only have difficulty when it gets cold, or damp.”
“Which would be most of the time, living next to the ocean.”
“Liam had a larger woodstove installed in my workshop, and the fireplaces in my rooms are well stocked with wood. I’m adjusting, Raine.”
“But it hasn’t been easy.” She laid her other hand over his, the warmth of her fingers seeping through the thin leather of his gloves. “I have my own injuries, from my former life.”
She freed his hand and backed away, as if she realized she had revealed too much. Micah was intrigued, but he put off the questions clamoring in his mind. Oh, he planned on carefully pulling her past out of her, when she was less guarded. The hints she dropped told him there was more to Raine than a simple bond servant, or a physician’s assistant.
He may have agreed to let her go today, but he was not giving her up. Not without a fight.
He let her wander, smiling when she touched the leather spines with such reverence. She had no idea that her care drew him more than if she had showered him with compliments.
Finally, she ended up at his side. “Thank you for sharing this with me. Your collection is incredible, Micah.”
“I hoped you would appreciate it.” He actually hoped she would love it as much as he did. Showing his most daring experiments and inventions to someone else was like baring his soul. He had never done it before now, never wanted to. “Are you hungry? I can have a meal brought in.”
She raised her eyebrows, and flashed a smile that lit her face. “I forget who you are sometimes. Yes, I would love to share a meal with you.”
Micah opened the door and grabbed the bell pull. It was a system he worked out with the librarians; they used the bell to attract his attention when he was inside, and he used it to attract theirs when he was absorbed in a project, and far too distracted to trust himself to walk to the front desk without running into another person, or a bookshelf. The head librarian quickly approved the idea.
One of the young clerks appeared, bowing so low and so often Micah was afraid he would tip over.
“Yes, milord. What is it you need, milord?”
“A simple meal, for two.” Micah pulled a few coins out of his pocket and dropped them in the boy’s palm. “Please keep the change for your effort.”
The boy’s eyes widened. “Yes, milord. Thank you, milord. Your meal will be here as quick as a whip snap!”
He bolted across the main room, dancing around obstacles. Raine laughed, and Micah turned to find her leaning against the doorframe, amusement in her eyes.
“You inspire loyalty with such ease, milord. It’s a gift few leaders possess.”
“I am not—”
“One day you will, Micah. Even if it only happens in your own home. There’s no running away from who you are, or who you may become if circumstances changed.”
That was a topic he tried not to think about—Liam no longer the Duke. It would leave Micah in a position he never wanted, and a responsibility that would cage him as effectively as steel bars.
“Liam is too stubborn to give up his place at the supper table.” He raised his hand when Raine opened her mouth. “I am well aware of what might happen. I simply try not to dwell on it.”
“Of course. I’m sorry.”
“No need. I always enjoy your unfiltered conversation. So many watch what they say around me, especially since my abduction.” It was easier to say out loud, with her. She knew all the details, what had not been released in the official announcement.
“You can trust me to never hold back, milord.”
He laughed, and took her hand. It felt so natural, he didn’t realize he had done it until Raine tried to free herself. He tightened his grip.
“I told you, it is far too late to pretend. I have never brought anyone to this room. Before the threats against Liam, I never brought anyone to the library.”
“Micah—”
“I am sorry for whatever may happen because of this, but you will always have the protection of the House of Brachon. My protection.”
She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “Thank you.” She looked up at him. “Though I may need you to do some fancy talking to my employer, if she hears the wrong rumors.”
“Consider it done.”
She moved her hand, and he flinched when her fingers caught his more painful joints. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “Let me see it.”
After a long moment, he nodded, and eased the fingerless glove off. He used his right hand more than he should; last night he spent hours working over the fine inner workings of his latest invention, and paid for the long hours now.
His hand looked worse than he expected, his joints swollen and an angry red. Raine examined each finger, her touch as gentle as he remembered.
“I have an ointment that will help you ease the overuse after a long night.”
“I would appreciate it. So would my hands.”
She smiled up at him. “You have been one of my favorite patients. No whining, no arguing with treatment.”<
br />
“You haven’t heard me when I take my gloves off after one of those long nights.” Kres had, and now took to hiding when Micah came late to his rooms.
“I have some of the ointment at the tavern, and will be happy to make more once you run low.”
“Thank you.”
He studied her, watched her blue green eyes change from amused to uncertain. Clearing her throat, she helped him slip his glove back on, and then retreated to the other side of the room. With a sigh, he sat at the table, and gave her the space she clearly needed.
It was looking to be a long afternoon.
~ ~ ~
Liam read the document, if it could be called such. The more he read, the hotter his temper flared. Joseph chose that unfortunate moment to disturb him.
“My lord—”
“This is beyond insulting, Joseph.” Liam stood, picking up the stack of papers. He wanted to burn every page, but that would leave bits of it here, and he wanted this poison out of his home, out of his city. “Show it to me again, and your time in this household is done.”
“If I may, I would like to clarify—”
“What? The part where the royal family is made a figurehead, left to smile and wave, while unseen power hungry men work their corruption with no limit?” He shuffled the papers, until he found the passage that finally set him off. “Or this? The right to change law, with no restrictions, no vote, no say beyond their own.”
“You are taking those out of context.”
“Am I, Joseph? Or am I pointing out the glaring flaws in this—declaration?” Liam took each page and tore it in half, then shoved the pile across the table. “Get it out of my sight.”
“My lord.” Joseph’s hands shook as he picked up the ragged pieces. “There is much here worthy of discussion, if you will give me the chance to elaborate.”
“No.” Liam took a deep breath, then moved to Joseph, laid his hand on the older man’s shoulder. “I understand your desire, Joseph. But this is not the way to a government that will allow citizens the right to be heard.” Joseph pulled away, and it bothered Liam more than he expected. “I listen to my people, and I will continue to listen, to make changes. But it can’t be like this. It can’t be sweeping, all or nothing changes, with no boundaries in place.”
