by Cate Dean
Damian’s eye widened. “The old Duke’s right hand man? Good God.”
“He is a dead man, T’Alon. But he will be dead by my hand, so leave off if he crosses your path.”
He raised both hands. “I will be happy to let you cut the traitor into small bloody pieces. Now, I have arrangements to make, and packing to do. Before you think I am a complete idiot, I will put out the rumor that a family member is ill, and I have gone to see them. It will explain my sudden departure, and why I’m headed for the desert.”
“Thank you.” He wanted to smile at Damian’s shock, but he was exhausted. And heartsick. “I will meet you at the east gate, with your traveling companion.”
“I’m not going alone?”
“I would not do that to my worst enemy. Plus, this gives Liam two chances to make it out.”
“Ah, a backup. I like the way you think. Who am I going to be spending unforeseen amounts of time with?”
Ari hated to do it, but right now, he trusted no one else. “Xander.”
Damian raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t object. “I believe I can live with his company. I will see you at the gate, before dawn.”
Ari watched him slip through the door, then slumped against the side of the gambling house.
One task done. Now the most difficult lay ahead.
Telling Micah his brother had been taken.
Ten
The messenger woke Micah out of a sound sleep, apologizing every other sentence.
“I am so sorry, milord, but Captain Ari wishes to speak with you. Please forgive this abominable intrusion, but the captain insists it cannot—”
“Ari is here?” Fear snaked through him, dread following quickly after. “Tell him I’ll be right down.”
He dressed quickly, pulling on full gloves as he ran toward the main staircase. The cold night air would be too much on his bare fingers.
Ari paced in the main hall, muddy and blood streaked. He halted when Micah all but ran across the hall.
“My lord—”
“Where is Liam?”
Pain flared in Ari’s grey eyes. “We were ambushed. Liam has been sold, to a slaver headed for the Kahlri.”
Micah’s knees gave out. He hardly felt Ari’s hands, or the icy stone of the floor.
“Micah.” The urgency in Ari’s quiet voice finally jerked him back to the moment. “We will find him, I promise you. I already have a plan in place—”
“Did you see him?”
Ari swallowed, met his eyes. “I watched him cross the border.”
Which meant Liam was lost to them.
Micah pushed to his feet, batting away the hands that reached out to help.
“Leave me alone—I need to be alone—”
Ari stepped aside, let him stumbled forward, out of the castle, and into the yard. Micah kept going, and did the only thing that would keep him from falling apart when he heard Ari’s news. He ran, straight to The Black Arrow.
Raine was bent over one of the tables when he burst in. For the first time, he saw her in the gown she wore while serving in the gambling house. It stopped him in his tracks.
A low neckline revealed her shoulders, and the tightly laced bodice revealed—everything else.
“Milord.” She set the tray she held on the table, maneuvering through the staring patrons. “Come sit down.” Micah let her guide him to a table in the far corner, where no one could eavesdrop without being obvious. “What’s happened?”
“Liam,” he whispered. His aching hands closed into fists, grief and fury struggling for dominance. He was not certain he could say the next words without breaking. “He has been taken.”
Raine stood, and for a panicked moment Micah thought she was leaving him.
“In the kitchen. Now.”
He knew the way, and waited for her, staring at the pile of vegetables on the counter, ready to be cut. When she touched his hunched shoulder he had to fight the tears burning his eyes.
“Our captain saw him cross the border, into the Kahlri.” Her gasp turned him around, and the horror he had felt at hearing the news from Ari was reflected in her eyes. “We can’t go after him, Raine—not without breaking the truce.”
“And whoever took him knew this.” She cursed, with a variety that startled him. “You’re not giving up on him, are you?”
“Never,” he whispered. The tears he had been fighting since he found the blood in the passage choked his voice.
Raine took his hand, led him to her small room, and pulled him into her arms. “Let go, Micah. You’ll think more clearly once you let some of the pain out.”
He hated crying in front of anyone. But Raine’s quiet voice and gentle embrace gave him what he needed to grieve.
She lowered him to the bed, and held him, whispering words of comfort. Just her presence comforted him.
Once he ran out of tears, Raine cradled his chin, and applied pressure until he met her eyes. She looked worried, and scared. “Do you trust this captain?”
“Liam trusts him. We have not exactly been on speaking terms before now.”
“If you came up with a plan to go after Liam, would you trust him with it?”
“Yes.” And there was his answer. Ari risked his life to go after Liam, knowing he could be cut down by the mercenaries who guarded the border to the desert. “I don’t know what to do, Raine.”
“You will.” She smiled, brushing hair off his forehead. “Your mind needs time, but I know the brilliant idea is right there.” Her finger tapped the side of his head. “I have to go back out. Stay here as long as you need.”
“Thank you.”
“You were in such pain. I couldn’t—damn it.” She kissed him, her lips warm, but hesitant.
Micah wrapped his arm around her waist and deepened the kiss, until they were both breathless. His free hand ran down the silky length of her braid, then back up, lingering on her bare shoulder.
With a gasp she pulled free, a blush spreading across her cheeks. He didn’t give her the chance to escape.
His arm tightened around her waist, and he brushed a kiss over each cheek. “I need you, Raine. In my life, as part of my life.”
“Micah—I am—”
“A bond servant. I will take what you can offer.”
She closed her eyes. “I am leaving when my bond is paid.”
“Two years is a long time, Raine.”
She let out a sigh and lowered her head to his shoulder. “I don’t want you hurt, Micah. Not by this.”
“I can handle the consequences of my decision. With Liam missing, I will have to—” He swallowed, the full weight of what he had to do finally bearing down on him. “I will have to step into his place.”
He felt her stiffen, and tightened his grip before she could escape.
“Micah—I can’t, not if you—”
“I will need you, more than ever, because of it. I need people I can trust beside me, Raine. There are so few.” Micah closed his eyes, aware that someone they trusted had betrayed them already. “You’d better go, before I cause you more trouble.”
“Micah.” She stood, and leaned down to kiss his cheek. “We will discuss this. Later.”
He followed her to the kitchen, and halted when he saw Thomas sitting at the table.
“The captain was worried for you, and figured you would head straight here. I’m to take you back, when you’re ready.”
“Thank you, Thomas.” He watched Raine walk out, the image of her in that gown burned into his mind.
What he faced when he returned home already started to pull at him.
“Did the captain tell you anything, Thomas?”
The quick flash of guilt in the man’s eyes gave him away. “Nothing that changes the facts, milord.”
“Then it won’t matter if I know.” Micah crossed his arms when Thomas hesitated. “I am about to become Duke, until my brother returns. You will tell me what my own captain revealed.”
Thomas sighed. “He plans on following
after the Duke.”
Dread coiled through him. “He can’t—not with his history.”
“Several of us pointed out that very fact. He decided to ignore us.”
Micah headed for the back door. He preferred to avoid Celia’s fawning, and the potential that his presence may cause more trouble for Raine.
“He will not be able to ignore me.”
Thomas’ laughter lightened his heart, for the first time in days.
~ ~ ~
Micah waited for them at the east gate, standing in the shadow of the guardhouse. Thomas told him, after prodding and threatening, that Damian and Xander would be leaving before dawn. He was here to make certain Ari did not go with them.
Three horses approached, pulling up at the gate. From here Micah could hear the hushed voices, arguing.
“You won’t, you fool. It nearly cost your life getting out the first time.”
“I can’t leave him to his fate, Damian, knowing what he—”
“I know as well. We will find him, Ari. Trust us to do that, and get your ass back to the castle before Micah discovers your stupid plan.”
“Too late.” Micah stepped into the torchlight, arms crossed. All three men stared down at him. “Damian is right. You can’t go, Ari. I understand why you feel you need to,” he cleared his throat, his voice cracking. “But you are sending two good men after my brother. I trust your judgment, and I trust them.”
“My lord—”
“No argument. I won’t lose anyone else to the desert.” He blamed a sleepless night for the tears burning his eyes. “Now take me home, Captain. I’m exhausted, and I need an escort, so I don’t get lost on the way.”
Ari sighed, and Micah knew he had won. He wasn’t at all certain he would, not when he made his way here.
“As you command, my lord.” He turned his stallion until he faced Damian and Xander. “Ride fast, and don’t be afraid to use the coin you were given. You need to reach the quarry before—”
“We know, gladiator.” Damian clapped one hand on his shoulder, a smile softening his words. “Take the young lord home, and find the bastards who did this.”
Before Ari could say anything else, Damian spurred his horse and rode through the open gate, Xander on his heels. Ari watched them leave, his body leaning forward, as if he meant to join him. After a long moment, he relaxed, and looked down at Micah.
“Do you have a horse here, my lord?”
“I didn’t have time to saddle one on my own.” Ari held out his hand, hauled Micah up on the saddle behind him. “Please don’t be angry—I couldn’t allow you to make such a sacrifice. Liam wouldn’t want it, either.”
“You have the right of it, my lord. My past reared up to slap at me, and I couldn’t stand by while the Duke faced what I had to endure.”
“He won’t,” Micah whispered. “Xander and Damian will find him. They’ll bring him home.”
Without another word, Ari guided his stallion around and headed back toward the castle. Micah held on, and prayed that he was right.
Eleven
Raine waited for him.
She knew he would slip in the back door, as he did every Sabbath evening, to spend time with his sister.
The long knife felt heavy in her hand. Just holding it could send her straight to the dungeons under the castle. But she didn’t care; what she knew in her heart he had been part of went far beyond what she warned him not to do.
Now it was time for an accounting.
Footsteps announced him, and she tightened her grip on the hilt, cursing the sweat that slicked her palm. Her nerves fled the moment he passed her.
“I warned you, Joseph.”
Before he could turn she had the knife against his throat, her free hand jerking his right arm up behind his back.
“One shout, and you will be arrested for threatening me.” His voice sounded hoarse—and less certain of rescue than he threatened.
“And I will gladly hand you over to the captain while they shackle my wrists. What do you think he will do, once he realizes you were behind Liam’s abduction?”
The muscles under her hand tensed. “How—”
“Because only you would have access to the treasury. Gold to bribe soldiers not yet loyal to him. Or men who weren’t even soldiers.” Raine swallowed as the implications hit her. “I may be young, but I am far from innocent. I understand the motives, and the lies you use to placate yourself. How did it feel Joseph, to send the son of your friend into a life of pain?”
“I gave him every chance—” The blade biting into his throat cut him off.
“And you promised me you were done. What did I tell you, before I let you walk out of here with your life?”
He swallowed, flinching as the blade cut him again. “That you would kill me if I betrayed Liam. Is that your plan, Raine? To slit my throat and leave me here to bleed, in my own sister’s home?”
“First, you tell me where you sent him. Then we talk about whether or not you will survive this.”
“May we talk without a knife digging into my throat?”
Raine expected him to ask, and she was prepared. She eased the knife away, dropped it blade first so it stuck into the floor by her foot. Then she pulled the cuffs she found behind the bar off her belt and closed the first one over his trapped wrist.
“Move,” she said, and pushed him toward her small room. He stumbled forward, and she halted him with a yank of the short chain, giving her time to pick up the knife. Another rough push sent him straight into the door jamb, before he managed to catch his balance. “Inside, and sit on the bed, next to the headboard.”
He obeyed, watching her snap the other cuff to the heavy iron. “What now, Raine?”
She closed the door, locked it, and crossed her arms, the knife blade tapping against her upper arm. “Now you tell me everything, Joseph. Then I decide whether you’ve earned the right to take another breath.”
“You seem terribly comfortable with that knife, for a bond servant.”
“I am more than comfortable with weapons you’ve never heard of. Now talk.”
“I had no choice—”
“Start over.” When he stared at her, she elaborated. “If you try to weasel out of this by blaming someone else, you’ve already lost. Now start over.”
He wiped at his face with his free hand. “The old Duke drafted law that stifled us, as a people, as a kingdom. He died before I could approach him. We have waited patiently for Liam to come of age, refining our form of government.”
“So you lied to me, after I treated your wound. You never intended to put yourself apart.” She dropped her arms and stalked forward. Joseph scrabbled across the small bed, his escape brought up short by the cuff. She trapped him in the corner and laid the knife against his throat. “Tell me where Liam is.”
“I don’t know!” Sweat slid down his face, his eyes wide as he stared up at her. “I paid men to ambush him on the way to Veran, and hand him over to a slaver. I did not want to—”
“What, Joseph?” Raine leaned in, so furious her hand shook. She eased the knife away, to keep it from scraping over his skin. “Witness your treason? Whether you were there or not, you betrayed him, you sold him.” She moved in until they were nose to nose, the blade glinting between them. “Where was the slaver going?”
“The Oasis,” he whispered. “But he could—he would be able to—”
“Say it.” She pressed the blade under his chin, the edge nicking his jaw. “Say the words, Joseph.”
“He can sell Liam anywhere, once he crosses the border.”
Raine let out her breath, and sat back. “You son of a bitch.” He slumped against the headboard, his breathing ragged. “I should have killed you.”
“They still would have—removed Liam.”
“Because he won’t play.” Joseph nodded. “What am I supposed to do with you now? Death threats obviously don’t work. Maybe if I told Celia—”
“Leave my sister out of this!”
/> Raine stood, concealing her satisfaction by turning away from him and pacing across the small room. She took a chance, pulling Celia into the conversation. If his sister had been part of the conspiracy, Raine would have been forced to leave, regardless of her bond.
Exhaustion swept through her. She covered it by leaning against the wall, studying the man who cowered on her bed. Her fury drove her this far, but she never thought beyond his confession. Now she had the Duke’s advisor, blooded and beaten down, and no clue what to do with him.
He let out a sharp gasp and doubled over, clutching his left side.
“Joseph?” She moved forward, worried she might have hurt him. “Are you—”
The flash of light warned her almost too late.
Joseph stabbed at her with the knife in his left hand. She flung her left arm up, and it drove into her forearm instead of her chest. Pain exploded up her arm. She stumbled back until she hit the wall, clutching her wrist. Joseph cursed, using words she had never heard from the uptight advisor, and yanked at the cuff.
“Stupid girl! Why have you not died yet? You were supposed to be one of the first victims of the—” He cut himself off, but Raine heard enough.
“You set up the murders. The half-bloods are dying—because you want to rid yourself of me?” Gods—not because of her. Not again—
The door burst open, strong hands easing her to the floor. “Raine.”
She blinked, startled when her rescuer’s face came into focus. “Thomas?”
“I came to deliver a message, and heard you scream. Let me see your arm.”
“It’s a hook blade.” Her pain taut voice froze his hand just before he grasped the hilt. “I saw the blade, before it went in.”
“You’ve had dealings with them before?”
“Unfortunately.” It would have to be cut out, and she knew it was going to be ugly. “Have you?”
“Enough, before the Duke outlawed them. I can work this blade out of your arm. If you trust me.”
She swallowed, met his eyes. Micah trusted him, and she had seen for herself how much Thomas was willing to sacrifice to protect him. “All right.”
“How did he slip through your defenses?”
