by Faye Avalon
Sounds came, of scurrying animals, hooting owls, and a sharp cry that tore across the sky and sent fear thundering into her exhausted limbs. Her head swam, and her body ached so badly she could barely stand. She stumbled to a fallen tree trunk, her body sagging with relief as she lowered herself down.
What was she to do?
A slice of the moon appeared from behind a cloud and gave Lahna a better glimpse of her surroundings. Ahead of her the trees seemed to become less dense and fields stretched beyond the edge. Buoyed by the possibility of a dwelling nearby, Lahna ignored her aching body and continued on. Thankfully the sky cleared and gave her the advantage of at least a little light by which she could navigate. Her heart leapt when she saw a building in the distance. She could make out tethered horses, glowing windows, and the sound of laughter coming from inside.
Lahna closed her eyes, allowed her body to sag once more, and gave thanks to the Goddess of the Night for bringing her to this place. The Doe Park. She just knew it.
Her feet ached and burned as she all but staggered across the field, falling several times but each time hauling herself up at the thought that Caelan was now so near and she could warn him of what she had seen.
At the far end of the field, she fumbled for the rope securing a gate and managed to get it open despite her numb fingers. Halfway through the opening, she stumbled once more.
She swam in and out of consciousness, trying for all she was worth to haul herself up one last time. She managed to sit, but leaned back against the gate. Her strength seemed to have finally deserted her and she closed her eyes.
The next thing she knew something warm was placed around her shoulders. “Don’t move,” a female voice said. “Here, try and drink a little.”
Lahna pushed away the flask that touched her lips, even as her throat screamed for water. Whoever coaxed her to drink refused to give up. Water splashed over Lahna’s lips, and she flinched, but the liquid ran blessedly cool into her mouth, easing her parched throat.
She began shivering, despite that she was burning up.
“We need to get you inside,” the woman said. “Can you stand if I help you?”
If it meant getting to Caelan, Lahna thought she could do anything. She nodded.
Vaguely, Lahna registered that her helper was a small woman, young but surprisingly strong. She hooked Lahna’s arm around her shoulder and together they staggered toward the building.
The woman called out as they neared, and the door flung open and two older women came out. They hurried forward and helped get Lahna inside.
“I found her collapsed by the gate,” the young woman said as she went to fetch blankets from a side alcove.
“She is freezing,” an older one said. “Likely she is in shock. Make a leaf brew, strong. We need to get that inside her.”
Lahna tried to keep focused on what was happening, but it was a losing battle. Despite what the woman said she didn’t feel cold anymore, she felt as if she were burning. All she wanted to do was sleep.
The hypnotic buzz of the women fussing over her acted like a final soporific to her exhausted body. Her eyes lowered, and she slept.
Chapter Eleven
Kassaro only raised his eyebrows as a flagon of ale whizzed past him on its way to the far wall. “There is no way she would have made it out to the ship.”
Caelan glared at his friend. “Then where is she? If you have another explanation this would be a perfect time to voice it.”
“I would only say that we saw no sign of Lahna at the peninsula. Since we have been watching the ship since early this morning, we would have seen if she had joined it.”
Caelan only growled.
“The men we captured made no mention of her. The little runt who spilled his guts the moment I drew my knife would have given up his mother to save his skin.”
Caelan sucked in a breath. He should be focusing on what little information they had gleaned from the king’s men. No sooner had they set foot on the shore than they had been captured and brought back to the city for questioning. It was proving a painstaking exercise. Obviously, the men feared the king’s wrath more than they feared their captors.
That would soon change.
“All we do know is that the men were sent to infiltrate the island. To discover your plans. The king wants also to poison the people against you, no doubt to ensure that when you decide to act and take back our independence, you will have little support from our people and from those of the outlying islands.”
“Yet we do not know how he plans to do that,” Caelan said, forcing his mind away from Lahna and onto his duty to his people. “I am inclined to believe the king’s men when they say that their orders were only to scatter over the island and await further instructions.”
“They may know more,” Kassaro said, venturing to pick up the empty flagon that lay on the floor. “We should keep working on them. We can start with the runt.” He huffed a laugh. “The king will not be pleased that this venture has failed.”
“On Limani,” Caelan said. “But what if he is infiltrating the other islands? This will make our plan to restore independence considerably more difficult.”
“Then maybe the time to move forward with our plans is upon us,” Kassaro said. “We cannot wait any longer.”
“Agreed. We need to move fast.” Caelan went quiet for a few moments. Then he raked his hand through his hair, and with troubled eyes he looked at his friend. “Where is she, Kass?”
Kassaro shrugged, but sat at the table and pulled a full flagon toward him. He poured two drinks and shoved one across to Caelan. “It is hard to put the facts together and not reach an obvious conclusion.”
When Caelan huffed, Kassaro shrugged again. “I wish I could alleviate your concerns, but alas I can find no comforting assurances. Women will do what benefits them most, my friend.”
Caelan looked at the flagon on the table and considered hurling that, too, against the wall. His stomach ached with both concern and anger. Despite Kassaro’s grim assertion, he didn’t want to believe that Lahna had betrayed him. But where was she?
When he and Kassaro had ridden out with a small party of men after the official announcement of his marriage, his only thought was to discover why the Zomotian ship had been spotted heading into the western peninsula. The waters there were treacherous and only a fool would navigate those parts. Which showed how desperate the king was becoming to discover Caelan’s plans.
“What if her whereabouts had somehow been discovered?” Caelan said, knowing he was clutching at straws but needing to believe in Lahna’s innocence. “What if these men were to capture her? Take her back to Zomotia?”
“It seems a far-fetched assumption,” Kassaro said, tapping his finger to his cup. “Far more likely that she has been lying to you. That she has betrayed you.”
Everything inside him refused to accept it. The pain cut too deep, too harsh. But the reality of the situation could not be denied. She had gone missing. And at the very same time a Zomotian ship had sailed into Limanish waters. As his friend had said, the facts formed their own conclusion.
Caelan’s first instinct had been to board the ship, demand access as prince of the island, and search every single part of the vessel for Lahna. But, on realizing some of their crew had been captured, the ship had set sail immediately.
After taking a long swig of ale, Caelan sat back and closed his eyes. “Everything points to Lahna having betrayed me,” he said heavily. “In truth, I’ve been a fool and should accept the fact I have been deceived.”
Mirroring his friend, Kassaro also sat back in his chair. “If only it were that easy,” he said, almost to himself. “But when a woman has hold of our balls and decides to squeeze hard, it is impossible to simply move on. Such a woman gets into a man’s head.”
Caelan measured his next words. The last thing he wanted was to put Kassaro’s thoughts into the same dark place that Caelan’s were right then. “You managed to drive such a woman from your hea
d.”
Kassaro sipped his ale and tipped his head to the side in a flippant gesture. But Caelan noticed the somber look in his eyes. “Necessity builds its own strength,” he said dismissively. “A woman can bring a man to his knees, but it is the man’s choice whether he decides to remain there.”
Thoughtful, Caelan raised his cup in salute. He wasn’t sure how quickly he would be able to rise again, but felt it inappropriate to voice such concern to his friend. He knew Kassaro still fought that particular battle himself.
“Of all the gods, Kass,” Caelan said with a sigh. “How many battles have we fought together?”
“Hundreds.”
“Aye. And we’ve lamented over none of them. Yet here we sit…”
Kassaro nodded, lost in his own thoughts “Here we sit.”
Both men disappeared into their own private hell. Each lost in thoughts of betrayal, deception, loss. And each and every one of those thoughts featured a woman at the center.
Caelan wasn’t sure what angered him most right then. That an enemy ship had been so audacious as to sail into Limani waters and think it would remain undetected, or that Lahna might have betrayed him so easily. Had she, while he had been pleasuring her, been planning this day? Had she, as he held her tight to him and considered himself a lucky man indeed, known all the while that her time with him was drawing to an end? Had she despised him? Acted out a role that required she appear to enjoy his lovemaking, when in reality she hated every moment of it?
“Were it not for the stories the people of Limani tell about my mother,” Caelan said at length, “I fear I would have little reason to trust another woman. The experiences of both you and my father had given me little in the way of hope of finding a woman who would draw my affection as well as my trust. Possibly the reason I was happy to go along with your suggestion and make Lahna my consort. It seemed a fine solution when you first suggested it. A marriage for mutually agreeable purposes.”
“And yet?”
Caelan huffed again, then reached across for the flagon to refill both his and Kassaro’s cups. “And yet, I find myself unable to drive thoughts of Lahna from my mind.” Again, he slumped back in the chair. “Thoughts that do not center on her duplicity or cunning, but on an altogether more painful path.”
“That is the way they work. They wheedle themselves into a man’s head, grab a hold on his cock, and wreak havoc on everything that lies between.”
Before they could fall into silence again, a loud bang on the door shook them both from their impending reverie.
“My lord.” One of Caelan’s guards burst in. “You must come quickly. My lady Lahna is hurt and being tended to at the Doe Park.”
Caelan’s brain shot into a frenzied panic. Tended? At the Doe Park? He was halfway to the door, Kassaro in close pursuit. “How badly is she hurt?” Caelan demanded. “How badly?”
“I do not know, my lord. Word has just come from the Park. Apparently, the women tending her asked for help moving her to more agreeable quarters and one of the officers recognized her.”
Caelan snapped orders at one of the stable hands to bring Thunder immediately. Then, remembering his horse had ridden hard that day, told the boy to bring another horse. The fastest available. He needed to get to Lahna.
“What in the heavens was she doing at the Doe Park?” Kassaro said as they mounted their rides. “A rendezvous point?”
But Caelan had already ridden off, leaving Kassaro to pick up the pace in order to catch up.
They arrived at the Park and Caelan dismounted before his horse had even come to a stop. He stormed inside.
“Where is she?” he demanded of a maid who was passing and had frozen in place on seeing Caelan. “Tell me, girl.”
The girl just pointed and Caelan was off again. Demanding directions from two more maids, he eventually threw open the door to an annex room.
Lahna lay motionless, her body wrapped in blankets so that only her beautiful face was evident. Her skin was red and marked in places, her hair a tangled mess. But he had never seen anything so beautiful.
Briefly, he thought himself the worst of fools. Why should he care so much when she had taken it on herself to betray him? Yet his anger seemed to dissipate beneath the heavy layer of concern for her wellbeing.
Hurrying to her, he dropped to his knees beside the bed. “Lahna,” he said, and reached for her hand.
She didn’t move, not even a reaction as he squeezed her hand lightly. With his free hand he smoothed her hair from her brow and ran the back of his fingers down her cheek. His chest clenched painfully, his heart thundering out a beat.
“What happened?” he insisted, not taking his eyes from Lahna. “How did she come to be here?”
From behind him, Tavi stepped up. “I found her at the far gate, my lord. She had collapsed and was bloodied.”
“Bloodied?” A cold sweat broke out on Caelan’s brow. “Who harmed her?”
Tavi came to stand on the other side of Lahna’s bed. “I don’t think she was harmed, my lord. It was more that she had hurt herself. Her legs bore scratches and her feet are very blistered. It was as if she had been running. She is also suffering from the heat and from exhaustion.”
What in the name of all the gods had she been doing? And who was she running from?
Fury burned fierce and deadly in Caelan’s gut. When he found who had forced her into this situation he would take their head with a slice of his sword.
His fingers tightened in reflex around Lahna’s.
She responded with a flicker of movement.
“Lahna?”
“With respect, my lord. I don’t think we should waken her yet. She is very weak and needs to restore her energy through sleep. Allow nature to be her healer.”
He nodded, but could not quite bring himself to let go of her hand.
“Has she said anything?”
“Not a word, my lord. She could barely open her eyes.”
“A physician,” Caelan barked. “Have you sent for a physician?”
“One is on his way. We sent for him at the same time we sent for you, my lord.”
Caelan nodded again. Why, he thought, when her skin was red and blistered from the heat of the sun, did she seem so pale? Lightly, he brushed her hair away again, fighting a frustration that burned in his soul. How could it be that he could do nothing? Not one thing to help her? How was he supposed to find the patience within himself to let nature be her healer? He was prince of the land, by the gods. Surely there should be something he could do?
But several hours later, by which time the physician had long departed, Caelan reminded himself that all he could do was sit and wait. The physician had confirmed Tavi’s prognosis, that Lahna needed rest and quiet and should be allowed to recover her strength by natural means.
“Will you come away and take some supper, my lord?”
Caelan looked up from where he sat—someone had brought him a chair when he’d refused to leave Lahna’s side—and took the tankard Tavi offered him. “No. I’ll stay in case she awakens.”
“It could be hours, days,” Tavi reminded him. “You need to keep up your strength, too.”
Caelan wasn’t sure he could stomach anything right then, but Tavi looked concerned, even a little sad as she looked between him and Lahna. “Perhaps some meat.”
She nodded, then made to hurry from the room.
Kassaro stood in the doorway, looming over her. “How are you this night, my vixen?”
Tavi glared at him. “I am well, thank you. Please let me by. Prince Caelan has requested supper.”
Kassaro didn’t move, but folded his arms across his massive chest. “You’ve been quite the angel of mercy this night. Remind me to repay you in kind very soon.”
“For the love of the gods, Kass. Leave her alone.” Caelan barely recognized his own voice, which dripped with fatigue. “She has not stopped tending to us all. She, too, must be exhausted.”
After Tavi had hurried away, Caelan shook h
is head. “Why is it that you insist on taunting her?”
Kassaro sat against a wall and stretched out his legs. “She enjoys it. As do I.”
“She is not as insensitive as you would believe, my friend. And doesn’t deserve your scorn.”
“Not scorn,” Kassaro said and pursed his lips. “There is something superior about her, at least she gives that impression. She looks down her very pert nose at me. It stirs my cock like nothing else.”
At Kassaro’s low laugh, Caelan shook his head again. “Treat her with more respect.”
“Is that an order, my prince?”
“A request. One I hope you’ll honor.”
With another soft laugh, Kassaro said, “I’ll do my best.”
****
The hum of voices pulled her gently up from a deep, dark place where thousands of small boats headed to shore and each boat held dozens of rabid looking men brandishing swords and knives.
On the edge of consciousness, Lahna frowned. “Caelan?”
“I’m here.”
The low voice quieted her from the nightmare, the hand strong and gentle that wrapped around hers anchoring her from the raging storm inside her throbbing head. Slowly, she raised her eyelids and saw Caelan. His blue eyes looked troubled, fatigued, and the lower half of his face was thick with beard. She tried to reach up to him, but heavy blankets held her arms down and she didn’t have the strength to move them.
“Caelan… The ship…”
“Hush now.” Gently, he eased her shoulders back to the pillow. “You need to rest.”
“No…” She tried to move, to sit, but just couldn’t find the strength. “No… The ship…”
Beneath his shadowed chin his jaw tightened. “The ship has left,” he said firmly. “And the crew members who came ashore are imprisoned.”
Relief washed through her like a calming tide. “Could not … find you. Warn … you.”
His eyebrows came together. “Warn me?”
She felt lighter now, clearer, stronger. “I… saw the ship. Tried to … find you. Find the Park.”
