Bride by Midnight (19 page)

Nothing else was working, so she lied, again, in a more temperate tone of voice. “Truly, Blade, I do not want you. I prefer to travel alone.”

“That’s too damn bad, because you’re not going anywhere without me.”

He didn’t love her; he didn’t care. Magic bound him to her; witch’s magic. When the opportunity came for her to slip away from him, she would. Perhaps with some distance between them, the magical connection would face away and he would be free. Free to hate, free to seek his revenge.

Free to die.

***

Miron Volker had duties as Minister of Foreign Affairs; annoying, insignificant duties that too often took him away from his true calling. His entire focus should be on marshaling his own army, as well as collecting half-demon girls and ensuring that they needed him.

When he did rule, no one would be able to topple him the way he intended to topple Emperor Jahn.

Bothersome as they were, his duties as Minister allowed him free run of the palace, so he would endure them. It would not be for much longer.

Stasio interrupted Volker as he was making plans for the upcoming trip to Tryfyn. The man in the black robes had been incredibly helpful, but there were moments when Volker was certain the wizard wanted more than a subservient position. One day Stasio would need to be eliminated, he suspected. But not today.

“I’m going ahead this afternoon,” Stasio said. He should have asked, not told, but Volker did not correct the other man. “I believe there is at least one extremely powerful half Anwyn demon child near the Tryfyn capital. She would make an excellent addition to your army.”

Half wolf-shifter and half Isen Demon? There were other demon shifters, he knew. He already had one in his possession; a thin, dark-haired girl who shifted into a large cat at will and was also quite the talented seer. But to possess a daughter with true Anwyn blood... If such a creature existed, he wanted her.

If the Isen Demon’s warriors had been able to produce male children, what would they be like? More trouble than they’d be worth, Volker imagined. Girls were easier for him to manipulate, whether they were poisonous Ksanas or powerful shifters or simply possessed some odd bit of magic. There was still so much to be learned about the Isen Demon’s offspring. So much power and beauty to be discovered.

“Should I provide an escort?” Volker asked? Woe be to any thief who thought to rob or injure the wizard before him, but Volker wanted to make sure that Stasio felt valued. That he warranted a handful of sentinels to guard him on his travels.

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Good,” Volker said to his second in command. “I’ll see you in two weeks, then.”

Stasio did not leave, though Volker’s words were definitely a dismissal. “Your Princess has been asking for you.”

“I have other concerns at the moment.” Volker looked down at the papers on his desk, studying his itinerary for the upcoming trip.

“She says the witch and the blade are making their escape. They are moving away from Arthes.”

Wasn’t that a good thing?

As if Stasio had read his mind—and perhaps he had—the wizard went on. “They will only grow stronger if not stopped now.”

Volker stood, and in frustration slapped his palms against his desk and leaned forward. “Why are my girls so afraid of a mortal man and a common witch?”

Stasio shrugged his shoulders. “I do not know, but they
are
, and when I meditate and reach for truth, I sense great power in the witch.”

Until now, Volker had been quick to dismiss the girls’ worries about the witch and the blade. He had so much on his mind. But if Stasio sensed great power... perhaps there would be a use for it in the coming days. Could this witch also become a part of his army? Could he use her? “How do you suggest we proceed?”

Expressionless, as always, Stasio gave a quick bow. “As it happens, I have a plan in mind.”

***

In spite of her bad memories of the forest and the witch who had frightened her on the road so long ago, Lyssa found beauty as they traveled south. Everything was so green, and colorful flowers grew in the most unlikely places. More than yellow, here. Purple and white and red, too. She didn’t see much in the way of wildlife; just a few butterflies and small birds and one brave rabbit—which looked delicious, she had to admit—but she did, on occasion, hear rustling leaves as something larger than a rabbit moved away.

As long as it moved
away
and not toward...

She was thankful that she’d been wearing sturdy boots instead of her pretty slippers when she’d instinctively run away from Edine. Her moss green dress was torn and dirty, her hair was in tangles, and her stomach growled in hunger... but her boots were holding up well. If she expired along the way, a bag of muddy bones and a hank of unmanageable hair, at least her footwear would be intact.

Her stubborn husband remained behind her, walking silently in her wake. She’d tried to send him away—for his own good—but he ignored her and continued to follow, keeping his distance.

Why? He did not love her, of that she was certain. Did he still see her as his way into the palace? Did he plan to use her newfound magic to take his revenge? This would be so much easier if she had not fallen in love with him, if he was just a thief and a murderer, a man who had no use for her but for his own revenge.

But there was more to him, more than even he knew.

After a while he moved closer. There was nothing to be done about that, since his legs were much longer than hers and she could not out-walk or outrun him.

“We need to find something to eat,” he said.

“I’m not hungry.” At that precise moment her stomach growled loudly.

He had the good sense not to point out her body’s reaction to the word
eat
. “We have a long walk ahead of us, and we must have food. If you had let me go back for provisions...”

“No.” She stopped, spun to look at him. “It isn’t safe for either of us to return to Arthes. I told you that.” When she thought of turning back she saw blood. Lots of it. She couldn’t tell whose blood it was, but the very thought of it—this new vision of blood that occasionally formed in her mind as she walked—turned her stomach and made her want to scream.

“I believe you,” Blade said. “Now, sit and rest while I round up some food.”

Why not do as he said? Her legs ached and her feet hurt a little, so she walked to a nearby rock and sat. Frightened, hopelessly rumpled, and with no idea of what tomorrow might bring, she straightened her spine and lifted her chin, and sat in as ladylike a position as she could manage. Blade smiled at her—he
smiled
—and then he ordered her to stay put while he disappeared beyond a stand of trees in search of sustenance.

For a moment she thought about taking the opportunity to run, but what was the point? He would find her, as he had found her yesterday.

And in spite of everything... she still did not want to be alone.

***

Nuts, berries, wild greens he knew to be edible... considering their situation, it was a veritable feast, though they would soon need meat to keep up their strength. He’d even hollowed out a fallen branch and filled it with spring water, so that Lyssa did not have to walk down the hill to the spring to drink from her cupped hands. She was tired. Terrified, angry, lost... and exhausted. It was his duty to care for her, to watch over her.

To save her as he had not been able to save his mother or his sister. He would not be late again; he would not let Lyssa out of his sight from this point forward.

That didn’t mean he’d given up his quest to kill Miron Volker, it just meant his plans would have to be delayed. But for how long? He had no idea.

More
. Lyssa had said that together they were more. Like it or not, he had begun to believe that she was right. His world was larger than it had been when he’d arrived in Arthes with no goal but to kill Volker. It was also more complicated, but there was nothing to be done about that. It seemed more urgent, right now, to explore this new possibility with Lyssa.

She devoured the nuts and berries, and nibbled at the greens. She drank from the crudely fashioned cup, and then she sighed and lifted her eyes to him.

“You really can go,” she said softly. “Not back to Arthes, but... I do not want you to feel obligated to take care of me. I can find my own way to the sea and from there...”

“From there
what
?” he asked when she faltered.

“I don’t know. One step at a time.”

Blade stood, brushed some dirt from his trousers and then offered Lyssa his hand. After a brief hesitation, she took it, and he pulled her to her feet. Cupping her face in his palms, he looked deep into her eyes and said sternly, “You are my wife, and I will not let you loose in this forest, or on any road, or in any village.”

“But...”

“I don’t know if I make you more than you were or not, but you have awakened something in me that I can’t deny. If anything happened to you, I would never forgive myself.” That was the raw truth. He didn’t have to like it, because his feelings didn’t change anything.

“It’s not like we’re truly man and wife. We—”

“We were married by a priest, the marriage was consummated, and we have lived together in our own home. No couple is more truly man and wife than we are.”

“I do wish you would stop interrupting me.”

“Am I wrong?”

She bit her bottom lip, briefly, as she considered her answer. “No, you are not wrong, but neither of us intended for this marriage to be real. I know very well you did not plan to keep me. You used me.”

“
You
used
me
.” He leaned in and kissed the side of her neck. “Intentions aside, we are man and wife. Perhaps... perhaps I will survive and decide to keep you.”

Her breath came hard all of a sudden. Her heart pounded, as it always did when he was close. He felt her reaction because they were so close, because he knew her so well.

“Why?” she asked. “Why would you even think to keep me?”

“Because I desire to do so.” He wanted to live, to make babies with Lyssa, to sleep with her every night. He wasn’t certain he could make that happen, but he wanted it—badly. He also wanted Volker dead. That had not changed. Could he have everything he wanted? Was that possible?

He took Lyssa’s face in his hands and made her look him in the eye. “There’s something I must tell you. You have to know why I can’t let Volker go.”

She nodded once. “ Volker, that’s the name of the man you traveled so far to kill. He murdered your sister.” Her words were gentle, a comfort and a caress.

“Yes.” Blade set his jaw. The pain never lessened, and he had to fight to say the words. They came out in a growl. “She was eleven years old.”

Lyssa gasped.

“And she was one of the demon’s children.”

She leaned into him, placed her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. No words would heal such a deep and terrible pain, so she offered none, but her touch was a comfort.

He didn’t push her away, but instead accepted the closeness, the offered comfort. And when they parted he once again took her face in his hands, and his mouth descended onto hers. He had not intended to kiss her, but she was right there and he needed that touch.

She kissed him back, parted her lips and brushed the tip of her tongue against his. Silent, telling tears ran down her face. These salty tears he tasted were not tears of sadness or anger. These tears stemmed from power, from beauty.

There was desperation in their kiss, passion and pain and longing. But there was also something else. Something that might be called love.

Chapter Fourteen

Blade walked beside her now, instead of behind as he had earlier in the day. Lyssa liked it; she liked being able to reach out and touch him if she felt as if she might stumble. And they’d been walking for such a long time that stumbling was a definite possibility.

She’d never expected that he might care for her, but he seemed to. He’d never used the word “love,” but then neither had she. Not aloud, anyway. But he was here. He’d stayed even though she had tried to send him away. Was it really magic that kept him with her? Or could he actually be basing his decision on free will? If she had to be a witch, she wished she could control whatever powers she might possess. It would be nice to know what was in his mind and his heart.

She was dirty and her hair was a mess, and still he had kissed her after he’d told her about his sister. It had been an amazing kiss. A real kiss. Surely there was some sort of magic involved. Why else would he want to kiss her when she was so incredibly unattractive? Last night’s lovemaking could be excused, since it had been dark and he hadn’t been able to see any better than she had, but to kiss her by the light of day, to stay with her in spite of who and what she was...

Why had he not shunned her as Edine had done? Why wouldn’t he take the opportunity to be rid of her? She had the uneasy suspicion that it must be some sort of witch’s magic that was beyond her control.

They walked some distance from the well-traveled road, but had found themselves on a rough path of sorts. It lead them in the right direction, or so Blade insisted, and the travel was easier than if they had tried to forge their own trail. They were surrounded by ancient trees that towered above them and younger trees struggling to find the sun. Earlier they had encountered some gentle hills, and Lyssa was grateful that the path was now relatively flat. They passed the occasional clearing that revealed signs of other travelers. The remnants of a fire here; the bones of a long ago supper there. They saw no one. That was no surprise, as most travelers would stick with the road. Birds and small animals rustled the leaves of trees and low bushes; she had stopped jumping at every sound a while back.

Blade talked about what he might catch for their evening meal and where they might camp for the night. Lyssa listened, but she was distracted. Her thoughts were solidly on her husband, on magic, and witchcraft. And on that kiss...