He reined in Nova, who didn’t enjoy the sudden change in speed, then turned around and cantered back to me. He did not look pleased, his brows furrowed, his mouth pinched together in anger. “What are you doing?”
“Taking an evening stroll, obviously,” I said sarcastically.
“Why are you alone? Why didn’t you wait for my return? Don’t you understand it’s not safe to be out after dark?”
“I’m not scared of the dark, and I had no reason to believe you would return for me.”
“You’re my charge. I have a right mind to leave you here and let the beast take care of you.”
“That’s fine with me. I might prefer the beast’s company over yours any day!”
He looked away with a deep scowl. Internally, I counted to ten before I tried to speak civilly. “Did you find anything at the edge of town?”
He shook his head. “My men stayed behind to try and pick up its trail, while I came to take you back.”
Xander dismounted, took the reins and stood in front of me. I was incredibly conscious of how close we were, and how just the tiniest hint of wind could blow my veil away; then I would be at his mercy for disobeying a direct order. Standing this close, I saw his eyes drop to my waist and felt his slow perusal up my body, lingering on my exposed neck.
He reached out and brushed his hand under my chin, my breath catching in my throat. My heart thudded loudly, pounding in my ears. He was going to look upon me, and I became anxious at the thought. Would he curse my name even more when he learned the truth? My stomach dropped.
“I wonder…,” he breathed, lifting my veil.
“No!” I panicked and turned away. A hard thud hit my chest, pain exploding outward from the sight, and I gasped. It hurt to breathe. When I looked down, I saw an arrow protruding from my shoulder.
“Get down!” Xander yelled, pulling me behind his horse and into the woods.
The pain wouldn’t stop, and all I wanted to do was pull it out. I clutched the shaft and was about to yank when his firm command told me to cease. Instead, with strong hands, he broke off the shaft, leaving the arrowhead in my shoulder. Then he tossed me onto the horse and jumped on after me, and we rode like a fury into the woods and away to safety.
With each step the horse took, the silver arrowhead burned and dug into my shoulder. White-hot flashes appeared in my vision, and I started to black out.
“Stay with me, Rose,” Xander called out urgently. “Don’t go to sleep.”
Too late.
Chapter Seventeen
A throbbing ache came from my shoulder. “Where am I?” I mumbled, trying to blink and focus on my surroundings. I was in an unfamiliar room, resting on a large stuffed mattress with a flowered quilt tucked around my lap. Across the room were a wood-burning stove, kettle, table, and two chairs. Next to the washbasin was a shelf with a few table servings, cups, plates, and a glass jar that held the silverware. Three shuttered windows took up a large portion of the walls, and an old rag rug covered the floor. Dried herbs hung from the rafters, keeping a pleasant aroma in the cottage when I expected it to smell musty. As cute and organized as the cottage was, it was obvious it had been abandoned, for there were no personal effects in the room.
Xander sat on the bed next to me, pressing a cloth to my shoulder.
“You’ll be fine. The arrow didn’t damage any major muscles,” he said.
The pain had subsided to a dull ache. While I was passed out, he had removed the arrowhead, cleaned it with hot water, and bandaged the wound. My new dress was destroyed, the shoulder torn and the sleeve gone, but I was still modestly covered. He had used strips of my skirt as bandages.
I sighed wearily as another beautiful dress was unnecessarily destroyed. Looking up at Xander, I realized how crystal clear he was and I inhaled deeply, reaching for the veil—that was gone.
“It got in the way,” Xander answered, his face emotionless and hard to read.
“No, it didn’t,” I argued. “It was only a few inches long.
“Okay, well, maybe I was tired of you lying to me.”
“Lying to you?”
“I knew the day you served me in my tent who you were.” Xander lifted my bandaged wrist. “What are the odds that two different women would have the same injury in the same place? Not to mention I recognized my mother’s pin on your cloak.”
“And yet you demanded I come back to serve you dinner. Are you mad? Weren’t you worried I was going to poison you? I seem to recall that conversation as well.”
His lip twitched. Was it a hint of a smile? “Are you going to poison me?”
“Depends,” I said.
“On what?” He stilled.
“How irritating you continue to be.”
“Woman, if you rate whether a person should be poisoned based on how irritating they are, I fear there will be no men left in the kingdom.” He barked out a laugh.
I snorted, and his eyes widened in disbelief. Maybe real ladies didn’t snort? Well, I wasn’t a lady. “Then maybe I would be doing your kingdom a favor. Women tend to not be so rash in their ways or thinking.”
“Women can be just as irritating.” His eyes narrowed, and he pointed to me. “As for serving dinner, I wanted to see which version of you would show up. And how obedient you were. Turns out not very.”
“Get used to it,” I snapped, then leaned back onto the pillow and waited for the harsh words to follow. How he was angry that I had fooled him, lied to him about who I was, and also disobeyed his order to not be seen by him, a few times.
My reddened cheeks gave him the affirmation he needed.
He sighed dramatically and leaned closer to me. “Why did you come to the wedding celebration that night when I forbade you to?”
“I hadn’t eaten all day and was famished. It seems your staff are not very hospitable.”
“Ah, that’s right. You did say you were just there for the food.”
I nodded.
“You looked beautiful that first night. I didn’t know who you were. I was trapped in the despair of my own doing, and I spotted you hiding in the shadows across the room. Your face glowed with delight and innocence. I was drawn to you and snuck closer just so I could watch your reactions, for here was a woman who didn’t seem to be burdened with darkness. Light spilled forth from you. I was a moth, and you were the flame. Had I only known then who you were.”
It was difficult to swallow at his admission. Waiting for the hammer to drop. Nothing but silence. When the tirade didn’t begin, I searched his eyes and he searched mine. I felt naked without the veil, my true identity revealed. We were truly seeing each other for the first time. Did he have no feelings on the matter? Then I realized how angry he was, because he was silent.
“I’m sorry,” I said coldly, looking away to stare at the wood floor. “For deceiving you.”
It was his turn to sigh. He leaned back so he was parallel to me on the bed, his arms stretched above his head to cradle his neck. “I was a fool to ever give you that order. It’s a good thing I hadn’t seen you before we were married, because my father was right—I would have let your beauty surely dazzle me.” He reached for my chin and brought my eyes up to look into his. He searched my gaze, and I wished I could understand what he was thinking and feeling. Instead I saw a tortured soul.