Lia didn’t turn, not even when I stopped behind her stool and her hair brushed against my belt. The soldiers made to stand up, but I waved them back down.
“So, what’s your stake this time?” I asked. “Something I should be worried about?”
She lifted up a bottle of red-eye, still not turning to look at me. “Every time I lose a hand, the bottle gets passed. I’ve only had to pass it twice.” She sighed dramatically. “Colonel Bodeen really should be more careful about locking his liquor cabinet.” Her head tilted as if she was weighing a thought. “Or maybe it was locked.”
I took the bottle from her and set it in the middle of the table, then shoved the pile she had accumulated into the middle as well. “Gentlemen, enjoy your game.”
“It’s been a pleasure,” she said to her new comrades, and put her hand out for me to escort her.
Neither of us said a word until we were outside.
I turned to face her, rested my hands on her waist, and then gently kissed her. “It’s not like you to give in so easily.”
“They were nice young men but lousy players. It was only something to pass the time.”
“And taking Colonel Bodeen’s red-eye was a challenge?”
“It was a more genteel stake than the one I offered last time. I was only thinking of you.”
“Well, thank you for that. I think. What spawned this diversion?”
She eyed me with frustration. “It seemed everywhere I went to today, I needed King Jaxon’s permission to pass. First the merchant wagons outside, then trying to access the outpost wall, and finally Tavish all but threw me out of the surgeon’s bungalow—”
“What were you doing in there?”
My tone came out sharper than I meant it to, and she stepped free from the circle of my hands. “What difference does it make?”
“We need to talk.”
Her expression sobered. “About what?”
“In my tent.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
He nearly dragged me across the courtyard, and my thoughts tumbled trying to figure out what had disturbed him so. Colonel Bodeen’s red-eye? Playing an innocent game of cards? Or had something happened in his meetings today?
As soon as we were in his tent, he spun. Every muscle in his face was tight with restraint. A vein twitched at his temple.
“What is it, Rafe? Are you all right?”
He walked over to a bedside table and poured a goblet of water, swilling it back in one swallow. He offered me none. He looked at the goblet in his hand, and I feared it might shatter in his grip. He set it down carefully on the table as if it held poison.
“It’s probably not important,” he said.
I huffed a disbelieving breath. “It clearly is. Just say it.”
He turned to face me fully. There was a mountain of challenge in his stance, and I felt my shoulders bracing.
“Did you kiss him?” he asked.
I knew he could only mean Kaden. “You saw me kiss him—”
“When you were alone together in the Cam Lanteux.”
“Once.”
“You told me nothing happened.”
“Nothing did,” I answered slowly, wondering what had brought this all on. “It was a kiss, Rafe. That was all.”
“Did he force himself on you?”
“No. He did not.”
“Was it part of your escape strategy?”
“No.”
His jaw rippled with tension. “Did you … enjoy it?”
I prickled at his insinuating tone. He had no right to interrogate me as if I had committed a crime. “Yes! I did enjoy it! Do you want to hear every last detail? I was scared, Rafe. I was alone. I was tired. And I thought you were a farmer I’d never see again. You had moved on without me. I was desperate for something to hold on to, but I learned that Kaden wasn’t that something. It was one kiss in a lonely moment, and you can turn it into anything sordid that you like, but I won’t apologize for it!”
“He said he slept beside you every night.”
“On bedrolls! I also slept by Griz, Eben, and the whole smelly lot! And let’s not forget the snakes and vermin! Unfortunately there were no private rooms available at the lovely inns on our holiday route!”
He paced the floor, shaking his head, his hands still drawn into fists. “I knew when he said it he was taunting me, but then when Tavish told me he saw him holding your hand—”
“I hurt my hand, Rafe. Kaden was pulling out slivers. That is all.” I made every effort to cool my own rising temper. I knew Rafe was under tremendous strain, and it appeared Kaden had taken advantage of that. I pulled on his arm so he had to face me. “You have to make your peace with Kaden, and he with you. You are not on opposite sides anymore. Do you understand?”
He looked at me, the line of his jaw still tight with anger, but he reached out and lifted my hands. He examined the one that was scratched and red. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. He pulled my hand to his lips, kissing a knuckle and lingering there, his breath warming my skin. “Please forgive me.”
I withdrew my hand. “Wait here,” I said, and headed for the tent door before he could argue. “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?”
“To the privy.”
I kept my rage in check until I was outside the tent. There was far more that still needed to be settled.
There wasn’t a lot of arguing this time when I told the guards to move aside. They must have seen something in my expression. Maybe everyone did. Griz and Jeb lifted their heads from pillows, but Kaden, Orrin, and Tavish all rose as I walked in. I stopped in front of Kaden, my hands shaking with fury.
His eyes narrowed. He knew exactly why I was there.
“Don’t you ever undermine me again, or dare to insinuate things that aren’t true!”
“He asked. I only told him the truth. I can’t help how he twisted it in his own mind.”
“You mean how you laid it out for him to twist!”
“I thought we both agreed to be honest. You kissed me. Or maybe you’re leading him along too.”
My hand shot out, slamming across his face.
He grabbed my arm and yanked me close. “Wake up, Lia! Can’t you see what’s going on here?” In almost the same movement, the hot slice of metal filled the air, and both Tavish’s and Orrin’s swords were at Kaden’s heart.
“Unhand the princess,” Tavish growled. “Now.”
Kaden slowly released his grip, and Orrin pushed him back several steps with the tip of his sword, but Kaden’s eyes never left mine.
I heard more footsteps. Rafe was walking toward us.
“There’s someone else who needs to be honest besides you and me,” Kaden said. “I thought you were in on the story from the beginning, but then I realized you didn’t get it.”
“Get what?”
“The excuse he conjured so quickly—the port and the few hills? Why do you think the Komizar bought it? You really think the marriage was only about an alliance? Dalbreck doesn’t give a horse’s ass about the Morrighese army. They mock you. The port was all they ever wanted, and the esteemed First Daughter of the House of Morrighan was going to be their leverage.”