“Go,” the kingsman ordered his men, giving Miri a final look that made her feel as if there were nothing final about it at all.
The torch was tossed carelessly at Miri’s feet, and as a blanket caught fire, Cass kicked the stick away and stomped the flame. The kingsmen disappeared into the trees.
“We should move.” Hugh was suddenly between Cass and Miri, his voice low, tone severe. “They’ll be back.”
Ginger shifted closer. “They found her. Whoever they were looking for.”
Hugh’s dark eyes were on the trees. “They don’t need reason to kill or take captive. Not when sorcerers pay for blood.”
They would be back. Because Miri was still free and the girl had not been found. Her gaze met Cass’s. The kingsmen would be back, because the newcomer who’d drawn them off had been Terric. Not a kingsman at all.
Ginger rushed through the camp, rolling their gear in a hasty mess as Hugh tied it to the horses. Miri laced her boots where she had stood, her hands trembling, and Cass knelt beside her, placing her dagger onto the ground at her side.
“Keep it close,” he warned. “We need to get into the forests of Ironwood.” Before the kingsmen were back on their trail, he meant. Terric had given Cass a warning. Miri didn’t know what it meant.
“Dawn,” he said, answering the unspoken question.
It was how long they had. Every moment would count.
Cass moved to gather her sword then shoved their blankets into a pack. He was tossing Miri astride Wolf before she had a chance to so much as think, but it was not a situation to ponder. It was a time to run.
Chapter 20
They rode hard through the darkness, their legs and the horses damp with dew as the sun rose and the light of dawn peered through the trees in a hazy orange glow. Summer heat was soon upon them, drying the damp and forcing the buzzing gnats and biting flies into the shadow of the trees. Then Miri and Cass were also within those shadows, their trails disappearing through thick brush and over patches of rock. They’d made it, for the time being, and relief swelled with exhaustion to steal the tension from Miri’s limbs.
Hugh and Ginger had been quiet, either anxious about meeting the kingsmen again or sensing the tension in Miri and Cass. But by late afternoon, Hugh drew his horse to a stop, suggesting that a break and some food would do them all well. He did not build a fire.
As Miri stretched her legs, Ginger approached with a proffered waterskin. “Are you well, Bean?” Miri glanced up at the woman, and Ginger explained, “I can see that you’re strong. That doesn’t mean we all didn’t have a fright.”
“Yes,” Miri said. “I appreciate the concern, but I am well.”
Ginger squinted at her for a moment before apparently deciding Miri spoke the truth. She gestured for Miri to hold out her hands then poured water over Miri’s palms. As Miri rinsed her hands, Ginger splashed her own face with the cool water then shook her head briskly with a noise of relief. “It isn’t safe on the trail these days, but I cannot say it’s any safer inside the kingdoms. Not when even behind the walls, you run into the king’s dogs searching for blood.”
Hugh and Cass stood with the horses out of earshot.
Miri asked, “Have you run into many?”
Ginger’s hand settled solidly above the curve of her hip. “Seven stopped us the last trip, just me and Hugh alone. Didn’t think we’d get out of that mess, I’ll tell you, but apparently, I’m not young enough to sell for blood.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Likely clear Hugh would put up a fight too. The kingsmen are damnable, but they’re not fools.” Her eyes came back to Miri, her lashes long and dark beneath a sharp brow. “I know you are newly married and relish being alone, but it’s not the time to be traveling without company, as young and pretty as you are.”
Miri smiled at her. Ginger could not have been much older than Miri and was more than merely pretty. But Ginger didn’t know that Cass and Miri were capable of handling a few kingsmen, should it come to it. “I’m glad to have you both,” Miri said, hoping it was not a mistake and that they didn’t end up killed for being in a princess’s company.
“The queen may be dead,” Ginger said, “but the kings are fools if they think they’ll ever eradicate her supporters.”
Miri startled at the words, until she remembered she’d spoken them to the guards the night before. Ginger didn’t know who Miri was, only that she’d said the words to save her life. The kingsmen had forced her.
“Come now, let’s get some food in you,” Ginger offered.
It was more than a week’s ride from Kirkwall to Ironwood, but Hugh and Ginger had traveled enough to know the best routes. They’d stopped at another inn near the city, and everyone inside treated the traders like friends. The couple didn’t have a cart or a wagon and didn’t carry obvious stock, but Miri soon discovered they traded in small trinkets and jewels. It was not something they spoke of, likely to avoid being robbed, but she saw an exchange with the innkeeper and heard a discussion between Hugh and Cass. It seemed they traded jewels fit for lords.
Cass had been distant, allowing Miri to ride beside Ginger and not holding Miri’s gaze longer than was necessary for his duty as her guard or at least appropriate for a pretend husband. But every evening, they sat shoulder to shoulder at dinner, arms brushing as they ate and listened to stories from Hugh. And after, when the fire burned low and the moon was the only light, Cass crawled into the tent beside Miri, closed away from the light and the night bugs, and they lay together in the stillness of the night with a closeness neither could deny. Miri had begun to look forward to it, even though she knew it was wrong. Cass was honoring his duty, the same as her, and neither should be taking comfort in the other or allowing the unspoken accord to carry on. They were walking a dangerous line, and Miri had the most difficult task she could face at risk with every turn.
She rolled over in the dim morning light of that tent, less than a day’s ride from the next king and Ironwood. Cass was already awake, watching her. He had stopped lying at her feet after the kingsmen had attacked, and his hazel eyes were level with hers. He was painfully handsome, particularly when mussed from sleep. She reached up to brush a dark eyelash from his cheek, and her fingers came away slowly from his skin. It was another action that felt dangerous—and entirely too right.
“Tell me about Edwin.” Cass’s voice was no more than a whisper, his expression serene despite his words.
Miri swallowed. It was time to prepare for the next king, whether she was ready or not. “He collects snakes. He keeps the poisonous ones caged but likes to bring them out to intimidate guests. He is well trained with a spear. I’ve seen him strike a man from across a courtyard without even pausing to aim. He laughs too loudly at things that aren’t funny. His smile is too sharp.” She drew a slow breath. “His rooms are at the top of a small keep. A woman will be sleeping beside him, but she’s not his queen.”
Edwin’s mistress had been sneaking into the tower through secret passages since Miri was a child, but the woman had since grown brave. Rumor told that she walked the halls as if she were more powerful than the queen. And if she had Edwin’s ear, such could be exactly the case.