The Lady and the Falconer (27 page)

Solace gasped loudly and he felt her grip falter. She slipped down an inch, jerking him hard.

He braced himself against the wall, stopping their descent. “Hold on,” he commanded through clenched teeth.

Solace clutched desperately at him, grabbing at his tunic.

When Logan had his balance again, he continued downward. Finally, after what seemed like hours, his feet touched the ground. He quickly undid the rope, freeing Solace.

Suddenly the cry of his falcon sounded in the air above him, its shrill call sending a shiver of alarm racing through him. Without thinking, Logan grabbed Solace’s hand and dashed for the logs that filled the section of moat in front of them. The logs shifted beneath their feet as they raced across them.

The first arrow missed Logan’s head by inches, lodging in a log at his feet.

But the second arrow came closer to the mark.

Chapter Twenty-Five

T
he arrow pierced Logan’s tunic, ripping through the fabric near his ribs, barely missing his skin. Logan pulled Solace close as they cleared the moat, quickly leading her into the trees bordering the west end of the castle. But he didn’t stop there. He continued his breakneck pace through the woods, dodging trees, sidestepping bushes, splashing through small brooks. All the while, Solace followed silently, keeping pace.

They reached a stream and Logan plunged into the water, planning to throw any pursuers off their trail. He trudged a great distance in the chilly brook before he glanced back over his shoulder to see how Solace was faring. She had raised her skirt up to her shins, the hem of which was soaked. Her slippered shoes were heavy with water, and her bare skin was pink from the cold.

Logan glanced down at his warm, booted feet. He quickly moved back to her, scooped her up into his arms and continued on despite her protests.

We need to find horses, Logan thought. He chanced a look at the woman in his arms, only to find her staring at him, a scowl on her face. When she saw him looking at her, she glanced away, into the direction they were heading. He caught himself studying the soft outline of her face, the delicate arch of her neck. The dark rings underlining her eyes were in sharp contrast to the pale complexion of her face. We need to get sleep, he thought. For, even though adrenaline pumped through his veins, he felt the beginnings of fatigue sapping his strength.

Suddenly, Solace turned those brilliant green eyes to him and it was Logan’s turn to look away.

“Where are you going?” she wondered.

“For now, just trying to make a path the guards won’t be able to follow,” Logan answered, emerging from the stream and setting her feet on the ground beside an old oak tree.

“Westhaven is only a day’s walk that way.” She pointed south.

Logan’s gaze followed her finger as if he could see the town.

“I have friends there who might be able to help,” Solace added.

Help. Every nerve in Logan’s body tensed. Yes, he thought. Help you. Leave me to rot in some dung heap. “I think we’ll head in this direction,” he said, moving north.

“What’s wrong with you?” she asked. “I said I knew people who could help hide us.”

“I’m not here to escort you to your destination,” Logan snapped angrily. “And I don’t intend to hide like some frightened kitten.”

“You said you would see me to safety!” Solace shouted.

Logan spread his arms wide. “Here you are.”

Solace gasped at him, anger flaming her cheeks. “You’re going to leave me here?”

He shrugged. “You can travel with me.”

“You... you unchivalrous lout!” she shouted. “I should have known I couldn’t trust you! Not after what you did!”

Logan approached her, his jaw tight with leashed fury. She backed away from him until she bumped into a tree and could retreat no further. “Let’s get one thing straight. I did what I had to do. The same thing you would have done had you been in my place.”

He expected her to shiver and cower before his rage as he towered over her like some angry ogre. What he didn’t expect was the sparkle of tears in her bright eyes.

“I never would have betrayed someone I...” Her words faded.

A frown creased Logan’s brow as he found himself gazing into the most spectacular eyes he had ever seen, eyes bright with courage and defiance. A shadow of sadness haunted them, and something else. Fear? What had she been about to say?

Her tongue traced her lips before she finished with, “I never would have done that to you.”

Her declaration cut into his resolve, slashing a hole in the wall he had built around his heart. No, he knew with certainty she never would have done that to him. With the realization came a tidal wave of regret. He battled through the wave with his anger, trying not to drown in those green waters that flooded from her eyes.

His gaze lowered to her sweet lips. He had tasted their honeyed depths before, had sought comfort in her arms as he’d devoured them. But he knew that he could never do that to her, or himself, ever again.

“I don’t need your friends’ help,” Logan snapped, turning away from her and heading into the forest again.

“We’re in no position to turn down any kind of help. We have no food, no water, no –”

“I’ve gotten along fine by myself,” he said, fighting the logic to her thinking. She wanted him captured. Would her friends set a trap for him? Protect her and send him to Barclay? Could she now betray him? Had she changed that much? He knew that was what he would do if he were in her position. “Are you coming?”

For a long moment, he didn’t hear anything. Then, he heard her footfalls and knew she was storming after him.

***

Solace shivered as the night wind snaked its cold fingers around her. She glanced for the thousandth time at Logan. He sat across from her, his back to a tree, his long legs stretched out before him. He had found a long, thick branch on their travels and now his new staff lay at his side within easy reach. Darkness had fallen over an hour ago. If she weren’t so cold, Solace knew she would be able to sleep, regardless of whether or not she was in her own bed.

But she was freezing. Logan had informed her there would be no fire so as to not attract any unwanted attention. In addition to being cold and tired, she was hungry. She had been trying for what seemed like forever to dig out a root with the dagger, but the stubborn thing wouldn’t let go of the ground. She had pulled at it, chopped at it, but she just wasn’t strong enough. The relentless wind laughed around her, encircling her in an icy hug. She shivered, sitting back, exasperated.

She looked at the dagger in her hand. It wasn’t enough. She blew a strand of hair from her eyes, wishing she had some stronger tool. She needed help. A rumble moved across her stomach as if it were alive. Solace stood and stared down at the root. Damn thing! She kicked it before turning and heading for Logan.

She wiped the dirt from the dagger on her black skirt as she moved closer to him. His hands were folded over his stomach, his head resting comfortably against a tree, his long legs outstretched as if he were in a bed. She stopped at his side, gazing down at him, watching the slight rise and fall of his chest. She absently turned the blade over in her palm. A breeze ushered her forward, and she swallowed her pride as she bent down to touch his shoulder.

Logan’s eyes flashed open, full of suspicion and recrimination. He snapped his wrist toward her and easily slapped the dagger from her hand. “Branding’s not good enough, eh, Solace?”

She pulled back, surprised and shocked. She rubbed her smarting fingers, staring at him in total bewilderment.

Logan grabbed the dagger off the ground and stood, slipping the thin blade into the belt at his waist. “You don’t mind if I hold onto this for you, do you?” He tapped the dagger’s leather-bound handle. “I wouldn’t want you to accidentally cut anything you weren’t supposed to.”

Confusion washed over her. “Why did you hit my hand?” she asked.

“Did you think I would just lie here while you slit my throat?” he growled.

“What?” she gasped. “I -- I wasn’t going to slit your throat. I wanted...” His words penetrated her bewilderment. She clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes. “I’m afraid I’m not as bloodthirsty as you.” How could he accuse her of a thing like that? She wasn’t the one who had betrayed him. She smiled coldly at him. “Although, it’s not a bad idea.”

Logan took a threatening step closer. “Then what were you doing with the dagger? Contemplating giving me a shave?”

Solace raised her chin, refusing to budge a step. “How dare you accuse me of lying! All you have done is lie to me. Use me for your own vile purposes. It must have been very hard for such an accomplished lover to pull the wool over a virgin’s eyes!”

“Virgin!” Logan exploded. “You were no virgin.”

Solace tried to keep his hurtful words from cutting her. “I have been with no other man,” she proclaimed, facing his accusations with all the bravery she could muster.

“There was no blood,” Logan said, but doubt had crept into his words. “All virgins bleed.”

“Not this one,” she replied and turned away from him. Whore, harlot, slut. The words of her sister and her stepmother echoed in her memory. She couldn’t explain the fact that there had been no blood. And she knew Logan would never believe her. He would think the same thing Alissa and Beth had. So what did it matter?

Everything.

She returned to the tree, sat down and drew her knees up to her chest. She was just as cold and hungry as she had been when she’d approached Logan. But now she was without a dagger.

The root sat there in the ground at her feet, half dug out, refusing to release its hold on the life-giving earth.

As Solace laid her head on her knees, a tear trickled over her cheek.

***

Logan stood over her, watching her sleep. She was curled tightly in a ball, on her side, shivering. Most women would have broken down by now, crying out against the injustice of the world. They would have lost their will to fight.

Moonlight washed over her small frame, caressing her with a pale kiss, giving her more warmth than her mother and sister, giving her more tenderness than he had bestowed upon her. In the shadows of the night, he felt hidden, free to explore his feelings. And as he stared at her, an emotion rose within him so strong that it threatened to choke him. In her small body, Solace possessed more courage and determination than most knights he had known.

Logan thought back to her declaration of innocence. He had never heard of a virgin who did not bleed. But as he thought back on their encounters, there were other things, other signs, which now seemed to confirm her inexperience. The way she had first kissed him, with reserved passion. Everything she had done had been filled with an innocent curiosity. That was what had drawn him to her. Now it was more than that. He admired her defiance, her will, her strong spirit.

A chill breeze wrapped Logan in a blanket of cold. They had brought nothing from Castle Fulton. No blankets, no food, no water. They had fled only with the clothing on their backs.

A caw came from the tree above him, drawing Logan’s attention. His falcon was perched on a branch to their right, drawing one of its legs up under itself to sleep.

“Wretched beast,” Logan grumbled, even though he was secretly glad to see the falcon. “I was wondering when you’d show up.”

He turned his dark gaze back to Solace. She was everything a man could learn to love, to care for. But he was not any man. He had no time for tenderness, no time for love. He had to get his castle back. He wouldn’t let himself fall under her spell, not the way Peter had. Peter. Had he survived yet another siege? Logan’s heart ached for his brother, for the kinship that could never be.

He turned his back on Solace, but as he walked away he couldn’t resist a glance over his shoulder.

***

The warm sun streamed in through Solace’s bedroom window, warming her face. She turned her head to the sunlight and a sharp pain flared in her back. Something was sticking her in the spine. She reached under her to discover it was a solid chunk of earth. Her arm brushed the dirt from beneath her. Then she realized that in her room the sunlight didn’t reach her bed. She opened her eyes to see a canopy over her, but it was not the soft velvet canopy of her bed; it was a crisp canopy of leaves.

She had not been dreaming. Her castle was in the hands of Baron Barclay. Alissa had been brutally killed. Beth had welcomed the enemy into her bed.

The wind whistled around her, its icy breeze kissing her body, weaving its way beneath her skirt. She pulled her skirt over her feet to block it out. Then she sat up, her gaze searching the trees for Logan.