“Aye, I meant it and still mean it, though love does not make this simple,” he argued, his eyes sparking. “Confirm again for me that your mum had nothing to do with us falling in love.”
“My mum warned me away from you, insisted I should not wed you.”
He filled in the small space between them, though he did not touch her. “You defied her.”
“As I have most of my life,” she said with a soft laugh. “Though her intentions were misguided and done so out of impatience, they were also done out of love.”
“How so?”
“My mum thought my sisters and I were taking too long to find a husband and wed.”
He shook his head. “So, she chose three drunken warriors to wed her daughters?”
“She didn’t see three drunken warriors. She saw three strong warriors wishing for what they thought would make them happy. So, she let them live their wishes until they realized their wishes were?—”
“Empty,” Rhodes said.
He closed the space between them, towering over her and keeping his voice low. “My life was empty until you walked intothe Great Hall and demanded I stop killing the animals in the forest.”
She leaned her body against his. “And you demanded I wed you.”
“And you did as I ordered.” He pressed his finger to her lips to stop her from responding. “But I never expected to fall so deeply in love with you or that you would return that love, and I never want us to lose the love born of its own accord and growing ever stronger by the day.”
“A love I cherish with my heart and will always keep safe,” she whispered and brushed her lips faintly over his.
His eyes darkened, torn between fury and fear. “How do I keep you safe, protected, Fawn? How do I shield a wife who is a?—”
She stole the word from him in a whisper, “Witch.”
He drew in a sharp breath as if the truth just now struck him.
“As much as I hate to admit it, we need to speak with my mum. I believe she knows more than she says, more that can help us.”
Rhodes’s hand came up, brushing the back of his fingers against her cheek, as though the feel of her steadied him. “Then we better not delay, for talk spreads quickly about a witch in the area and I will not see you condemned as one simply because you tend animals. But hear me, Fawn—until we do, stay close, and let no one see reason to question you.”
Her hand caught his, holding it firm against her face. “I fear no one so long as you stand beside me.”
For a long breath, his eyes lingered on hers, storm and devotion colliding. He bent his head, his lips a breath from hers. “By my side you will always remain.”
Their lips met, fierce with unspoken promises and fears neither dared voice aloud, the fire snapping in the hearth as if sealing the vow.
CHAPTER 22
Rhodes sat alone in his solar, the fire in the hearth burned low, the room holding more shadows than light. Fawn had gone to tend her animals, promising she would get word to her mother that they wished to speak with her. He told himself he should be working on matters of the clan, but his thoughts wandered back to her instead—the way her eyes softened when she spoke of love, the way she responded so eagerly to his kisses and touch, and the way her fire matched his own.
A knock sounded at the door, Boyce announcing himself and Rhodes bidding him to enter. The door opened and Boyce stepped inside, shutting it firmly behind him. His expression was grave.
“What’s amiss?” Rhodes asked, straightening from where he sat at the table.
Boyce hesitated. “It concerns your wife. One of the men swore he saw her heading into the woods before dawn and with talk of witches already stirring and the anger all witnessed of you nearly dragging her through the village…”
Rhodes’s jaw flexed. He had woken this morning to find her gone, the space beside him cold. He hadn’t liked that she wasn’tthere, warm beside him, and had gotten up when he would have preferred to linger in bed with her. He’d been determined to find her and find out why she had slipped away without telling him. He wondered now if he would have been wiser to stay in bed.
“It was naught but a spat between husband and wife,” Rhodes said annoyed. “Though I need not explain that to anyone.”
Boyce nodded. “It might be good that you do since there is another matter that might concern your wife.”
“Tell me,” Rhodes snapped, worried someone could have overheard something.
