“Get your hands off me, you greasy weasel.” She shoved an elbow into his gut and spun to get away, but he caught her again, keeping her from escaping.
“You think you’re something special? You’re nothing but a trumped-up whore.” He raised his hand to strike her, and she flinched in expectation.
Before it could land, someone yanked them apart, and Liane glanced up to see a broad back between her and Duke Licht.
“Is something wrong?” her rescuer said with the faintest unfamiliar accent.
“Who are you?” Duke Licht glared at him.
“Her dance partner,” he said, turning to face her.
She’d never seen him in her life, but she jumped at the chance to escape and linked arms with him.
“There you are. I’ve been looking for you all evening!”
“What is the meaning of this?” Duke Licht stuttered.
“I suppose you haven’t heard; I’m being courted. I would say it was lovely meeting you, but it wasn’t.” With a toss of her head, she strolled arm in arm with her rescuer away from a sputtering Duke Licht.
When they were far enough away, she dared a glance to make sure he hadn’t followed them, and certain of her safety, she untangled from the masked stranger.
“Thank you for stepping in,” Liane said.
“If you’re thankful, why not dance with me?” He offered her his broad, calloused hand.Not soft and milky like most lords.
Gaze flicking up, she met the smoldering intensity of his golden-brown eyes behind his pearlescent white-blue mask. Gooseflesh pebbled on her skin. If she didn’t already have plans, she’d have accepted without question. Even so, she was drawn to him in ways she couldn’t explain. Who was he, and why had he stepped in when everyone else had turned their back?
“I’m a terrible dancer.”
“I’m excellent at leading.” He smirked, and butterflies took flight in her chest.
“Then save a dance for me,”Liane said. When she was finished, she needed a way to slip naturally back into the masquerade.
Before he could reply or ask her to stay, she ducked between revelers and escaped out of the ballroom.With any luck, she’d return in time to claim that dance.
Striding briskly, she headed away from the grand hall and toward her apartment. The distant hum of the masquerade faded, and the sound of her hurried footsteps filled the silence. When she returned to her room, Luzie was waiting for her with the change of clothes Ludwig had procured. Stripping down quickly, Liane shed her gown and mask in favor of a pair of black trousers and a shirt.After changing clothes, she approached the tapestry on the far wall and pulled it back to reveal a decorative knob. Pressing on it released a mechanism that opened a hidden doorway.
The palace was filled with such passageways, hidden throughout as a security measure to protect palace residents in an emergency. Beyond the flickering light of the candle Luzie held aloft, the stairwell descended into a black abyss. Liane took the candle and headed down the stairs, with just enough light to illuminate the next step in front of her, not that she needed it; she’d taken this same passageway a thousand times and could traverse it in total darkness. At the bottom of the stairs, the faintest orange light flickered on the rough-hewn wall and revealed Ludwig pacing, torch in hand.
“I was hoping you’d changed your mind,” he said.
“Don’t you know me better than that?”
“Call it wishful thinking.”
“Mother says I shall have a fateful meeting. I think it means we’ll find out the supplier tonight.”
“I don’t think that’s what your mother meant.”
Liane snatched the torch out of his hand and ignored him to walk down the roughhewn hall. Despite Ludwig’s pessimism, she had a good feeling that tonight everything would change.
7
Erich’s eyes followed her path as she weaved through the crowd, her vibrant red tresses burning like a beacon against a sea of beads and brocade. When he’d seen the cold indifference of the courtiers while the red-haired woman was harassed, he’d intervened, knowing it was reckless. There in the viper’s den, drawing attention onto himself, was a dangerous gamble. He’d spotted guards hiding in alcoves like gray sentinels, eyes scanning, ever watchful. Erich had already decided if the elf were discovered, he’d abandon him. His own survival was paramount.
“You’re more chivalrous than I thought,” Fritz remarked, materializing at his shoulder without a sound.
He hadn’t noticed his approach, and the elf moved liked a shadow. Hand twitching, he sought the comfort of his blade, but Ivar insisted he come unarmed. And then gate guards had taken the one he’d hidden in his boot. The empress was paranoid, as most rulers were, but it didn’t make him feel any easier, especially with an elf for an uneasy ally.
