“Will you be escorting me as well?” she asked Kel, then turned to the prince. “I’d asked for just a woman.”
Kel replied. “Ah, no, I will not. Tisi will be more than enough to keep you safe.” He caught his use of my nickname and corrected himself quickly. “That is Sera— I mean Tisera.”
Kel cleared his throat, giving himself a moment to regain his composure. “She is an excellent warrior but dress her up right and no one would know it.”
He glanced at me, and I guessed he was imagining me in Veora’s dress. I couldn’t imagine myself in that low-cut, frilly, pink monstrosity, but Kel gave a half smile, a quick breath of a laugh then was all stony features again.
“Tisi?” Veora said, turning to me. “What a wonderful name. I shall call you Tisi, if I may?”
“You may,” I said grudgingly. I wasn’t going to deny her in front of the prince, even though that name was reserved for those who knew me well. I got the feeling she’d know me well soon enough. We’d be spending a lot of time together.
“Then it is set,” the prince said softly. “Tisera, thank you for this. I shall have someone drop off payment for the first three months in advance tomorrow.”
That would be nice.
Then came some talk about when I’d come to see Veora next and the schedule which she and the prince would be keeping. I’d be returning on the morrow to escort Veora to the New Market, outside the city. The day after, I’d take her to see the prince.
“Come on, Sera, let’s go,” Kel said — using the nickname I despised — pulling me aside with a bit more force than he needed to. I didn’t know why until he whispered. “The princewill be remaining here for a while to ‘wet his whistle,’ so we’re walking back to the city.”
Ah.
“Perhaps, but we won’t be doing it together.” I tore my arm from his iron grip. “You go ahead.”
Kel grunted, jaw tight. “Right.”
He said a few quiet words to the prince, then left.
I loitered as the prince and Veora headed to the swathe of gardens between the house and the river. I quickly lost sight of them among the hedges and trees.
Something caught my eye and I looked to see a shadow in the open doorway of the small manor-house. A man in finely tailored dark clothing glared at me. This would be Merik, the brother, I assumed. There was nothing friendly about him. In fact, I instantly disliked him, getting a cold feeling from him. He wasn’t one to mess with.
I nodded to him. He glared back before retreating into the manor and closing the door.
A shiver ran down my spine as I waited another few long breaths — so my long legs wouldn’t catch up with Kel as I returned to the city — then turned and began a slow walk home.
This job would be… interesting.
At least I would be well paid to be a glorified nanny.
My fortunes had turned in an instant. Though I wondered, offhand, if they had actually changed for better… or worse.
CHAPTER 3
Kelric
SeeingTisi again after all this time had gotten me all twisted up: furious and heated and wistful all at once.
I needed to get my emotions settled before I returned to my troops. The Dragoons had a commission with the crown now, we were on the queen’s payroll — which was how Prince Victor had found me — and that meant keeping things running smoothly for the nearly five-hundred men under my command. I couldn’t show weakness and I couldn’t be distracted by women.
Especially Tisi.
“Sera,” I muttered with a grin. She hated that name. She always had. It was Tisera or Tisi or nothing. Though her adopted brother — Dazar — called her ‘Dizzy’ and she didn’t seem to mind. But I’d taken to calling her Sera in my thoughts, knowing she despised the short form. And I’d do anything I could to make her pay for what she’d done to me.
I ground my teeth at the memory — it was seared into my brain as much as I wanted to forget it — of her straddling Sergeant Tomas, moaning and crying out, stinking of sweat andsex. I’d only seen her from the back as I’d peeked through the doorway, but that had been more than enough. She’d cheated on me. And to think I’d been ready to marry her!
Gods! That still burned my soul. How could she?
I tried to distract myself by remembering Prince Victor’s new mistress. She was all woman, round and ready, beautiful in a lively and energetic way. I could see why he might have broken the bond with his wife for the woman. She was certainly intoxicating. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have thought the curtsey she’d given me was some sly seduction. Not only had she displayed her abundance of cleavage, but she’d paused long enough to swell them with a deep breath. Lady Thistledown was a dangerous beauty indeed. Yet… she wasn’t one to marry.
