He nodded. “Give me a moment with Ambrose. I’ll be there.” He watched her stride for the stairs, Cinnia on her heels.
He turned to Ambrose once they were out of earshot. “I’d wager a good courser Jimenin somehow found out Louvaen was returning in the spring and thinks Cinnia will return with her. The girl would buckle the moment she saw her father imprisoned and do whatever Jimenin wanted. He’ll be looking for them. How close can you put her to her home?”
Ambrose spread his hands in a helpless gesture. “No closer than what I mentioned. But she’ll be on an unfamiliar horse, and if she conceals herself she’ll get into Monteblanco before he spots her.”
Ballard ran a hand over his face. “Gods, this is the worst of the curse. I can’t even protect her by accompanying her. Neither can Gavin, and she won’t leave her father to rot in the gaol while she stays at Ketach Tor.”
“She’ll know what to do. She’s resourceful and no wilting flower by any stretch, and she’s dealt with Jimenin before.” Ambrose worried his lower lip, a sure sign he was planning and strategizing. “You can keep watch with the mirror I gave her and Cinnia.”
“That’s as bad as not knowing anything if I can do nothing to help. Besides, she’ll want the mirror to keep an eye on Cinnia.”
“You as well,” Ambrose pointed out. “Is that what you want?”
The idea she might summon his image in the mirror as he transformed for a final time made the cold knot of dread in Ballard’s gut swell until it threatened to choke him. “No,” he said.
Ambrose snapped his fingers. “An easy solution. Mirrors aren’t hard to enchant; they’re just hard to control sometimes. I can enchant another one so that Louvaen can only summon Cinnia. It can act as a beacon as well, in case she needs to return to Ketach Tor.”
Ballard scowled. “She better not come back. I expect the others to be long gone by the time her business with her father is finished.”
“She may have to,dominus. If something happens to me, and I can’t get the women out, then Louvaen needs the means to return and do it for me.”
Ballard growled his frustration. “She’s right. She should have shot Jimenin.” He took the stairs two at a time, tossing instructions over his shoulder to Ambrose as he went. “When Gavin returns, tell him to gather up the coin he thinks she’ll need to free her father. I’d bet long we’ll be paying a king’s ransom for his release.”
He found Louvaen in her chamber. She waved him in as she and Cinnia tossed clothing and personal toiletries haphazardly into a satchel, at least until Louvaen lifted the wrapped dagger he’d given her. She placed the gift within her jumble of possessions with careful hands, burying it deep amongst crushed skirts and shifts.
Sometime during his conversation with Ambrose, she’d exchanged her fancier dress with its many laces for a plainer, more practical garment. The ornamental combs in her hair were gone, and she’d bound the dark locks into a heavy plait that fell down her back. His fantasy of unlacing her and keeping her locked in his chamber with him for a week was so much dust.
“Are you ready?” he said.
She paused in closing the satchel. “Yes.” Her slender hands trembled on the ties.
Cinnia gazed at her and Ballard. Her lower lip quivered. She patted Louvaen’s shoulder. “I’ll be downstairs when you’re ready,” she said and fled the room.
Louvaen’s lashes were damp with unshed tears. “You save my family again.”
He shook his head and came to stand before her. His hands rested heavy on her slender shoulders. “Your father became Gavin’s father as well when Cinnia married him. He has a duty to Mercer Hallis. In this, you are simply the messenger for Lord de Lovet.”
She offered him a weak smile. “You made him give up his horse. I’ll take good care of Sparrow until I can return him.”
“He’s Cinnia’s now. Keep him for her. Gavin would wish it.” Ballard gathered her close until her scent of cloves filled his nostrils, and her strong features filled his vision. He pushed back his hood so she might see him as clearly as he saw her. “Wife of my soul,” he said softly.
She closed her eyes and sagged in his arms. “Oh gods, Ballard. I don’t want to go.” She straightened abruptly, almost bumping his nose. Her hands slid into his hair and tugged him down until her mouth touched his and they were kissing wildly—a battle of clutching hands and desperate moans until they gasped for air.
Ballard set her from him. “Get your cloak, and then it’s downstairs with you, witch, or I’ll change my mind and lock you in Ketach Tor with me forever, your father be damned.” He shouldered her satchel and ushered her out the door before she could protest and before he gave in to temptation.
They met the others in the bailey, with Gavin holding the reins of a saddled Sparrow. Someone had lowered the drawbridge, and its chains clinked in the wind gusting up from the abyss. Nearby, the roses rustled, and Ballard caught the sibilant laughter within their restless motion.
Cinnia hugged her sister and passed her a mirror similar to the one she’d received on Modrnicht. This one was smaller and plainer, hurriedly enchanted by Ambrose. “Like my mirror,” she told Louvaen. “Except you’ll only be able to summon me.”
Louvaen took it and cast a sideways glance first at Ambrose and then at Ballard. The question was as clear in her gaze as if she’d spoken the words.This was your idea, wasn’t it? He acknowledged her inquiry with a brief, unapologetic nod.
She returned her attention to Cinnia, hugged her hard and promised to rescue their father as soon as possible. She embraced Magda and the maids as well.
The housekeeper patted her shoulder. “We’ll take good care of your girl until you see her again.”
Louvaen and Ambrose faced each other. Ambrose spoke first. “There’s plenty of coin hidden under Sparrow’s saddle, enchanted like the mirror to look like part of his blanket. It should be more than enough to release your father.” He gestured to the mirror she held. “Cinnia didn’t tell you, but the mirror is a beacon as well in case you need to return.”
“She won’t need to return,” Ballard said and scowled at his sorcerer.
