At once, she felt something, faint but insistent, tugging on her senses. She tried hard to focus on it, but it was like a scaly fish, slipping through her fingers. Simeon was clearly having more success. He was leaning forward, sweat beading on his forehead as he gave his full focus to the task. Elowen thought she felt him draw on the movement of the carriage at one point, but she couldn’t be sure. After a tense minute that seemed to last an hour, Simeon sat back, his concentration dissipating before her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Elowen asked, alarmed.
“Nothing,” said Simeon. “It’s done.”
“It is?” Elowen searched Theo’s face eagerly. “Are you sure?”
“Oh yes.” Simeon’s voice was weary, his energy depleted from whatever massive effort he’d just expended. “I felt the other enchantment let go. It’s gone now. He should recover rapidly.”
As if in response to these words, Theo’s eyelids flickered. When he winced as they went over a bump, Elowen rapped on the carriage roof. The vehicle came to a ponderous stop.
“Elowen?” Theo was blinking at her, still seeming confused, but his eyes sharp now. It was such a relief to see that vacant look gone from his gaze, Elowen let out a tiny sob. He sat up properly, looking around him. “Did I leave Toledda, or was that a dream?”
“Theo!” Elowen threw herself forward so her torso was draped over his lap. Amazingly, he no longer felt hot to the touch.
He started in surprise, then, slowly, laid a hand on her hair.
“It’s all right,” he said softly. “Everything will be all right.”
Elowen knew there was so much he still didn’t know, but his words comforted her nevertheless. She realized that Simeon had discreetly withdrawn from the vehicle, and she raised her eyes, which were suddenly feeling wet, to Theo’s.
“Don’t leave, Theo,” she begged, a choke in her voice. “Please, please stay with me. I don’t want you to go. I’ll set the date for our wedding as soon as we get back to the city. I’ll—”
“No.” Theo’s response was startlingly strong after the weakness of his earlier words.
Elowen recoiled at the stern tone, and Theo softened his voice at once.
“What I mean is, no, I don’t want you to be bullied or pressured into setting a date. Not by me, not by anyone. I want to win you first, just like you wanted. I’m determined to.”
Elowen’s eyes were fixed on his face, her heart too full to find words. She’d better try, though, because he needed to know what he meant to her. Her thoughts were still a muddled mess when a shout from outside made them both look up.
“Elowen!” It was Sophia, her voice reaching them from a closer distance than where they’d left her. She must have run after the carriage when they stopped, and she sounded frightened as well as breathless. “He’s coming! He’s here!”
“No,” Elowen whispered, knowing at once who Sophia must mean. Only one person had such a hold on her friend.
“Is that Lady Sophia?” Theo asked, trying valiantly to catch up. “Where are we, Elowen?” He lifted a hand to his head. “Everything is a haze of chaos since…” His eyes found hers, his gaze dark and still more tumultuous than usual. “Since you followed me from the victory feast.”
Elowen’s cheeks warmed, unable to look away from the beam of those dark eyes. She still knelt on the floor of the carriage, and Theo leaned forward, one hand brushing her chin where it angled up to face him. The memory of their almost-kiss made the air in the confined space of the carriage deliciously thick, but there was no time to dwell on that.
“A lot has happened since then, Theo,” she said, speaking quickly. “No one believes me, but I’m certain Bertrand put something in your wine at the betrothal ceremony. You’ve been deteriorating steadily since then, and he barely waited until your brother whisked you away from Toledda to initiate a motion with the Council of Lords to dissolve our betrothal.”
Theo’s eyes narrowed, his hand dropping to her shoulder and tightening in a possessive gesture that made her want to throw herself into his arms.
“He tried to trick me into agreeing to marry him in exchange for helping you.” Elowen stumbled over the words, her ears now able to pick up distant hoofbeats. “But Sophia and I figured it outwithout him. We broke Simeon out of the dungeons and came after you, and Simeon just used his skill in magic to administer the antidote and save your life.”
Theo blinked under the onslaught of dramatic information, seeming unsure which part to respond to.
“Simeon never did any of it, Theo,” Elowen told him earnestly. “It was all Bertrand, he just used Simeon as a shield, and he did it by threatening Sophia, because Simeon’s in love with her. And now Bertrand is here. He must have chased after us all the way from the capital.”
That sharpened Theo’s expression. He shifted forward, as if to get out of the carriage, taking hold of both her shoulders now.
“Stay here,” he told Elowen. “I won’t let him touch you.”
“No, Theo, I’m not the one in danger from him,” Elowen said impatiently. “He said to my face that he’s determined to marry me, so he’s not going to kill me.” She paused. “Although I’d almost rather he did kill me, because now I know what it is to have the loyalty of a good man, I think I’d prefer to die than be married to a man like Bertrand.” What was she babbling about? The ferocious intensity of Theo’s gaze brought her thoughts back in line. “The point is, it’s you he’s determined to eliminate.”
“I’m not afraid of Bertrand,” Theo said. “I told him once before to stay away from my promised wife, and I told him what would happen if he ignored me.”
He felt at his side, frustration crossing his face when he found no sword strapped there. It didn’t slow him down, however. He stepped from the carriage, his movements still less steady than usual.
