“I don’t care if he is the queen’s brother,” the man sneered. His hand went to the hilt of his sword as he curled his lip at Riann. “That man is a bandit, and he will stand trial and hang for hiscrimes.”
The soldiers surged forward, and Wellion quickly drew his own sword, realizing they had no choice but to fight it out. The nobleman tried to attack Riann, but Tariel flung sparks of magic at him and several of the soldiers. Two of them swayed in their saddles, then slumped sideways, sleep overtaking theirminds.
“No killing!” Tariel cried as Wellion raised his sword, about to run it through one of the men. “I do not want our hands stained withmurder.”
“Blast it,” Wellion muttered. He turned his sword on one of the other men, smacking the side of the soldier’s head with the flat of his blade. The soldier went down instantly, and his horse bolted as Wellion struck at his flank. Around him, Riann and Yarim dispatched the remaining men, while Calrain hung back behind Tariel. He looked chagrined that he could not participate, but he only carried knives, useless if one merely meant to knock one’s opponentout.
“Well, that was a stroke of bad luck,” Riann said when they’d finally defeated the lastman.
He sported a bad cut on his forehead, and Wellion had a sizable gash on his own arm. Yarim had somehow managed to escape injury, despite taking down many men himself. The man was ridiculously skilled with a sword, and Wellion discovered a grudging admiration for hisabilities.
“Why did he think I was a bandit?” Riann wonderedaloud.
“The disguise Tariel gave you bears a passing resemblance to one of my father’s men,” Wellion admitted. His insides squirmed a little as all eyes turned to him. “It didn’t occur to me at all until after he’d accused you, or I would have saidsomething.”
Yarim looked like he wanted to berate Wellion, but Riann merely shrugged. “It’s not your fault,” he said. “That man was clearly looking for a fight.” He nudged the unconscious bigwig with the tip of hissword.
“Let’s get them off the road,” Tariel suggested, dismounting from her horse. “We don’t want someone coming upon them and raising analarm.”
The others nodded, then worked together to tie up the men and drag them into the bushes. The soldiers would likely come around in a few hours, but by then Wellion and the others would be long gone. He was tempted to search their pockets for valuables, but refrained beneath Tariel’s watchful eye. He was attempting to turn over a new leaf, after all, and committing more crimes was perhaps not the best way to doso.
“Let’s get going,” Yarim said once they were finished. “I’d like to get to the capital before the sunsets.”
“Hang on,” Tariel said. She moved toward Wellion, stopping just in front of his chest. “Let me see thatarm.”
Wordlessly, Wellion allowed her to lift his forearm. He hid a wince as she pulled back his sleeve to inspect the gash. Normally, such a wound would require stitches, but Tariel merely placed her hand over the wound, then closed her eyes. Her delicate fingers glowed, and Wellion hissed as his skin knitted backtogether.
“There,” she said softly, lifting her hand. She stroked the patch of skin where the gash had been, and her gentle touch sent a wash of warmth throughWellion.
Sucking in a sharp breath, he accidentally took in a deep lungful of her lilacs and sunshine scent. She was close enough to kiss, and when she lifted her head to look up at him with those big blue eyes, he nearly acted on the impulse to bite down on that lush lower lip ofhers.
Gods helpme.
“You should be fine now,” Tariel said quickly, stepping away. She licked her lips, and the slight flush that had come to her cheeks, barely visible beneath her dark skin, told Wellion she was just as affected by him as he was by her. “Riann, do you need ahealing?”
Riann shook his head. His eyes were fixed on Wellion in a penetrating stare. The knight must have seen what had transpired between them. “It’s already healing,” he said, touching his hand to the gash. Indeed, it had closed up, the cut reduced to a puffy, raw patch offlesh.
Wellion shook his head as they mounted up, wondering what his life would be like if he had access to Riann’s enhanced abilities. Combined with the stronger magic Zolotais insisted he would have, he would be quite formidable. But he would have to bind himself to Tariel to do it, and he was not yet convinced it would be worthit.
