“I’m not here for training. I need to speak to you about a personal matter.” He glanced at the stable boy, who was still standing nearby. “Alone,preferably.”
Riann sighed. “Very well, but make it quick. I cannot afford to be late.” He handed his horse’s reins off to the stable boy, then followed Calrain to an alder tree far enough away that they would hopefully not beoverheard.
“I received a note from Tariel a few minutes ago,” he said as quietly as he could. He unfurled the scrap of paper to show to Riann even though he knew Riann could not read it. “She has asked us both to meet her in the old gallery at the bottom of the tower where she lives. She says her life depends onit.”
Riann lifted his chin, his gaze going to the castle. Calrain followed his line of sight to the tower, and saw a light flickering from Tariel’s window. Had she really managed to get back to her room so quickly? How could she move about the castle so easily when Lady Tyrook had ordered the servants to watch her like ahawk?
“How do you know the note is from her?” Riann asked, still looking at the tower. “Tariel cannot read orwrite—”
“Yes, she can,” Calrain said, taking a risk. Riann’s eyes widened at the treasonous declaration. “I taught her when we were small. I recognize herhandwriting.”
Riann blew out a long breath. “You must care for her deeply to do such a thing. Unless it was a bargain, such as the one you made with me?” His eyesnarrowed.
Calrain’s cheeks colored. “We were children,” he protested. “I couldn’t have taken advantage of her even if I’d wanted to. The only thing I desired was to spend more time with her, to see her smile and her eyes sparkle as we read tales of wonder andadventure.”
Riann smiled. “You’ve quite the way with words,” he said. “I can see why Tariel would like you.” The glint in his eyes was not unlike the jealousy Calrain had felt earlier, which surprised him. What reason would Riann have to be envious ofhim?
“Are you going to come, or not?” he asked, turning the conversation back to the matter at hand. “Midnight is only an hour away. I must have your answernow.”
Riann set his jaw. “Of course I will come.” His nostrils flared as he looked toward the castle again. “When I heard that Lady Tyrook was going to marry Tariel to that oaf, I nearly went to her myself to offer my sword. But I will need to get another knight to cover my shift, at least for an hour ortwo.”
The two of them parted ways, agreeing to meet in the gallery at the requestedtime.
An hour later, Calrain found himself standing alone in the gallery, his eyes and ears straining for any sign that someone else was watching. He’d arrived a few minutes early to ensure no one had followed, but he was no soldier—he could have easily missed a spy. The lone yellow candle he held aloft in a brass candleholder was the only source of light in the dark, empty space, illuminating the dust motes hanging in theair.
As the minutes passed, he wondered if it had been a mistake to ask Riann to come. What if the knight had merely pretended to go along, and was even now reporting him and Tariel to the Captain of the Guard? He was not a suspicious man by nature, choosing to see the best in people most of the time, but the nature of what he was doing, skulking around in the dark like this, made him jumpy, and he imagined all sorts of terribleoutcomes.
At a rustling sound behind him, Calrain nearly jumped out of his skin. He whirled around, brandishing the dagger he’d hidden beneath his cloak, then relaxed as Riann slipped through thedoor.
The knight eyed the dagger, not a trace of fear in his blue-eyed gaze. “That’s a fine blade you have there,” he said, an admiring note in his voice. “Where did you getit?”
“My old master gave it to me when I was sent away from the monastery.” Calrain ran a finger along the flat of the blade fondly, remembering the old man who had raised him. “It was far too big for me at the time, but I’ve practiced a bit with it, and I think I’ve grown intoit.”
Riann chuckled. “I’ll teach you how to use it properly, once this business with Tariel is behind us.” His keen gaze swept the room. “She’s not arrived yet, has she? I hope she didn’t run into any trouble on the wayhere.”
They both flinched at the sound of wood scraping against stone on the other side of the room. Riann’s hand flew to the hilt of his sword as a hidden panel in the wall opened, and they both gaped in astonishment as Tariel stepped out. The light from the candle in her hand flickered across the planes of her lovely face, and her blue eyes seemed to glow with ethereallight.
“I’m so glad you’ve come,” she said, giving them a grateful smile as she waved them over. “Come, quickly! There is a better place where we can talk inprivate.”
Riann and Calrain exchanged bewildered glances as they followed Tariel into the hidden passageway, which turned out to be the bottom landing of a windingstaircase.
“How did you find this passage?” Calrain asked as he mounted the staircase behind her. Though the dark dress she wore was modest, it did not completely hide her curves, and the unexpected view of her tantalizing bottom heated hischeeks.
“I discovered it by accident when I was a child,” she said as they climbed. “It gives me access to the gallery, and the upper floors, which are otherwise closedoff.”
She led them to the very top, then through another hidden panel. Calrain’s eyes widened as they stepped into a large suite that looked like it hadn’t seen a good dusting in decades. He and Riann gawked as they passed exotic furniture, artwork, statues of half-naked women, and other items no respectable Fjordlander would display in hishome.
“Where did all these things come from?” Riann asked as Tariel beckoned them to follow her down a smallcorridor.
“I believe they belonged to a Tyrook cousin who had a penchant for traveling,” Tariel said. Her hips swayed as she walked, an alluring picture of grace that beckoned Calrain like a siren’s call. He knew he was not the only one entranced—Riann’s eyes were fixed on Tariel as they both hurried after her, lingering on her enticingcurves.
“No wonder the Tyrooks closed this place off,” Riann said as Tariel led them into a study. “I’m surprised Lady Tyrook hasn’t burned everything inhere.”
“I’m quite glad she didn’t,” Tariel said, sitting behind the desk. She motioned for Calrain and Riann to sit in the visitor chairs, and as they did, Calrain couldn’t help but think Tariel looked very at home in that grand chair behind that big, impressive desk. She held herself with a natural poise and confidence so few Fjordland women possessed. It was no wonder half the men were madly in love with her, and the women jealous. He’d overheard more than a few unkind barbs from them, though he’d never said anything about it. It would be most unseemly of him, a Brother of Roisen in training, to jump to the defense of a woman he was not relatedto.
Not that Calrain had any idea who his relatives were. He was deposited at the steps of the monastery when he was a babe on a cold winter night. The monks had never known his parentage, and despite his distinctive red hair, a rare attribute for a Fjordlander, they had never been able to track themdown.
“All right,” he said, taking charge of the conversation. “Now that we are safely away from prying eyes, tell us what we can do to helpyou.”
