Tariel shook her head. “You are not yet a Brother of Roisen,” she said, clasping Calrain’s hand again. “And as you said yourself, you don’t believe in burning innocent victims. I do not believe a man as good and kindhearted as you deserves to be bound up in the harsh, stern life of the Brotherhood. You are a dreamer, Calrain. Don’t you remember the promise we made to each other when we were children?” Tariel smiled, her own eyes lighting as she spoke. “If you come with me, we could experience our ownadventures.”
Calrain’s face was the picture of anguish, and Riann briefly wondered what promise the two had made. He knew that they had both been at Castle Tyrook since they were small, but he’d had no idea the two of them shared a bond. Jealousy bit into him with surprising force, spurring him into making adecision.
“I’ll come with you,” Riann said abruptly. “And I’ll participate in the ritual,too.”
“Really?” Tariel beamed at him. “Oh, thank you, Riann! You don’t know how much it means to have you at myside.”
“I assure you, the honor is mine,” Riann said, and he meant it. Yes, there were risks, and yes, he was giving up the knighthood he’d worked so hard to receive. But the idea of leaving the castle behind and seeing the world at the side of Tariel, the woman he’d admired from afar for so many years, was far too enticing. There was little for him here, especially since serving Lord Tyrook would ensure he remained inpoverty.
“I do worry about what will become of my sister if I leave, though,” Riann said, his mood sinking. “She survives only because of the money I send her. If I no longer have an income, she and my nephew willstarve.”
“Worry not,” Zolotais said. She indicated the wall with a wave of her slender hand. “In the next room, hidden in the false bottom of a chest, is a purse with more than enough coin to sustain your sister for quite awhile.”
Riann’s eyes widened. “Is therereally?”
Zolotais smirked again. “Go look foryourself.”
Riann jumped from his chair and exited the room, leaving Calrain to ask his questions and think on it some more. Sure enough, after rummaging around in the chest by the foot of the bed, he located a false bottom. He grinned as he pulled out the hefty purse, and a weight slid off his shoulders as he spilled a wave of gold and silver coins across thebedspread.
This would be enough to support his sister for years! There was even enough here that they could take a little for themselves on thejourney.
Riann returned to the study with the purse in his hand, feeling lighter than he had in years. “Even if this does not work, and we are caught, helping you will have been worth it just for this alone,” he said fervently as he sat down. “My sister will not have to worry about money for a very longtime.”
Tariel and Calrain smiled. “I am very glad to hear that,” Calrain said, his eyes gleaming with some undefined emotion as he looked at the bag. “I know how much your sister’s well-being means to you, Riann. I have a trustworthy messenger I can recommend to you who will get the purse safely toher.”
“Thank you.” Riann’s throat swelled with emotion. “But I think I will take it to her myself, on themorrow.”
Calrain sucked in a deep breath as he turned to face Tariel. “The truth is, I have long desired to be with a woman at least once before I am forced to make my vows of chastity—vows I never wanted to make in the first place,” he added with some bitterness. “I care for you deeply, Tariel, and the chance to not only make love to you, but run off with you and start a new life together, is more than I could have ever hoped for. And yet, I fear that Roisen will look upon what I am doing and strike me down with a vengeful bolt oflightning.”
Zolotais huffed. “There is no suchthing—”
Tariel held up a hand, cutting her off. “I understand your fears about Roisen,” she said gently to Calrain. “But I do not have much time. The wedding is a few daysaway.”
Riann glanced at the old clock hanging from the wall. “I need to get back to my patrol duties soon,” he said. “It is obvious that Calrain needs some time to think it over, and while we don’t have very much, we do have some. Why don’t we agree to meet back here tomorrow night at the same time? If Calrain agrees to go through with the ritual, he will showup.”
Calrain nodded. “I will come either way to let you know my decision,” he said, “and I promise I will speak of this to noone.”
“Very well,” Tariel said. She stood and moved toward Riann, her generous hips swaying with the motion. “I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night,” she whispered in his ear as she embracedhim.
Her sweet lilac scent filled his nose as she pressed her curves against him, causing his blood to roar with desire, but before he could react, she pulledaway.
Riann took his leave while Tariel hugged Calrain. As he descended the long stairway, a surreal feeling swept over him. His life had taken a step toward the fantastical, and had likely shortened considerably. The idea of sharing the woman he cared for with another man, of leaving everything he had ever known to go to a far-off country where he didn’t even speak the language, was unthinkable. He must be goingmad.
But he could not find it in himself to care—the prospect of embarking on a lifetime of adventure and lovemaking with Tariel was more than he could have ever wished for. Just knowing he could have part of her, when before he would have had none of her at all, made everything worthit.
He only hoped that Calrain would agree. For if he did not participate in the ritual, they had no hope of getting out of thisalive.
11
When Tariel awoke,there was a kernel of hope in herheart.
Of course, there was also a healthy dose of despair, but she tried to push that out of her mind as she rose and dressed for the day. As she ate her breakfast in the great hall with the other inhabitants, she scanned the room for Calrain and Riann. Calrain was nowhere to be found, but the handsome knight was on the other side of the room, and when she met his eyes, he gave her a smile and a wink that warmed her heart and banished some of her fears. There was no doubt in her mind that Riann had meant what he said last night—he would go through with the ritual, and she would experience the pleasures of the flesh for the firsttime.
Her skin heated as she thought of what was to come. Aside from the kiss she’d shared with Riann, and the unwelcome pinches and gropes she had received from men when no one else was looking, she had little experience. But Zolotais had taught her about physiology when she was younger, and while she had not given her a lesson on sexual pleasure, per se, she had taught her what toexpect.
She also remembered the one time she’d stumbled upon two servants in the stables, snatching a stolen moment from the interlude. They had not noticed her, too wrapped up in their own passion, but from the sounds they made, and the enthusiasm with which they performed the act, she had gathered it was more than pleasurable for both malesandfemales, no matter what the stony Fjordland matrons said aboutit.
I suppose it depends on the partner,she mused as she chewed a bite of porridge and berries. She doubted she would find any pleasure in Lord Sowell’s bed, even if he made an effort not to be a brute. Shivers of revulsion rushed through her every time she remembered the feeling of his hands on her and his wet, sloppykisses.
