“As a matter of fact, Sir Jerrold the Relentless will be passing through,” Brother Tersen said. “I do not know the exact date, but I expect he will be heresoon.”
Calrain could not see the captain’s face, as his desk faced the opposite direction, but he could hear the excitement in his voice. “Has he mentioned who his target is?” he asked eagerly. “He never travels anywhere withoutpurpose.”
“No, but if I were to wager, it would be on Miss Tariel,” Brother Tersen said. Calrain’s stomach lurched at his master’s words, and he had to put his quill down before he accidentally crushed it in his fist. No, it could not betrue!
“Hmm…yes, she would be a likely suspect, with her Maroyan looks,” the captain said. “I would not be surprised if Lady Marilla denounced her. Her foolish husband is still mooning after Tariel. I wonder if Tariel’s marriage to Lord Sowell will protecther.”
Brother Tersen huffed. “Likely not,” he said. “Sir Jerrold rarely lets family ties deter him if he is set on a target, and he will want Tariel because of her foreign looks. I would not be surprised if she truly did have witch blood in herveins.”
Calrain’s own blood turned to ice at their words. He was thankful they paid no attention to him and could not see his reaction. The more he listened, the angrier he grew, the ice thawing to a heat that surged into his cheeks. How could they speak so callously of Tariel’s life this way, as if it meant less thantheirs?
“Well, if he has come for her, I will do whatever I can to assist,” the captain said. “I have long suspected that girl has been bewitching my men. The way they all moon after her, as if she were a goddess rather than a human wench, isdisgraceful.”
“Yes, I imagine your life will become much easier once you are rid of her disruptive influence,” Brother Tersen agreed, a smile in hisvoice.
Finished with his report, the captain took his leave. After the captain’s footfalls faded away, Calrain turned in his chair to face hismaster.
“BrotherTersen?”
“Hmm?” his master asked, his quill scratching against the parchment. He was in a good mood once more—someone had brought him half a flask of wine, and witch burning always cheeredhim.
“I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation with the captain,” he said, keeping his tone casual, “and it made me wonder about Roisen’s thoughts on the matter. Would he truly allow an innocent woman to be burned, simply on account of a jealous rival? I would think he would rather have Sir Jerrold focus his efforts on real witches.”Though preferably not Tariel,he addedsilently.
Brother Tersen threw back his head, a mocking laugh rumbling up from his broad chest. “Sometimes I forget how naïve you are, boy,” he said, reaching out and ruffling Calrain’s mop of hair. “It does not matter if some, or even most, of the ‘witches’ are innocent. They are burned to frighten the other women intoobedience.”
“Obedience?” Calrain recoiled in shock, unable to believe what he was hearing. “But what aboutjustice?”
“Justice is all well and good, but the Order needs to keep its doors open somehow,” Brother Tersen said, dismissing Calrain’s objection with a callous wave of his hand. “Our coffers have long been sustained by confiscating the possessions of witches, or by donations from wealthy families meant to keep Sir Jerrold’s eye away from theirdaughters.”
“That is very…enlightening,” Calrain managed. By some miracle, he kept the disgust out of his voice. “Thank you for teaching me, BrotherTersen.”
“You’re welcome. I hope this lesson has opened your eyes to the necessity of witch hunters, boy. The Order depends upon them to spread Roisen’s teachings far and wide and to keep our countrymen from falling intosin.”
It certainly has opened my eyes,Calrain thought bitterly as he turned back to his desk. There was no doubt left in his mind—he could not dedicate his life to an order of men who were so vicious and cruel. This witch hunting business was a sham, and Calrain would not let Tariel become its latest victim. He would save her life, even if it was the last thing he everdid.
13
At ten minutes to midnight,Tariel ascended the hidden staircase. She heard each rasp of her feet against the stone floor, each breath that sang from her lips, each thump of her racing heart as it pumped blood through her body. Chills of anticipation raced over her skin, the same anticipation that had been eating at her allday.
Rather than a dress, she’d chosen to wear the white night gown the seamstress had given her today. It was a long, exquisitely soft garment that covered her body completely, and yet the semi-sheer fabric revealed much more than she’d ever shown to a man. She’d blushed when she realized that the outlines of her nipples and the dark triangle between her legs could be clearly seen, and at the last second, she had wrapped a throw blanket around herself to preserve some of hermodesty.
True, she would take it off later anyway, but she didn’t want to show up naked in case Calrain decided not to go through withthis.
Tariel reached the top of the landing, then went straight for the bedchamber. She’d already taken time to arrange a multitude of candles around the room, and she used the candle from her bedroom to light them until flickering lights surrounded her. They gave the room an incandescent glow, banishing some of the shadows and making it inviting despite its decades ofdisuse.
A sheet had been thrown over the bed to protect it from dust, and she removed it now. The bedding beneath was quite out of fashion, but still very usable—there were only a few small holes, and she doubted the men would notice when they were in the thick of it. Her body warmed as she thought of what was to come, and she sat cross-legged in the center of the bed, waiting forthem.
It was not long before she heard the thud of footsteps on the stairs, and Tariel sighed in relief. She let the men come to her—she’d left the bedroom door ajar so they would see the light—and smiled as Calrain stopped in thedoorway.
“You look different,” she said, sliding off the bed to approach him. He did not wear his apprentice robes, but a dark green tunic and leggings that made the most of his lean figure. She ran a hand down his arm, surprised to see that he was not as slim as she had imagined. There was muscle beneath that fabric, a quiet strength that had simply not been testedyet.
Calrain nodded. “I did not want to come to you in the robes of an apprentice, since I will not be joining the Brotherhood.” He clasped her hand in his. “Once we are away from here, I will never wear themagain.”
Tariel’s heart sang with joy. “Does this mean you accept myoffer?”
“Gladly,” Calrain said, taking her face in his hands. His silvery eyes locked onto hers, brimming with emotion, and then he lowered his head and pressed his mouth againsthers.
Calrain’s kiss was soft and slow, the kiss of a man who had yet to find his way around a woman’s mouth. Tariel had expected it to be a little awkward, and at first it was, but Calrain proved to be a natural. His mouth fit perfectly against Tariel’s, as if it had been made just for her, and the spark of heat ignited in her lowerbelly.
