“I wouldn’t seek him if I were you.”
She stiffened at Belial’s voice. How had she missed noticing his stench? “And why not?”
Belial paused by her side, his hands held behind his back. “He was terribly angry at you when he found you gone. Wasn’t he, good Wace?”
“Aye, milord.” Wace paused in his task as he looked from her to Belial.
The demon gave a wistful sigh. “He even swore he’d beat you for your actions.”
Ariel scoffed at him. “He didn’t seem so angry when we went to bed.”
A crude smile curved Belial’s lips as he raked a snide glare over her body. “Few men hold their anger when a beautiful woman lies beneath them.”
She wrinkled her nose in distaste, disgusted by his crudity. “Where is he?”
Belial shrugged. “How would I know?”
“Milady?”
She faced Wace.
“He went to the stable nigh on an hour ago to check on his horse. I haven’t seen him since.”
“Thank you, good Wace.” Turning around, she found Belial blocking her path. “Excuse me.” She tried to step past him, but he refused.
A tremor of fear shook her body.
What was the demon up to? Something must be amiss.
A knowing light glowed in his eyes. “Remember, he can’t die unless he does so in your arms,” he whispered.
How could she forget?
Suddenly, she caught his meaning. Valteri was in danger! Ariel started to leave, then paused. If she sought him, would that cause his death?
And yet she felt a pressing need to find him and make certain nothing had happened to him.
An entirely new fear seized her. Could Valteri die even without her present? What if he was merely injured?
By not going, would she cause his death?
Go to him.
There was no mistaking Raziel’s voice. “Wace, come with me!” Lifting the hem of her kirtle, she ran for the stable.
As soon as she reached it, she pushed against the doors, but they held fast. Panic ripped through her.
Something was wrong, terribly, terribly wrong.
Wace joined her and he, too, tried to open the doors. “They’re locked?”
“Is there another way inside?”
“Aye, milady. There’s a small door in the rear.”
Determined to find it, she hurried around to the back. Wace rushed ahead and had it opened by the time she got there.
He waited for her, and together they entered.
