His taut muscles relaxed beneath her grip, then quickly grew even more rigid and unyielding. She held her breath, certain he’d refuse.
“Very well,” he said at last. “Ask one of the women for herbs.”
“Thank you.” Ariel ran off toward the hall.
At the steps she met the old, withered crone who’d frightened her on her arrival. Uncertainty filled her.
That part of her memory was still missing.
Why do I know you?
This wretch was important for some reason. The crone hated her. She knew it, but why couldn’t she remember?
“Here, milady.” The old woman extended a faded brown burlap sack to her. “Everything you need is in this.”
Thatexpression…
Only there had been hatred in her eyes.
Why couldn’t she place the woman? She remembered so much of her past, but suddenly she realized great, giant holes still existed. Gaps that left her uneasy and reticent.
In that moment, she felt as if her very life depended on her remembering why this woman was critical to her past.
Her hands cold and trembling, Ariel reached for the bag. “My thanks.”
“Ariel!”
She turned at Valteri’s urgent shout. Though it should irritate her, it didn’t. She more than understood the urgency, and she shouldn’t be dawdling while others were in need. Rushing to him, she had to admit that he looked magnificent astride his horse, with the sunlight glinting against his short-sleeved mail hauberk that accentuated every bulge and curve of his well-muscled body. Aye, he was a handsome man. More beguiling than any she’d ever seen.
Unsure if her breathlessness came from her short run or his presence, she quickly mounted the palfrey he had waiting for her.
Valteri barely gave her time enough to situate herself before he kicked his horse into a dead run.
Ariel followed behind, wrestling with her mount. Her mind told her that she’d ridden thousands of times before, but for her life, her body denied it. The reins felt strange in her hands, and she couldn’t recall much about controlling the beast.
Nothing about this seemed familiar, in spite of what her mind told her. It was like trying to ram a peg into an unfamiliar hole. No matter how hard she tried, it was all she could do to stay in her saddle. With every stride of the horse, she expected to find herself falling headlong onto the ground.
Terror filled her. And just as she felt herself slipping, she was snatched from her saddle and pulled against a steely wall.
Valteri didn’t say a word as he slid back to make room for her in his lap.
Heat stung her cheeks. Not just because she was mortified that he’dbeen forced to rescue her again, but at the fact that she’d been so incompetent. Why couldn’t she do the most basic tasks that others did without thinking?
What is wrong with me?
If she had memories of riding, why didn’t she seem to know how to do it?
“Thank you, my lord.”
His response was a gruff, noncommittal sound that brought a smile to her lips as his actions forever belied his stern demeanor.
If Valteri the Godless was the beast others thought him to be, he wouldn’t bother with the likes of her. He’d have left her behind and without caring whether or not she fell. Instead, he’d saved her dignity and her hide.
There was a lot more to him than others credited. Too bad they couldn’t take the time to see what they were missing.
He wasn’t just a mindless killer.
And that reality was brought home to her the moment they reached the top of the hill less than a league from the hall, and she saw the horror of what had happened.
