He gave her a kind smile. “Ariel?”
The moment he touched her arm, she saw an image of them as children.
They were playing.
Laughing.
They were friends and she felt it with every part of her being.
Relieved to finally remember something, she gasped, then smiled. “I know you.”
He inclined his head to her. “Aye. Of course you do.”
“You got into trouble for me.” Her mind whirled with the first real memory that she recalled. “You were a boy, and I wasn’t supposed to be… somewhere. I-I can’t remember where. But you took the blame for me.”
“My father’s study. You wanted to see his armor, and you broke his buckle.”
She fingered the scar that ran just under his jawline. “You were beaten terribly for it.”
He snorted. “I was beaten terribly for everything. Including breathing.” His gaze went from her to Valteri and narrowed. “Leucious? Get over here.”
“Can I kill Belial first?”
“Don’t tease me.” Shadow moved Ariel aside before he went to Valteri and knelt beside him. “I can see why she was drawn to him.”
Leucious removed his helm to reveal a pair of frigid green eyes that were incredibly clear. Like Shadow, he was unbelievably handsome, with a full day’s growth of dark brown whiskers.
He didn’t say a word until he stood next to his brother.
Then he cursed foully. “Belial!”
“I did nothing.”
Confused by all of them, Ariel was desperate to know what had them so upset. “What is it?”
Shadow looked up at Leucious. “He’s bleeding badly. We need to get him back to his… whatever.”
Ariel finally heard the sound of a wagon. “That should be his squire returning with a ride for him.”
Valteri stared at Shadow. “Do I know you?”
He shook his head. “Nay. We’ve never met. Believe me, if we had, you’d remember it.”
As soon as Wace and the others were there, Leucious and Shadow carried him to the wagon and placed him gently on it.
Ariel climbed into the back to ride with Valteri. “Will you ride with me?”
Shadow blinked in shock at her unexpected invitation. He glanced over at Leucious. “Is it safe to leave you two alone?”
Leucious sneered at Belial. “Probably not.”
“Good, then. I’ll ride with the lady. See to my horse, will you?” He climbed into the wagon and settled down beside her.
In spite of her worry and the seriousness of the situation, she had to stifle a laugh. “Are you really my brother?”
He frowned at her. “You can’t remember anything, can you?”
“Nay.”
