Page 28 of The Masked Princess

He shrugged, and a grin flitted across his pale face. “I made do. I don’t have such great needs, and no one would look twice at a road-weary and battle-hardened man like they would at a princess wearing a torn dress.”

“I appreciate your care for my public image, although I wonder if it’s a little misplaced considering the rumors around me and my curse. I doubt they’ll pay much attention to my clothes when they see my mask,” Annalise said dryly.

“You only deserve the best, Princess. If it means I have to spend a year and a day in dusty and bloodstained clothes so that your beauty could shine as brightly as the winter moon, I would in a heartbeat. Your father deemed me your protector, and I will not let my lady go without. It is my honor to provide for whatever you desire; you need only ask.”

The earnestness in his words rang a little too true in the context of his whispered words from the night before, their import falling between them like a stone dropping into a still pond.

In an effort to break the lingering tension, Annalise did her best approximation of a carefree laugh, although it came out rather forced. “You should be careful, Captain. If you keep on using such flowery language, you’re liable to cause spring to come early and the wildflowers to bloom.”

Soren laughed along, his laugh sounding as genuine as hers. “Try not to blame me; if I fall out of practice with my courtly speech, how am I supposed to win the hand of a beautiful maiden?”

It might have been the laughter, or the crisp winter air, or perhaps even just the relief of being rescued that decreased Annalise’s inhibitions. “I don’t think you need any more practice sharpening your silver tongue. If you were any more convincing, there wouldn’t be a woman in Dovea who wouldn’t fall for your charms.”

Soren abruptly sobered and stared down at the ground as if the flat dirt road had become particularly tricky to navigate. “I only have eyes for one woman, and that is my own curse to bear,” he muttered just loud enough for her to hear.

Annalise jerked her gaze from the surrounding forest to him. Their eyes met for a second, and then his gait hitched and he stumbled, drawing a sharp intake of breath as his foot caught on a ridge in the ground.

Thankfully, Annalise’s mare was a steady creature, and by grabbing at the straps on the saddle, Soren was able to right himself just before he fell.

“You really should be the one up here,” Annalise said.

“We’ve already been through this; you’re the princess and I am your guard. I’m not going to let you to walk while I sit nicely on the horse.”

“I shouldn’t even be riding with my curse.”

He raised an eyebrow and leaned back to look over her dress, which had once been a lovely dove gray and was now stained with blood and dirt, and the dark brown leggings that were visible beneath her ripped skirts as she rode astride. “You’re wearing enough clothes I doubt the horse will succumb.”

“My curse doesn’t have any effect on animals, only people, but I still haven’t ridden in years.” She gently rubbed her mount’s shoulder, and the mare’s ears flicked back and forth as if she understood the conversation.

“Why not? You loved to ride when we were children. As I recall, you were very good at it.”

“Horses are unpredictable creatures, and if I were to fall and hurt myself, who could help me? My blood is as poisonous to the touch as the rest of me, as you saw last night.”

“As valid as your concerns are, I don’t think your current mount is going to cause you any trouble,” Soren said.

“I could order you to take the horse.”

“You certainly could… and I could then take great pleasure in ignoring your order.”

“You would ignore a direct command from your princess?”

One corner of Soren’s mouth quirked up. “If it were an order that put you at risk, I’d ignore it even if you screamed at me and threatened to throw me in a dungeon.”

CHAPTER 22

Their journey took most of the day. The mountain ridges around them gradually grew steeper until they rose hundreds of feet into the air like giant stone curtains.

Captain Padrin rode straight ahead until the party emerged from the forest into a small clearing in the shadow of the cliff face. He continued directly toward the rock wall as if he were totally content running the entire party headfirst into the cliff. As they drew closer, however, Annalise’s vision shifted, and she saw a small passageway barely large enough to fit a wagon hidden by a jagged outcropping of stone. When he reached the entrance to the passage, Captain Padrin reined in his mount and waited for Annalise.

“Princess Annalise, Captain Kierson, we are almost there,” he said with a nod.

Soren returned the nod, and the other captain’s horse fell into step beside them.

They followed the twisting pathway between the two rock walls, steadily climbing upward, through several switchbacks and seemingly dead-ends where the path angled off at the last minute, until the sun started to descend in the sky.

“Are we going to camp overnight in this maze?” Soren asked.

“Not at all. In fact, it’s not too much further,” Captain Padrin said.