Dark Triumph

“I didn’t abduct you; I rescued you!” He sounds affronted by my lack of appreciation.

“I did not ask to be rescued!”

His gauntleted hand reaches out and oh so gently turns my face toward his. “Sybella.” My name sounds lovely and musical on his tongue. “I will not let you go back to d’Albret.”

The tenderness in his eyes undoes me. It is stupid, I tell myself. It means nothing. He rescues everyone he passes on the road.

But my false heart will not listen. Just like he came back for his sister, he has come for me.

Fearing he will see the naked longing of my heart, I turn my face away from his and search for the outrage I felt only moments before, but it is a mere echo of what it once was.

“I must go back,” I say, as much to convince myself as him. “If I do not, the abbess will send Ismae, or perhaps even A

“The abbess is no fool. Ruthless, perhaps, and unscrupulous, but no fool. She will not send one of her prized handmaidens to certain death. She is using them both to threaten you.”

“I am not willing to risk my friends’ lives on that,” I say quietly. “Besides, what if it is my fate, my destiny, to stop d’Albret, and I do not?”

He is silent a long moment, his cheerfulness disappearing like last winter’s snow. “Can we ever know our own destiny?” he asks. “I believed it was mine to rescue Alyse, but I failed, so clearly it was not. It is possible our fates ca

Even though I fear he is right, I am not willing to give up. “What if your mission in Morlaix fails?”

“We will just have to be certain it does not.”

“It is a foolish commander who puts all his hope for victory in one basket.”

“Sybella. You ca

His words are so seductive, I fear I will have to place my hands over my ears to keep them from tempting me. “But I must,” I whisper.

“Ah, but you have no choice, for you have been kidnapped by someone far stronger than you and there is no escape. Best set your mind to that and be done with it. Besides, I have collected your belongings, so the abbess will think you have left for Nantes, just as you were scheduled to do.”

I ca

Beast places his big hand on my head and pushes it toward his chest. “Sleep now,” he says. “Else I will have to clout you again.”

A

When next I open my eyes, the horse has stopped moving, and the sun is angled low in the sky. We are halting for the night.

I blink as Wi

“That is no natural horse, my lady,” Wi

Beast flashes one of his lunatic grins then steers the creature to the edge of camp where the horses are being tethered.

“My lady? Do you need to rest?” Wi

I let go immediately. “No, thank you. I prefer to stretch my legs.”

He bobs his head. “Then, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go help with the horses.”

I stand for a moment, watching the swarm of activity as the party rein in their horses and begin to dismount. A dozen men from the duchess’s army are on fine coursers and stallions, and they jostle for position, trying to steer around an equal number of charbo

A slow realization creeps over me. Re

I glance around the clearing. Ya

No one is watching me. The resolve I feared lost for good rises once more.

I begin sauntering toward the line of horses. As I draw closer, there is a whisper of movement from the trees, and a half a dozen bodies emerge. I freeze, as do the soldiers, their hands going to their swords until Erwan tells them to hold. It is only the charbo

During the confusion that the new arrivals bring, I choose a dappled gray gelding tethered the farthest from camp and quickly put his great girth between me and the others, hoping he will hide me somewhat.

I reach out to pet the creature’s silky nose and let him smell me, as if I am merely saying hello. As I do, I glance around, looking for saddle and tack. I will need a bridle if I am to steer this creature back to Re

Damn him. Will the infernal oaf just tend to his business so I can tend to mine? I huff out a breath of a

His normally open face is hard and ruthless. It is the first time I have seen his ferocity focused on me, and I force myself to smile so he will not see how u

“We have discussed this already. You are staying here. Camulos knows this mission can use your skills.”

“There must be a contingency plan in case this half-cooked scheme does not bear fruit. And as much as I loathe the abbess and do not trust her, she is correct in that the more opportunities we have to strike at d’Albret, the better our chances of success.”

He reaches out with his other hand and grabs my shoulder. “I will not let you put yourself in that much danger.” For the briefest of seconds, the anger gives way to a look of stark despair, and then it is gone.

His grip on my arms loosens, and slowly, he leans toward me. My own temper forgotten, I hold very, very still. “If you hit me again, I will kill you,” I whisper.

“It is not hitting I have in mind.” And then his hands move up to cradle my head, making me feel small and fragile—no, not fragile, but cherished. As if I am some precious treasure.