The Kiss of Deception

  I tried to count, just as I had instructed Pauline to do, but soon numbers were impossible to keep in my head. I only knew we had gone miles—miles and miles, and the sun was still high in the sky. Pauline and I knew that a count to two hundred was a mile covered, at least on our Ravians. She would know when the barbarians were too far away to catch up with her again. She didn’t have to wait until the sun was setting behind the hills. In another hour, she’d be racing back to Terravin as fast as our slow donkeys would take her. Soon after that, she’d be safe and out of the barbarians’ reach and then the value of my word would expire. But not just yet. It was still too soon to take a chance, if I was even able to find one.

  There were no trails here, so I tried to memorize the landscape. We rode in wilderness, along dry streambeds, across hilly scruff, through sparse forest, and across flat meadow. I noted the position of the mountains, their individual shapes, the ridges of high timber, anything that would help me find my way back again. My cheeks stung with the wind and sun, and my fingers ached. How long could we ride at this pace?

  “Sende akki!” Kaden finally called, and they all pulled back, slowing their pace.

  My heart sped. If they were going to kill me, why would they bring me all the way out here to do it? Maybe this was my last chance. Could I outrun four other horses?

  Kaden brought his horse close to mine. “Give me your hands,” he said.

  I looked at him uncertainly and then at the others. “I can get jewels,” I said. “And more money than any of you could spend in a lifetime. Let me go and—”

  They all started laughing. “All of two kingdoms’ money isn’t worth what the Komizar does to traitors,” Malich said.

  “Gold means nothing to us,” Kaden said. “Now give me your hands.”

  I held them out, and he wound a length of rope around them. He yanked on the ends to make sure it was tight, and I winced. Finch watched and let out a yap of approval.

  “Now lean toward me.”

  My heart beat so furious I couldn’t breathe. “Kaden—”

  “Lia, lean forward.”

  I looked at my bound hands. Could I even ride a horse like this? My feet trembled, ready to kick my horse’s sides and run for the trees in the distance.

  “Don’t even consider it,” Kaden said. His eyes were deadly cool, never glancing away from mine, but somehow he knew my feet strained in my stirrups.

  I leaned toward him as he instructed. He lifted a black hood. “No!” I pulled back but felt a hand at my back roughly pushing me forward. The hood went over my head, and the world went black.

  “It’s only for a few miles,” Kaden said. “There are trails ahead that it’s better you not see.”

  “You expect me to ride like this?” I heard the panic in my voice.

  I felt Kaden’s hand touching both of my bound ones. “Breathe, Lia. I’ll guide your horse. Don’t try to move left or right.” He paused for a moment, then pulled his hand away, adding, “The trail’s narrow. One false step, and both you and your horse will die. Do as I tell you.”

  My breaths were hot beneath the hood. I thought I’d suffocate long before we met any trail’s end. As we went forward, I didn’t move left or right and I forced in one slow, stifling breath after another. I wouldn’t die this way. I heard rocks tumbling down cliff faces, their echoes continuing on forever. It seemed there was no bottom to whatever abyss we bordered, and with each step, I vowed if I ever did meet the trail’s end and was unmasked and untied, I’d never waste a chance again—if I was going to die, it would be when I could plainly see Kaden as I thrust a knife between his deceitful Vendan ribs.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  RAFE

  “It would seem she’s done it again. Looks like your little dove has flown without you.”

  “No.” I stared at the road, sweat trickling down my back. “She promised she’d come. She’ll be here.”

  “She’s made promises before and found them easy enough to break.”

  I glared at Sven. “Shut up. Just—shut—up.”

  We had been waiting for over an hour. The sun was high overhead. Our plans had been hastily slapped together, but I made sure I got there before mid-morning so I wouldn’t miss her. She couldn’t have gotten past me on the highway already—unless she’d left earlier than she had planned. Or maybe she hadn’t left Terravin yet at all? Maybe something had delayed her? The highway was busy with travelers, even squads of soldiers. It was safe to travel. No bandits would dare ply their trade there. Every time another traveler came over the hill, I sat up higher in my saddle, but none of them was Lia.

  “Shut up? That’s the best you can do?”

  I turned to look at Sven, sitting cocky and unperturbed in his saddle. “What I’d like to do is crack you in the jaw, but I don’t strike the elderly and infirm.”

  Sven cleared his throat. “Now, that’s a low blow. Even for you. You must really care for this girl.”

  I looked away, staring at the point where the highway disappeared over the hill.

  I whipped my gaze back at him. “Where are the others?” I demanded. “Why aren’t they here yet?” I knew I was being a cocky pain myself, but the waiting was wearing on me.

  “Their horses don’t have wings, my prince. They’ll meet us farther up the highway, if and when we get there. Messages travel only so fast, even ones sent with urgency.”

  I’d thought I had more time. More time to break the news to her, convince her, more time for an escort to arrive. I had wanted to take her to Dalbreck, where she’d be safe from bounty hunters and her murderous father. I knew it wouldn’t be easy to persuade her to leave Terravin. Impossible more likely. It was going to be hard for me to leave. But then last night all that planning went up in smoke. She was set on returning to Civica—the last place she should go. I was going to try to talk her out of it on the way there, but if I couldn’t, I wanted a substantial enough entourage to protect her when we rode through the gates of Civica.

  Of course, I was going to need protection from her once I told her who I was. I’d been afraid to tell her the truth. I had manipulated her. I had lied. I had deceived her. All the things that she said were unforgivable. If she was going back to complete the alliance, I knew it wasn’t to marry me—she was leaving to marry a man she’d never have a morsel of respect for. I was still that man. I couldn’t undo what I had already done. I had allowed my father to arrange a marriage for me. Papa. The complete bitter disdain in her voice was still fresh in my mind. It made my stomach sour.

  “I botched this up, Sven.”

  He shook his head. “No. Not you, boy. Two kingdoms did. Love’s always a messy affair better left to young hearts. There are no ground rules to follow. That’s why I prefer soldiering. I can understand it better.”

  But there were rules. At least, Lia thought so, and I’d broken the most important one with my deception.

  If one can’t be trusted in love, one can’t be trusted in anything. Some things can’t be forgiven.

  I could argue that she was living a lie too, but I knew it wasn’t the same. She was a tavern maid now. That was all she wanted to be. She was trying to build a new life. I was only using my false identity for a time to get what I needed. I just hadn’t known before I came here that what I needed would be Lia.

  Another rider came over the hill. Again, it wasn’t her. “Maybe it’s time to go?” Sven suggested. “She’s probably halfway to Civica by now, and it sounds like she’s more than capable of taking care of herself.”

  I shook my head. Something was wrong. She would be here. I pulled my horse to the left. “I’m going to Terravin to find her. If I’m not back by nightfall, come looking for me with the others.” I dug in my heels and headed for the road.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  The landscape was barren and hot. They had covered my eyes through two more segments of the journey. Each time they pulled the hood from my head, a new world seemed to spread out before me. The one we faced now was dry a
nd unforgiving. Because of the intense heat, they slowed for the first time and were able to converse with each other, though they spoke only in their own tongue.

  It was long past the time I was to meet Rafe. There were so many things I had wanted to say to him. Things I needed to say that he would never know now. He was probably already on his way home to his farm, believing I’d broken my promise to meet him.

  I eyed the low hazy mountains in the distance, then turned to look back, but saw only more of the same behind me. How close to Terravin was Pauline by now?

  Kaden saw me assessing the harsh panorama. “You’re quiet,” he said.

  “Really? Forgive me. What shall we talk about? The weather?”

  He didn’t answer. I didn’t expect him to, but I stared at him long and hard. I knew he felt my seething gaze, though he fixed his sights straight ahead.

  “Do you need some water?” he asked, without looking at me.

  I desperately wanted a drink, but didn’t want to take any from him. I turned to Eben, who was riding on my other side. “Boy, may I have my canteen back?” The last time they had unbound my hands and taken the hood off, I’d swung the canteen at Kaden’s head, so they confiscated it. Eben looked at Kaden, waiting for him to decide. Kaden nodded.

  I took a deep swig and then another. Judging by this landscape, I knew I dared not waste any by dousing my shirt. “Are we still in Morrighan?” I asked.

  Kaden half smiled, half grunted. “You don’t know your own country’s borders? How very royal.”

  My caution snapped. It was the worst possible time to make a run for it, but I kicked my heels into my horse’s sides, and we flew over the hard-packed sand. The gallop of hooves was so swift and steady, it sounded like a hundred drums pounding out one continuous beat.

  I couldn’t escape—there was nowhere to go in this vast empty basin. If I kept this pace up for long, the relentless heat would kill my horse. I pulled on the reins and gave him free lead so he could regain his breath and rhythm. I rubbed my hand on his mane and poured some precious water over his muzzle trying to help him cool out.

  I looked back, expecting them to be upon me, but they only leisurely and smugly advanced forward. They weren’t going to risk their own horses when they knew I was trapped in this godsforsaken wasteland.

  For now.

  That became my silent invocation.

  When they caught up with me, Kaden and I exchanged a severe glance but no more words were spoken.

  The ride was endless. The sun disappeared behind us. My backside ached. My neck pinched. My clothes chafed. My cheeks burned. I guessed we had traveled a hundred miles.

  The haze finally gave way to brilliant orange as the departing sun set the sky ablaze. Just ahead was a gigantic outcropping of boulders as large as a manor house that looked like they had been dropped straight from the sky into the middle of this wilderness. There was another flurry of words, and Griz did a lot of pointing and bellowing. He was the only one who didn’t speak Morrighese. Malich and Finch both had thick accents, and Eben spoke as flawlessly as Kaden.

  The horses seemed to sense that this was to be our camp for the night and picked up their pace. As we got closer, I saw a spring and tiny pool at the base of one boulder. This wasn’t a random stop. They knew their path as well as any vultures of the desert might.

  “Here,” Kaden said to me simply as he slid from his horse.

  I tried not to wince as I dismounted. I didn’t want to be so very royal. I stretched, testing to see which part was in the most pain. I turned and glared at the group. “I’m going around to the other side of these rocks to take care of some personal business. Do not follow me.”

  Eben lifted his chin. “I’ve seen a lady’s bum before.”

  “Well, you’re not going to see mine. Stay.”

  Malich laughed, the first laugh I had heard from any of them, and Finch rubbed his shoulder and scowled, throwing the dried bloody rag that had been stuffed beneath his shirt to the ground. It was certain I was on his bad side, but it had obviously been a clean wound, or he’d be in much worse shape. I wished I had dipped my knife in poison. I marched to the other side, taking wide berth around Griz, and found a dark private place to pee.

  I emerged from the shadows. They would have killed me by now if they intended to. What were their intentions if not to murder me? I sat down on a low rock and looked at the foothills, maybe a mile away. Or three? Distance was deceptive in this shimmering hot flatland. After dark would I be able to see my way well enough to escape there? And then what? I at least needed my canteen and knife to survive.

  “Lia?”

  Kaden sauntered around a boulder, his eyes searching the rocks in the fading light until he saw me. I stared at him as he walked closer, his duplicity hitting me deeply and sorely, not with the wild anger of this morning but with a gripping ache. I had trusted him.

  With each step he took, all of my thoughts about him unfurled into something new, like a tapestry being flipped to its backside, revealing a tangle of knots and ugliness. Only a few weeks ago I had nursed his shoulder. Only a few nights ago, Pauline had said his eyes were kind. Only two nights ago, I had danced with him, and just yesterday, I had kissed his cheek in the meadow. You’re a good person, Kaden. Steadfast and true to your duty.

  How little I had known what that meant to Kaden. I looked away. How could he have so completely and utterly duped me? The dry sand crunched under his boots. His steps were slow and measured. He stopped a few feet away.

  The ache reached to my throat.

  “Tell me this much,” I whispered. “Are you the assassin that Venda sent to kill me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then why am I still alive?”

  “Lia—”

  “Just the truth, Kaden. Please. I kept my word to you and came along without a struggle. You owe me that much.” I feared that something worse than death was still in store for me.

  He took another step so he was standing directly in front of me. His face looked more gentle and recognizable. Was it because his comrades weren’t here to see him?

  “I decided you’d be more useful to Venda alive than dead,” he said.

  He decided. Like a distant god. Today Lia shall live.

  “Then you’ve made a strategic error,” I said. “I have no state secrets. No military strategies. And I’m worthless for a ransom.”

  “You still have other value. I told the others that you have the gift.”

  “You what?” I shook my head. “Then you lied to your—”

  He grabbed my wrists and yanked me to my feet, holding me inches from his face. “It’s the only way I could save you,” he hissed, keeping his voice low. “Do you understand? So never deny that you have the gift. Not to them. Not to anyone. It’s all that’s keeping you alive.”

  My knees were as thin as water. “If you didn’t want to kill me, why didn’t you just leave Terravin? Tell them the job was finished, and they’d be none the wiser.”

  “So you could return to Civica and create an alliance with Dalbreck? Just because I don’t want to kill you doesn’t mean I’m not still loyal to my own kind. Never forget that, Lia. Venda always comes first. Even before you.”

  Fire surged through my blood, my bones; my knees became solid again, tendon, muscle, flesh, hot and rigid. I pulled my wrists free from his grasp.

  Forget? Never.

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  RAFE

  I looked everywhere along the highway for any sign of her, circling over to two nearby farmhouses in case she had stopped for water or they had seen her pass by. They hadn’t. By the time I rode down the main street of Terravin, I was certain she still had to be at the inn.

  As I rode up, I saw the donkeys, loose and unstabled, wandering around outside the tavern. The front door was open, and I heard commotion inside. I tied off my horse and ran up the porch steps. Pauline sat at a table, trying to catch her breath between sobs. Berdi and Gwyneth stood on either side, attempting to cal
m her.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  Berdi waved her hand at me. “Quiet! She just got here. Let her tell us!”

  Gwyneth tried to give her some water, but Pauline pushed it away.

  I dropped to my knees in front of Pauline, grabbing her hands. “Where’s Lia, Pauline? What happened?”

  “They got her.”

  I listened as she told me the details between sobs. There were five of them. One was Kaden. I didn’t have time to get angry. I didn’t have time to be afraid. I just listened, memorized every word, and questioned her for the important details she didn’t mention. What kind of horses, Pauline? Two were dark brown. Three were black. All solid. No markings. The same breed as Kaden’s. Runners built for endurance. But she wasn’t sure. It all happened so fast. One of the men was big. Very big. One was only a boy. They spoke another language. Maybe Vendan. Lia had called them barbarians. How long ago? She wasn’t sure. Maybe three hours. They headed east. Where did they stop you? At the dip in the highway just north of the yellow farmhouse. There’s a small clearing. They came out of the scrub. Anything else I need to know? They said if anyone followed, Lia would die. She won’t die. She won’t.

  I gave orders to Berdi. Dried fish, dried anything that was quick. I had to go. She went to the kitchen and was back in seconds.

  There were five of them. But I couldn’t wait for Sven and the others. The trail would cool, and every minute counted.

  “Listen carefully,” I told Pauline. “Sometime after nightfall, some men will come here looking for me. Watch for them. Tell them everything you told me. Tell them where to go.” I turned to Berdi and Gwyneth. “Have food ready for them. We won’t have time to hunt.”

  “You’re not a farmer,” Gwyneth said.

  “I don’t care what the hell he is,” Berdi said and shoved a cloth sack into my hand. “Go!”

  “The leader is Sven. He’ll have at least a dozen men with him,” I called over my shoulder as I walked out the door. I still had six hours of daylight. I filled my bota at the pump and grabbed a sack of oats for my horse. They had a long lead. It would take a while to catch up with them. But I would. I’d do whatever it took to bring her back. I found her once. I would find her again.