Page 61 of Dhampira

My pulse quickened, memories of our kiss surfacing. Shoving them from my mind, I tried for polite disinterest as I moved to the door. “Good morning, Sir Vander. You’re not wearing your uniform.” He was dressed like a hunter, his brown leather trousers and dark green jacket a perfect match for his russet hair and golden freckles. I left plenty of distance between us, but his height meant he still loomed over me. His silver-eating sword rested against his hip, the leather scabbard hanging from a sword belt that had seen better days.

“I’m not guarding the king today,” he said.

But you still work for him. I couldn’t let myself forget that. The man who loved his horse and called me beautiful was the same man who fetched prisoners for my father to kill.

“Where is Prince Lorcan?” I asked.

“His Highness will meet us in the forest.” Vander looked at the balcony behind me. “We shouldn’t delay.”

An hour later, Vander and I were deep in the forest, yet Lorcan was nowhere in sight.

On the bright side, Vander maintained a far more reasonable pace than the prince did. He was just as stoic, however, his expression inscrutable as he strode at my side.

“Where is Maddox?” I asked finally. Anything to break the silence. So what if Rasimir spied on us? Horses were a safe enough subject.

Vander glanced at me. “In the stable, Your Highness.”

My scalp tingled. If he was being formal, we were almost certainly being watched. I skirted a patch of damp ground scattered with sodden leaves. “Wouldn’t riding be easier than walking?”

“Yes.”

As silence fell, it was an effort not to grind my molars together. “Then why aren’t we riding?”

More silence. Then he grunted. “Another time, perhaps.”

I slapped a branch out of my way. Once again, Vander closed doors between us. But it was for the best. I couldn’t trust anything that came out of his mouth. For all I knew, Maddox was in Ghedda.

A sudden realization made me stumble. Maddox probably wasn’t in Ghedda now, but he’d been there recently—possibly yesterday. While Lorcan marched me through the forest and forced me to drain the merman, Vander had journeyed to the Wendlewood and captured Duncan.

Fresh tears burned my throat.

Vander stole another look at me. “Are you all right?” he asked.

“No.”

There. How was that for a nonanswer? Although he didn’t need details to know why I was upset. But he also didn’t care. Anyone who could stand by and watch Rasimir rip a woman’s head from her body was too deeply flawed to comprehend grief.

A tear raced down my cheek. I swiped it away.

Vander stopped. “Corinthe—”

A twig snapped, and Vander and I both whirled as Lorcan approached. He’d added a cloak to his customary black. Fastened at his shoulders, the garment flowed to his ankles. Flashes of red appeared at his hip where the dragonstone sword peeked from the folds of his cloak. His hair was bound at his nape, but the long tail draped over one muscular shoulder.

“Your Highness,” Vander rumbled, bowing slightly at the waist. “Did you encounter any trouble?”

Lorcan didn’t slow. “Nothing that need concern you, Captain.” He strode between us and continued through the trees, his cloak fluttering behind him.

Vander watched him go, his silver eyes slightly narrowed. Then he turned and caught me staring at him. “This way, Princess,” he said gruffly.

As we fell in behind Lorcan, my heart sank at the prospect of another day of trudging through the forest. Delphine had healed my blisters, but her magic had left my skin perfect and pink. Without any calluses, the bloody sores were certain to come back.

Guilt flooded me. Duncan was dead, his body tossed on the fire like garbage in a charnel house. The Bagleys wouldn’t even receive a body to bury. And I worried about blisters. Whatever challenges the day brought, I would endure them.

Two wolves burst from the trees just ahead of Lorcan. One crashed into him, taking him to the ground in a flurry of fur and swirling black cloak.

Chaos exploded.

In one swoop, Vander grabbed me and dumped me at the base of a tree. “Stay down!” he shouted, then pounded toward Lorcan, who now battled both wolves. Growls and yelps rang out as Lorcan and the beasts tumbled over the forest floor, sending leaves and tufts of fur flying through the air.