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Pain sliced through her at the thought of Terran loving Kathryn. She should hate him. She should hate him for forcing her to marry him and then casting her aside like a worn cloak. She should hate him for showing her how to make love with such passion and such emotion that everything else paled in comparison. She should hate him for making her love him.

But she didn’t. She couldn’t. For not only had he taken her maidenhood, he had also taken her heart, and he hadn’t given it back when he cast her from his home.

Bria shoved the Midnight Shadow costume into the large pouch she carried with her and then tied the string tight to close it. She tied the pouch around her waist, then slid her cloak into one of the wide sleeves of the robe. She quickly donned her boots and then stared down at her sword. She should just leave it, but she couldn’t bear to part with it; it had been a gift from her grandfather. She picked up the weapon and put it under the robe, holding it to her side to prevent any obvious bulge in her clothing, then headed for the stairs.

Even if there was little hope he’d believe her, she had to warn Terran.

Terran cursed silently. The Midnight Shadow had escaped. Somehow. Some way. Every single one of the freed prisoners had been recaptured, but the Midnight Shadow had evaded him.

The castle was still being searched, but his hopes were dwindling with the rising sun. He stepped into his room and removed his tunic. He cursed again as he stood before the fire in the hearth, hands on his hips. Perhaps his enemy was still in the castle. But if so, where was he? The entire castle had been searched, but still the rogue evaded him.

Terran ground his teeth and shook his head slightly. Then he froze. There was movement behind him, a soft step, the rustle of clothing. Had the Midnight Shadow come to finish what he’d begun?

Terran whirled. A silhouette separated from the dark shadows near the bed. Terran saw the outline of wavy hair and relaxed slightly. A woman. He turned his back to her. “Kathryn,” he said, “I told you to –”

“It’s me, Terran.”

Terran’s heart leaped, but he was afraid it was all in his imagination. He’d heard that soft voice calling his name since the day he’d banned Bria from Castle Knowles, but before this moment it had all just been a ghostly memory.

“I’ve come to warn you,” the voice went on. “Kenric is plotting against you, Terran. He’s planning on taking over your castle.”

How could this be his imagination? The things she was saying were nothing he could have imagined. Slowly, he turned to her, half expecting her to vanish. She didn’t.

Bria stepped toward him, moving into the firelight to face him. The golden light of the fire kissed her skin, moving over it like an artist’s brush. Her hair shimmered around her face and shoulders. An anguished longing encompassed him. She was real, very real, and he wanted her back. He desperately wanted to tell her so, but no words came to his lips. He could only stare in mute rapture at her beauty.

“He’s overtaxing your people and keeping the coin to pay mercenaries.”

Suddenly it all made sense, as if her words had cleared his mind from a thick fog, as if her soft voice had awakened him from a deep spell. There had been discrepancies between the ledgers and the accounts of the few peasants he had spoken with. Now it made sense. Kenric’s fanatical devotion to his work, his obsession with collecting taxes. The coin wasn’t meant for Terran or the castle. It was all for Kenric, to be used in his own unscrupulous plans.

“I know it doesn’t make sense, but I heard him. He’s planning to do this when you capture the Midnight Shadow.” Bria looked down at her clasped hands. “I know you don’t want me here, but what I tell you is the truth! You must believe me.” She nodded once as if convincing herself she’d done the right thing, then took a step toward the door.

He knew he should let her go. She’d be safer without him. Kenric wouldn’t try to kill her if she were gone, and Terran couldn’t bear the thought of her being in danger. He had to let her go. He had to. Bria reached for the door handle.

The only problem was... he couldn’t. “Stay,” Terran said.

Chapter thirty-nine

Stay. Bria halted at his soft word, a word that was more a request than a demand. It resonated through Bria’s body. He’d asked her to stay. It was what she wanted, what she’d dreamed he would say.

“Bria,” Terran said.

Was that longing in his voice, or had she imagined it? He was behind her, close behind her. Her hand tightened on the handle of her blade. She desperately wanted him to wrap his arms around her, but if he did, he’d feel the sword at her side. She couldn’t explain away its presence easily.

“Do you really cry yourself to sleep?” he asked tenderly.

She swallowed, her throat tight. Every night, she admitted to herself, though she’d never admit to him how much she missed him, or how much he’d hurt her. She lifted her chin against the grief pooling inside her. “I only came to warn you.”

“I never meant to hurt you,” he said, so quietly that for a long moment she thought she’d imagined the words.

“You have Kathryn now,” she whispered.

Suddenly, his hands were on her shoulders, gently turning her to face him. Her folded costume shifted in its hiding place in her wide sleeve. She raised her arm slightly to prevent it from tumbling into the open.

“I never wanted Kathryn as much as I do you,” he said.

A scowl of confusion crossed Bria’s brow. “But she was in your room last night.”

He looked at her seriously. “Not at my invitation. It’s true she was my lover before Odella, but never since.” He gently brushed a lock of hair from her cheek.