Though Phiri expected Mirabella to stand up and have her gown exchanged, instead, she headed for the window, knocking over a vase holding a single blood rose in her haste, and rescued it off the floor. Then peering out of the window, she endeavored to see what the man looked like. Thirty men rode into the inner bailey, stirring up dirt, scattering chickens that squawked and sent a flurry of feathers flying, like a sudden snowstorm.

  All of the men wore armor to protect themselves from wild animals in the shire and from evil men who prayed on the weak. All wore helmets, and all looked the same from her prison forty feet above the ground.

  One looked up to see her peeking out the narrow window while she breathed in the rose’s sweet fragrance. Then, as if given an order to look too, everyone shifted their gazes upward, following the first man’s gaze.

  Her whole body heated, though she did not duck away from the window, just glowered at them. She was certain they could not see the look of contempt on her face from this distance. When they began to dismount, their attention turned to the servants who took their horses. Phiri roughly tugged her away from the window. “Unless you wish the king to see you naked first, you best come away from there while you dress.”

  She scoffed under her breath and set the rose in a tankard of water, wondering why she hadn't seen any sign of the warrior elf. She prayed Rina and her companions would rescue Mirabella on the road.

  Within minutes, Mirabella was wearing the forest green velvet dress and thought how easy it would be to blend in with the woods, though she was not altogether happy about wearing anything other than black. Not until her uncle hanged for murdering her father. Then she would wear any color she chose. But this would work for the woods, she thought. Then again, she really needed to wear trews and a shirt, not a long gown that would catch on the underbrush and tree branches when she made her escape.

  After braiding her hair with pearls, Phiri looked her over and nodded. “That will do.”

  A knock ensued and when Justina answered the door, the guard said to Phiri, “His Majesty, King Leogane wishes to see Princess Mirabella at once. He has other pressing business to attend to and doesn’t wish to be delayed.”

  “I thought he would stay the evening,” Phiri said. “I thought he would sup with her tomorrow before he left. How will he decide if he wants her if he doesn’t spend any time with her?” She spoke in an annoyed way, not truly asking the question of any. “Very well, princess, come, and be quick…”

  “About it,” Mirabella said, wondering if the woman could ever think of something different to say.

  Phiri narrowed her eyes at her. She wasn’t allowed to beat Mirabella, only her uncle had that privilege, but the woman gave her looks that could kill in lieu of the beatings. A time or two Mirabella was sure Phiri added something to her food that made her sicker than a worm-ridden dog.

  Through the cold hall to the circular stone steps and all the way down to the bottom floor, Mirabella reminded herself that she would most likely be able to escape Leogane with Rina and her companions’ assistance should he want Mirabella, though she couldn’t help the way her legs shook or the way her stomach wouldn’t quit flip-flopping all over the place.

  Between being annoyed the king would look her over like she was a side of beef, and the fact that no male had ever paid her any mind the nearly eleven years she’d been held a prisoner, she couldn’t help the way her body reacted to her fear. Luckily, the long sleeves that draped down to the hem of her skirt at the back of her wrists covered the chill bumps dotting her arms. But she was sure her face would reveal much more than she wished to. Either she’d lose all the color in her face if the man was a beast, or her cheeks would flame rose red if he looked at her in an interested way.

  Rina had sneaked down the tower wall and finally made her way inside the castle through an open window. From there, she slipped down the corridor, staying close to the wall in case she needed to suddenly blend into it.

  Every time she heard the servers’ footfalls as they headed to the great hall carrying dishes of food, she held herself still against a stone wall. She wanted to sneak into the great hall and witness everything for herself. To see what this Leogane was truly like. To see if the princess might actually be happy to marry him, in which case, Rina’s job would be done. Leogane would take care of the princess and deal with her murderous uncle, if everything worked out as planned.

  But Rina wouldn’t leave it to chance. She had to know for sure.

  She finally reached the great hall and peeked in. Servers were filling tankards with wine, setting platters of food on tables. Armored knights numbering—she counted each and every one of them—thirty, including the man sitting in the very center of the high table, black haired, imperious, the king. She slipped in and made herself invisible against the wall. Sitting on either side of the king would be his most trusted, loyal, and revered companions. One of the men was older, probably his wise old advisor, his hair brown but graying. The other man was younger, more Rina’s age, possibly the king’s champion. Now, he caught her attention with his long blond hair and blue eyes, his gaze taking in the servers, the guards of Mayden Castle, watching everyone and everything, wary like a warrior who was ready to protect the king at all costs at any given moment. Except he’d missed seeing Rina slipping into the great hall.

  She realized there really was no one of any importance staying here to welcome the king. No lords or ladies. The only one of any consequence was the princess herself who was dressing for the occasion in her bedchamber.

  Then the princess made her appearance alongside the woman who taunted her with so much scorn. Rina wanted to get rid of the woman first thing! The meek maid Justina was holding back behind the two of them as the princess made her way into the great hall.

  The princess held her head high as if she would not be cowed, but she looked very ill at ease. Rina wanted to join her and show her she had someone in her court to back her up, but she figured Leogane’s men and Mirabella’s uncle’s guards would kill Rina—the intruder—on the spot.

  Ten of Leogane’s men sat at the elevated table, and Mirabella wondered if they were the king and his senior advisors. Servants had hastily prepared a meal for the king and his men of the same foods she had been offered. Her chin held high, she walked toward the table, bypassing the rest of the tables filled with Leogane’s knights, two stout fierce-looking guards quickly taking their place at her side. All they needed were barbed collars and drooling jowls to make the picture more complete. Her uncle had removed any guard who’d seemed in the least bit sympathetic to her cause, and since then had found the nastiest, ugliest beasts to guard her.

  Phiri and Justina hung back at the entrance to the great hall, waiting to hear what was said. Feeling she was going forward to her execution, Mirabella imagined the executioner moving her hair to the top of her head, readying her neck for his blade. The hair on the nape of her neck stood on end.

  The man sitting at the center of the table—his shoulder-length hair black as a bottomless well, his eyes ice blue, but clearer than Phiri’s, his lips set in a thin grim line—watched her approach like a hawk targeted a rabbit for its next meal. A scar cut across his cheek, leaving an angry white welt raised against bronzed skin. His dark brows narrowed at the sight of her, and she wasn’t sure then if she’d be able to escape this man’s cage any more than she could escape her uncle’s. She had it in mind that going with Count Vladek who wanted her sight unseen, and who lived among her mother’s people, might be a better choice.

  “I have been told you do not wish me,” she said, tilting her chin up even further.

  Phiri gasped. The king said nothing, but stared at her, seemingly surprised she would speak, and probably more than surprised at the words she conveyed.

  She continued, “Therefore, I offer myself to Count Vladek.” Mirabella curtseyed in the courtliest manner possible, turned, and headed back to the isolation of her chamber where she would await the next of her suitors, who, hopefully, wouldn’t arrive before Rina could aid in Mirabella’s escape from the castle. At least that was the plan.

  Though if Vladek wasn’t already her uncle’s ally, maybe he would fight him, and she would regain her father’s kingdom in that way. She smiled, her stomach in turmoil, her legs shaky, but her feet already having covered a goodly distance to the exit of the great hall.

  “Hold!” the king boomed.

  At least she assumed it was the king the way he yelled at her, the sound reverberating off the stone walls of the large room. She paused, as if she'd turned to stone, expecting a beating like her uncle would give her. But she kept her back to Leogane, and wouldn't acknowledge him in anyway, other than not moving forward to the shelter of her chamber, like she wanted to do with all her heart.

  “Bring her here!”

  Mirabella suspected Leogane was furious with her for not turning to face him at the very least. It was rude to ignore her potential husband in that way. But she hoped it would seal the deal for him to give up on wanting her, if he had any notion of the kind, and she would have a chance to leave here with Rina.

  At once, the guards seized her arms and turned her around, then marched her straight back to the head table. Though she tried to keep up appearances, she felt as though a sudden blizzard had encased her whole body in a block of ice and she imagined her face was just as colorless.

  Leogane glowered at her, his gaze focused on her eyes, as if he were showing her who commanded her now, his face ablaze and his jaw ticking with anger.

  She tried to wriggle free, but the guards only gripped her tighter.

  Lifting his tankard, the king took a swig of his wine, then slammed the copper tankard down with a bang.

  Did he think to intimidate her? Only her uncle did. And only because he murdered or beat those who didn’t agree with him. The only thing that had spared her most of the time was she lived apart from him. She didn’t believe the king would truly beat or kill her, though the angry look on his face indicated he wished to.

  “You will not make my decision for me. You—”

  “I understand you don’t want me. Count Vladek—”

  “Cease your prattle, woman!”

  She was a princess! She gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes. If he took her as his wife, she would make every effort to escape her new imprisonment.

  4

  In the great hall of Castle Mayden, Artur was totally amused at Princess Mirabella’s behavior toward King Leogane. Artur had to maintain his stoic posture to keep from laughing out loud or invite the king’s rebuke. Artur folded his arms at the head table where he was seated on one side of the king, Erlig on the other. Now would the king see the folly in taking the princess as his wife?

  The rest of their men were seated at the lower tables, everyone enjoying a meal before they had to leave and travel again, the princess entertaining all of them.

  Yet when Artur glanced at the king to see his outlook on this whole matter, he realized Leogane actually appeared to be intrigued! His brow was furrowed, but Artur swore his blue eyes sparkled with mirth, and even a glimmer of a smile tugged at his lips. Artur had known when Leogane saw the woman, it would be the king’s undoing. She was beautiful with long, blond hair and the prettiest blue eyes. Her skin was a bit pale, but she had a kissable mouth, even when it was pinched with annoyance. She had looked them over, trying to figure out who the king was, Artur was certain, then dismissed the king as though she had the right to do so.

  She’d thrown down the gauntlet in a challenge—prove to her that the king couldn’t make her bend to his whim—and Leogane couldn’t resist a challenge.

  Artur sighed. Which meant? They would be travelling back to their kingdom, most likely fighting the same dark knights who had besieged them, only with a prize princess in their midst that they would have to protect this time.

  Artur looked beyond the king to see what Erlig thought of the matter. He wore the same controlled but amused expression. Artur figured Erlig thought the same as him about the king’s interest in the princess. Maybe Leogane would change his mind once he’d gotten to know her better on their travels back to their home. A woman who could navigate the perils of the return journey in a satisfactory way could sway the king to see past her other faults. But if she couldn’t even travel well or was a holy terror the whole time, then she would decide her own fate.

  Leogane had agreed with Mirabella’s uncle to check out his niece to see if she was in the least bit appealing. He wouldn’t take a wife who didn’t interest him no matter that he would get an alliance out of it with the powerful king. He had his own army and lands and resources. Not expecting King Inari to suddenly offer his only niece to Leogane in marriage, all his own plans had been scattered to the wind. They'd had their difficulties with other forces surrounding their kingdoms, and they needed peace for both their kingdoms to prosper. He had every intention of marrying his chief advisor’s daughter, the dark-haired beauty, Callie, sweet and civil-tongued, the opposite of everything Princess Mirabella seemed to be. Hot headed, ill mannered, spoiled rotten, and used to getting her way, he imagined. Even now, he could see she thought she was the one making the decisions around here. He shook his head and leaned back on the fur-covered chair.

  Her golden hair was neatly braided in two long ropes extending to her knees and decorated in shimmering pearls. The soft green velvet gown swept over her slight figure, but her liquid brown eyes turned nearly black and her full pink lips scowling back at him made him believe she would make the worst sort of bride. She seemed to despise him as much as he loathed marrying her just to produce an heir and gain an ally.

  He shook his head at the ludicrous thought. He had every intention of looking her over and rejecting her. That was his plan until the viper told him she’d offer herself to Count Vladek. No one knew anything of the man, except that he was uncommonly handsome, dark-haired and eyed, and had a mesmerizing quality about him. Even King Inari seemed to be drawn under Vladek’s spell, when here Leogane had fostered the best of relations with the king for the most part and might lose that edge if the king gave his niece to Vladek instead.

  Besides, a smoldering inferno still raged deep inside him, as he believed the attacks on him and his men, three times on their way to Castle Mayden, were more than mere coincidence. Some of Count Vladek’s men? Sent to discourage him in his task?

  His jaw set, Leogane deepened his voice and firmly said, “You will return with me to Castle Grande.”

  Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened.

  He smiled, enjoying for the moment that he’d jousted with her and won. Turning to Phiri, he said, “Have the lady dressed and ready for the long journey ahead. You may send the young girl standing beside you to accompany her.”

  “What about me?” Phiri asked, her voice shrill.

  “What about you?” he asked, annoyed. The woman looked like she would die on the journey she was so thin, and he wouldn't risk it. Besides, once he returned home, he would have his own women selected to take care of the princess, not someone of Inari's choice. Even the woman who accompanied her now would be sent home after they arrived safely at the castle.

  Phiri straightened her shoulders and tried to make herself appear more determined or perhaps more in charge of the situation. “I have been given the mission to watch over Princess Mirabella until she has wed, by order of the king himself.”

  Leogane narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. “Do as I said now,” he growled. He was not used to underlings telling him they wouldn't do as he commanded.

  “At once, my lord.” Phiri quickly curtsied, then motioned to the guards. “Hurry, bring her with us and be quick about it!”

  For now, he didn’t intend to wed the woman. Instead, he would observe her actions for the next couple of weeks. If she was a holy terror as he suspected, Count Vladek could have her with Leogane’s blessing. If she wasn’t…

  Leogane didn’t even want to go down that dark alley.

  One of the things about Rina's jobs that she loved, she never knew how things would change and create a different opportunity to resolve them. That was the thing about it. She didn't look at it as a stumbling block, but more as a steppingstone in a new direction. She was still standing hidden in the great hall and had overheard the king tell Mirabella she would change into riding clothes and leave with him to go to his castle. It couldn't have been more perfect. He'd dismissed the woman who was in charge of Mirabella, and that was a good thing, because Rina figured she would have torn into the woman and may have created more trouble.

  Rina thought she could slip in close to Mirabella and serve and protect her this way. The other girl who would be travelling with the princess looked mousy and afraid and couldn't protect a flea on one of the mangy mutts lying on the great hall's stone floor.

  Somehow, Rina had to offer a story that would convince Leogane that she should be with the princess. She'd heard some of his men grumbling about the treacherous forest. About the knights who had attacked them and attempted to kill some of Leogane's knights. Rina could offer her warrior skills as the princess's bodyguard better than any male elf could because she could stay with her in her own tent. She just had to convince Leogane she was trustworthy and not intending to harm the princess or steal her away.

  Truthfully, if Leogane turned out to be one of the good guys, and would offer to help Princess Mirabella regain her throne, Rina's job would be done once she helped protect her while reaching Leogane’s castle. She would just have to see.

  5

  Within the hour, the party had departed Castle Mayden, several of Leogane’s best trained knights, dressed in chain mail and ready for any battle, Princess Mirabella and her maid, Justina, the girl not much older than the princess, about her height, but dark-haired and quiet, and King Leogane, who couldn’t help wondering if he’d lost his mind. He noticed Justina seemed much relieved to leave Castle Mayden behind, unlike the princess who pouted.