Page 39 of Stolen Princess's Secret

‘I’m sure we will.’

‘Although not too often,’ she hastened to add. ‘Upon reflection, sex with you is already intense enough. I loved it.’ Maybe if she used the word love around him enough his subconscious would get the hint and associate the word with her. She closed her eyes and conjured the memory of him striding towards her in the light of the campfire. His certainty. His utter willingness to stride into camp and claim her, as if he had every right to do so and an army at his back. ‘The golden eagle was an exceptionally nice touch,’ she murmured sleepily. She hadn’t slept well for days, possibly weeks, and for the first time in weeks she wanted to surrender to the dark, knowing that Tomas would be there when she woke. ‘What’s her name?’

‘Alhena.’

‘You named her after a star.’

‘I did.’

‘You’ll wake me when we get there? It’s just... I’m so tired.’

‘Then sleep.’

She loved his voice, his presence, everything about him. ‘Don’t make me wake alone.’ She remembered that from her long-ago abduction, and the terror that had invaded her soul. ‘I don’t like waking up alone in a strange place.’

‘I won’t let you wake up alone.’

‘Promise me.’ She barely knew what she was saying. Fatigue had a hold on her now, slurring her words and robbing her of caution. ‘I’m scared I’ve done you wrong and that you’ll come to your senses and leave.’

‘On my word, you won’t wake up alone.’

Tomas drove through the night and kept his eyes on the road, never mind that they felt full of ash and grit. He’d never carried a more precious cargo. He’d never felt more sure that this was the road they should be on. No matter the fallout—and he expected plenty—he could not sit back and do nothing, not this time. He had another chance to do right by Claudia of Byzenmaach and he would not let her down. Not this time.

Claudia roused only briefly when he pulled over and took the pillows and blanket from the back and tried to make her sleeping position more comfortable. Was this normal? Was he going to spend the next many months worrying about her health and that of the baby she carried, and doing everything in his power to make her feel at home?

Yes...yes, he was.

He called Caitlin and arranged a room at the tavern, and a hearty breakfast for two, and said he’d be there in the early hours of the morning, and that he wouldn’t usually ask for someone to be waiting up for him but it couldn’t be helped. He’d pay double the rate. Triple.

‘Da sleeps light, Lord Falconer. Will you have birds and horses with you again?’

‘Just a golden eagle.’

‘Holy sh—moley!’

‘Are you sure you don’t want to be one of my apprentices?’

‘If wishes were horses, Da would be able to afford to employ enough people to replace me. Then I could.’

‘If the opening of the manor brings in enough people, Aergoveny will grow and he’ll be able to.’

‘Keep dreaming, my lord, and so will I. Come in the side door closest to the stables. There’s parking there. Gotta go. Tables won’t clear themselves and it’s Friday night.’

She rang off before he could murmur his thanks. Claudia stirred as he reached out to turn the phone off—he didn’t like those things tracking him, and no one could tell him they weren’t. He caught the gleam of her eyes in the dashboard lights.

‘Who was that?’ she murmured.

‘I called the tavern in Aergoveny. They’re keeping a room for us.’

‘But who were you speaking to? It sounded like you knew them.’

‘The innkeeper has a daughter, Caitlin. She’s about, I don’t know, fifteen or so. Does the work of three people, alongside her father. She has the best instinct for my birds that I’ve ever seen since, well, since you.’

‘Did you offer her an apprenticeship?’

He nodded. ‘She considered it for a wistful heartbeat and then informed me she couldn’t be spared. She probably can’t. But circumstances can change.’ He tried to gauge how Claudia was feeling after her two-hour nap, but the low light made it difficult. ‘How are you feeling? There’s water here and some of Lor’s sweet pastries.’

‘Maybe later. You said we were going to the manor. Why are we now staying at an inn?’

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