Page 50 of Ties of Dust

He was donning his jacket again when he overheard the murmur of a man behind him.

“She’s very attached to His Highness, isn’t she?”

Irritation flared in Cassius, and he spun around to find two guards watching Flora with interest.

“The guard in question is no moreattached to methan any other guard I’ve ever had. It is the role of a member of my personal guard to stick close to me when on duty.”

“I meant no offense, Your Highness,” the guard said quickly. “I’ve just never seen a guard react that way to you sparring with us here in the training yard.”

Cassius frowned, his gaze traveling to Flora. “What do you mean? React what way?”

“She sort of lived the whole bout with you, Your Highness,” the guard said. “She winced every time you took a hit.”

Something icy trickled through Cassius’s awareness with the words. He was a fool! Unforgivably so. Without another word, he strode over to Flora.

“Come on,” he said curtly, his throat strangely tight as he left the training yard, Flora in his wake. He walked all the way to his rooms in tense silence, stopping only once he’d ushered her inside and followed her.

“Is all well, Your Highness?” she asked, sounding alarmed.

“No, all isn’t well.” He rounded on her. “That was inexcusable.”

“I apologize.” She held herself stiffly, not sounding repentant. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I’ve just found that words aren’t very effective in silencing those who would seek to exploit the fact that I’m a woman. Showingthemwhythey should take me seriously is much more useful.”

“What?” It took him a moment to comprehend. “No, I don’t care about you sparring. I’m talking about me, not you! Tell me the truth—did you feel pain every time I took a hit in my bout?”

“Oh.” She bit her lip, clearly not wanting to answer.

“Flora.” He could hear the warning in his voice.

So could she, apparently, because she deflated. “Yes, I did.”

Which meant she’d felt twice the pain he had. He closed his eyes for a moment. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“In front of all those guards?” He opened his eyes again to see her staring at him. “I thought you wanted to keep our tether quiet.”

“You could have sent me a signal, or…” Cassius trailed off, putting a hand to his forehead. “Why am I blaming you? It’s not your fault.” He looked her in the eye, wondering why it was suddenly hard to find his voice. “I’m sorry, Flora. Because I was only sparring and knew I was in no true danger, I didn’t even think about whether it would activate that part of the tether.”

He walked forward, putting a hand on her good shoulder. “The arrow wound, the exhaustion of using magic to fight, then this…you must be in a great deal of pain.”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle,” she said gruffly.

Cassius felt a growl escape his throat without his permission. “I don’t like it,” he said. “I don’t care what you can handle. You shouldn’t have to.”

She just gazed back at him out of eyes that he realized up close looked as weary as he felt. Cassius’s mind spun out of control as the events at the training yard raced throughhis memory. That fool guard, the offensive way he’d spoken to Flora…the admiration in his eyes when she’d put him in his place.

It had been impressive, but looking into Flora’s eyes now, Cassius hated all of it. It wasn’t what he wanted for Flora. He was convinced it wasn’t what she wanted for herself. He didn’t see a guard who was born to fight. He saw someone who was running, although from what he wasn’t sure. Someone who was playing a part, and suffering constantly for Cassius’s entrance into her charade.

The desire to protect her from the world rose up inside him, as overpowering as it was pointless. He was the chief cause of her griefs and hurts. And he couldn’t see a way to extricate them from their tangle. His father was stubbornly blocking the only way out.

And, more frighteningly, he found his own interest waning in sealing the alliance and freeing them both. He gave his head a shake. He couldn’t think like that. He had to move forward. For his sake, for Flora’s…for the stability of the Peninsula.

“You should go,” he said, the words gruff and abrupt. “Rest in your room until lunch.”

Flora didn’t ask any questions. She pulled away from him and practically fled the room, leaving Cassius alone with thoughts more tumultuous than he could ever remember them being in his life.

Chapter

Twelve

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