Page 49 of The Turncoat King

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Ava didn’t thinkit was a coincidence that Luc had put his sword away the moment she had taken her eyes off him to unpick the last of her working.

When he had first stepped into the clearing and suddenly gone still, he’d looked lethal.

Ready to engage in battle.

She had hidden at the sound of someone returning, crouching deep in the shadow of the tree, and when she had seen it was Luc, moving in that quiet, predatory way of his, she had been about to rise up, call out to him, when he had stopped dead.

And then suddenly, his sword was in his hand, and he was turning, looking for some threat he obviously sensed. She had the feeling that if she had moved at that moment, he would have cut her down before she could identify herself.

She closed her eyes, trying to listen for whatever or whoever it was he sensed, but there was nothing to hear but the whispering of leaves and the quiet, steady breath of her lover as he stood ready to kill.

And then she glanced up to see he had relaxed somewhat, sliding his sword back into place, and she made a hard, hard decision and ripped out the last of her stitches, got to her feet and stepped into the light.

“Ava.” He stared at her, dumbfounded. “Was that you watching me?”

She stared at him, lifted her bound hands, and pulled the gag from her mouth. She cleared her throat. “I heard someone come into the clearing, but I hid because I didn’t know it was you, and then you had your sword out, so I kept still, and . . .” She suddenly understood, and the realization roared over her like a gale, like the hard storms she’d battled through the Grimwalt mountains on her way home just a few months ago.

She gaped at him, and her mouth tried to form words. “It was me,” she whispered. “Me you thought was a threat.”

“How were you not here, and here at the same time?” He stepped closer to her, and she realized that his sword was in his hand again. Had been there since she emerged from the shadows.

He stared down at it, unable to reach for her while he held it, and slowly slid it back into the scabbard strapped to his back.

“I worked magic into my cloak,” she said, as softly as she could while still making herself audible to him. “I needed to hide from the Kassian spies, so while their back was turned, talking to you, I worked an invisibility spell into my cloak, and when they turned around to grab me, they thought I was gone.”

It felt as if she was shredding her clothes to stand naked in front of a jeering crowd. That some terrible fate would befall her the moment the words were out of her mouth.

She had never revealed anything like it to anyone, ever.

She realized she was panting, as if she’d run a long, long way. She held out her bound wrists to him. “Will you cut me loose?”

He started, and then pulled a knife from his boot, sliced through the binding. He took her gag, too, and cut it off her where it hung around her neck.

“Tell me,” he whispered. “Tell me how.”

He looked like he was fighting a war with himself. Like he wanted to pull her close and push her away at the same time, and she drew herself straight, and took a step back.

“I don’t know how.” She lifted her shoulders. “My mother and my grandmother could do it, too. That’s why the Queen’s Herald had me and my mother locked up. He wanted me to work magic for him, and I wouldn’t. I thought I’d outsmarted him, but instead . . .”

“Instead, he took your mother and forced her to do it. Most likely with the threat of harm to you.”

She gave a nod.

“And this?” He plucked at his shirt.

“A working of protection.” She lowered her eyes. “That no harm should come to you.”

“Avasu!” Deni’s shout made them both jerk. “You’re all right.”

She turned, rubbing at her wrists. “Yes.” She tried to smile at him. “It’s good to see you, my friend.”

Deni rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Sorry for leaving you, but my horse bolted when we surprised them. Thank goodness we did, or they may have shot a little straighter.”

Before she could respond, the sound of shouting came from up ahead, and then she heard Revek’s voice call Luc’s name.

“I’m needed.” He put out a hand to clasp Deni’s shoulder. “Keep her safe for me.”

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