Page 129 of Storm of Desire
A sharp elbow dug into his gut, and Sirius's breath exploded out ofhim.
Malin shot him a sharp glare, then made a clumsy curtsy to the prince.Herprince, Sirius realized, for her features softened when she looked at Rurik and her eyes grew very big again. She would never have seen Rurik before. She'd barely been at court for ten years, but she'd have heard all about the golden prince from her friends and the otherservants.
She'd never bloody looked athimlikethat.
"My prince." Malin's voice came out soft and breathy, as she rose from her curtsy. "Please don't burn Sirius alive. He's not quite as stupid as his loose mouth would suggest, and I owe him mylife."
"If you bat your eyelashes at him, I swear I shall throw you over my shoulder and dump you in the nearest pool of stagnant water,"Sirius growled at her, mind-to-mind."And I don't care whether Rurik challenges me for it ornot."
Malin wasn't strong enough to return the psychic connection, but her teeth ground together and she turned a positively evil glare uponhim.
“Go ahead,”he dared her, with an arch of hisbrow.
Rurik gave them both a perplexedlook.
"Árdís," Rurik warned, and Sirius realized he'd left a potential threat at hisback.
"I'm fairly certain Malin was saying 'no' from what I could see of her body language from the air," Árdís snapped, pulling her hair out of the neckline of the loose green dress she wore. She strode directly toward him, her fingers curled into claws. "You had better not have laid hands upon her if she was unwilling. Malin, are you all right?" Árdís went to her, and the pair of them clasped forearms. "He hasn't hurt you, hashe?"
Color stained Malin's cheeks. "No. And he wasn't hurting me then. We were arguing. It's good to seeyou."
The two women threw their arms around eachother.
"What are you doing here?" Árdísdemanded.
"She's no longer safe at court," Siriuscalled.
Árdís turned hot eyes upon him and he held up his hands in surrender again. He might as bloody well stay in thispose.
Which went against all his naturalinstincts.
The things a dreki did for hismate....
"Blame yourself, if you want to blame anyone," he shot back. "Your little ruse in tying her up didn't work. My father wanted herdead."
"Then why is she withyou?"
Malin caught the enraged princess by the wrist, and their eyes met briefly. "He... he rescued me and promised to bring me here, where I might be safe." She turned to the prince and curtsied again. "If you would haveme."
Rurik glanced atÁrdís.
"Of course you can stay," Árdíspromised.
"Not just yet," Sirius broke in coldly, meeting the exiled prince's amber eyes. "I'm here to offer Malin in exchange for Árdís. If I take her back, then no fight shall come ofthis."
"What?" The word exploded out of Árdís, and she shoved forward, her golden hair tangled in loose curls around her face. "Wehadanagreement."
"I don't want this,"he sent, on psychic threads between the three of them."But I have no choice. After Andri's betrayal, father's been treating Roar as an heir. If he thinks to replace my brother with Roar.... And Malin, I couldn't leave her there, Icouldn't...."
Soft understanding dawned on her face."She's the one, isn'tshe?"
A faintnod.
Árdís's jaw dropped open. "Oh."
"You could stay here,"she sent back."With us. You could fight with us. And you could have her as yourown."
"Árdís,"Rurik scolded sharply. It wasn't a bargain she could offer, as these were the prince'slands.
