Page 130 of Prize for the King
I can barely think through the cold and terror still lingering in my blood stream, but I understand what must have happened.
“Someone shot at us.”
“Atyou.Just a bit longer.”
When we barge through the keep’s doors, Arvi sends the nearest guard to get Magnar and the knights. “Tell them to go to the queen’s chamber immediately.”
We’re both soaked, and we leave wet marks on the stone floor. Arvi doesn’t seem to tire, his steps growing even faster on the stairs. He takes the final corridors running and bursts into our bedroom. No one’s there yet. He lets me to my feet in the bathroom and starts the water.
“We’ll get you warm in a minute,” he says, turning to me. I try to take off my clothes, but my hands are shaking, and the wet, heavy fabric won’t cooperate. “I’ll cut you out. Stay still.”
He takes a slim knife from his belt, and I freeze, watching as it flies down my front, cutting buttons off my coat. He grips the knife between his lips and pushes the coat off my shoulders, then gives me a sharp, quelling look, and grabs the fabric at my hip.
“Steady.”
I don’t dare move a muscle, my chest barely twitching with every shallow breath. Arvi makes a short work of it, and tatters of my dress slap the floor around my feet. When I’m naked, hugging myself against the vicious cold, he kneels and cuts through my shoelaces.
Arvi’s still dressed in his wet clothes when he lowers me intothe bath. I hiss when my chilled skin meets hot water. That’s when Magnar comes in, the other knights on his heels.
Arvi turns to him and salutes.
“Shooters in the trees on the west boundary of the keep’s garden. They targeted Caliane. Guards are hunting them down, but they had time to get away.”
Magnar gives me a long, assessing look, and nods. “What happened?”
“I pushed her in the pond when I saw the first arrow.”
Khay snorts. “That’s taking your endearment a tad too far, Arvi. She’snota fish.”
Arvi bares his teeth at him. He tries to control himself, but I see the tremors wracking his frame. Before they start a fight, I come closer and put my hand on his hip.
“Arvi, you’re freezing. Come in with me. I’m sure the guards have it handled.”
Raduna shakes his head. “If the attackers had time to flee, they did. I don’t remember the last time an enemy got as far as the garden. I assume they were professionals.”
Arvi doesn’t look at me. “Even so, I’ll go and…”
“No.” Magnar puts a firm hand on his chest. “She’s right. Get in the tub and keep Caliane from drowning. We’ll check the grounds.”
It seems that the time I fell asleep in the tub will haunt me forever. Yet I am silent, because I know Magnar only said it to convince Arvi to stay. The young knight positively vibrates with the need to act, and if he goes out like this, he’ll catch pneumonia or worse.
“You want me to bathe with Caliane alone?” Arvi asks, arching a sardonic eyebrow.
Magnar’s chin juts out as he levels his knight with an angry stare. Something passes between them, and finally, Magnar nods.
“Enjoy.”
“Happy hunting,” Arvi says, turning to me with a sly smile. “Would you help me with my belt, sweet?”
Raduna, who’s the last to leave the bathroom, turns in the doorway. “Don’t overdo it, Arvi.”
“Yeah, yeah. Come on, my fingers are numb.”
I wrestle with the wet leather, and Arvi throws off his vest and shirt. Soon he comes in, settling on the opposite end of the tub with a deep groan of relief. I press my foot to his outer thigh.
“What was that about?”
He glances at the door Raduna closed behind him and sighs, shaking his head.
