Fyne Sisters - The Star Witch Part 13

"It is your contention that the bargain I struck concerns only the two of us?"

"Is anyone else in this bed?" she snapped.

He smiled down at her. "No." He kissed her throat, and then her chest, and then the valley between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and the soft swell to one side. "Fine. I accept that argument. I will bargain only with you. What do you ask for in exchange for coming to Tryfyn with me?"

"What?" She tried to sit up as she responded to his question, but Lucan's hold was much more steadfast than hers had been, and she found herself pinned to the mattress while he continued to kiss her.

"You heard me, Isadora. Come home with me. Stay. And in return..." He continued to kiss and caress her body until she closed her eyes and wallowed in the sensations his mouth aroused.

It was a ridiculous notion, so why was she actually considering saying yes? Juliet and Sophie still needed her, she was almost certain of that fact. When the curse took Kane's life, Sophie would need her sisters' love and support, and heaven only knew where Juliet might be.

And then there was the matter of Lucan's distaste for witches. If he knew what she was, he would not touch her this way. He would not talk of taking her home with him, or tell her she was beautiful, or teach her how to fight, or laugh with her, or listen... all of that would go away, if he knew. She could hide that part of herself from him now, but if they stayed together, eventually he would learn the truth.

"I cannot be a part of so much death," she said. "It drains me in a way I can't explain."

Lucan kissed her flat stomach. "That is why you ask me, in our instructions with the sword, to show you how to stop a man without killing him?"

"Yes."

He was relentless in caressing and kissing her. "Even though death is a part of who I am, and that death repulses you, might you still consider coming home with me? You would never need to see battle. I

would protect you from that, always. You would be a part of my home, not my call to war."Yes, yes, yes... "Maybe. After the empress delivers her... her child." In the heat of the moment, shehad almost said children. She could not share that secret, not even with Lucan.

"What do you need from me to make this alliance happen?"

She felt like she was flying, like her body was not her own. A moment more, one more well-placed kiss

of those lips, and she'd agree to anything he asked of her. "Walk away from this palace," she said while she could still think. "Keep your warriors in Tryfyn and away from this conflict."

"And if I do as you request, you will come with me?"

"Yes," she answered quickly. "Yes."

And then she stopped thinking, gratefully and completely.

LUCAN WATCHED ISADORA dress in the light of dawn that broke through his window.

He was about to risk everything for a woman who shared his bed, and he had no second thoughts about

the matter. There were many other women in the world, but none as this one. And he wanted her.

His instincts told him Isadora was right about Emperor Sebestyen being a bad man. The way she

continued to be under guard when they went to the courtyard for lessons in swordplay told him she was a prisoner here, not a guest.

He would not allow her to be any man's prisoner.

The Star of Bacwyr sparkled on her finger. "You must choose a more suitable gown for travel, when the

time comes for us to leave." The time would come soon, of that he had no doubt. "Something st.u.r.dy and warm, unlike this lovely gown." She was trying to dress, but he hampered her efforts, and she did not seem to mind.

"I hope you realize that I would not allow any man but you to see me in this frock."

The statement warmed him more than it should. He possessed a part of Isadora no man ever had or ever

would. "We will travel light and quickly. You may wear the ring you favor, but you must leave everything else behind."

She glanced down at the ring. "Sometimes I think you like this little piece of jewelry more than you like

me."

He should... but did not. "It is small and insignificant."

"I am growing rather fond of this silly little ring." Isadora waggled her hand at him, and the Star flashed.

"It feels quite at home on my finger."

She had promised to give it to him, days ago. Now, it didn't matter. He would return the Star to the Circle; it would simply be delivered there on Isadora's finger.

"We must plan our escape soon. You and I, Franco and Esmun, we will leave here together."

"And Elya," Isadora said as she pulled the lavender sleeves up and wiggled her hips until the gown was in

place. "We can't possibly leave her here. The emperor will take his anger out on her and the baby she

carries-your niece or nephew, in case you have forgotten that fact. Trust me, Sebestyen will have no

qualms about taking his anger out on an innocent."

Lucan sighed. "And Elya." A c.u.mbersome pregnant woman would slow them down, but he knew Isadora was right. They could not leave her behind. "Must we wait for the empress to deliver?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Mostly dressed, her hair unbound and falling over her shoulders and down her back, Isadora walked to

him and laid her hands on his shoulders. "Because I gave my word that I would stay until it was done."

Lucan was accustomed to having his way. No woman had ever disobeyed or argued with him before. He found it annoying. "So I am to break my word to have you, but you will not do the same for me."

"No more than a few days, Lucan. I promise. Soon. The empress's pregnancy is complicated. She needs

me."

He draped his arms around her, and she just stood there. He wanted her, he even needed her, but he had not been totally honest with her, and that would never do.

"I told you I would never lie," he said.

"Yes, I remember."

"That means there will sometimes be unpleasantness between us, when I am forced to tell you a truth you

do not want to hear."

"As you are about to do now?" she asked, not sounding at all concerned about what might come next.

"Yes, as I am about to do now." He tipped her face up and looked her squarely in the eye. "I want you

more than I have ever wanted anything for myself. But I cannot marry you, Isadora. When the time comes, wizards of importance in the Circle will choose my bride. You will be mine, and no one will be allowed to disrespect you, but we cannot be wed."

Isadora did not flinch, and there was no reaction in her dark eyes. No tears of anger or disappointment

sparkled there. "I never said that I cared to marry you, Lucan."

He had been afraid he might hurt her with the truth, and yet he was the one who felt a pang of something that might be called regret. She did not want him?

A knock on his door had him reaching for his sword, but Isadora just patted his arm and walked away.

"No need for weapons," she said. "I recognize that knock."

He did not put the sword away until Isadora opened the door and he saw a mousy woman in a brown maid's uniform standing in the hallway, her face pale and her hands clasped tightly.

"What is it, Mahri?" Isadora asked.

"Thank goodness you're here," the maid said in a loud whisper. "The empress sent me to fetch you. It's time. It's time!"

"NO, THIS WAY," Mahri said, as Isadora hurried toward the lift that would carry her to Level One and the empress. Mahri pushed her way into the stairway that wound tightly the entire height of the palace, and there she ran not up but down.

Isadora followed. "Where is she?"

"The empress awaits you in her old quarters on Level Five, where she lived in the weeks after she and the emperor married."

Of course. At this hour of the morning the emperor was still abed. Liane had likely decided it was safer to move to another room than to take the chance that she'd be able to kick her husband out of his own room, when the time came.

Isadora had spent many nights in the Level Five quarters herself, before Liane had insisted that she move to Level One so she'd be near at all times.

Two of the empress's sentinels were posted at the entrance to the apartment. One of them was Ferghus, who knew very well that the empress would soon give birth to twin sons. Isadora caught his eye as she entered the room; he already looked guilty.

As the door closed behind her, Mahri ran into the narrow hallway that led to the bedchamber. Liane's shout echoed off the walls.

"What took you so long?"

"I was only gone a few moments, my lady."

"No, you were gone much too long." The empress's sharp eyes fell on Isadora. "While you were off f.u.c.king your pretty warrior as if you had no concern in the world but his c.o.c.k, these d.a.m.ned pains began. I tried to wait until Sebestyen left the bedchamber for the day, but by dawn I knew I couldn't wait any longer."