Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The others returned laden with supplies well before dusk. I watched them set a crate packed with straw and eggs on the table, along with three crocks of butter and another of cream. Liam carried a wrapped bundle and offered it to me.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Open it."

I untied the bundle and found another shift and a modest dress in a dark blue.

"Even mended, the black one is fancier than most women wear in Turre. I thought this one might?—"

I surprised us both by hugging him hard.

"Thank you, Liam."

His arms wrapped around me, and I didn't miss the way he rose up on his toes so he was above my breasts this time.

"You're welcome."

Someone cleared his throat.

"Princess? I chose the color," Darian said. "I knew it would beautifully accent your eyes."

When I released Liam and looked at Darian, he opened his arms expectantly.

Ignoring his invitation, I glanced at Garron, who'd carried the eggs.

"Can I see your side, please?"

He flushed but lifted his shirt so I could inspect his bandages. As I'd suspected, they were dotted with pink.

Turning away from him, I looked at Brandle.

"Did you lie to me?"

His already guarded expression became more so.

"Never."

"Then how did Garron travel to Turre unharmed while bloody?"

Understanding lit Brandle's gaze.

"Because he's not you."

"Haven't you figured it out yet, Trouble?" Edmund asked. "Not every person is bound by the same set of rules."

His comment killed my growing anger. After all, I'd learned that lesson very well already. So had my sister.

A familiar, unnatural wave of dizziness washed over me, followed by a tingle of fear. My gaze flew to Liam's.

"It's happening again."

All the light vanished like before, and I crumpled to the ground amidst their shouts and curses.

"Kellen?" Brandle called.

Like the last time, I couldn't move, but I could feel the dirt under my cheek.

One of them gripped my calf through my pants, shaking me as if to rouse me.

"She did this before in the cellar," Liam said. "I ran to get Darian, but when we returned, she was awake and speaking again."

"Look at your amulet," Edmund said. "Stop touching her."

The hand on my calf disappeared.

"It's still glowing but more faintly," Brandle said. "Whatever this is, a caster is behind it."

I wanted to shout with relief that they were beginning to understand. Maeve thought she was clever in binding me to silence, but she would bring her own downfall.

"Does that mean we've been found?" Eadric asked.

His quiet question brought to light the danger they might be in due to my presence. What was Maeve trying to do? Just find me or something more? Other than being unable to speak or move, I felt fine. Nothing hurt. I thought of the severity with which Maeve had punished my sister and knew that wasn't what this was. What was this, then?

"Look," Garron said.

Several of them swore.

"Someone is trying to see us."

I didn't understand what they meant, but whatever magic had been cast to lock me into place lifted, and I opened my eyes.

"Princess," Darian said, helping me to sit up. "Are you all right?"

"Don't touch her," Brandle said softly.

Darian immediately removed his hands from me, and I looked at Brandle.

"Do you understand now? Why I need to leave? I wish I could help you. Truly, I do, Brandle. But the longer I remain here, the more danger you—" My throat tightened in warning, and I stopped speaking.

Brandle studied me. "What do you think happened just now?"

"I cannot say."

"Because you don't know or because you cannot say."

I smiled slightly, saying nothing.

"I see," he said.

After wiping the dirt from my face, I rose and brushed off my front.

"What harm is there in touching her?" Darian asked.

"None, I should think," I said, answering on Brandle's behalf. "If someone is trying to see you, as you said, according to the book, your amulets will keep you safe."

They all looked at me with varying expressions of shock.

"You read Henry's books?" Brandle asked.

"The letter was vague at best and resting on the open book. Did you think I wouldn't look for an explanation behind your amulets? Knowing that they are for protection and not to cast is the only reason I am still here."

Eadric clasped his amulet to him like I would attempt to take it. Edmund had taken a step back.

I frowned and looked at Brandle again, annoyed with their reactions.

"I have never met a more capricious group of men in my life. Insist I stay or let me leave. I care not which you choose, but for my sanity, please choose one and commit to it fully." I shook my head, muttered that they were impossible, and gathered up my new clothes.

"If no one has an objection, I'll take my new clothes inside."

They remained silent as I strode into the cottage. I neatly folded the new clothes and tucked them into my sling bag. The crinkle of the king's note stirred my frustration further.

Come morning, would the brothers still feel opposed to my presence and agree to help me leave, or would they again insist I help them first? I could no longer guess.

Eadric's worried question echoed in my mind. "Does this mean we've been found?"

Found. That indicated they were hiding here. Was that why they didn't want me to leave? Would my knowledge of their existence bring them danger? I thought of Maeve and the spells she was able to cast and knew it could. She'd forced the truth from me twice before I learned how to speak partial truths to avoid telling her what I didn't want her to know.

Would I be able to keep the presence of these men a secret, though, once I returned to face Maeve?

I wasn't sure.

Sighing, I sat on the floor facing the cold hearth.

"Lamb, come outside," Daemon said from the doorway.

I turned my head and rested it on my knees so I could see him. Eadric and Garron stood behind him.

"We don't like when you stay inside," Eadric said.

"Brandle never intended to let me leave, did he? Meeting you, seeing where you live…I'm a danger to you all now."

"No, Kitten," Brandle said, joining them at the door. "You're not a danger. You're the solution."

I lifted my head to stare at the hearth again for a moment before going to them.

"Does this mean you've fully committed to keeping me here?" I asked, my gaze holding Brandle's.

"I committed days ago when you apologized before hitting me."

"Well, that is a mistake I won't repeat."

He grinned, and the sight of his smile made my heart skip a beat. I averted my gaze and moved to the table where the supplies waited.

"Everything should go to the cellar," I said. "We can leave out a few eggs, though, and I'll teach you how to make pastries after we stuff a fowl for dinner."

For the next hour, I gave directions and tried to focus their enthusiasm on the coming meal. To any outsider, at first glance, they might have believed I led an unruly group of boys. But if they watched closer, they would notice their antics weren't to cause the trouble usually desired by boys. No, they meant to stir another type of trouble—the kind caused by men. They vied for my attention in the most ridiculous manner possible and took every opportunity to accidentally brush against me. They laughed at one another's efforts and goaded each other on.

But they always seemed to know when they pushed too far and quickly apologized—sometimes with a hug, sometimes with a useful tip on surviving the woods—which always distracted me from the emotions attempting to crawl under my skin.

By the time everything was set and cooking, I was ready to retreat to the cottage for some peace. Darian and Daemon wouldn't hear of it.

"Lamb, we faced every danger in that forest with only the memory of your brief embrace to help us endure. Please don't remove your presence. Let us bask in your gracious company until the meal is ready."

"Yes, Princess, tell us what you did to occupy yourself today."

I glanced at Edmund briefly before turning to the pair and holding out my hands.

"I would much rather show you if you're willing."

They latched onto my hands quickly and allowed me to lead them to the packed dirt in the center of the clearing. Daemon's steps grew more hesitant as we neared it. Darian's grin only widened more.

"Edmund showed me something new today," I said, releasing their hands.

I turned my back to them and looked over my shoulder.

"Would either of you like to hold me from behind?"

Darian's gaze lit up, and he dove for me while Daemon took a wary step backward. Darian's arms wrapped around my waist, and his chest pressed against my back as he nuzzled my neck.

"This is a delight, Princess. Why did Edmund?—"

I grabbed his hand, wrenched it back, and twisted out of his hold to make enough space to swing my forearm toward Darian's face. Just before my arm connected, I watched Darian's eyes flare with surprise. His head snapped to the side. He grunted as he stumbled back a step and grabbed for his face.

Guilt and fear shot through me.

"Darian? Are you okay? I sincerely apologize," I said, reaching for him.

He straightened with a grin and pulled me into his arms.

"You did so well, Princess." He kissed the side of my neck. "Now, show me what else he taught you."

He released me and waved for me to try again. I looked at Edmund.

"I think I addled him."

Garron shook his head. "He was already addled."

I focused on Darian. "One demonstration is enough. Your lip looks puffy."

His grin grew lopsided, and his gaze became suggestive.

"Do you look at my mouth often, Princess?"

"This glade is the only reason you haven't already been beaten by some maiden's outraged mama," I said.

The rest of them hooted with laughter as Darian held a hand to his heart as if my words had wounded him. However, I could see in his gaze they had not. He was as amused as his brothers.

"I question the sanity of each of you," I said without rancor.

"And you are wise to do so," Darian said, holding out his hand with a courtly bow. "Allow me to demonstrate another indispensable practice."

I tentatively accepted his hand, curious what he would show me.

He swept me into a swirling dance as he hummed a familiar melody.

"You dance?" I asked.

He grinned and moved gracefully through the steps with me. After several sweeping twirls, Daemon stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"I believe it's my turn," he said, stealing me away. He hummed a jauntier melody that required a faster pace and had me breathless in moments.

Garron's timely interruption saved me. He held me at a greater distance than the other two and hummed so quietly that his brothers teased him endlessly. His flushed cheeks were endearing as was the way he bowed over my hand and kissed my knuckles before he surrendered me to Eadric.

Eadric, never one to conform easily to another's expectations, began to sing a questionable tune about a baker's wife's job to help his loaf rise as we bounded around the clearing. His hand slipped lower on my waist than it should have as he did his best to evade Liam and Edmund who were both attempting to cut in.

When Edmund swung out to cuff him, I spun Eadric into a dip. He was unrealistically heavy for his size, and I would have dropped him if not for his solid footing and strength.

"I'm not sure how I feel about being on the receiving end of this." He grinned up at me while the others laughed.

"It's the anticipation of what I plan to do next that twists your insides, isn't it?" I asked lightly.

He nodded, and I couldn't resist gracing both his cheeks with a kiss. Darian and Daemon grumbled about the apparent favoritism and asked for equal treatment.

Ignoring them, I faced Liam and bowed deeply instead of curtsying.

Liam grinned and curtsied.

The others hummed together for our song. Liam played along, accepting my lead for a few turns then taking it for his own. He moved more boldly than his brother's before him, his body brushing against mine as we swirled in our dance. While a playful smile lingered around his mouth, it was absent from his gaze.

I knew what he meant to do before he dipped me as I had Eadric.

His lips teased mine as I held his shoulders, and I…enjoyed it. My hands tightened on his shoulders, and he pressed closer to me, weaving a spell around me that didn't require a caster or magic. Just a man and a woman.

When he lifted his head to look at me, my heart beat heavily against its ribbed cage.

"Will you hit me for that?" he asked softly.

"No."

"Does that mean I have permission to do that again?"

"Absolutely not."

He smiled. He had probably noted the breathlessness of my refusal and understood why I'd given it.

Once he righted me, he handed me off to Edmund, who looked ready to cuff Liam for the liberties he'd taken.

"What part of that annoyed you?" I asked as he expertly swung me around the glade. "The part where he kissed me or the part where he asked to do it again?"

He remained silent.

"Come now, Edmund. It isn't like you to hold back your thoughts. If you say nothing, I will fear the worst."

"And what is the worst?" he asked.

"That I will need to sleep beside Liam, too, to protect him from you."

He snorted and glanced at his brothers before spinning me farther away.

"I fear one of them will do something that will cause you to run."

"Ah. I see."

"I doubt you do yet. But I think you will."

I cocked my head at him.

"You sounded very much like Brandle just then."

He made a face and brought us closer to the brother in question.

"Don't tell him that," he said before releasing me.

Still smiling, I turned to Brandle and accepted his hand. Without a word or a tune, he swept me into a dance.

"I'm curious," I said. "How do seven men in the middle of the Dark Forest learn how to dance so well?"

"Henry taught us," he said.

"Henry was a very knowledgeable man," I said.

"He was."

"Is that why Liam was so comfortable being led instead of leading?"

Brandle smiled slightly. "You believe that, as the youngest and shortest, he was often led. But that isn't true. We all took our turns. Henry said it was good for us to know what it felt like to be led as we would experience it again once we marry."

His smile had dimmed slightly at the end, which reminded me of the guilt I'd felt over the way he'd left earlier.

"Well, that explains being led, but what of the curtsey? It was precisely executed."

Brandle's amusement showed in the creased corners of his eyes. Why did I find that so captivating?

"Henry said we should know what a proper curtsy looks like as well," he said.

"So you learned how."

"Precisely."

"How long ago did Henry pass away?" I asked.

The corners of his eyes smoothed out, and he pulled me a little closer.

"He left us three years ago."

"I'm sorry."

"Some things in life are unavoidable."

"The inevitability of losing those we love doesn't make the loss less painful," I said.

His expression softened, and our steps slowed.

"No, it does not. Thank you for dancing with me, Kellen. It was an honor."

He took my hand and bowed low over it with formal precision.

"The honor was mine, Brandle. Thank you."

"Are we done? Does this mean we can eat?" Eadric called.