A wail sounded through the cavern, and at first, Starlex thought it was a bat. She had never seen one, but she had heard about them in some of Flenn Illymium's tales about the caves on Terragonian Bluff. But the splash of water pelting her and Bonn Skaard proved it was no bat. It was Leiffen cannonballing into the steam-filled pool.

"Your timing is lousy, mate," Bonn Skaard said when his friend surfaced, shaking the wetness from his head like a dog.

All at once, Bonn leaped from the water and landed on top of his friend. As he playfully held Leiffen's head below the surface, Starlex took the opportunity to hoist herself up and out of the pool into a deep shadow between two jagged rocks.

Someone, the old woman she assumed, had left a pile of clothing beneath a burning torch. She pulled the clothes into a puddle of darkness and quickly pulled the clean linen sheath over her head. She stepped into the woolen hose that had been left for her. They were a size and a half too big for her slender limbs, but they would do. Over that went a knitted doublet and, thankfully, a pair of proper leather boots that fit. She threw the fur-lined cape over the ensemble and quickly moved to where sunlight filled the mouth of the cave.

"Where did my woman go?" Bonn Skaard asked, surfacing and blowing out a stream of water between his wet mustache and beard.

"Your woman?" Leiffen questioned. "You work fast, mate."

Humiliated suddenly, she climbed up the rock slide where she had fallen and stumbled into the blinding sunlight.

What just happened? she asked herself as she returned to the tent where she had slept, not knowing where else to go. Her head was spinning.

She silently thanked Leiffen for the intrusion. It had saved her from giving herself to Bonn at that moment. Still, her limbs felt weak now, and her body betrayed her mind and good judgment.

What if I had succumbed to him? Can I trust him?

And the more important question: Do I love him?

This notion hit her like a wave. Her knees buckled. All her life, she had been searching for love. The hours she had spent in the library at Oran Tower reading the romances from days past, of the glittering heroes of Mynimium and their ladies fair, of pageants and festivals and flowered wreaths. She didn't expect her knight to come in the form of a battle-scarred warrior.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

She clutched the cape around her tightly and walked toward the tent.

What should I do now? she asked herself.

A sane voice within her replied, Do nothing. Pretend it never happened.

With the rising sun now bright in her face, she wondered if it really had.

A sound of thundering hooves broke her reverie. She looked to see three horsemen approaching the encampment. The horses were lathered, and two of the men were badly injured and bleeding.

The camp suddenly erupted. Starlex stepped aside to observe as the two injured men, one bleeding badly from a neck wound, were taken into a tent to be attended to while the exhausted Skaard breathlessly explained what happened. Starlex couldn't understand what was being said, but she gauged from reactions that it was bad news.

Bonn and Leiffen, freshly bathed and dressed in new leather jerkins and furs, ran up to speak to the man. Starlex watched as Bonn's face darkened as he absorbed the news. He patted the man on his shoulder and bid him sit and eat from their provisions. Then Bonn broke from the group. Starlex followed.

"What's happening?" she asked, struggling to keep up with his strides.

"What's that, woman?" He quickened his pace, not bothering to turn to look at her.

She gripped his arm. "I demand to know what is going on."

He shrugged her off. "Prisoners don't make demands."

"So, I am your prisoner now and not your wife?"

These words stopped the Bonn Skaard in his tracks. He turned to her with narrowed eyes. "The Thrades have attacked Vallyha, the next village from here. I must go now to fight them without the men your king promised me."

He continued walking toward the make-shift stable.

She kept pace with him, grabbing his leather sleeve once more. "I will go with you."

He threw back his head and laughed. "No, princess. You will stay here." He removed her hand from his sleeve, more gently now.

"If I am indeed to be your wife, then my place is by your side."

Bonn Skaard picked up the saddle and hoisted it onto the gray stallion's back. After fastening the girth strap, he paused to gaze at her again. His eyes, the color of ice, softened as he said, "I meant what I said before. Are you saying you will have me as your husband? What is your answer, princess? I have very little time."

The feeling rushed through her, joining heart and mind. She had her answer. Looking around shyly, making sure they were alone and hidden behind the tall horse's flank. "Yes, Bonn Skaard. I will be your wife."

She heard him make a quick intake of breath, and then his lips were upon hers. She had kissed boys before, but never a man. The tickle of his beard and mustache on her face felt odd but also exciting. His kiss was the one spot of warmth within the cold terrain, and she clung to it, never wanting to let it go.