“You’re mad.” Tanon glared up at him.
“Come, it’s late.” Madoc appeared at her side. He cupped her elbow and pulled her toward him. “I’ll walk you to your pallet.”
Cedric chuckled as they left, then sauntered to Dafydd sharing a drink with two of his men.
“After Madoc gives his testimony to the people that Gareth has killed the king, put your sword to him. He’ll not stop me another day from taking that mouthy wench to my bed.”
*
“You’ve been oddlyquiet these last few hours.” Madoc slowed his steps when they were out of Cedric’s earshot.
“I’ve been busy praying for your death.”
Cloaked in darkness, Tanon could not see the rueful smile creasing Madoc’s mouth.
“This will soon be over,” he promised her softly.
Tanon remained silent, yanking her arm free of his when they reached her pallet. She lay down and closed her eyes, letting him know that she didn’t wish to speak with him further.
She thought of her parents and a pang of need sliced through her while she listened to Madoc settle down for the night next to her. She missed her family desperately. She wished she could have told her mother of the happiness she had found living in this untamed land with its vivid, emerald moors. How sad her parents would be when they were told of her death. Her mother’s eyes flashed in her mind. Brynna Risande would not be lying here considering her death. She would be thinking of a way to save her husband. Tanon could almost hear her father’s strong voice telling her what she needed to do. She was the daughter of a warrior whose name alone brought fear to the hearts of men.
True, he had kept her cocooned within the thick walls of Avarloch, shielded from danger and men, and their wars. But Brand’s passion ran deep in his daughter’s blood. How could she let some foul-mannered, exiled prince drag her before the man she loved so she could watch him die?Non,she had Risande and Dumont blood flowing through her veins. And she had a husband to protect.
*
Tanon waited untilMadoc’s snoring grew deep. The muffled roar of thunder in the distance warned of a coming storm. Nervously, she eyed the slumbering traitor, hoping the sound hadn’t roused him. She considered hitting him on the head with a good-sized rock, but her strength was such that she’d probably have to strike him more than once, and no matter how much she hated Madoc, she was not about to bludgeon a man in his sleep.
One of Dafydd’s soldiers was still awake, but he’d stopped looking in her direction hours ago. He sat across the bonfire with his back to her, most probably reveling in the idea of pillaging King Rhys’ homestead, Tanon thought angrily.
Inching her way closer to the edge of the surrounding forest, she closed her fingers around a rock, just in case Madoc woke up. She wouldn’t strike him while he slept, but if he tried to stop her this time, she would have no choice but to give him a decent crack in the skull. She prayed fervently for him to remain asleep. Without a sound, she crawled into the shadowless web of trees. And then she stood up and ran.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The air turnedcrisp and damp as the storm drew nearer. Darkness, as complete as the stillness within it eroded Tanon’s fortitude. She shouldn’t have left the camp. But only certain death awaited her if she’d remained. Hers, Gareth’s, everyone in the village, and mayhap ultimately, the death of her family. If Cedric’s campaign succeeded and he brought war to their countries, her father would certainly be called to fight. She couldn’t stop. She had to make it to the king’s holding and warn him of Cedric’s return. She wove her way through the labyrinth of trees, twice banging her knee and scraping her cheekbone on the crusty trunks. She didn’t let her bruises stop her, though she paused and clung to a tree when a wolf howled from a direction she could not pinpoint.
Fear robbed her of her breath, but she had to continue on. She ran west, toward the trembling torchlight still burning at the fortress.
His arms.
She summoned the memory of Gareth’s unyielding embrace to keep her mind off the terror of being alone in the pitch-black woods. The need in him that tightened his muscles when he drew her in. The longing for her that softened his expression. She had allowed her old fears to make her doubt him, but he cared for her. She was almost certain of it. She had captured his heart without using a single feminine wile. He was everything she had ever dreamed of. He gave her all that her heart desired.
She had to save him.
A crack of lightning sizzled the air and lit her way as the clouds finally tore open above her. Heavy droplets battered the canopy of leaves until they finally gave way and surrendered her to nature’s fury.
Swiping the rain, and her sopping curls from her eyes, Tanon kept Gareth’s face vivid in her mind. His eyes, painted like a warm indigo sunset ever on her, bathing her in amusement, anger, interest, and affection—all of them raw, unguarded emotions he could not control.
She must save Gareth.
An arrow of light pierced the darkness. His face appeared before her seconds before she would have crashed headlong into him.
Her scream shattered in her throat as Gareth’s arms came around her.
“Tanon, be still. Don’t be afraid.” His voice, a rapid whisper laden with remorse, swept across her ear.
“It can’t be…” Without even thinking about what he was doing here, Tanon lifted her fingers to his wet face and then flung her arms around his neck, convincing herself that he was real. She was safe. They were all safe. “Gareth,” She pulled back and looked over her shoulder into the darkness. “Madoc, he…” She couldn’t bear to tell him how his loyal friend had deceived him. “Cedric rides with Prince Dafydd and they—”
“I know.” He wiped her dripping hair from her eyes. “Come, we must leave the forest.” His voice rang in her ears, but she heard nothing after his first words.