“My dear,” Queen Maria said, and every eye in the room turned to her. “Perhaps I should see that my niece is properly attired before any further amusements.”
King Pierre’s chin clenched, but then he giggled again. Everyone in the room except Nora laughed too. The sounds of their mirth echoed off the walls and mirrors. For a moment, she almost believed she was back at Bhailmore Castle, in front of her dead grandfather. He’d guffawed when her father, Laird Lochdon, had knocked her across the room as a child. Gritting her teeth, she clenched her hands into fists. She was no longer a little girl and she would not be their entertainment.
Queen Maria stood and King Pierre took her hand, kissing it lingeringly. “You know I can never refuse you anything, my queen.”
Nora glanced from the red mark left from his lips on her hand to Queen Maria’s tight smile. She very much doubted those words were sincere. Or reciprocated.
Queen Maria waited for her husband to release her hand before walking to Nora and offering it, upturned. Nora took it and hoped the queen was not as shrewd as she seemed, or she would realize that Nora was not her niece and escaping from the palace would be much harder.
3
GERARD
Adark fog covered the ship.
Gerard wondered if he was dead.
But he was not on the ship. He wasn’t anywhere at all. The black mist engulfed him, and it was as if he were flying.
The Urkan princess stood in a village and all the inhabitants were touching her purple hair. They were praising her goddess.
Then the princess who hated him was kissinghim—he was returning the embrace with enthusiasm. She was even more beautiful and desirable than he had imagined. Kissing her was like touching the eternities with his lips.
Then he was flying again. The wind brought him to a high mountain range, where snow covered the tops of three peaks. He had barely comprehended what he’d seen when, once again, he was in darkness. When the mist cleared, he saw a large stone mound, as perfectly rounded as a cake. He walked around it, unsure why he was there. And then he saw a door on the other side of the stones. Somehow Gerard knew he needed to go through that door. Something inside the stones was calling to him.
Reaching out for the golden handle, he turned it and pulled the door open.
* * *
He fellout of his hammock and hard onto the wood floor of Lieutenant Petit’s much smaller quarters. His heart pounded out of his chest and the bruising around his neck felt tender. The dream he’d awoken from had felt real. As had the princess’s lips against his.
The only willing touch he’d receive from her would be a slap from her palm, he thought, laughing.
Gerard rolled onto his side and regretted not accepting his first mate’s offer of his bed. He was already intruding on the man’s quarters; he would not take his bed as well. A hammock was not a bad sleeping option for a few days, and once the princess was returned to her people, Gerard would have his own quarters back—and his dreams and desire for her would fade. Rubbing his face, he felt the prickly stubble growing there. Not that he could do anything about that now. His shaving kit was in his cabin, which a beautiful Urkan witch currently occupied.
Smiling, he got to his feet and dressed. He’d taken the last shift of the night and therefore had slept late. He pulled up his boots and tied them before leaving the cabin. From the sun’s placement, he guessed it to be around one or two in the afternoon.
Petit whistled. “We’ll be at the Dark Channel sometime tomorrow night and Urka the morning after.”
“I’d better go and check on the princess,” Gerard said.
“Don’t let her get inside your head, Captain,” his burly first mate said, talking to Gerard like he was still a snot-nosed ensign without a home. Fifteen years had passed since then, and now Gerard was captain of the ship. Still, Petit was the closest thing he had to family, what he’d always wanted more than anything else in the world. His royal father was embarrassed by him and he didn’t know who his birth mother was. Another woman in a long line of the King of Kaul’s mistresses.
“I won’t.”
Petit’s hand tightened on the ship’s wheel. “You had your orders and you fulfilled them. It is not your purpose to question royal authority. Or to take responsibility for your father’s choices. He is akingand you are acaptain. Your only duty is to obey. And don’t imagine that she’s some helpless princess who needs you to slay her dragons. She’s an enemy, and a dangerous one. Kaul has been at war with Urka on and off for centuries.”
“You think my father intends to declare war on Urka?” Gerard whispered.
“Capturing a queen is an act of war.”
Involuntarily, the princess’s face flashed into his mind and the warm kiss they’d shared in the dream. He felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment. Petit had hit the target with his words. Gerard was equally both fascinated and guilty where the princess was concerned. The kidnapping of women went against all his principles, but in the navy, you did not question. You obeyed your orders or you were flogged. There was no room for debate.
At least the princess would not be in his father’s clutches. There was nothing he could do for the queen. Touching his neck, he couldn’t help but believe that the queen was very capable of taking care of herself.
Gerard walked back down the steps to the not-yet-familiar route toward his cabin. He knocked on the door and waited for the princess’s response before walking inside. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. Her shiny purple hair curled over her shoulders and down her back like a waterfall. Gulping, he closed the door behind him and faced her. Getting the witch out of his mind was going to be harder than he realized.
“I trust you are doing well, Princess?”