Good night?” Nela asked with a smirk. Lisa looked at her embarrassed and Nela started laughing. “The others think you’re in bed sick. So if you want to sleep it off…” She said and lisa shook her head.
“I’m not tired.” She replied and Nela raised an eyebrow.
“As you wish. I’d get out of those clothes though, you definitely look like you’ve pulled an all nighter still in them.”
“Thanks.” lisa said pulling them off and tossing them into the basket. “Have you all eaten? I’m starving.” She said as she pulled on some fresh clothes.
“Bet you are…” Nela said and they both giggled. “Come on, Mira&rs
Lisa spent the next few days training harder with Nela and Alix, Jame’s replacement although his idea of teaching was definitely less orthodox than Jame’s. Every time lisa did anything Magical he seemed to cheer and praise her and she grew very quickly exhausted by it. She never thought she’d admit it but she couldn’t wait for James to return from wherever the hell he was.Nela and lisa were walking back along the ramparts from training on the third day when they heard the sound of riders. As they moved further up towards the Upper Castle lisa knew it was phillip though she couldn’t say how.They watched as the riders went though and lisa noted the small boy who looked to be fast asleep tight in phillip’s arms and resting against his chest.
Lisa woke to the sound of someone knocking on a door. She could feel phillip’s arms tight around her and the skin of her back against his chest.“Wait here.” He said before kissing her head and getting out of bed. He threw on his trousers and went to the main door in the other room.When he came back he had a handful of notes in his hand.“What are they?” She asked sitting up with the sheet wrapped round to hide her nakedness.“Dispatches.” He said as he sat on the bed to read them. Lisa watched his face but said nothing until he frowned.“What’s wrong? Has something happened?” She asked.
Over the next few days phillip was busy in preparing the army and ensuring they were ready for war. It made lisa nervous to think that there was now a real tangible enemy and they were about to ride off to fight them.“There’s a party tonight. A goodbye party of sorts.” phillip said as they lay wrapped in each other’s arms that morning. “It’s at the Courtyard.”“Are you asking if I want to go?” She asked.“No, I’m saying you should.” He replied.“Don’t you think it’s a bit risky?”“It’s a private party, and it’s not like you’ve not b
The army set off at first light. Lisa, Nela, Indi, and Mira rode with the back part of jame’s core battalion. The High King and phillip rode up front but phillip kept moving back to check on each brigade.They set up camp before dusk and were almost immediately joined by a second army, it’s leader and personal guard riding through and kicking up dust onto everyone as they road to the High King’s tent.Phillp scowled when he saw the banners. King Ide, he thought of all people it had to be him that answered the call first. But of course it was.Ide waltzed into the High King’s command tent and gave a sweeping bow before looking around at everyone.“King Ide you’re most welcome.&rdqu
They threw her onto the back of horse and she struggled against the bindings. In her mind she kept trying to connect not only to phillip but to her Magic but it was useless. It was like someone had shut the door on it and locked it all away. Every time she tried to reach out a piercing, white hot pain ripped through her and for the first time in a while she was scared for her life.They rode the horses hard away from the camp and up a hill to where they’d clearly set up in a cave. The hauled her off letting her hit the ground hard as she fell. She sat up and looked at them from the dirt but she knew she was defenceless.“Did anyone see?” Someone asked and a few men shook their heads.“Good. And you’re sure you weren’t followed?”
James paced waiting for them to return. He’d felt the Magic, or rather the attempt to disturb it. He saw the horses approach and expected phillip to bring the girl directly to him but he didn’t.He took her to his own tent.He scowled thinking of how insolent phillip could be sometimes. Grabbing what he could he rushed over there, knowing that he couldn’t let his pride get in the way of saving the girl.Phillip laid her on his bed while Ridley stood at the door awkwardly.“What do you want me to do?” He asked.“Get James.” phillip ordered. “And get a damn healer.”
Lisa opened her eyes, aware that she was in a tent and that there were thick fur throws over her. It was dark but she could make the outline of almost everything in the tent. She shifted slightly and felt the pelts against her skin, realising that she wasn’t wearing anything except her underwear and she recoiled with fear.“It’s okay.” Phillip said moving to her side so she could see him. “You’re safe.”“Where are my clothes?” She asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.“The Agnai cut them off you.” He replied.Lisa blinked and then looked away. She remembered the cave now. And the men who had all slit their throats. She remembered how she
The army travelled further towards the coast and Lisa felt the air getting more and more salty the nearer they got. A part of her couldn’t wait to see the sea even though she knew that with it would be war.She ached to spend each night with phillip but she forced herself to sleep alone. To be alone. She knew she needed time to heal, time to forget. She had already forgiven him because after all he hadn’t betrayed her but the anger at what the High King had tried to get him to do was still there and it was raw. And the awful emptiness she felt without her Magic was practically unbearable. All she knew was that she didn’t want phillip to feel it too, she didn’t want him to know the pain that was constantly ripping through her, so she locked herself away, locked her emotions away and she shut herself off from him.
One year later . . .“I look ridiculous,” I said as I stared at my reflection in the full-length mirror. “Why did I let you talk me into this?”“Hush up!” Gail commanded as she fussed with the silky white fabric that flowed like a waterfall over my hips and down my legs in a shimmering cascade. “I didn’t talk you into anything. You look beautiful, and you know it.”I did look beautiful, thanks to my trio of fairy godmothers – Gail, Agnes, and Tess – who had devoted the entire morning to my hair and make-up. I stared at my reflection; I didn’t look anything like myself. My normally stick-straight hair fell about my shoulders in glorious, shiny ringlets, and framed a face that belonged to me, but boasted eyes that appeared huge, luminescent, and more gold than brown. My cheeks were faintly pink, as were my lips.The dress was magnificent. Beautiful c
My head was pounding as I swam through the soup of sleep and dreams and into consciousness. The night had been long, and I had spent most of it either crying or shouting into my pillow. God, how I wanted this nightmare to be over! I forced myself to struggle to a sitting position, and it was only then that I realized my head wasn’t the only thing that was pounding. Someone was knocking on my door. Crap! I really wanted to wallow in self-pity right now. I didn’t have the time or the inclination to deal with whoever was out there.I flopped back down onto my bed and burrowed under the covers. The knocking stopped, thank heaven, but then my phone started buzzing. Damn, but someone was persistent! I groped on my side table, swearing as I knocked both the cell and the lamp onto the floor. I scrambled out of bed and snatched up the phone, hitting the answer button without bothering to check to see who was calling.“What?” I barked
Jason felt his skin crawl, looking at this horrid creature with stringy blond hair and Jessie’s hazel eyes.“So, if you wanted to hang on to Welling, why did you do it? Why the faked death? Why come back and kill so many people?”Gloria gave an inelegant grunt. “Adam was going down hard and I wasn’t going to go down with him. Who was going to associate with the wife of someone like him? I had to reinvent myself. I got a new face, a new name, courtesy of a few Swiss bank accounts he knew nothing about.Voila! A whole new me.”“But you didn’t change everything, did you?” Jason asked, his eyes raking over her golden pantsuit. Your signature color suits you. Bet you didn’t know you left a little of it behind with the governor’s body.”“The ME declared you legally dead,” I said. “He had proof that you died in that fire.”
Everything disappeared: The house, the cops outside, her nerves. All that existed were Jason and the delicious icy fire racing through my blood. He pulled back, leaving me panting and feeling quite bereft. I raised my arms and almost wrapped them around his neck, wanting to be closer to him, wanting even more. But then I remembered my heartache and let them fall. That would only lead to more pain.“I’m sorry,” he rasped, still catching his breath. “I’m sorry.”“Don’t worry about it,” I managed to whisper and turned away so he wouldn’t be able to read the doubt on my face. How was I going to stand this? How could I spend three hours teetering on the very edge of insanity? It would take so little to push me right over. I had to find a way to keep my mind busy.“Tell me about your family,” I said, not really sure why I was asking, but knowing anything was better tha
I was nervous, anxious to have the whole thing over and done with. I wanted to look my father’s killer in the eye. And I was ready to cut Jason Anders out of my life once and for all. After tonight, we could go our separate ways.I’m not sure why I was so angry, he had just proven to me what I had known all along. You can’t trust anyone but yourself. But I had trusted him. I had let down my walls enough to give him a peek inside. I had thought he was the one who would have my back. My mistake had been disastrous and humiliating, but I had learned my lesson.I stuffed my hurt deep down and looked at my watch, a scratched Timex that I had been meaning to replace for over a year, but had never gotten around to doing. It was only one o’clock. The day was crawling along at a maddening pace.I heard the thunk of my front door, accompanied by the clomp of heavy, booted feet. My back stiffened. Jason had returned, car
I snuggled my backside against warm, hard male and sighed in contentment. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so sated, both physically and emotionally. Emotion had never been a part of my love life. It was nice. I was surprised to discover I liked it. I wanted more. I didn’t know much about Jason, really. I knew he was handsome, smart, exasperating, and very sexy. I knew he was a hero from Louisiana who had a young daughter. I didn’t know his favorite food or what his mama called him. I wanted to know those things, which shocked me. Did I also want him to know all of my secrets? It shocked me even more to realize I did. After so many years of avoiding intimacy like a root canal, I now found myself craving it.What did I most want to know about this complicated man? His little girl. The answer came easily. I wanted to know about the most important thing in his life. A sharp stab of guilt pierced my heart. How could I want to make this little girl i
I snuggled my backside against warm, hard male and sighed in contentment. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so sated, both physically and emotionally. Emotion had never been a part of my love life. It was nice. I was surprised to discover I liked it. I wanted more. I didn’t know much about Jason, really. I knew he was handsome, smart, exasperating, and very sexy. I knew he was a hero from Louisiana who had a young daughter. I didn’t know his favorite food or what his mama called him. I wanted to know those things, which shocked me. Did I also want him to know all of my secrets? It shocked me even more to realize I did. After so many years of avoiding intimacy like a root canal, I now found myself craving it.What did I most want to know about this complicated man? His little girl. The answer came easily. I wanted to know about the most important thing in his life. A sharp stab of guilt pierced my heart. How could I want to make this little girl i
“Okay,” he said. “So, let’s hear your plan.”Shit! “I don’t have a plan, exactly,” I said. “It’s more of an outline.”“I’m shocked,” he deadpanned.“Look, smartass, we have too many villains and no way of knowing which one committed which crime. We do know that one of them wants me dead.” Jason flinched when I said this, but didn’t interrupt. “If we figure out a way to make him or her think they’ve got an easy shot at me, we’ll have ’em.”“And how do you propose we do that, seeing as how we don’t know who they are?”That was a good question, and I didn’t have an answer – at least not a good one. I did have an idea, but it was mediocre at best.“We make sure all of them know that I’m breaking into Cara’s house to
What?” he asked, confused by the quick change in tone and subject.“My head is too muddled right now to deal with more than one thing at a time,” I answered. “So, let’s get to work on solving my father’s murder. All cards on the table.”“Fine,” he said, heaving a sigh and sinking back into the hard hospital chair. “So talk.”“Uh-uh. I’ve already shared a couple of things. Now it’s your turn.”“I don’t think . . .”“All cards on the table,” I repeated. “I give you my word nothing will appear in print without your permission.”He raised one of his expressive brows.“Do you want a blood oath, or what?”A smile lit his beautiful face. “I don’t think we need to do anything that drastic. Besides, I hate the sight