Prince of Spies (15 page)

“North to the Jinnfaire,” Drake answered. “It’s a gathering of the Jinn near the northern border of

Skithdron. This time at least. It’s in a different place each time.” Drake shrugged. “Word came down a few weeks ago that the Jinnfaire was being called and where. It works to our advantage right now, so that’s where we’re going.”

“Do they gather often?” Riki fought her fatigue as the wagon swayed.

“No, not at all. This is the first Jinnfaire called in more than a decade.”

Drake smiled at her then turned his attention back to the team of horses.

“Why don’t you get some rest, sweetheart?” Nico caught her yawning and motioned her back into the wagon. “We’ve got quite a ways to go and you’re still recovering.”

“There’s lots of food back there too,” Drake piped in. “Feel free to eat anything you like. We can get more and I usually carry provisions for several months. It will only take a day or so to get to the Jinnfaire.”

Riki yawned again. “I think I’ll do that. Wake me if you need me, all right?”

The men agreed and she sank back into the shadowed interior of the wagon, heading straight for the fluffy, inviting bed.

Riki collapsed into exhausted sleep in the back of the wagon while Nico and Drake rode up front. She was safe back there, Nico knew, well hidden from anyone who might pass.

“She’s got the magic, you know. I recognized it the moment she started singing last night.” Drake’s voice was contemplative as he drove the wagon in the silent morn.

“There’s something…but I don’t know what it is exactly,” Nico finally admitted.

“It’s the Jinn magic. Some of them have it, but I’ve never felt it as strongly as last night. She can influence people with her song. It’s a secret among the Jinn, known only to the bards among them.”

“Which is most of them,” Nico put in as Drake nodded in agreement.

“True, but it
is
still a secret. Did you never wonder why Jinn musicians are so sought after? It’s their ability to sway a crowd or even a single listener in whatever way they wish. Last night, your girl had every last person in that common room under her spell, to do with what she willed. It’s a dangerous and amazing gift.”

“She’s not even aware of it, I don’t think.”

“Then it’s even more dangerous. We need to get her to the Jinnfaire for more than just her physical safety. I can teach her a little, but I don’t have a strong gift—not like the real Jinn. They’ll be able to teach her how to control it and use it. Most especially, how to use it safely.”

Riki surprised the men by sleeping through the entire day. Nico checked on her a few times, pausing to brush her lovely hair back from her face.

The poor waif was just exhausted. Lucan had kept her starved, beaten and without much sleep for far too long. Her body was catching up, eating well for the first time in years, not having to deal with new bruises every few days, and sleeping her fill.

Nico lingered, watching her breathe. He’d fallen for this small woman so deeply, so instantly, even he was a little surprised by the intensity of his feelings. Still, he knew how it was for dragons and knights. They invariably knew almost from the moment they met their destined mate and dropped hard and fast into love that lasted a lifetime. Nico hadn’t thought he’d ever find the woman who could do that to him, but he was happy to find he’d been so gloriously wrong.

True, he’d been a little envious of his older brother, Roland, when he’d first seen how happy Roland was with Lana. But Lana hadn’t had the effect on Nico that Riki did. No matter that they were twins, it was Riki’s bright soul that made him love her.

“She still sleeping?” Drake asked with sympathy as Nico climbed back onto the plank seat from the back of the wagon. He let the curtain drop in front of the little door so the fading sunlight wouldn’t bother Riki as she slept.

“She needs the rest.” Nico nodded as he got as comfortable as he could on the padded seat.

“I heard rumors from other Jinn about her, though I didn’t know who she was at the time. The Jinn have been keeping an eye on her, holding her in their prayers. She’ll be welcome among them for what she suffered, if nothing else.”

“That’s a hell of a reason to be welcome.” Nico sighed heavily.

“What’s most important now is that she’s safe with you. We’ll get her across the border with the help of the Jinn.”

“Will we?” Nico let the despair of their situation nearly overwhelm him for a moment. He tried so hard to keep a positive attitude—especially in front of Riki—but every once in a while he had his doubts about how he’d keep her safe during their attempt to cross the border.

“We will.” Drake faced him, his eyes hard. “Of that, have no doubt.”

“I hope your Jinn brethren will be as sure, and as helpful as you believe.”

“If worse comes to worst, Nico, I’ll stand for you. My word has some pull with the Jinn. At the very least, they’ll have to let us leave unmolested if they become hostile. They have rules among the Brotherhood and well I know them.”

Nico clapped his old friend on the back. “I’m glad you’re here, Drake. I couldn’t ask for better help on this journey, and I’m not too proud to admit my lady and I may need every bit of your skill and aid before this is all over.”

“It’s what I’m here for,” Drake smiled. “I serve the kingdom—and you, Nicolas. When I swore myself to your service, it was for life, and it was not done lightly.”

Nico nodded, touched by Drake’s heartfelt words. “It was not taken lightly on my part either, Drake. Your home is in Draconia and it will always be.”

“But my role is best played in other lands. At least for now.” A shadow of old pain crossed Drake’s chiseled face and Nico knew he was thinking of his family and the harsh words that had passed between father and son before he left home on his chosen path.

Though in truth, two fathers had raised him, it was clear from the shining blond hair and roguish features, which of the knights was his sire. Sir Declan was a hard man, with few words of kindness for the son that was so much like him. But Declan was an exemplary knight, aide to the king himself, and greatly respected. It had been hard for Drake, at the young age of fifteen, to live up to his example—and his expectations.

“Your family loves you, no matter what path you choose.”

Nico saw the grimace on Drake’s face but the other man spoke no more on the subject. Some wounds were too painful to probe. Nico understood that.

“We’d best make camp before it gets too dark,” Drake said quietly some moments later. “I know a relatively safe place just ahead.”

The site Drake promised was as good as any and better than most in this land of skiths and hostile soldiers. Bordered on three sides by high rocks that would make it impossible for man or skith to approach, only one flank needed to be guarded and that could be accomplished easily enough by laying fires in the stone pits already in place for just such purpose.

“This is a regular stopping place for the Jinn who travel this road. I’m a little surprised we’re the only ones here, but with the Jinnfaire so close, I suppose they’ve all moved on farther north.” Drake was busy, dragging wood from the fringes of the trees and supplementing it with some of the supply he kept stored under his wagon. Fire was a necessity if you wanted to spend the night camping in Skithdron unmolested.

When he would have set to work sparking flame off rock and blade, Nico nudged him aside. Calling up just a touch of his dragon heat, he set the kindling to smoldering and within moments a cheery blaze was going.

“Nice.” Drake chuckled as they repeated the process in the other two fire pits, set in a line in front of the wagon that was now snuggly protected on all sides—from skiths at least.

“I’d better wake Riki. She’ll want to wash up and she should eat.” Nico headed for the wagon, entering soundlessly so as not to startle his sleeping princess.

A gentle nibble on her cheek first woke Riki. Her hand rose to brush away the distraction, but it was gently captured in a warm hand and her palm placed over a stubbly cheek.

Nico.

His name ran through her mind as his lips claimed hers in a joyous, gentle, loving kiss. Riki stretched under him, enjoying the way his hands molded her waist and brushed along her thighs as his lips played with hers.

At length he pulled back.

“Good evening, sweetheart.”

“What time is it?” Riki wanted to look out the door of the little wagon, but her eyes stayed glued to Nico. He was so handsome and so kind.

“It’s just before sunset and we’re setting up camp for the night.”

“I’m all turned around. Staying up all night and sleeping all day. I don’t know what time it is at all.”

Nico chuckled and kissed her forehead before moving back. “It’s all right. You can wash up in the nearby stream, then we’ll all have a nice dinner and settle in for the evening. It’s too risky to keep traveling by wagon at night with the possibility of skith attack.”

That woke Riki fully to the continued danger. She sat up and stretched, leaving the wagon moments later. Nico kept watch for her while she washed up at the stream, then it was back to the campsite to see if she could help with dinner preparations, but the men had things well in hand.

Drake had things set up along the bottom and sides of his wagon so everything he needed was within easy reach. Riki marveled at the hidden compartments built into the blue wagon. Some of them were truly ingenious and she was certain he wasn’t showing her everything. He was a spy, after all.

Dinner was delicious and more so because of the company. Nico was attentive, filling her plate and refilling her cup when it ran empty, and the conversation was friendly and amusing. Drake told stories of his travels and some of the escapades he and Nico had gotten up to as youngsters.

Riki understood better the deep bonds between the two men and she envied their tales of a carefree childhood and close friendship.

Nico was so perfect, so caring. She blessed the day he’d come to her and taken her out of her misery with Lucan. Nico was magical—a dragon of legend—and a man that made her heart beat faster with undeniable attraction.

So much had happened in so short a time, it was difficult for Riki to take it all in. Nico had swooped in at the least likely moment and rescued her from a sadistic tyrant, flying her away with him and keeping her safe. Add to that the incredible attraction she felt for him—even before she knew he could possibly free her—and Nico was a potent temptation she longed for with all her heart.

Why was she so zealously guarding her purity anyway? Now, fully rested and thinking more clearly as Drake strummed a quiet tune on his lute and they sat around the fire savoring a delicious port wine, Riki thought over her options. While it was true her virginity had protected her from the worst of Lucan’s perversions, Riki knew his temper. She also knew by escaping as she had, should Lucan ever manage to recapture her, he would not go easy. He would beat and torture her in every way he could, as punishment for defying him. He’d done it before.

Lucan was so crazed at this point, she wasn’t sure he wouldn’t kill her.

The reasoning part of his brain had seemed to be in less and less control of late, as the evil animal inside him took over. Lucan could easily kill her and she knew it would not likely be a quick or easy death. No, Lucan would make her pay cruelly before finally ending her life.

So what did it matter if she was virgin or not? In one way, he might kill her quicker if she lost her healing power. Once Lucan discovered she was no longer of use to him in that way, his rage might cause him to strike her down quickly. She could only pray for such an end if he did manage to recapture her.

Or she could kill herself before Lucan had the chance to do so. Riki wondered if she had the courage to

do it if capture became inevitable. She wasn’t sure, but if it came down to death at her own hands versus slow, painful, torturous death at Lucan’s, she thought she just might choose the former. The lovely, sharp blade Drake had bought and Nico had given her ought to do the trick. She wore it now, as they told her most Jinn women did, tied discreetly to her thigh under her skirts. There was even a small slit in her pocket through which to access it without raising her skirt. Jinn women were apparently skilful in their own defense and Riki thought it must be nice to be Jinn—to be free to roam wherever the wind took you and live your life on your own terms.

A copper coin landed in her lap and Riki turned from her ruminations to look over at Nico. His smile was warm and engaging. He nodded toward the copper penny. “For your thoughts,” he said, tempting her to tease him right back. “Oh, they’re worth more than this, I’m sure.”

Nico chuckled and dug into his pocket, leaning over and showering a handful of coins into her lap. “This is just part of what you earned with your beautiful song last night.” He shrugged. “It’s yours anyway, but I’m still curious about what put such a hard expression on your face.”

But Riki didn’t want to revisit the dark thoughts. Instead, she played with the tinkling coins, running them through her fingers. She’d never had any coins of her own. Not like this.

“I really did earn these, didn’t I?” The thought astounded her.

Drake ended his song on the lute. “You could make quite a living as a bard, milady. When you’re tired

of Nick here, why don’t you look me up? We could make beautiful music together.”

His comic leer made her laugh, though Nico bristled a bit in good-natured fun. These men were both so special to her. The Mother of All had been smiling on her when She put Riki into Nico’s path.

“I’m sorry, Drake. My heart belongs to Nico.”

The thought slipped out before she could censor her words. She heard Nico gasp and she dared to peer

over at him in the firelight. He looked stunned. A little like she felt.

Did she love him?

Did she dare?

The answer came back in a heartbeat…a resounding yes. Riki’s heart sped as she realized the truth. She

was in love—deeply in love—with Nico. There was no denying it. No going back now.