“Is that a challenge?” she asked. Luke had always challenged her when they were young, pushed her to do better, played games of speed she was suspicious he had let her win.
“This isn’t a game, Nessa. We are no longer children.”
His quip hurt. She knew this wasn’t a game. Not with the men lying dead in the clearing. Knights. But for a moment, it had been good to pretend. She lifted her chin. “I can do it.”
“It will be a long trek without a horse,” he said, looking toward the rising sun.
Nessa glanced back the way they had come. A long trek with Urien riding horses and searching for them. When she turned back, Luke was staring at her. As the sun rose over his shoulder, she got another glimpse of his features. He was a man, now. A knight. His jaw was square, his lips set in a hard line, his straight nose marred with a small lump in the center where he had broken it in a fist fight, defending Mel’s honor. But it was his eyes. They had remained the same. Startlingly blue, peering at her as though he could see straight through to her soul. She had always loved his eyes. They reminded her of a clear sky. His black hair hung around his strong shoulders in thick waves. She looked away quickly as a strange heat began to boil in her lower stomach. She could make the trek, but could she keep the love she had always harbored for him a secret during the trip?
“Why did Urien take you? There was no ransom.”
She sighed softly. “He thought I was Mel.”
Luke scowled in confusion.
Nessa hurriedly explained. “He didn’t know which one of us was Mel. Everyone always said we looked alike.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t let him take her. She was so scared. I couldn’t...” She looked down. She had done it to save Mel. “I said I was Mel so he would take me and not her.”
“Ness,” Luke said softly, compassionately.
She shook her head firmly. “It was the right decision. She wouldn’t have made it.” Nessa swished her skirt around her feet, indicating the mud on the hem. “Her dress would have gotten dirty.” She ran a hand through the locks that had come loose from her braid. “And you know how she feels about making sure her hair is always perfect.”
Luke caught her hand. “Did Urien hurt you?”
Nessa shook her head. “He thought I was Mel.”
His gaze swept her face, searching.
She shrugged, uneasy under his scrutiny. “No. He didn’t hurt me.” But she was sure he would have if he found out she was not Mel.
Something dangerous flickered in Luke’s eyes for a moment before he released her hand and turned away. “I’m glad. We should continue. Stick to the forest in the daylight. They’ll be looking for us. We have to keep moving.”
