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“Of course,” the other man said. “I’ll make the necessary preparations. Good evening, Jade.”
“Good night, Morgan.” Her voice was a wispy breath.
When Darien glanced down at her, he found the color had drained from her face.
“You’re not really going, are you?”
He nodded. “They must be stopped. And I’m the one advocating peace, so I’m the one who needs to lead the charge against them.”
Concern flashed in her eyes. “You’ll be gone for a very long time. I won’t have any way to know if you’re okay.”
“I’ll send word.”
She stared at him. “Are you sure you’re not going because I told you we couldn’t get married?”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “We’re not finished with that conversation yet.”
“Darien—”
“Shh,” he said before he kissed her. “No more on the subject until I return.”
Following him into the bedroom as he retrieved his shirt and boots, she told him, “You’ll have to find some way to alert me of your status frequently, otherwise I’ll go crazy obsessing over what’s going on down south with you and the villages.”
Once dressed, he said, “No, you won’t. You’ll stay calm and you’ll do what you always do. Keep your friends and neighbors informed of what you know, but let the slayers do their jobs. That means continuing to allow them to escort you to and from the cottage. I don’t want you roaming the woods by yourself, even if it’s during the day.” He gave her a pointed look. “Don’t make me worry about you.”
“I’ll try to behave.”
He chuckled, despite the tension in the room. “That’s probably the best I can hope for when it comes to you.”
Pulling her into his arms, he gave her a long kiss that left him agonizing over leaving her. But he had business to tend to.
“Be safe,” he told her.
“You too.”
He lifted her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips over the backs of her fingers. “I love you.”
“And I love you.”
He lingered a moment longer. Then he turned and walked out.
* * * * *
“Jade, you’re running over,” Michael said.
Her gaze snapped from the window at the front of the tavern to the beer mug in her hand. “Damn.” She closed the tap and handed the drink to Len Bartel, who owned the general store.
Michael regarded her thoughtfully, then said, “You’ve been distracted for weeks. What’s going on?”
The slayers had held a community meeting the day after Christmas, and now everyone knew about the decimated villages in the south. They also knew the king had sent an army to deal with the rogue demons, but they didn’t know Darien had gone with that patrol. She assumed he and his advisors had thought it best to maintain the illusion he was still at the castle, so Jade perpetuated the guise. It was too bad it wasn’t true, because she missed him. And wondered constantly if he was okay.
“I’m just thinking about those people down south,” she told her friend. “Hoping no others have suffered.”
Luckily, she had almost daily training and workouts with Tanner to help occupy her mind, or she really would go crazy. Her body had changed dramatically with the weight loss and the intense exercise and she felt stronger than ever before. So much so, Tanner had stepped up the pace on their footwork and their sword fighting. Jade almost matched his expertise.
No one knew of their time together, which made her feel slightly guilty. Michael had tried to engage her in activities when the tavern wasn’t open, but she was always busy.
His shoulder had healed and he’d wanted to go riding, but Jade had turned him down on several occasions. She did not want to mislead him, nor did she want word to spread if they spent time together. Romantically, her loyalty was to Darien. She even wore his ring, though on her right hand and with the marking turned downward, so no one could see it.
