AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A grin split his face, and they danced together in the moonlight, with no music except for the sounds of the night around them, and the soft rush of the stream.
Clare could not think of a more perfect, peaceful moment. And after everything they’d been through, they deserved a little peace.
Chapter 39
Serene
Serenehunchedhershouldersagainst the battering rain. It was early evening, but the dark clouds above made it pitch dark. She gripped the reins and guided her horse to follow Wilf’s. Cardon rode behind her on the narrow street. Danjuma wasn’t a large city, so it shouldn’t take long to find the Panther’s Den.
She hoped her rebel contact would be there. After nearly three weeks since leaving Duvan, they were finally in the midlands of Zennor, and Serene was more than ready to get a full report on what had been happening in this kingdom.
The whispers they’d heard in their travels were many and varied, but all were distressing. People vanishing in the north. Fields and crops burned by raiding clans. Drug masters flexing their hold on cities. An increase in olcain. A shortage of steel and other metals.
Sometimes Serene overheard people talking about Desfan. A young serjan taking over Mortise was looked upon as a good thing by some, while others only saw his inexperience.
Imara’s name was also whispered, along with fears that she had run away to avoid marrying Eilan Skyer.
“What will the clans do if Skyer is insulted?” a woman had whispered fearfully just the other night. “The Kabu Tribe has been fighting for peace, but . . . what if they decide to make war instead?”
Serene was decidedly unsettled by everything they’d overheard so far—and she’d felt Wilf and Cardon’s tension rise with every day. She was hoping the rebel contact she met tonight would put her mind at ease, or at least lay out the dangers more specifically.
Exhaustion pulled at her body. She was tired, drenched, and sick of traveling. The rapid pace had taken a toll on all of them—including the horses. So when she spotted the Panther’s Den just ahead, she praised the fates.
She’d mentioned the inn to Cardon and Wilf yesterday, naming it as the place she’d like to stay in Danjuma. She wanted to meet her contact, of course, though she obviously didn’t tell them that. She’d simply said that Imara had mentioned it was a charming place the Buhari family had stayed at once.
The place looked a little worn from the outside, but warm light glowed in the windows, beckoning them inside.
Wilf was the first to dismount, though Cardon swung down from his horse a moment after. Serene held in her wince as she slipped from the saddle. Fates, she was sick of riding. Especially since this animal was not Fury, and she missed her horse.
“I’ll take care of the horses,” Wilf offered. “You get rooms.”
Cardon nodded and grabbed his pack. Serene lifted hers down as well, jolting a little when Cardon took her arm. His touch was casual, but she felt it to her core. Despite the downpour, her skin heated.
Traveling in anonymity had its advantages, but the one she enjoyed most was the informality between her and Cardon. True, he still treated her with deference, but he did not treat her overtly as a princess.
It was probably a good thing Wilf was with them. If not for him, Serene might fall completely into the illusion. While she and Desfan had reached an understanding, they had agreed not to tell anyone yet. She didn’t know how Cardon would react to her possibly ending her engagement with Desfan. In truth, she was a little nervous to tell him. Cardon was nothing if not practical, and he’d already made it clear that she was a princess, and he was a guard. There could be nothing between them.
She was determined to change that.
Until then, she would simply enjoy this time with him. She would keep calling himCardon. She could keep thrilling at the frequent touches between them, and the cadence of his voice as he called herSerene.Soon enough they would reach the capital, and this would end. While she was anxious to finally speak with her uncle—and Ivar Carrigan, whenever he managed to arrive in Kedaah—she would miss this.
Cardon shouldered open the door to the inn.The rain continued to fall loudly against the roof, the hammering dampening the music in the corner and the conversations that hummed throughout the great room. The bad weather must have driven people indoors, because the common room was filled with people. Lamps burned brightly, banishing the shadows. There was no fireplace; they were rare in the great rooms of Zennor, since even during the worst storms it rarely grew cold.
Cardon caught the attention of a passing maid, who was quick to tell them there was only one remaining room. Cardon’s mouth tightened, but he didn’t hesitate to pay for the room. The woman showed them upstairs, and promised to direct Wilf to the room once he finished with the horses. She opened the door for them, handed Cardon the key, then headed back down the stairs.
Serene stepped into the room first. Fates, the space was small and cramped—and there was only one bed.
Her heartbeat sped up.
Cardon moved in behind her. “Wilf and I will take the floor,” he said.
Serene eyed the close-set walls. “Will Wilf even fit in here?”
Cardon chuckled and stepped up to the room’s small window. He peered out, and Serene couldn’t help but admire his strong profile. The lamp the maid had left with them highlighted the sharp angles of his face.
When he twisted toward her, she hurriedly looked away. Plucking the ties of her cloak, she freed the knot at her throat and draped the wet material over the back of a simple wooden chair. “Perhaps we should give Wilf the bed. It’s the widest space in the room.”
“You’re not sleeping on the floor, Serene.”
