“Coffee and sugar are luxuries,” he whispered back. “Very expensive. Most commoners opt for a weaker herbal tea blend with milk.”
“Oh . . .” Vixie stared down the bar at the hands holding wooden cups. Some wore grungy fingerless gloves. Ungloved hands were leathery and clearly hard-worked. Not one ofthem held a coffee mug. Her abdomen twisted with an unfamiliar guilt, and the coin pouch at her waist felt particularly heavy. She’d never thought of them as worth much until that moment.
When their coffees came, Vixie finished hers as quickly as possible and pushed the mug away. She felt guilty enjoying it in front of the others. Tiern did the same. The meat pies were filling, though the crusts were far denser and the meat less seasoned than the castle’s. Vixie slipped coins to Tiern and he stood to go pay, just as two boys her age came up behind them.
“You two leaving? Can we have these stools, then?”
“Aye, in a moment,” Vixie told them.
The boys cocked their heads, stared at her, then looked at each other with mirth. They had cute faces, albeit too thin.
“You a lad or a lass?” one asked.
Vixie propped a hand on her hip. “Do I sound like a lad?”
“Maybe a lad who hasn’t gone through the change,” the other said. They bumped each other, laughing. “Why you wearing a lad’s clothes, then?”
Perhaps Vixie should have been offended by their gruff teasing, but she found it quite humorous. Nobody ever treated her this way. “My dress is in the laundry, you gits.”
“Nah, nah,” one said, pushing a mass of curly light brown hair from his eyes. “If you’re a lass, prove it.”
Oh, now, that was going a bit too far. She wanted to prove it with a punch to his groin, but suddenly Tiern wasat her side, wrapping a hand around her waist. His face came down and he pressed his lips to hers, warm and soft. It was over before she’d had a chance to process it. “Ready, love?” he asked. Then he turned a glare at the two boys. They backed away and let Vixie and Tiern pass.
Vixie blinked, in a daze, as Tiern took her hand and led her out. He didn’t release her hand until they got to the horse.
“We’ll have to leave the cart behind,” he said. “Is there anything else hiding under the hay?”
What? Was he going to act as if he hadn’t just kissed her? He set to work unhitching the horse. When he finished he turned to her. “Vix? Are you going to check the cart?”
He’d called her Vix. . . . She shook her head to clear it and then began roughly tossing hay from the cart, riffling through the straw for her pack.
Tiern grasped the back of his neck. “Look, Vixie, that was nothing, okay? The lads had taken an interest and I had to claim you or they might have tried to follow.” He moved away from her to fiddle with the saddle and bridle.
I had to claim you.Vixie shivered with strange pleasure, but then the idea that he’d done it out of an obligation took the wind from her sails. She couldn’t understand the ways of lads.
“It’s ready.” Tiern pointed to the horse. Vixie obliged, still unable to find her voice.
She’d just had her first kiss! While it may or may not have been a “real” kiss, it was one of the sweetest sensations she’d ever experienced.Seas, his mouth had been so warm.She climbedatop the horse, followed by Tiern’s lithe form behind her. Together their body heat kindled between them.
“Are you comfortable?” he asked.
She nodded and let him take the reins. Just as they were setting off, two soldiers came charging up from down the lane.Seas! There was nowhere to hide. They would have already been seen.Vixie couldn’t believe her sorry luck, to be caught so quickly! Tiern whispered a curse as the men approached, out of breath.
“Have you seen any foreign riders?” one of the soldiers asked.
What in Eurona?Vixie shook her head, and Tiern responded, “Nay, sir.”
“Any carts or wagons of any kind?” the other soldier’s voice was persistent, desperate. “Anything suspicious at all?”
“Nothing,” Tiern said. “Can you tell me what’s happened? I was part of the recent hunt.”
The soldier caught his breath and said gravely, “The king and queen have been kidnapped by Kalorians.”
“What?” Vixie yelled. She fought for breath. Her body felt disjointed, as if she’d just done a horribly faulty trick on horseback. Tiern’s hand went around her waist, holding her tightly.
“Aye. Our navy ship followed their vessel out to sea and took control, but it was a decoy. We believe the Kalorians escaped on foot. They were Lashed. They left a trail of dead. Spread the word. All must be on the lookout.”
They took off toward the inn, and everything inside Vixie constricted.
