Heart Of The Dragon

The end stopped a bare foot short. “Look up.” He kept his voice even, afraid the lad would loosen his hold. “See the rope?”

Face pressed tight against the rough stone, the boy tilted his head and opened his eyes. “Aye,” he answered, then squeezed his eyes shut.

“You’ll have to climb a bit more. Do you think you have the nerve for it, boy?” Ian asked, infusing the question with just enough mockery to raise the lad’s ire. “Or do I need to come down after you?”

The boy immediately eased one hand from its death grip upon the stone. A quiet moan blended with the soughing wind as that hand inched closer to the dangling leather. The lad had courage, he’d give him that— despite this foolhardy climb.

The provocation had the desired effect. In no time at all, the lad had scrambled close enough to grab the belt. “Have a care,” Ian warned, as the leather stretched taut beneath the youth’s surprisingly meager weight He wound the end tighter about his hand. Now, if the knot would hold…

Muscles bunching from the strain, Ian pulled the boy toward him. Strong hands grabbed at his feet and held him, allowing him to haul the lad into his arms.

They flopped over the wall together and landed in a heap at the guard’s feet.

Sweet Jesu save him, this was no lad! It had been some time since he’d held a woman, but he couldn’t mistake the soft curves beneath the coarse male garments. Cursing, he shoved her aside and stood, tugging her upright to stand beside him.

The guard stepped forward to take her. Ian shook his head and jerked the woman’s arms behind her. “You see to your duties,” he told the other man. “I’ll take care of this.”

No need to have the guard carry this tale, at least not until he’d discovered why she’d attempted the wall. One hand a vise about her upper arm, Ian snatched up his sword and tunic and dragged the woman toward the stairs. They hadn’t taken two steps before she dug in her heels and pulled to a halt.

“Come on,” Ian growled. She remained rooted to the spot. His sword clattered against the walkway as he spun to face her. “Are you deaf, as well as stupid?”

“I wish to see Llywelyn.”

The faint moonlight gilded her face, highlighting her mulish expression. But her stubbornness didn’t matter. Two could play at this game—and he had no doubt that his strength of will could overpower any resistance. “Indeed?”

Her lips tightened into a grim line, and her chin rose another notch. “Aye. Take me to him, if you please.” Her expression didn’t change, making a mockery of her attempt at courtesy.

“Come.” He tightened his grip on her elbow.

She pulled against his hold, mouth opening to speak.

Sweet Mary save him! Did she dare to defy him again? Tossing his belongings aside, Ian hoisted her over his shoulder, then scooped up his sword. She’d come with him whether she wanted to or not. Accompanied by a stream of insults from his captive, he ran lightly down the stairs, his lips curved into a smile.

Lily’s breath ran short before her scant supply of curses did. His firm grip said as clearly as words that any attempt to free herself would be doomed from the start. She knew firsthand of his strength. How else could he have hauled someone as tall as she up and over the wall with such ease? She’d always felt huge and clumsy, towering as she did over the sisters—as well as the few men she’d met. But the top of her head came no higher than his shoulder. She’d do well to respect his size, and the power and confidence he wore like a mantle.

Besides, she was inside Llywelyn’s keep, just where she wanted to be. In the company of a man of some authority, if the guard’s reaction was any indication. Still, being carried thus certainly lacked dignity—as well as being painful. She tried to get more comfortable, but couldn’t squirm into a position where his brawny shoulder didn’t force the air from her lungs with every jolting step.

The heat on her face had more to do with the cursing she’d done than with hanging upside down. With blasphemy added to all the sins she’d committed of late, she’d be better off going back to the abbey and taking the veil in atonement. And likely doing penance the rest of her life.

Where was he taking her? The sounds of revelry soon grew faint as he carried her toward a shadow-filied corner of the bailey.

She doubted she’d see Llywelyn this night.

Her ill-planned scheme didn’t seem any more likely to bring her to the mighty prince’s notice than anything else she’d tried. Although there didn’t appear to be the strict social order in Llywelyn’s court that she’d expected, she knew no one who could help her. Tonight’s foolishness had been a desperate act, she’d known it from the start.

But then, she was a desperate woman.

However, clinging to the curtain wall had been less frightening than her present situation. A lifetime spent within the confines of the cloister hadn’t prepared her for the darkness she’d seen in her captor’s eyes.

As surefooted as a cat’s, his step never faltered. The shadows grew deeper, closing about them until the moonlight was little more than a memory. They entered a building—she could feel the walls surrounding them, but she didn’t realize it was a tower until they began to ascend the spiraling stairs.

They stopped, his sword clattering against stone. A faint, metallic jangle told her he held a ring of keys.

The door opened silently. Her captor kicked it wider, then crossed the chamber and dumped her from his shoulder.

She couldn’t help grabbing for him, her only reality in this fearful sea of darkness. Her fingers grasped emptiness as she landed flat on her back on a soft pallet.

Did he think to bed her? Why else would he have carried her off to his lair? Sister Alyce maintained that men thought only of their pleasure whenever they were around a woman; ‘twas the reason so many young girls sought the safety of the cloister. As unlikely as that seemed, she’d best take no chances. She scrambled to her knees, hands reaching for the edge of the mattress. Mayhap she could get away before he kindled a light, or at least—

The scent of burning tallow brought her head up, and the sight before her held her transfixed. The candles he held cast his features in harsh relief, lending a satanic aura to his face and giving credence to her fears. “Going somewhere?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in inquiry.

His voice was smooth, melodious. A shiver rose at her nape in response to its seductive timbre. Heart pounding wildly, Lily crawled off the bed and stood. He reminded her of a wild animal, beautiful, appealing and untamed. But she knew better than to show fear before him. Taking a deep breath, she stiffened her spine and met his gaze.

His eyes held her captive as he set aside the branch of candles and moved to stand before her. “If this is meant as a disguise,” he said, slipping the cap off her hair, “it doesn’t work. Not in the light” He took her chin in his hand, his fingers hard and warm against her skin, and tilted her head. “Only a fool would mistake you for anything but a woman.”

Her pulse quickened at his touch, then spun out of control when he smoothed the tangled tresses from her face. She told herself ‘twas fear made it so, and not the deep green of his eyes—dark as an emerald, and as cold. Yet despite their chill, she saw something there…

Loneliness? Yearning? Need?

A dark curl fell over his forehead. Her fingers itched to caress that silken bit of midnight.

She closed her eyes, but it mattered not. Something drew her to him still, made her want to move closer, even as he made her tremble. Had she gone so long without human touch that she longed for such from a stranger?

What sorcery was this?

The night’s events had addled her brains. Speak, she told herself, do anything to break the spell. She opened her eyes, pulled together the tangled threads of thought and found her voice. “I wasn’t trying to hide. ‘Tis easier to climb in this than my usual clothes.”

The sound of her own voice gave her the strength to move, to attempt to pull away. When she stirred in his grasp, he released her and crossed the small room to shut the door. Grateful for the reprieve, she drew a deep breath and let it out slowly, struggling to shake free of this enchantment.

“Why did you bring me here? I wish to see Llywelyn.” ‘Twas a pity she could think of nothing else to say; he’d surely believe her a simpleton.

Besides, her questions were for his master, she reminded herself. And she didn’t know if even Llywelyn could provide the answers she sought.

What would she do if he couldn’t? She had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. Llywelyn had to hold the key; beyond that, she refused to consider.

Ian leaned back against the rough wooden panels of the door, crossing his arms as he watched the woman, seeking some clue to her purpose here. He found her persistence astonishing. But then again, it took an immense amount of determination to do what she’d done this night. The idea of a woman attempting—and nearly succeeding—to scale the walls of Dolwyddelan was mind-boggling.

However, he hadn’t brought her here to admire her tenacity. Or anything else about her, he reminded himself as he remembered the feel of her tall, slim body slung over his shoulder. He rubbed his back against the door, as if that would wipe away the lingering sensation. “Tell me who you are and why you wish to see him.”

“My name is Lily.” A trace of pain tinged her features, so fleeting he almost thought he’d imagined it. “Just Lily.”

Her composure disturbed him. Didn’t she realize the threat he posed? He couldn’t recall the last time a woman had remained so calm while in his chamber. By Christ, even those he’d invited here generally quaked like frightened geese in his presence.

This woman presented a challenge, one he’d take on gladly. He’d never met anyone he could not break.

“What business could you possibly have with the mighty Llywelyn?” he asked, glancing at her threadbare garments with insulting deliberation. He noticed how they clung to her soft curves, and forced his gaze back to her dirt-smudged face. “He has no need of a filthy villein to warm his bed.”

She gasped and took a few steps toward him. The candlelight hit her full in the face, giving him his first clear look at her and illuminating her tangled fall of hair.