While her brain came into focus, Kate glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of Rachel and Victoria at the turn in the road, the former looking joyful, the latter puzzled. The pieces jolted into place.
“Edmund?” Kate said, darting her gaze back to the man still pressed against her. “Prince Edmund?” Embarrassment raced up her neck and charred her cheeks.
“I was thinking of a kiss on the hand,” he said with a sheepish grin. “But that was much better. Well worth the duel.”
“Insufferable,” she said, shoving him and her foolish fantasies away just as Rachel leapt into his arms.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Rachel cried. “And poor Kate! You must apologize.”
Zafaria would grow grass before Kate would give him that opportunity. She hadn’t let sorcerers get the better of her, and it riled her that the prankster prince had managed it. Holy gods, she’d let him goad her into kissing him. In front of all those men. The kingdom guards no doubt. She should have bit his impudent tongue.
Approaching Victoria, Kate said, “Are you sure you want to win a prince who plays bandit charades in the woods?”
“No,” Victoria said quietly. “But I could do far worse.”
“Come, Edmund,” Rachel said. “You must meet Princess Victoria and render that apology to Kate.”
“Perhaps you’d rather wait in the carriage?” Victoria whispered.
“Finally, a good idea,” Kate replied, fully intent upon avoiding the man for the duration of the festival and the remainder of her days, for that matter.
Fortunately, the festival royals and guests aided in her cause. With constant arrivals at the castle, she managed to disappear into the shadows, a skill well-honed over the years with her uncle.
* * *
Two Days Later
“When can you leave?” Wolfe asked as Bregovi took aim at the deer figure. “My ship and crew are ready, and I need to check on the carpet makers in Khadmar.”
Bregovi’s arrow flew across the archery field, striking the wooden beast on the shoulder.
“The carpet makers. You claimed their workmanship was inferior to the Dojian’s.” Bregovi studied Wolfe’s stance as the man aimed at a soldier-shaped target. Stiff. Resolute. They had never repeated a route in less than two years and Khadmar was twenty months shy of that.
Bregovi wondered at Wolfe’s true purpose. It certainly wasn’t the carpets. Most likely, he had some secret trade in mind. Or a secret woman. His friend had never lacked when it came to feminine affections, with wenches and nobles succumbing to his attentions with equal abandon.
They claimed the unusual accent drew them in, but the man’s blond mane and tall, muscular build didn’t hurt his cause any. And Bregovi suspected that cause was at the root of Wolfe’s focus on the Khadmar port.
“Where would the course take us?” Bregovi asked.
“Westor. Trevina,” Wolfe said.
Ah. Trevina was a stone’s throw from Madora. “You sure your intent isn’t to check on the merchant’s daughter?”
Wolfe’s arrow sailed toward the soldier…and missed entirely.
Bregovi shot again and embedded an arrow in the deer figure’s back flank.
“If my memory is sound, Angelina bested you at your own game and sent you on your way without a nod,” Bregovi said.
Rather than the expected retort, Wolfe chuckled. “That she did, but she won’t win the rematch.” The man shot again, striking the wooden soldier in the stomach.
“She could be off on a trading errand for her father. Or wed.”
Another faulty hit by Wolfe. “How soon can you leave?”
“Whoa, are you thinking about marrying this one?”
“Of course not, but I’d like another round with her before her father pairs her off,” Wolfe said. “What are we looking at?”
“If I can get out of this ludicrous festival, I can sail in two weeks. If not, somewhere around a month.”
“What are the odds your father will release you from the contest?”
“I don’t know. It isn’t as if removing my hand from the winnings will damage our relationships with the other monarchies. These matchmaking festivals are held in several kingdoms each year, and with or without me, half will be betrothed by its conclusion.”
Bregovi aimed for the soldier and maimed it somewhere about the knee.
“The main issue is funding. Since Father severed mine unless I wed, we’d need to find other means.” His father used the perfect tactic to force his cooperation. The journeys to foreign lands fueled his soul as surely as food nourished his body. While he loved his family and his home, being trapped in Florian suffocated him.
“Of course, we could avoid all this by sailing to your land and asking your family to support the next expedition.”
“Not possible,” Wolfe said as his arrow struck the mark on the soldier’s chest.
“Not possible or not pleasant?”
“Both.”
“One day you’re going to tell me where you’re from.” Bregovi hit the wooden deer again, this time near the tail.
“Why would I do that? You love a mystery more than I do.” Out of arrows, Wolfe headed toward the targets. “I’ll wager that’s why you are so intrigued by Kate. Is she still dodging you?”
“Yes, the maiden is more difficult to find than the isle of Caligo.”
“Caligo is mythical.”
“Mythical, yet you could find her.” Bregovi pulled an arrow from the deer figure.
“Only if compelled, and you won’t compel me to find your maiden,” Wolfe said, wiggling an arrow from the soldier target.
“You won’t need your Gift to find her,” Bregovi said. “Your instincts or intuition or whatever you use will do well enough.”
“My price is Madora,” Wolfe said. “If I deliver Kate to you, the port marks the first stop on our next voyage.”
“We were set to search for the Crystal City next.” Bregovi added two more arrows to his quiver.
“Madora.” Wolfe strode toward an arrow protruding from the grass behind the targets.
“You’ll locate her before sunset.”
“It’s a fair bargain. You will have your lady and we sail for mine.”
Bregovi did want to have his lady in so many ways. “Fine.” The sooner he found her, the sooner he would win another kiss and more.
As they headed back toward the firing line, Wolfe handed over his arrows and bow.
“Conceding victory so soon?”
“Angelina awaits.” Wolfe strode toward the castle with the gait of a man determined to capture his quarry.
“If Kate manages to evade you this afternoon, look for her tonight at the ball,” Bregovi shouted after him. “Check all the dark corners.”
Wolfe waved an arm in acknowledgment. Bregovi felt as if the task had already been accomplished and decided it was time to strike another deal.
Chapter 4
As the plush carriage jostled over the rutted road, Sylvan again wished he’d taken a horse instead. Riding would not only have afforded a smoother journey, but a more peaceful one.