Deborah Hale Read Online Free Page B

hands.”
    Not that the Han would find anything of value there. But the thought of them invading Umbria’s last sanctum set his blood afire and made his sword hand itch.
    “True enough,” said Maura. “And you were right about the brook. I hear it over that way.”
    The brook led them back to a small glade, just inside the bounds of Everwood, where they had left their horses the previous evening. So much had changed since then, it seemed much longer to Rath since he and Maura had entered the ancient forest.
    “Our mounts are still here.” He gave his an affectionate pat on the rump. “And their manes are no more gray than when we left them. I take that as a good sign Everwood has not bewitched our time here.”
    “Unless the horses were caught in the spell, too.” Maura chuckled to show she was only joking, then quickly turned sober again. “I hope our time is not out of joint. I would not want the friends who helped us get here to have waited in vain for our return.”
    Rath nodded, remembering the men he had led in the miners’ revolt, the struggling farmer’s family from the south and the beggar boy who had reminded him of his younger self. What would they think if they knew he was the Waiting King?
    With his mind less than half on his task, he retrieved some food from their saddle pouches. “I reckon we have enough to get us as far as Duskport, if we are careful. I only hope this Captain Gull will not want big pay for taking us to the Islands.”
    He had heard of smugglers who kept open tenuous ties between the tiny part of Umbria that was still free, and the rest—whispered tales of the lavish ransom they charged to ferry human cargo. Many of whom were rumored never to reach thedestination for which they’d paid so dearly. Rath did not fancy putting his and Maura’s fate into the hands of such men.
     
    They wasted no time consuming their bread and cheese in thoughtful silence. Now that Maura had persuaded Rath to accept his destiny, she did not want to linger in Everwood for fear he might change his mind…or she might. After washing their breakfast down with swigs of delicious water from the falls, Rath helped Maura onto her mount and they set off for the coast.
    Nothing about the countryside beyond the borders of Everwood gave a clue as to how much time had passed in the rest of the world while they had sojourned in the enchanted forest. It was clearly still midsummer, though of the same year Maura could not tell. Yet some vague stirring in her heart told her this was still their own time.
    Whenever she glanced at Rath, he appeared to be lost in thought. Though she knew two horses would bear them more swiftly and easily than one, she found herself yearning to ride pillion behind him, as she had through the Long Vale—telling him legends from Umbria’s past, sometimes falling asleep with her hands clasped tight to his belt and her head resting against his back.
    The sun was high in the sky by the time they came upon a narrow river.
    “If we follow this, it will lead us to Duskport.” Rath slowed his mount. “Let us stop for a bit to rest the horses.”
    When he helped her dismount, Maura pressed herself close against him as she slid off the horse’s back. And even when she had firm ground beneath her feet, she did not loosen her arms from around his neck. Rath accepted the invitation of her lips as she raised her face to his, but he broke from their kiss far too quickly to suit her.
    “This is not Everwood.” His answer to her unspoken question trailed off in a tone of regret. “We cannot afford to be caught off guard by the Han or whoever else might be lurking.”
    Maura did her best to hide her disappointment. This protective vigilance of Rath’s was a practical token of his love for her.
    “May I hold your hand, at least?” She tried to tease a smile out of him. “And stand close to you? Or will that interfere with your efforts to keep watch?”
    The tense furrow of his brow eased. He