The Court of Love Read Online Free

seamstress or something. She wasn’t without skills.  Kat’s mind raced as she rode. 
    Suddenly, a branch whacked her across the middle and she was knocked from her horse. Her breath gone, she gasped and held her middle where the tree branch had struck.  Her horse had stopped only a few feet away, well-trained to stay with his rider. She crawled to her knees and tried to move over to where he waited.
    Kat coughed and her ribs felt as though they were broken. Sharp pain split her side. As she reached for the reins, something crashed through the brush at her side.
    “I wouldn’t.”
    It was him. Michael. He sat tall and imposing upon his charger. His sharp green gaze flashed with anger, and Kat knew she had nowhere to run. She was injured and he had men with him who would stop her if she tried to run. She had dropped the sword in the tumble from her horse. There was no way she could win.
    She gave up. This was it  - the end. He would kill her for letting Magda out of jail. She’d helped her friend escape, and she would do it again if she had the chance. She rolled over defiantly and glared at him.
    He jumped from his charger’s back and dropped to one knee beside her. “Why?”
    Kat met his gaze. “She’s my friend.”
    She prayed he would understand. It wasn’t about them, or anything else. Magda was her friend, and that demanded loyalty.
    Michael closed his green eyes and leaned down, resting his forehead against hers.  “I knew you were too good to be true. You know what this means.”
    Kat took a deep breath, but ignored the sharp pain in her ribs. It didn’t matter anymore. Death. She’d freed a heretic. That made her a heretic, and she would die.
    “I must. Forgive me.” He lifted his handsome head and she met his gaze without flinching.
    “I know.”
    He helped her to her knees and stepped back grasping the hilt of his sword.
    “Wait.” She reached out a hand to stop him. His hand stilled. “I want to give you something.”
    She stood and closed the distance between them. Reaching up to her neck, she grasped the necklace Magdalena had given her. “Will you grant me a last request?”
    “Of course.”
    “Kiss me.”
    His green eyes darkened and he placed a hand behind her head drawing her lips to his. Their mouths touched and she kissed him for all she was worth.  When they parted, they were both short of breath.
    Kat yanked on the chain holding the heart-shaped pendant in place. She held it out to him. “Take this, and remember me.”  She reached for his palm and placed the pendant in his hand closing his fingers over the charm.
    The fingers on his other hand were still tangled in her hair and he pulled her close again. “I wish it was different.”
    “Me too.” Her voice sounded as though it were far off in the distance.
    “Katerina?” Confusion laced his voice, and she could see him glancing around as though he couldn’t see her. “Kat?”
    “Michael.”Kat reached out and her hand passed through him. She suddenly felt very sleepy and could no longer keep her eyes open.  She slumped to the ground.

Chapter Seven

    “Michael,” she muttered as a hand caressed her cheek. “Are you still going to kill me?” Her lashes fluttered open. Michael’s deep green eyes met hers with surprise, and a slow smile spread across her face when she realized she was back in her own time.
    “How could I possibly kill you?” His laughing eyes gazed down at her, “Or for that matter, why would I want to? I’ll ask you later how you know my name.”His mouth lifted in a crooked smile and a dimple appeared in his cheek.
    Kat sighed in relief and a sharp pain gabbed at her side. “Ouch.”
    He glanced down with concern. “Let me see.”
    She shifted to stop him and he grasped her wrist.
    “It’s okay, I’m a doctor.”
    “A doctor?” She eyed him skeptically. He was dressed in Sixteenth Century clothing, with an emerald green doublet that matched his eyes, black leather pants, and a white