The Shrinemaiden (The Maidens) Read Online Free

figure stepped toward the candlelight, revealing his features to her for the first time.
    “Haven’t I told you many times before,” the captain of the guard said, with an amused smile. “That a simple ‘Thornton’ would do?”

CHAPTER TWO
    The Temple
     
     
    The captain was no stranger to Adelai.
    She had first met Thornton over a year ago, when she was only turning seventeen. Lessons had been over for the day, and she was taking the opportunity to take a walk in the gardens and tend to some of the vegetables and flowers growing there, a habit she often indulged in whenever she could. At the sound of unfamiliar footsteps, heavy and leaden and so unlike the other sisters and matrons that sailed through the hallways, she had grown wary, and hid behind a large column, unsure of what was heading her way.
    The first thing she noticed about him were his blue eyes, so penetratingly bright, and of an azure color she have never seen in anyone else. He had short black hair that fell close to his shoulders, which looked broad and strong even without the armor he wore. None of the other matrons were in attendance. Adelai crouched behind the pillar, not daring herself to breathe, as he walked past her, and stopped.
    He didn’t bother to turn his head. “Why are you hiding, little one?” His voice was low and deep but with a roughness to it that, even then, sent little fireworks dancing up her spine. “Come out,” he said, and there was something in his manner, so strong and reassuring and confident, that she found hard to disobey.
    Adelai stepped out from her hiding place, but made no move to come closer to him. Those electric blue eyes swept over her petite frame, and she suddenly felt foolish, dressed in her stiff woolen garments and a small riding cape. Her yellow hair was pulled up in a tight bun from a previous calisthenics session, and locks of it escaped to fall in straggles around her face. Certainly she looked nothing like how a shrinemaiden should look! And yet, for some obscure reason, she wanted him to look at her the way she was, and find something to approve of.
    “Well, now.” He said after a moment, still studying her, and Adelai couldn’t help but blush. He had a way of watching her even then, like he considered her an appealing woman in her own right despite her age and appearance. “You’re an unexpected little find.”
    “I’m not little.” Adelai retorted before she could close her mouth, despite only being a few inches over five feet tall. She was accustomed to being respected in the temple, and somehow this maddening, intriguing man’s insolence irritated her, briefly overriding her initial attraction.
    He only laughed, and his laughter was just as sensuous as when he spoke.
    She didn’t expect him to close the distance between them so quickly, and he was before her before she could think of moving. He lifted a hand to touch her cheek. His fingers were coarse, but welcoming against her skin - the first time any man had ever touched her.
    What Adelai didn’t expect was the sudden spurt of energy, much like a lightning bolt, that seemed to pass between them. He jerked his hand back with a quick curse, and she gasped, retreating several steps back, fearful that she had broached a barrier she had not intended to cross.
    “Adelai!”
    She jumped guiltily, as the high priestess came into view. The expression on her face was always disapproving, puckered like she had eaten something sour and couldn’t quite wipe the taste out of her mouth. Her scowl deepened when she spotted the man. “What are you two doing here?”
    “N-nothing,” Adelai stammered, trying to envision the sanction the priestess would undoubtedly have in store for her. Mopping the lavatories, probably. She was not averse to playing truant sometimes - all the girls had, at some time or other - and she was familiar with the priestess’ forms of punishment.
    “Adelai,” the man said, smiling and showing little care at the high