A Trace of Moonlight (9 page)

I grunted at him, too tired for words. I understood his methods. If I stopped now I wouldn’t start up again, but that last bit seemed to stretch on forever, until I lost myself in a trance of mechanical movement, each leg lurching as though there were anchors hanging from my calves. When he finally motioned that I could stop, I sank where I stood, my entire body quivering.

Phineas slipped from my arms with a little bleat, his mane a drenched mess. “See you’ve fixed the château up nicely for us, prince.”

The prince pulled back his hood with a sour look. “At least it’s stopped raining.” Which it had, with the exception of the excessive dripping from the trees. Talivar squatted down beside me, cupping my cheek tenderly. “I’m sorry, Abby. I hadn’t planned on taking this route, but I had to get us as far from the road as I could.”

“Pretty goddamned out of the way, if you ask me.” Phineas grunted. “What are the chances of a hot dinner? I’m starving.”

“Can’t imagine why you wouldn’t be,” I said. “After all that hard pulling you did to get me up the mountain.”

“Yeah, yeah. Everyone’s a critic.”

“Let me get the shelter set up first, and then we’ll
see about something to eat. I can’t promise us a fire tonight, but if we manage to elude detection, we may be able to chance it tomorrow.”

I mumbled something that could have been a blessing or a curse, my eyelids drooping with weariness.

Talivar let out a soft chuckle and set about building a primitive lean-to with what looked like a leather tarp. “Look in the saddlebags . . . I’ve got some jerky in there if you’re hungry. I’ll set up a few snares before we bed down and get us something fresh for morning.”

My stomach rumbled and I rummaged through the outer pockets, my fingers stiff. Phineas wasn’t helping matters much, thrusting his nose directly under my hand.

“Dude,” I hissed. “You’re getting in the way.”

“And you’re moving too slow. Some of us would like to eat before we pass out.”

“Go nibble some violets or something,” I snarled, swearing as the knots finally untangled enough for me to get my hand inside. A triumphant sigh escaped me when I found the jerky and I quickly passed Phineas a handful before taking a bite of my own.

A little stiff, maybe, but I would have eaten shoe leather at that point. Another quick investigation into the bag turned up Talivar’s usual flask of whiskey, and I sent a shot or two of pure elven spirits rolling into my belly. Immediately, warmth suffused upward, a flush of heat sparking into my cheeks. “See you packed the good stuff.”

“Well, it is our wedding night,” he said dryly, emerging from the shelter. “Can’t disappoint my bride
too
much.”

“It can only go up from here,” I assured him, taking
another swig. “So what now? How much time do we have before they realize we’re gone?”

“Midmorning,” he said after a pause, sitting down beside me. “Though I’m sure the Queen already knows. She’s not stupid . . . just bound by protocol.” His mouth crooked up. “If we had done things properly, I would have had you instated in my quarters, so I’m sure my sister will make a big production of getting that done. With any luck, it will be tomorrow afternoon before they come searching for us.”

“Small favors,” Phineas said with a yawn. “But where the hell are we going? Can’t stay up here . . . indefinitely . . . Abby’s got things to do . . . plus . . . Maurice is still on the loosssss . . .” His voice drifted away and a moment later the unicorn was snoring.

The prince and I exchanged a glance and he shrugged. “We’re pretty far off the beaten path right now. The nearest Door to the CrossRoads is miles away, so there shouldn’t be any surprises. Plus,” he added casually, “this is troll country. No one comes here to vacation, if you catch my meaning.”

“Great,” I said, images of bridges and billy goats and being pulled into little bits of Ab-B-Que filling my head.

“We’ll be okay. This time of year, they’re following their herds. Shouldn’t be too hard to avoid them, since they smell like rotting flesh.”

“Herds of what? And ewww.”

“Goats. Duh,” Phineas mumbled crossly, rousing. “Think maybe you two could shut up for a while? Some of us would like to get back to sleep.”

I rolled my eyes. “By all means, hornycorn. I need to get out of these clothes anyway. I’m freezing.”

“Hubba hubba.”

Ignoring him, I let Talivar pull me to my feet. “Don’t suppose you’ve got an extra shirt or something in there?” I glanced toward the saddlebags hopefully. “I think I’ve got an entire pond in my boots.”

“We’ll find something, but yes, you should get out of those things.” He cast a look to the sky. “The weather has turned. It should be a clear night.”

I shivered, giving him a wan smile before heading toward the lean-to. I pried off my boots immediately, my toes pale and numb and wrinkled. Digging through his pack, the prince pulled out one of his extra tunics. It was long enough that I could wear it as a nightshirt, and I shucked off my wet clothes without a second thought. Sighing as the dry cloth hit my shoulders, I sank down to the comparatively luxurious bedroll, tucking my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around my legs.

Part of me debated the wisdom of my current state of mostly undress, but my worry was less about wedding night jitters and more about the possibility of having to run bare-assed down the hillside, pursued by a grumpy troll. Besides, at the moment the only smexy time I was going to have was the sort that involved passing out and drooling all over my arm.

The prince shook out my damp things and hung them over a tree branch. “I doubt they’ll get particularly dry, but at least you’ll sleep better for not being in them.” His face sobered as he looked at me regretfully. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “Things shouldn’t have happened like this.”

“And yet here we are.” I shrugged. “It wouldn’t be my life if it wasn’t messed up.”

His hand snarled in my hair, pulling it over my
shoulder with callused fingers. A moment later and his mouth was on mine, soft and tender with a hint of something far stronger. He lingered there, sliding his hand to the back of my neck before pulling away.

“I’m going to set those snares,” he said finally, his smile rueful as he tucked the woolen blanket around my shoulders. “As pleasant as this is, there are things that need doing before I settle down for the night.”

I made a mild noise of protest, but it was halfhearted at best, exhaustion taking my libido over its knee and spanking it soundly.

“I’ll be back soon.” If he said anything after that, I didn’t remember, and sleep swallowed me into nothing.

Warmth.

Blissful, enchanted warmth suffused my skin, radiating down my spine. Sometime during the night Phineas had crept in beside me as well; a light snoring vibrated low against my hips. I cracked a bleary eye toward the opening of our shelter as false dawn crept over the edges of the treetops.

Talivar’s fingers shifted, spreading gently beneath my breast, his mouth brushing my neck. Dimly I wondered if we should have set a watch or something, but undoubtedly the prince knew what he was doing.

“Everything okay?” His voice was a soft murmur in my ear.

“Mmm. Just wondering if we’re actually safe.”

“Nothing’s ever safe, Abby.” He shifted so that his head was pillowed on his arm. “But for now we’re as
safe as we can be. I left a few trip wires to warn of anyone’s approach. We’ll know someone’s coming, anyway.”

“Good enough.” I nestled against him. “Where will we go?”

“I’ve been thinking on it,” he said, “and we need to aim for the Barras. Kitsune might be willing to hide us for a time, and we’d be able to get access to more information that way.”

The Barras was a traveling kingdom composed of the ragtag remains of the Unseelie Court, broken up and banished to wander aimlessly through the realms of Faerie. Although not officially recognized by the Queen, it did still retain a certain level of sovereignty. And we had friends there. Still . . .

“How are we going to find it? And what if it moves too close to the CrossRoads? Won’t that trigger the geas?” The idea of traipsing over the verdant mountains of Faerie was a romantic concept, but that didn’t mean I wanted to spend the next three months sleeping outdoors either.

“I’ll try to scout it out in the morning. If I can get a message or two out, I may be able to discover where it’s going to be. And as for moving . . . well, maybe we can talk to Kitsune about that. There may be a way to slip your leash yet.”

I made a little grunt of affirmation. The Barras didn’t have an official leader, but the fox-woman certainly had no qualms about making her wishes known. She had more resources at her disposal than we did at the moment anyway.

“I’ll come with you,” I snorted, shifting my legs stiffly. “Assuming I can even walk.”

“Ah, not this time,” he said sheepishly. “I’ll move faster without you, and I’d rather . . .” His voice trailed away awkwardly, and I closed my eyes.

“Yeah, I know. You don’t want to waste time trying to make sure I don’t break my ankle tripping over a log.”

“It’s not that, Abby. You’re relatively safe up here. If something happens to me . . . If I get caught, then I want you free and clear.”

“A hermit in troll country. Free and clear of all but a bevy of billy goats. Maybe I’ll take a troll as husband and pop out a few halfling babies?” I elbowed him in the ribs, the jest merely an effort to hold in a sudden wave of despair.

His grip about me tightened, one hand cupping my breast in a move that was more protective than sexual, not that that stopped my body from responding to it. “Never,” he murmured, nuzzling my cheek. I turned my head, letting him capture my mouth with his. A half sob caught in my throat. “I thought I’d lost you, Abby.”

“I thought I’d lost me too,” I whispered, blinking back a hot rush of tears. It was as though the quiet of the almost-dawn finally allowed me to realize how much had happened in the last few weeks. The enormity of my own death lingered like an icy shield around my chest. Had I made the right decision by returning?

“We’ll find a way out of this mess. And find your incubus,” he added after a moment, his lips curving wryly. “And I’ll make this night up to you, I promise.”

I could only nod into the darkness, swallowing against the hard lump in my throat. I had the most
messed-up relationships of anyone I’d ever known, but untangling them would be the least of my issues. I had to find a way home. Shivering, I snuggled deeper into the curve of his abdomen. For now, I would wait to see what the morning brought.

The next time I woke up, the sun was streaming into the lean-to, the early morning glare a welcome relief to the rainy evening of before. Lonely birdsong swept in with the light breeze, calling in some secret language I didn’t know. It was still a comforting sound, reassuring to think that something so normal could be in this place.

I stretched and realized I was alone. A flush of panic rushed down my spine and I snatched the blanket up around my shoulders, leaning out of the shelter. Phineas was curled up on a flat side of a large slab of granite, calmly watching me.

“ ’Bout time you got up, lazy bones.”

“Where’s Talivar?” I shook my head, remembering our conversation from a few hours ago, my ears feeling as though they were stuffed with cotton. “He’s gone.”

The unicorn nodded. “Left a few hours ago . . . as soon as it was light.”

“I feel so damned useless.” I let the blanket drop from my shoulders as I inspected my still-damp clothes. “Just another goddamned damsel in distress, sitting around waiting for someone to come rescue me.” I snagged my chemise and shook it savagely. “Call me Rapunzel.”

“Join the club,” the unicorn snorted. “I’m nothing more than a P. T. Barnum reject at the moment, so quit feeling sorry for yourself.”

I paused at this, eyeing my damp dress with distaste.
“You didn’t renew our TouchStone bond,” I said finally.

“True. But I didn’t have much choice, Abby.” He waggled his brows toward the remainder of his horn. “It’s rather difficult when the seat of power is . . . flaccid.”

I blinked. Talivar had said the unicorn had given up much for me, but I’d assumed it to be mostly cosmetic. “You’re without magic?”