Warrior (32 page)

her, his eyes wary, his face clean and

shaven. He did not smile but he

wasn’t scowling either.

The smile vanished. If only he knew.

***

Vulcan surveyed Jaisyn from her

crown of golden curls to the leather

boots upon her feet. She wore a

glossy dark blue riding habit, and in

her hand she held a small black cap

that would grace her head. His wife

was going riding.

“Where are you going?” he asked

easily, staring down at her and

awaiting the outburst he was sure

would follow.

“If you must know—” she began.

“And I must—”

“I thought the day perfect for a tour

of the countryside.”

Vulcan nodded and looked skyward.

It was a good day for a ride. There

were no dark clouds looming in the

sky and the morning rays of the sun

were shining over the meadows and

fields that surrounded the castle.

“Who will be accompanying you?”

“The guards you’ve appointed to

watch my every move,” Jaisyn

snipped out, letting him know in no

uncertain tones what she thought of

that.

His lips hinted at a smile and Jaisyn

immediately went on guard. Her

husband hardly smiled and when he

did, it usually didn’t bode well for her.

“I will join your riding party,” he

announced, his voice firm. He would

not be argued with. As Jaisyn glared

at him, the squire took that moment to

emerge with her stallion. Orion was

not as bulky as his sire but he was

fast. He was a glossy honey shade,

and had a sunny disposition most of

the time.

Vulcan turned to the squire and told

him to prepare Shadowfax for a

morning ride. Nodding, he left Orion

with Jaisyn and went to fetch his

king’s horse.

Orion flicked his tail happily as he

looked down at Jaisyn. She stroked

his mane, her eyes still locked on

Vulcan.

“Since you are determined to

accompany me this morning, where

do you suggest we go?” she asked

slowly. A vivid blush touched her

cheeks and she turned away from him

and pretended to give her full attention

to Orion.

***

Vulcan did not miss Jaisyn’s blush.

He didn’t have time to enquire after it

because the squire reappeared with a

prancing Shadowfax. The squire

seemed relieved when Vulcan took

the

reins,

and

bowed

before

scampering back into the stables.

Vulcan laid a firm hand against

Shadowfax’s neck, looking directly

into the stallion’s eyes. He rubbed

down his neck a few times before

Shadowfax calmed. Vulcan turned

back to Jaisyn. She was staring at him

once more, her hand against her

stallion’s neck.

“Would you like me to lift you—”

he began only to have Jaisyn toss him

a haughty glare before placing one leg

into the stirrup and vaulting onto the

stallion’s back. Vulcan might have

smiled at the skill involved had she not

nudged her stallion into a walk. She

left him standing next to Shadowfax

as she made her way over to the

guard of men who waited by the

entrance of the castle.

Mounting Shadowfax easily, Vulcan

caught up with her. He reached over

and grabbed her reins before they

were with the guards.

“Remember yourself, wife,” he told

her coldly, releasing her reins only

after she’d looked away from him

with a decided sneer.

“Come,” he intoned and allowed

Shadowfax to lead the way to the

guards.

***

Jaisyn barely felt the chill in the air

as she pushed Orion into a gallop,

leaning her body further over the

horse and enjoying the wind as it

whipped against her face. The

pounding of hooves around her served

as a reminder that she was not alone,

that her husband was beside her, that

a group of warriors, all hand-selected

and fiercely loyal to Vulcan, flanked

her. They plunged from the clearing

and into a field that was obviously

cared for by its owner. The guards in

front of her slowed their horses and

Jaisyn followed suit, turning to her

husband. They had been riding for at

least an hour and she itched to ask

where they were. One look at her

husband’s face and she decided she

would ask him later.

As the horses came to a canter, she

straightened her back and looked

around. The field was clear except for

the occasional sprouting of white and

yellow flowers. The horses eventually

came to a path surrounded by tall

trees. The guards veered onto it and

Jaisyn followed suit, wondering where

they were heading. They continued

along the path for many minutes

before Jaisyn had a clear vision of a

stone castle looming before them. It

was not as large as Morden Castle but

it was still grand. Unlike Morden

Castle, with its dark stones, this castle

was made of red brick and seemed

more beautiful than safe.

Unable to hold her curiosity at bay

any longer, Jaisyn asked, “Whose

castle are we nearing?”

Vulcan’s grey gaze touched her.

“Mine.”

Jaisyn nodded. “And where are

we?”

“Seacrest,” he replied easily, and

Jaisyn looked around again. They

continued through the pathway of high

trees and when they were but mere

yards from the castle, Jaisyn heard it.

The crashing of waves.

“Is there a river nearby?”

“No, the castle was built before the

Black Sea. You cannot see the Black

Sea seated as you are now. I will take

you behind the castle after we dine.”

Jaisyn turned and looked about once

more, but this time her eyes caught

movement along the trees. As quickly

as she saw it, it was there no longer.

She turned to Vulcan with wide eyes,

wondering if someone had been

following them all along.

“Vulcan,”

she

called

softly,

forgetting that she did not call him by

his name outside of the bedroom.

He looked surprised to hear his

name from her lips, and his eyes

softened.

“I think we are being followed,” she

said lowly, only to have him throw

back his head and laugh. Unused to

the sound of Vulcan’s laughter, a few

of the guards were already sliding

their swords from their sheaths,

thinking that their lord was alerting

them to some danger at hand, when

they recognized it for what it was. He

was laughing… with his queen.

Although they passed looks amongst

each other, a few members of the

guard eventually smiled, wondering

what it was the queen had said to send

their usually stoic king into bouts of

hilarity.

“It is not a funny thing, being

followed, my lord!” Jaisyn hissed out

angrily. Had he lost his mind? Strange

men were following them and Vulcan

was laughing.

“Jaisyn,” Vulcan began, shaking his

head at his queen, a large grin

lingering on his face. “We were

followed since we left the clearing and

ventured down this path.”

Eyes widening, Jaisyn surveyed the

trees and the foliage behind them once

more. She could make out no one.

“My sentries are very good at what

they do. They will escort us to the

gates before returning to their posts

along the pathway,” he explained,

ending on a chuckle. His eyes took in

her stiff countenance and he smiled.

Jaisyn allowed her husband to lift

her from Orion once they were in the

courtyard. She did not thank him. She

was still irate that he’d laughed at her

when she’d shown concern for his life

and the life of his men. He, however,

could not seem to stop smiling at her.

His smile was actually infectious and

if he hadn’t outright laughed at her

when she’d announced that they were

being followed, Jaisyn might have

been inclined to return it.

He did not release her immediately,

but kept his hands splayed across her

waist for a few seconds longer than

need be. Jaisyn lifted her eyes to his,

prepared to demand that he unhand

her, when she noticed that humor

wasn’t the only thing burning in his

eyes. She looked away immediately,

and he eventually released her waist,

only to take her arm.

“Welcome to Seacrest Castle, wife,”

he announced, leading her toward

what appeared to be the entrance into

the Great Hall.

Jaisyn looked around as she walked

next to him, noticing that save for the

guards and soldiers who patrolled the

castle, it seemed to be empty. As they

passed the occasional servant, he

bowed to them before scurrying along

to his duties.

“Who lives here?” Jaisyn asked,

curious to know if anyone did.

Vulcan passed her a glance without

breaking stride. “My mother once

lived here. Now, it is unoccupied.”

They stepped inside and were

immediately greeted by the castle

steward. Bowing low, the short man

stated quickly, “Your Majesties, we

were unaware that you were coming.”

Vulcan nodded. “We were unaware

that we coming as well, Alfred. Have

the cook prepare a larger batch of

whatever it is he intended to serve

today. My warriors also need to be

fed.”

“Yes,

liege,”

Alfred

said

immediately. “Will Your Majesties be

needing anything else?”

“No, Alfred,” Vulcan replied, and

immediately began tugging Jaisyn in

the direction of the stone staircase.

They passed numerous doors, each

with different intricate patterns carved

into the wood, and Jaisyn wondered

what lay behind each.

“It is beautiful,” she found herself

saying aloud, as they made their way

up the staircase.

***

Vulcan

nodded

in

agreement.

Seacrest Castle was no warrior

holding. It had not been built to fend

off attacks, but rather for the pleasure

of the one residing within. The

windows were larger, permitting the

occupants a view of the sea that raged

behind the castle. Although Vulcan

did not remember much of his mother,

as she had died when he was just a

boy, he had been told by many of her

ladies that she’d loved this castle. In

fact, as a gift to his new queen, King

Frederick

had

had

Seacrest

refurbished and fitted with new

furniture and expensive trinkets from

various kingdoms. It appeared that

although he was a cold-hearted

bastard, Frederick had made an

attempt to shower his first queen with

gifts, possibly to make up for his

inability to love her. Still, his mother

had died. Though the cough had taken

her life, rumor had it her husband’s

coldness had suffocated whatever light

she’d had.

***

As they stepped onto the highest

floor, Jaisyn immediately noticed this

hallway was much brighter than the

rest. She looked to the rectangular-

shaped windows and wished she

could stop and look down. From what

she could see and hear, the Black Sea

was out there.

Vulcan finally stopped before one of

the rooms on the floor and pushed the

door open. Jaisyn stepped in first,

barely taking in the lavish contents,

the large bed and limestone fireplace,

and headed over to the window at the

back and peered out. She looked

down and a smile touched her lips.

The room had a wonderful view of the

vast sea that stretched out behind

them. She heard Vulcan approach her

and asked, “What is beyond the sea?”

He stepped beside her and gazed

down as well. “The sea flows for