Heiress of Lies Read Free Page A

brightly even in the dark.
         “Is that a polite way to greet one of your loyal subjects?” The voice dripped with sarcasm.
         Her eyes adjusted quickly to the gloom, and she could make out his white face and full red lips. A black curl fell over his eyes. It was like her mind turned to mush and she was mesmerized by how beautiful he was. Then she saw the smudge of red running from the man’s mouth. The dominos in her mind fell over in quick succession: an attack in the middle of the night, the screaming horses, and Rhone’s look of terror. She was a Robart; she knew what that meant. An age-old enemy had reappeared in their midst.
         The man whispered a few words and Angeline went limp as she succumbed to the darkness.

CHAPTER THREE
     
     
         As Angeline’s consciousness returned, she felt bumps across her upper arms from cool air. The memory of the last few moments in her tent came rushing back, and she sat up quickly, hitting her forehead on a hard surface right above her.
         “Ouff,” escaped her lips before she could stop it. She reached up. A hard, uneven surface was less than a foot above her. Her eyes were open, yet she couldn’t see anything. Before giving way to panic, she reached her arms out to either side. Almost immediately her left hand hit the same kind of surface, but there was nothing obstructing her right hand. She was in some kind of crevice. She started to scoot to her right and winced at the jagged edges that poked into her back, but she didn’t want to hit her head again. After sliding over about a foot, she started to make out a faint glow in the gloom around her. She reached up and this time there was nothing above her.
         She heard a match strike and sat up as the room was lit in a soft glow. Now she could see around her and her rising suspicion was verified. Angeline was in some kind of cave.
         She knew that she wasn’t alone, and she felt the presence close to her before she saw him out of the corner of her eye. Her throat constricted and she felt like she was drowning. Her memory of the man paled in comparison to the figure who sat in front of her with his back against the wall. He was stunning. Black hair curled against his neck to just above his cloak, and Angeline could make out the outline of a powerful chest. He was smiling at her. And then she saw his emerald eyes, and she knew that her mind was trying to play tricks on her. She hadn’t forgotten the blood. She was in great danger.
         The legends said these creatures could take on near human form when they wanted to, and she realized that this disguise would have allowed him to walk right into their camp. Who would suspect that such a lovely visage hid such an ugly predator?
         “Who are you? What do you want with me? Where are my men?” she demanded. Show no fear , her father’s voice whispered in her mind.
         The man’s smile got bigger. “I believe you have injured yourself, Princess,” he said, ignoring her questions.
         At that moment Angeline felt a tendril of liquid run down the side of her face. She brushed it away and tried not to think about the fact that it was indeed blood on the back of her hand. She felt her stomach clench.
         “May I be of some assistance?” the man asked. A white handkerchief had appeared in his hand although Angeline hadn’t seen him move.
         “I’m fine,” Angeline snapped. “If you want to be of assistance you can return me to my escort.”
         “I’m afraid I am unable to do that.” The man seemed amused. “But the good news for you is that I am very willingly going to escort you safely to your new destination.”
         “I am going home to Brebackerin,” Angeline said. “I have no other destination.”
         “A slight…detour, if you will, Your Majesty,” the man said. “There is someone who would like to speak to you on this eve of your Ascension. If that meeting