Isolde's Wish Read Free Page B

that.”
    Complete understanding washed over him, and he smoothed her hair. With the slightest pressure on the base of her neck, he brought her lips to his. A whisper of a kiss played between their mouths, a gentle inhaling of sweet breath, an acknowledgment of the attraction that flowed between them.
    “Isolde, I will take ye safely to the castle, and then I must never see ye again.” He rubbed his forehead against hers, staring into her glowing eyes.
    When she nodded, their noses brushed. She moved to free herself from his arms, but he held her. Just one minute longer. Just one more kiss. Just one more taste of fire.
    The blast of hunting horns rent the air. A flock of birds launched screaming into the sky. Their chatter grew deafening, and Isolde convulsed against Sadler. He ignored her frantic clawing at his chest and the clatter of his heart, and centered his senses on the outside world. Beneath the din of the forest, he detected the march of men and the thunder of hooves, but no creak of a zeppelgonger.
    Focusing on the panicked face of Princess Isolde, he gripped her delicate jaw. “Isolde, they’re hunting ye, woman. Are ye prepared to run?”
    * * *
    Sadler brought Isolde into the shadow between the stable and a small hay-fuel shed. She was soaked to the knee with mud and lamenting the loss of her golden slipper. She limped into the space before him with her head held high.
    He braced his hands against the rough, wooden shed wall, trapping her with his body. Their eyes met like steam to an airship. He wondered if he’d ever forget their blue-green fire. Fairy fire.
    “I’ll peek out and tell ye when it’s clear to run for the keep.”
    She nodded. A quiet moment passed while they struggled to let each other go. “I’ll never see ye again.”
    “Nay.”
    “Good luck to ye, Sadler. Keep yer neck free of the guillotine.”
    “Ah, that I will. Now the hangman’s noose, I do not know.” His jest fell flat.
    A harsh cry tore from her, and she hurled her arms about his neck. He held her head against his shoulder and kissed the shell of her ear. His heart thudded in his ears. “Go now, woman, and don’t look back.”
    Wrenching from him, she then ducked beneath the barricade of his arms and dodged across the yard. Sadler let his forehead drop against the wall and rubbed it over the splintery wood. Cries of the castle guards reached his ears.
    “She’s here. We’ve found her!”
    He dared not watch her sprint through the great entry. Another moment passed while he collected his wits, and he stole into the stable. He blinked against the enveloping darkness. Through a high window streamed ribbons of light. Dust motes swirled in the air.
    As he edged deeper into the stable, the familiar oily scents of hay and horseflesh filled his head, resurrecting memories of his father. In his mind’s eye, Sadler could nearly see the curves of Isolde’s mother locked in the arms of his father, and finally he understood how the passion had gone before the sense.
    The noon hour approached, and the stable was empty of workers, so Sadler was able to climb into the loft and rifle the stable boys’ possessions. The bed of hay looked so inviting—more comfort than he’d seen in weeks of drifting. He hesitated and then scooped the leather pants and clean tunic from the foot of the bed. Such finery for a stable lad, he thought. Never had he, in his days as stable boy, possessed garments of such high quality.
    After stealing back down the ladder, he hid himself in an empty stall and shucked off his filthy pants in exchange for the fine, cool leather. It molded to his skin—a good fit. The tunic was snug around his chest, but he was still able to move freely.
    He abandoned his clothing in the stall and crept along the inner wall of the paddock to an opening in the stone. Here the kitchen garden tempted him with treats as he hadn’t known in months. Tomatoes and cabbages, turnips and beets. He plucked a cabbage and cradled it