Twilight Magic Read Free Page A

explain his curiosity over the king’s ward.
    Lady Emma glanced furtively from side to side, likely looking for a place to hide, giving him brief glimpses of her profile.
    He could see she was a young woman, possessed of creamy, unflawed skin. Her pert nose was offset by a strong jaw, a quality Darian found intriguing.
    Though her flowing bliaut hid the exact proportions of her form, the width of her shoulders, the tuck of her waist, and the spread of her hips suggested all of her curves were nicely rounded and well endowed. The hands he’d admired when she’d smoothed her veil were graceful, and her movements might be furtive, but they weren’t clumsy.
    Lady Emma might not be the most exquisite woman he’d ever seen, but she was certainly lovely and interesting enough for a man to give a second look.
    Rather, for a nobleman to give a second look, not a mercenary.
    To his chagrin, Darian still wanted to know the color of Lady Emma’s eyes, but he didn’t have the chance to inspect her more closely. Duty called. Darian followed William to the next doorway, this one guarded by an imperious clerk, as well as two burly soldiers.
    The clerk bowed. “Earl William, you are expected.” Darian almost smiled at the clerk’s obeisance. Indeed, the king had granted William, a mercenary of noble birth, enough land, rights, and fees to hold the title of earl of Kent. Accustomed to becoming lost in William’s shorter shadow, Darian wasn’t surprised when the clerk didn’t acknowledge him, merely gave a hand signal to the guard to open the door.
    Then the clerk glanced up, and a sly gleam within his eyes sent a shiver down Darian’s spine. Something was amiss.
    He entered the inner chamber behind William, his senses alert. All seemed calm and normal enough. King Stephen sat in his ornate armed chair, the chamberlain standing beside him, their expressions giving nothing away.
    No one else was in the room. Not even a servant. Still, Darian sensed a threat and for the life of him couldn’t figure out why the back of his neck tingled— until he heard shouts coming from the antechamber.
    “Make way for the bishop! Stand aside! Make way!” The bishop had to be Henry, and Darian’s conjecture was confirmed when he heard the man’s voice.
    “Let them in! Let them all into the royal chamber to witness the king’s justice!”
    “What the devil is Henry about?” William muttered. Darian didn’t know, but whatever the bishop was up to couldn’t be good.
    Henry, the powerful bishop of Winchester, brother of the king, garbed in the full regalia of his office, burst into the chamber. He hustled toward King Stephen followed by four soldiers bearing a litter.
    The room filled up with people. The air grew close and overly warm.
    Bishop Henry pointed to a spot on the floor in front of the king. The men lowered the litter.
    Darian heard the buzz of voices, was well aware of William uncomfortably shifting his stance, but nothing could tear his gaze from the face of the obviously dead man on the litter.
    The face of Edward de Salis, the vile, evil man who yester noon the king had given Darian the order to assassinate. Someone had gotten to de Salis first.
    “Darian of Bruges!” Bishop Henry shouted. “I accuse you of murder!”

Chapter Two
    E mma marveled at her good luck. She’d been prepared for an encounter with an overbearing clerk when fate intervened, easing her entry to the royal chamber. Of course, she still might have to wrestle with the clerk, but she was closer to her goal and she would allow no one to stop her now.
    At the moment she couldn’t see what transpired at the front of the chamber. She’d caught a glimpse of Bishop Henry when he’d passed through the antechamber with the litter bearers in his wake. Who the poor man on the litter might be, or how he’d died, she didn’t know.
    However, the bishop had called out the name of the man he accused of murder. Darian of Bruges.
    An unusual name—Darian.
    “I did