enough to light a single candle and shut the door. Then she was kissing him again, deep and hungry, her shirt slipping down to expose the smooth muscles of her back and shoulders.
I averted my eyes, hissing in annoyance at the heat rising in my own flesh. Damn it, I didn’t need any distractions. Gods knew I’d had my share of idle fantasies about Cara over the years, but that’s all they’d been. Jylla’d taken plenty of other lovers during my summers in the mountains, and I’d enjoyed casual bedplay of my own, but Cara had made it plain from the first day I’d met her that she didn’t take outriders as bed partners.
Another glimpse of dark hands tracing tanned skin brought unwanted memories of Jylla cascading in. She’d been as energetic and cunning in bed as she’d been in everything else. Gods, the wild nights we’d spent together...I sank my teeth into my lip and fought the urge to bang my head against the roof in frustration. At least now I was wide awake.
Finally, Cara and her lover moved off to the bed, out of my line of sight. I dug my fingers into wood shingles and reined in my runaway imagination. After what seemed an eternity, Cara reappeared, thankfully dressed in her undertunic. She lit another candle, and the Sulanian strode into view, still lacing his shirt. One last kiss, and he was out the door. About gods-damned time.
I cat-footed my way over the roof and climbed the side wall of the main building’s second story. I paused above Cara’s room. If I knew Cara, there’d be no need to break in. She’d said plenty of times how she couldn’t sleep in a room with no fresh air. Sure enough, a rattling echoed from below, followed by the creak of wood. I gripped the roof’s edge and flipped off in a twisting arc that sent me straight through the open window.
Cara went for a knife before I even hit the floor. As I landed in a wary crouch, she advanced around the bed in nothing but her undertunic, fire in her eyes and a good seven inches of steel shining in one hand.
Shit. So much for the good mood. Time to talk fast.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
(Dev)
“Cara, ease up! I just want to talk.” I dodged to put a spindly wooden chair between us, ready to snatch it up to block her knife hand.
“So you drop through my window in the dead of night like some kind of Varkevian deathdealer?” Cara slowed her advance, but the knife stayed raised and ready. “You thieving, lying little bastard! Whatever you’ve got to say, I don’t want to hear it. Get the fuck out.”
Yeah, this was going well. “You’ve every right to be angry. But please...” I showed my empty hands, and bowed my head. “Please, Cara. I’m begging you, hear me out. Then if you want, I’ll go, and never come back.”
“You think you can abandon your duty, charm-sting me, steal vital supplies, and then waltz in here wanting a chat? Fuck you, Dev. Give me one reason I shouldn’t kick your ass straight out that window.”
No mention of the worst of my sins, and she hadn’t realized she’d been felled by a mage’s touch, not a charm. Shit. I’d never thought Ruslan would bother to conceal what he sought. Her ignorance would make this twice as hard. I gathered my courage and plunged ahead.
“Because I came here to tell you the truth I couldn’t at the convoy.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why now, and not then?”
“I wanted to, then. You’ve no idea how badly. But the knowledge might’ve meant your death, and I couldn’t risk that.”
Cara’s knuckles whitened on the knife hilt. “Mother of maidens, do you mean to say those two blood mages who showed up were looking for you?” Fury sparked in her blue eyes. “We cursed Pello’s name over them, assumed they were after whatever contraband he carried. Most cursed you too, said you must’ve been involved somehow. I didn’t believe it. Now you tell me I was wrong?”
Two blood mages. I swallowed. Damn it, Kiran had told me they cast the biggest spells in pairs. I should’ve known Ruslan would bring a friend. I eyed the window, longingly. Far easier to dive back out than admit the truth of what I’d done. I ducked my head, and admitted, “They weren’t after Pello. But listen, I—”
“Gods all damn it, Dev! Blood mages! They took Steffol and Joreal. Touched them on the