telling Willow she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Which was too bad, since of course Willow couldn’t help her with Chad.
“We’ve already been through this,” Willow said, trying not to clench her teeth. “Come on, Tatiana. Please be reasonable.”
Now Eric spoke. Leaning across the table, he took her hands in his and gave his best effort to hit her all at once with his masculine charm. Well aware of what he was doing, Willow hid her smile.
“Come on, Willow. Help us out. Chad is my baby brother,” he said, his voice pitched low enough to sound both desperate and sexy. Not an appealing combination. “I can’t let him suffer.”
Willow decided to hear him out, if only so she’d have a better idea of what they were planning. “What do you want me to do?” she asked.
Eric’s blinding smile would have been dazzling if she hadn’t known what a complete narcissistic ass he was. He appeared to take her capitulation at face value, unlike Tatiana, who narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
“On the ride back, we need to free him.”
“Really?” Crossing her arms, Willow leaned forward. “Exactly how do you propose to do that?”
Before Willow could answer, Ruben arrived back with King Drem. Immediately crossing the room to their table, the king regarded Eric and Tatiana with a thunderous frown.
“Both of you, stand,” he ordered. “I’ve already taken care of Prince Chad. His magic is now rendered useless. The time has come to do the same to you.”
“Why?” Tatiana asked, her tone wheedling. “Do you honestly think we would try to do something so foolish?”
Unsmiling, the king regarded her. “Yes,” he answered. “Stand.” Though he pitched his voice low, the power behind his words echoed off the walls.
Immediately Eric pushed to his feet, proving he at least, was no fool. Tatiana on the other hand, remained seated. She continued to pick at her breakfast as though she hadn’t heard a thing.
Smiling sadly, the king leaned down. “I’m talking to you also, Princess Tatiana.”
Reluctantly, she stood. Raising her head, she glared at Willow before facing the king. With defiance shining from her face, she deliberately reached down and picked up her cup. After taking a long drink of juice—blatantly disrespecting the king—she swallowed and placed her cup back on the table.
“I have armed myself against you,” she said softly. “So unless your magic is more powerful than mine, your spell of binding is worthless.”
Eric snorted, rolling his eyes at her words. Willow exchanged a quick glance with Ruben, impressed that Eric hadn’t completely swallowed Tatiana’s nonsense. Evidently he was a bit more intelligent than Willow had given him credit for.
“Nice try.” King Drem smiled, a hint of dark ruthlessness coming through. “I haven’t held my kingship all these years with weak magic, I promise you.”
She opened her mouth to respond then closed it. Staring at a spot beyond the king’s head, she waited.
King Drem spoke a single word. Immediately, the air sizzled with his power. Impressed, Willow waited to see if he would do more.
He did not. Instead, he clasped Ruben on the shoulder before turning to Willow. “I’ll miss you, daughter,” he said, before enveloping her in a quick hug.
Releasing her, he walked away without saying anything else, though Willow thought she saw tears in his eyes.
Subdued now, Tatiana sank back down into her chair. Eric, who hadn’t moved the entire time, pushed his chair back so hard it crashed to the floor. He stalked off without another word.
“This is going to be a long journey,” Ruben said, glancing toward the departing EastWard prince.
“I know,” Willow sighed. “You know they’re going to try to hatch some other plan that doesn’t involve magic.”
“True.” His smile felt as tender as a caress. “We’ll be all right. King Drem is sending an armed escort, remember?”
Flushing even more, she nodded. “True, but you know his guards will not be able to travel into our kingdom. Once we reach Bright lands, they’ll have to turn around.”
“I’m sure we can manage. Now,” he said, glancing at the huge clock near the unused fireplace. “Are you ready to ride?”
She nodded, taking his hand when he offered it. Again that feeling of warmth, of completeness, brought on by the simple act of skin touching skin. When he pulled her to him, she went willingly, burying her face in the hollow of his throat. He smelled of wood smoke and pine, a masculine scent that made her ache deep inside.
In silence they stood, holding on to each other as if