Fear of Fire and Shadow (The Fade #1) - Samantha Young Page 0,95

time.”

I nodded, but I didn’t think even time would fix the situation between me and Wolfe. Chaeron had no idea what I’d gone through up on that mountain. For that to have happened to me surely made Wolfe sick. He was a man who felt it his calling in life to protect others. And I hadn’t let him protect me. I hadn’t trusted him.

With another woeful look at the man who had so surprisingly complicated my life, I turned and mounted the horse Chaeron had waiting for me.

“Don’t you wish to remove that coat, Miss Rogan?” Chaeron inquired as he pulled up beside me.

“Don’t you dare.” Wolfe was suddenly in front of us, his eyes blazing. “It’s indecent what you’re wearing, Rogan. You will not take that off in front of my men.”

“Indecent?” Chaeron’s brow furrowed.

“You saw?” I blushed, half-aghast, half-annoyed at his overbearing command.

“At the Mosses’.” He nodded. “Before you put the jacket on.” A strange look entered his eyes, and I could have sworn a flush rose on the crest of his cheeks. He shifted on his horse and then glared at me. “Keep it on.” And then he headed off, leading the way for me and Chaeron to move through the men (who all nodded their relieved greetings at me) so we were in front of the entourage.

“Indecent?” Chaeron asked again.

I shrugged, tempted to take the damn coat off to remind Wolfe I wasn’t one of his men to be ordered around! “I’m wearing trousers. They leave little to the imagination.”

“Ah.” Chaeron shifted his attention to Wolfe who began to gallop ahead of us. His mouth broke into a wide, knowing grin. “I think you’ll be fine, Miss Rogan. You and Wolfe both.”

It was cold and black as tar outside by the time we entered Arrana and were allowed entrance into the vojvoda’s home.

I still had the coat on. Not because Wolfe had ordered it but because my own sense of modesty did. After a day of blazing heat in the valley, my clothes were sticking to me. I needed a bath. Badly.

As soon as we were inside the mansion, Chaeron took care of everything. I was led to the room I had been given before, and I watched impatiently as the servants filled a tin tub with hot water, leaving rose-scented soap for me. After the last maid had laid out one of my dresses, I politely asked them to leave and removed L’s now-dirty clothing.

Sinking into the tub was like sinking into my own piece of haven. I breathed a sigh of relief, not really able to comprehend that I had succeeded in retrieving the plant, that I was off those forsaken mountains. I felt as if I’d spent months up there.

And just like that, I began to cry.

My chest ached with the harsh sobbing, my throat closing and opening as I struggled to draw breath. Tears scored my cheeks as they rolled down quick as rainfall. I hugged my body, trying to blot out the memory of the mountain man, assuring myself that he’d never get near me again.

“My lady?” a voice asked, followed by a tapping on the door.

I swiped at my tears. “I’m fine,” I called out, my voice quavering. “I’m all right.”

“Are ye sure, my lady?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

I waited for the sounds of fading footsteps and then reached for the soap, scrubbing the bar over my body and lathering it into my hair. I couldn’t think about the bad things that had happened to me in Alvernia. I had to think of the good. Like Brint. And L. Especially L. Had I really only known her a matter of days?

I smiled through my tears, thinking of gruff L Moss who had saved my life and burrowed her way into my much-guarded heart. Haydyn would love her. I couldn’t wait for them to meet. I couldn’t wait to repay the Mosses for all of their kindness.

Once I had calmed myself, I changed into my dress. The fabric felt strange swishing about my ankles. Encumbering. I kicked out with my legs. I actually missed trousers. Sighing, I braided my hair and frowned at the way the dress lifted from my waist. My clothes no longer fit well.

Vojvoda Andrei Rada and his son the markiz awaited me with Wolfe in the moody, masculine dining room.

“There she is,” Vojvoda Andrei called out, approaching me with a fatherly smile. He took my hands, and I found it difficult to smile politely back at him. “Lady Rogan,