sure whether you're immodest or honest.'
He looked wounded. 'I state only what I know to be true.'
Florentyna put her hands up in mock defeat. 'We should go. I think we're making the other patrons feel uncomfortable.'
'I am not the first swordsman who has sat down to a pot of dinch.'
'The first perhaps who looks as you do.' When he looked back at her in query, she shrugged. 'You are intimidating, Cassien, on a number of levels.'
'Good. If everyone keeps away from you, I am happy.'
She grinned. 'That sounds very possessive.' It was meant as a jest to lighten their conversation, give them the right moment to stand and glance over at the others with a smile before they left. Instead, his expression only deepened in its seriousness.
'If you were the only person I could ever speak to, it would be enough,' he said, his gaze grave and intense.
She held her breath, for as he'd spoken - his careful words making her feel suddenly awkward - she understood why she didn't react to him as others seemed to. And the reason was so shocking, she'd caught that single breath and was now too fearful to let it go ... and with it the acceptance of what she'd been hiding from.
'Florentyna?' he murmured, suddenly concerned by the way she fixated on the pot of dinch and was silent.
'Forgive me,' she said, gathering her scattered thoughts and trying to find a smile. 'I ...'
'No, I'm sorry for speaking so plainly. I thought ...' he stammered, unsure for once. 'I thought candour is what you demanded of me.'
'Oh, Cassien, the fault is mine. It's just ... I've realised something and the honesty of it is painful.'
'Can I help?'
She gave a small gasp of a laugh. 'Shar, no!'
He guided her away from the dinch-house, toward where he'd tethered two new horses. 'You spoke of honesty. Perhaps it is your turn?'
She cut him a look of reprimand but then realised he was right. This man was prepared to lay down his life for her, not even question why or when, simply that he would give it should that need arise. Florentyna swallowed. 'It's Tamas.'
'The king will be careful. I'm sure - ' He stopped at her horse and looked at her with an unreadable expression. 'Ah, you meant something else, didn't you, your majesty?'
She nodded. 'I thought I'd put it behind me.'
'You have feelings for Tamas?'
'They frighten me. I've had them under very strict control. I really didn't think they'd burst through the defences,' she said, with an embarrassed smile. 'I'm sorry ...'
'Don't be. He has no bride to consider anymore.'
'That sounds so heartless.' She looked away, hating herself.
'It's honest. I didn't mean to make you feel in any way ill at ease. You should know that I could not and would not permit myself to let my feelings go any further. There is another woman.' He shrugged. 'I was simply stating the truth. If you were the only person left in the world, it would be enough to converse with you. You are wise, calm, amusing when you want to be and you are educated. Besides, any interest I showed in you, my queen, defies the law of the Brotherhood.'
She frowned. 'Celibacy?'
Cassien found a smile. 'No, thank Shar! No wives, no permanent relationships. No family. We are not permitted to have long-term distractions, and women and children are precisely that; they compromise our emotions and ability to act decisively, swiftly.' He helped her up onto her horse and handed her the reins before climbing easily onto his mount. 'You're still happy to ride through the night?'
She nodded as he guided his horse to the path that would lead them out of the hamlet. Florentyna followed. 'It looks daunting,' she said, nodding toward the blackness stretching beyond the soft glow that the hilltop town threw on the path for a short way.
'We will have to pick our way slowly,' he said, looking up. 'But with luck, the moon will come out from behind those clouds and smile her light our way. Then we can move faster.'
She moved her horse into step with his and they set off companionably, winding their way down the hill.
'Cassien, if it's any consolation, you make me feel safe ... you give me confidence.'
He gave her a rueful smile. 'That is a rich compliment to a member of the Brotherhood. And, strangely perhaps, it is enough for me to know I have achieved this. You and I,