down with his own sigh of relief. He took her right hand carefully in both his own.
“Safe,” he said. “For the moment.”
“It won’t last,” she said grimly.
He laughed uneasily. “What a cynic you’ve become.”
She looked at him, his beautiful face so close to hers, and couldn’t help but smile just the slightest bit. “Can you fault me for it?”
“Aye,” he said seriously, “and myself as well. You should rather be enjoying peace and—”
“Rides on the backs of dragons, hot fires provided by elven princes, and terrible moments spent scurrying about as a mouse,” she finished for him, “provided as well by that same sort of lad.” She started to tell him those were the least of the things that troubled her, but she realized with a start that it wouldn’t have been true.
Trouble had followed them more easily than she’d feared it might.
“What is it?” Ruith asked.
She could only nod at the hooded figure who had entered the tavern and paused near the doorway. He shut the door behind himself, then walked across the floor. Sarah could scarce believe her eyes, but the man was coming toward them as if he had every intention of joining them at their table. For all she knew, he had followed them to the inn. Worse still, perhaps he had been following them all along—
“Wonderful,” Ruith muttered. “A brawl before we even have a bite to eat.”
“A brawl,” she repeated breathlessly. “One could hope it would be with just your fists.”
“I appreciate your faith in my magic,” he said dryly.
She looked at him quickly. “I have absolute faith in your magic. And your sword. And your fists.”
He smiled. “Woman, you are about to find yourself thoroughly kissed.”
“Not until you’ve encountered that last elusive princess, I’m not,” she said, “and not until you’ve solved our current problem, which is still coming our way.” She would have said more, but their doom was already almost upon them. All she could do was watch and struggle to breathe normally.
Ruith didn’t change his casual pose, but she knew him well enough to know he was fully prepared to fight with whatever means he had to.
The man came to a stop in front of their table and simply stood there, apparently content to wait for them to acknowledge him.
“Good e’en, friend,” Ruith said, in a neutral tone. “Looking for a place to sit?”
“I might be,” the shadowed man said, just as neutrally.
“There seem to be seats over there, by the door.”
“I think I prefer a spot over here,” the other said easily, “by the fire.”
Ruith considered for a moment or two, shrugged. “As you will.”
The man pulled a chair up to their table and sat. As he did so, his cloak parted—only Sarah realized it hadn’t been his cloak to part, but rather some sort of spell of concealment. She realized with equal clarity that he had intended it thus. She glanced at Ruith, but he hadn’t seemed to have noticed. He was too busy signaling the barmaid to fetch them another mug of ale. He squeezed Sarah’s hand briefly before he released it and propped his elbows up on the table as if he merely intended to settle in for a lengthy discussion of local politics.
“So, friend,” Ruith said easily, looking for all the world as if he routinely invited strangers to dine with him, “what brings you to this lovely lodge in the middle of nowhere?”
“Family,” the man said simply.
Ruith nodded. “A good thing to have. Do you have any nearby?”
The man only nodded at Sarah. “Ask your lady. I believe her sight is a bit clearer than yours. Friend.”
Sarah shifted uncomfortably and vowed that she would at her earliest opportunity memorize the other spell she’d found in the book Soilléir had given her, the one that was supposed to dim her sight when it became too much to bear, because she could see very well who the man was.
Well, at least she could say with a fair degree of confidence that he wasn’t about to draw his blades and kill them both any time soon.
Ruith elbowed her gently in the ribs. “Well?”
She looked at Ruith. “His name is written on his soul.”
Ruith lifted an eyebrow. “Which you have read, apparently.”
“’Tis a bit difficult not to,” Sarah said. “He isn’t hiding it. Or at least he isn’t hiding from me. It is as if he, ah, wants me to know who he is. You too, I’ll warrant.”
“Shall you divulge his name,” Ruith asked, shooting their guest a