er, and a little less trapped. But as she stood in her chamber staring at the packed trunk, she felt the truth settle on her shoulders. This was not a dr

. Nothing that screamed future duchess. She tied it around her neck, swallowed the dry lump in

ore like an old door swinging on rusty hinges, rea

embered. That made her smile a little. "Typical," she muttered.

eted her again, cool and full of promise. She stepped out and closed the doors quietly behind h

disciplined, loyal, and always half asleep after midnight. She had observed th

eft. A low cough near the oak tre

slipped down the balcony steps, kept low behind the rose bushes, and hu

ch of soft earth. She stumbled forward and muttered,

discovered as a child when she tried to chase a butterfly. Her mother nearly fainted when she found her out there. Victor

she crouched and dragged the trunk through with her. On the

town of Greenwharf if she followed it long enough. Greenwharf had inns, noisy taverns, and ships that traveled far beyond the border

rf

ook a

ano

everything she had ever known. Her ho

ees. For a moment she felt free i

a way of makin

of walking before her thou

out. Cedric would stand at the altar with that polite, practiced smile. The guests

ria would

"Maybe I am insane," s

napped b

. She had taken it from her uncle's old chest years ago. It was not large enough to scare

nto the darkne

ing

ess deer. Surely not a guard. She had

d hard and k

irt. She imagined she was a character in one of the stories she used to read aloud in the attic. A girl with a mission.

her head. "If I survive this, I w

rrying the trunk. She switched hands every few minutes and

. Birds began to stir. A thin mist curled along the road. It felt like the

near a small clearing. She placed the tr

"I need to rest for a mome

losed her eyes. The air was dam

she f

watchi

s snapp

teady and silent. Tall. Hooded. Moving with the kind of conf

Her fingers brushed the hilt o

stopped a f

Serious mouth. Eyes dark enough to look intimidating even at dawn. The cloaked st

Victoria forgot

ightly. "You should n

for someone who had just encountere

t appear out of the mist like a charac

he wanted to smile but refused to let hi

ood ra

w where I came

ut not enough to seem like a threat. "Because I have be

eath c

k

seen ev

t

grip on the dagg

her hand, his gaze

he said quietly. "I am here becaus

s pulse t

you?" she

more of his face. Strong features. Tire

id. "And your life is not

's heart

wa

eant nothi

n his calm voice

whether to run, Rowan glanced over his shoulder and s

are co