“Stay in camp, Your Highness,” the Ithicanian standing nearby ordered.
Turning so that he was walking backward, Keris held his arms out. “Where exactly do you think I’m going to go?”
When the man didn’t answer, Keris rounded the bend into the darkness, jumping slightly as Raina’s hand closed over his arm. “Where are you going?”
“To find you.”
She huffed out an amused breath. “Why?”
“Because you’re the only person in this cursed bridge whose presence I find tolerable.”
“Tolerable, is it, Your Highness? Such a compliment! My cheeks are burning.”
“Impossible to tell, given that mask you wear. If a blush is to be the reward for my kind words, I’ve been robbed.”
“Perhaps you should lodge a complaint. We take theft very seriously in Ithicana.”
Leaning against the wall next to her, Keris inhaled the faint scent of soap that clung to her despite the fact bathing wasn’t a possibility on the bridge, the water they transported with them reserved for drinking. So strange to be surrounded by oceans and a kingdom where it rained almost continuously, and yet inside the bridge, water was precious. “Why do you wear them?”
He had his own opinions on why the Ithicanians wore masks when dealing with outsiders, but he was curious what she’d say.
“I’m as beholden to the laws as any other, that’s why.”
Keris remained silent, waiting. Waiting. And when she cleared her throat, he smiled at the darkness.
“I suppose it’s because it makes us more intimidating in battle. Adds to the reputation that we’re not quite human.”
Her fingers brushed against his, little more than a glancing touch that might have been accidental but wasn’t. “You seem very human to me.”
Raina made a noncommittal noise. Then in a rush of words, she said, “I think it’s just another way to keep us separate—another wall between Ithicana and the outside.”
Keris was inclined to agree. “Would you take it off, if you could?”
“It’s forbidden. Just as is leaving. Just as is being anything other than a weapon whose purpose is to defend the bridge. Just as is this conversation.”
Her voice was edged with bitterness, but Keris wasn’t very good at leaving well enough alone. “That wasn’t my question.”
Silence. “Yes,” she finally whispered. “If it were my choice, I’d do all of those things.”
Pushing away from the wall, Keris faced her, lifting one hand to curve it around her cheek. And when she didn’t pull away, he slipped his thumb under the leather of her mask, easing it upward.
Her breath caught. “I can’t.”
“Can’t?” he asked. “Or won’t?”
Raina didn’t answer, but her fingers caught hold of his other hand, interlacing them. She pulled him closer so that her breasts pressed against him; their eyes locked in the faint light.
“I’ve a ship meeting me at Northwatch.” Keris leaned closer, a loose tendril of her hair brushing his cheek as he said into her ear, “You could come with me.”
It was madness to make such an offer, tempting the ire of both his father and the Ithicanian king. But Keris knew what it was like to be a prisoner to circumstance. What it felt like to want to escape.
“They’d hunt me down and execute me as a traitor.”
All for leaving. “Is Ithicana a kingdom or a prison?”
“Both.”
One of the men in his entourage let out a loud snore that echoed down the bridge, but Keris ignored it, focusing on the shadows of her face. On the way Raina gripped his hand. On the ache of desire building in him.
Then Raina reached up, and together, they drew off the mask, revealing her face. It was hard to see clearly in the gloom, but he traced his fingers over her rounded cheekbones, over the arch of one eyebrow, then bent to kiss her bow-shaped lips.
A ragged breath escaped her, then her arms were around his neck, dragging him closer, their hips pressing together as her tongue slipped into his mouth. He caught his balance against the wall of the bridge, the rock damp beneath his hand, lifting her, groaning as her long legs wrapped around his waist.
He moved from her lips to her throat, and her breath was hot against his forehead. “Take me with you,” she whispered. “I want to go with you.”
“I will.” To do so would infuriate two kings, but neither would do anything for fear of aggravating the other, so what did it matter?
He felt her tangle her fingers in his hair. The juncture of her thighs pressed hard against him as he tugged at the laces holding the neck of her tunic together, pulling the fabric down to expose her pert breasts. He kissed them reverently, then drew one peaked nipple into his mouth, satisfaction filling him as she whimpered, her hands drifting down his body to tug at his belt.
Then the sound of hooves reached them, and Raina tore her lips from his, sliding down his body to land with a thud on her feet even as her hand went to the weapon at her waist. In the distance, a pool of light appeared, revealing a donkey pulling a wagon under the escort of four masked Ithicanians.
Lifting her fingers to her mouth, Raina gave a series of whistles, then straightened her clothes.
“Your mask,” he muttered, and she jumped, swiftly retrieving the leather from where it had fallen.
But it was too late.
They’d seen.
The Ithicanian leading the donkey opened her mouth as they approached. “Aster’s going to beat you bloody if he finds out you were messing around with a Maridrinian, Raina. Especially if he hears you were doing it while on duty. Get your ass back around the corner and I might consider keeping my mouth shut about what I just saw.”
Not waiting for a response, the woman hauled on the donkey’s lead, slowly walking around the bend, none of the other Ithicanians saying a word as they followed.
“Who’s Aster?” Keris asked.
“My father.”
“All the more reason for you to get on that ship.”
Raina didn’t answer, only tugged on his arm, leading him after the wagon. Ahead, all of his entourage had sat up in their bedrolls. As Keris watched, several stood, pulling on their boots, appearing entirely more sober than they should, given the wine bottles scattered about them. And all of them were looking anywhere but at the approaching wagon.
Keris’s skin prickled. “What’s in that wagon?”
“Goods from Harendell. Steel, likely.”
Weapons.
Realization slapped Keris in the face, and he shoved Raina back the way they’d come. “Run!”
As he said the word, his countrymen leapt at the wagon, dragging the cloth off to reveal glittering steel. In a heartbeat, they’d snatched up weapons and turned on the Ithicanian guards, who were pulling their own blades free.
And instead of running, Raina only drew her own sword, racing in the direction of the battle. Most of the Ithicanians were already down, and his countrymen turned on her, lifting their weapons.