Read Online Dragons Among Them (Kingdoms of Fire and Ice) by Kyra Jacobs - Free Book Online Page B

thumb brushed against her cheek. “But this matter is larger than you or I. My entire kingdom could be at stake from my actions yesterday.”
    “You saved my life. I…I would be dead if it weren’t for you.”
    Zayne lowered his hand and took a step back. “But the people of Forath did not witness that act. Merely me, making off with one they believe to be their own.”
    “Isn’t that a bit ridiculous, them jumping to conclusions like that? I mean, it’s not like you go around plucking women from their villages all the time or anything.”
    Zayne’s gaze shifted from hers. “Nevertheless, I have sent word of your pending return to King Jarin. Once our caravan reaches their border, we shall part ways. I have ordered Brom, Sol, and Korey to escort you to the village closest to where I found you.”
    “Do you think someone there knows how to me get back to Watford?”
    “That is my hope.”
    She stepped forward and embraced him, her vision beginning to blur. “Thank you. I—I don’t know how I can possibly repay you for all you’ve done for me.”
    His arms, initially stiff with surprise, slowly encircled her as well.
    “Your company is more than enough.” He lowered his chin to rest it atop her head.
    She snorted. “I think you’re getting the short end of the stick on that deal, but if you get me back to Watford in one piece, I’ll be sure to set the record straight to the people of Forath. Maybe then your rivals will stop clamoring for war.”
    “I appreciate your most noble offer, my lady.” Zayne released her and turned away. “However, there is but one way to secure peace in our land, and it is something only I can do.”
    Addie touched his arm. “You…you aren’t going to sacrifice yourself to them or anything, are you?”
    At that, the prince barked a harsh laugh and walked off, leaving her once again confused and alone. She watched him go, skirting his group of men to disappear into the woods behind them. As she drew her gaze back, it rested momentarily on Brom’s. Instead of his usual deeply etched scowl, the scary bear of a man was looking at the prince with eyes of…something. Pity, maybe? His gaze flashed to hers then, and his infamous scowl—though a bit less harsh, this time—returned.
    With a sigh, Addie shifted her gaze back to the stream, not understanding anything going on around her and for the hundredth time praying that tomorrow she would wake in her hotel bed to find this had been nothing more than some crazy, mixed-up nightmare.

Chapter Eight
    Queen Helena tended to her needlework in the sitting room, stopping occasionally to sip the tea Thomasina had fetched her. The liquid had long since cooled, but the queen had more important matters to consider than the temperature of her afternoon tea. Thomasina tended to hover at Helena’s side. And as there was a conversation in the king’s adjacent chambers she wished to hear, the queen had sent her handmaiden away.
    The girl simply breathed much too loudly.
    “I send my deepest apologies for any cause of alarm my appearance yesterday may have caused in the Kingdom of Forath. While I was indeed on their lands—you, yourself, would agree they have the best selection of game in their forests—I heard the girl scream repeatedly for help. As her cries thwarted my hunt, I decided to try to deduce her situation. Eventually, I found her in a clearing, surrounded by a pack of wolves—”
    “Pack of wolves my ass,” her husband grumbled.
    The queen looked up from her menial task and threw the wall between them a dark look.
    “Shall I…continue, Your Majesty?” his squire asked.
    “Yes, yes. Carry on.”
    “Very well, sire.” He cleared his throat. “As I had neither enough arrows nor enough time to take out the entire pack before they ripped her to bits, I transformed and lifted her from their reach. I implore you, Father, to believe me when I say my actions were not out of lust, but out of pity. Unfortunately, one of King