Page 81 of The Exile's Curse

So she'd been alone a long time. And Samuel had been right. She hadn't needed a man. Men were trouble and anchors and disaster. The fact that her stupid, foolish heart had decided to race for Lucien, of all people, was only proof that she was also a disaster when it came to romance.

So she would ignore her racing heart. And hope it was only the aftermath of nearly dying that made Lucien suddenly feel more like home than anybody else. And she would be perfectly fine.

She hoped. Her arm throbbed suddenly, and she shifted, easing herself into another position with a sigh.

"Chloe?" Lucien said sleepily. "Is something wrong?"

"No. Go back to sleep. Everything's fine."

His arm tightened around her, but he didn’t speak again. She lay in the dark, listening to him breathing, and tried not to think about the morning.

"Well, this is unfortunate."

Chloe startled awake. That had sounded like Honore. But why would Honore be in the cave? In the cave where, Chloe realized as her head cleared, she was wrapped around Lucien, her face pressed into his neck and her injured arm laid across his chest. Naked Lucien. Or so it would appear to anyone who couldn't see what they had on under the cloak. Admittedly it wasn't much, but....

"Lieutenant, you appear to be out of uniform."

Definitely Honore. She cracked an eye open, turning her head.

Damn. Not just Honore.The colonel wasn't the only one staring down at the two of them. Behind her stood Gilles, Sejerin Silya, Mikvel, Irina, for some reason, and Roland. Honore looked exasperated. Sejerin Silya looked outraged. Mikvel looked mostly...resigned. Roland, she couldn't read, and Irina and Captain Theisse were struggling not to smile.

"The storm," she said, moving away from Lucien and elbowing him under the covers. Honestly, the man slept like the dead. "We were soaked...."

"Unholy," Sejerin Silya hissed. "Lust and worse."

Worse? Lust seemed unlikely enough in a freezing mountain cave in the middle of a storm. What did the woman imagine they'd been doing that was even more ambitiously depraved? She opened her mouth to object.

"Wha—" Lucien bolted upright. His hair stood half on end, and stubble lined his jaw. But his expression rapidly snapped from sleepy to cautious as he saw they were no longer alone. "A rescue party, I see."

"Yes," Honore said briskly. "Captain Theisse sent Caesarus to see if he could find you once the storm broke. But it was dark, and all he could tell us was you were in a cave at the far end of the plateau. We left this morning before dawn. Irina was kind enough to come along to lend her earth sense to try and determine which 'cave' it was that you might be in. The sejerin thought you might need medical aid. And here we are."

Chloe hid a wince. They had all made that ride back down the mountain in the dark to come looking for them. Though if Caesarus had found them, why hadn’t the sanctii made himself known?

"The balance is broken," Silya said, glaring.

Her scowl suggested she'd far rather toss them over the edge of a cliff than heal them. Did the sejerin work as healers? Chloe had no idea. But she had a sinking feeling that the seer was here for entirely different reasons.

"Heathen foreigners." She glared up at Mikvel. "Your wedding rituals cannot be completed with the balance broken."

Honestly? Wasn't the balance already broken with House Elannon?

The king's brows rose. But it seemed he wasn't prepared to argue the point here in the cave. "I think we can discuss the ramifications of what has happened here when we get back to Deephilm. Lady de Montesse looks like she is hurt. Irina, Sejerin, perhaps you can see if you can provide her with some ease for the journey. And check that bruise on Lord Castaigne's face as well. Perhaps after he is dressed. After they're both dressed," he added. "We can wait outside."

Beside him, Irina rolled her eyes, but she followed when they all disappeared back out the cave entrance, leaving Chloe starting at Lucien.

"Well," he said. "This is...unexpected."

"What did she mean, 'out of balance'?" Chloe said. "She can't seriously think we were out here on a jaunt to find a place to...."

"Fuck?" Lucien suggested. "I don't know. I don't know what her game is at this point. I think we should do as Mikvel suggested. Get dressed and sort this out back at the palace. Saner heads will prevail once everyone is warm and comfortable again."

She wished she believed he was right.

They emerged from the cave in short order. Dressing didn't take long, and the remnants of the fire were cold and dead. Not that the cave had anything in it left to burn.

Honore stood talking with Mikvel while Captain Theisse and Roland saw to the horses. One of them was the gray Lucien had ridden yesterday, and relief flashed over his face when he realized the horse had made it safely home.

"My lady, may I ask if we need to look for Spetya?" Roland asked. "He didn't return with Graimm here."

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