Page 77 of Falling Princess

Lorcan showed me, then took his knife and whacked mine. I flinched. My blade went spinning into the underbrush. He retrieved it for me.

“How do you remember all this?” I asked.

“Years of practice.” He put the knives away. “We’d better keep moving if we want to make it to Tuli Bayne by nightfall.”

A village. The name means, essentially, Waterfall Town. We’re getting higher into the foothills of Mount Astra.

I’ve been aimlessly taking us off course all day. Lorcan hasn’t curbed my exploration. If anything, he encouraged it.

“What happens if we don’t get there by nightfall?” I asked.

“Then we spend a cold night sleeping on the ground, or have to ride in the dark. You’re not equipped to sleep rough.”

“Don’t you mean ‘we’?”

“I can sleep anywhere, Princess.”

I rolled my eyes. “Aren’t you tough.”

“Tougher than you.”

I can’t argue, not that it stopped me from trying.

“What if Iwantedto sleep under the stars?”

Deliberately, I slowed my mare’s pace. Lorcan wheeled his mount in a circle and smacked her rump. We shot forward. He knows I’m a good enough rider not to get thrown, but it’s still not a nice thing to do.

He caught up with me a moment later. “If that’s something you want to experience, Princess, I’ll secure provisions. Tonight, though, you’re sleeping at a proper inn.”

I lifted my chin haughtily, feeling miffed. I scowled at him. Message received: time to get moving.

“Is it fun?” I asked, despite my irritation with him.

Lorcan shrugged. “Beds are more comfortable, but it has its perks.”

I interpreted this to mean that he thought I couldn’t hack sleeping rough.

“I’d like to try it.”

He arched one brow at me as though to say,oh, really. What he actually said was, “As you wish, Princess. On the return trip.”

I could hardly contain my glee.

We arrived in Tuli Bayne after sundown. It was too late to do the social niceties expected of me as a visitor of honor—a problem that could have been avoided had we stayed on pace today. It’ll set us back in the morning while I do the necessary visiting with village leaders. Personally, I don’t mind. Meeting with my people and seeing how they live is the only good part of this annual tradition.

Claiming fatigue, I requested that my evening meal be brought to my room.

“Stay?” I asked Lorcan, placing my hand on top of his. The contact sizzled up my arm. We’ve been together all day. There’s little left to say. I still preferred his company to eating alone.

“If you command it, Princess.”

“It was a question, not a command. You’re never this deferential when we’re in Scotland,” I complained, which earned me a soft, bemused smile.

“At school, there’s no general populace to impress. Or start rumors.”

He stayed. We didn’t talk about anything substantial, but it turns out that when we were left to our own devices, we had no trouble filling the silence with idle banter. We played the eye-contact game for a while, until I finally caught him looking at me and held his gaze.

A mistake.

---