Page 40 of A Fable of Riddles and Redemption

With a slight growl in his voice, he said, “Fine. I meant me. Come back, where I can protect you.”

Zorina smiled up at him while biting her lip, the sight far more distracting than he’d expected. “I appreciate the sentiment, but…no.”

Herrick frowned. “No?”

“I have no wish to be ensnared in the castle.”

“But you’d be safe—”

She cut him off with a finger to his lips. “I’ll be safe here. Once I go inside, I’ll stay there.”

Clenching his jaw, he caught her hand in his free one and growled, “You’d better.”

“I will. I promise.”

For a long moment, they stared at each other, neither seeming to want to end their time together, or do anything that might disrupt whatever this was. Herrick caressed her hand, hoping his touch would convey the feelings he could not utter.

Just as he was about to lean even closer, her eyes widened and she uttered a hasty, “Goodnight, Herrick,” before turning and rushing into her tiny sanctuary with Anala on her heels. The door immediately closed behind her, and he was left alone on her doorstep.

With a dejected sigh, Herrick let his shoulders slump and turned toward Adael once more.

Chapter thirteen

The Maestro

Herrick

It did not take long for Herrick to return to Adael and report back to Captain Firmin. Herrick sat across from Captain Firmin in the captain’s office, detailing how he’d safely escorted Zorina home.

However, he intentionally left out the part where he’d come deliciously close to kissing her. That was not something his commanding officer needed to know.

“And you’re sure you can trust her?” Captain Firmin asked, suspicion written in his eyes.

“Yes,” Herrick replied with a firm nod.

“You’re not merely swayed by her pretty face?”

“No.” While he couldn’t help but admit that she was beautiful, it was not her physical appearance that convinced him of her innocence.

The captain cocked an eyebrow, apparently doubting his unspoken reasons, but he moved on. “Your pottery girl does resemble the other women taken. Perhaps we can use that to our advantage…”

Herrick clenched his jaw at that, but before he could think of an appropriate response that wouldn’t get him dismissed as a guard, Duke Armand burst into the room.

“What is this?” Duke Armand demanded, waving a single sheet of parchment in his hand.

Captain Firmin arched an eyebrow again. “I won’t know until I see it.”

The duke all but flung the letter at the captain in his obvious anger and frustration. “Read it, then! Aloud, if you please.”

Frowning, Captain Firmin smoothed the letter out and cleared his throat before beginning to read.

Duke Armand and Captain Firmin,

I am looking for someone: a woman with considerable power and magical ability. The now-addled women you’ve found are not who I need, though they share similar physical features.

You will find the one I seek and deliver her to me at once. Leave her in the woods on the northern end of the city, and I will claim her.

If you do not, a disaster you cannot even imagine will occur.