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at his temple. “I usually
    am. But I often speak my mind. Though your warrior sister
    might have terrorized me to silence for a short while, I’m afraid
    your reprieve is at an end.”
    Didn’t she understand just what he demanded in return
    for his favor? This aspect of her personality puzzled him. How
     
    could a skilled wanton, a woman well-versed in the ways of
    luring young men to their doom, miss his obvious offer?
    Did she play the innocent to disarm him as she must have
    disarmed Aubin? If so, she’d met her match. Years ago, when
    he was just eight and ten, before DiSanti’s betrayal and his
    parents’ deaths, he had spent time at court. There he learned
    well not to believe the honeyed lies of beautiful women.
    “Don’t feign innocence with me. I’m not so easily led as
    Aubin.”
    “Is that so?” She sighed and he felt her body sag. “Tell me
    of Aubin.”
    “You still claim you didn’t know him? You lie too easily.”
    “I’ll not waste my breath, but humor me and tell me of your
    brother.”
    Perhaps by speaking of Aubin he could shake her claim of
    innocence. Or maybe he just needed to remember him out loud.
    Images of his younger brother floated before Kyne. “Aubin
    and Katya were twins. Though alike in appearance, their
    temperaments were as different as the moons. Katya is bold
    and reckless, doing before thinking. Aubin was always the
    cautious, thoughtful one, a dreamer, a poet, a gentle soul who
    saw the best in everyone. They were inseparable...until you.”
    His words died away.
    “What happened?” she prompted.
    “Like bees to a honey pot, women fluttered around Aubin.
    He loved them all, yet loved none of them. Men respected him.
    When I learned he saw you, DiSanti’s daughter, we argued and
    parted in anger. Next I saw him, Aubin lay dying.” Grief and
    guilt closed Kyne’s throat.
    Too well he remembered the harsh words he had thrown
    at his younger brother. Words like sharp stones, meant to wound,
    they’d found their mark—in Kyne’s own heart. If he had spoken
    with more restraint would Aubin have listened? Would he yet
    be alive? While DiSanti may have wielded the weapon, Kyne
    knew he himself had put Aubin in harm’s way.
    She laid her hand on his arm. “You blame yourself? Do
    not. You sought only to protect one you loved.”
    He jerked away, suspicious of and unwilling to accept the
     
    solace she offered. Why had he bared his soul to this woman?
    “Enough. The blame lies with you and your father. Speak no
    more.””
    “As you wish. I grow weary of protesting my innocence.”
    Her small sigh made him regret his sharp reaction to her
    words. He would do well to be wary. Though small and delicate
    in appearance, she had a deceitful and dangerous nature. Almost
    without effort, she discerned his feelings of guilt. Still, he found
    himself wanting to lose himself in the sound of her voice and
    revel in the touch of her hand.
     
    Three
    Since Kyne’s decree, Sianna remained quiet, but she knew
    her silence didn’t please him. Even without a direct sense of
    his emotions, his physical reactions as she shifted position behind
    him told her much. Though unaware of what fate she faced
    once they reached their destination, his solid strength comforted
    her.
    The rolling gait of the quinar combined with the physical
    and emotional stress of the last few days lulled Sianna to a
    drowsy state. Leaning into Kyne, she let her eyes drift shut,
    and her arms loosened around his waist.
    “Do not sleep. If you slip from Hakan’s back, you might
    just tumble off the mountain as well.” Kyne’s harsh tone
    shattered her lethargy.
    She blinked. The quinar picked his way along a narrow
    path, his right side nearly scraping the rock wall rising upward.
    To the left the path fell away into a deep, dark gorge. To fall
    here meant to die. Even if the fall didn’t end her life, she would
    lie broken and bleeding until death found her, for no one could
    be rescued from the