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intonations in his voice, soothing and warm.
    “Where did you hear of that name? No one talks about the High places anymore.”
    His voice lacked the characteristic sarcasm that annoyed her so much. Maybe he would listen if she tried…
    “ Fillin told him. She is taking care of him; she had him removed from his cell and tended… She… She kissed him.”
    Disclosing the last part was a mistake, as she realized too late.
    “Kiss?”
    The prince roared in laugher. Sacha instantly jerked away from him to retreat into her lair of straw; bringing her cover up to her jaw, she turned her back on him. Derek was obtuse and closed minded. She should not even have bothered to try and tell him about her vision. She was going to Caer Lon, wherever it was. He could ride n orth or e ast or back to Haven for all she cared!
     
    oOo
     
    Something was wrong. There w ere the itch of straw on his cheek and the hard wood biting into his back, but something else felt absolutely out of place . Derek pushed up to sit and looked around. Turning his head, he waned . Sacha was missing.
    He jumped on his feet instantly awake, looking for the traces of a fight. There was nothing. She was simply gone. He cursed loudly. The little she-devil had finally decided to leave him behind! Another bunch of colourful epithets escaped him.
    Derek buckled his scabbard and slid rather than climbed down the ladder. How did she manage to go without waking him? He rushed outside and the rising sun blinded him.
    The young man shadowed his eyes with one hand, the other automatically setting on the h ilt of his sword. The crude light failed to show settling dust or some clue of her direction. She was long gone… He swore again. Why could not she be reasonable? How could he protect her if she took off like this? Was she so foolish she would follow some random dream, vision, or whatever it was? The idea left a mark in his mind.
    Her brother being tended by some maiden in the mythic Caer Lon was as real as unicorns and fairies. Once he found her, he was going to seize her up and galloped back to Haven with her. He would knock her out if he had to. He would convince her father to jail her. He would put her in the stocks dressed only with a potato sack. He would…
    “ Derek !”
    He whirled on his heels so fast he nearly lost his footing. Her brilliant smile half eclipsed the rising sun , infuriating him even more. Blind with a ferocious need to kill her, Derek charged toward the young woman . He grabbed her arms in an iron clasp. Her grin disappeared while shock bolted in her luminous eyes.
    “You ’re hurting me…”
    His grip tightened for a second before he mastered his fury and let go. She immediately took one step back. Derek barked:
    “Where the hell were you?!”
    Sacha massaged her painful upper arm s and walked away swiftly , without answering. Four steps and the prince blocked her way, towering over her with his entire frame. Her forehead barely reached his chin. Unimpressed, Sacha stood her ground. He nearly lost his temper and seized her again. Sensing his storm ing mood, she scowled defiantly, doing her best to compensate for the difference of height with a haughty glacial gaze.
    His wrath evaporated slowly. She looked like a pouting child. She was safe...
    Derek held one hand up to brush her offended limb and she tensed. His arm fell back to his side.
    “I did not mean to hurt you. I woke up and you were nowhere to be seen…”
    This was the closest to an apology he was willing to give. Sacha shove d the plate of bread and cheese she was still holding into his stomach .
    “ I suggest that next time you check the horses before you fret.”
    The tip of his ears grew embarrassingly hot. He had not thought of the horses. Derek turned toward the opened door. Sure enough, their mounts were peacefully chewing hay, and he could spot their saddles in the corner where he had stored them the previous evening.
    She had vanished and he had imagined the worst