ridiculous as it seemed to her, she was sure it was the unicorn horn, but she wasn't about to tell him that. “I don’t know.”
“But Agatha brought you to the castle.”
“Led me here like a stupid, sacrificial lamb.”
“Why do you think she did that?”
She shrugged. “She said she’d gotten all the women and children away safely already, but that all the ways were blocked. I guess she was lying. She sure didn’t get me away or safe.”
“My men think you are the Lady Naomi. You will let them continue to think that. If you try to escape, you will be punished. If Agatha tries to contact you, I want to know about it immediately. I don’t think she is done with you. And I have unfinished business with her.”
"Why do you want everyone to think I’m her?"
"Because this is over if I have Lady Naomi. I can return to my fortress victorious, and everything settles down for a while."
"What about the real Lady Naomi? What if she turns up?"
"If she has any sense about her, she’ll go very far away and change her name. She knows what will happen if I find her."
She didn't have any reply to that.
"Do you have any other questions?"
"Like what?"
"If you are new to this land, you must have questions."
Her brow knitted. “I don’t know if I want to know anything more about this place. Everything I’ve learned so far has been rather unpleasant.”
“That is probably true, but do you want to be taken by surprise again?”
She caught his drift. “All right, what exactly am I supposed to do as your wife, other than what we agreed to exempt me from?”
He chuckled at the not so subtle reminder of their agreement. “Other than that, you are supposed to follow any order that I give you and tend to me.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Well, that is very vague and blanketing. How am I supposed to ‘tend’ to you?”
He raised a hand to rub one of his shoulders. He tilted his head and thought a moment. “You tend to me by looking after my home, being available to entertain guests, and a massage would not be out of the ordinary.”
“A massage?” she said flatly.
He nodded. “Yes, one now would be nice.”
Her mouth dropped open. She could not believe him. He motioned her over. Taking the fire poker with her, she hesitantly stepped across the room.
“Naomi,” he said. He held out his hand. She reluctantly placed the fire poker in his palm. He set it on the floor. She took position at his back. He dropped his head and waited. She nervously cracked her knuckles and rubbed her hands together to stall for a few seconds, but soon her hands were loose and ready, and if she took much longer, he was likely to say something. She put her hands on his shoulders and began to knead the muscles.
The only person that she could recall ever giving shoulder massages to was her father. The thought of him made her hands still for a moment. She hadn't spoken to him for a week, and now she was stuck here. She wondered if he and the rest of her family knew she was gone yet and what they thought. The worry they were experiencing was probably awful. She hated the thought that they were searching for her right now and fearing her dead.
“My shoulders are still knotted.”
She jumped slightly at the sudden interruption of her thoughts which made the tears that had gathered spill. She began working the muscles again and cried silently. It was all right. No one could see her.
She kneaded Tavik’s shoulders as instructed. There was a large scar on one of them. She worked her thumb into it and heard him sigh at the action. Her father had encouraged her to become a masseuse. He said her hands were magic on his shoulders. She’d always laughed it off. She couldn’t imagine giving strangers massages. It’d seemed too personal. She wondered if she’d ever see her dad again.
A tear hit Tavik’s neck. Before she could wipe it away, he reached back and brushed his hand over the spot. He brought his hand to his face and looked at the