Free Gate to Kandrith (The Kandrith Series) by Nicole Luiken Page A

hands in horror.
    “Let’s start over,” she said instead. “I am Lady Sarathena Remillus, but please call me Sara.” She gave him her most bewitching smile and held out her hand to be kissed.
    Unlike most men, he didn’t smile back or look lascivious. He clasped her fingers for a bare instant then dropped them as if burned.
    Sara’s fingers curled involuntarily as if she could hold the sensation in. How could such a simple touch make her so aware of his strength and maleness?
    “I’m Lance,” he said.
    Lance, not Lord Lance? Was he being informal, or did he lack a title? Informal, Sara decided. He had to be of high rank to be an ambassador.
    “Lance, I have a favor to beg of you. Something was spilled in my carriage, and it reeks dreadfully. Could I ride with you, until the smell clears away?”
    “I don’t think so.”
    “We won’t be alone,” Sara assured him. “My maid will be there to insure propriety.”
    “That wasn’t what I meant.” Lance raked his hand through his sandy brown hair and winced.
    He was going to say no.
    Disappointment warred with relief. In her own carriage she would be safe from this unwelcome awareness.
    Brutally, Sara reminded herself there was more at stake than her own comfort. Two hundred dead at Lord Favonius’s estate… Not a woman or child spared . Such an attack must not happen again. She had to discover the secret of slave magic, and Lance represented a golden opportunity to accomplish her goal quickly.
    “Please—” She’d intended to bat her eyelashes as Evina had taught her, but she saw how that single word, please, stopped him. She remembered how he’d risked bodily harm last night for the sake of a stranger. Instantly, she knew all she had to do to get her way was play on his sympathy.
    “In a few days’ time, I’m going to be leaving the Republic to live among strangers for months, if not years. It will make things so much easier if, when we arrive, they’re not all strangers.” The words sounded true because they were true.
    It worked. Lance nodded once. “Fine, then. Now excuse me, I want to stretch my legs.” He walked off without another word.
    Sara told herself it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t be able to avoid her once they were in the carriage.
    * * *
    Lance knew he’d made a mistake as soon as he wedged his large body into the carriage and Lady Sara’s knee brushed his, sending a jolt of heat through him.
    But what choice had he had? Ordering another carriage would delay their party, and it was vital that he deliver the Child of Peace to Kandrith. After being denied an audience with the new Primus for a week, Lance had been all but certain that the man intended to repudiate the Pact, imperiling Kandrith. And then today, Lance had abruptly been informed that he and the Republican Child of Peace would be leaving for Kandrith within the hour.
    Lance didn’t know what to make of the coincidence that the woman he’d rescued last night was Primus Remillus’s daughter. Perhaps the Goddess had steered his steps that night.
    Regardless, he wouldn’t be able to relax until they crossed the border. If doing so meant sharing transportation, then he would, but, Goddess help him, he hadn’t comprehended how small the cursed carriage would feel with the two of them inside it.
    The three of them. The maid was squeezed in there too. Lance ignored Lady Sara and smiled at her slave, a vividly pretty Elysinian. “Good afternoon.” Here lay salvation.
    He expected Lady Sara to fly into a fury at his rudeness in not pretending her slave was a patch of upholstery, but she only smiled. “This is my maid, Felicia. She’s been my companion since we were twelve.”
    Pretty words— companion, maid —but the slavechain on Felicia’s wrist spoke the real truth.
    Felicia dimpled up at him, but he read speculation in her eyes. She would have heard of his country.
    As the coach lumbered into motion, Lady Sara turned to Felicia. “So what did the outriders say?