Chapter One
Cullen stormed down the stairs, and out to the courtyard.
What a frustrating bit of woman the Inquisitor was. Beyond belief! He didn't know how she pushed his buttons so hard, only that she really pushed them.
He took one deep breath, and then a second, as he slowed his steps. No use letting anyone else know the Inquisitor could rankle him. As he carried on across the courtyard, Cullen let his mind pick over their conversation.
"We should send a few men to search for the missing soldiers. We need all the help we can get. Josephine agrees there is not really a diplomatic solution to finding soldiers lost in a woodland. If we can get a few men, with an extra horse of supplies, and we find them, we can bring them home safely."
"That, dear Cullen, is a lot of if's. If we even find the soldiers at all. There is no guarantee we would. I don't see the point to sending more men who may be lost as well, into some woods, to look for men who did not have the sense to bring at least a compass." the Inquisitor had responded.
"So, basically, we're not going to try. We're going to abandon these men to their fate, when all that may have happened is their packs got stolen by bandits, and they can't find their way back to a road?"
"Yes, that about sums it up. I have better uses for the soldiers at this point. We really need some manpower to clean out the rubble in the library."
And the most galling, she had then waved him away. Cullen contemplated her selfishness as he went into the bathhouse. Fed by underground hot springs the water was always warm, if a bit smelly.
He sighed heavily, as he undid the strings on his pauldrons. He would figure this problem out. If he could think in tactics and battle maps, he could figure out one little woman. One little, frustrating, sexy woman. By the Maker, he would take his bath, relax, and figure the problem out!