After the evening meal, I sat next to Cedric in Delana's great room. Lachlan had dozed in his chair, and Delana was reading a book and doing her best to ignore us, and Cedric and I spoke quietly. The brothers had gone to look for work and an alternate place to live after our noon meal. I was terrified and begged to go with them, even though if they were conscripted there would be nothing I could do, but Cedric said I had to stay with Delana and to stop worrying.

So, the afternoon was spent with Delana trying to ignore me, while I did my best to ignore her. She had allowed me to read her books, and after browsing, I found one that did not look too difficult, but I mostly just let my mind wander, and kept trying to remember to turn the page every few minutes. I was not even sure what the book was about.

Now, I sat crooked, looking at Cedric as he told me that there was better work elsewhere, if we could afford the ship fare to take us. "Lachlan and I found some work on the docks. In a short time, we'll have the amount for our fares and some extra funds to get us through."

"Where will we go?"

"We haven't decided yet."

"So, Lachlan is coming with us? I hate to tear him from his home."

"Do you want him to go home?"

"No! I mean, he had a nice home, and then I came along… it's not fair, Cedric."

"He's his own man. He said as long as we settle somewhere quiet, and away from the war, he'll be perfectly happy."

"But his stuff-"

"He does not care about that. He's…" Cedric had to find the words. "He's had everything taken from him before. He learned to not care about possessions."

I wondered what all had been taken from him when it was determined he was not a sorcerer and could no longer live with his family. "People are cruel."

Cedric nodded and his finger traced mine on the seat. "Maybe, when we get where we are going, we can marry."

"Unless it takes you eight years to save for our fares."

He growled before he saw the smile on my face, and then he saw me. "Next time, we'll find out the rules first, and then I'll tell you what to say when they ask your age."

"Do you think I could look thirty?" I smoothed my hair and puffed out my chest.

"I'm not even that old yet!"

I giggled and he leaned closer. "I wish we had our own room right now."

Feeling the red creep through my skin I pulled away, but grabbed his hand. "If I was allowed to work, I would have the money to get us a room at an inn."

His opposite hand brushed my face and his jovial mood turned serious. "You deserve a home. A real home, one that is yours."

"And yours," I breathed. Then I swallowed and looked away. "We have to stop."

"Stop what?"

"Stop looking at me like that," I whispered harshly. "I want to kiss you."

Cedric's chuckle was louder than I expected and I blushed furiously again. From the corner of my eye I saw Delana watching us over the top of her book. "Just be careful, ok? I don't want you, or Lachlan, conscripted. The sooner we leave here the better." My last statement was partly because of Delana. "If I lose either of you…" I choked and could not say any more.

"Sofia," Cedric lifted my chin. "You won't lose me." He kissed me lightly on the lips. "And I think we'll have a heck of a time trying to lose my brother." We smiled again.

Over the next few days, the men left for work and I stayed with Delana, helping her clean and cook. We became a little friendlier as she taught me some things about cooking, and how life was lived in Rocky Cliffs. She invited me to the market with her, and I went gladly, as Lachlan and Cedric were eating larger meals before and after work than we first expected. Cedric had left me money and Delana helped me with my bargaining skills.

We also walked around and looked at the shops and carts that had nothing to do with food, but where jewelry and silks and clothing were sold. I found a dress that reminded me of the one I wore at the palace, the first-time Cedric and I danced together. My hand lingered on the fabric until I saw the shop owner giving me a suspicious eye, as if I could never afford such a thing.

"That color would suit you," Delana said as we walked away.

"I had a dress very much like that," I said, before realizing I may have said to much. The hair on the back of my neck rose and I felt as if we were being watched again. I looked around but again saw no one in a military uniform. "Do the men who conscript others wear military uniforms?"

"Not always." Delana stopped to look at a cart with a couple books. "They like to blend in." She lifted the book and began to read the first page.

My throat constricted and I looked around again. Do Lachlan and Cedric know that? I thought they must, they seemed to know a lot more about the world than me. "Can you show me how to find the laundry workers? I will have clothes to take to them tomorrow."

Delana set the book down, nodding. "Follow me. It is not far from here." She pointed out which streets to turn down, using landmarks to guide me.

"Thank you." We retraced our steps and returned to her home where we had a light lunch before she settled down with a book, and I gathered laundry, dusted and did what I could to be useful before starting supper.

The next couple weeks were much the same. I would go to the market, and sometimes the laundry, in the morning, often without Delana, and in the afternoon, I would try to keep her suite of rooms clean so she had nothing to complain about. A few times I slipped out in the afternoon to look at homes or suites that were being let. Lachlan said not to worry, Delana would have us as long as we needed, but I remembered her words to me the first day. Cedric said we would have the ship fare soon and to stop looking.

One day, on my way back from the market, I not only felt like I was being watched, but I felt as if I was being followed. I turned and looked, studying the people around me, but again, nothing seemed amiss. I hurried buying food, not caring about haggling prices that morning, I just wanted to get back to the security of Delana's home. All the way there I felt the same apprehension and by the time I reached her floor, I was out of breath from running up the stairs.

Her door was locked, but she had given me a spare key in case she would be gone, so with shaking hands, I set down my purchases and unlocked her door. Looking up and down the hall, I saw no one. I grabbed the bags and went inside, locking the door behind me.

It took several minutes to catch my breath and calm down. Chiding myself for being paranoid, I went to the kitchen to store the food for later, then stoked the fire in the small stove to put on a tea kettle, thinking that might settle my nerves.

Before the water could even begin to warm, there was a knock on the door. I moved to the great room as silently as possible, and stood there. The knock came again but I was petrified. "Open the door, Sofia," said a male voice. I swallowed. It was not Cedric or Lachlan. A sorcerer? "Sofia, I know you are in there. Open the damn door."

It could not be a sorcerer, the voice seemed so familiar. I moved closer. "If you do not open this door, Sofia, I will open it myself."

Fear of Delana's property being damaged outweighed my other fears and I unlocked the door, opening it to a crack.

"Who-" I could not finish the sentence. The man on the other side was tall, lean, with unkempt facial hair and longer hair on his head. His boot wedged in the door crack so I could not have shut it if I wanted.

"Sofia," he pushed the door open farther.

"Roland?"

He entered and looked around while I backed away. "I thought-"

"Did you, Sofia? Tell me what you thought?"

"I thought the king had you. I thought you were dead or being tortured."

"Funny," Roland smiled, "I thought the same of you."

"I'm glad you're not. I mean, what happened?" He moved closer and I backed up further.

"You mean besides my fiancée running away? And her scheming with my son-in-law to betray me?"

I shook my head. "No, Roland. I…"

"Did you murder Michael as well?"

"No! No, I had nothing to do with that. Roland-"

"And then I find you here with Cedric the sorcerer," he spat. "He was in on the coup as well."

"Roland, let me explain…" The tea kettle whistled then, making both of us jump. "Please, sit down and I'll bring you a cup of tea?" He paused, glaring at me while the whistling kettle grated my nerves. "Please?"

"I would like to watch you pour the tea."

I wondered why but then realized he thought I might try to poison him. "All right. The kitchen is right over here." He watched closely as I took two mugs from the cupboard, added tea and then the hot water. My hands shook as I lifted the mugs and moved to return to the great room. Roland was blocking my way. "Shall we sit?" I asked. He knew I was terrified.

Moving, he said, "After you," and let me through. I chose to sit in a chair rather than the sofa I generally shared with Cedric in the evening. I took a drink of tea, to show Roland it was safe, then set my cup on the table because my hands were still shaking.

"Why did you leave?" he demanded.

I swallowed. "I…A lot of reasons."

"Start naming them."

"Ian was blackmailing me and he threatened to hurt Michael and me," I watched his face, "but then I thought we were safe and then Michael died." Tears came to my eyes knowing that Michael was safe.

"What did Ian want you to do?"

"He wanted me to spy on you."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"How could I? Ian was following me. He always seemed to know where I was, and I was frightened. I wanted to tell you but he said he would take care of Michael and me if I said anything. I burned the evidence."

"What evidence?" He leaned closer from his chair.

"Names of other lords?"

"It was you who broke into my desk?" Roland seemed astonished.

"I was trying to save Michael and myself."

"So Baileywick was correct. You are cunning little liar. What else did you lie to me about?"

Looking at my hands, which I was squeezing in my lap, I tried to think. Then I met his eyes again. "I was in love with Cedric, not you."

He regarded me evenly, showing no emotion right away. The silence was deadly and I feared that I had said too much. After some time, he spoke, "Why would you lower yourself to that level, Sofia?"

Now I was angry. "Lower myself? He has never hit me, he's never been with someone else while professing to love me, he's never forced himself-"

"Been with someone else while professing to love me?" Roland laughed. "That is exactly what you did."

"I don't think I ever said I loved you." I honestly could not remember.

"Does your sorcerer know about our kisses, about what we've done?"

"Yes," I breathed, guilt washing through me. I had never given Cedric full details of the good times with Roland, but Cedric must have known something.

"He apparently does not have the money to take care of you." Roland waved his hand around without taking his eyes off me.

"I don't require money."

Roland laughed. I grabbed my tea and drank deeply to have something to look at other than the former duke. "If I had stayed," I ventured, "would you have still tried to depose the king?"

"He is not the true king." I was afraid the neighbors might hear the growl from Roland.

"If I had known about the coup, and asked you not to do it, would you have listened to me?"

"What is this about, SofIa?"

"I don't like war. Too many people are killed and there's men being conscripted."

"That happens."

"But they are being treated like slaves."

"Why do you care?"

"Because if I had stayed with you, would any of this have been prevented?" A couple tears slipped from my eyes.

Roland watched me, measuring his words before he spoke. "You are saying that you care about all these strangers and would have been willing to be my wife, to save all these random people. You did not care for me at all?"

"That's not true! I care very much for you!" The admission slipped out and I saw his smug smile and wished I could take the words back. "I was so worried when I heard that the king had you. I…I did not want you hurt. No matter how much you hurt me."

"I hurt you? I searched for you, but it seems I was lied to at every turn! And now look at me! My home, my only living child, gone. And you, my love," he sputtered, "I'm not finished with you."

"Roland," I wanted to tell him that I would marry Cedric but the words would not come.

He stood and took my arm, pulling me from the chair. "Did you really worry about me?" he sneered as he brought his face to mine. Then his lips were on mine, hard and bruising while he held me tight so I could not push away. I thought he might start to chew my face but then his kisses stopped. "As I see it, I have two options."

He kissed me again, and though his clothes were no longer fine, and they were filthy, and his beard was scratchy, I caught Roland's scent, and the taste of his mouth, and part of me relaxed against him as his tongue forced its way into my mouth.

When he pulled back the second time, I was breathless, but asked, "What are your two options?"

Roland smiled easily. "I can either kill you right here, right now, and let your poor, beloved Cedric find you." I stiffened in his arms. "Or I can wait for Cedric to arrive, kill him, take you with me, and kill you after I'm done with you."

We both heard a gasp but it took a moment to realize that it was not from us. Turning to look at the door, Delana stood there, eyes burning, and her knuckles white upon the door knob.