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Isabel eyed him for a moment, then stepped out into the hall

He reached out "Stop! I just said--"

Isabel looked over her shoulder, lifted her chin, and froze hilare "You would dare lay a hand on me?"

His hand went still in midair, mere inches fronoring the twinge in her ankle

Neither of them came after her

The hall was lined with elaborate tapestries, depicting battlefields and romantic idylls in that aard, stylized way that tapestries did, but the floor was uncovered and the stone was cold against her bare feet She ca pillared hall, and followed it without hesitation She felt that there should be a long skirt sweeping behind her, and she alather it up before she recalled that she earing riding pants For an odd moment she was embarrassed by that

At the botto, knowing exactly where to go without any clear idea of where it was she was going At the end of the ballroom, two thick wooden doors stood open, and a constant uards stood at the entrance, right outside the room They were uards watching her roolanced at her as she stepped in front of the doorway, despite her bare feet and her clothes Isabel hesitated, and her hands went to her hair

It was aever brushed it Isabel frowned Why should she care about her hair?

She took a step forward so that she was out of the guards’ line of vision She raised both hands and brushed theuards to see if they had turned They were still staring straight ahead

She took one strand of hair and arranged it over her shoulder It was long and silky, so blond it was alold She brushed the strands carefully over the white silk of her tunic, then perh the door

The Challenge Hour was al his back straight so he wouldn’t have to lean against the uncomfortable wooden throne, Rokan allowed his eyes to rove over the roo chandeliers and long mirrors, it seemed crowded and s about on the carved wood floor This was his thirtieth day of Challenge-sitting, and his last After today, any challenge to his right to the throne of Sahtforward declaration before the court

Of course, many members of his court liked convoluted routes--in fact, thrived upon the the people who had been absent for the past twenty-nine days of Challenge-sitting but were here for the last The soldiers, not one of who as his father; the southern merchants, who feared he wouldn’t be; the northern dukes, who had been waiting for decades for a weak king and were now hoping for hiht, and scanned the room for his few allies Such as they were

His sister was there now--he hadn’t seen her enter--leaning against the gold-patterned white wall, watching everything and everyone Like everyone else, Clarisse was sure he was going toto step in and save hi hiht, and Rokan smiled across the room at him Willard, of all the people in the rooht fail His blind faith made his advice fairly useless, but it was nice to have soh sorcerer, was currently glaring at him--or more specifically, at the scratches on his cheek Rokan resisted the urge to touch them He wondered if the Shifter had woken yet--or, as Will had speculated, if she ever would wake Rokan hadn’t noticed that she was asleep yesterday until the castle had co stone walls and clusters of soaring towers still impressed even him, and he had turned to see her reaction But the wild creature holding on to hiht that for a panicked ht she was dead

She couldn’t be dead He needed her

Rokan realized that his fists were clenched, and he hastily relaxed the eyes had noticed The ride to find the Shifter would have been worth it even if they hadn’t found her; just to ride for an entirewith no one but Will It would probably be a year or hness!"

The shock of being addressed during a Challenge Hour drove all else frohtened al the source of the threat

Then the words sank in: Your Highness This was not a challenge at all

"Duke Owain," he said with soray beard hness, but Iill"

Despite hi woman beside the duke, who stood with her eyes lowered and a faint blush on her cheeks He illing to bet Daria was feeling fine Owain had spoken for one reason: so Rokan would give the duke’s niece a worried glance, and the court would note it

Cursing hi into the duke’s trap, Rokan said, "Of course," and forced himself to meet Clarisse’s eyes Her face was studiously blank Thishim to control his impulses

Easy for her to say I’m not made of stone But despite his irritation, he knew Clarisse was right