A Kiss From a Knave by Leslie A. Kelly

Author:Leslie A. Kelly
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: paranormal romance, fantasy romance, contemporary romance, alice in wonderland, sexy romance, romcom, fairytale romance, harlequin blaze
Publisher: Leslie A. Kelly

Chapter Nine

“I am very sorry, my queen. We have gone all the way to the border of Riverdell and my troops tell me there is no sign of the thief. He must have raced without rest to cross out of Wandeer ahead of my soldiers.”

“Your soldiers?”

The man standing before the throne remained very still, silently acknowledging his error but not sycophantic enough to beg forgiveness for it.

Sitting on her throne eyeing him, her explosive anger now transformed into a quiet, deadly rage that roiled in the depths of her soul, Queen Verona stared at General Huntsman. Leader of her troops—Wandeer’s own army, which was called a more innocuous “Royal Guard” to avoid alarming the other kingdoms too soon—Huntsman had never disappointed her before. A direct descendent from a long line of military men devoted to the throne, the man didn’t know the meaning of the word fail.

Until now.

Verona clenched her armrests, digging her long, dagger-sharp nails into the wood. She wanted to launch herself at him, to scratch his face, shocked that he, of all men, could have failed her like this. He always succeeded—always! Huntsman was smart, unlike most men in her kingdom. True, she much preferred her female troops, members of the elite Queen’s Amazonian Guard, for her own safety, but she’d always believed that under Huntsman’s leadership, her primary forces would be up to the task she had planned for the future.

Invasion. Conquest. Triumph.

Glory.

“You’ve disappointed me, General.”

Huntsman, always implacable and calm, actually might have moved the tiniest bit, the slightest hint of a quiver going down his tall body.

Until this moment, she had never seen the man display fear. He always oozed his well-deserved confidence with his tall form, piercing, cold silver eyes, military-short gray hair, and the massive crossbow he usually wore strapped across his back. He didn’t wear it now, though. Verona didn’t like or trust any man alive to come in her presence with a weapon. Only the women of the Queen’s Amazonian Guard bore arms to protect her.

“If we’d had any idea which route he was taking—”

“You have enough men to cover them all!” she snarled.

“The mountain routes are vast.”

“He couldn’t have taken the mountain routes, fool. The snow has made them impassable!”

He expressed his surprise only by a slight lift of a tangled brow. “Snow? At this time of year?”

Verona fell silent, not willing to reveal any more to the man than she had to. He didn’t need to know all her secrets, or her abilities. He certainly didn’t need to know about the special watery globe she kept in her chamber of magic. With the right incantation and a swirl of the white glitter inside, she had been able to close the mountains, blocking all but the most straightforward routes to Riverdell. She hadn’t expected the thief to try the mountains anyway, but there was no point in taking chances, so she’d sent blizzards wherever her powers could reach.

People who lived in those mountain passes probably hadn’t liked it. But the need outweighed the danger.

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