Bride by Midnight by Linda Winstead Jones

Author:Linda Winstead Jones [Winstead Jones, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Fantasy, New York Times Bestselling Author
Publisher: Linda Winstead Jones
Published: 2013-03-31T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Lyssa was not herself, and hadn’t been from the moment she’d stumbled outside the palace—so close to Volker, so damn close and still... not nearly close enough. After an afternoon spent minding the shop, he escorted her into the home they shared. She was subdued; she did not smile; she did not once look at him as if she thought she could fix his life. Fix him, more rightly.

She’d even declined Hagan’s invitation to supper before Blade could do it himself. She liked Hagan; she enjoyed dining with him, chatting over a meal someone else had prepared. But tonight... Tonight she was shaken and clearly not in the mood for company.

Once inside the cottage, she’d sliced bread and cheese and fruit, and eaten without talking. It wasn’t like her not to carry on a one-sided conversation while they walked or ate or worked. He should be glad. He’d never been fond of chattering women. But sitting at the small table, fire blazing, candles lit, he missed the sound of Lyssa’s voice. In a perverse way he craved it.

Finally he was compelled to ask, “What’s wrong. Are you truly ill?”

“Not ill,” she said, tearing off a piece of bread and playing with it. “But...”

“But what?” He didn’t mean to snap, but he did.

She lifted her head and looked at him squarely for the first time in hours. Those green eyes were so bright and clear and innocent. If he were another man, he could fall into her and get lost. Losing himself in a woman wasn’t an option in this life he’d chosen.

“Something is wrong with me,” she said. “Ever since... ever since we were married, I’ve been different. I know things I should not, I have dreams that are more than dreams, and... and...” She stopped, staring down into her lap as if she could not bear to look at him any longer.

“Dammit, Lyssa, spit it out!”

She hesitated, but not for long. “Last week I delivered some goods to an old woman who does not get around very well.” Still she did not look at him. “I touched her bad knee, and she said it felt instantly better. And this evening as we were walking home I saw her walking down the street. Quite spryly, I might add.”

“That doesn’t mean...”

She lifted her head and stared at him, and he wished she’d continued to look away. Lyssa, his happy wife, this naive and innocent person who lived in a world so unlike his own, was tortured. “There’s more. This afternoon, while I was standing mere feet from the palace entrance, I told you that you would kill the man who murdered your sister. But I didn’t tell you everything.” She took a deep breath, exhaled slowly. “I actually saw you killing a man. I saw it in my head as clear as day, as clearly as if it were happening right before my eyes. He had a beard and brown eyes, and wore a very nice cloak. I recognized him, I’ve seen him in the palace, but I do not know his name.

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