The Secret Princess by Rachelle McCalla

Author:Rachelle McCalla
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin (UK) Ltd
Published: 2013-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Evelyn fell back and rode beside her brother as Luke and his men took the lead to meet the advancing party. Quickly she recognized Warrick’s figure on horseback. The crest and colors that decorated his gear confirmed it, as well as the presence of the two guards who rode ahead of him, whom she recognized as being those who traveled with Garren’s heir.

“Keep your face covered,” she reminded her brother, though she needn’t have bothered. He’d pulled his hood so low she couldn’t imagine how he could see out at all. She’d pulled hers nearly as low and could see little more than a horse length in front of her, trusting her mount to guide himself. When he stopped completely, she peeked ahead and saw that Prince Luke and Prince Warrick had dismounted and were talking on the road.

Fortunately, Warrick had never been one to look any more closely at the men who helped him than he did the chairs he sat upon or the dishes he ate from. If he glanced their way, he looked no further than their horses and the robes they wore, then ignored them.

As her confidence at going unrecognized increased, Evelyn’s curiosity grew. What were the two princes discussing?

“I’m going to try to get close enough to listen,” she whispered to her brother. “You stay back here.”

Cautiously she edged her horse closer to the royal pair. As she’d suspected, they were talking in Illyrian. Though Warrick, as future king, had been trained to speak Lydian well enough, Luke’s knowledge of Illyrian was flawless—better than that of many in Garren’s household, in fact.

As she reached them, she heard Warrick say, “The messenger said it was a matter of some urgency. My father and his men were attacked by a Lydian ambush.”

“I assure you, Lydia ambushed no one. If you will feast with us in Sardis tonight, we can discuss precisely what happened. You can set out first thing in the morning and travel by daylight, whereas if you attempt to reach Fier today, the evening will overtake you while you are still on the road.”

Evelyn expected Warrick to refuse the offer, but instead the Illyrian prince mused aloud, “I have been eager to meet with you, Prince Luke. You understand the issues with the borderlands better than anyone else.”

“And I have many questions to ask of you, as well. Ride with me back to Sardis,” Prince Luke urged. “If you arrive in Fier tonight, your father will only be asleep, and you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to meet with him. But if you feast with me tonight, you can meet with him tomorrow just the same.”

“Fine, you’ve convinced me.” Warrick took up his reins and clambered onto his horse. “Let us ride.”

As the party started forward again, Evelyn hung back just long enough for her brother to catch up to her. “I want to ride where I can hear all they say,” she informed Bertie. “If Warrick gives away our identities, we can flee before they realize we’ve overheard.

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