Redoubt Read Online Free PDF Page A

reciprocating. He put both his arms around her when
     she did, pulling her closer, and felt her arms around his waist.
    “I don’t think there would be any harm if you came in,” she said huskily.
    “It’d probably be better than standin’ about in the hall,” he agreed.
    The little sitting room had been laid ready for the evening, though it wasn’t likely
     that Nikolas would set foot here before dawn. Two lanterns were lit in the sitting
     room, and the windows had been left open to the breeze, although the curtains had
     been drawn before them. They both sat down on the couch before the cold fireplace
     and listened to the distant sounds of celebration coming in through the open window.
    All right, Mags. Do manage to make some kind of talk, won’t you?
He seized on the last thing she’d mentioned in the loft.
    “I might be able to help you with weapons’-work and all,” he said, “I’ve got some
     weapons I think’d suit you,” then blushed as she giggled. “I don’t think that came
     out right.”
    “Oh, you probably have a lot of weapons that would suit me, but we should confine
     ourselves to the ones my father would approve of,” she flirted, making him blush even
     more. But he liked this new side of her; she was so much more
alive.
    They flirted a little more and kissed a little more, but eventually the fact that
     she was tired and the fact that Nikolas was very much a presence even though he was
     occupied elsewhere made him take his leave of her.
    He was by no means ready to call an end to the evening, which was still going strong
     in the gardens. By the time he got back to the stable loft, however, Bear and Lena
     were nowhere to be seen.
    :Don’t go looking for them,:
Dallen advised.
:And for Haven’s sake, don’t go knocking on Bear’s door for a nightcap!:
    Oh, so
that
was the way the wind blew . . . he’d had his suspicions for quite some time, but
     this was the first Dallen had confirmed them. He felt a flash of envy. Lena’s father
     was in no position to dictate anything to her, given that he was utterly in disgrace,
     and Mags rather doubted that her teachers would disapprove either of Bear as something
     more than a friend or of anything that would give her a little distraction from her
     studies. If anything, her teachers at Bardic Collegium had difficulty in getting her
     to think about anything other than music. Being in love would certainly give her perspective
     on love songs. And as for Bear himself, well, his parents were already so furious
     about his defiance of their wishes (with the help of Healer’s Collegium) that it was
     difficult to imagine how anything he would do short of murder would change their opinion
     for the worse. Bear already had the responsibilities of a full Healer in many areas,
     and even his teachers tended to regard and treat him as a full adult and peer.
    :Well,:
Dallen said, commenting on his thoughts,
:your case is a bit more complicated.:
    :It always is,:
he sighed.
:It’s bad enough that Amily has been a cripple for so long and all her friends feel
     protective of her. It’s worse her father is a Herald, so the chances of us actually
     keeping anything to ourselves is pretty low. But given that Nikolas is the King’s
     Own Herald . . . sometimes it feels as if every single person in Whites and half of
     the Companions thinks themselves her substitute parents. Awkward don’t begin to describe
     it.:
    :It could be worse,:
Dallen observed.
:You could be the Prince. No matter what he does, someone is bound to disapprove.:
    Mags snorted. But that was entirely too true.
    He nibbled a little more, drank a little more, mingled with his fellow Trainees and
     some of the younger Guard recruits who had managed to find the party, and finally
     decided to try his hand at dancing. If Amily was determined to dance by Midwinter,
     he’d better be ready to dance with her. On a night like tonight, the girls would forgive
     his mistakes, he