Wraith(61)

Gabriel put an arm round me, apparently not caring about my physical state. ‘It’s a miracle that Saiya is alive. To lose my Fior Ghal mere hours after finding her…’ He shook his head. ‘It’s too terrible to contemplate.’ There was a strange edge to his tone, a sort of bitterness that I didn’t immediately understand. Then I realised with a chill what it was. Gabriel de Florinville wasn’t the sort to resort to subterfuge or deceit. He might employ diplomacy to great effect but he’d already shown that he had the sort of misplaced noble attitude that despised lying or prevaricating. But surely he understood that the only way to avoid being cut down by Ghrashbreg and his men was to glide past the truth?

Breaking the habits of a lifetime, I reached round Gabriel’s waist and squeezed it, attempting to warn him. Even his stomach was rock hard. I cleared my throat as much out of awkwardness about touching him as to draw attention to myself. ‘All this Fior Ghal business is rather baffling to me,’ I said, trying to focus the topic of conversation on something relatively benign – at least as far as Ghrashbreg was concerned. ‘I don’t really understand what it entails.’ I pulled back and punched Gabriel lightly on the arm. ‘You’ve not explained it to me.’

Ghrahsbreg smirked, an oily expression that made him appear even more heartless. ‘I’ve always wondered about Fior Ghals,’ he said. ‘Do they feel the same as their Dark Elf counterparts or are they forced to go along for the ride?’ He thrust his pelvis back and forth a few times in a crude suggestion of sex.

I felt Gabriel stiffen. Surely he was too intelligent to rise to such obvious bait? ‘There’s a lot more to being Fior Ghal than that.’ Anger vibrated through him.

I sniffed. Yeah: nine months of incubating a Dark Elf child, apparently. ‘Well,’ I said, in a bid to smooth things over so we didn’t end up with our guts spilling out next to the Death Worm’s, ‘I look forward to findi—’

I didn’t get chance to finish the word, let alone the sentence. Gabriel was already interrupting me. ‘In fact, it seems that it’s not the only thing around here that has more to it than meets the eye. Take this siege, for example.’

He had to go there; he had to open up a festering wound and not only put our lives in danger but our search for the Stone in jeopardy.

‘Whatever do you mean?’ Ghrashbreg arched an eyebrow as if he were nothing but curious but I knew he was bristling with suspicion. He wouldn’t hesitate to put us both down. Gabriel might be a Dark Elf but he’d just been slammed around by a gigantic Death Worm. Ghrashbreg had dozens of Filit goblins watching us, ready to act at a moment’s notice. Bloody Gabriel; he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

‘It’s not the city of Stirling that you and the Gneiss goblins are fighting over. It’s—’

I flung my arms round Gabriel’s neck. ‘It’s honour,’ I said breathlessly. ‘They don’t talk about it but it’s impossible to miss. It’s the same as you being too honourable to kiss me even though it’s all I’ve been thinking about.’ I reached up on tiptoe, registering the astonishment on his face before I planted my lips on his. It was the only thing I could think of to shut him up. The idiot seemed to keep forgetting he was on enemy territory.

For a moment, I thought that he wasn’t going to move then a deep growl sounded in his chest, his arms moved round me and his mouth opened. My lips tingled. In fact, my entire body tingled. He tasted like nothing I’d ever experienced before. Even though I was pressed against him, he seemed to be trying to pull me even closer, absorbing my body into his. Some dim part of my brain knew that Ghrashbreg and dozens of goblins were staring at us but it didn’t matter. All that existed were Gabriel’s hands tight on my waist and the way he sucked my bottom lip before cupping my face and gazing into my eyes, dark desire lighting his own. I moaned. It was too much. I kissed him again, enjoying the feel of his rough stubble against my skin, the warmth of his tongue pressing against mine, the staccato hammer of his heartbeat which matched my own perfectly, the…

‘We should get these two back to the castle,’ Ghrashbreg said loudly. ‘I enjoy a show as much as the next goblin but this is making me distinctly hot under the collar.’

I yanked myself away. ‘That wasn’t supposed to happen,’ I muttered, feeling bewildered and off-balance.

Gabriel seemed equally stunned. He took a step back and ran a shaky hand through his hair. His tongue darted out, licking his lips, and I followed the movement. It took almost everything I had not to throw myself at him again. My cheeks burned and the squirming sensation deep in my groin intensified. It wasn’t real, I told myself; it was some strange side effect of this Fior Ghal business that made me want to open myself up to him. It was creepy Dark Elf magic designed to entice me into making love and falling pregnant. I drew in a ragged breath. Knowing that didn’t change things; I desperately wanted Gabriel de Florinville’s body on me. And I wanted it now.

I ripped my eyes away from Gabriel and re-focused on Ghrashbreg. He seemed amused, flicking his gaze from Gabriel to my bruised lips. It was only when his eyes drifted downwards to glance at my fingers, as if checking to see if they were still broken from his earlier torture, that I brought myself back to the here and now.

‘Well,’ the goblin said briskly. ‘Shall we? I will escort you both back to the castle forthwith. Your transport out of Stirling is already waiting for you. I’ve cleared a space for Ms Buchanan so she can leave with you.’ He paused. ‘I haven’t seen your manservant for a while though. Ryland, is it?’