Beloved in His Eyes (Angel's Assassin #2)(35)

“I know, little one. I know.”

Dread swirled up inside of Justina. He knew who Aurora was! He must have recognized her from the castle. This was not a good idea.

“Can you escort us to the castle?” Aurora asked.

“The drawbridge is raised. The gates are closed. You will not be able to enter until morning.”

Aurora glanced down the road toward the castle anxiously. “They closed the gates?”

“Aye.”

“Did all the people make it inside?”

“I do not know,” his voice was strangely compassionate. “There were many, many people entering when we left.”

“What were you hunting for out in the dark?” Justina asked.

He laughed. “I set traps! We need to eat. Rabbit. Mouse. I set the traps at night.” He smacked his hands together, causing Justina and Aurora to jump. “And in the morning, we have food.”

“You don’t have enough food?” Aurora asked.

“We have enough for now because of the kindness of the lady of the castle, but others are not so kind to us. It is best to be prepared, eh?” Nicodemus laughed and picked the young girl up, tossing her above his head. She giggled as he caught her and set her on his shoulders. “Look!” Nicodemus called as they entered the camp. “Visitors!”

A small campfire illuminated the wagon. Two black horses were tethered to it. One woman set aside her tambourine to stand. She walked like a cat as she approached. Sleek, lethal. She circled them, eyeing them. “This little one is not worth much.”

Justina straightened and scowled.

When the gypsy girl looked at Aurora, she gasped and glanced at Nicodemus.

“Be nice,” he warned her. “This is Celina. There is Rolando.” He pointed to the man near the drums with a thick mustache who stood up and bowed with a flourish, sweeping his hand out in front of him. “There is Terina.” Terina sat on the steps of the wagon. She had wide eyes that seemed to see everything. “And he is Gerad.” Gerad stood and approached them. He took Aurora’s hand and looked deep into her eyes before bending over and pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

Justina almost groaned. Did everyone have to fall in love with her? But suddenly Gerad was before Justina. He captured her hand before she could yank it behind her back. “It is quite a pleasure.” His smile was sensual, and his eyes were dark. He turned her hand over and pressed a kiss to her wrist. Justina blushed and pulled her hand from his hold. She wiped the kiss off on her skirt.

“We must get back to the castle,” Aurora said. She glanced at Nicodemus. “When can you take us to the castle?”

“There is no hurry,” Gerad said in his heavily accented voice. “Surely, you can share a meal with us before you go.”

Aurora glanced at Justina.

“There are Hungars in the forest. You should be on your way. We should be on our way,” Justina warned.

“Oh, the Hungars!” Rolando called. He pounded on one of the drums. “They are large and not very bright.”

“But they have sharp swords.”

Nicodemus nodded, scooping the girl from his shoulders, and setting her on the ground. “Aye. And they are certainly no lovers of music.”

Justina glanced toward the castle.

“Come!” Nicodemus called, leading them into the camp. He slapped Rolando on the back of the head. “Get up! Give your seat to our guests!”

“We don’t mean to be disrespectful, but we have to get to the castle,” Aurora insisted.

“As I said, the gates are closed and the Hungars roam the forest. It is a dangerous time. The morning would be better to travel,” Nicodemus replied.

Aurora scowled deeply.

“Here! Drink. You must be thirsty!”

Justina realized she was thirsty, but she wasn’t sure she trusted these gypsies enough to drink what they had.

The little girl raced into the wagon and when she emerged again, she was holding a flask. She handed it to Nicodemus. He handed it to Aurora. “It is not quite what we tasted at the castle, but it satisfies our thirst.”

Aurora shook her head and waved it away.

“I insist. You must drink for your journey,” Nicodemus said, offering the flask again.

Aurora took the flask, opened it, and took a quick drink. She handed the flask to Justina.

Justina eyed it warily. But in the end, her dry throat won out and she took a deep drink. “You haven’t seen any Hungars?”

“No. The Hungars are not very friendly with our kind. But they leave us be if we stay out of their way.”

Celina leaned up against Nicodemus. “They would have been very friendly to me, eh?”

Justina sat on the stump vacated by Rolando.

Aurora looked back at the castle. Then turned to Nicodemus. “Can we borrow one of your horses?”

Nicodemus smiled patiently. “It is not wise to travel at night. Besides, the horse’s steps would attract unwanted attention.”

The little girl stood at Aurora’s side, staring up at her with wide brown eyes.

Brown eyes that reminded Justina of Adam. A lump rose in her throat and she shot to her feet. They couldn’t stay here! They had to keep moving. “We should go.”

“Go?” Nicodemus echoed. “Where would you go? It is dark and not safe for two women to be traveling alone. Eat with us. Rest. We will play music for you and we will dance.”