“Identify yourself!” Leo yelled.
“It’s me, Edmund!” His voice sounded in the distance. “Come quick!”
Leo ran with the others, following the trail of twine. After a few minutes, they found Edmund coming toward them.
“Lady Tatiana’s father arrived,” Edmund reported. “He went up on the wall walk to look around and spotted something strange happening on the beach.”
Leo took off at lightning speed while Nevis yelled, “Wait for us! It could be another trap!”
As soon as Leo cleared the catacombs, he dropped his torch into a pail of water and kept going. He darted across the courtyard and drawbridge, headed for the beach.
At the top of the path, he halted. A line had been drawn in the sand, parallel to the shore. He scanned the beach, but there was no one there. Then another line began to appear, and his breath hitched. A stick was digging through the sand, but it was moving on its own. Was one of Ana’s ghostly spies at work?
He eased slowly down the path, not wanting to frighten the ghost away from its chore, for he had no doubt that this was somehow the key to finding Ana.
The new line connected to the tip of the straight line, then another line began. An arrow? If so, it was pointed at the rocks at the base of the promontory. Had Ana found the tunnel leading from the catacombs?
“Ana!” he shouted as he raced down the path. The line stopped, and the stick fell to the ground.
“Leo!” Ana yelled. “I’m here!”
His heart surged with a mixture of relief and joy as he charged toward the rocks. He skirted a few boulders, then found the narrow opening in the rock wall of the promontory. A few feet in, an iron gate crossed the tunnel, and behind it, Ana was jumping up and down, grinning.
“Leo!” She reached through the bars.
“Ana!” He ran toward her, grabbing her arm with his gloved hand.
“I was so worried about you.” She pulled her arm back to clasp his hand with her own.
“Careful.”
“I’m fine.” She interlaced her fingers with his. “See?”
He could touch her bare skin with his gloves? “Ana.” He reached his left hand through the bars to touch her face for the first time. “By the Light, I was so afraid I’d lost you.”
She nuzzled against his gloved hand, her eyes twinkling. “You, the mighty warrior, afraid?”
“Hell, yes. I was scared shitless.” He glanced at the gate. “What’s wrong? Is it locked?”
“Rusted shut. I was trying to escape so I could warn you. Father Rune left a trap—”
“We found it. Don’t worry, everyone’s fine.”
She exhaled with relief. “Thank the goddess—I mean—”
“You can thank the goddesses. Hell, I’ll thank them, too. I’ll thank every deity I can think of, as long as you’re safe.”
Her smile wobbled as tears filled her eyes. “I-I wish I could hold you.”
His breath caught. He wished he could do a lot more than holding. “I’ll get you out.” He grasped the bars and gave the gate a shake. It held fast.
She sighed. “I tried heating up the hinges with my torch, but it didn’t work. It was so frustrating, because I wanted to stop you before you found the trap.”
His brave, beautiful, and clever Ana. “Step back. Way back. I’m going to blast the gate open.”
As she retreated down the tunnel, he removed the glove from his right hand. Lightning power built inside him, surging down his arm till sparks crackled around his fingertips.
He extended his hand toward the first hinge and let loose a streak of energy. With a small explosion, the hinge shattered.
“Leo!” Nevis shouted behind him.
He glanced back to see Nevis, Jensen, Edmund, and his personal guard rushing toward him with their swords drawn. Ana’s father was with them, and Brody trotted beside them, barking.
Leo lifted his hand, sparks flickering around his fingers. “I’m breaking open the gate. Keep your distance.”
They stopped and peered around some boulders to watch him as he blasted away a second hinge, then the latch on the other side. Grasping two bars, he ripped the gate out and tossed it aside.
“Leo!” Ana ran toward him and threw her arms around his shoulders.
He caught her in his arms, angling his head away so his bare skin wouldn’t touch hers. “Ana.”
He could hold her forever, and it wouldn’t be enough. Should he tell her he loved her? Not now, when they had an audience. Brody was still barking, and the other men were cheering.
Go away, he thought, tightening his hold on her and swaying from side to side. She was warm. And soft. And mine. His groin swelled.
You can’t bed her, he reminded himself. You can’t—he stiffened with a sudden realization. His right hand was still bare. It was pressed against her back between her shoulder blades. Perhaps her gown was protecting her, but her long braid of hair was brushing against his bare skin each time they swayed.
“My dear!” Lucas Vintello approached them with tears in his eyes.
“Father!” Ana released Leo and hugged the former duke.
“I was so afraid.” Tears ran down her father’s face.
“I’m fine. I—” She lowered her voice. “I’ll tell you more later.”
Leo figured she was referring to her ghostly spies, like the one who had drawn the arrow. But her secrets were not foremost in his mind right now. He kept thinking about her hair brushing against his bare skin. Did this mean he could touch her without killing her?