Alyson interrupted Josh"s dressing to embrace him. She knew he sensed her tremors and anxiety.
“I"ll be all right,” he murmured, setting aside the gemstone-inlaid harness and wrapping her with both his arms.
She wore a similar harness, fifteen stones of the greatest clarity, purity and size, most of them appropriated from King Claudius"s vault. Alyson buried herself in his arms, afraid for his safety, not knowing how she would endure if he didn"t come back alive.
“It"s just reconnaissance,” he said. “I"ll be careful.”
She nodded, her breath catching, a tear forming in her eye. “I got caught in Aquitaine. Don"t you get caught in Alsace.”
“I won"t, your Majesty,” he said, pulling his jacket over his tunic and picking up his staff.
Together they stepped out the door and climbed the step
