“You lie!” Rissa shouted. “You lie with every breath you take! Unhand me!”
“You heard the Princess.”
The deep, familiar voice seemed to stop Rissa’s heart in her chest. Looking down, she saw that James had rolled over and was sitting up.
Alive! He’s alive! But how?
“James!” she gasped. “How…I don’t understand!”
“I’ll explain later,” the big Kindred growled. “Right now, I believe it’s my shot.”
And lifting the antique pistol, which he still held, he shot Duke Grabbington directly in the heart.
39
There was a loud ping and Lord Flobberton, who had been standing not far from the Duke, gasped and clapped a hand to his side. He pulled his pearl-pink frock coat aside and stared down at himself with a stunned expression on his face. His pristine white waistcoat was growling an ominous crimson stain.
“What happened?” someone—Lady Manderly’s maid, Rissa thought—asked loudly. “Sir Robot shot at Duke Grabbington, so he did! So how is it that it’s Lord Flobberton who’s bleeding?”
“Body…armor,” Lord Flobberton choked out, pointing at the Duke. “Wearing…a chest…shield.”
“What? Of course not—I would never dishonor a duel by wearing such a thing! The bullet merely went astray,” Duke Grabbington denied at once. But Rissa noticed that he was clutching his frock coat closed around himself as he backed away from his second.
“Lies!” Lord Flobberton gasped, falling to his knees and pointing accusingly at the Duke. “Deceit and treachery! You have killed me with…your cowardice!”
Then he fell over onto the grass, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
“Lord Flobberton!” Dr. Dowdy had finally pushed his way through the servants—who were still watching, mouths agape—to kneel by the fallen Lord’s side. He turned the wounded man over and began examining him, a grim look on his face.
“Dowdy! Come away at once!” Duke Grabbington exclaimed. “We must be off!”
“I cannot leave a wounded man, Your Grace,” the physician protested. “I believe the bullet ricocheted off Your Grace’s chest plate and has pierced Lord Flobberton’s lung.”
“For the last time, I am not wearing a chest plate or any kind of armor!” Duke Grabbington screamed, his face purple with rage.
“Oh, no?” Unexpectedly, James lobbed the antique dueling pistol straight at the Duke’s chest. It struck him with a metallic sounding thunk, before falling to the ground.
“Bless me, he is wearing a chest plate!” Lady Manderly’s maid murmured. “What until my Mistress hears about this!”
“Wait until the entire Court hears about it,” Rissa said.
“What are you talking about?” Duke Grabbington exclaimed. “You must not go spreading untrue rumors about me!”
“They won’t be rumors—they’ll be the truth,” James growled. “You shot me in the back. If your bullet hadn’t hit the neural net that runs under my skin around my enhancement, I would have died just as Lord Flobberton is dying now. Luckily, you only stunned me for a bit and my nanites were able to repair the damage.”
“And even if you had given James time to shoot, his bullet would have bounced harmlessly off your concealed armor,” Rissa said. “You never meant for this to be a fair contest of honor at all, did you, Duke Grabbington?”
“Nonsense!” the Duke blustered, his face going even darker. “How dare you say such things to me?”
“I dare because they are true!” Rissa glared up at the Duke. “Your Grace is exposed as a coward and a cheat. I suggest you absent yourself from this place of honor where you do not belong at once!”
“You…you…” But Duke Grabbington seemed to have no way to refute her allegations. He pointed a trembling finger at Rissa. “You’ll be sorry for this, my girl, wait and see. I shall have my revenge!”
Then he ran back to his gleaming, off-road sedan and motioned for his driver to go. For a moment, Rissa thought that the huge vehicle was actually going to hit them—and indeed, she thought the Duke would have been glad if it did. But it swerved at the last second, just as James was pushing her out of the way and then the Duke was gone—hopefully for good.
“Oh, James,” Rissa whispered, clinging to the big Kindred as the servants dispersed and an emergency medical team came to transport Lord Flobberton to the nearest House of Healing. “Oh, James, I was so worried about you! I was so certain you were dead!”
“It would take more than a single bullet to keep me from you, sweetheart,” he murmured, as he carried her into the shadows of the trees where they could be alone.
His words stirred something inside her so strongly that Rissa couldn’t help herself. Reaching up, she pulled him down and took his mouth in a kiss that was as sweet as it was forbidden.
It was her first true kiss—as she did not count the one that Duke Grabbington had stole from her—and Rissa found it to be perfectly delicious. James seemed unsure at first, but then he kissed her back, winding his arms around her and bending low to ravish her with his mouth, which tasted of some exotic spice that set her entire body on fire with need.