The physical exertion and the heavy clothing she wore kept her warm, though she’d had to pull her scarf around face, just below her eyes, and use the hood on the cape as a light snowfall started again.
She made a good-size dent in the bank and sighed with relief when she discovered a bounty of fallen branches. She knelt and began collecting them, but stilled when she heard a rider approach from behind. Her heart already beat heavily from moving the snow, but now leaped into her throat.
Slowly, Jade returned her armful of tree limbs to the ground and stealthily reached for the hilt of the sword. She let the horse draw closer. Then, in a fluid movement, she whisked the blade from its protective sheath and whirled around to face whoever sneaked up on her, sword raised.
“I thought you were told to stay inside.”
She pulled the scarf from her mouth and scowled at Darien. “You scared the hell out of me. Try not to do that again please.”
He slipped from his Arabian’s back in a graceful way she admired. “I’m glad to see you’re so alert.”
“Yes, heart pounding vigorously and all. Unfortunately, I’m about to be frozen to the core. The fire wraith burned my wood supply.”
Darien frowned. His gaze slid to the two chimneys. “Not much smoke coming from those. Do you actually have a blaze going or just smoldering embers?”
“Embers in the living room, a little more than that in the bedroom. I was about to take my hatchet to the legs of a chair, but I knew there’d be plenty of debris out here.”
“Just had to dig your way to it, I see.” He came closer to her and handed over the reins. “This is Thunder. Why don’t you walk him over to the house? I’ll meet you inside.”
The horse neighed softly and she smiled. “Aren’t you handsome?” She rubbed his nose and he seemed to enjoy it.
“He likes you,” the king said. “From the moment he saw you, years ago.
”
“I’m flattered,” she told Thunder. “How about a snack?”
She led him to the house. Over her shoulder, she asked, “Do I need to tie him up?”
“No. He won’t go anywhere without me.”
“Loyalty,” she said to the Arabian. “I like that in a horse.” He blew a snort of air, as though insulted she’d expect less of him. She laughed. “No offense.”
Leaving the horse by the patio, she went inside and chopped a few carrots to feed to him. Then she removed her outerwear, shaking off the snow, and headed into the living room. She draped the wet cape, her scarf and gloves over a clothes rack in the corner by the fireplace. Not that it currently emitted enough heat to dry them, but eventually it would.
Darien joined her with the tinderbox nearly overflowing and an armful of logs. “This’ll get you started. I’ll shovel out more snow and bring in additional loads.”
He left her tending to the fire as he went back outside. She had both fireplaces blazing bright and the house was less frigid when he returned with a third heap he stacked next to her front door.
“This ought to last you awhile,” he said as he stripped off his gloves and cloak.
“Thank you. You work much faster than I do.”
“I’ll have Morgan send someone with a cord of wood for your patio.”
She smiled. “That’s nice of you. I’ll take you up on that offer.” Fire was a necessity in her life, after all. Gazing up at him, she asked, “What are you doing here? Other than rescuing a damsel in distress again.”
His low chuckle added more warmth to her cozy home. “You hardly fit that bill. You would have managed just fine without me.” The expression on his chiseled face turned more serious. “I wanted to see you.”
Excitement lit her insides, but concern crept up on her as well. They’d both agreed what had happened at the castle was not meant to transcend those walls. So she asked, “Is something wrong?”
“No, not at present. The band of demons Morgan tracked has yet to regroup. The fire wraith is nowhere to be found. And the wide-area patrols haven’t turned up anything.”
“That’s good news.” Her apprehension dissipated. “So this is a social call?”
A surreal notion. But certainly an intriguing one.
“I have something for you.” He reached into the wide slit of a front pocket on his full-length leather jacket and then handed her a gift.