Partner to Trouble: Shieldsister, #3

By Roz P. Garrett

Failure could cost their lives, but victory will tear them apart.

Penniless mercenary Belisare and reluctant noble's son Lir have survived the treacherous journey to arrive in his family's kingdom. While coming to the castle brings up all the bad that he left behind half a lifetime ago, it confronts her with the perfect life and darling fiancée waiting for him.

Tovan, Lir's cousin and the man who hired Belisare to kidnap him, has been angling to usurp Lir's inheritance. When she delivers Lir to the castle instead of the prison as intended, the traitor's plan changes from sly cunning to brute force.

With his mother and sister in danger, Lir is committed to thwarting his cousin, and Belisare is unwilling to abandon her new lover. The pair face turncoat knights and blood-thirsty mercenaries, but the swords swinging against them aren't enough to distract the pair from a question neither can give voice to – after this battle, what will become of their fledgling affections?

PARTNER TO TROUBLE is the third installment in the Shieldsister series, but can be enjoyed on its own. This fantasy romance is a sword and sorcery tale appropriate for fans of KUSHIEL'S DART and OGLAF. Put this steamy adventure in your questlog today!

Content Warning: Steamy love scenes, occasionally naughty language, and busty ladies in armor wielding swords. Intended for mature audiences.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bellicose Books
• Release date: Mar 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9781950439065

Book preview

COPYRIGHT

A BELLICOSE BOOKS book.

First published in the United States in 2019 by BELLICOSE BOOKS

eBook first published in the United States in 2019 by BELLICOSE BOOKS

This eBook published in the United States in 2019 by BELLICOSE BOOKS

Copyright © BELLICOSE BOOKS 2019

All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor to be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Cover design by Plumstone Book Covers.

Editing by LaVerne Clarke Editing.

ASIN: B07PBJVBRW

ePub ISBN: 978-1-950439-06-5

DEDICATION

To M, J, R, and Rae for holding my hand through the scary parts.

CONTENTS

COPYRIGHT

DEDICATION

A NOTE ABOUT THIS VOLUME

ARRIVAL

1 | his lingering concerns about the ambush

2 | she leads them into the valley

3 | echoes he can’t ignore

4 | his agitation during dinner

5 | her method for curing his mood

6 | his surprise in the morning

7 | she skirts trouble on the way to the castle

8 | he gets them alone

9 | she guides his attentions

10 | she relates what she knows of the situation

11 | the path he must begin upon

12 | her walk with his betrothed

13 | her options for proceeding

14 | he reaches the family rooms

COUP

15 | he feigns weakness

16 | her path across the roofs

17 | his reunion with his mother

18 | what she learns in the lord’s chamber

19 | his escape from the cell

20 | she begins to clear the hall

21 | she frees his sister

22 | he makes his way to the lord’s chamber

23 | what she finds in the lady’s chamber

24 | he finds her amidst a scuffle

25 | she makes their plan of attack

26 | a fruitless search that he redirects

27 | she faces a snag in their plans

28 | he blows out a candle

29 | the duel she can’t recall the cause of

30 | he liberates the knights

31 | she finds them on the stairs

32 | she begins their assault on the gallery

33 | she faces the crimson steel with him at her side

34 | he negotiates at battle’s end

AFTERMATH

35 | he opts for her company

36 | she looks after his wounds as best she can

37 | his mother’s summons interrupts them

38 | her audience with his mother

39 | he revives the lord of the castle

40 | she parleys with his betrothed

41 | his mother follows when he retreats

42 | she receives payment and departs

43 | the life he can expect

44 | what finds her at the inn

LIKED THIS? WANT MORE?

LEXICON

RACES

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

THE SHIELDSISTER SERIES

A NOTE ABOUT THIS VOLUME

Dear Reader,

If you encounter unfamiliar terms while reading this story, please refer to the Lexicon at the back of the book. For easy reference, the first instance of a new term is in italics.

If you encounter characters you cannot remember the name of (or are just curious for a little more insight), please refer to the Dramatis Personae at the back of the book.

If you’re unsure about what these characters are, there’s a section on Races at the back of the book.

These bits of knowledge may enhance your reading experience.

Please enjoy the story. If you do, sign up for my mailing list for writerly updates, exclusive contests and giveaways, and sneak peeks at future works. Details are in the back of the book!

-Roz

ARRIVAL

1 | his lingering concerns about the ambush

Try as he might, Lir could imagine no warmer welcome waiting at the end of his journey than that of the warm arms beneath fur-covered blankets where he was cocooned with Belisare. Remeltz, the castle waiting at the end of the journey, had long since become simply the place he was from rather than his home. Now, he was a creature of Sulidore, more familiar with the heat of the southern coast and the whistling sea winds that blew through Eradon than the quiet cold that crept down from the northern forests into Tholum.

For the past day, he had escaped thinking of what was to come by surrendering to desire. Belisare’s embrace brought a freedom with it that he had not felt since before receiving the summons back. He felt an urgency for her that she matched for him. He welcomed the release, shedding the anxiety that had been creeping into him slowly but surely as he neared the place of his childhood. But at last vigor had given way to languor. He still enjoyed the feeling of her fingers in his hair, the pressure of her arm around his back, and the long stretch of her body against his, but there was no demand in him for more than closeness. How long had it been since someone had cradled him like this? How long since someone treated him so tenderly? He closed his eyes, basking in her attention.

In the absence of exertion his mind picked up where it had left off, picking over the puzzle of their tumultuous meeting, and that turned his thoughts to Belisare. She seemed free enough with caresses, and eager enough for his lips against hers and their bodies twined together, but  a hesitance had come over her actions, as though she were thinking of something before she initiated a touch or a kiss.

Was he trusting too quickly? Well, he reminded himself, they had just met. And under some very odd circumstances. He could divine no maliciousness from her actions. She had been as true as her word since her offer after the troll attack, and she trusted him enough for sex and sleep after. There could be some other reason for her reservedness.

Belisare sighed, fingers drawing from his hair with a final caress against his ear. When he looked up she said, We should get going.

Probably, he agreed, sighing softly. He pulled the blankets up higher around the two of them and kissed the hollow of her throat. But I’m rather comfortable like this. Unless you’re in a hurry to get your job over with.

"This isn’t part of my job," she chided.

A perk of it, then? he chuckled. The rest has been a bit grueling, if I’m not mistaken.

Well, when you put it that way, she laughed softly, hunkering down to press their lips together again.

Lir would have liked to leave it there, to enjoy more time wrapped up in her arms and stave off the impending return to Tholum. Unfortunately, as was often the case, his mind would not let him. Her words were catalyst enough to fuel his thoughts back to their usual questing towards his next objective. He had long ago come to understand that his was not the sort of life that allowed for much idleness, no matter how tempting it was.

Tholum was waiting and Belisare was right; they ought to get going.

Still, he needed to think. He tightened his arms around her, rubbing his cheek against her clavicle, and considered the road ahead. She stayed against him, stroking a finger along the side of his neck. The touch was familiar, intimate. It struck him as odd that he found this more intimate, considering all they had done to each other. Belisare was an unexpected delight, nothing he had anticipated when the trouble of this began.

Truth be told, he had been amazingly fortunate so far. But someone meant him harm. The most likely source of that malicious intent was in Tholum Valley. And as he tried never to go blindly into danger if he could help it, he needed more information.

Can I ask you something?

Given that we’re both post-coitally in our altogether, Belisare replied, I don’t see why not.

Who was it that hired you? he asked.

Gedyan Sael, she said. But I doubt you’ll recognize the name, if that’s what you’re after. I’ve never met a noble who signs that kind of contract with their real name.

He was a noble, then. Lir nodded, considering that. It was unfortunate the name was a false one, though it made far more than leaving evidence of who’d signed a death warrant or an order for ransom. That, though, did remind him of the latter. Your original contract, he went on, was I to be ransomed back to my family?

There wasn’t any mention of ransom. Her finger drew to a stop, leaving her hand resting against his neck.

What do you mean, there wasn’t a ransom? That’s how this sort of thing goes, isn’t it?

I suppose, normally it does, she replied. I don’t often take on this sort of job.

But you’re a mercenary, he said.

Even mercs have standards. Belisare sniffed disdainfully then shifted onto her back, tugging him over on top of her. We pick our own contracts. I wouldn’t have taken yours at all if I hadn’t needed the money.

And you wouldn’t have taken me home if I hadn’t offered to pay for it. Lir withheld his sigh. He knew, underneath it all, that he was a job to her. For all the romantic notions his imagination might conjure, there was no set of circumstances in which their meeting was more than a transaction. It was a shame really, because the sex had been phenomenal, and she was gorgeous, and he—

"Not all the way home, she said, interrupting his thoughts, but I’d have gotten you through the Wood."

That was not what he expected to hear. You would have?

Mmm, she agreed.

Why?

Belisare leaned back, and he looked up to find her blue eyes – no longer glowing, none of her was, not since last night – watching him intently. Because I owed you, and I always pay back my debts. She lifted a hand, brushing his hair back from his temple, and her expression softened. And it was the right thing to do.

That’s a bit – odd... for a mercenary, he said slowly, picking his words carefully.

I suppose it is. She turned her head away from him to look at the fire. But everyone has to choose how they’re going to live.

Of course, he agreed slowly.

It was an easy truth to agree to. Then he thought about that for a moment. She was right, of course, but the way she said it made her choices seem so simple that it was confusing.

She shifted, turning onto her side a little before she worked her way out from under him and the blankets without throwing them off and exposing him to the cold, which was thoughtful of her. He was distracted from his thoughts by her bare body. She made a face and rubbed her arms a few times. He watched as she made short work of dressing. The cold made her move swifter than he liked, and she pulled on layers before he had a chance to match the scars he’d mapped with his fingers and lips to their positions on her skin.

Is it always that simple?

Belisare gave a sharp tug to get her leather jerkin on over the wool shirt, righting it before setting to the laces. It’s not simple, she said, looking at him, it takes a lot to figure out what the ‘right’ thing is, and sometimes it’s really hard to choose to do that. Don’t you have to make those kinds of choices?

I’m not the captain of anything.

Everyone makes choices, she said. She pulled her hauberk on, checking the chain as she did so. Even mahjien noble-sons.

The way she said that did not sound complimentary.

Of course I make choices, Lir said.

Well, right now, will you choose to get dressed? she asked, crouching next to him. Dressed now in her armor, she was once more the mercenary escort of the day before, and not the lover of the night that followed. He looked at her face, hoping to find something of the woman beneath the armor. She offered a half smile that softened her words, and there. He found her beneath it all. "We really should get moving. It’s quite a ways still, and we’ll need to make camp again before we—"

Lir stretched up and pressed his lips to hers. She stilled in surprise for a moment before her lips molded to his and she leaned in closer. Blissfully, the kiss stopped any thoughts of the road ahead and the treachery that awaited him at the end of it. But even that sweet moment had to end.

If I must, he agreed when the kiss ended.

You must, I’m afraid, she said with a smile. She cupped his cheek with her hand, still the woman beneath her armor and not the captain who wore it. She tucked his hair over his ear and then rose and headed over to check their horses.

There was no real cause to delay. He could figure out his plan while they were on the road. Belisare was a safe enough companion even without the pleasure they’d shared. She seemed the sort to follow through on her word, and she was contracted to see him safely to Tholum.

Lir drew back the blankets and got up. The chill was a harsh slap in the face after the warmth of their bedding, and he wasted no more time than she had in getting back into his clothing.

Half an hour later they were packed and mounted, heading once more through the Vermillion Wood. The scenery had changed, every dark branch limned with ice that sparkled in the morning sun, but Lir barely noticed. His thoughts had already returned to the question of what enemy had arranged this little detour for him.

2 | she leads them into the valley

They had lost a full day of travel time to pleasure, a detour that Belisare would not change even if she could have. There was still plenty of time before Winterfall. The forest path went on only half a day longer, rising with the forest as it headed into the foothills above Tholum. The frosted branches around them glittered in the morning sunlight, but as they rode, the warmth melted the ice away and filled the quiet with the sound of water dripping all around them. They passed out of the depths of the forest, away from where the Pulse of magic drew her attention, and into where the Vermillion was no more than trees growing taller overhead because of the incline of the ground. Here, the bark was not black. Here, the trees did not sleep in the same fashion.

After all the time in the stillness of the Vermillion, which was empty of the rustle of birds and energy of even the small creatures that remained active all year, coming up into the foothills brought an obvious change. Winter was still encroaching, hanging itself on the bare branches of trees and draping across the road they traveled in little gatherings of snow that the sun was not warm enough to burn away, but this was a winter with life to it instead of the cold deadness of the heart of the forest.

The path through the Vermillion was not one often taken. The animals had grown accustomed to the lack of riders moving through their domain. The passing of their horses startled rabbits from their spots and that little motion traveled through the trees, echoing in the movement of other creatures. If they were planning to be out longer, Belisare would have taken advantage of the surprise in the game to hunt, but there was no need. It would not be too much further to get Lir to his destination.

She looked over to where he rode beside her. The rain and sleet had gone behind them, below where they were traveling now. As the morning left and their path climbed, the damp gave way to the light dusting of snow that flirted with them on the breeze. Without the wet as a bother, Lir had the hood of his cloak down. His dark hair caught in the breeze ruffling in thick waves, and she couldn’t keep herself from noticing how handsome he looked.

In the quiet between them, she could admire his looks. Very little imagination was needed to recall the toned expanse of his torso, even less the feeling of his hips pressing into hers. The rocking of the horse was enough to remind her of their coupling, and she bit her lip against the urge to get them both out of their saddles again.

She didn’t want to overwhelm him.

A quiet voice in the back of her mind whispered that there was no reason not to do just that.

As though just her gaze was enough to draw his attention, Lir looked over at her. He smiled. That was strange to Belisare. She was unfamiliar with her attention garnering a positive response. As captain, her lads expected scrutiny and answered most often with a nod. With Gio— Well, she needn’t think on him. Not now. Everything in the past few days was strange, but she wouldn’t change it. She smiled back.

A copper for your thoughts, he said, lifting his voice to break over the wind that had picked up as the trees thinned.

We should make the gates before nightfall.

"And still ahead of Winterfall, he replied, by nearly two days, if my count is correct."

It will be a bit of a surprise, the company you arrive in.

He chuckled. That depends on who you mean. My mother is never surprised by anything that I do, or so she says in her letters. My sister, on the other hand, will probably be shocked enough to pass out. Are you any good with fainting fits? I’m not prone, but we may have one on our hands when we arrive.

It struck her by the familiar tone of his recollections that Lir would be home at the end of this ride. No matter how comfortable she was with him, this was not just another journey with a member of her crew. At the end of this she would receive her pay and have nothing to stop her from heading back to the fallback point before heading on to the winter camp. Alone.

You don’t need to look so concerned, he said. Despite their inevitable astonishment, I promise you they both have manners.

I’m sure they will be very kind. The words felt stiff as she replied. You must miss them.

It’s been a long time, he admitted. I’m not entirely sure what to expect, to be honest.

They are your family. Aren’t family reunions warm?

You’ve never met my father.

Belisare nodded at that, keeping her tongue to herself instead of adding, I’ve never met mine either. He didn’t need to worry about that, and now wasn’t the time to think of it. In a few hours they would part, and she could either spend them wallowing in that knowledge or enjoy them.

She had always found joy preferable to sorrow, so she chose to enjoy the time they had left. He would be gone soon enough, and the more memories there were, the longer they would last.

Tell me about him, she said as they crested an incline and came to the mouth of Tholum Valley. A prosperous little kingdom of fertile farmland, it was set out of the way enough that greedy lords didn’t bother to try and cease it. The distance it would take to transport the spoils would be worth it. A tower sat off to the west amid the trees, and the road forked before them.

The fork that went to the west would be quicker but ran along the river. She could smell the flowing water even from here. It was years since she’d last come through this valley, but she thought she recalled that the river path could be treacherous to horses during this season. The path straight ahead wound through the farmland but would be well-packed and safe. It would take an extra handful of hours, and those would be hours by his side. If they rode quickly, they could still make Berg Remeltz before the gates closed.

She kept them headed straight towards the farmland. Lir rode more slowly beside her.

He hadn’t answered.

Lir? she asked gently.

I’d rather not talk about him, he said in a hollow sounding voice. He looked up at her, expression wary.

Belisare nodded at his request. Something else, then, she said. Tell me a story.

I imagine you have better stories than I, he replied. Mercenaries travel all over.

I don’t spend much time in the west, and I rarely head too far north, she replied. That’s not quite all over.

I can’t imagine many people who like to travel north, Lir said, it’s quite cold, or so I’ve heard.

I’m... uneasy about it, Belisare said, truthfully. And we don’t have much business up that way.

That makes sense. But what about the west? There’s plenty of work to be had in Eradon.

"Should I be jealous of Eradon?" she asked.

What?

When you talk about it, you seem fair in love with it.

Lir stared at her, mouth fallen partly open. O-of course not, he said at last, looking resolutely at the road in front of them.

Belisare had meant that as a joke, of course. They should be able to make idle jokes by now, but somehow that had struck an odd chord. The silence hung sourly between them, and she could find no easy remedy, so she turned her attention back to the road ahead of them.

As they descended into the valley from the western road, the trees in the foothills gave way to the first cleared field at the edge of the valley floor, and Belisare looked up to see Berg Remeltz towering over the farmland from the rise on the far end. Belisare had traveled through but had never spent any time in the valley of Tholum. There was nothing much here but farmland and trees aside from the castle, and none of that had need of her talents or called to her in interest. Little conflict requiring her sort of services happened in Tholum. Her last trip through had been on the eastern road and allowed for little more than her eyes fixed on the road ahead of her, but she had seen Berg Remeltz before and since from beyond the hills that shielded the valley.

At a distance, it was an odd shape against the mountain. The slope behind the berg was thick with trees, but the castle-city itself cut its own figure on the hillside. This close, Remeltz was impressive. The walls were thick stone, smooth along the base where it lifted from the hill of trees. The first windows started far out of reach of any intruder’s grappling, but above that line the architecture had been updated for ornamentation over security. The windows had been widened, each coming to a graceful point, and there were balconettes with dark marks in the stone that could be carvings on the supports. From this distance it was hard to make out all the features individually, but even without being able to pick out all the details, Remeltz stood with a watchful eye looking over all of Tholum, just as readily as the lords within.

Belisare could admit when she was ogling something, and she appreciated the view of Remeltz as much as she had appreciated the view of its heir the night before.

Beside her, Lir turned the hood of his cloak up. She tried not to take it personally, but after the misstep of her question, it seemed that something had changed in the air between them.

They rode the rest of the way through the fields in silence. The wind picked up and thick, dark clouds moved in overhead, stealing the sunshine from the sky. The temperature dipped, making it more than cold enough for snow to fall instead of rain when the clouds let loose their burden. Still, the day had been warm enough that the white flakes melted on the ground. As they went onward, Belisare noticed her horse was pulling ahead of his. She knew that neither animal was injured or lame. Their pace out of the forest had been easy, there was no reason for it.

None other than that Lir was riding slower.

She tried to figure that out, slowing her horse’s pace to match his. Viunde tossed her head and snorted, annoyed by the slow plod. Belisare ignored her, which was usually the safer course when her horse got into a mood. Instead, Belisare turned her thoughts to Lir.

It didn’t matter if she had decided to enjoy their remaining time together if he was this out of sorts. It was more than just the misstep of her question; something was bothering him.

The day dragged on in silence, and their progress did not get them to the gates of Remeltz.

Belisare was not interested in another night out in the cold, so she turned Viunde in at the nearest of the little farms. Lir roused himself as she headed off from him, head jerking up and eyes snapping over to her. Belisare gave a sharp jerk of her head for him to follow.

3 | echoes he can’t ignore

From beyond its borders, being back in Tholum had seemed to Lir to be a simple change in geography. In actuality, being back was anything but. His companion was different than the ones he had left with years ago and far more pleasant than those scouts had been, but even with Belisare as a bright point, Tholum was a dark place for him.

The road they took was one he had played on as a child. He could recall running full tilt with Dru flailing after him every summer, but what he remembered more than who he was running with was what he had been running from.

Berg Remeltz was beautiful, from the outside. The walls were tall and the windows glinted in the last glimmers of the afternoon sun as it was swallowed by the clouds that rolled in. Where the walls stretched upwards, they had been altered, the stone mismatched where the original fortifications had been chipped away to add wider windows and balconies. It was hard to tell how well the additions had been made from a distance, but Lir could recall the stonemasons taking great care with the work. If they were other than well-done, no one could tell from afar. Since his departure, the weather had bleached the stone clean, so that the pale stone of the parapets and crenellation stood out starkly against the sea of green around it.

Lir could not speak so highly of what was within the castle. What he recalled of the place of his childhood – he thought of it that way to keep from thinking himself tied to it – made him wary of returning to it. His stomach turned at the very thought of it. The roiling in his gut stilled his tongue, though he might have offered Belisare some narration of their path, some highlight of the countryside or anecdote of the past. Instead there was only silence in answer to her words and only the sound of hoof on packed earth to break the quiet.

The easy, companionable feeling between them shifted, and he found he had no idea how to reclaim it. He was a boy again, headed back home at the beck and call of his father. He could almost hear echoes of the old man’s chastisements in the blowing wind. It was an unsettling sort of feeling that turned the quiet between sounds into the ring in the air after the old man’s sharp and scathing rebukes. Then, as now, Lir had nothing to reply with, falling instead into a damning silence.

Belisare turned her horse from the road wordlessly, and he followed along after her as she led the way to the closest of the farmhouses.

The farmhouse looked well cared for despite its age, the stone chipped around the doors and the sills of the windows worn beneath the thatched roof. Off to the side, there was a smaller building and what looked to be a barn around back. The structures he could see had some weather staining on the walls, but nothing that wasn’t from the wet falls and snowy winters. The cheerful twist of smoke from the chimney made the place look welcoming.

This was certainly not their destination.

Yet, he watched as Belisare swung out of her saddle, quieting her horse before she headed for the front door.

The girl who answered her brisk knock was youngish-looking, fresh-faced beneath a mop of dark hair, and barely half Belisare’s height. The two conversed. Belisare gestured back towards him but kept her voice low enough that he could not hear what she said.

In truth, he didn’t care to hear them any more than he cared to be on his way back to Remeltz. His mood had soured worse than his stomach. There was no real cure for it, so he settled for watching the proceedings at the door while he idled in wait for his companion.

The girl disappeared after a few moments, heading back into the house. Belisare looked back at him, almost like she was checking to be sure he was still there. A few moments later, the girl was replaced by an older woman with white dusting her dark hair. She was still shorter and stouter than Belisare but seemed just as in possession of herself as the mercenary.

The stout woman seemed wary at first – she gestured to the steel on Belisare’s hip and the shield slung over her shoulder in obvious concern. Belisare’s posture shifted as she made her reply, slouching a little, shoulders rounding in a way that softened her sharp edges. She gestured back in the direction of Lir. The stout woman’s expression eased and then relaxed entirely when coin appeared.

Lir didn’t know exactly what had just been arranged, but as soon as the coin changed hands, the stout woman called inside. Three young men and the young girl – their faces all similar enough to mean that they must be family – came out and Lir was ushered off his horse and pushed inside before he could say, Zeris always blows true.

Belisare ducked in after him, unslinging the shield from her back and undoing her sword belt. She shrugged out of her leather cloak and folded it around her sword and shield before stowing the entire bundle by the door. Lir stood dumbly in the little hall for a moment watching in disbelief as Belisare disarmed herself. It was not his first time seeing her without sword and shield, but here in Remeltz, he found the sight of her