Shield's Lady

asked, glancing out into the night-shrouded canyon.
    “Several kilometers away.”
    “What if this rogue Shield is watching for intruders into this gorge?”
    “I’ve told you not to worry, haven’t I?” Gryph asked with soft humor. “When are you going to learn to follow simple instructions?”
    “But, Gryph—”
    “If there is a rogue behind all this, my guess is he’ll be sticking close to his prize. He’s not out here prowling through the night. I’d know if he were. There is no prisma nearby other than my lock. It’s not hard to estimate distance with prisma rays. You do it with a simple formula.”
    “I’m going to worry about you tomorrow,” Sariana said bluntly.
    Gryph took off his boots, crossed the sand toward her and handed her the boots. Then he swung her up into his arms. “I’m just selfish enough to admit I’m going to like having you worry about me. But you’ll be safe, Shieldmate. I’ll make certain of that before I leave you.”
    He waded out to the sled, lifted her over the low railing and set her on her feet. She clutched his boots while she waited for him to jump lightly on board the sled. The moon was directly overhead and a narrow strip of golden light managed to seep as far as the river canyon floor. It gilded the black depths of Gryph’s hair and highlighted the arrogant planes of his harsh face. Sariana remembered the buckle she had purchased at the fair.
    “I almost forgot,” she murmured as she went over to her travel pouch and opened it. “I have a present for you.” She smiled as she turned around to hand him the small package.
    Gryph looked oddly startled. He stared at her in the moonlight and then his gaze dropped to the package in her hand. “For me?”
    “Well, I don’t know anyone else who needs this quite as much as you do,” she teased. “Here. Open it.”
    His usually deft fingers fumbled slightly with the wrapping, but a moment later the exquisitely detailed buckle lay in his palm. Holding it in one hand, Gryph opened his weapon kit and withdrew a tiny vapor lamp. He thumbed a switch and a narrow beam of light revealed the intricacies of the buckle. Gryph studied it for a very long time, apparently fascinated. When he glanced up finally, it was difficult to read his shadowed gaze.
    “It’s beautiful.” His voice was rough and strangely husky. “Thank you, Sariana.”
    “I bought it at the fair.”
    “I stopped there to buy something for you, too. That’s how I happened to be close enough to realize you were in trouble. With so much going on yesterday and today, I forgot to give it to you.” He reached into a pocket and withdrew a tiny package. “It’s not much. After living with the Avylyns for a year you’re probably accustomed to fancier jewelry.”
    She was amazed by his diffidence. It was so uncharacteristic of Gryph. Sariana was amazed too, by her own reaction to the gift he was handing her. She was thrilled. When she unwrapped the cloak pin she thought it was the most beautiful pin she had ever seen in her whole life.
    “Thank you, Gryph. It’s really very lovely.” She thrust it at once into a fold of her cloak. The scarlet-toe peered over the edge of her shoulder and studied the pin with idle interest. Then it went back to dozing.
    Gryph switched off the tiny vapor lamp and he and Sariana stood looking at each other in the moonlight.
    “You’ll be careful tomorrow?” Sariana asked.
    “I’ll be careful.”
    “Maybe I should come with you,” she suggested.
    “Absolutely out of the question. You’ve already been in too much danger because of this mess. I won’t expose you to any more risk. I’m going to make certain you’re well hidden tomorrow.”
    She heard the finality in his tone and knew this wasn’t the time to argue. “What an arrogant man you are.”
    His smile was whimsical. “Does that mean you’ve decided I do qualify as a man, after all?”
    She felt a pang of guilt as she realized he’d taken her provoking words seriously. “I only said these things because I was very, very annoyed with you.”
    “And because when you get annoyed you get even more mouthy than usual.” He reached out to pull her closer. The soft night breeze wrapped her skirts around his legs. “Lucky for you I’m such an understanding man, hmm?”
    “Lucky for me you’re a man, period. Any kind of man at all,” she whispered against his shirt.
    He laughed softly into her hair. “Why is that?”
    “Because I’ve fallen in