“We’re here, lass. Hurry and wake.” “Mmm?” She rubbed her eyes and stared at their surroundings blearily. “Hurry,” he said again. “The sun is coming up fast.” That got her moving. Hope slid off of the horse in a rush and tumbled to the ground with a thwack of her backside. She winced and then scrambled to her feet, ignoring the muddy, clinging hem of her skirt. “The ladder!” “Go up first,” he said. “I’ll follow behind you.” She began to climb, but she was tired from the long evening and her steps seemed impossibly slow. By the time she was close to the top, her scalp started to tingle with warning. She’d barely tumbled in to the window before it had begun to surge down her back, and she hastily grabbed handfuls of the mess, dragging it into the tower and out of the sunlight. “Close one,” she called out with a laugh, shoving the wild mane of hair out of her eyes. “Indeed,” said a peevish voice behind her. Hope gasped. She turned and stared at a frowning Prince Walter.
