I kept my eyes on the ground as I followed Tomas, the weight of each step heavier than the last.There were too many faces around me, too many questions hanging in the air, thick and suffocating.I was thinking of things I should’ve said, the moments I should’ve acted – all of it far too late now.
‘I was told to let Lord Warwick know when you have recovered from your injuries so he can meet with you to discuss your protection duties.’We had arrived at my room.‘Can I tell him that tomorrow is suitable?’
I nodded and turned to open the door.‘Tomas?’I said, my eyes fixed on a knot in the wooden door.‘Why haven’t you told anybody about that day in the street?’He was silent and I turned to see him frowning at his tar-polished boots.
‘I’m not sure what I saw.But …’ He trailed off, then finally looked up at me.‘You saved that woman and her child.’He gave me a slight nod and I watched him disappear down the corridor.
A great weariness descended over my body and mind as I climbed into that glorious bed.Webber, whose act of bravery to save me from sharing my mother’s fate, was here.His presence at Warwick Fortress told me something vital.Atlas and Torgrin surely wouldn’t have brought Webber and Meg to the fortress if the man they had saved him from was also here.
I could reveal my identity to Atlas and Torgrin and ask them what they know about their old captain.Then what?Would I leave Murus now and continue my search?Now that I had given my oath to Lord Warwick, it felt dishonourable to walk away.
Could I put my plans on hold so easily?Revenge had driven me for so long.Iain had only trained me to fight because I demanded it.I needed a reason to have survived that night.
Since arriving in Murus, I have felt nothing but conflicted.
A new fire began burning in my belly, and I leaped off the bed.Now that I was inside the fortress there was something I could still do.Someone I could find.Millie.
The corridors were quiet, and I encountered no-one while searching the lower levels for the dungeon.Soon, I discovered a short, undecorated hallway with a single door and narrow stone steps leading downward.Had I found the way into the belly of Murus Fortress, where the dungeon might be?
The sound of multiple feet on the steps alerted me that someone was approaching.I darted through the door and discovered it wasan armoury.Holding my breath with a racing heart, I listened as people passed where I was hiding.When the sound of footsteps faded, I opened the door just enough to see a tall figure in a soldier’s uniform and a smaller cloaked figure in iron manacles vanish around the corner.
I followed them through the dark, until they disappeared down an unfamiliar corridor with multiple doors, and it took me time to determine which way they had gone.I reached the end of the hall and discovered that one door had been left slightly ajar.When I realised it led to the entrance hall of the fortress, I knew the pair must now be outside.
There was enough moonlight for me to recognise a familiar outline.Torgrin.He was holding the reins of a horse and whispering to the petite figure still hidden under a rough-hewn cloak.
I crept closer, making sure to keep to the shadows.
The petite figure’s manacles were gone.They nodded in their hood and briefly embraced Torgrin around the waist.Torgrin dropped to his knee and made a foothold for the cloaked figure, who used it to mount the waiting horse.
‘Thank you, Captain.I shall never forget you.’
I knew that voice.The hood fell back as she took the reins from Torgrin, and the dim light glinted off the metal hairclip I had made for Millie.Her black curls bounced as she rode out of the fortress gates unopposed by the guards posted on night watch.
‘I know you’re there, Caris.’Torgrin turned to look directly where I was hiding.
I stepped out of the shadows, and his face came into view.The corner of one side of his mouth lifted.‘You need to learn to lift those feet.’
Bastard.
‘Why did you free Millie?’I asked, lowering my voice in case someone was watching us.
He shrugged.‘It’s a hassle having someone in the dungeon.I would have to remember to feed and water her,’ he said with a smirk.
I didn’t believe a word of it.
‘Do you know what she is?’
‘Yes.’
‘And what she did?’
‘She can mend broken bones.I think women who can break bones are more dangerous.’He raised a dark brow at me.
Torgrin let a Cursed woman go free.She would be hanged anywhere else.
‘What is it you wish to ask me?’said Torgrin as he crossed his arms, his gaze unwavering.
‘How do you know I want to ask you something?’
