The hours crawled by. My limbs had long since gone so numb that every attempt to flex brought the bite of rope, so sharp it felt like fire. Relaxing didn’t help either—it only shifted the pain to a new place, carving deep lines across my ribs. There wasn’t a single position that didn’t hurt, so I rotated myself in miserable increments, trading one agony for another. I welcomed the distraction.
But no matter how hard I tried, thoughts of Baron kept invading. Images of him whipped like Dorian had been flooding my mind.I should be glad of his punishment, I told myself. I ought to be glad that that deceptive, lying traitor got what he deserved for tricking me. But I wasn’t. Even now, I couldn’t bring myself to celebrate any misery that Baron might be experiencing.
My stomach twisted in tortuous knots instead. Even now, even after everything, I didn’t want Baron to be hurt. Whatever his parentage was, whatever his reasoning was, he had still been the only person who was kind to me at camp.
Night settled in. I didn’t need my sight to know it; I felt the temperature drop with each passing hour. Voices outside whispered that the sheriff planned to kill me in the morning. Whether it was true or said for my benefit hardly mattered. My options were the same: none.
Hour after hour, I stood there, rigid as a corpse, trembling with cold and exhaustion. Sleep was impossible. Neither fear nor pain would let me rest.
I thought of Father. He was miles away in a cell, powerless. Had he been enduring this sort of brutal torment for months while I’d been curled up next to Baron at night, warm and comfortable? There would be no rescue for either of us this time.
And then my mind, treacherous once more, returned to Baron.
Surely…surely he wouldn’t want to see me die in front of an audience.
Had everything been a ploy? A long, slow unraveling of my defenses so the sheriff could watch me fall apart now? As angry as I was with Baron, I couldn’t believe that of him.
I thought back over every moment we had shared: the jokes, the snowball fight, the gentle way he’d bandaged my neck, theway he’d looked at me right before our kiss. No one could pretend all that. Some of it had to be real.
Had I imagined it all? Had I been so desperate for human connection that I’d abandoned all reason? I didn’t know anything anymore. My confidence and certainty that I’d always relied on were gone. My instincts had betrayed me. My heart had betrayed me worst of all.
Even if Baron had ever truly cared, it didn’t matter now.
Time was up.
In the middleof the night, my churning thoughts were interrupted by two muffled thuds close by. I strained to hear footsteps, heavy breathing, anything to give me a clue, but there was nothing. Then came the sensation of someone loosening my bindings with practiced, silent efficiency. There was only one person in camp capable of moving that quietly and disabling guards that quickly.
My heart pounded, hope swelling in my chest. Could it be?
Once freed from the pole, I tried to stand on my own, but sharp pain shot through my legs. I buckled, biting down on the disgusting gag to prevent myself crying out, and was caught before I hit the ground. My gag and blindfold were removed next, and after hours of darkness, the moonlight spilling through the tent flap felt blindingly bright. Baron was before me, tossing my restraints aside and bending to inspect me.
A rush of relief tightened my throat followed immediately by a sharp twist. Heat built behind my eyes as a flood of emotions all battled together within me, but I refused to let any tears fall.
“Hurry,” he whispered before slipping into the shadows.
Pulling myself up on the tent pole, I tried to move quickly, but every step sent pins and needles shooting through my limbs, my muscles shaking after being bound for so long. I took a few staggering steps and fell, gritting my teeth against the pain of trying to move.
Without a word, Baron returned and scooped me into his arms. His grip was steady, warm against the cold night air, and the conflicting emotions his nearness stirred made it hard to breathe. I didn’t know whether to push him away or cling to him, whether to demand answers or save every question for when we were actually safe. I both loved and hated the sight of him, but there was no time to examine my feelings. If he wanted to rescue me, I would have to sort my emotions out later.
When the prickling subsided, I was able to slide out of his arms. He didn’t reach for me again, only led us down a narrow, hidden path. Unconscious guards slumped here and there along the way. I tried not to look at them. I didn’t want to think about what choices Baron had made tonight to reach me.
We climbed through a jagged crevice and emerged at a place where two horses were already saddled. I didn’t know how he’d managed it, nor did I ask. I mounted and rode.
We traveled until dawn, the cold air numbing my hands. I kept my gaze fixed on the snowy trail ahead. It was so much easier than looking at Baron.
I wasn’t angry the way I had been back in the gorge. Shock still lingered, but exhaustion dulled its edges. The more distance we put between ourselves and the sheriff’s camp, the more the raw sting of Baron's secret softened into grudging understanding.
I knew why he hadn’t told me, even if it hurt to admit it. If I’d had the sheriff as a father, I wouldn’t have wanted to let people know either. Besides the obvious shamefulness of having a parent like him, Baron surely wouldn’t have wanted men inthe company grumbling that nepotism had given him a senior position. I could understand that. When I joined the Merry Men, I hadn’t wanted any favors or special treatment, and that was with me having a wonderful father and supportive friends. Baron had none of that. His choices were surely fueled by pure survival instincts.
But knowing all that still didn’t erase the unease curling under my ribs. I had so many questions.
He didn’t speak to me for several hours. He simply stayed beside me—close enough that I knew he wouldn’t leave, but far enough that he wasn’t assuming forgiveness.
I wasn’t ready to look at him yet but I wasn’t ready to condemn him, either.
Just after dawn, we stopped to rest our horses in a grove of trees. I dismounted and tethered my horse, still unable to face Baron. I wanted to shout at him and cry and run all at the same time.
“I’m sorry you had to find out like that,” Baron said without any preamble, breaking into my thoughts. “I know you’re mad at me, but I had to get you out. They were planning to kill you. I couldn’t just… Laurel, please look at me.”
