21
"Are ye sure this is the right way?"
Mollie's voicewas tight with apprehension as they pushed deeper into the forest. The trees had grown thicker, the underbrush more tangled, and the fading light made it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead.
"I think so."But Maia wasn't sure at all. She'd only been to the forest a handful of times since arriving at Castle McGill, and always with Ewan guiding the way. Now, with darkness falling and her heart still aching from what she'd witnessed, she felt utterly lost.
In more ways than one.
Every stepaway from the castle felt wrong. Every breath she took felt hollow. Her chest ached with a pain that had nothing to do with physical exertion and everything to do with the imageburned into her mind—Laura straddling Ewan's lap, her hands on his shoulders, leaning in to kiss him.
Stop thinkin'about it. It doesnae matter anymore. Ye're leavin'. Ye'll never have to see them together.
But somehow thatthought hurt even worse.
"Maybe we should stopfor the night," Mollie suggested, her voice pulling Maia from her spiral of misery. "Find somewhere to shelter until mornin'. It's gettin' too dark to travel safely."
Maia knewher friend was right. The forest was becoming increasingly difficult to navigate, shadows deepening with every passing minute. They could easily get lost, or worse—fall and injure themselves with no one around to help.
But the thought of stopping,of having time to sit and think about everything she was leaving behind, about the look on Ewan's face when he realized she was gone?—
Would he even care?Or would he just shrug and return to Laura, grateful that the complication of Maia Ferguson had resolved itself?
"Just a bit further,"she said, her voice rough. "If we can get to the main road, we can follow it to the next village. Find an inn or somewhere safe to stay. I have some coin, nae much, but enough for a room and maybe some food."
"Maia—"
A hand clampedover her mouth from behind, cutting off whatever Mollie had been about to say.
Maia's screamdied in her throat as she was yanked backward against a hard body. Panic exploded through her chest, white-hot and overwhelming. Her heart slammed against her ribs as strong arms wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her sides.
She struggled,tried to bite, tried to kick backward at whoever had grabbed her. But the grip on her was iron-strong, unbreakable, and the hand over her mouth pressed so hard she could barely breathe.
"Got ye, ye little bitch."
The voice was horribly familiar.Rough and cruel and full of vicious satisfaction.
Uncle Callen.
"Let her go!"Mollie's voice rang out sharp with fear, followed immediately by the sound of a struggle. Then came a meaty thud and Mollie's cry of pain.
"Mollie!"Maia tried to scream, but the hand over her mouth muffled the sound into nothing more than a desperate whimper.
She twistedin her captor's grip—not her uncle, she realized with sick clarity, but one of his guards—and saw Mollie being held by another man. Blood trickled from her friend's split lip where he'd struck her, and her eyes were wide with terror.
"Well, well."Callen Ferguson stepped into view, materializing from the shadows like something out of a nightmare. His beady black eyes gleamed with malicious triumph in the dying light. "Look what we have here. Me wayward niece, runnin' away from her supposed protector. How very convenient."
Maia's blood ran cold.How was he here? How had he known where to find them? How had he gotten this deep into McGill territory without being caught?
"I've been watchin'the castle for days," Callen said, as if reading the questions written across her face. "Waitin' for an opportunity. Hopin' ye might do somethin' stupid."
His lips curvedinto a cruel smile. "And then—then I see ye sneakin' out like a thief in the night, headin' straight into the forest with only yer maid for protection. Did ye really think I wouldnae be watchin'? Waitin' for exactly this kind of foolishness?"
Maia tried to speak,tried to say something—anything—but the hand over her mouth prevented it. She could only stare at her uncle with growing horror as he moved closer.
"Ye've defiedme for the last time," Callen continued, his voice dropping to that low, venomous tone she remembered from sixyears of abuse. "First ye let that McGill bastard steal ye away—oh, daenae look so surprised. I ken ye helped him. That traitorous maid of yers told me everythin' before I had her family thrown out of their home."
A muffledsound of anguish came from where Mollie was being held. Maia's heart clenched.
