Filthy, dirty, foul little beast! Your whore mother burns in hell.
Piers’s head whipped to the left—surely his stepmother must be hiding behind that tree.
But no—no one peeked around the trunk at him. Only moss and dead-brown vines.
Hit him again!The voice echoed and was so loud, Piers winced at the bright pain it caused.Again, Bevan!
“Stop!” He tried to shout, but to his horror the word came out as little more than a whimper. His eyes felt as though they were bleeding and he swiped a hand across his face. He looked down at his palm and saw that it was wet.
Bloody hell, he was hot. And the bandage covering his fingers was damp with yellow and brown stains. Fucking Layla …
“Piers?” He heard Alys call to him from leagues away, it seemed. He glanced over his shoulder at her, noticing with dread how little range his neck had with the pain. His head swam and he looked forward once more lest he fall over his own feet.
You are my only heir.
“Piers, it’s been more than an hour,” she called faintly.“I do think we should stop—you don’t look well. Are you feeling alright?”
“I’m fine.” He tried to make his voice carry back to her, strong and certain. Each word caused his vision to pulse, the wood around him bulging with heat. “Just a bit farther.”
My son, my son!
He looked around him, trying to evaluate their surroundings as to suitability for camp, but he couldn’t seem to make sense of anything. There were only trees … and he could not discern forest floor from trunk or slope or rock. How far away was the road from where they walked? They should have come across one of Gillwick’s rock walls by now, and the barn would not be far beyond. How far had they come? Where was that bastard, blistering sun hiding?
Spill his brains onto the ground …
Bevan is no brother to you, Piers …
“Piers, I … I think I do have need of some bushes now.”
Are you certain he’s dead? Hit him again …
My son, my only son! Can you ever forgive me?
“Piers!”
“Shut up!” Piers screamed, coming to a swaying halt and gripping his head in both hands. He fell to his knees. “All of you, just … shut up!” His breath roared in and out of him, sounding like great slides of rock down a mountainside. The ground seemed to undulate before his eyes.
He couldn’t pass out. The cows needed to be brought in for the night still, and there had been reports of wolves north of Gillwick. The beasts were lazy in the height of summer, and he could usually frighten them away with a rock or two. Yes, he might need to keep watch, keep them safe. And Alys would need a place to sleep where Bevan would not find her …
“Piers?” Her slippers came into view, shifting the damp leaves in fuzzy slow motion.
“It’s alright,” Piers said, and his words sounded slurred. “Just give me a moment, Alys. I have work to do. Wait for me in the mew.” He would gladly share his pallet with Alys, but that damned monkey would have to bed elsewhere.
Then her face was before his, her neck bent so that she could look up at him, and her fingers were like rounded icicles stroking his cheeks and forehead.
“My God, you’re burning up!”
“Be cooler once the sun sets,” he promised her, the spoiled girl, used as she was to her dark, stone castle. She’d never make a proper farm wife, but she was so pretty and fiery …
“There is no sun, Piers—and it’s starting to snow,” he heard her say as if she was moving away from him. But that couldn’t be, because he could feel her hands gripping his arms, taking his pack from his shoulders.
“My ring,” he mumbled, and tried to swipe at his bag, but the woman had the speed of a minx, darting away from him in a blur. “It’s all I have.”
“It’s alright,” she placated, and was half pulling him back against something solid. Where did she find a bed so soft to bring him? Was she so wealthy that she could conjure furniture from raw wood?
“You have me.” She framed his face with her frozen palms. “Just rest here—I’ll start a fire.”
“No,” he struggled to sit up, but was unsuccessful. “No fire. Too close to the road.” The wolves would find them, and he hadn’t brought the cows in yet. His father would be so disappointed.
