She stayed in bed the rest of the day, and when night fell and her parents were asleep, she donned a fresh pair of black breeches and a léine beneath her jack and left the house.
She thought she might just go and visit Millie and the babe. Millie and Will would never tell the warden she’d returned. She was sure it would be safe and, besides, she needed a friend’s ear.
It was the lights in the distance, closer than stars, moving in formation, coming from the north that made her change her direction and head to the stable for Archer.
Her blood ran cold. The Scots had come to Carlisle.
He would be there with his king, perhaps with his brothers. What would she do if she saw him? She hadn’t taken a weapon. She could go back and possibly wake her father. No, she kept going.
She wanted to see him one last time.
Before she found a knife and plunged it into him.
Torin moved fastwhen word came of the Scot’s army moving toward Carlisle. He was glad his brothers came with him, but he especially did not want them fighting the Hetheringtons.
He was surprised the king hadn’t granted his request for more time. This was bad. Nothing was in place. He was to poison the guards’ supper, their water, killing his enemies like a plague. He knew who kept the keys to the weapons room and he was supposed to be in possession of the key by now. Nothing had been done. Would it matter? The Scot’s army was so much more skilled than the border guards. The Bruce’s men would be victorious.
Would Adams fight? Would the Hetheringtons? It felt as if his blood drained from his face and refused to return until he saw Braya alive. He prayed her family wasn’t fighting. Damn it, she wasn’t supposed to leave the safety of Lismoor now!
They caught up to the army, and after learning the king wasn’t with them, they broke away from the march and rode hard until evening came.
But Torin could not sleep and rose up again while his brothers slept beneath the stars. He traveled on to Hetherington territory alone with Avalon—though he didn’t push his dearest friend but let her take him at her own pace.
While they traveled, he thought of Braya. He should have told her the truth the moment he felt something for her. It was too late for that now. He was going to make certain she was safe.
But he was too late. He learned promptly from Braya’s mother that her daughter had disappeared sometime in the night and the men had gone to the castle to find her.
His heart thudded in his ears. Why did they look for her at the castle?
“Because,” her mother told him, “she was most likely looking for you.”
He closed his eyes and pulled at his hair. This wasn’t going to end well. How was he going to protect her? Her father and brother? Hell.
He promised her mother that he would do his best to bring them all home and left to go get them.
As dawn approached, he searched outside the city, along the Eden, but found nothing. He hoped her father had found her and she wasn’t alone.
He was going to have to go inside the castle. What if Bennett had found her? What if Adams had told the other men about him? He couldn’t take the whole damned guard on alone.
He was going to have to find a way in without being noticed. It was what he was good at.
The east gate.
Leaving Avalon beside the river to refresh herself and rest, he entered the castle on foot, his sword raised and ready, through the east gate. No one saw him.
But someone did.
“Torin.”
He saw her standing beyond the gate cloaked in her hooded mantle. Her silken voice echoed on the empty walkway.
Lowering his blade, he walked toward her as the sun rose over the horizon. Light blended with mist, casting her in an ethereal glow as she lowered her hood. She was his laughter, his joy, and he would do anything not to lose her. More, not to harm her.
“I was doing my duty,” he told her. “You and your family were not part of the plan.”
“The plan?” she mocked.
“Aye, Braya. An army does not attack without a plan.” He stood close. He could smell her, look into her clear blue eyes. He wanted to drag her into his arms. His muscles cramped with the need. He remembered how she felt atop him, beneath him, held close to his heart. “You were not part of it. I was not supposed to fall in love with you, lass. I never thought I would—with anyone.”
